Armed militias backed by Sudan's Government have killed 21 people in an attack on a village in West Darfur, anti-Khartoum Sudanese rebels said. Rebels blamed militias they said were headed by an army officer called al-Hadi Adam Hamid, but an army spokesman said it was unclear who had attacked Sureif Judad, a village about 17 kilometres north-west of the state capital el-Geneina. "They killed 21 civilians including old men and women and children and wounded four people," said Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) commander Abdel Aziz el-Nur Ashr.
One el-Geneina resident, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals, said that they personally knew three of the dead, who were all from the same family. "I heard they burned 90 houses," said the source, who learnt of the attack through friends from the village.
The army said no houses had been burnt but they understood that around 20 people had been killed in the attack. "It's not clear who the unknown attackers were," an army spokesman said. "It could be the rebels who attacked." JEM's Ashr said the attack took place on January 22, but the army said it was about three days ago.
This article starring:
Abdel Aziz el-Nur Ashr
AL HADI ADAM HAMID
Janjaweed
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2008 00:00 ||
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For the GSPC, the decision to join Al-Qaida meant the beginning of a rebellion in its ranks. In fact, according to a top French official cited recently by Le Monde and testimonies from several GSPC dissidents, for the past few months, Abdelwadoud Droukdel, aka Abu Mussab, GSPC's leader, has been allegedly trying to curb the dissension among his organization. But facts are proving that this strategy is not working and this has become all the more apparent since the triple spectacular and bloody suicide bombings in Algiers on April 11 (killing 33 and injuring 222) and the Dec. 11 attacks.
Indeed, the decision by Droukdel (an ex-Afghan, specialized in explosives) to use terror bombings against civilians -- given that they are easier to carry out than a classic guerrilla war -- has triggered the ire of the Algerian population, as demonstrated by the major public outcry and outpour of emotion after the 4/11 and 12/11 bombings.
This new strategy also triggered major turmoil in the ranks of the GSPC. According to some ex-GSPC elements, Droukdel's idea to merge with Al-Qaida and perpetrate terror attacks under this banner was not approved by lots of his close associates. Confirming this is Benmessaoud Abdelkader, aka Abu Mossaab, the emir of the south, who surrendered to Algerian authorities over the summer. Abdelkader explained to the Algerian media in August that the crisis began when Droukdel along two of his close advisers decided to join Al-Qaida without consulting the base and the different phalanges leaders. For the latter, the announcement was a total surprise.
According to Abu Al Barra, another GSPC member who surrendered, the divergence of views between Droukdel and his close associates increased after the April 11 attacks. He thinks that this might even bleed the GSPC of its most influential leaders; among them Touati Athmane, aka Abu Al Abbas, (in charge of the center of the country) and Sheikh Abdennaceur (religion expert leader of the group). According to El Watan, all these terrorists close to Droukdel voiced their disagreement with the new "suicide bombers strategy" that they deem "imported from Iraq and serving only Al-Qaida." For them, the GSPC is following the same path that led to the death of the Algerian GIA (Armed Islamic Group) in the mid-1990s, the organization it originally spun off from. Incidentally, the rebellious elements have been kicked out of the leadership and have been replaced by hardcore elements. Also the situation is so dire that these dissidents run the risk of being physically eliminated.
The main consequence of this new allegiance to Al-Qaida is that it has pushed some GSPC leaders to turn themselves in. Others are waiting for "new orders" to decide what course of action to follow: either to go on or to accept the National Reconciliation Charter (a plan approved in a September 2005 referendum and promulgated in March 2006 that included a general amnesty for jailed terrorists and Islamists) and surrender.
Among the most influential GSPC members thinking about this is Mokhtar Belmokhtar, the emir of the south and the Sahel. He has allegedly contacted authorities to negotiate his surrender if he was issued a passport. Even if negotiations are not successful, it remains that Belmokhtar does not answer to the organization's leader Droukdel anymore. According to Abdelkader, Belmokhtar is in a wait and see mode, very much expecting a scission of the GSPC.
Further proof of this rebellion is that numerous anonymous calls were recently placed to authorities, most likely from terrorists, allowing the security services to prevent a couple of bombings in the center area, in particular in Boumerdès and to the east of the capital. Also, according to Abdelkader, even some of the foreign fighters inside the organization, including Tunisians, Malians and Nigerians already defected. Confirmation of this mini-rebellion was brought forth when Echorouk, citing security sources, claimed that Droukdel had ordered his followers to keep watch on all his members and limit their movements. Also, Droukdel has taken its members to strongholds in eastern Algeria and rural places where they were divided in small groups.
Responding to the public outcry and the dissidence among his own troops, Droukdel has been active on the media front: communiqués, video clips and audio recordings. First, in a 23-page statement released at the beginning of June 2007, signed by one of GSPC's ulema (religious authority), Abu Al Hassan Rachid, stated that the 4/11 suicide bombings are "licit and based on examples taking place at the time of Ibn Taymiya. Using suicide bombers is indeed justified, as also the fact of picking sites full of civilians in order to strike the apostates." He added that "civilians who die in terror attacks against apostates will go to heaven" and that to avoid being killed, civilians are advised to avoid going to sites near public buildings. In another communiqué, signed by Droukdel, he gave a contradictory explanation. He said that using suicide bombings was in fact due to a lack of human and material resources: Indeed, suicide attacks require less human resources and little logistics than the ambushes against security services.
AQIM's new modus operandi is alienating a lot of people both in its ranks and among Algerian Islamists. Incidentally, the AQIM's brand has been also a tool to recruit youngsters, motivated by joining the global jihad. In light of the recent defections, it is possible that a split-off of the Algerian terror group might occur between those who want to stick with Al-Qaida's objectives and those who are focusing solely on Algeria.
Three terrorists armed with Kalashnikovs last Wednesday barred off the way to three shepherds in the region of Batna, 450 km east of Algiers launching death treats at them if they come around again after slaying 18 lambs. According to sources the terrorists, who were wearing civilian clothes, asked the shepherds not to come to this area again because it is under their (terrorists) control.
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01/28/2008 00:00 ||
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Five armed terrorists have been killed in separate operations launched by Algerian security forces across the country over the last few days. The Algerian security forces are reported to have killed a GSPC terrorist ring-leader in the region of Boumerdes, 60 km east of Algiers and injured several others. Furthermore, two armed terrorists were shot dead Sunday in the Edough Mountains, after they refused to follow orders to surrender, security officials were quoted as saying on Monday.
Another armed terrorist was killed Saturday in a clash with anti-terrorist security forces in the eastern city of Tebessa, near the Tunisian border. A fourth terrorist was slain by Algerian police forces in El Oued province, 650 kilometres, south-west of Algiers. An AK-47 rifle was also retrieved, according to press reports. Police sources say the search operation is still underway to hunt down other suspected terrorists in the eastern side of the province.
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01/28/2008 00:00 ||
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Security forces have distributed lists of 29 dangerous terrorists names and pictures in a number of police stations in Algeria. The lists contain the terrorists pseudonyms at the so-called Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb as human mobile bombs planned for potential suicide attacks.
According to well-informed sources, this list came as a result of accurate information collected in coordination with different security forces. Most of the terrorists come from North Algiers. Some others are believed to be non Algerians such as Sidna Oueld Abdelouadud who is likely to come from Mauritania. Security forces use the list and pictures to find out the terrorists before they carry out spectacular suicide attacks using car bombs or vest bombs.
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb claimed responsibility for two suicide attacks which targeted the UN refugee office and the Constitutional Council in Algiers. According to security information, Al-Qaeda has started using small groups of three to five terrorists and dividing them in many areas. This new strategy aims at extending the organisations operations and escape from the grip on its main strongholds.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
I wonder what North Algiers is like, in terms of things like poverty, links to the more conservative and Islamic countryside, etc, etc.
Turkish police have detained six more people in a crackdown on alleged Al Qaeda militants suspected of planning car bomb attacks in Turkey, the Anatolia news agency reported on Sunday.
The detentions brings to 25 the number of people rounded up since Thursday when anti-terror police carried out simultaneous raids on 18 houses in Turkeys southeastern provinces of Gaziantep and Kahramanmaras. Four alleged members of the extremist network and a policeman were killed in a gun battle during the operation.
Police believe that one of them, 41-year-old Mehmet Polat, who was shot dead along with his son after holding out for about 12 hours, assumed the leadership of an Al Qaeda cell in Gaziantep after his predecessor joined the insurgency in Iraq and was killed there in June, Anatolia reported on Sunday.
Three of the suspects, including a Russian national of Chechen origin, were detained in Istanbul. They are believed to have acted as couriers between Al Qaeda militants within Turkey and abroad, the report said.
The police have determined that some of the suspects used fake passports to travel to Afghanistan and Pakistan to meet Al Qaeda leaders and make plans about the groups activities in Turkey, Anatolia reported.
This article starring:
MEHMET POLAT
al-Qaeda in Turkey
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2008 00:00 ||
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Several children held hostage Monday by armed men in a remote Pakistani school were rescued hours later without being harmed, reports said.
Tribal elders in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province took custody of the four or five hostage-takers after securing the release of some 30 children and teachers held captive in a primary school in Bannu district, CNN reported, quoting officials.
Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, who is touring Europe, had been informed about the incident.
The BBC reported the hostage-takers had entered the school after escaping from a police confrontation over the abduction of a district health official.
The hostage-takers were initially believed to be Islamic militants but were later described as common criminals, although the area has seen growing pro-Taliban activity in recent months. .
The BBC report quoted Musharraf as saying in London: "It was incidental that they entered the school to hide themselves. But in the process to hide they took those students hostage."
A GEO TV report said in the confrontation with police the kidnapped health official was released and that five of the armed men were arrested. Another armed man was reportedly killed in the encounter, while the rest apparently stormed the school.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2008 13:52 ||
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Pakistani authorities found the body of a U.S. diplomat with a bullet wound in his head at his home in Islamabad on Monday and were investigating a suspected case of suicide, police and the Interior Minister said.
The U.S. embassy named the dead man as 37-year-old Keith Ryan, an immigration and customs enforcement attache from the Department of Homeland Security. "There will be a full investigation; however, there does not appear to have been any foul play," the embassy said in a brief statement. The embassy said Ryan had "passed away" on Monday morning, and his family had been informed. Ryan's body was found in his residence on a leafy avenue close to the diplomatic enclave in the Pakistani capital.
Kaleem Imam, a Senior Superintendent of police in Islamabad, said the diplomat had been in Pakistan for a year and had been due to return to the United States on Monday, having finished his assignment. "But, he did not come out of the home and was found dead in the bathroom. There is a bullet wound in his head," Imam said.
"We expect it is suicide, but we are investigating," Interior Minister Hamid Nawaz told Reuters.
The United States does not let diplomats posted to Pakistan take their families, because of the security threat posed by Islamist militants.
#6
In an odd coincidence,I heard this on FOX this morning along with a "developing story" on Iraq's Central Bank having a fire, destroying vital records although much of the money was evacuated. Then there was a story on the indictment of one of the UK's biggest heists of $100 million! An excerpt from the article:
Prosecutors said the gang left more than $300 million behind because it would not fit into the half-ton truck.
The robbery is believed to be the largest heist during peacetime. It eclipsed a $70 million theft from the Central Bank in Fortaleza, Brazil, in August, $65 million heist at the Knightsbridge Safe Deposit Center in London in 1987, and a $50 million robbery at the Northern Bank of Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 2004.
But all four are dwarfed by the theft of $900 million in U.S. bills and as much as $100 million worth of euros from the Iraq Central Bank in 2003. Police have recovered about $40 million of the Securitas money.
In the documentary Iraq's Missing Billions, Stuart Bowen mentioned 50 criminal investigations were ongoing of Coalition Provisional Authority officials. Maybe, contrary to Amb. Speckhard, it isn't "all just water under the bridge now"!
PESHAWAR, Pakistan At least 30 students and teachers were taken hostage Monday when gunmen burst into a Pakistan high school, police said.
Security forces surrounded the village school near the town of Bannu and police were negotiating with the gunmen, believed to number five or six, said district police chief Dar Ali Khattak.
As many as 250 children were held hostage, a Pakistani official told Reuters.
The standoff began after the gunmen abducted a health official in a neighboring district and were chased by police, said Liaqat Khan, another local police official.
The gunmen eventually freed the official but took refuge inside the school, and are now demanding safe passage in return for freeing the students and teachers, he said
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/28/2008 07:43 ||
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#1
I just wanna have some kicks
I just wanna get some chicks
Pak Pak Pak Pak
Pakistan High School...
Pakistani forces recaptured a road tunnel leading to the volatile tribal belt on the Afghan border on Sunday, after killing around two dozen pro-Taliban militants in a fierce battle, the military said.
Militants captured the Japanese-built tunnel on the main road link between Peshawar, capital of the North West Frontier Province, and the tribal belt during fighting near Darra Adam Kheil tribal region on Saturday. The clashes erupted on Friday after militants seized four trucks carrying ammunition and other supplies for the troops. "After fierce fighting, the security forces have cleared the area of miscreants and are in control of Kohat tunnel and surrounding areas," a military statement said, referring to the garrison town situated on the southern end of the tunnel. "Reportedly 24 miscreants have been killed, many have fled leaving behind huge quantity of arms and ammunition." Around 45 militants and two soldiers were killed in earlier clashes. The statement did not say whether there were any losses on the troops' side.
Violence has spread across Pakistan, mainly in Frontier Province, after an army assault on a militant mosque in the capital Islamabad in July last year. Hundreds of people, including soldiers, have been killed in suicide and bomb attacks since then.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
since it was their ammo and arms then i guess it was a victory for the militants especialy since they don't care about dying
#2
if teh jihadis had control of the main route into the tribal areas, that would have been very bad, since it would have effectively eliminated even the chance of Paki army activity there. Its good the Pakis got the tunnel back, but it was also essential, this is a defensive victory.
(Xinhua) -- The Pakistani authorities have arrested more suspects in connection with the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto on a tip from a detained suspect, a senior official said on Saturday.
A 15-year-old boy Aitzaz Shah was arrested from the northwestern city of Dera Islamil Khan earlier this week, who had reportedly told the investigators that he was part of a back-up group who attacked Benazir Bhutto. Caretaker Interior Minister Hamid Nawaz said that on the indication of suspect Aitzaz Shah, the authorities had taken into custody more suspects allegedly involved in the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. However, he did not disclose more details.
Hamid Nawaz said the Scotland Yard team investigated the assassination quickly and had got certain clues. He said some members of the team would return to Pakistan within the next few days. The government had changed the strategy to quell militancy, Hamid Nawaz said, "Militants targeting the security forces will be crushed." He also voiced the concern that the lives of prominent politicians were in danger. He said, "but we are taking tangible steps for their security."
Hamid Nawaz said that operation in the tribal region of Darra Adamkhel would continue till the militancy was wiped out from the area.
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01/28/2008 00:00 ||
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LADHA: Security forces resumed targeting Taliban positions in South Waziristan on Sunday after a lull in the clashes for a day. The security forces pounded militants positions with heavy artillery and mortar fire, forcing residents of the nearby areas to leave their homes and move to safer locations. Scores of fleeing families have migrated to the adjacent district of Tank via Omar Adda and Tormandai Gomal areas. Many of them complained that the troops were targeting civilian areas and several citizens, including women and children, had been killed and injured in the firing. Two evacuees said the authorities had asked the residents to leave the area by dropping pamphlets from helicopters. They said the people had to cover a 20-hour trek to reach Tank and Tormandai Gomal areas. Meanwhile, talks between a jirga of Mehsud tribesmen and political authorities were continuing on Sunday to negotiate a ceasefire in the area. A member of the jirga Maulana Merajuddin said people were not expecting such an action by the government. Meanwhile, militants in North Waziristan have extended ceasefire till February 10, Geo TV reported.
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01/28/2008 00:00 ||
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GHALANAI: Unidentified militants blew up three checkposts of the Khasadar force in Mohmand Agency on Saturday night. The checkposts were located in Sharmakhan, Darwazgai and Mamad Gat areas of the lower subdivision Yaka Ghund. The Khasadar force and the assailants traded fire at the Sharmakhan checkpost, but no casualties were reported.
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01/28/2008 00:00 ||
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Influential members of Moqtada al-Sadr's movement have urged the anti-U.S. Shiite cleric not to extend a cease-fire when it expires next month, officials said Monday, a move that could jeopardize recent security gains...
Al-Sadr's August order for his feared Mahdi Army militia to freeze activities for six months was seen by U.S. commanders as a major factor in a nationwide reduction of violence. But U.S. and Iraqi forces insisted they would continue to hunt down so-called rogue fighters who ignored the order. Al-Sadr's followers claim this is a pretext to crack down on their movement.
The maverick cleric has threatened not to renew the cease-fire unless the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki purges "criminal gangs" operating within security forces he claims are targeting his followers. That was a reference to rival Shiite militiamen from the Badr Brigade who have infiltrated security forces participating in the ongoing crackdown against breakaway militia cells the U.S. has said were linked to Iran.
The political commission of al-Sadr's movement and some lawmakers and senior officials said they were urging him to follow through with his threat, pointing to recent raids against the movement in the southern Shiite cities of Diwaniyah, Basra and Karbala. "We presented a historic opportunity when we froze the (Mahdi) army," Nasser al-Rubaie, leader of the Sadrists in parliament, told reporters Monday. "But the step was negatively capitalized on."
The group planned to send the message to al-Sadr's main office in the holy city of Najaf, two Sadrist legislators and a member of the political commission told The Associated Press. They spoke on condition of anonymity because of fears of retribution. "We have demanded that the government purge these security organs and release our detainees," one official said. "We have not found any positive response so far from the government, so why then should we continue freezing the (Mahdi Army)?"
Al-Sadr's political commission is made up of the movement's most powerful officials whose opinion often reflects that of the reclusive cleric, although the officials stressed that he retains sole decision-making authority over the militia. Underscoring the complaints, the military announced the arrest Monday of a man accused of gathering intelligence, using computers and forging documents as an associate of militia leaders involved in attacks on U.S.-led forces.
Mahdi Army militiamen fought U.S. troops for much of 2004, and al-Sadr has tirelessly called for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq. His fighters were blamed for much of the retaliatory sectarian violence against Sunnis after the February 2006 bombing of a Shiite shrine in Samarra, and the cease-fire has been credited with a dramatic drop in the group's signature attacks execution-style killings and kidnappings.
The U.S. military has said an influx of some 30,000 additional American troops working more closely with Iraqi security forces and a Sunni revolt against al-Qaida in Iraq are other major factors in the lull in violence. But while major inroads have been made, Iraqis continue to face attacks, even in the capital, which is at the center of the security crackdown.
A roadside bomb struck a minibus carrying a coffin and mourners to a funeral in the predominantly Shiite southeastern neighborhood of New Baghdad, killing three passengers, a police officer said. The bomb apparently was meant for a police patrol but missed its target and blew up near the bus instead, a police officer said.
#1
Again, it doesnt look to me like Sadr is simply hitting the mattresses, which would be an uncharecteristically reckless, if not suicidal act, at a time when US forces are still high, and the political situation is not ripe. It sounds more like a threat, to gradually increase trouble if we dont go easier on his minions.
#2
Unless it's one part of a multifront attack on Israel and US forces .... something of that sort is probably brewing I think. Hope not, but probably.
They have hinted that they will respond harshly to new UN sanctions, but given how limited even this tightening of sanctions is likely to be, and the harm they would almost certainly suffer after such an overt response, I doubt very much they will do that.
#7
First the Sunnis, then Sadr. Part 1 is almost complete. Sadr has withdrawn from the government and has little political cover. The other Iraqi parties would like nothing better than to see him and his mob ground to dust under tank treads.
Posted by: ed ||
01/28/2008 13:26 Comments ||
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#8
Sounds like the Sadrists are angling for more influence within the central government and preservation of their turf in the south.
I don't think it's part of a multi-front attack, though I wouldn't discount the 'influential members' feeling ballsy now because Iran's supplied and trained their thugs.
Iraqi troop reinforcements will arrive in the northern city of Mosul on Sunday while tanks and helicopters are being sent for a big operation against Al Qaeda militants, security officials said, Reuters reported. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki announced on Friday that Iraqi security forces were preparing for a final offensive against Al Qaeda in Iraq to push the militants out of their last major urban stronghold.
Major-General Riyadh Jalal Tawfiq, commander of military operations in Nineveh province, said additional Iraqi troops would arrive within hours from Baghdad, with more expected in the days after that. He gave no details of numbers. Defence Ministry spokesman Mohammed al-Askari said tanks, armoured vehicles and helicopters were being sent to Iraqs third largest city, 390 km north of Baghdad, for an offensive that he said would begin very soon.
Two US soldiers were killed in separate bombings in Baghdad, the military said on Sunday, AP reported. One soldier died on Sunday after his vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb in northeastern Baghdad, according to a statement. Another soldier was killed on Saturday by a bomb during a foot patrol near Kazimiyah, a predominantly Shia neighborhood in northern Baghdad, the military said separately. Identities were not released pending notification of relatives.
This article starring:
Mohammed al-Askari
Riyadh Jalal Tawfiq
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
HOTAIR.com > SUNNI LEADER: WAR IN SIX MONTHS IFF NO DEAL IN IRAQ.
Palestinians have streamed home through the breaches in Gaza's border with Egypt, as Egyptian authorities choked off supplies to the area and moved to restore control.
Egypt has struggled to re-seal the border and contain hundreds of thousands of needy Gazans who have poured across since militants blasted openings last Wednesday to evade an Israeli blockade on the Hamas Islamist-run territory. A reporter on the Egyptian side of the border town of Rafah saw hundreds of Palestinians leaving Egypt and only a handful of people crossing in from the Gaza Strip. "We wanted to buy food. It was very difficult. We could not find anything," said 17-year-old Khalil Hamdan. "We won't come back because all the products are finished."
Hundreds of trucks were held up at a bridge that leads from mainland Egypt to the Sinai peninsula and Gaza. Merchants in the border town of Rafah said they were struggling to get supplies of food and cigarettes. Fuel was also running short.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said his country would take steps to control the border with Gaza "as soon as possible", without giving details. Egyptian forces tried to seal the border last week but militants just bulldozed new openings.
In the town of El-Arish, near Rafah, police told Palestinians in the street that the border would soon be shut, witnesses said. Gazans were told to walk only on roads leading back towards the border, and were stopped from returning.
Egypt, the first Arab country to make peace with Israel, does not want to be seen as aiding the Israeli blockade. However, it also fears the spread of Islamist influence and the effects of hosting so many Palestinians without identity papers.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
cuz they're like an infection, and they'll spread
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/28/2008 7:32 Comments ||
Top||
#2
I think it would be amusing if the Egyptians eventually mined the border.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has decided to allow limited amounts of fuel to enter the Gaza Strip, after talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Israel had ordered the blockade of Gaza in what it said was a response to continued Palestinian rocket attacks across the border.
The Israeli Government's announcement was made to pre-empt a possible ruling on the issue by the country's High Court. Human rights groups have brought a petition, arguing that cutting the fuel supply was collective punishment, illegal under international law.
Israeli Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann bitterly criticised the judge's willingness to entertain such arguments. He told the weekly Cabinet meeting that Israel sometimes seemed to get harsher treatment from its own High Court than from its international critics.
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01/28/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Israel sometimes seemed to get harsher treatment from its own High Court than from its international critics.
Cause most "international critics" are amateur anti-Zionists, whereas Israel's High Court are professionals.
#2
Ah, so this means the rocket attacks have ceased.
Wait. You mean they haven't?
Oh dear. Why would Olmert allow the resumption of fuel then? After all, wasn't the purpose of cutting it in the first place the goal of ceasing the rocket attacks?
(Xinhua) -- Four Palestinians were wounded on Sunday night in two separate Israeli airstrikes on Islamic Hamas militant posts in southern Gaza Strip, medics and witnesses said. The witnesses said that two Apache attack helicopters and one F-16 warplane bombarded respectively two posts belonging to al-Qassam brigades, Hamas' armed wing, in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah. Medics said that four Palestinians that were injured had been evacuated to Abu Yosef al-Najjar Hospital in the town, adding that they were moderately injured.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
moderately injured
Good, let them consume some resourses before (Palestinian medicine being that it is) they die.
One soldier was wounded in a bombing ambush in the strife-torn province of Yala Sunday night. Police gathered evidence at the site of the incident Monday morning.
The 13-man government patrol was ambushed as it returned to its base after the men completed their duties at a checkpoint in the provincial seat. A bomb was detonated near a grindstone factory as the military patrol passed by, with an unknown number of terrorists insurgents opening fire on the government unit. The exchange lasted for five minutes.
Meanwhile, over 300 soldiers are scouring a mountainous area in Ruso district searching for five members of the Runda Kumpulan Kecil (RKK) terrorist insurgent group after an exchange of gunfire which left two suspected terrorists insurgents dead on Sunday.
Police said one of dead men was identified as Suvaradi Dengsamae, 23, for whom there was an outstanding arrest warrant from the Yala police for killing a Muslim villager in Yala last year and other criminal cases. The other man killed Sunday was Nisae Sama, 28, of Narathiwat's Tak Bai district.
Heavy fighting in northern Sri Lanka has left 39 Tamil Tiger rebels dead, the defence ministry said Sunday.
One soldier was also killed in the clashes on Saturday between the military and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) outside their de facto mini state, the ministry said. Military forces also recovered a large haul of explosives and weapons following the fighting, the ministry said in its statement. There was no immediate comment from the Tigers. Since the start of the month, the ministry has claimed government forces have killed 705 rebels against just 28 soldiers.
Both sides give wildly varying casualty figures which cannot be independently verified as the government bars journalists from visiting frontline areas and rebel-held territory. The government pulled out of a Norwegian-brokered truce with the rebels this month, underscoring its recent statements that it has the upper hand in the drawn-out conflict.
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01/28/2008 00:00 ||
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Nine were killed and dozens injured when Hezbollah-led opposition supporters protested against the power blackouts and the living conditions throughout Lebanon today . The protests followed a massive bomb blast on Friday which killed a senior Lebanese intelligence officer and three others in the east of the capital.
According to political observers Hezbollah has decided to direct its arms against the Lebanese army and the internal security forces . "This is the reason for the escalation of violence against the armed forces and the Internal security forces " , Ahmad Yasseen, a political observer told Ya Libnan
The latest deaths come at a time of acute political instability in Lebanon as deadlock between pro-Syrian and pro-Western parties drags on. Initially the protest started near the Mar Mikhael church in the Chiah district a Hezbollah stronghold east of Beirut The protesters burned rubber tires and tried to block the roads The fifth regiment of the army intervened by trying to reopen the roads but the protesters opened fire at the army . There was also sniper fire from nearby areas.
Ahmad Hassan Hamze 35, a Shiite Amal official was the first killed in the protests today. Initial reports said he was killed by sniper fire
The name of the second victim who was killed in the protests is Yousef Shukair. Shukair was transferred to Bahman, an Iranian hospital located in the Ghubairi area, a suburb of Beirut and a stronghold of Hezbollah and Amal .
The identity of the rest of the victims has not been revealed yet, but according to unconfirmed reports all but one of the victims were Hezbollah supporters
Prime Minister Siniora contacted the electricity company chief to inquire about the reasons behind the power cuts. The electricity company has reported that there was no power blackout either before or after the protests . The electricity company sources also reported that neither Hezbollah nor Amal supporters ever pay for electricity charges . Those citizens that pay have never protested over the blackouts. As a result of the refusal of Hezbollah and Amal members to pay for electricity charges the heavily indebted Lebanese Government has to subsidize the electricity company .
Lebanons Minister of Youths and Sports Ahmad Fatfat condemned the violent protests and said ; "Is it fair for the protesters who are protesting against power cuts and living conditions to shoot at the army ?"
Hassan Fadlallah, a Hezbollah MP ignited further the protests when he said today : What we see today is the result of the suffering and the pain of the people
The Iranian and Syrian backed Hezbollah- led opposition has been blamed for the deteriorating living conditions in Lebanon resulting from their protests to bring down the government of Prime Minister Siniora. More than two hundred businesses in down town Beirut , where the protest have been going on for nearly 18 months , have closed down , declared bankruptcy and laid off thousands of employees .
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2008 00:00 ||
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Posted by: Sam Adamski ||
01/28/2008 9:16 Comments ||
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#3
Not clear if this is Hezbollah deciding to seriously hit the mattresses, as the above implies, or if its just Hezb taking advantage of a moment of opportuniy with the power cuts.
#4
I'm expecting a multi-front attack on Israel from Hamas, within Lebanon and on Israel by Hezb'allah and probably to coincide with something really provocative from Iran - nuclear test explosion, runs at ships in the Straits or terror attacks in Europe and US.
#5
I'm always impressed by the ability of several regulars here to see trends and links events and/or see behind them - something that most often escapes me even for stuff I link here.
Lotp, is this a "gut feeling", or an informed guess based on what you see on the radar?
#6
I don't think the DDG-67 (USS Cole) will be the last US ship hit. My assessment is the Iranians will try to sink one of ours soon, possibly with an imported Chicom 801 or silkworm.
The C.801 anti-ship cruise missile is a Chinese version of the popular French made EXOCET anti-ship cruise missile. Despite its somewhat larger size, the C.801 has about the same specifications and performance of the Exocet. Recent reports indicate the SARDINE has been upgraded with GPS navigation systems supplied by ROCKWELL.
#7
is this a "gut feeling", or an informed guess based on what you see on the radar?
Mostly an informed guess based on their previous actions plus this sort of public justification in the Iranian press. It's their habit to have flunkies call for and publicly justify attacks ahead of time.
Of course, sometimes that's just a bluff. But they've been arming and paying both Hezb'allah and reportedly Hamas for some time now. The breakout of Hamas into Egypt is serious and gives them a safe haven from which to launch human wave attacks on Israel. And note that the reason for the Lebanon protests parallels that of the Gaza breakout.
#8
Plus Sadr's getting fiesty again, thereby threatening to pin down up US attention and troops within Iraq. Add in the recent boat feint and the pattern isn't a good one.
#9
Will this "Tet" like attack take place before or after the new President is elected? Bush is considered a "lame duck" perhaps the militants feel he will not be able to retaliate, or they want to test the new person.
#11
The Tet like offensive will take place after the new president takes office. That is the time of least preparedness, and they should realize that Bush will not hesitate to react. But then, we are talking muzzies here, and logic has never been their strong suit.
#12
I'm expecting a multi-front attack on Israel from Hamas, within Lebanon and on Israel by Hezb'allah and probably to coincide with something really provocative from Iran - nuclear test explosion, runs at ships in the Straits or terror attacks in Europe and US.
Ima agree that a pre-planed in-a-can multi-front attack on Israel is very likely lotp, but have you an idea as to when?
#13
first - Hamas isnt holding anything in Sinai, it looks like. Theyve probably used the cover of the civies buying food and stuff to get some more rocket materials in, and especially to get cash in, without which they will dissolve. Some AQ types may have made it into Sinai - I wouldnt go having a vacation at a Sinai resort anytime soon - but not enough for human wave attacks of any kind.
As for Leb riots being parallel, its really not. In Gaza Israel is using the cutoffs to counters a sustained rocket campaign - its a quasi war. In Beirut, it appears to just be the usual 3rd world problems keeping the lights on, which Hezb is using as an excuse to keep the shit stirred.
As for Iraq, I havent seen Muqty do anything since this announcement. I think hes trying to counter the steady attrition the coalition has been inflicting.
Look - from Gaza to Leb to Iraq to the Gulf, there are few places that Iran can do really major damage (well maybe Iraq, and the off chance they have long distance rockets in Gaza they havent used, or that they have agents in place in the west ready to do something on a 9/11 scale)
And the minute they do that, they shift the discourse on Iran in the US, and even to some extent in Europe. They shoot first, everybody to the right of Chomsky in the US will support shooting back - the debate would be over whats "proportionate". Pin prick response vs regime change. Or something in between.
And we'd probably have Sarko supporting us, for what thats worth ;)
#14
I know it hasn't really made much difference in the past but the muslim holy months, when they are not supposed to fight the infidels, ends on the next crescent moon.
That gives the observant ones the go ahead to attack from Feb 8th until approx. 5th July when the next holy month starts.
When Moses walked the children out of Egypt land
Said now don't you worry, we're in the Lord's hands
He's gonna walk beside us, the time is comin' near
He's gonna wash away all our misery and our fear
I got a feelin' in my body
This will be our lucky day
We'll be releasing all our sorrow
Leave it layin' along the way
When Daniel faced the lion there wasn't any doubt
You got to be like Daniel and the Lord will help us out
I got a feelin' in my body
This will be our lucky day
We'll be releasing all our sorrow
Leave it layin' along the way ...
#18
DF, I apologize if I gave the impression that I thought you were pollyannish. Wasn't what I meant --I just like that Elvis song and thought is was sort-of applicable ... I certainly hope and regularly pray for Israel's protection.
#19
Don't forget the recent noises out of A'stan about Iranian support of the anti-government factions there. Gaza, Lebanon, Sadr's bluster, the Straits speedboat taunts, and A'stan. Iran is rattling its cage in all directions right now - even if all they mean to do is 'rattle', at some point something will go beyond that and all Hell will break loose.
(Xinhua) -- Three protestors were killed during a gunfight which broke out between the Lebanese army and the demonstrators in southern suburb of Beirut on Sunday, local NBN TV channel reported.
Earlier report said Lebanese opposition movement Amal official Ali Hassan Hamzeh, who was participating in the protest over power blackout in the capital, was killed during the clash, which also left several others injured. Hamzeh, 35, was in charge of Hay Moawwad neighborhood of Beirut. A second Amal protestor and a third one from another opposition party Hezbollah were later killed during the clash, security sources were quoted as saying.
The gunfight broke out when the Lebanese army tried to disperse protestors who were blocking traffic with burning tires in Mar Mikhail - Al Cheyah in the southern suburb of Beirut. At around 4:00 p.m. (1400 GMT), some 50 demonstrators started burning tiers closing the road linking Mar Michael to Al Cheyah in protest against power cuts, chanting slogans against the government of Premier Fouad Seniora, local LBC TV reported. TV footage showed Lebanese army troops trying to disperse the protestors who tossed stones at soldiers, wounding one. The confrontation then developed into gunfire, and the army closed all roads leading to the area, with snipers were positioned on roofs in the area.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2008 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
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For the GSPC, the decision to join Al-Qaida meant the beginning of a rebellion in its ranks. In fact, according to a top French official cited recently by Le Monde and testimonies from several GSPC dissidents, for the past few months, 
Five armed terrorists have been killed in separate operations launched by Algerian security forces across the country over the last few days. The Algerian security forces are reported to have killed a GSPC terrorist ring-leader in the region of Boumerdes, 60 km east of Algiers and injured several others. Furthermore, two armed terrorists were shot dead Sunday in the Edough Mountains, after they refused to follow orders to surrender, security officials were quoted as saying on Monday. 
Security forces have distributed lists of 29 dangerous terrorists names and pictures in a number of police stations in Algeria. The lists contain the terrorists pseudonyms at the so-called Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb as human mobile bombs planned for potential suicide attacks. 
Turkish police have detained six more people in a crackdown on alleged Al Qaeda militants suspected of planning car bomb attacks in Turkey, the Anatolia news agency reported on Sunday.
Several children held hostage Monday by armed men in a remote Pakistani school were rescued hours later without being harmed, reports said.
PESHAWAR, Pakistan At least 30 students and teachers were taken hostage Monday when gunmen burst into a Pakistan high school, police said.
Pakistani forces recaptured a road tunnel leading to the volatile tribal belt on the Afghan border on Sunday, after killing around two dozen pro-Taliban militants in a fierce battle, the military said.
(Xinhua) -- The Pakistani authorities have arrested more suspects in connection with the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto on a tip from a detained suspect, a senior official said on Saturday. 
Influential members of 
Two US soldiers were killed in separate bombings in Baghdad, the military said on Sunday, AP reported. One soldier died on Sunday after his vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb in northeastern Baghdad, according to a statement. Another soldier was killed on Saturday by a bomb during a foot patrol near Kazimiyah, a predominantly Shia neighborhood in northern Baghdad, the military said separately. Identities were not released pending notification of relatives.
(Xinhua) -- Four Palestinians were wounded on Sunday night in two separate Israeli airstrikes on Islamic Hamas militant posts in southern Gaza Strip, medics and witnesses said. The witnesses said that two Apache attack helicopters and one F-16 warplane bombarded respectively two posts belonging to al-Qassam brigades, Hamas' armed wing, in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah. Medics said that four Palestinians that were injured had been evacuated to Abu Yosef al-Najjar Hospital in the town, adding that they were moderately injured.
Nine were killed and dozens injured when Hezbollah-led opposition supporters protested against the power blackouts and the living conditions throughout Lebanon today . The protests followed a massive bomb blast on Friday which killed a senior Lebanese intelligence officer and three others in the east of the capital. 
(Xinhua) -- Three protestors were killed during a gunfight which broke out between the Lebanese army and the demonstrators in southern suburb of Beirut on Sunday, local NBN TV channel reported. 
