Afghan security forces surrounded a house in the capital Kabul on Wednesday and traded gunfire with Taliban insurgents before blowing up the building and killing two militants as well as a woman and child inside, officials said. Earlier, an Interior Ministry official had said five Taliban militants blew themselves up in the house.
The two dead Taliban fighters were involved in a botched attempt to assassinate President Hamid Karzai on Sunday, but they had also received help from some government officials.
The two dead Taliban fighters were involved in a botched attempt to assassinate President Hamid Karzai on Sunday, but they had also received help from some government officials, senior ministers and a security official told a news conference. "Investigations make clear that the enemy had infiltrated to some extent into some of our security organs and those involved have been arrested with all their networks," said Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak.
The identities of those who helped facilitate the attack would be revealed after the president's approval, said the head of the National Directorate of Security (NDS), Amrullah Saleh.
Taliban gunmen fired rocket-propelled grenades and small arms at a state parade on Sunday sending President Hamid Karzai, his cabinet and the military top brass diving for cover. Three people were shot dead the before troops killed three Taliban attackers. Members of parliament as well as the Afghan public at large have questioned how the Afghan police and NDS could have allowed such a breach of security at such a high-profile event.
This article starring:
Amrullah Saleh
Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak
Posted by: Fred ||
05/01/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Taliban
#1
killing two four militants as well as including a woman and child
More than a thousand Marines, backed by artillery and helicopter gunships, stormed into this Taliban stronghold in southern Afghanistan before dawn yesterday. The operation, mounted by the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, opens a new American combat sweep across the region where the Taliban, ousted from power in 2001, have made a strong comeback.
As of last night, there were no reported Marine casualties. The assault was launched in stages from a base near Kandahar, where the Sept. 11 attacks were plotted. Thundering in low over the desert in CH-53 and twin-bladed CH-46 helicopters, the battalion's Alpha and Bravo companies landed just before a half moon rose to flood the desert with light. Each of the U.S. troops carried 100 to 150 pounds of weapons, ammunition and other supplies.
Simultaneously, a convoy of Marines in light armored vehicles attacked Taliban fortifications in a former agricultural school that U.S. intelligence officers said was being used as a major Taliban command post. An intense firefight lasted most of the day, until the Marines pushed the insurgents back into one area where an airstrike finished them off, military commanders said. By midmorning, Alpha and Bravo company Marines had seized several mud-walled compounds set amid lush poppy fields.
Outside one compound, Marines were just starting to push through a poppy field on a combat patrol when a rocket-propelled grenade whooshed past and exploded, accompanied by a rattle of small arms fire. Two young men were seen fleeing on a motorbike, but the Marines did not return fire because it was not clear they were the attackers.
Later, two insurgents fired on a pair of Marine scout helicopters. As cheering Marines watched, one of the Kiowa Warrior helicopters wheeled and killed the attackers with rockets.
Military officers said it was possible that the Taliban would simply melt away and return when the Marines are gone. But the Marines were prepared - and some eager - for the Taliban to come out in strength.
The operation is taking place in Afghanistan's rich poppy-growing region along the Helmand River, an area that produces more than 90 percent of the world's opium and is a major source of money for the Taliban. The roughly 8,000 British troops in this part of southern Afghanistan have been unable to extend their reach beyond these fields and south toward the Pakistan border some 75 miles south of Garmsir.
U.S. intelligence officers said the Taliban had seized this area and dug in to protect its smuggling routes for opium going south and for weapons, explosives and Islamist fighters coming north from Pakistan. Estimates of enemy numbers ranged from 150 to 300, with more Taliban reinforcements expected, U.S. officers said. "They know we're coming - but it's at a time and place of our own choosing," said a Marine officer just before the operation.
Facing the Marines were a mixture of what intelligence officers described as hard-core foreign fighters, local Afghans hired to be soldiers and younger trainees at a Taliban training camp. The intelligence officer said there is a "substantial" flow of non-Afghan fighters into Garmsir from Pakistan.
The Marines' operation originally was opposed by some British commanders and reportedly by the Helmand provincial governor. The British officers said local villagers were beginning to resist the Taliban's harsh rule, and they feared that fighting in Garmsir would cause the villagers to flee. The British eventually agreed to the operation, but only after days of delay that underscored the awkward multinational military command and a lack of a clear consensus on strategy.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/01/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Taliban
#1
As cheering Marines watched, one of the Kiowa Warrior helicopters wheeled and killed the attackers with rockets.
Sounds like the terrorists hardly had time to say "Oh $hit!". I can only hope this shows up on liveleak or something.
#2
TOPIX > US: GLOBAL TERROR ATTACKS INCREASING; + AL QAEDA USING PAKISTAN, AFRICA TO REBUILD LEADERSHIP AND NUMBERS + AL QAEDA IN NEW DRIVE TO ACQUIRE NUCLEAR WEAPONS.
#7
Remember that the British Special Forces are roaming the area, too, doing... things. The regular troops hold the attention, while forbidden to act, and issued few bullets. They must be jealous as all get-out.
A U.S. attack on a house in central Somalia killed at least 10 people, including the military leader of an Islamic militant group with close ties to al Qaeda, sources in the town said.
The strike targeted Adan Hashi Ayrow, the military commander of al-Shaabab, which is considered a terrorist organization by the United States, a U.S. official and a spokesman for the group said. Although U.S. officials were assessing whether Ayrow was killed, al-Shaabab spokesman Mukhtar Robow said Ayrow was killed in the strike along with Sheikh Muhudiin Moalin Omar, a high-ranking member of the militia.
Two-fer!
Clearly angry about the 3 a.m. strike on the town of Dhusomareb, town elder Elmi Arap told CNN that the house was demolished. He said 10 bodies had been counted, but the death toll could be higher because body parts were strewn about the rubble.
C'mon Elmi, you know the basics, two arms, two legs and a severed head equals 'one' ...
Robow said it was an airstrike but a U.S. official said it was a missile launched from either a Navy submarine or a ship.
Another U.S. official said the U.S. had been monitoring Ayrow for some time. Ayrow, who is believed to have fought against U.S. forces in Afghanistan, survived a U.S. airstrike in January 2007.
We only have to be lucky once ...
Robow held a telephone conference with journalists from an undisclosed location in Somalia.
"And don't you guys dare tell!"
The U.S. military has attacked several Islamic militants in the last few years in Somalia, including a strike in early March against a man thought to be an al Qaeda associate. In March, the U.S. State Department declared al-Shaabab a foreign terrorist organization. "Al-Shaabab is a violent and brutal extremist group with a number of individuals affiliated with al Qaeda," the State Department Web site states. "Many of its senior leaders are believed to have trained and fought with al Qaeda in Afghanistan."
Al-Shaabab is a splinter group of the Islamic Courts Union, which seized control of Somalia and its capital, Mogadishu, two years ago before being routed in Ethiopia's December 2006 invasion. Al-Shaabab fighters are waging fierce battles again across Somalia, seizing control of some small towns and battling to take back Mogadishu from the struggling Somalian government.
#2
According to an NPR report at midday, Mr. Ayrow trained with the "mujahidin" in Afghanistan (which I assume means Al Qaeda), and has been leading al-Shaabab (The Youth) for the last decade. A decade ago he and his lads were youths. His connection with Al Qaeda as of yesterday was more or less close, but his al-Shaabab has been effectively assassinating Somali politicians the entire time -- according to the NPR report they are the most viciously effective group in Somalia. The U.S. only put the group on our terrorist list a month ago, the first in-country as opposed to international terror group they've so designated, which was the occasion for much indignation by the reporter.
I don't know the quality of NPR's information, but there it is.
The man believed to be the head of al-Qaida in Somalia was killed in an overnight airstrike along with eight other people, an Islamic insurgent group said Thursday. The spokesman for the Islamic al-Shabab militia, Sheik Muqtar Robow, said the strike killed Aden Hashi Ayro, his brother and seven others at his house in the central Somali town of Dusamareeb, about 300 miles north of Mogadishu. Six more people were wounded.
"Our brother martyr Aden Hashi, has received what he was looking for death for the sake of Allah at the hands of the United States," Robow told The Associated Press by phone. "This would not deter us from continuing our holy war against Allah's enemy; we will be on the right way, that is why we are targeted. I call for our holy fighters to remain strong in their position and keep up the jihad," he added. It was not immediately clear who was behind the airstrike.
Somali government officials have said Ayro trained in Afghanistan before the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks and is the head of al-Qaida's cell in Somalia. He was a key figure in the al-Shabab movement, which aims to impose Islamic law and launches daily attacks on the shaky Somali government and their Ethiopian allies. Ayro also recently called for attacks on African peacekeepers in Somalia in a recording on an Islamic Web site.
Local resident Nur Geele said the attack occurred around 3 a.m. "We heard a huge explosion and when we ran out of our house we saw a ball of smoke and flames coming out of the house where one of the leaders of al-Shabab Aden Hashi Ayro was staying," he said.
#2
The preferred methodology is to apply liberal doses of weed killer to the sprouted weeds. No matter upon which property, they have taken up residence.
institutional change happens, when new leadership emerges, but its an iterated process, eventually the iterations mutate into fruitful branches, and wholesale adaptation begins.
#4
ADDITIONAL: Another resident, Nur Farah, said: "The bodies were beyond recognition, some of them cut into pieces, and those wounded have been severely burned."
U.S. Central Command spokesman Bob Prucha said the U.S. military attacked al-Qaida militants but would not confirm whether it was an airstrike and would not specifically name the target. "It was an attack. If we say too much, then we give away platforms and things that we use," he said in Miami, Florida. "It was an attack against a known al-Qaida target and militia leader in Somalia."
Sheik Muhidin Mohamud Omar, who Robow described as "a top commander" in al-Shabab, also was killed, the group said.
The attack occurred days before U.N.-sponsored peace talks Djibouti on May 10. But analysts say the strike is likely to harden extremists and make it more difficult to appeal to moderate elements in the Islamist movement. The attacks will heighten anti-Americanism, said Iise Ali Geedi, an analyst at Somali University. They may also weaken the prime minister's push to bring more militant elements into the talks _ a proposal the president opposes.
Posted by: Steve ||
05/01/2008 10:21 Comments ||
Top||
#5
" has received what he was looking for death for the sake of Allah at the hands of the United States,"
What amazes me is how they an tell the nation of origin of a 3am explosion. Sure it wasn't a "work accident"?
#7
The attacks will heighten anti-Americanism, said Iise Ali Geedi, an analyst at Somali University.
Now why didn't my college counsler tell me about the option of Somali U.???? Beaches, qat, loads of skinny chicks...man. O
h, and ain't it always the way (to the idjits at AP anyway, that whatever action we take in killing terrorist scum, that somehow this is going to inhibit the peace process. Frickin maroons.
#9
Well remoteman it might be closed. At least good old SNU has been.
The thirteen departments of Somali National University were:
Department Of Sharia Law
Department of Linguistics (Somali, Arabic, English, German and Italian)
Department of Livestock and Forest Management
Department of Education (Teaching College at Lafoole), 20 km west of Mogadishu
Department of Agriculture
Department of Geology and Mining
Department of Medicine (College of Medicine) near Digfeer Hospital
Department of Chemical/Industrial Engineering
Department of History
Department of Geography
Science Department
Department of Mathematics
Department of Public Health
The university has been closed indefinitely, due to extensive damage to its physical facilities, the difficulty of holding classes, and acquiring books or other resources in the violent capital of Somalia.
#11
Head of al-Qaida in Somalia said killed in airstrike
HA who needs Rendition!
When we can Do the Tenderize and Cook in Place Program! [sans the all important interviews of course which the demoCrap Congress wants no part of.
but ut-oh, We may still be in for it.... AI, The World Court at the Hague, the f'n United Nations, Southern Poverty Law center [LOL] and the appropriate demoCrap Committees will next excoriate the "DOD's Reach Out and Touch an Al-Qaeda Terrorist Program."
Here is how the Civilized Lebanese Don't Water Board al-Qaeda mass murders!
This cell phone action was taken from Nahr al-Bared refugee camp last year during the Lebs protracted thingy with Paleo and Paleo-Fatah-al-Islam [al-Qaeda IOW]
Here is how the Civilized Lebanese Don't Water Board al-Qaeda mass murders!
MOGADISHU (Rooters) - Two senior leaders of Somalia's Islamist movement were killed when four planes dropped bombs over the house they were staying in early Thursday morning, an Islamist commander said. "It is true that infidel planes bombed Dusamareb. Two of our important people, including Aden Hashi Eyrow, were killed in the incident," Mukhtar Robow Adumansur, a senior commander of the Islamists, told a deeply saddened Reuters.
Ululululululu!
The leaders belonged to al Shabaab, the military wing of a sharia courts movement ousted at the end of 2006, that is on a U.S. list of terrorist organizations.
Stupid Americans with their stupid lists. Feh.
"An American plane bombed the house of al Shaabab leader Aden Hashi Eyrow," one resident told Reuters.
"I seen it wit' my own eyes! Then it flew close to the ground and carried off all my goats!"
"I could see pieces of human bodies lying outside the house. It was difficult to go in because of hard boyz heavily armed Islamists guarding the area."
Another resident said the town was woken up by two loud explosion at about 2 a.m. "When we came out, we saw a home in the neighborhood entirely destroyed by two missiles fired by planes flying over us. We counted four planes," said Amina Warsame, a resident of the town that is in central Somalia.
Branded terrorists by Washington, al Shabaab has led a noble and of course Legitimate Iraq-style insurgency against the government and its Æthiop allies since early 2007. The insurgency began when the Islamic Courts Union, of which Al Shabaab was a part, lost control of Mogadishu.
Those were the days, my friend. We thought they'd never end.
#4
"Bits of human flesh are scattered on the ruins of the building," witness Farah Hussein told Reuters. "People are counting the skulls to know the exact figure."
How wonderfully gruesome...
Another local said residents were woken at 2 a.m. 2300 GMT Wednesday) by two huge blasts and counted four planes overhead. Local broadcaster Shabelle said they were U.S. AC-130 gunships.
Four AC-130's? I doubt it. If it were true, I doubt there'd be anybody left to tell the tale.
Capt. Jamie Graybeal, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command, confirmed there was a U.S. airstrike early Thursday in the vicinity of Dusamareeb. Another U.S. military spokesman, Bob Prucha, said the attack was against a "known al-Qaida target and militia leader in Somalia." Both declined to provide further details.
But another U.S. defense official confirmed that the military launched a missile strike targeting Ayro at about 3 a.m. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the record.
But your an AP reporter so I guess it'll be okay...
#6
Does anyone know if we have a carrier off the coast of Somalia? Either this was a four-ship strike of F/A-18s, or it was a single-ship B-1 or B-2 strike, and all the whinging is goat puckey.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
05/01/2008 14:19 Comments ||
Top||
#7
It is true that infidel human planes bombed Dusamareb.
Posted by: James Samuel ||
05/01/2008 14:50 Comments ||
Top||
#8
NPR said we have a carrier in the vicinity, Old Patriot. I've no idea how good that information is, though.
Ethiopian armed forces deployed in Somalia indiscriminately opened gunfire on unarmed civilians Wednesday in the middle of Baidoa, an inland city 250km northwest of the capital Mogadishu, witnesses reported. At least 12 civilians were reported dead after the Ethiopian soldiers opened gunfire in panic, following a deadly roadside bomb that targeted a truck transporting water to a nearby Ethiopian army base. Eyewitnesses confirmed to Garowe Online that they saw the dead bodies of three Ethiopian soldiers lying on the ground after the explosion.
Medical contacts at Baidoa general hospital could not give an exact number of wounded people admitted today, but indicated that more injured civilians were being brought in. Baidoa locals said tens of civilians, including students, were attending to their daily livelihoods at the center of town when the deadly explosion and subsequent gunfire suddenly erupted.
No group has claimed responsibility for the roadside bomb, but Baidoa police officials linked the attack to Islamist-led insurgents waging war on Somalia's interim government and Ethiopian military backers.
An Ethiopian army officer in Mogadishu privately told the AFP news agency that Ethiopian soldiers did not shoot the civilians. "Seventeen civilians were killed by the blast that was very heavy. We lost one of our soldiers," the anonymous army commander claimed, according to the AFP report.
Late Monday, six people - four Ethiopian soldiers and two civilians - were killed when a landmine hit an army convoy. Witnesses reported that Ethiopian soldiers shot to death one of the dead civilians.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/01/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Islamic Courts
Mauritanian security forces recaptured five suspected al Qaeda militants on Wednesday including a fugitive accused of killing four French tourists, officials said.
The December 24 killing of the French tourists and a shooting attack against the Israeli embassy in Mauritania's capital Nouakchott in February raised fears of a rise in Islamic militant violence in the traditionally sleepy Saharan state. Those arrested in Wednesday's operation included Sidi Ould Sidna, a suspect in the slaying of the French tourists, whose escape from police custody outside a courtroom this month led to a nationwide manhunt and a series of raids on suspected militant hideouts.
Chief prosecutor Mohamed Abadllahi Ould Tiyib said Sidna was detained along with another suspect, Khadim Ould Semane, who is accused of masterminding the Israeli embassy attack. "The two most important suspects have been arrested. I have seen them. They are in detention at the gendarmerie," he said.
A security source said three others were also detained. "Several searches are under way and those detained have been transferred to a high security location," said the source, who asked not to be named.
This article starring:
Khadim Ould Semane
al-Qaeda in North Africa
Mohamed Abadllahi Ould Tiyib
Sidi Ould Sidna
al-Qaeda in North Africa
Posted by: Fred ||
05/01/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in North Africa
A court here yesterday sentenced four members of outlawed militant outfit Jamaatul Mujaheedin Bangladesh (JMB) to 26 years' rigorous imprisonment (RI) each for bomb attack on the court of the then Chittagong Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Akram Hossain in October 2005.
Judge Shafiqul Karim of Chittagong Divisional Speedy Trial Tribunal gave this judgement.
JMB chief Abdur Rahman and JMB military chief Ataur Rahman Sunny were dropped from the trial as both were executed following an earlier verdict, sources said.
JMB activists Laltu and Shahadat on October 3 in 2005 hurled a bomb at CMM Akram Hossain's courtroom on the ground floor of Chittagong Court Building. People present there caught the two while they were fleeing and Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) later caught Jabed Iqbal.
Sources said the three gave confessional statement admitting their involvement in the bomb attack. Charges in the case were pressed on May 8, 2006, accusing six. Five witnesses gave their deposition.
Jhenidah Special Tribunal yesterday sentenced two JMB activists to life-term rigorous imprisonment (RI) under Explosives Act. Md Kamrul Hossain Molla judge of the special tribunal court pronounced this verdict
The accused are Abu Hasan Biswas of Ullapara village under Kaliganj upazila and Zakir Hossain alias Razu of Kanyadah village under Harinakunda upazila in Jhenidah district.
On April 21 in 2007, Rapid Action Battalion arrested Abu Hasan and Zakir from Ullapara village, goes the prosecution. On their confessional statement, they recovered 140 Gram aluminium powder, 900 gram potassium chlorite, two kg explosives, iron used in fishing net, black tape and 30 booklets on Jihad and Taliban movement, 20 magazines, 20 audio cassettes, two pieces of magnet, it added.
The arrestees confessed to their involvement in JMB activities. Following a case filed with Kaliganj Police Station, SI Mokammel Ali submitted a charge sheet with the court after investigation.
This article starring:
ABU HASAN BISWAS
JMB
Md Kamrul Hossain Molla
SI Mokammel Ali
ZAKIR HUSEIN ALIAS RAZU
JMB
Posted by: Fred ||
05/01/2008 00:00 ||
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The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) yesterday started quizzing Harkat-ul-Jihad (Huji) leader Arif Hasan Suman in connection with the Ramna Batamul blast during Pahela Baishakh celebration on April 14, 2001.
CID Inspector Abu Hena Mohammad Yusuf took Suman, who is also an accused in August 21 grenade attack on Awami League rally in 2004, to their custody in the afternoon. Suman was produced before a court on April 28 with a prayer for a remand of 10 days, but the court granted three days. We will quiz him to collect information about the entire plan of the blast and the names of those behind the brutal incident, said the CID inspector while talking to The Daily Star.
Earlier, Huji boss Mufti Hannan in his confessional statement said Suman was the carrier of the bombs exploded at Ramna Batamul. Intelligence officials said though Suman confessed to his involvement in August 21 grenade attack before the magistrate on April 25, they are not satisfied with his statement. They would thumpbeatwhack interrogate Suman for more information about the August 21 grenade attack during his remand. The Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) sources said they will also take Suman to TFI cell for squeezing in connection with the AL rally attack case.
Hmmm... How's his heart? He doesn't look too healthy to me. Sure do hope he doesn't die of heart failure whilst being moved.
I hear the stairwell leading to the TFI cell is a little slippery. Especially when mopped and waxed. Be careful in that stairwell, Suman ...
This article starring:
ARIF HASAN SUMAN
Harkat-ul-Jihad
Inspector Abu Hena Mohammad Yusuf
MUFTI HANNAN
Harkat-ul-Jihad
Posted by: Fred ||
05/01/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: HUJI
#1
not to mention the exposed wiring and wet floor in the interrogation cell. Oughtta get an electrician and plumber to look at it
someday
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/01/2008 19:43 Comments ||
Top||
Islamabad's deal with militias in tribal belt seen as threat to troops in Afghanistan
ISLAMABAD Afghan and NATO fears over Pakistan's peace initiative with militants in its tribal border region appeared justified yesterday when Afghan authorities said the area was used to plan Sunday's assassination attempt on President Hamid Karzai.
Pakistan's tribal belt, which runs along the border with Afghanistan and is known as the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, was also pinpointed yesterday in a U.S. State Department report, which said the area was used by al-Qaeda to rebuild after a previous ceasefire there.
There is increasing concern among NATO and Afghan forces that the new deal that emerged last week in the FATA would endanger troops fighting Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan, as Pakistan's army would withdraw, allowing the region to be used to stage cross-border attacks.
"To make peace with one part [of the Taliban] and not the other part is a worry for the entire world," Mohammad Anwar Anwarzai, Afghanistan's ambassador to Pakistan, said in an interview. "It is giving them [Pakistani militants] carte blanche to do whatever you want, but not here [in Pakistan]."
Afghanistan's intelligence chief, Amrullah Saleh, said yesterday that the plot to kill Mr. Karzai was launched in the FATA. But he added there was no evidence that Pakistan's government or its intelligence agencies were involved.
"We have no evidence whether ... the operation has had any mercy or go-ahead from the government of Pakistan and [its] special agencies," Mr. Saleh told reporters in Kabul. "There [is] very, very strong evidence suggesting that Pakistan's soil once again has been used to inflict pain on our nation."
The militants involved in the weekend plot were in phone contact with people in Pakistan's Bajaur and North Waziristan, both areas of the FATA, and the main northwestern city of Peshawar, he said.
Investigators took action closer to the attack site yesterday, raiding a Kabul hideout where militants with suspected links to the Karzai attack were holed up, a top official said. Seven people died in the predawn raid, including a child.
Two militants, a woman and a child were among those killed, Mr. Saleh said. Three intelligence agents also died. One of the dead militants had supplied weapons used in the attack on Mr. Karzai, he said, adding that the raid was part of a wider operation in which six other militant suspects were detained in two other locations in the capital.
Even before the assassination attempt, the effect of the FATA talks was already being felt in Afghanistan. Attacks originating from Pakistani territory doubled in March and April, according to a Western diplomat in Islamabad who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the subject. An unofficial ceasefire has been in place in South Waziristan since February.
NATO commanders in Afghanistan and the Afghan government fear that the renewed attacks may be only the initial fallout from the new peace initiative. An even bigger fear looms this time: After the Pakistani army pulls out, militants might use the tribal areas to plot terrorist attacks against the United States and Europe.
"You're giving time and space to people to rebuild, regroup in the border area," the Western diplomat said. "You could see terrorists trained there for attacks in London or wherever."
Under the terms of the proposed pact, the Pakistani army would gradually reduce its presence in South Waziristan. In return, tribal leaders would pledge to halt acts of terrorism in Pakistan and stop attacking government personnel and installations in the area.
Western and Afghan officials dread a repeat of two previous peace deals, in 2005 in South Waziristan and in 2006 in North Waziristan. Washington and Kabul believe that the withdrawal of the Pakistani army after those accords allowed Afghan and Pakistani Taliban to use Waziristan to launch attacks against NATO forces in Afghanistan, and also gave al-Qaeda a sanctuary in which to regroup. The latest agreement appears to put no obligation on the tribes to prevent their areas being used to attack Afghanistan.
The new South Waziristan deal would be one of a patchwork of similar agreements hammered out with tribal chiefs in the FATA agencies. Pakistani officials have said that the difference between the proposed new accords in Waziristan and the previous deals is that, this time, they're done with the tribal chiefs, not the militants.
Mr. Mehsud, however, has acted as if he's a central part of that process, responding to the talks first by ordering his men last week to cease attacks on security forces and then by saying on Monday that he was pulling out of the talks - which was most likely an attempt to win better terms.
KOHAT, April 30: The local Taliban retook control of Darra Adamkhel after talks between the administration and tribal elders to guarantee safety of the Indus Highway were deadlocked.
The militants continued their activities in the area despite the presence of security forces. A military pick-up carrying two personnel of armys engineering corps was captured by militants on Monday. The two kidnapped army men were later freed, but the vehicle was not returned.
The administration served a notice on the Sheraki tribe under the collective responsibility clause of the FCR on Tuesday, asking them to find the vehicle and hand over the militants involved in the incident.
The militants are again searching vehicles and commuters on the Indus Highway and two masked militants killed a man in Akhorwal area, accusing him of being involved in drug smuggling. They have started collecting a tax, of Rs1,000 for each truck leaving the coalmine for their daily expenses.
Assistant Political Agent of the Frontier Region of Kohat Saeed Khattak told Dawn that the administration had called a meeting of tribes from areas along the Indus Highway and the Kohat Friendship Tunnel to discuss measures for protecting local people.
In the past, the militants kidnapped several travellers and killed them.
Mr Khattak said the crisis could be resolved only if tribal elders cooperated with the administration and identified the militants hiding in the area. He said if the elders did not cooperate, the government would be left with no alternative but to arrest them under the Clause 21 of the FCR to restore order in the area.
Taliban militants had hijacked five ammunition trucks of the army on Feb 23 and a military operation was launched on Feb 25 for recovering the ammunition. During the week-long operation, a number of security personnel and Taliban were killed.
The administration kept troops in the mountains area around Darra Adamkhel but pulled out tanks last week after which the Taliban returned to the area
Posted by: john frum ||
05/01/2008 06:50 ||
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Top|| File under:
#1
something doesn't smell right here.
Take out the tanks and then they grab ammo trucks and a town... this after (spit)"talks"(spit)!.
#2
The Pakistanis aren't going to do anything more about this insult to their sovereignty than they have done about previous insults. The locals aren't going to fight a useless battle.
#3
Pound it to scrap with an ARCLIGHT strike. Dump leaflets saying the same thing will happen to any town the "Taliban" "take". Tell phakestan that since they cannot or will not stop the nonsense, they are useless, and the United States will take responsibility for eliminating the taliban from the tribal areas. Then crush the area so completely the locals left alive will pray for the return of the British Raj. Oh, and somebody stick a bayonette up Karzai's a$$ when he starts trying to dictate terms.
We are a world power being bled dry by PCism and stupidity. It's time we went back to what works - killing people and breaking things until our enemies are all dead or are willing to surrender totally. That was Truman's mistake in Korea, the US' mistake in Vietnam, and it's our mistake in dealing with these religious nutjobs. Making the same mistake time after time and expecting things to be different is insanity. It's time it stopped.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
05/01/2008 15:17 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Hear! Hear!
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
05/01/2008 16:09 Comments ||
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Rebel cleric Mullah Fazlullah said on Wednesday that he is ready for talks with the government. In a speech broadcast on his illegal FM radio station, he said that the government must show sincerity in its efforts for peace to ensure successful negotiations. He also vowed to continue the struggle for the implementation of Shariah law in the Malakand Division and urged the people of the region to support his cause. Fazlullah claimed that some elements were attempting to sabotage the peace efforts by creating misunderstanding between the government and the Taliban. This was the first transmission by Fazlullahs radio station since it was shut down by troops during the military operation last year.
This article starring:
MULLAH FAZLULLAH
TNSM
Posted by: Fred ||
05/01/2008 00:00 ||
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Security forces in Indian-held Kashmir (IHK) shot and killed a senior leader of militant group Harkatul Mujahideen late on Tuesday, police said.
Police identified the dead militant as Sajad Afghani, chief operations commander of Harkat. Afghani was killed in an abandoned hospital building in Sopore town, north of Srinagar, a day after the financial chief of Hizbul Mujahideen, the regions main militant group, was shot dead, police reported. A policeman and a suspected militant were shot dead south of Srinagar on Tuesday, according to police. Harkatul Mujahideen has been fighting against Indian troops for more than a decade in the Himalayan region. This year nearly a dozen senior militants have been killed during gun battles in the troubled region, according to police.
This article starring:
SAJAD AFGHANI
Harkatul Mujahideen
Posted by: Fred ||
05/01/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Monday's carcass...
Posted by: john frum ||
05/01/2008 6:37 Comments ||
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#2
Posted by: john frum ||
05/01/2008 6:37 Comments ||
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#3
Posted by: john frum ||
05/01/2008 6:38 Comments ||
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#4
"monday's carcass" - that's cold, John. I love it!
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/01/2008 7:08 Comments ||
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The apparent respite in yesterday's fighting was illusionary as US forces killed an additional 27 Mahdi Army fighters and a senior Special Groups leader during a series of engagements in the afternoon in Sadr City. One of the larger clashes occurred as US force were attacked while constructing the barrier that divides the southern portion of Sadr city where US and Iraqi troops have established a foothold.
The fighting began just before noon as Mahdi Army fighters attacked US troops with rocket propelled grenades and small arms fire as they were building the concrete security barrier in Sadr City. US soldiers responded and killed three Mahdi fighters. Ten minutes later, US troops killed seven Mahdi Army fighters as they attacked the soldiers with mortars and machine guns. No US casualties were reported killed in either incident.
US troops killed another 17 Mahdi Army fighters in a series of engagements throughout the day as they transported weapons, set up rockets for launching, planted roadside bombs, and attacked US troops in Sadr City.
Coalition Special Forces also conducted a daylight strike today inside Sadr City. A Coalition airstrike targeted a "known Iranian-sponsored senior Special Groups leader" inside Sadr City this afternoon Baghdad time. "According to our operational reports the 'Special Groups leader' ... was killed," Multinational Forces Iraq responded in an email inquiry by The Long War Journal. The Special Groups are Iranian-trained, financed, and armed elements of the Mahdi Army.
The Mahdi Army has taken heavy casualties in Sadr City since the fighting broke out on March 25. According to US and Iraqi reports compiled by The Long War Journal, 463 Mahdi Army fighters have been killed in and around Sadr City. These numbers do not include Mahdi Army fighters who may have died after receiving wounds during the fighting.
A buildup in Sadr City
The US and Iraqi military have rapidly built up their forces in and around Sadr City over the past several weeks. Two Iraqi Army brigades and elements from an Iraqi armored brigade and an Iraqi National Police brigade, along with eight US Army battalions have been reported in military press releases to be operating inside Sadr City over the past several weeks. In early April, only two US Army battalions, and Iraqi Army brigade, and elements from an Iraqi National Police brigade were known to be operating inside Sadr City.
A US Army brigade, three Iraqi National Police brigades, and an Iraqi Army brigade are also operating in the neighborhoods adjacent to Sadr City. This unprecedented buildup of forces indicates the Iraqi government and the US military are serious about advancing into Sadr City beyond the southern third of the district being hemmed in by the security barriers being erected.
42nd Brigade, 11th Iraqi Army Division
44th Brigade, 11th Iraqi Army Division
Elements from the 35th Tank Brigade, 9th Iraqi Army Mechanized Division
Iraqi Police:
Elements from the 8th Brigade, 2nd National Police Division
BAGHDAD The strong working relationship between Multi-National Division Baghdad and the Sons of Iraq (Abna al-Iraq) led directly to the capture of key terrorist at approximately 9 p.m. April 28.
During a meeting with a local sheik and other citizens, a Sons of Iraq member indicated that a known key terrorist was nearby. The SoI member detained two suspects and turned them over to MND-B soldiers for further identification. No name yet, ummmmh?
They can say no more.
One of the suspects was positively identified as a high-ranking member of al-Qaeda of Iraq. The captured terrorist is a prominent member of an al-Qaeda in Iraq cell that operates in Baghdad and the southern outskirts of Baghdad.
The suspect is reportedly known for vehicle-borne improvised-explosive device attacks, improvised-explosive device attacks, sniper attacks on Coalition Forces, the kidnapping and murder of Iraqis, and weapons trafficking. He has been directly implicated as a key operator in an attack on Coalition forces at a checkpoint in which a vehicle-borne improvised-explosive device, under his direction, was responsible for the killing of three MND-B soldiers.
The Abna al-Iraq again prove to be heroes of the day; they found this extremely dangerous terrorist and took him off the streets, said Maj. Al Hing, spokesperson for 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division. His actions directly led to the deaths of both U.S. Soldiers and Iraqi citizens.
Detaining him and taking him out of the al-Qaeda terrorist network will hamper the foreign-led groups ability to carry out indiscriminate attacks against the Iraqi people, Iraqi Security Forces and Coalition forces. The partnership between the Abna al-Iraq and Coalition forces, working together to capture this known terrorist, makes for a safer and more stable Iraq.
Soldiers from MND-B continue to work with the Iraqi Security Forces and conduct operations to maintain pressure on al-Qaeda in Iraq and any other foreign terrorists and Special Groups criminals by targeting their leadership, networks and sanctuaries.
And no doubt we will soon hear of the carnage in the baby duck and fluffy bunny community.
BAGHDAD, Iraq Coalition forces conducted a precision airstrike in Sadr City against a known Iranian-sponsored senior Special Groups leader at 2:17 p.m. today.
So he's not so special anymore, is he ...
Acting on intelligence information, Coalition forces targeted a known Special Groups leader responsible for criminal acts against Iraqi citizens and Coalition forces.
Coalition forces take every precaution to minimize collateral damage when conducting operations. Best advice: If you don't want to be collateral damage, don't hang around with Special Groups targets.
Of course, the damage to the 'special groups leader' wasn't collateral ...
Coalition forces will continue to seek out suspected criminals such as this individual who threaten the security of Iraqi citizens and who undermine the sovereignty of Iraq, said Cmdr. Scott Rye, MNF-I spokesman.
Diala, Apr 30, (VOI) - Twenty al-Qaeda network fighters were killed during a joint U.S.-Iraqi operation conducted in Diala, the province police chief said. Police forces backed by Multi-National troops conducted a military operation in the region between Baladruz and Kaanan district of Baquba city, Brig. Gen Ghanim al-Qureishi, Diala police chief, told Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq - (VOI).
The police official pointed out 20 al-Qaeda network fighters, including six commanders who were non-Iraqi Arab nationals, were killed in the operation. Baaquba, the capital city of Diala province, lies 57 km north-east Baghdad.
Earlier, the operation site saw the abduction of a minibus carrying Diala University students by an armed group believed to be al-Qaeda network ten days ago, but who were later released on the same day.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/01/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Iraq
#3
I'm a little concerned that twenty plus al Queda are still turning up tits-up en masse in Diyala. It suggests that they still can get that far south-east in organized platoon numbers.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
05/01/2008 8:50 Comments ||
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#4
Mitch - or maybe southWEST - if they are part of the AQ supposedly being supported by Iran.
Baghdad, Apr 30, (VOI) - The killing of a U.S. soldier in a roadside bombing in Baghdad pushed the death toll for U.S. troops in April up to 47, making it the deadliest month since September 2007, the military said Wednesday.
A Multi-National Division Baghdad soldier was killed from wounds sustained from an improvised explosive device during a dismounted patrol in northern Baghdad on April 30, said a U.S. military statement received by Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq. The statement did not give a more specific location.
The death bring the number of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq since the beginning of military operations in March 2003 to 4059. Of this number, 47 soldiers have been so far killed in April, marking it as the deadliest month since September 2007.
29 soldiers were killed in February 2008, while 40 were killed in January 2008. December 2007 saw the death of 23, thus becoming the month with the second lowest number of U.S. fatalities after February 2004 during which 20 soldiers were killed.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/01/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Iraqi Insurgency
#1
Quagmire Redux!
Posted by: Bobby ||
05/01/2008 11:38 Comments ||
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A Hamas terrorist involved in the capture of IDF soldier Gilad Schalit was killed Thursday in an IAF strike in southern Gaza, the IDF said. Hamas said the strike targeted a car carrying three of its members. It said the first missile missed the vehicle, and one of the terrorists escaped unharmed. Another man was reported wounded by the group.
Palestinian health officials said one man was killed, while a second man and a woman passerby were slightly wounded. Islamic Jihad initially misidentified the dead man as one of its members because of confusion with names.
The IDF confirmed that its target, Nafez Mansur, was hit in an air strike in the Rafah area. The army stated that as well as the June 2006 cross-border raid in which Schalit was captured, Manzur was also a member of the terror cell that executed the suicide bombing attack at the Kerem Shalom border crossing on Passover. He was also involved in planning numerous attacks by Hamas and in firing rockets at Israel, continued the army.
An Israel Air Force aircraft attacked a metal workshop in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday, killing an Islamic Jihad top militant and wounding three other people, Palestinian officials said.
The attack came as Palestinian militant groups agreed in principle to a cease-fire with Israel. Shortly before the air strike, Hamas' prime minister in the Gaza Strip, Ismail Haniyeh, had said the "ball is in the Israeli court" to keep to the terms of the truce.
The IDF confirmed the air strike in Rafah, a town located next to the Egyptian border. Residents said the air strike targeted a metal workshop close to border crossing with Egypt. Metal workshops are often used by militants to make homemade rockets. One witness said three helicopters hovered over the southern Gaza town and were fired at by Palestinian militants on the ground before the air strike took place.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/01/2008 00:00 ||
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Military officials say about 300 marine and army commandoes battled 200 militants overnight, seizing the camp on Jolo island early Wednesday morning. A heavy artillery and mortar bombardment preceded the attack. There was no immediate word on casualties or on whether any militants were captured.
Commanders describe the strike as a "surgical assault" and said it was ordered after intelligence indicated an unusual gathering of top Abu Sayyaf leaders - an indication that they were planning a major attack. Another important figure, Umar Patek, of the Indonesian-based Jemaah Islamiyah group, was also thought to be at the base.
The military says it found bomb-making supplies in the camp.
Abu Sayyaf is believed to have about 300 to 400 fighters - down from a peak of about one-thousand several years ago.
But military spokesman Major Eugene Batara says completely wiping out the group is hard because of the dense jungle on Jolo, and the militants' ability to blend in with the local community. "It is hard for us to get to Abu Sayyaf because they are very mobile and the terrain in Jolo is really very difficult for the armed forces to go in. It is heavily forested and the terrain is in favor of the enemy because they live in that place," he explained.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/01/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
when I think: "surgical strike", I don't usually think: "heavy artillery and mortar bombardment preceding the attack"
not that there's anything wrong with that
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/01/2008 6:25 Comments ||
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#2
When I think of 'Jolo' I think of one particular club that used to be in Olonagpo, Sadly it burnt to the ground one dark and stormy winter night. No donkeys were harmed.....
Sri Lankan security forces shot dead at least 10 Tamil Tiger rebels amid artillery duels in the north, the defence ministry said Wednesday. Three soldiers were hurt in the fighting in the Mannar and Vavuniya regions, the ministry said. There was no immediate comment on the report from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), who have been fighting govearnment troops since 1972 for a separate state for minority Tamils. However, the LTTE said unidentified gunmen shot dead a Tamil medical student in Jaffna on Tuesday night. The latest figures raised the number of rebels killed since January to 3,204, according to the defence ministry, which says 233 soldiers have died in the same period. Casualty figures from both sides vary widely and cannot be independently verified as Colombo bars reporters and rights groups from travelling to the embattled areas. Tens of thousands have died in the conflict, one of Asias longest running wars.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/01/2008 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.
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.
More than a thousand Marines, backed by artillery and helicopter gunships, stormed into this Taliban stronghold in southern Afghanistan before dawn yesterday. The operation, mounted by the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, opens a new American combat sweep across the region where the Taliban, ousted from power in 2001, have made a strong comeback.
A U.S. attack on a house in central Somalia killed at least 10 people, including the military leader of an Islamic militant group with close ties to al Qaeda, sources in the town said.
The man believed to be the head of al-Qaida in Somalia was killed in an overnight airstrike along with eight other people, an Islamic insurgent group said Thursday. The spokesman for the Islamic al-Shabab militia, 
MOGADISHU (Rooters) - Two senior leaders of Somalia's Islamist movement were killed when four planes dropped bombs over the house they were staying in early Thursday morning, an Islamist commander said. "It is true that infidel planes bombed Dusamareb. Two of our important people, including 
Mauritanian security forces recaptured five suspected al Qaeda militants on Wednesday including a fugitive accused of killing four French tourists, officials said.
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) yesterday started quizzing 
ISLAMABAD Afghan and NATO fears over Pakistan's peace initiative with militants in its tribal border region appeared justified yesterday when Afghan authorities said the area was used to plan Sunday's assassination attempt on President Hamid Karzai.
KOHAT, April 30: The local Taliban retook control of Darra Adamkhel after talks between the administration and tribal elders to guarantee safety of the Indus Highway were deadlocked.
Rebel cleric 
Security forces in Indian-held Kashmir (IHK) shot and killed a senior leader of militant group 
The apparent respite in yesterday's fighting was illusionary as US forces killed an additional 27 Mahdi Army fighters and a senior Special Groups leader during a series of engagements in the afternoon in Sadr City. One of the larger clashes occurred as US force were attacked while constructing the barrier that divides the southern portion of Sadr city where US and Iraqi troops have established a foothold.
US Army:
BAGHDAD The strong working relationship between Multi-National Division Baghdad and the Sons of Iraq (Abna al-Iraq) led directly to the capture of key terrorist at approximately 9 p.m. April 28. 
Diala, Apr 30, (VOI) - Twenty al-Qaeda network fighters were killed during a joint U.S.-Iraqi operation conducted in Diala, the province police chief said. Police forces backed by Multi-National troops conducted a military operation in the region between Baladruz and Kaanan district of Baquba city, Brig. Gen Ghanim al-Qureishi, Diala police chief, told Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq - (VOI).
Baghdad, Apr 30, (VOI) - The killing of a U.S. soldier in a roadside bombing in Baghdad pushed the death toll for U.S. troops in April up to 47, making it the deadliest month since September 2007, the military said Wednesday.
A Hamas terrorist involved in the capture of IDF soldier Gilad Schalit was killed Thursday in an IAF strike in southern Gaza, the IDF said. Hamas said the strike targeted a car carrying three of its members. It said the first missile missed the vehicle, and one of the terrorists escaped unharmed. Another man was reported wounded by the group. 
An Israel Air Force aircraft attacked a metal workshop in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday, killing an Islamic Jihad top militant and wounding three other people, Palestinian officials said. 
