KABUL (Rooters) - A helicopter belonging to U.S.-led coalition troops was shot down by small-arms fire south of the Afghan capital on Wednesday, but there were no serious injuries to those on board, the U.S. military said.
The pilots landed the UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter safely and evacuated all personnel before it caught fire in the Kharwar district of Logar province, where Taliban militants are known to be active. 'Coalition forces cleared the area using helicopters, show-of-force and firing warning rounds before using precision-guided munitions to destroy the helicopter,' the U.S. military said.
It was the second coalition helicopter to crash in a week. The other incident in Kunar province in the northeast, is under investigation, but indications are that the helicopter crashed due to mechanical failure, a U.S. military spokesman said.
The Taliban have brought down a number of aircraft, but so far the militants are not thought to have obtained surface-to-air missiles that could alter the balance of the war dramatically. Said the rooters stringer, in an hopeful mood.
Many historians believe it was the Afghan mujahideen's acquisitions of such missiles that tipped the war against the Soviet occupation in their favor in the 1980s.
Elsewhere, a suicide car bomber hit a convoy of NATO forces on Wednesday, wounding two Canadian soldiers, three policemen and two civilians on a road near the southern town of Spin Boldak which lies on the border with Pakistan, said border police commander Abdul Razaq.
The austere Islamist Now, that's a new one, I say! Yeah. Usually they're resurgent.
Taliban have vowed to step up their campaign of guerrilla, suicide and roadside bomb attacks this year to undermine Afghan support for the government in Kabul and pressure foreign troops into pulling out.
#1
This is not good. Glad my niece (blackhawke pilot) is out of there. The tide turned against the soviets when our surface to air missles started blowing up their gun ships.
#2
I'm getting tired of paying taxes to support wars we should have won in a matter of weeks. It's time to totally obliterate Pakistan. That would both send a message to the rest of the world the US is tired of islamistan stupidity, and reduce the number of "cross-border incursions", especially if 90% of that border region were radioactive glass with a 500-year halflife. I approved the initial attacks as being the correct way to fight al-Qaida. Now it's time to take the gloves off and do some serious a$$-kicking, using any and all weapons in our inventory. Islamism is a plague that needs to be eradicated.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/02/2008 13:11 Comments ||
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#3
Testimate to the helicopter, getting them home.
#4
Still don't understand Bush getting cold feet with only 6+months to go in his term. Some legacy he is leaving for the next guy. Gates has been pretty good up to now but he doesn't have the stomach to initialize the Pakistan incursion. Between the Iranians and the Pakistanis our folks are being killed at a faster rate than we would be without their further existence. I am more convinced than ever (reading Willful Blindness will do this to you) our only option is nuclear. Two clean strikes - one on Karachi and the other on Tehran should do the trick.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
07/02/2008 15:34 Comments ||
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#5
I'm an ass to not mention the pilot and crew even though I was thinking of them as well.
At least 26 people, mainly combatants, were killed on Tuesday in fighting between Ethiopian forces and Islamist insurgents in central Somalia, residents said. The incident was one of the most serious in months and came a week before a deadline for the implementation of a truce agreement signed by rival factions last month in Djibouti was due to expire.
The insurgents ambushed an Ethiopian army convoy travelling from Guguriel near the Ethiopian border to Mataban town, about 450 kilometres (280 miles) north of the capital Mogadishu, they said. 'I counted 18 bodies in and around Mataban town,' said Hussein Moaliam Aden, an elder in Mataban, adding that he had seen the bodies of at least seven Ethiopian soldiers lying near the ambush site.
Mataban residents said a child was killed as the clashes spread into the town in Galgudud region, confirming that 26 people had been killed. 'One child was killed in the crossfire in Mataban,' said one resident, Mohamed Hadi Ali.
Residents reported that the fighting, in which both sides used armoured vehicles, was the heaviest in the region since Ethiopian forces entered Somalia in late 2006 to bolster the country's weak government. 'Most of the dead are from the rival sides. We have never seen such a heavy fighting since the Ethiopian forces entered our country,' local resident Feisal Mohamed said.
Sheikh Abdirahim Isse, a spokesman for the insurgents, confirmed the clashes and claimed the Ethiopians had suffered heavy losses. 'There was heavy fighting today and the Ethiopian forces suffered huge losses. Many of them were killed and their armed vehicles destroyed,' Isse told AFP by phone from an unknown location.
The Ethiopian army, which rarely comments about such incidents, has pledged to pull out once the United Nations deploys a peacekeeping force to bolster an embattled African Union peacekeeping force confined to Mogadishu.
According to several international rights groups and aid agencies, the fighting has left at least 6,000 civilians dead and displaced hundreds of thousands in the last 12 months alone.
On June 9, the Somali government and its political opposition signed agreements, including a ceasefire scheduled to enter into force within 30 days, but a radical wing of the Islamist fighters called Shebab has refused to recognise it. Instead, it has vowed to keeping fighting until Ethiopian forces pull out of Somalia, a nation that has been plagued by an uninterrupted civil war since the 1991 overthrow of president Mohamed Siad Barre.
The African Union has deployed some 2,600 peacekeepers in Mogadishu but the contingent on the ground still falls far short of the 8,000 troops pledged by the continental body and has failed to stem the violence.
At least 2.6 million Somalis are facing hunger due to acute food shortages spurred by a prolonged drought, insecurity and high inflation. UN famine monitors have warned that the figure could hit 3.5 million by year's end.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2008 00:00 ||
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(Reuters) - Somali gunmen have kidnapped five local employees of an Italian charity and the United Nations in the latest attack on humanitarian staff in the country, the head of the Italian group said on Tuesday.
Elio Sommavilla, founder of the Water For Life charity, told Reuters four of those kidnapped worked for his charity, identifying the fifth as an agronomist with the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). FAO in Rome could not confirm the kidnapping.
Witnesses had earlier said two Somalis, a man and a woman, were kidnapped when a dozen men with rifles stopped them on their way to Mogadishu on Monday and turned their two cars into bush near Afgooye, west of the capital. 'I could see the two cars marked 'WFL' being hijacked,' bus-driver Hassan Osman said.
Suspicion for kidnappings generally falls on clan militia and Islamist insurgents who are fighting the Somali government and their Ethiopian military allies.
Gunmen are still holding hostage four foreign aid workers -- two Italians, a Kenyan and a Briton -- and another three Somalis abducted in April and May. Two U.N. workers from Sweden and Denmark were briefly taken on Saturday in south Somalia, until local elders and colleagues negotiated their release with Islamists.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2008 00:00 ||
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HT to Liberalhawk
Colombia said its military rescued former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, three U.S. military contractors and 11 other hostages from leftist rebels on Wednesday.
Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos says no one was hurt in the operation in eastern Colombia.
He said army commandos captured rebels manning a security ring around the hostages and got them to persuade their comrades to turn over the captives, without any loss of life.
Santos says the other 11 hostages freed were Colombian soldiers and police.
Betancourt, the Americans Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell, and the other hostages were taken to a military base.
In Paris, Betancourt's son Lorenzo Delloye-Betancourt called her release after six years of captivity, "if true, the most beautiful news of my life."
There was no answer at the homes of American families of the three U.S. hostages.
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/02/2008 18:20 ||
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#1
FoxNews is suggesting the government captured a good segment of the FARC Central Committee
#4
The rescue came as U.S. presidential candidate John McCain was visiting Colombia. When news of its success reached McCain on his campaign plane, he said he and two other U.S. senators traveling with him â Joe Lieberman and Lindsay Graham â had been told about it in advance by Uribe.
#6
The rescue came as U.S. presidential candidate John McCain was visiting Colombia. When news of its success reached McCain on his campaign plane, he said he and two other U.S. senators traveling with him â Joe Lieberman and Lindsay Graham â had been told about it in advance by Uribe.
Initial link found at Discarded Lies. What little details seem to be out at present seem to indicate that this is a major coup.
BOGOTA, Colombia Rescued hostage Ingrid Betancourt says the military operation that freed her from Colombian rebels was "absolutely impeccable" and took her completely by surprise.
The 46-year-old Betancourt says the 15 hostages had no idea that helicopters they thought were taking them to another rebel camp were in fact piloted by military intelligence agents.
Betancourt told Colombian army radio on Wednesday that "they got us out grandly" and not a shot was fired.
Three U.S. military contractors and 11 Colombian police and soldiers were also freed.
#11
HMMMMMMM - CNN > a suppor of Betancourt argued that as an Author + Columbian Senator SHE'D ARGUED/CLAIMED THAT THE COLUMBIAN GOVT. WAS ACTUALLY COVERTLY COLLUDING WID FARC = SUPPOR FARC, + THAT BY GIVING $$$ AID TO COLUMBIA'S GOVT THE USA ,etc. WAS IN FACT ALSO SUPPOR FARC + ITS ACTIVITIES???
#13
The leftists always say that, they say the same thing about Saddam Hussein, and have most people believing it, that he got all his T-72's and Migs and Mirage Jets and AK-47's and SCUDs from Donald Rumsfeld.
MADRID - Spanish police on Monday arrested three Algerian-born men suspected of belonging to a network financing Al-Qaeda-linked terrorist groups, the Interior Ministry said. Two of the men were arrested near the southern town of Huelva while the other was picked up in Azkoitia in the northern Basque country.
The men are accused of sending money since 2001 to terrorist organisations "directly" linked to Al Qaeda, the ministry said. The arrests are part of a three-year investigation by Madrid anti-terrorist judge Ismael Moreno
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/02/2008 00:00 ||
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JAMMU: Fifty people were injured, including 13 in a grenade attack by militants on a rally in Bhaderwah, as Jammu on Wednesday saw stepped-up violence against the Amarnath land transfer revocation, forcing authorities to deploy the Army in sensitive areas.
Curfew was clamped in Bhaderwah and Samba with the Army staging flag marches in the two towns after 27 people were injured in communal clashes, the grenade attack and an incident of a mob torching five mud houses.
Over 70 people were arrested across the region and 50 people including 15 policemen and a CRPF constable were injured in the violence, officials said.
They said Jammu-Srinagar, Jammu-Poonch and Jammu- Pathankot highways were also clogged with Kashmiri migrants and activists of Hindu groups squatting at various points.
Demanding removal of Governor N N Vohra for revoking the order transferring forest land to Amarnath shrine board, BJP, VHP and Shiv Sena activists fought pitched battles with police at various places.
Police used batons and tear gas to push back the protesters and fired in the air at Muthi and Shastri Nagar in the city, the officials said.
Unidentified militants hurled a grenade on some 400 BJP activists and temple committee members returning to Laxmi Narain mandir in Bhaderwah after a rally, they said.
They said 13 people including a CRPF jawan were injured and four of them stated to be critical condition were airlifted to Jammu Government Medical College.
The fourth day of the security operation against militants in the Bara subdivision of Khyber Agency ended on Tuesday with the destruction of two more militant compounds and the arrest of 18 militants. One of the razed buildings belonged to exiled former LI chief Mufti Munir Shakir, who used to reside in it before he was expelled from the troubled region.
Separately, LI followers attacked the empty house of LI chief Mangal Baghs rival Pir Saifur Rehman, officials told AFP. Troops moved the LI men away but the house was blown up.
Quoting a private TV channel, Online reported that security forces arrested three LI workers. It said that the security forces also recovered a kidnapped ex-soldier who had been abducted by the arrested men.
Meanwhile, locals claimed that the khasadar tribal police had stopped performing their duties following a request by LI chief Mangal Bagh and tribal elders. The sources said that Bagh and Bara elders had cautioned the khasadars against fighting their own people.
Also on Tuesday, a complete shutter down strike could be observed in Bara Bazaar due to the curfew imposed by the political administration. Bara Traders Union President Said Ayaz told Daily Times that a senior official, accompanied by several Frontier Corps personnel, had visited the market on Tuesday morning and ordered the shopkeepers to shut down their businesses. However, troops did not restrain the movement of local residents.
The situation in the Bar Qambarkhel area, a stronghold of warlord Haji Namdar, also remained calm following the explosion on Monday. Namdars spokesman Munsif Afridi told Daily Times that the dispute between Haji Namdar and Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud had been resolved after mediation by Taliban spokesman Maulvi Omar. Earlier, he had claimed that Omar had been present at the time of blast but had escaped unhurt.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2008 00:00 ||
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Toori tribesmen of the Puar village in Kurram Agency released 44 kidnapped FC troops on Tuesday after a jirga successfully negotiated their release with the local tribesmen. Also on Tuesday, 11 khasadars kidnapped from different checkposts in the Khyber Agency about two weeks ago were freed. They were handed over to the political administration in the Mechani area of Mohmand Agency, officials said.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2008 00:00 ||
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Four men were killed during a shootout between two rival groups over a dispute at Pai-Abizar area in Tank district on Tuesday, police said.
The clash began when the Saeedullah Khan group allegedly started firing at the Miran Shah group after talks to settle a goats theft dispute failed.
The clash began when the Saeedullah Khan group allegedly started firing at the Miran Shah group after talks to settle a goats theft dispute failed. As a result Saeedullah Khan and Salim Khan died on the scene. The killing infuriated relatives of Saeedullah Khan who chased the fleeing accused Zarman Shah and Miran Shah, and intercepted them in the Abizar area. Zarman Shah and Miran Shah were killed in the ensuing shootout.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2008 00:00 ||
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The Frontier Corps (FC) has foiled a terror attempt by seizing a huge haul of weapons and drugs in Chaghi near the Pak-Afghan border, FC Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Brig Furqan Ali said on Tuesday. Acting on a tip-off, the FC raided the Shabian area in Chaghi and seized 940 kilogrammes of morphine, 40 kg of charas, 8 kg of opium, rocket launchers, six hand grenades, mortar rounds, artillery shells, a pistol, a Kalashnikov rifle and a 303 bore rifle, Ali told a press conference. No arrest was reported. To a query, the DIG said police were investigating the kidnapping of Iranian citizens, recovered earlier by the FC. He added that no decision had been taken regarding the deployment of FC in Quetta.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2008 00:00 ||
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Police have arrested at least seven members of the militant outfit Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) and seized weapons from them, sources told Daily Times on Wednesday.
Police backed by the Frontier Constabulary raided houses in the Hayatabad, Peshtakhara, Daudzai, Chamkani, Ormar and Khazana police area and arrested 36 people, the sources said, adding that 29 of them were proclaimed offenders. They said police had seized nine Kalashnikov rifles, seven pistols and 328 cartridges.
Separately, Geo News reported that security forces had arrested 48 militants during a crackdown on militants in Peshawar and its adjoining areas. The channel said the operation in Peshawar had been started after the joint consultation between the federal government, NWFP government and FATA secretariat. Armed forces, the civil administration, Frontier Constabulary and Frontier Corps are jointly pursuing the operation, the channel said.
The government has recently launched an operation against the LI, which has established its sway in Khyber Agency and has been extending its influence to Peshawar.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2008 00:00 ||
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Long-haired young men sporting flowing beards are no more seen in Peshawar markets following the ongoing operation against militants in the Khyber Agencys Bara tehsil. Groups of shaggy men, between the ages of 20 and 30, were seen in the provincial metropolis wearing Chitrali caps and selling rosaries. Some of these groups would ride in cars and sports utility vehicles playing loud jihadi songs especially in the Saddar Bazaar, University Town, Hayatabad and Karkhano Market areas. Some of them also allegedly distributed threatening letters to music shops, internet cafes and fabric shops displaying mannequins in Lal Kurti and Nishtarabad. A shopkeeper, who had covered the faces of mannequins on display in his shop, said anonymously that vigilantes were posing a threat to peace in the city.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2008 00:00 ||
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Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) No II Judge Sakhi Muhammad Kahoot on Tuesday remanded five suspected terrorists in Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) custody for further investigation.
The court remanded accused Arshad, Abdul Sattar and Farhan Mehmood for ten days in FIA custody and adjourned hearing till July 10. They were arrested on the charge of plotting to attack sensitive buildings and high-profile personalities. The court also extended physical remand of two other accused Intahab Abbasi and Kabir for two days and adjourned hearing till July 3. They were arrested from the limits of Sadiqabad police station and a huge quantity of explosive material was recovered from them.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2008 00:00 ||
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Seven more people were killed and 11 others received serious injuries during a fight between two rival groups in Tirah village of the Khyber Agency on Tuesday. 81 people have been killed in total, and more than 100 injured in the dispute. According to media reports, more than 500 people have lost their lives due to fighting between two religious groups for the last two years in the same area. People living in the area are feeling insecure and have started shifting to safer places.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2008 00:00 ||
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Four people were killed in separate incidents of violence in Swat on Tuesday, while the body of a young man was recovered from a river.
Two people were killed and another three injured when unidentified gunmen fired on a car in the Bara Bandai area of Kabal tehsil, police said. Two separate groups of armed men also shot dead an elderly woman in the Shaor Village of Matta tehsil and killed a young man in the Nilagram area of the same tehsil.
In the Bedara area, an unidentified man was recovered from the Swat River.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2008 00:00 ||
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Conflicts surfaced within the ranks of militant leaders on Tuesday when Taliban commanders from the Ahmedzai and Utmanzai Wazir tribes announced the formation of a bloc against Baitullah Mehsud.
We have formed a bloc to defend the Wazir tribes interests in North and South Waziristan, Taliban commander Maulvi Nazir told Daily Times in Wana. He said the bloc was established on Monday. Nazir joined hands with Haji Gul Bahadar, a Taliban chief from North Waziristan, after several weeks of discussions.
Differing views: The two Taliban commanders do not have good relations with Baitullah Mehsud, and both Gul Bahadar and Maulvi Nazir disagree with Baitullahs methods of conducting jihad inside Pakistan, the analysts said.
Meanwhile, Baitullah Mehsud distributed pamphlets in Miranshah on Tuesday, proclaiming that he would never fight Gul Bahadar or his men. Mehsud also demanded of mujahideen in the pamphlet to prove that he had ever said he would fight Gul Bahadar. Analysts claim that Bahadars control of border areas in North Waziristan will make Baitullahs passage through enemy territory difficult.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2008 00:00 ||
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Iraqi forces detain Sadrist leaders, uncover Special Groups headquarter in Amarah
Iraqi forces detained four senior Sadrists members of the Maysan provincial council on Wednesday in the latest series of aids targeting senior Sadrist leaders in the former Mahdi Army bastion of Maysan province. Meanwhile, Iraqi special forces uncovered a Mahdi Army headquarters and several large weapons caches in the provincial capital.
Police and Army units arrested Adel Muhoder al-Maliki, the governor of Maysan province; Abdul Jabar Wahied al Ukeli, the chief of the provincial council; Fadel Neaama, the deputy chief of the security committee; and Abdul Latief Jawad, the head of the health committee. The men were arrested for their involvement with the Mahdi Army.
The four men are senior leaders in the Sadrist movement, the political party run by Muqtada al Sadr. The Sadrist ran Maysan province prior to the security operation launched in mid-June.
Iraqi security forces have detained several senior Sadrist leaders over the past two weeks. Police arrested Rafeaa Jabar, the head of the Sadrist office in Maysan province. He served as the mayor of Amarah as well as the deputy governor of the province. Two other provincial council members were also detained.
The Iraqi military continues to dismantle the Mahdi Army's leadership and infrastructure in Amarah. Police and Army units have "more than 20 individuals on warrants" over the past several days. The US military often refers to members of the Mahdi Army as criminals or members of the Iranian-backed Special Groups.
Among those detained were "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," "the leader of a criminal cell specializing in sectarian killings and a financier for the organization," and "a police officer wanted for his involvement with sectarian killings."
US and Iraqi military officers believe most of the senior leaders of the Mahdi Army fled the region prior to the operation in maysan. More than 1,300 Mahdi Army leaders and fighters fled to Iran, according to an Iraqi intelligence report.
The military has deployed three specialized units to Amarah to hunt the remnants of the Mahdi Army cadres. The Iraqi Special Operations Forces, the Hillah Special Weapons and Tactics team and the Baghdad National Emergency Response Unit are currently operating in Amarah in conjunction with Iraqi infantry and armored formations.
Iraqi forces have uncovered massive amounts of weapons in several caches throughout Amarah, according to a US military press release. The Baghdad National Emergency Response Unit also found what is thought to be "the headquarters for Special Groups" in Amarah.
The headquarters contained a "torture room containing what were identified as interrogation tools and a large number of anti-Coalition propaganda" as well as "a large weapons cache consisting of explosively formed projectiles, more than 100 rounds of assorted ammunition, home-made bombs, wire and anti-tank rounds." Documentation "on methods of attacking Coalition forces convoys" was also found at the site.
Seven large weapons caches were found in Amarah during the past several days. "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," the US military reported.
A local sheikh told the Iraqi and US forces that Amarah serves 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.," a local sheikh told Iraqi and US forces.
Maysan province is a strategic link for the Ramazan Corps, the Iranian military command set up by Qods Force to direct operations inside Iraq. Amarah serves as the Qods ForceRamazan Corps forward command and control center inside Iraq as well as one of the major distribution points for weapons in southern Iraq.
The Iraqi security forces have stepped up operations against the Ramazan Corps and the Mahdi Army in the southern provinces over the past several months. Operation Knights' Assault was launched against the Mahdi Army in Basrah on March 25. After six days of heavy fighting, the Mahdi Army pushed for a cease-fire. The Iraqi security forces also dealt the Mahdi Army a heavy blow in the southern provinces of Najaf, Karbala, Qassadiyah, Maysan, and Wasit.
The Iraqi security forces and the US military also confronted the Mahdi Army in Sadr City in Baghdad. After six weeks of heavy fighting, the Mahdi Army and the Iraqi government signed a cease-fire that allowed the military to enter Sadr City uncontested.
During the month of May, the Iraqi security forces expanded operations throughout Basrah province in Az Zubayr, Al Qurnah, and Abu Al Khasib along the Iranian border. This week, an operation kicked off in Dhi Qhar province, which borders Maysan to the southeast.
The Mahdi Army suffered a significant blow during fighting against Iraqi and Coalition forces this year, according to an Iraq intelligence report. The heavy casualties suffered by the Mahdi Army have forced Muqtada al Sadr, the leader of the Mahdi Army and the Sadrist political movement, to change his tactics and disband the Mahdi Army in favor of a small, secretive fighting force.
(VOI) Iraqi security forces arrested one wanted gunman and seized ammunition in operations conducted in Baghdad, a military spokesman said. "The Iraqi army 42nd brigade captured one gunmen wanted for involvement in sniping and killing civilians in Adhamiya district, north Baghdad," Brig. Gen. Qassem Atta, spokesman for Baghdad's security plan, told Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq - (VOI). The spokesman noted "a national police force 3rd brigade seized 40 canon shells in Jurf al-Nadaf district, south-east Baghdad." "A force from National police 5th brigade discovered three roadside bombs and three missiles during operations conducted in Saydiya district, south Baghdad," he added.
Since February 2007, the Iraqi government has launched a large-scale operation dubbed as Fardh al-Qanoon (Law Imposing) to crack down on gunmen in Baghdad and its districts.
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq and Baghdad province. With a municipal population estimated at 7,000,000, it is the largest city in Iraq. It is the second largest city in the Arab world (after Cairo) and the second largest city in southwest Asia (after Tehran). Located on the Tigris River, the city dates back to at least the 8th century, and probably to pre-Islamic times.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2008 00:00 ||
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(VOI) One policeman was killed and 18 others, including eight policemen, injured in a car bomb explosion that targeted a checkpoint northeast of Baaquba city on Tuesday, police said. "A car bomb went off at 1:00 a.m. near a police checkpoint in the village of al-Nadah, Khanaqin district, (155 km) northeast of Baaquba, killing one policeman and wounding 18 others, including eight policemen," a security source, who asked not to be named, told Aswat al-Iraq Voices of Iraq (VOI).
On Tuesday a police source in Diala said three people of the same family were killed and another wounded when an improvised explosive device (IED) went off near their house south of Baaquba.
"The IED went off near a house in the village of Abi Fayyad, Buhrez district, (5 km) south of Baaquba, killing three brothers and severely wounding their father," the source, who asked not to be named, told VOI.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2008 00:00 ||
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(VOI) A policeman was killed and seven more were wounded in a bomb explosion targeting their vehicle patrol in western Mosul, said a police source. A policeman was killed and seven were wounded in a bomb explosion targeting their vehicle patrol over al-Jisr al-Khames tunnel in western Mosul, the source, who asked for anonymity, told Aswat al-Iraq Voices of Iraq (VOI). The body was sent to the forensic medicine department, while the wounded were rushed to the al-Jomhouri hospital in Mosul for treatment, 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 ||
07/02/2008 00:00 ||
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According to a french source, deathtoll is now 7.
A tractor slammed into a commuter bus, other vehicles and pedestrians in Jerusalem on Wednesday, causing dozens of injuries in an apparent deliberate attack, police said. Israel's Channel Two television said at least one person was killed and some 30 were wounded. The Magen David Adom ambulance service said there were dozens of casualties.
'A suspect driving a tractor ran over a number of vehicles and Israelis in the street, on Jaffa Road. Israeli police arrived at the scene. Many people were injured,' police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.
Emergency vehicles rushed to the scene, where a single-decker commuter bus, its side slashed by the tractor, stood on its side in one of Jewish West Jerusalem's main streets. At least three other vehicles appeared to sustain damage, including a van whose entire front section was crushed.
A radio reporter at the scene said after the tractor hit the vehicles, a man climbed onto its cab and shot at its driver, apparently an Arab, several times. 'I saw the tractor's shovel turn to the bus and deliberately hit it. It hit other vehicles as well,' another Israel Radio reporter said. The driver's condition was not immediately known.
An Arab last carried out an attack in West Jerusalem in March, when a gunmen killed eight students at a religious school, before he was shot dead.
When are you guys going to give them some of it back? I'm not talking about "targeted strikes" but about car bombs set off in the middle of Arab neighborhoods. If the average Arab knew he or his were just as likely to be on the receiving end I suspect his support for such activities would seriously lesson. Until you make these scum fear for their lives they'll keep taking yours. You should scare them enough in both the WB and Gaza that they decide they're better off in Jordan or Gyppoville. Kill them at the rate of 100-1 and you'll see that type of fear.
#3
If jooooos ever attempt to fire back with terror, then, the israeli Gvt would crack down HARD on them (it actually already happened, there had been cells of wannabe counter-terrorists who were snatched by israeli security forces, and were heavily sentenced - no prisoner swaps nor amnisty for them!)... not to mention the fact any counter-terror act would make the World At Large go berserk, whereas paleo-terror is justified by the doxa. Can you remember a certain US dentist? This one is more remembered than the endless stream of arab terror, and is still shmelessly singled out.
Not a bad idea, as a principle, but simply not doable IMHO (today's rocketeers will pay an heavy price, I fear).
#4
Any counter terror attack by Jews would still have to be focused on land, as the only target Muslims care about. Specifically, the long term contamination of Arab land with something that would prevent them from living on it.
Ironically, this could be done in a covert manner and subtly. For example, fertilizer could be poisoned in such a way as to make the entire field useless, with a type of poison uptaken by plants.
It would not become obvious until people ate produce from the field and became sick. Possibly a dioxin, or even some agent that causes sterilization. Birth control for Palestinians.
#6
a man climbed onto its cab and shot at its driver..
applause
Posted by: Jan ||
07/02/2008 9:04 Comments ||
Top||
#7
Bethlehem Ma'an/Agencies Ahrar Al-Jalil, a self-proclaimed militant group based inside Israel, claimed responsibility for the bulldozer attack in Jerusalem that left four people dead and more than 70 injured on Wednesday afternoon.
In a statement Ahrar Al-Jalil named the attacker as 30-year-old Husam Tayseer Dwayat from a village in east Jerusalem. They said he was married and had two children.
The statement also said he was recruited to the Ahrar Al-Jalil on 5 February 2008. Ahrar Al-Jalil also calls itself the "Imad Mughniyya Group" after the slain leader of the military wing of Hizbullah.
#15
The attack happened right in front a building housing several news organizations -- including CNN's Jerusalem bureau -- on Jaffa Road, one of the longest and oldest streets in the city.
#17
A radio reporter at the scene said after the tractor hit the vehicles, a man climbed onto its cab and shot at its driver, apparently an Arab, several times.
Would this be a civilian carry permit?
I call it 'Night of the D9s'. Rig of a bunch of old vans with remote control and attach onto the front some silouettes of D9s and line them up abreast. Make a feint towards the border after dusk with a minimal smoke barrage - just enough to obscure vision but not obscure the move and start driving them towards a town. Have air and artillery drop rounds wherever a RPG tracer comes from. Do that all night, let them shoot their wad. Come daylight, make a real attack at the massed enemy combatants. Take the real D9s in when deemed acceptable and plow a Star of David into the urban area, take an arial shot and drop pamplets with the picture and the saying "If you think 1 Israli is worth 450 of you, then we will make it happen."
#19
Moshe Plesser, the off-duty soldier who shot and killed the terrorist on Wednesday, was riding his bike down Jaffa Road when he spotted the overturned bus and a massive bulldozer tearing through the streets of Jerusalem.
Understanding that the Arab driver behind the wheel was in the midst of a terror rampage, Plesser, on a furlough from the Golani Brigade's elite Egoz unit, threw his bike to the side of the road and began chasing after the bulldozer.
Speaking with reporters several hours after the attack, Plesser recalled the sequence of events that led to his courageous action on Wednesday. He is the brother-in-law of Capt. David Shapira, the IDF officer who stormed the Mercaz Harav Yeshiva in March and killed the Arab terrorist who had massacred eight students in the religious seminary.
As he began running towards the bulldozer, Plesser said that he shouted out to onlookers for a gun. Together with another civilian, Plesser climbed aboard the bulldozer and began wrestling with the driver.
"At one point he [the driver] yelled out "Allah Akhbar" [God is great] and stepped on the gas pedal," Plesser recalled. "I drew the weapon of the civilian who was with me and shot the driver three times in the head. I think I did what is expected from every soldier and citizen."
The kid is hanging on to the outside of the vehicle cab, and when he shoots the terrorist in the head with his pistol, you can actually see the perfect silhouette of a 6 inch hole appear in the middle of the mofo's head!
#21
#18 A remote control D9 (Unmanned Armored Vehicle) might come in handy for purposes beyond random killing of civilians for publicity purposes.
I'd much prefer killing only young arab men, but if it's what it takes, I don't mind doing a Tokyo or Dresden in the West Bank, and all of Gaza would be a nice target. The only way Israel can live in "peace" with its neighbors is the way it worked following the 6-day war - with an Israeli boot on arab necks.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/02/2008 13:50 Comments ||
Top||
#24
HMMMMMM, Russ model RUSLANA in NYC, deadly Japanese knife attack, five Chin policemen killed, now Israel - METHINKS INTEL-PYWAR IS GETTING A BIT TOO KILL/BLOOD-HAPPY!
THE FLINTSONES > "Don't you think you're being a little greedy there, Bub.......I have a good mind to report you to the PYWAR Union".
A Jordanian prosecutor on Tuesday charged Dutch politician Geert Wilders with blasphemy and contempt of Muslims for making an anti-Koran film and ordered him to stand trial in the kingdom, judicial sources said.
In Riyadh, the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), a league of 56 Muslim nations, said it was seething 'deeply annoyed' after Dutch prosecutors said on Monday they would not take action against Wilders as he was protected by the right to free speech. 'The decision ... encourages and supports the irresponsible defamatory style followed by some media outlets and instigates feelings of hatred, animosity and antipathy towards Muslims,' the Saudi Arabia-based OIC, said in a statement.
Expect more eye-rolling and face-making in the near-future ...
The film produced by Wilders, 'Fitna,' a Koranic term sometimes translated as 'strife,' accused the Muslim holy book of inciting violence and prompted protests and condemnation in many Muslim countries.
Dutch prosecutors also received complaints about comments Wilders made in newspaper interviews including one in which he compared Islam's holy book to Hitler's Mein Kampf.
Given that Mein Kampf is openly sold in bookstores in most Muslim countries, one wonders what the complaint is about ...
The OIC said the prosecutors' decision showed they ignored the 'thin line separating freedom of speech and the instigation of hatred, animosity and discrimination.'
Somehow the spittle-throwing imans in European countries never have any trouble with that thin line ...
Judicial sources in Amman said Jordanian prosecutor Judge Abdallat had charged Wilders after a legal complaint by a coalition of Jordanian activists and community leaders. An order was issued through the Dutch embassy in Amman to bring Wilders to stand trial. The charges carry a maximum sentence of three years in prison, lawyers said.
Wilders, whose right-wing, anti-immigration Freedom Party has nine of the 150 seats in the Dutch parliament, welcomed the Dutch prosecutors' ruling and said he had been careful to limit his criticism to the religion of Islam and not Muslims.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Perhaps the OIC could put together a counter-video showing how those statements in Fitna were taken out of context?
Ma'an Fatah's Al-Aqsa Brigades on Tuesday accused the Palestinian police affiliated to the de facto government based in the Gaza Strip of apprehending one of their leaders, Usama Abu 'Amsha, in the Beit Hanoun area of the northern Gaza Strip.
They demanded the de facto government give directives to its security services to release Abu 'Amsha who has survived a number of Israeli assassination attempts.
The Al-Aqsa Brigades also reiterated their adherence to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' directives regarding the ceasefire for the sake of Palestinian higher interests. They also called on all Palestinian factions to stop what they called 'arbitrary political apprehension.'
For its part, de facto government's interior ministry denied that its police arrested Abu 'Amsha, according to spokesperson Eyhab Abu Al-Ghusein.
This article starring:
Usama Abu 'Amsha
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2008 00:00 ||
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Ma'an - Israeli special forces detained an Islamic Jihad activist and his brother in Tulkarem in the northern West Bank on Tuesday. More than ten military vehicles stormed the city and surrounded a building in Nablus Street where Mutassem Al-Iraqi was located.
Maans correspondent said that Israeli forces used police dogs to storm the building and detained Al-Iraqi and his brother Alaa who are in their twenties. They also searched the building before withdrawing.
This article starring:
Mutassem Al-Iraqi
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2008 00:00 ||
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Ma'an exclusive - Israeli settlers from the Bracha settlement south of Nablus launched two homemade projectiles at a neighboring Palestinian village on Tuesday afternoon. No injuries have been reported.
Palestinian security sources told Ma'an that the Israeli settlers launched two projectiles as a test for the two sorts of projectiles they are producing, the 'Sharon 1' and 'Sharon 2.'
Jamal An-Najjar a member of the Palestinian police in the village of Burin told a Ma'an's Nablus correspondent, "settlers launched two homemade projectiles from the settlement of Bracha at the village of Burin, with no injuries reported."
An-Najjar added that the projectiles, which were between 15 and 30 centimeters long, landed in open areas just meters from Palestinian houses.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
the projectiles, which were between 15 and 30 centimeters long
#2
Let's hope that the final product has the same quality differential that exists between most things Arab and Israeli. These guys are on the right track; start shooting back immediately and with greater effect and they'll start learning not to poke the hornet's nest. Or they won't, in which case they'll die.
BTW, you could make a real good start with throwing the enemy-aiding UN organizations out of your country immediately. Be kind; give them 24 hours.
#3
I used to read High Power Rocketry Magazine. They advertized for a hands-on course in solid rocket motor construction, really big motors, not for 30 cm rockets, more like 3 meter rockets. I wonder if the magazine and the course are still around, as I understand that since 9/11, the BATF wants to ban the hobby now. Does Israel have a BATF?
#6
I recall from EXODUS, that years ago they used a car spring to launch sploding sky mail. With a little practice, you can work out the weight and fuse length to produce some effective shelling.
#7
I recall from EXODUS
Man did you hate that 40 years thing? I thought I was the only one still around from that deal. I kept saying, it's just north of here damnit, let's just walk in a straight line for a change. But nooooooooooooooooo!
GAZA CITY - Israel again sealed off the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Tuesday in retaliation for a rocket attack the previous day in breach of a truce in and around the impoverished Palestinian enclave.
Military authorities closed the three border crossing points that had been used mainly to deliver humanitarian supplies to Gaza since Israel imposed a blockade after the June 2007 bloody takeover by the Islamist Hamas movement.
It wasn't immediately clear when border crossings would reopen. "We'll review the situation at the end of the day and then take a decision," said Israeli military spokesman Peter Lerner.
Keep reviewing ...
On Monday a rocket landed in an open field in southern Israel, causing no damage or casualties, according to Israeli police. No one claimed responsibility for the attack.
An Egyptian-mediated truce agreement between Israel and Hamas entails a gradual easing of the blockade, but the border crossings have been closed most days since June 19 in response to rocket attacks by Gaza militants.
"Nothing will stop our efforts to bring calm and ensure the security of the population in the south (of Israel) and to continue negotiations to achieve peace," Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said in the southern town of Kyriat Gat.
Hamas has insisted it is respecting the truce and trying to prevent other armed groups from firing rockets at southern Israel by vowing to arrest those responsible for the attacks.
Oh sure, and they've been so effective at their vows ...
Palestinians and UN officials have said Israeli soldiers had also violated the truce, firing shots across the border into Gaza several times, wounding at least two people. In the latest incident on Tuesday, a Palestinian woman, Aisha Ataya, 35, was shot in the foot near the border east of the southern town of Khan Yunis, according to Muawiya Hassanein, the head of Gaza emergency services.
Israelis don't shot people in the foot, that's a Paleo specialty ...
Witnesses said the woman was hit when Israeli troops posted along the border opened fire on a group of farmers. But an Israeli military spokesman said that after a "preliminary investigation" the army was "not familiar" with the incident.
The army, despite witness comments, denies that it has shot any Palestinians since the truce came into affect, saying troops have only fired warning shots in the air which have not caused any casualties.
Meanwhile two people were lightly wounded on June 24 when three rockets were fired at southern Israel. The attack was claimed by the Islamic Jihad movement, which later agreed to abide by the ceasefire. Last Thursday a rocket fired by the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an armed group loosely linked to the Fatah movement of secular Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, hit near the Israeli town of Sderot.
Hamas briefly held the Brigades' spokesman after the attack.
Dusted him off, patted him on the back, given him a bonus, and got him back to his office ...
The Islamist rulers of Gaza say that, by keeping border crossings closed, Israel is not keeping to its part of the truce. "The closure of the crossings by the Zionist occupation (Israel) is an obstruction to the terms of the period of calm and is aimed at blackmailing the Palestinian resistance factions," Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhum told AFP.
On Tuesday, Egypt opened the Rafah border, the only Gaza crossing that bypasses Israel, to allow 350 Palestinians, including people in need of medical care, to leave the Gaza Strip, according to Hamas officials. Egyptian officials said it would remain open for two days.
Hamas has sought the permanent reopening of the Rafah border crossing as part of the truce agreement, but Israel has insisted the issue would only be addressed after progress is made in negotiations for the release of a soldier captured by Palestinian militants two years ago.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/02/2008 00:00 ||
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The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Tuesday confirmed that the suspected member of the Abu Sayyaf Group nabbed in Sunshine, Basilan is a minor.
Rear Admiral Emilio Marayag Jr., chief of the Naval Forces Western Mindanao-Combined Command, said the suspect only identified as alias Askalani Bapakie, who was arrested last June 28, is only 15 years old.
Marayag said Bapakie admitted during tactical interrogation that he participated in the Albarka ambush on July 10, 2007 where 10 marines were beheaded.
Bapakie was also reportedly involved in September 2007 Silangkum encounter where five Marine officers were killed and more than a dozen were wounded.
Marayag added that Bapakie was positively identified by some witnesses in his involvement in the attack on the Marine detachment in Tong-bato, Ungkaya Pukan last May 25, 2008.
Bapakie was arrested by the Philippine Marines at a checkpoint in Isabela City.
The military is contemplating the filing of charges against the suspect. Marayag, however, said they will seek legal advice since the suspect is a minor.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Abu Sayyaf
Fighting between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the military in North Cotabato, broke out again Tuesday morning. Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner Jr., Philippine Army public affairs chief, said some 120 armed MILF rebels attacked members of the Army's 40th Infantry Battalion in Pagangan village in Aleosan town around 8:30 a.m.
Brawner said the Moro fighters were members of the 105th and 108th commands of the MILF led by commanders Motalib Kague Limbas, Talanok, Mustapha, and Manalapas. The Army spokesman said firefights were ongoing. He said there were no reported casualties 'so far.'
The attack came four days after another group of MILF rebels attacked two military detachments in Midsayap and Aleosan towns. Police and military units in the province had been placed on heightened alert status after alleged the sighting of hundreds of armed MILF rebels in at least seven towns, including Aleosan and Midsayap.
MILF and military forces had also clashed in Sarangani province last week. At least 700 families from Maitum town left their homes to avoid being caught between the fighting forces. The military had said the clashes in Saranggani were ignited by attacks carried out by the Moro rebel.
The MILF meanwhile said on its Web site (www.luwaran.com) that before the fighting broke out Army troopers were sent to Barangay Ticulab in Maitum to check on rumors that some rebels were planning to launch an attack 'due to their looming frustrations on the government insincerity with the ongoing peace process.'
'The rumors are believed to be fueled by warmongers and parties against the peace process. Thus, this unfortunate incident occurred,' the rebel group said.
The joint MILF-government Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities had re-implemented the ceasefire in the area. The displaced residents had been given by the military a go signal to return to their homes.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
COUNTERRORISM BLOG > looks like Manila is anticipating increases in Islamist, etc. insurgent violence, and to occur also in INDONESIA.
IOW, SSSSHHHHHHHHHH, GETTING CLOSER TO GUAM-MICRONESIA!?
At least 27 Tamil Tigers and two soldiers were killed in fresh fighting between the rebels and government troops across the embattled northern Sri Lanka, the military said on Wednesday.
One civilian and a person trying to snatch a weapon from air force personnel were also killed in separate incidents in the East.
Troops killed three Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels in Ampaddankulam in Vavuniya front Tuesday, the Defence Ministry said adding, one soldier also lost his life in the incident.
During a subsequent search operation, troops also recovered a T-56 assault rifle and 25 AP mine fuses, security sources said.
At least 17 Tamil Tigers were killed and 15 others injured in Vavuniya on Tuesday in a spate of clashes in Periyamadu, Palamoddai, Navvi and Ampaddankulama.
During intense fighting on the Welioya battle front in north-eastern Sri Lanka, seven LTTE rebels and a soldier were killed and 20 soldiers sustained injuries yesterday, the Ministry said. Among the 20 were five security personnel who were wounded in mine explosions.
Troops captured seven LTTE bunkers during an operation launched in Kokkuthduvai area on Tuesday.
There was no immediate word from the rebel LTTE on the latest violence.
An Iranian navy commander leading a unit that arrested 15 UK sailors in the Persian Gulf last year has survived an assassination attempt.
MIssed him by that much!
The attack on Colonel Abolqasem Amangah, the commander of the Arvand Rood Navy Base in southern Iran, occurred while he was driving in the eastern Sorkh Hesar district of Tehran last week.
Two groups of unidentified assailants, a group on a motorbike and the other in a car, opened fire on the vehicle of the Iranian commander. Amangah pulled his car over, took shelter, and managed to escape unhurt.
Two groups of unidentified assailants need to spend less time looking macho and more time at the target range ...
Security forces have launched an investigation into the incident.
On March 2007, the forces under command of Colonel Amangah, arrested 15 British sailors who trespassed on the Iranian territorial waters. The sailors were pardoned by the Iranian government and released later.
The navy commander was decorated for his bravery after the incident.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble ||
07/02/2008 00:00 ||
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[4 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
Isn't that an interesting tidbit! The Brits looking for a little payback or internal Iranian political jostling?
#3
This is likely a bit of Iranian application of discipline. Publicly they had to decorate him, privately, he screwed up and pissed off the Brits who hadn't yet fallen in line regarding sanctions.
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 (Rooters) - A helicopter belonging to U.S.-led coalition troops was shot down by small-arms fire south of the Afghan capital on Wednesday, but there were no serious injuries to those on board, the U.S. military said.
(Reuters) - Somali gunmen have kidnapped five local employees of an Italian charity and the United Nations in the latest attack on humanitarian staff in the country, the head of the Italian group said on Tuesday.
MADRID - Spanish police on Monday arrested three Algerian-born men suspected of belonging to a network financing Al-Qaeda-linked terrorist groups, the Interior Ministry said. Two of the men were arrested near the southern town of Huelva while the other was picked up in Azkoitia in the northern Basque country.
JAMMU: Fifty people were injured, including 13 in a grenade attack by militants on a rally in Bhaderwah, as Jammu on Wednesday saw stepped-up violence against the Amarnath land transfer revocation, forcing authorities to deploy the Army in sensitive areas. 
Four men were killed during a shootout between two rival groups over a dispute at Pai-Abizar area in Tank district on Tuesday, police said. 
Long-haired young men sporting flowing beards are no more seen in Peshawar markets following the ongoing operation against militants in the Khyber Agencys Bara tehsil. Groups of shaggy men, between the ages of 20 and 30, were seen in the provincial metropolis wearing Chitrali caps and selling rosaries. Some of these groups would ride in cars and sports utility vehicles playing loud jihadi songs especially in the Saddar Bazaar, University Town, Hayatabad and Karkhano Market areas. Some of them also allegedly distributed threatening letters to music shops, internet cafes and fabric shops displaying mannequins in Lal Kurti and Nishtarabad. A shopkeeper, who had covered the faces of mannequins on display in his shop, said anonymously that vigilantes were posing a threat to peace in the city.
Conflicts surfaced within the ranks of militant leaders on Tuesday when Taliban commanders from the Ahmedzai and Utmanzai Wazir tribes announced the formation of a bloc against Baitullah Mehsud.
Iraqi forces detained four senior Sadrists members of the Maysan provincial council on Wednesday in the latest series of aids targeting senior Sadrist leaders in the former Mahdi Army bastion of Maysan province. Meanwhile, Iraqi special forces uncovered a Mahdi Army headquarters and several large weapons caches in the provincial capital.
At least 27 Tamil Tigers and two soldiers were killed in fresh fighting between the rebels and government troops across the embattled northern Sri Lanka, the military said on Wednesday. 
An Iranian navy commander leading a unit that arrested 15 UK sailors in the Persian Gulf last year has survived an assassination attempt.
