KABUL, Afghanistan Helicopters and a bomber attacked terrorists insurgents massing in eastern Afghanistan under cover of darkness, killing an estimated 33 people, the U.S.-led coalition said Tuesday.
Reconnaissance aircraft spotted 'large groupings' of terrorists insurgents armed with heavy machine-guns and rocket-propelled grenades on Monday night in Khost province, the coalition said. 'After positively identifying the terrorists militants, coalition forces engaged them with attack helicopters and a close air support bomber, killing approximately 33 terrorists militants,' spokesman 1st Lt. Nathan Perry said.
Fighting between terrorists militants and security forces is intensifying in the southern half of Afghanistan. More than 2,100 people died in the violence in the first six months, according to an Associated Press tally.
An Afghan army officer said the clash in Khost began when Taliban terrorists militants attacked coalition and Afghan forces patrolling in Tani, a district on the border with Pakistan.
Col. Mohammed Israr, a battalion commander in Khost, said Afghan intelligence reports put the number of terrorists enemy dead at about 20. Israr also said that the group of about 50 militants had crossed from Pakistan, where some Taliban and Al Qaeda terrorists militants seek refuge, and retreated in that direction under heavy coalition fire.
However, Perry said the clash took place about five miles from the frontier and 'did not involve Pakistan.'
Most of those killed in the violence this year have been terrorists militants, who suffer heavy losses when caught in the open by coalition aircraft. However, foreign troop deaths are also rising as terrorists militants get more effective at ambushes and roadside bombings. At least 45 international troops died in Afghanistan in June, the deadliest month since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion to oust the Taliban.
Police said a roadside bomb killed four officers and seriously wounded two others on Monday as they drove to the aid of colleagues under terrorist militant attack near Tirin Kot, the capital of Uruzgan province.
In neighboring Zabul province, police said they killed five Taliban terrorists fighters who attacked a police post in Daichopan district before dawn Tuesday. The U.S.-led coalition said its troops shot dead one terrorist militant and detained four during an operation Monday to disrupt Taliban terrorist activities in southwestern Nimroz province.
#11
They are mutants only if the pink mist spontaneously reassembles.
Posted by: ed ||
07/01/2008 18:40 Comments ||
Top||
#12
MM must play UT
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/01/2008 19:15 Comments ||
Top||
#13
They are mutants only if the pink mist spontaneously reassembles
well, I think we can put that "lowwwww" on the possible outcomes
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/01/2008 19:21 Comments ||
Top||
#14
WAFF.com thread > PAKISTAN [NOW OR NEVER]. Poster argues that looming Fall of Peshawar + surroinding areas to TALIBAN-ISLAMIST MILITANT forces may induce an eventual BREAKUP OF PAKISTAN INTO SMALLER BUT INDEPENDENT/SOVEREIGN PUSHTUN + BALOCH REGIONS, wid KASHMIR becom absorbed by INDIA???
KABUL, Afghanistan - Militants killed more U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan in June than in Iraq for the second straight month, a grim milestone capping a run of headline-grabbing insurgent attacks that analysts say underscore the Taliban's growing strength.
The fundamentalist militia in June staged a sophisticated jailbreak that freed 886 prisoners, then briefly infiltrated a strategic valley outside Kandahar. Last week, a Pentagon report forecast the Taliban would maintain or increase its pace of attacks, which are already up 40 percent this year from 2007 where U.S. troops operate along the Pakistan border.
Some observers say the insurgency has gained dangerous momentum. And while June also saw the international community meet in Paris to pledge $21 billion in aid, an Afghanistan expert at New York University warns that there is still no strategy to turn that commitment into success.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates has noted that more international troops died in Afghanistan than in Iraq in May, the first time that had happened. While that trend now two months old is in part due to falling violence in Iraq, it also reflects rising violence in Afghanistan.
At least 45 international troops including at least 27 U.S. forces and 13 British died in Afghanistan in June, the deadliest month since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion to oust the Taliban, according to an Associated Press count.
In Iraq, at least 31 international soldiers died in June: 29 U.S. troops and one each from the former Soviet republics of Georgia and Azerbaijan. There are 144,000 U.S. troops in Iraq and 4,000 British forces in additional to small contingents from several other nations.
The 40-nation international coalition is much broader in Afghanistan, where only about half of the 65,000 international troops are American.
That record number of international troops means that more soldiers are exposed to danger than ever before. But Taliban attacks are becoming increasingly complex, and in June, increasingly deadly.
A gun and bomb attack last week in Ghazni province blasted a U.S. Humvee into smoldering ruins, killing three U.S. soldiers and an Afghan interpreter. It was the fourth attack of the month against troops that killed four people. No single attack had killed more than three international troops since August 2007.
"I think possibly we've reached a turning point," said Mustafa Alani, the director of security and terrorism studies at the Dubai-based Gulf Research Center. "Insurgents now are more active, more organized, and the political environment, whether in Pakistan or Afghanistan, favors insurgent activities."
U.S. commanders have blamed Pakistani efforts to negotiate peace deals for the spike in cross-border attacks, though an initial deal with militants has begun to fray and security forces recently launched a limited crackdown in the semiautonomous tribal belt where the Taliban and al-Qaida operate with increasing freedom.
For a moment in mid-June, Afghanistan's future shimmered brightly. World leaders gathered in Paris to pledge more than $21 billion in aid, and Afghan officials unveiled a development strategy that envisions peace by 2020.
But the very next day, the massive and flawlessly executed assault on the prison in Kandahar the Taliban's spiritual home drew grudging respect even from Western officials.
U.S. Ambassador William Wood said violence is up because Taliban fighters are increasingly using terrorist tactics that cause higher tolls, but that there's no indication fighters can hold territory. He said June had "some very good news and a couple cases of bad news."
"The very good news was Paris. There were more nations represented, contributing more than ever before," Wood told the AP.
The scramble after the jailbreak to push the Taliban back from the nearby Arghandab valley was the other big plus, Wood said. The Afghan army sent more than 1,000 troops to Kandahar in two days.
"Although Arghandab got major press for being a Taliban attack, the real news in Arghandab was that the Afghans themselves led the counterattack, deployed very rapidly and chased the Taliban away," Wood said.
The worst news, Wood said, was the prison break, and the possible involvement of al-Qaida.
"The Taliban is not known for that level of complex operation, and others who have bases in the tribal areas are," he said.
Alani agreed: "The old Taliban could not do such an operation, so we are talking about a new Taliban, possibly al-Qaida giving them the experience to carry out this operation."
Days after the prison attack, an angry President Hamid Karzai threatened to send Afghan troops after Taliban leaders in Pakistan, marking a new low in Afghan-Pakistan relations.
Contributing to the increased death toll is an increase in sophistication of attacks. U.S. Maj. Gen. Jeffrey J. Schloesser, the top commander of U.S. forces here, said this month that militant attacks are becoming more complex such as gunfire from multiple angles plus a roadside bomb. Insurgents are using more explosives, he said.
Mark Laity, the top NATO spokesman in Afghanistan, said troops are taking the fight to insurgents in remote areas and putting themselves in harm's way. One or two events can disproportionally affect the monthly death toll, he said.
"Sometimes it is just circumstance," Laity said. "For instance you can hit an IED and walk away or not, and what has happened this month is that there's been one or two instances that there's been multiple deaths."
The AP count found that some 580 people died in insurgent violence in June, including around 440 militants, 34 civilians and 44 Afghan security forces. More than 2,100 people have died in violence this year, according to the AP count, which is based on figures from Afghan, U.S. and NATO officials.
Barnett Rubin, an expert on Afghanistan at NYU, said the Paris conference shows a strong international commitment to Afghanistan, but he said there is still no strategy for longterm success.
"Let's focus on the essentials: creating a secure environment for Afghanistan and Pakistan to address their problems and for the international community to eliminate al-Qaida's safe haven," Rubin said. "We haven't been getting there, and we are not getting closer, pledges or no pledges."
Posted by: john frum ||
07/01/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under: Taliban
#1
Republican (Optimist): The death count in Iraq has dropped below Afghanistan for the second month in a row.
Democrat (Pessimist): The death count in Afghanistan has exceeded that in Iraq for the second month in a row.
#2
MSM: The death count in Afghanistan is worse than Iraq, but we give you no perspective (like the total number killed in each arena since 9/11).
Posted by: Bobby ||
07/01/2008 5:59 Comments ||
Top||
#3
a grim milestone capping a run of headline-grabbing insurgent attacks that analysts say underscore the Taliban's growing strength.
Yes! We have our meme back! /MSM
#4
Help me out here.
Why can't we, with billions of dollars of intelligence, laser guided weapons, a highly trained military, AIR POWER, and the absolute best of everything,
kill these damned 9th century goat herders?
What the hell is going on?
These guys walk over the mountains from Pak, they WALK, and we can't seem to flame them with all our technical goodies? I just don't get it.
#5
You're from Kentucky. Tell me how easy it would be to use all those high tech gizmos to kill all the UMW members and supporters in Harlan County from your base in Louisville.
#6
Well, you see the JAG leaning on the rulings of judges back in the comfort of their nice offices in North America, want to treat it like law enforcement. So, they write up ROEs that the alleged bad guy(s) must present a clear and present threat to life before the officer soldier can pull the trigger. You can track them. You can shadow them. However, you can not waste them till they do something that meets the JAG's standards. Oh, and for the love of gawd, you can't go across some imaginary border line that no one else pays much attention to and burn their base of operation out [even though the law in the form of the Hague Convention of 1907 says you can. Remember we only use international law if it supports actions against the United States.]
#7
I had a sneaking suspicion that might be part of it.
So for some reason we don't want them to win, or destroy poppies, or seal the border. I wonder what their real objective really is? Just wait till they get bored and go home?
I can't believe that those illiterate, sandal wearing, hilljacks could give us this much trouble, unless I suppose, we let them to some degree.
#8
Don't forget, we've got UAVs flying unopposed through Pakistan, sending hellfire missiles and suchlike into selected huts at will, killing all the occupants including favoured goats. We've got Special Forces ghosting through at ground level, doing whatever ghostlike things they do, and we've got satellites or whatever listening in on cell phone and computer traffic. In one sense, the killings on the Afghan side are training exercises for the still-new Afghan army and the Afghan mind-set.
#9
I spent a year watching the roads and trails in Laos, as the North Vietnamese sent thousands of tons of supplies south. It was hard work, and a lot depended on luck. We also had a mindset there that wouldn't let us do what we really HAD to do to stop the flow of munitions south - go in, interdict the area, and HOLD IT. It would take about five million troops to totally control the Afghanistan/Pakistan border. It would take about a hundred UAVs patrolling the border for every incursion to be detected. It's not impossible, but it's darned hard to do, especially with the military we have today and the amount of money being spent on this war. Considering the limitations on our military troops, we're doing a pretty darned good job of whack-a-mole, taliban style.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/01/2008 13:03 Comments ||
Top||
#10
The cannon fodder's damaging when they're uncontrolled, but the way to win is to consistently kill the head cheeses, regardless of where they reside. They spend a lot of time being elusive.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/01/2008 13:57 Comments ||
Top||
#11
NATO is prevented from destroying the opium poppy fields and the heroin factories that finance Taliban terror. Then there is the UN phony refugee camps in Pakistan, that serve as recruiting stations.
In 1984 George Orwell predicted a future polluted with indecisive perma-wars. That future is: now. The Vietnam debacle revealed: support for military operations will be lost if a campaign is based on unwinnability.
#12
support for military operations will be lost if a campaign is based on unwinnability.
But post surge this war does not look unwinnable. Americans only get upset when they think there is a lack of will to win. They'll accept losses if they sense it's for a purpose. Look how long the Indian wars lasted. And we can last that long again, if the people believe the leadership is trying to win.
#13
I can't believe that those illiterate, sandal wearing, hilljacks could give us this much trouble, unless I suppose, we let them to some degree.
Damn it does sound the the UMW.
Armed Islamic courts union fighters have assaulted at cultural boogie in El-Ghelle village north of Balad district 30km north of Mogadishu on Sunday night according to the residents.
The fighters were reported to have opened fire on the site that was going on drum's beating and songs with traditional jazz. The attack happened following the Islamic fighters nearby the site heard the noise of music equipments being beaten and the noise of the songs the participants were chanting.
Dozens of men and women were taking part the dance. The wounded people were man and women struck by the bullets were opened on them. Some of the participants barefooted fled to bush area those are still missing. Its yet unknown the motive behind the attack was beleaguered on the dance location by the UIC fighters. In their six months rule era the have banned the music ceremonies. Islamic courts union fighters raided a wedding ceremony in Somali capital Mogadishu Twenty heavily armed men fired shots in the air and took musical instruments from the band performing in a home in Somalia's capital city.
The band singers were entertaining guests at the wedding party was told by the gunmen it was performing 'satanic' music contrary to the Quran. We were ordered to stop the music and empty the house which we all complied with immediately,' said Hayir Ali Roble, one of the musicians performing at the party. 'We followed their orders and kept our musical instruments in a room but they forcefully entered the house and took the instruments, and in the process broke some of them.'
Roble said he did not know why the militiamen struck one of the women at the party with sticks. The Islamic court confirmed the raid but denied that women were beaten. Khadijo Weheliye, who organized the wedding party for her son, said she had sought and received permission from the Islamic court to have music at the celebration. 'We didn't know what their aim was because we had asked the Islamic court for permission to hold the party,' she said. 'They gave us a permission letter this morning, but attacked our home in the afternoon.'
Posted by: Fred ||
07/01/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under: Islamic Courts
#1
cultural boogie?
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/01/2008 8:17 Comments ||
Top||
July 1, 2008: SOCOMs gunships (the AC-130) are wearing out because of heavy use in combat. In 5-10 years, all of them will have to be retired, or heavily rebuilt. So the air force portion of SOCOM (AFSOC, Air Force Special Operations Command) is going to try converting new light (two engine) transports to "light gunships."
Last year, the U.S. Army and Air Force have agreed on using the Italian C-27J two engine transport, to replace the elderly C-23s (used, via a special Congressional loophole, by the U.S. Army National Guard), and thus provide more small transports for delivering cargos in places even C-130s can't reach. The C-27J (a joint U.S./Italian upgrade of the Italian G-222) is a 28 ton aircraft that can carry nine tons for up to 2,500 kilometers and land on smaller airfields than the C-130 can handle. The new "Joint Cargo Aircraft" is officially designated the C27B. The army and air force want to buy 207 C-27Bs over the next ten years (if Congress will give them the money) and share operation and maintenance of the fleet. In effect, the C-27B carries about half the weight of the current C-130 models serving as gunships.
The U.S. Air Force bought ten C-27Js in the 1990s, but took them out of service because it was cheaper to deliver stuff via the larger C-130. However, the C-27J is a favorite with many other air forces, and draws on technology from the C-130J (the latest version of the aircraft) program (using the same engines, propellers and electronic items). The C-27Js will cost about $30 million each, and much of the work will be done in the United States, although the aircraft will be assembled in Italy.
SOCOM will scrounge up a C-27J (they have the money and authority to just go do that) in the next year and mount a pair of 30mm automatic cannon on them, along with the AC-130 sensors and communications gear. AC-130s now also mount Hellfire missiles, which the C-27B should be able to accommodate. The one thing the "AC-XX" (as this experiment has been dubbed) will probably not get is the 105mm howitzer, whose recoil was barely contained by the larger C-130. But the missiles were meant to replace the 105mm weapon anyway. Within two years, AFSOC hopes to prove the AC-XX acceptable, and then more aircraft can be ordered to replace the current AC-130 fleet. A bonus with this switch is that the AC-27B will be built so weapons and sensors will be modular, and easily installed, or removed, from any C-27B, making the C-27B fleet more flexible.
Gunships first appeared, using World War II era C-47 transports, in the 1960s over Vietnam. The troops called the gunships, which liked to operate at night, "Spooky."
#2
AC-130s now also mount Hellfire missiles, which the C-27B should be able to accommodate.
Holy super-blast hellfires batman!
The G-222 is actually a really good light transport aircraft and should do well in this role. The ability to still be very maneuverable at 80-90 knots is a really good plus for a gunship. I am looking forward to seeing how this version plays out.
#3
(Wart) Hogs weren't meant to look pretty and live long. Just around long enough to make an impact while a better idea comes along. Job well done.
Posted by: Uninemble Prince of the Faith9743 ||
07/01/2008 18:15 Comments ||
Top||
#4
I'm not sure this is the way to go. The main advantages of the AC-130 are sensors and persistence. While the sensors may be able to fit into a C-27, it will result in a light weapons load and low persistence. In addition, the sensors and software are the main cost of the AC-130 so the C-27 will cost nearly the same for a lot less capability.
Posted by: ed ||
07/01/2008 18:37 Comments ||
Top||
#5
C-27B as "Mothership" = PodMother???
Gives new meaning to FLIGHT/SQUADRON IN SIMUL TAKEOFF???
#6
Ex-squid here, so I can't comment on payloads, etc. in an informed manner. For any ex-AF types in the house, how 'bout a gunship version of the C-17?
Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) ||
07/01/2008 21:57 Comments ||
Top||
#7
I always thought the one thing that made AC-130s so stone-cold bad-a$$ was the fact it carried a freakin' howitzer! It'll be kinda sad to lose that....
That did make it kewl. The designers put it on for a cheap, but big bang for the buck. Unfortunately, it has proven to be unsuited for urban warfare. The splash damage it too great and damages things that don't need/wanted damaged. The hellfire has proven to be a nice, pinpoint weapon with little splash and the "super-blast" version has proven to be even a greater success for taking out one building, or even one room. So, it has been put on the AC-130 and is being used instead of the 105mm.
Don't worry though. The twin 30mm cannons will provide many a clip of jihad body parts flying gaily through the air.
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan A former Taliban fighter has provided a gripping first-hand account of being secretly trained by members of the Pakistani military, paid $500 a month and ordered to kill foreigners in Afghanistan.
Mullah Mohammed Zaher offered a vivid description of a bomb-making apprenticeship at a Pakistani army compound where he says he learned to blow up NATO convoys. He's one of three former Taliban fighters introduced to The Canadian Press by an Afghan government agency that works at getting rebels to renounce the insurgency.
Zaher insists he was neither forced to go public with his story nor coached by Afghan officials, whose routine response to terrorism on their soil is to blame neighbouring Pakistan.
Continued on Page 49
This article starring:
Mullah Mohammed Zaher
Posted by: john frum ||
07/01/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under: Taliban
#1
That Afghanistan is really a proxy war between India and Pakistan is something I don't have trouble believing.
We train and equip the Afghan Army and India bankrolls it to sustain it and they duke it out with Pakistan across the frontier. Neither the Pakistani Army nor the Indian Army need send troops directly into the battle.
#3
this little gem from orbat:
Part of a Pakistani answer at orbat
* This is the one thing you have alluded to. People ask why is Pakistan not supporting (and allegedly going against) the ISAF and NATO ops in Afghanistan. Very simple, its not in Pakistan's interests to do so, beyond a certain point. The ISAF and NATO operation there have an objective which is against Pakistan's. USG wants the Northern Alliance government to succeed, a government which is inherently hostile to Pakistan.
* And it has been Pakistan's policy since its formation that their can be no hostile or even strong government on the western flank. This has been the policy of all Pakistani governments, civilian and military. Its like the policy that Britain had about not letting there be one power on the continent. And Pakistan is merely following that. Anybody who studied Pakistani history and strategy for about 10 minutes would know that. Yet the legions of analysts in the USG and private media and think tanks have missed that. I mean Pakistan never gave the Taliban enough support to let them take all of Afghanistan for this very reason.
#6
note the snipet [before & after] the Talib Video at the Link.
The Canadian Press
Canada's Trusted Online Media
[NOT]
Ex-guerillas who killed Soviet-skis, Afghanis, Pakis, Amerikis, and Canuck-skis and have retired even tho NATO [AMERICA] bombed their villege and one of their Families.... yea right.
#7
I should add that everyone one knows that the Pakis are NOT trustworthy and always serve themselves first and last.
VIDEO: But this business of being paid $500 per month plus room and board for his family by the ISI is questionable to me.
..and then leaving Pakistan's largess taking amnesty from Karsi's Gubmint and resettling back in A-stan to what? ...War is the only thriving business in South A-stan.
Inspite of the flaws is there any useful Intel here? new or confirming Intel?
#8
John, I was in a bit of a hurry to meet the employees this am when I cobbled together #6 & #7 "comments". rather poor...
Your input is way more informed than any insight I might have.... Would you mind telling us your take on this article and video, por favor? Thanksinadvance!
You don't say? It's the most profitable industry Pakistan has. $100,000 from the ISI director to fund the Sept 11 attacks has generated over $10 billion in US aid and climbing. It rescued the Paki economy from a freefall to robust growth.
Direct US gov aid alone pays for 1/2 the entire Paki military budget. Then there is the skim from the resupply of western forces in Afghanistan. It's another case of the west stupidly funding their enemies.
Develop the Turkmenistan and FSU supply lines, turn over the majority of combat responsibility to Afghan forces, cut off Pakistan from aid and trade and make the first 30 miles from the Afghan border east uninhabitable.
Posted by: ed ||
07/01/2008 18:23 Comments ||
Top||
#10
Pakistan's border troops are local. The Federal government faces internal subversion, every time they enter the frontier and tribal districts. I agree that there is considerable Punjabi support for Taliban, but it is nearly 100% in Waziri and Pashto areas. And that support extends to al-Qaeda.
Prediction: some US government - probably after 4 years of Obama stupidity - will make southern Afghanistan look like the Moon.
Six more people were killed in fresh clashes between two groups in Khyber Agencys Tirah Valley on Monday, reported Geo News. The channel quoted official sources as saying that the six killed included three people from the Zakha Khel tribe and three from the Shalobar tribe. District Police Officer said that a heavy cache of arms had been seized from Jangal Khel.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/01/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under: Taliban
The Tehreek-e-Taliban of Swat on Monday refused an invitation to attend peace negotiations that had been extended to them by the NWFP government.
In a telephonic interview, Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan said that they had refused the governments invitation for another round of peace talks. However, he maintained that their peace agreement with the government remained intact. He said the peace talks had been halted after Baitullah Mehsud did the same. We (Swat Taliban) will immediately end our peace agreement with the NWFP government if Baitullah Mehsud orders it, Khan said, adding that Mondays meeting would have discussed the withdrawal of troops, end of all checkposts and release of Taliban prisoners.
The spokesman expressed ignorance about a statement from Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman Maulvi Omar that all peace agreements had been dissolved, maintaining that the Swat Taliban still had an agreement with the government.
The political authorities on Monday found eight bullet-ridden bodies, including that of a former Taliban, from the Mandori area in lower Kurram Agency. Official sources said that the deceased belonged to the Khponagai area. The bodies were thrown at a roadside in Mandori area. According to Assistant Political Agent Atta-ur-Rehman, most of the murdered men were criminals. One of the deceased was identified as Raja, a former activist of the Taliban organisation.
Sounds like infighting. I like infighting.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/01/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under: Taliban
Toori tribesmen kidnapped 30 Frontier Constabulary (FC) personnel with three vehicles in the Puar area of Upper Kurram Agency on Monday. Local sources told Daily Times that the FC personnel were going to Alimangla checkpost in upper Kurram from agency headquarters in Parachinar, when militants kidnapped them. The tribal elders of the Upper Kurram Agency have constituted a jirga for the release of the kidnapped soldiers, sources
said.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/01/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under: Taliban
Taliban spokesman Maulvi Omar reportedly escaped unhurt from an explosion at a militant compound in Bara, even as security forces continued patrolling on the third day of a government offensive intended to restore the writ of the state in the Khyber Agency.
The explosion, which killed at least seven people and wounded another nine, targeted a compound owned by a supporter of Haji Namdar, chief of the Amr Bil Maroof Wa Nahi Anil Munkar. Namdars spokesman Munsif Khan Afridi told Daily Times that Maulvi Omar had been in the compound in an attempt to arrange reconciliation between Haji Namdar and Baitullah Mehsud. Omar escaped unhurt, he added.
A press release issued by the Khyber Agency political agent said that an inquiry had been initiated to ascertain the actual facts of the explosion, as security forces had not fired on the said building.
Missile attack: However, a senior security official told AFP on condition of anonymity that the destruction of the house was part of the ongoing operation. Our ground forces were involved. Similarly, Namdar told AFP: It looked like a guided missile strike. It could have been the work of both Pakistani and NATO forces. We will take revenge. The attack on the compound came a day after the federal government banned three Bara-based militant groups Lashkar-e-Islam, Ansarul Islam and Amr Bil Maroof Wa Nahi Anil Munkar.
Several locals said they had heard the sound of a hovering aircraft minutes before the attack. According to AP, locals said eight people had been killed.
Calm: Meanwhile, conditions in Bara have started to return to normal on the third day of operations. Most shops reopened and there were signs of resistance to the government action. Despite the blast, most people were calm and did not seem overly concerned.
This article starring:
Amr Bil Maroof Wa Nahi Anil Munkar
Ansarul Islam
Lashkar-e-Islam
Baitullah Mehsud
Taliban
Haji Namdar
Amr Bil Maroof Wa Nahi Anil Munkar
Maulvi Omar
Taliban
Munsif Khan Afridi
Amr Bil Maroof Wa Nahi Anil Munkar
Posted by: Fred ||
07/01/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under: Taliban
Jammu: A day after the Governor N.N. Vohra announced that the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board would not pursue its request for forest land at Baltal, tensions simmered here with a dozen-odd persons being injured in protests against the decision.
The BJP, the VHP, Panun Kashmir and the Shiv Sena called for a bandh, terming the Governors decision one of appeasement and discrimination. Though officials claimed that the situation was under control, life in the winter capital was brought to a complete standstill in the wake of violent protests.
Protesters and the police engaged in battles at various places in the city. Public transportation was completely disrupted. The National Highway 1A was blocked at Nagrota. So too was the Jammu-Pathankot highway, the States main link to the rest of the country. Over 2500 vehicles were stranded here, as people blocked all roads to the city. Even the main Tawi bridge which connects the downtown part of the city with the new township was closed to traffic.
Protesters pelted stones at the People Democratic Party headquarters in the city and the residences of People Democratic Party legislator Shanti Devi and Congress Minister Mangat Ram Sharma. The miscreants were chased away by the police.
Meanwhile Yatra to the cave shrine of Shri Amarnathji resumed from Jammu on Monday morning with 3531 pilgrims leaving for the advanced base camps at Pahalgam and Baltal.
Posted by: john frum ||
07/01/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[5 views]
Top|| File under: Global Jihad
BALAD, Iraq Iraqi Special Operations Forces, the Hillah Special Weapons and Tactics team and the Baghdad National Emergency Response Unit are playing key roles in the Government of Iraqs massive campaign to disrupt the criminal elements in the city of Amarah.
With the cooperation of tribal leaders and many of the local citizens, Iraqi Security Forces began setting the foundation to enforce the rule of law in the city June 19. ISOF, Hillah SWAT and the Baghdad National ERU conducted several precision operations throughout the city targeting Special Groups criminals and abettors.
According to Iraqi Brig. Gen. Noaamam Dakeel Jawad, the Iraqi National ERU commander, ISOF and ISF will continue to conduct operations in the area until the citizens of Amarah are safe and free from the criminals in their city.
The ERU, ISOF and Hillah SWAT have all played a large role on missions of high importance, he said. Things have been successful and will continue to be.
In the past several days, Jawad and his men, along with Hillah SWAT and ISOF, have detained more than 20 individuals on warrants issued by the Ministry of Interior.
The past weeks clearing efforts have allowed the Iraqi government to take control of Amarah and work to establish a lasting presence for security and stability. Many Special Groups criminals, particularly the top-level criminals, fled the area to avoid capture.
So far, there has been little to no retaliation and no innocent [people] have been hurt, said an ISOF sergeant.
While most of the criminals fled in fear since their operations began, Jawad and his men are still making detainments, finding evidence of criminal activity and recovering criminals weapons caches.
In one particular mission, the ERU searched a downtown building believed to be the headquarters for Special Groups. In addition to discovering an apparent torture room containing what were identified as interrogation tools and a large number of anti-Coalition propaganda, they found a large weapons cache consisting of explosively formed projectiles, more than 100 rounds of assorted ammunition, home-made bombs, wire and anti-tank rounds, along with information on methods of attacking Coalition forces convoys.
Other successful operations included the detainment of a man reported to be the leader of a criminal cell specializing in sectarian killings and a financier for the organization. The ERU has also detained an Iraqi Police chief who is suspected of being a Special Groups criminal leader, facilitator and financier who has great influence over the IP in the area, as well as a police officer wanted for his involvement with sectarian killings.
According to a local sheikh, Amarah is used as a shipment point for all of the provinces in Iraq and a warehouse for weapons and wanted criminals traveling back and forth from Iraq and Iran.
In-depth searches for hidden weapons caches in Amarah by Iraqi Forces yielded approximately seven sites. Estimated finds by ISOF, SWAT, and ERU include roughly 180 lbs. of explosive compounds, 600 anti-tank mines, 280 rocket propelled grenades, 200 various EFP-making materials, more than 1,000 assorted rounds of ammunition, 320 mortar rounds, explosive-making materials and various weapons including more than 80 pieces of sniper equipment.
Citizens are counting on the GoI to continue seizing illegal weapons and weeding out the corrupt officials and criminal elements from their city.
Jawad believes the GoI will be successful and will ultimately turn Amarah into a peaceful community and a better place for its citizens.
When the clearing operations are complete, there will be more opportunities for work, and the youth will be more apt to join the Iraqi Security Forces, said Jawad. With criminals gone, people will prosper from a stimulated economy and improved safety and security.
I would like all the bad people brought to justice, said Jawad. Everyone should be held accountable. The law should be forced on everyone to guarantee the success of the mission for Amarah and all of Iraq.
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC ||
07/01/2008 06:03 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under: Mahdi Army
#1
The ERU has also detained an Iraqi Police chief who is suspected of being a Special Groups criminal leader, facilitator and financier who has great influence over the IP in the area, as well as a police officer wanted for his involvement with sectarian killings.
This is key - in recent months the Mailiki govt has (it appears) finally come down on the shia extremist elements in the Iraqi Police.
Added: Jun 27 2008 Colorful language translates to: Gee Whiz, Golly and that was a humdinger. These guys are not your fathers Gomer Pyle.
We got called out with EOD to take care of an "IED". Turns out this IED wasnt an IED, but a VBIED (Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Device) factory. With 1000lbs of explosives in the shed, and roughly half that amount in the truck parked in front of the shed, EOD decided to blow them both sky-high. the best explosion ive see yet while here. when the smoke clears, both the shed and the truck are gone, with one of the trucks axles sticking out of the ground.
#3
I guess those MRAPs really keep out the street noise.
They were probably buttoned up before the blast. You can hear it faintly in spite of the internal engine noise and "colorful language" inside the MRAP.
(VOI) Four gunmen were captured and two arms caches seized in the city of Rawa on Monday, an Iraqi police source said. "The gunmen were arrested in the village of al-Hasa, (20 km) western Rawa. The two seized caches contained RPG-7 and mortar shells," the source, who asked not to have his name mentioned, told Aswat al-Iraq Voices of Iraq (VOI). The source did not give further details about the incidents in Rawa, 180 km west of Ramadi.
Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, lies 110 km west of Baghdad. Anbar is the largest province in Iraq geographically. Encompassing much of the country's western territory, it shares borders with Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Anbar is overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim Arab. The name of the province translates "granaries," as this region was the primary entrepôt on the western borders of Lakhmid Kingdom.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/01/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under: Iraqi Insurgency
(VOI) Five judges from the Rusafa (eastern side of Baghdad) Court of Appeals' head committee were subjected to assassination attempts at different times today, the Supreme Judicial Council's spokesperson said on Monday. 'Five judges from the Rusafa Court of Appeals' head committee were subjected to terrorist aggressions in different locations throughout the eastern side of Baghdad,' Judge Abdul-Sattar al-Berqdar told Aswat al-Iraq Voices of Iraq (VOI). 'The attacks caused no injuries among the judges, however one of the judges' wives was wounded, in addition to damage caused to the judges' cars,' he said.
'The aggressions occurred using roadside bombs that targeted the five judges while they were en-route to work,' he explained. 'Chief Justice Medhat al-Mahmod, head of the Supreme Judiciary Council, sent messages to Premier Nouri al-Maliki, the ministers of defense and interior, and Baghdad Operations' commander, urging that security be provided for judges,' he noted.
Earlier today, a court source said that two Iraqi judges of Baghdad al-Rasafa Court of Appeals were wounded in two separate improvised explosive device attacks in the eastern part of the Iraqi capital on Monday. 'An IED planted near the house of Judge Suleiman Abdullah on Falastine street, eastern Baghdad, went off today, wounding the judge, his wife, and one of his sons,' the source, who wished not to be named, told VOI. 'Also in eastern Baghdad, a sticky IED was planted inside Judge Ali al-Allaq's vehicle, wounding him,' the source added. Judges have recently been targets for attacks in Baghdad. Judge Kamil Abdul-Majid al-Shuweili, the president of the Rasafa Court of Appeals, was assassinated by unidentified gunmen on Thursday while on his way home in eastern Baghdad.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/01/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under: Iraqi Insurgency
(VOI) - Eight wanted men were arrested, while two bombs were defused in central Basra on Monday, a police source said. Police forces arrested eight wanted men, accused in criminal and terrorist cases, during crackdown operations in separate areas in Basra, the source, who asked for anonymity, told Aswat al-Iraq Voices of Iraq (VOI). He did not add further details. Meanwhile, the same source said that a force from the anti-bomb squad managed to defuse two bombs, planted on a street in central Basra.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/01/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under: Mahdi Army
(VOI) - One civilian was killed and 13 more were wounded in a booby-trapped car explosion in northern Mosul, an official police source said on Monday. A car crammed with explosives went off in al-Majmouaa al-Thaqafiya region in northern Mosul, killing a civilian and injuring 13, the source, who preferred to remain anonymous, told Aswat al-Iraq Voices of Iraq (VOI). The car detonated shortly after a police vehicle patrol passed in the region, without leaving casualties among the police forces, he also said.
Iraqi security forces have been launching a large-scale military campaign since May 10. The operation, codenamed Za'eer al-Assad (Lion's Roar), aims at tracking down gunmen in Ninewa province. Five days later, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki announced the operation's second stage under the name Umm al-Rabiain (Mother of Two Springs).
Posted by: Fred ||
07/01/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Iraq
The Israeli military says a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip has landed in southern Israel, further straining the fragile cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Israeli officials did not report any injuries or damage from the rocket. No one has claimed responsibility for Monday's incident. Hamas has warned it will take action against anyone who breaks the truce.
On Sunday, Israel re-opened a border crossing with Gaza to allow about 80 truckloads of commercial goods into the Palestinian territory. Israel closed the crossings after an Islamic Jihad rocket attack last week. The group said the attack was revenge for Israel's killing of one of its commanders in the West Bank. The West Bank is not included in a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/01/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under: Hamas
#1
Once a rocket is fired, isn't the cease fire then "over"?
#5
"...continue to limit their retaliation till they've got Shalit back."
If that is the case, the the stupid bug that bit Olmert has obviously infected the rest of the Iraelis. I cannot fathom why the rank and file citizens continue to put up with this world class incompetence.
Six soldiers were wounded, one critically, when insurgents detonated a roadside bomb in the southern province of Pattani on Tuesday morning. They were part of the patrol soldiers deploying in Sai Buri district.
Members of the Marines' Joint Task Force Comet on Thursday raided and seized a marijuana plantation in Sulu, believed to be a source of funding for the terror group Abu Sayyaf, military officials announced Monday.
The army's Western Mindanao Command on Monday said elements of the 4th Marine Battalion, led by Lt. Col. Ariel Caculitan, under the 3rd Marine Brigade/TF Comet, raided and seized a 1.5 hectare marijuana plantation in Barangay Binuang, Talipao, Sulu. The raiding team uprooted a total of two truckloads of grown marijuana plants, estimated to be woeth P2 million in the market.
Third Marine Brigade Commanding Officer Col. Eugenio Clemente and Maimbung, Sulu mayor Najib Maldisa led the burning of the seized crop last Friday in Barangay Matatal, Maimbung. The discovery, Clemente said, is a big step in cutting funding for the Abu Sayyaf, and in denying the terror group the capability to acquire firearms and undertake terroristic activities.
M/Gen. Juancho Sabban, Joint TF Comet commander, assured the people of Sulu that aside from neutralizing the armed group, they are also tracking the Abu Sayyaf's illegal activities, such as drug trafficking and kidnapping for ransom. Sabban also congratulated the troops who were able to seize the marijuana crop.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/01/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under: Abu Sayyaf
#3
Third Marine Brigade Commanding Officer Col. Eugenio Clemente and Maimbung, Sulu mayor Najib Maldisa led the burning of the seized crop last Friday in Barangay Matatal, Maimbung.
#6
OK, slightly off topic but suit is broken -
There is an old Audie Murphy movie, BW, where his character goes to the philippeans during the Japanese occupation to find his missing wife, who when found has become part of the resistance and has a new boyfriend. In that movie their have a Phillipean partner who looks like a very young George Takai ("Taking a Phillipino's bolo is like taking away his manhood"). Anyone know this movie and if I was just seeing things?
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.
KABUL, Afghanistan Helicopters and a bomber attacked 
Armed Islamic courts union fighters have assaulted at cultural boogie in El-Ghelle village north of Balad district 30km north of Mogadishu on Sunday night according to the residents.
The political authorities on Monday found eight bullet-ridden bodies, including that of a former Taliban, from the Mandori area in lower Kurram Agency. Official sources said that the deceased belonged to the Khponagai area. The bodies were thrown at a roadside in Mandori area. According to Assistant Political Agent Atta-ur-Rehman, most of the murdered men were criminals. One of the deceased was identified as Raja, a former activist of the Taliban organisation. 
Toori tribesmen kidnapped 30 Frontier Constabulary (FC) personnel with three vehicles in the Puar area of Upper Kurram Agency on Monday. Local sources told Daily Times that the FC personnel were going to Alimangla checkpost in upper Kurram from agency headquarters in Parachinar, when militants kidnapped them. The tribal elders of the Upper Kurram Agency have constituted a jirga for the release of the kidnapped soldiers, sources 
Taliban spokesman 
In one particular mission, the ERU searched a downtown building believed to be the headquarters for Special Groups. In addition to discovering an apparent torture room containing what were identified as interrogation tools and a large number of anti-Coalition propaganda, they found a large weapons cache consisting of explosively formed projectiles, more than 100 rounds of assorted ammunition, home-made bombs, wire and anti-tank rounds, along with information on methods of attacking Coalition forces convoys.
The Israeli military says a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip has landed in southern Israel, further straining the fragile cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Israeli officials did not report any injuries or damage from the rocket. No one has claimed responsibility for Monday's incident. Hamas has warned it will take action against anyone who breaks the truce.
