#6
The way Miss Grahame is centered on those rays reminds one powerfully of the Obama logo. Only she doesn't have his insipidly superior expression. He appears to be a keen bicyclist, so perhaps his legs are quite as good, although I think I'd prefer not to be forced to make that judgement.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/04/2008 9:37 Comments ||
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#12
Does it taste like chicken, Fred? ;-p
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
09/04/2008 10:18 Comments ||
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#13
A request. I can get Rantburg at work, but only if I use the IP address. When I switched to firefox 3 it changed my bookmark to rantburg.com so no more 'burg while at work. Can someone, Fred or the mods, tell me the IP address? I'm dying at work now.
Posted by: Scott R ||
09/04/2008 10:30 Comments ||
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You're not suppose to get Rantburg at work unless you are either on a chain gang, work at Mattewan State hospital for the criminally insane or are with the CIA.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
09/04/2008 13:14 Comments ||
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#18
Democratically speaking, the ayes legs have it.
Fifteen people including women and children were killed in northwestern Pakistan Wednesday in a raid involving helicopter gunships used by international troops in Afghanistan, security officials said.
Pakistani Defence Minister Ahmed Mukhtar said aircraft belonging to foreign forces in Afghanistan attacked three houses at 4:30 a.m. (2230 GMT). He declined to comment further, saying the Foreign Ministry was investigating. A top security official told AFP that "(f)our helicopter gunships from across the border carried out the raid."
A local official in South Waziristan tribal district claimed the helicopters dropped soldiers from the NATO-led force in Afghanistan (ISAF) in the border village of Jalal Khel and flew them back after the attack.
Assault on sovereignty
The official, Mowaz Khan, said the pre-dawn raid took place as residents were having their last meal before fasting as part of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. He said the foreign soldiers opened fire on the locals when they came out of their houses upon hearing the sound of helicopters.
The attack is likely to spark uproar in Pakistan where it will be seen as undermining sovereignty at a time when a new civilian government is struggling to assert authority in the turbulent nuclear-armed state. "It is outrageous," Owais Ahmed Ghani, governor of North West Frontier province, said in a statement. "This is a direct assault on the sovereignty of Pakistan and the people of Pakistan expect that the armed forces ... would rise to defend the sovereignty of the country and give a befitting reply," he said.
However, a spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan said he was not aware of such an operation. He added that ISAF does not have a mandate to attack outside the borders of Afghanistan unless its troops come under fire from within Pakistan, in which case the force can respond with artillery.
Pakistan's army confirmed there had been an attack. "We confirm an attack was carried out in a border village and we are gathering details," army spokesman Major Murad Khan told AFP.
Lauch pad for attacks
Raids with helicopters or aircraft are extremely rare but U.S. media recently reported that the United States was planning direct attacks on Pakistani soil, blaming Islamabad for failing to tackle militants based there.
A recent series of missile strikes targeting rebels in Pakistan has been attributed to U.S.-led coalition forces or CIA drones based in Afghanistan.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/04/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
"Ummmm...we didn't send any helos. Obama must've sent 'em. Go pester David Axelrod, we've got bigger fish to icewaxturn into a red mist and lingering odor fry."
#4
I think the Fijian Special Forces have a helicopter, but I can't be sure - they're such a secretive bunch.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
09/04/2008 13:18 Comments ||
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#5
Women and children of Pakistan. Listen to me. You are civilians and as such you are in greater danger the more you hang around, near to or adjacent to Taleban, Binny and Doc and their merchants of boom. Time to move on to Karachi, Rawalpindi or Lahore. But for Allah's sake get out of NWFP and the War-stans. Now is not the time to dawdle and become pieces of Taleban stew meat. Now is a time for action. Grab your burqa's and flee.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
09/04/2008 13:25 Comments ||
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#6
if they sent in choppers, had to have been a major HVT. Nothing on who, or even if, is there?
(AKI) - Two Turkish soldiers were killed and nine others were injured on Wednesday in an armed attack believed to have been carried out by Kurdish separatists in eastern Turkey. The armed attack on a military vehicle occurred in the Kigi district of the eastern province of Bingol, Turkish news agencies reported.
Irfan Balkanoglu, governor of the province, said the two soldiers had been seriously injured in the ambush while on their way to secure the construction site of a dam in Kigi. They were rushed to hospital by helicopter, but later died.
Members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) was believed to have been responsible for the attack. Turkish security forces killed four PKK separatists on Wednesday in an operation to track down those responsible. Security forces also seized rifles, rocket projectiles, hand grenades and ammunition from the alleged terrorists.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/04/2008 00:00 ||
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Pastor Parsley is the spiritual advisor to presumptive Republican Presidential nominee Senator John McCain. The threat offers a $50,000.00 bounty for the head of Pastor Parsley.
"To each of Nasser taghoots this is America incite fighting all Muslims
To both defend Americans from the Muslims, this is America incite fighting all Muslims
To all secular Ethan, this is America incite fighting all Muslims
Toner to the bad and scientists Sultan, this is America incite fighting all Muslims
The dogs and interior ministries in the Arab and Muslim worlds, this is America incite fighting all Muslims
The sincerity of the Mujahideen in the name of Allah and there is superseding Khose and Almkzlon, the Americans claim to a crusade and annoy Allah and His Messenger, it would read the article fully aware repugnant to Islam and the Reverend Enough of this lowliness and Hakarh when he says that God Almighty is the devil who was revealed to Muhammad peace be upon him.
This is Rod Carsley Rod Parsley, who incited Christians in the United States to prepare to fight a war to eliminate the new crusade against Islam and Muslims, through speeches and written by the famous religious center in the pro-American Republicans. This is a priest's spiritual adviser McCain now
This picture of the American priest - Treasury God - Muslims, it is able to do it already, who is president of the Church "World Harvest" and you following URL who wants to prosecute and eliminate
And praise to God we have God for the allocation of $ 50 thousand dollars to those who bring this dog's head, which hurt Allah and His Messenger."...
Posted by: Marilyn Phuger5471 ||
09/04/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
So which mullah offered this reward?
He should be visited by a black chopper on a dark night...
#4
I've seen lots of stuff translated from Arabic that doesn't make sense. I occasionally think that native Arabic speakers think in nonsense.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/04/2008 7:39 Comments ||
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#5
Arabic seems to be a very dialectal, archaic and regionally fragmented tongue IIUC, and on top of that, and I base this purely on the correct english translations I've seen from sources like Memri, it seems very "flowery" and emphatic. Or, possibly, this is just due to the usual bluster and hyperbole from muslim Pious Men or Ferocious Insurgents? Reminds me of that old and now unPC joke about how one arab is named Abu Zayd Abd ar-Rahmân Ibn Muhammad Ibn Khâlid al-Hadramî, all this to say that his father and grandfather were goat-hoarders...
MIRANSHAH, Pakistan (Reuters) - Four Islamist militants were killed and five wounded in a missile attack by a suspected U.S. drone in Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal region on Thursday, security officials and witnesses said.
The attack targeted the house of a tribesman, Rehman Wali, in the Mohammad Khel area, near the border with Afghanistan, where the militants were hiding. "Apparently three missiles were fired by the drone," a witness in the area told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
U.S. military forces landed at a compound in Pakistan to battle targets linked to recent attacks on U.S. troops in Afghanistan, a senior U.S. official confirmed Wednesday.
The official declined to be identified, citing the extreme sensitivity of U.S. forces operating within Pakistan's borders. So why did you say it?
He had to prove to the reporter how important he was ...
The action was an uncommon one for the U.S. military. Generally, NATO forces do not enter Pakistan except when pursuing insurgents in Afghanistan who slipped over the border or, in an extreme case, to pursue a high-value target.
Now, lemme see here: they weren't pursuing turbans that slipped across the border, so that leaves...?
The Pentagon has refused to comment officially on the attack, but several defense officials acknowledged that U.S. military activity had taken place inside Pakistan. The senior U.S. official said a small number of U.S. helicopters landed troops in the village near Angoor Adda in South Waziristan, where Taliban and al Qaeda fighters have hunkered down over the years. Not any more.
Local media reports said the troops came out of a chopper and fired on civilians. The U.S. official said there may have been a small number of women and children in the immediate vicinity, but when the mission began "everybody came out firing" from the compound.
"Maw! You and the young 'uns get out there and fire at the infidels!"
"Sure, Paw. What'll you be doing?"
"Ummm... I'm gonna go get help!"
And hopefully US forces managed to kill every last innocent civilian who was shooting at them.
He said the U.S. troops specifically attacked three buildings in the compound. They were believed to contain individuals responsible for training and equipping insurgents who have been crossing the border into Afghanistan in increasing numbers in recent months and staging large-scale, high-profile attacks against U.S. and coalition forces.
The official could not say if the troops were going after a specific individual.
Nor should they ...
Officials told CNN there was no indication the target was Osama bin Laden or his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri.
Pakistan's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday lodged a protest against U.S.-led coalition and NATO forces for what it said was a "helicopter-borne ground attack" from Afghanistan into Pakistan, an uncommon tactic in the coalition's fight against militants along the violent border.
The coalition and NATO have been seeking a way to effectively battle militants launching attacks from Pakistan's swath of tribal areas along the border. They have become frustrated with Pakistan over the years, saying it is not being proactive enough against militants, a claim denied by Pakistan -- now in political flux after the resignation of President Pervez Musharraf.
Top U.S. and Pakistani military officials last week met on an aircraft carrier regarding American concerns that Pakistan hasn't been cracking down hard enough on the Taliban.
Just a reminder of who has muscle and who doesn't ...
The Pakistani Foreign Ministry described the strike as "a helicopter-borne ground attack supported by air assets based in Afghanistan" and called it a "gross violation of Pakistan territory." Pakistan not killing these a-holes ends up in even grosser violations of Afghani territory and lives. Does this make Pakistan complicit? It does in my book.
Pakistani officials were still counting the casualties. One local official said the raid left 20 civilians dead. Pakistan military spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said seven civilians died and others were critically injured. Still counting? What's so hard? Can't find anyone who knows how to count higher than ten?
"It is, indeed, most unfortunate that coalition/ISAF in Afghanistan have resorted to cross-border use of force against civilians," the Pakistan Foreign Ministry said in a written statement. ISAF is NATO's International Security Assistance Force. Yeah, the fact that you guys won't do your job is most unfortunate. On that we can all agree.
Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokesman said the U.S. ambassador to Pakistan was summoned to provide an explanation of the incident. "It's basically because you guys won't do your job."
"Such actions are counterproductive and certainly do not help our joint efforts to fight terrorism," the ministry said. "On the contrary, they undermine the very basis of cooperation and may fuel the fire of hatred and violence that we are trying to extinguish. Moreover, any attack on Pakistani territory is unacceptable and constitutes a grave provocation." Great! Then next time when we tell you where they eat, sleep, and $hit, then we can count on you to cooperate and bring us back their heads. Right?
Owais Ahmed Ghani, the administrative head of Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas, called the strike "a direct assault on the sovereignty of Pakistan. And the people of Pakistan expect that the Armed Forces of Pakistan would rise to defend the sovereignty of the country and give a befitting reply to all such attacks." Like expressing thanks for the assist and going back to sleep? Like not stirring up nationalism? Cool. All people who live under the shadow of terrorism will appreciate it.
#2
NPR did a story on this last night. Of course it was very slanted with US soldiers taking people out of their houses and shooting them execution-style in the head. Women, children, cows, you name it, the Americans killed it. Then the British reporter went into a bit of background about the US and Pakistani Military Higher-ups meeting on a US "Battleship" to discuss things. Disgusting piece by NPR.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
09/04/2008 7:34 Comments ||
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#3
"a neutral country has the obligation not to allow its territory to be used by a belligerent. If the neutral country is unwilling or unable to prevent this, the other belligerent has the right to take appropriate action." - Hague Convention of 1907
#4
Pentagon officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the raid by special operations forces targeted suspected al Qaeda operatives and signaled a possible intensification of American efforts to disrupt militant safe havens in Pakistan.
The United States says al Qaeda and Taliban safe havens in Pakistan are fueling an increasingly sophisticated and deadly insurgency against U.S., NATO and Afghan forces across the border in eastern Afghanistan.
Wednesday's raid has been described publicly as the first known incursion into Pakistan by U.S.-led troops since the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. But Pentagon officials said privately the presence of U.S. troops in Pakistan marked a return to tactics the American military has not used since soon after the Afghanistan invasion.
U.S. concerns about the growing threat of militant attacks from bases inside Pakistan prompted top U.S. military officials including Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen to meet secretly with Pakistan's military chief last week aboard a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Indian Ocean. "The safe havens in the border regions provide launching pads for these sorts of attacks, and they need to be shut down," Mullen later told reporters at the Pentagon.
I think the rest of the article makes it clear, no? 1. To counter the accusations about civilian casualties 2. To add to the pressure on Paki to do more, if they dont want to be embarassed by the US doing this
Its too sensitive for a formal admission we did it, but not too sensitive for a deliberate leak.
#9
Did Obama order this? And what would NPR say if he did?
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
09/04/2008 13:30 Comments ||
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#10
#8 So is this what McCain would call the "Gates of Hell"? Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305
Nah, not even by half. This was just a polite call, to make sure everyone was cognisant of a change in policy. If we were to open the "Gates of Hell", there wouldn't even be grass left in the Tribal areas. The military created a film of an ARCLIGHT strike in Nevada, at a firepower demonstration. I wish there was an uploaded version that I could link to. Half the people in the viewing stand reported temporary hearing loss, and they were 20 miles from the impact area.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
09/04/2008 13:43 Comments ||
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#11
Hot double damn, OP.
Keep trying to find that video - you know it's out there someplace. (Or can be put out there by the right people.) :-D
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
09/04/2008 13:48 Comments ||
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#12
"Top U.S. and Pakistani military officials last week met on an aircraft carrier..."
Comment overheard during a tour of the boat to one of the Pakis: " See how many toys we have out here on JUST THIS ONE? And we have 12 more JUST LIKE IT!" How long you wanna protest about a little helicopter excursion, punk?"
#13
Actually, the denail/admission thing is pretty common. Oficially, "nope, twasn't us". Unofficially, a message - "Yeah, nice little country you got here, Ahmed....."
#15
Those were not NATO forces crossing the Pak border, they were undocumented workers just trying to earn a living cleaning up the trash that the locals refuse to clean up.
#16
OP: Nah, not even by half. This was just a polite call, to make sure everyone was cognisant of a change in policy.
Damn Old Patriot if only we could do a Half Dozen ARC LIGHT Strikes on NPR & PBS this year using Pure GBU Bull Shit from 30,000 feet we have the War Won in half the time. >:)
#20
That compound is only 300 meters away from a Pakistani military post.
Posted by: john frum ||
09/04/2008 17:42 Comments ||
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#21
Preparted statement follows:
This is not an invasion of Pakistan Cambodia. The areas in which these attacks will be launched are completely occupied and controlled by Taliban North Vietnamese forces. Our purpose is not to occupy the areas. Once enemy forces are driven out of these sanctuaries and once their military supplies are destroyed, we will withdraw.....maybe.
#22
Once enemy forces are driven out of these sanctuaries and once their military supplies are destroyed, we will withdraw.....maybe.
You forgot the last bit, Besoeker:
and once responsible Pakistani authorities have established the rule of law and equal treatment under the law for the entire population, then we will happily withdraw.
Always happy to help, dear. ;-) You see how easy it is, Regional Peace? Since it was Russian troops and Russian weaponry in South Ossetia, and the Georgians were quite willing to treat the South Ossetians as equals under Georgian law, there was no reason for Russia to invade.
At least 32 police recruits have been seized by unidentified men in the Bara sub-division of Khyber Agency on Wednesday. The recruits were on their way to the Police Training Centre in Hangu, sources told Daily Times. Officials expressed ignorance about the incident. However, an official of the DSP office in Hangu said a number of recruits were missing. One recruit said they had been travelling in public transport, and the armed men were searching for Shias.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/04/2008 00:00 ||
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The Foreign Office on Wednesday summoned United States Ambassador Anne W Patterson and protested a raid by suspected US troops in a village near Angoor Adda. Foreign Office spokesman Muhammad Sadiq said such attacks "may fuel the fire of hatred and violence that we are trying to extinguish".
Posted by: Fred ||
09/04/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Perfunctory criticism to placate the locals, or genuine outrage? Methinks the former.
Another two alleged militant commanders of Adezai and Matani surrendered to the police here on Tuesday. The commanders who surrendered included Amjad Wadan and Roohul Amin.
The suspects were said to be the main characters behind the bomb blasts, rocket attacks and ambushes on police parties and police stations in the area between Darra Adamkhel and the urban Peshawar. There are nine other suspects who are still at large.
This article starring:
Darra Adamkhel
AFSAR ZADA
TTP
AFZAL KHAN
TTP
AMJAD KHAN
TTP
AMJAD WADA
TTP
IKHTIAR KHAN
TTP
JAN ALAM
TTP
KHAIRULLAH
TTP
KHALID NAWAZ
TTP
MAJID KHAN
TTP
QARI SAJID RAZA
TTP
RUHUL AMIN
TTP
WAHID SHAH
TTP
Posted by: Fred ||
09/04/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
O woe is me for the merry life
I led beyond the Bar,
And a treble woe for my winsome wife
That weeps at Shalimar.
They have taken away my long jezail,
My shield and sabre fine,
And heaved me into the Central jail
For lifting of the kine.
The steer may low within the byre,
The Jat may tend his grain,
But there'll be neither loot nor fire
Till I come back again.
And God have mercy on the Jat
When once my fetters fall,
And Heaven defend the farmer's hut
When I am loosed from thrall.
It's woe to bend the stubborn back
Above the grinching quern,
It's woe to hear the leg-bar clack
And jingle when I turn!
But for the sorrow and the shame,
The brand on me and mine,
I'll pay you back in leaping flame
And loss of the butchered kine.
For every cow I spared before
In charity set free,
If I may reach my hold once more
I'll reive an honest three.
For every time I raised the low
That scared the dusty plain,
By sword and cord, by torch and tow
I'll light the land with twain!
Ride hard, ride hard to Abazai,
Young Sahib with the yellow hair
Lie close, lie close as khuttucks lie,
Fat herds below Bonair!
The one I'll shoot at twilight-tide,
At dawn I'll drive the other;
The black shall mourn for hoof and hide,
The white man for his brother.
'Tis war, red war, I'll give you then,
War till my sinews fail;
For the wrong you have done to a chief of men,
And a thief of the Zukka Kheyl.
And if I fall to your hand afresh
I give you leave for the sin,
That you cram my throat with the foul pig's flesh,
And swing me in the skin!
Rudyard Kipling, "The Lament of the Border Cattle Thief."
Cramming their throats with pig's flesh and swinging them in the skin...no problem I can see.
#2
I didn't recognise it as Kipling until the end, but a few stanzas in, I recognised a very familiar lilt, I've not read this before,
thank you.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/04/2008 12:52 Comments ||
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#3
By the way, "Swinging in the skin" was a horrible death, you're sewn into a raw hide that shrinks as it dries, the victim was "Hung" (Suspended, not executed) and slowly crushed to death as the hide dries and shrinks.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/04/2008 13:04 Comments ||
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Local militants in Darra Adamkhel town on Tuesday fired three rockets at the Kohat Tunnel, causing minor damages to its outer portion while the security forces continued shelling the suspected hideouts of militants on the fifth consecutive day.
Sources told The News that the militants had already taken positions on the hilltops around the semi-tribal valley and were targeting the security forces camps and other government facilities. The security forces also continued shelling the militants' hideouts, forcing the common populace of Sherakai, Bostikhel and other parts of the town to shift to safer places on the day one of the holy month of Ramazan.
Our Peshawar correspondent adds: Tribal Lashkar continued burning houses of Taliban militants and their supporters in the Salarzai Tehsil of the restive Bajaur Agency on Tuesday. Besides burning several other houses, the Lashkar had also set on fire the house of militant's regional commander and chief of his own faction, Karwan-e-Niamatullah, Maulvi Niamatullah, in Salarzai.
The Lashkar set on fire six houses of militants at Ghakhi, Tali, Baro and Nazakai villages of Salarzai.
Meanwhile, Tariq Hayat, the administrative head of the Khyber Agency, told media persons that the security forces would continue operation against Ghogakhel tribesmen until those wanted to the administration were handed over to the authorities.
This article starring:
Bajaur Agency
Bostikhel
Darra Adamkhel
Ghakhi
Khyber Tribal Agency
Kohat Tunnel
Landikotal Tehsil
Nazakai
Salarzai Tehsi
Sherakai
HAZRAT ALI, BROTHER OF HAZRAT NABI ALIAS THAMACHAI MULLAH
Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan
MAULVI NIAMATULLA
TTP
MUFTI IJAZ, AMIR
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam
Tariq Haya
Posted by: Fred ||
09/04/2008 00:00 ||
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Fifteen militants, including a leading commander, and 10 civilians were killed and 25 others injured in heavy bombardment carried out by jet fighters on the Taliban strongholds in Peuchar area of the troubled Swat Valley on Tuesday.
The aircraft blitzed Peuchar, where Maulana Fazlullah-led militants have established their stronghold after they were flushed out from their former headquarters Mamdheri last year, four times on Tuesday and targeted the suspected hideouts of the Taliban.
A Mingora-based ISPR spokesman told The News by phone that 15 militants, including a leading commander, were killed and scores of others injured in the air strikes. He said the target was the command and control system of the militants, which, he claimed, was also destroyed. The first attack was carried out at 9am, which was followed by more deadly attacks. Local sources said that Gat Shawar, Gat bazaar, Peuchar and other nearby towns were bombarded that resulted in the killing of 10 persons, including two children, while another 25 were injured. The injured were rushed to Saidu Sharif hospital. Some of the injured were identified as Hakim Bacha, Bashir, Noordada, Abdul Karim, Sharafat Ali and Sarfaraz.
The assault also destroyed some houses and a mosque in the area. The Taliban spokesman said the attacks killed eight civilians and some cattle and Taliban were safe. The military has stepped up operation against the militants in the valley and now using jets, besides gunship choppers to eliminate militants and their hideouts, but they have constantly been carrying out their activities in various parts of the valley.
On Tuesday, the militants killed a traffic cop, Muhammad Siraj, at Green Square of Mingora and made good their escape. After the incident, the panicked traffic cops from all squares abandoned duty, which created worst traffic jam in the city. Brother of the slain cop, Muhammad Sher, a schoolteacher, was killed a few days back. The Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for the attack. Unknown persons also killed a schoolteacher, Bakht Jehan in Koza Bandai area of Kabal tehsil.
In Matta, the militants blew up more shops of the Awami National Party central leader and former federal minister, Afzal Khan Lala. The leader has been under attack of the militants who had attacked his home twice and destroyed his market in Matta. The Taliban have asked the tenants of shops owned by him to leave the shops or else they would not be responsible for any loss.
According to ISPR, the relaxation period in curfew has been extended in Ramazan on the orders of Major General Nasir Janjua to facilitate the people. Now it would remain in force from 11pm to 5am.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/04/2008 00:00 ||
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The Pakistani Taliban has claimed responsibilty for an assasination attempt on Yousuf Gilani, Pakistan's prime minister.
Shots were fired at the pime minister's motorcade on Wednesday near Islamabad's international airport, but officials and police said Gilani was not in the car at the time. The Taliban said it was behind the attack and said it was targeting Gilani because he was responsible for offensives against their fighters in the country's northwest. "We will continue such attacks on government officials and installations," Muslim Khan, a spokesman for the group, said.
The prime minister's office said multiple sniper shots had been fired at the prime minister's car and television pictures showed two bullet marks a couple of inches apart on the cracked bullet-proof window.
Some reports suggested Gilani's son, Moosa, and Qamar Zaman Kaira, the federal minister for Kashmir and Northern affairs, were in the motorcade at the time, travelling to the airport to pick up the prime minister. Officials said a formal investigation into the incident had been launched.
In the past, suspected al-Qaeda fighters have launched attacks on Pervez Musharraf - who stepped down as Pakistan's president last month - attacks the former president only narrowly survived.
'Security lapse'
Kamal Hyder, Al Jazeera's correspondent, who was at the scene of the assasination attempt, said questions would be asked about the lack of security. "The question is how the sniper was able to conceal himself and how he was able to make his escape," he said. "Reports suggest the sniper perched himself on a hilltop on the Islamabad highway from where he would have had a considerable vantage point on the convoy."
Sherry Rehman, Pakistan's federal information minister, denied the incident occurred owing to lapse in security.
Mike Hanna, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Islamabad, said the prime minister was returning from a meeting in Lahore yesterday and was due to travel to his residence after arriving at Islamabad's airport. "This was a highly-skilled sniping attempt, given the vehicles were moving at high speed," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/04/2008 00:00 ||
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Baitullah Mehsud, the defunct Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LJ) and other outlawed jihadi organisations have joined hands to pursue terrorist acts in Karachi, Daily Times learnt on Wednesday.
An intelligence agency official told Daily Times that Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Baitullah Mehsud was in contact with various groups in Karachi. The newly established group is presently headed by Raheemullah alias Naeem alias Ali Hassan, son of Wilayat Khan. A resident of Street 3, Shehzad Cinema, Qasba Colony, Orangi Town, Raheemullah, 35, usually wears a Sindhi cap and has been affiliated with the LJ and Harkatul Mujahideen.
Raheemullah is accused of carrying out various terrorist acts in Karachi, including the assassination of Shia scholar and MMA Sindh leader Allama Hassan Turabi.The sources said that the law enforcement agencies have arrested several members of Raheemullah's group, however, others are still at large and are now planning to sabotage the network cracking down on terrorists.
One important component of the U.S. "Surge Offensive" in Iraq last year was actually a three year old, generally discreet, commando operation. This was Task Force Black (TFB). Composed of only a few hundred troops, the core of this force was operators from the British SAS and the U.S. Delta Force. Task Force Black was assigned to go after the Islamic terrorists who were actually planning and carrying out the suicide bombings that were killing thousands of Iraqi civilians a month until last year. Rest at link
Posted by: ed ||
09/04/2008 09:14 ||
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#1
Some suicide bomber teams do not rig their detonators to work until they are close to the target. They have good reason for this, for there have been accidental detonations, which kill the support staff as well as the suicide bomber. This is not good for the morale of the escorts, security detail and bomb technicians that make all the preparations for these attacks.
Yes, being blown to pieces would probably put a crimp in that morale. But...not for long.
#2
there have been accidental detonations, which kill the support staff as well as the suicide bomber.
Seems like they have a lot of work accidents. Not doubt many are caused by an in'shallah attitude towards science, technology and maintenance, but I can't help but wonder if electro-static discharge is also a problem what with the Middle East being hot, dry and windy.
#3
If you want good quality oats detonators, you pay a premium price. If you want oats detonators that have already been tampered with through the horse. Those come a bit cheaper.
#1
Yeesh! Terrorist hell. Denial might work for Donks, but I don't see how terrorists can survive Six-plus minutes of that kind of firepower. Must not have been Palin on the trigger.
#2
Forgive my ignorance, but it looks like they fire machine guns - you see the tracers - but then there's a slight delay before the bullets seem to explode on the ground? Can someone help me out on what's happening there? Are those exploding bullets with some sort of fuse?
BAGHDAD U.S. troops on boats in the Tigris river mistakenly killed six Iraqis Wednesday in an exchange of fire between the two sides north of Baghdad, Iraqi officials said.
The clash began when Iraqi troops at a checkpoint fired at approaching U.S. military boats near Tarmiyah, 30 miles north of Baghdad, police and security officials said. They did not realize the boats, which had their lights off, were American. The U.S. soldiers fired back, killing two Iraqi soldiers, two police officers and two U.S.-backed Sunni tribesmen, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to release the information to the media.
Two U.S. helicopters later fired on a one-room house on an island in the river near the site of the clash, the Iraqis said.
The U.S. military confirmed there was an incident of "mistaken fire" between U.S. and Iraqi forces while the U.S.-led coalition was conducting an operation in the area against suspected Al Qaeda in Iraq militants. A U.S. spokesman said aircraft were also involved but did not give more details. "It is always regretful when incidents of mistaken fire occur on the battlefield," the spokesman, Maj. John Hall, said in an e-mail. An investigation was under way, he said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/04/2008 00:00 ||
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No suspects yet, but my money's on the "unknown gunmen"...
Nablus -- Ma'an -- Gunmen opened fire on Wednesday evening on a car belonging to Shiekh Hamid Al-Bitawi, a Hamas-affiliated member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, just after he entered a local mosque for prayer. Hope he prayed real good because now he appears to have a reason to...
Ahmad Al-Bitawi, Sheikh Bitawi's son told Ma'an that his father parked his Volkwagon in front of the Roujib Mosque, in the east of Nablus. Moments after he went inside the building, armed men fired 15 bullets into the car, then fled the scene. No one was injured. Maybe they don't like Volkswagens...
Al-Bitawi asked the Palestinian Security forces to investigate the incident. Investigate this incident!
Right away, Shiekh! Mahmoud, run "guys shooting at Hamas big shots cars" through the computer.
You serious, sarge?
The Hamas-run de facto government in Gaza denounced the attack, calling it an "assassination attempt." Guess they'll have to shootup some Fatah big shot's car in retaliation.
Ma'an Israeli forces on Wednesday arrested an Islamic Jihad activist in the northern West Bank town of Qabatiya, Islamic Jihad sources said.
"Dozens of Israeli military vehicles raided the town and launched a search campaign allegedly looking for wanted activists affiliated to the Islamic Jihad's Al-Quds Brigades. Then, the invading forces apprehended Shadi Zakarnah after they ransacked his family home," the forces said.
"Israeli forces also stormed several Islamic leaders' homes, damaging their contents," the sources added. They explained that armed confrontations broke out between Israeli forces and Al-Quds Brigades sections in different parts of Qabatiya.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/04/2008 00:00 ||
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Government forces pounded rebel defenses with airstrikes, helicopter attacks and ground assaults as heavy fighting across northern Sri Lanka killed 47 Tamil Tiger fighters and left 13 soldiers dead or missing, the military said yesterday. A rebel-affiliated Web site claimed the Tamil Tigers had killed as many as 75 government soldiers in the recent fighting.
The intense battles came amid a punishing government thrust into rebel-held territory in recent weeks that has forced the guerrillas to abandon large parts of their de facto state and a succession of key bases and towns to the advancing military offensive. The fighting has displaced tens of thousands of civilians, sending them fleeing deeper into rebel territory.
On Tuesday, troops captured the town of Mallavi, which lies along an important access road in the region and which the military described as an "administrative hub" for the rebels. Battles raged yetserday in the Nachchikuda area, deep inside the rebels' heartland of Kilinochchi, where Tamil Tiger fighters had built a dirt berm nearly 10 miles long and six to seven feet high, military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said. Air force jets and helicopters supported by ground troops attacked the berm Tuesday and Wednesday, destroying large sections of it, Nanayakkara said.
Also soldiers captured two defense lines in rebel-held villages Akkarayankulam and Terrankandal in the guerrilla stronghold of Kilinochchi district Tuesday and later beat back rebel attempts to regain the lines the same evening, the military said.
Fighting across Kilinochchi on Tuesday killed 22 rebels and five soldiers, Nanayakkara said. A further seven soldiers were missing, he said. Another 25 rebels and one soldier were killed in fighting in the Vavuniya and Welioya regions, he said.
With communications to northern areas all but cut, rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan could not be reached for comment. However, the rebel-affiliated TamilNet Web site, citing unidentified rebel officials, reported that 45 soldiers were killed between Monday night and Tuesday in fighting at Nachchikuda. A further 30 soldiers were killed in other battles, TamilNet reported without commenting on rebel casualties.
A photograph posted on the Web site showed what appeared to be the bodies of seven dead soldiers laid out on a blanket on the floor. Nanayakkara dismissed the report.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/04/2008 00:00 ||
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A United Nations peacekeeper in south Lebanon was killed by an explosion Wednesday while clearing unexploded ordnance, a U.N. official said.
Yasmina Bouziane, a spokeswoman for the U.N. peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL, said the blast took place while the peacekeepers were clearing unexploded ordnance near the village of Aitaroun, close to the border with Israel.
The peacekeeper was not identified, pending notification of relatives.
Bouziane said in a statement that medical and explosion teams were immediately dispatched to the site of the blast and that an investigation was under way.
Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said the soldier was Belgian and that another unidentified peacekeeper was wounded in the blast caused by a land mine left behind by Israeli forces.
More than 30 people have died in cluster bombs or land mine blasts in Lebanon since the 2006 summer war between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas, according to Dalya Farran, a spokeswoman for the U.N. Mine Action Coordination Center.
Farran said that 14 de-mining experts from the Lebanese army, the U.N. peacekeeping force in south Lebanon and private mine action teams have also died in similar explosions in the past two years.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/04/2008 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Fifteen people including women and children were killed in northwestern Pakistan Wednesday in a raid involving helicopter gunships used by international troops in Afghanistan, security officials said. 
MIRANSHAH, Pakistan (Reuters) - Four Islamist militants were killed and five wounded in a missile attack by a suspected U.S. drone in Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal region on Thursday, security officials and witnesses said. 
