TWO foreign nationals, believed to be Westerners, and an Afghan were killed in a shootout today in broad daylight in central Kabul.
It was unclear what prompted the exchange of fire outside the offices of the international courier company DHL, Kabul deputy police chief Alishah Ahmadzai said.
Another senior official said, on condition of anonymity, that the shootout erupted after an argument between the foreigners and their Afghan guards.
"Two foreigners and one Afghan have been killed," Mr Ahmadzai said.
Two people were also wounded, he said, without giving their identities.
A police investigator said two of the dead were killed in a four-wheeled drive vehicle just outside the office of the courier company.
They were killed just after they left the office and got into the vehicle, another witness said.
At least one of the dead foreigners was an employee of DHL, a man who said he was a friend told AFP.
The vehicle was covered in a large tarpaulin as police removed the bodies and drove them away, an AFP reporter said.
One of the bodies had been slumped in the front seat of the vehicle, the reporter said.
Blood was pooled just outside as well as in the front and back seats, and the front windows were blown out, he said.
It was the second fatal shooting in the city since a British South African aid worker was shot dead on Monday while she was walking to work.
The extremist Taliban movement, waging an insurgency against the government of President
Hamid Karzai, claimed responsibility for the killing but authorities have not confirmed they were involved.
Security has plummeted in Afghanistan with insurgent attacks and crime surging.
Foreign nationals are rarely killed in Kabul, although there have been several kidnappings.
The aid worker, Gayle Williams, 34, was shot several times in a western suburb, said the SERVE Afghanistan aid organisation for which she had been working.
The Islamic Taliban claimed she was killed because SERVE was "preaching Christianity", a charge rejected by the group which works to help disabled Afghans.
Deteriorating security has prompted many of the thousands of aid groups and other international organisations in Afghanistan to step up security measures, with most foreigners limiting their travel and employing guards.
Thousands of ethnic Pashtuns in eastern Afghanistan Friday marched in protest against a Taliban massacre of civilians last week. Marchers demonstrated in Mihtarlam, the capital of Lahgman province, as well as the city of Jalalabad. The anti-Taliban protests took place one week after Taliban fighters ambushed a bus in southern Kandahar province and killed about 30 civilians. Many of those who died were Afghans traveling to find work in Iran.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for 27 killings, saying they attacked the bus because it was carrying army recruits. Afghanistan's government and survivors of the violence say the passengers were civilians.
In other news Friday, the United Nations said Hollywood actress and U.N. Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie completed her first visit to Afghanistan on Thursday. Jolie spent three days in the strife-ridden nation, visiting with displaced Afghans in the provinces of Nangarhar and Kabul.
The goal was to raise awareness about Afghan refugees and returnees ahead of an international conference in Kabul next month about reintegration.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/25/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11124 views]
Top|| File under: Taliban
Afghanistan's foreign minister says a second round of talks is likely with former top officials of the fundamentalist Taliban. VOA correspondent Steve Herman reports from Kabul that U.S. and NATO officials are giving conditional support to such discussions between the Afghan government and insurgents.
During a news conference in Kabul, Rangin Dadfar Spanta, was asked to comment on reports that a continuation of Saudi mediated talks held last month will take place soon in Dubai. The foreign minister says no place or time has been set for further discussions, but the unofficial delegation that held talks in Saudi Arabia will work out the logistics with the Saudis.
Spanta added that it is the government's responsibility to pursue such talks.
But Kabul and the Taliban have emphasized that such meetings should not be construed as peace talks.
In recent months, various top military officials and diplomats have stated that peace cannot be achieved in Afghanistan solely on the battlefield. The Afghan government says it is willing to negotiate with the Taliban if they recognize the country's constitution, lay down their weapons and join the political process.
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Patrick Moon, while visiting Kabul, expressed optimism the insurgents might accept those conditions. "The Taliban does not pose a strategic threat to the government of Afghanistan," said Moon. "They do not offer a vision or a future for the people of Afghanistan. So it is reasonable to expect that you could have a Taliban which decides that their future lies with what the government is offering."
Posted by: Fred ||
10/25/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11130 views]
Top|| File under: Taliban
(Xinhua) -- Three of a fleet of seven NATO ships are on their way to the East African coast to escort World Food Programme (WFP) food shipments to Somalia, NATO's top military command for operations, Allied Command Europe, said Friday.
The three ships from Italy, Greece and Britain, belong to a standing maritime force that is tasked with promoting military cooperation with navies of NATO's partner countries. The remaining four ships of the group -- from Germany, Turkey and the United States -- will continue their planned port visits in the Gulf region, said the command.
The three NATO ships may use force pursuant to the authorized rules of engagement and in compliance with relevant international and national law, it said. Upon arrival, the three will begin escort duties and establish a naval presence in the area as a deterrent to piracy, the command added.
NATO spokesman James Appathurai said Tuesday that the ships will be in position in a matter of days.
The ships were ordered to redirect toward Africa at short notice after NATO defense ministers agreed two weeks ago to send warships to carry out anti-piracy duties off the coast of Somalia. The decision was in response to a request by the WFP and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
"NATO's ability to quickly react to the UN's request for support demonstrates NATO's military flexibility to respond to real security challenges on the seas as well as on the land, and in the air," said General John Craddock, Supreme Allied Commander Europe.
Rampant piracy in the waters off Somalia is making food shipments impossible without escorts. The shipments are crucial as over 40 percent of the Somali population depends on WFP food aid.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/25/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11130 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
..where the food convoys can be hijacked by land based free booters.
#3
Nimble, at least in theory the food is Somalia is not our enemy - the Ethiops overthrew that Somalian 'government' and the current bunch who are trying to stay in some degree of control are ok (or at least less bad).
#4
Somalia is a failed state. If you want to fix it, you have to take ownership for a while. There are no volunteers at the moment. The UN is in eternal cope mode. So it seems that Somalia must be quarantined for now. That means that the pirates and their safe havens need to be attacked and destroyed to keep them out of circulation. Again, who should do this? It seems to me that those with a dog in the fight (countries affected by piracy of their nationals or fleet) need to step up to the plate.
Better get your assets in gear, and get your ROEs at the ready and agreed upon, because the pirates have theirs activated already.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
10/25/2008 13:29 Comments ||
Top||
Abductors of nine Chinese oil workers seized near a disputed district in Sudan said they want Chinese energy firms to leave the area in return for the hostages' release, a newspaper reported on Friday. "We don't have any material demands. We want Chinese companies to leave the region immediately because they work with the government."
Posted by: Fred ||
10/25/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11129 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Sudan
The UN has reportedly agreed to provide Ethiopia with financial and military support in the country's battle against Somali insurgents. The agreement is a result of negotiations between Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zanawi and UN Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro in the Ethiopian capital Adis Ababa, sources in Somalia's presidential palace told Press TV.
The deal aims at curbing violence and facilitating counterinsurgency activities in Somalia, the sources added. The agreement was reportedly reached between Zenawi and UN Deputy Secretary-General, Asha-Rose Migiro.
In 2006, Ethiopian soldiers entered Somalia to back the country's embattled Transitional Federal Government (TFG). Ever since, Somalis have been the casualty of the troops' unceasing struggle against the insurgents. The death toll on the side of Somalis was so extensive that it prompted the Ethiopian authorities to consider withdrawal. Last week, Zenawi said poor 'commitment' on the part of the Somali government would leave Ethiopia no choice but to pull the forces out of Somalia.
Ten Ethiopians were said to have been killed during the their most recent engagement with the insurgents in the town of Bardale southeast of the capital Mogadishu. The confrontation also claimed 30 Somali soldiers.
The accommodation, however, marks a coup for the Ethiopian side following reports of Adis Ababa's abortive attempts at seeking support from the European Union.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/25/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11127 views]
Top|| File under: Islamic Courts
Australian tourists are being warned to rethink travelling to Indonesia after the country announced it would soon execute the Bali bombers.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has updated its travel advice for Indonesia, warning the imminent execution of the Muslim trio would compound an already significant terrorism risk.
"The Indonesian Government announced on October 24 that the three individuals convicted for involvement in the 2002 Bali bombing would be executed in early November," updated advice on DFAT's Smarttraveller website says.
"We advise you to reconsider your need to travel to Indonesia, including Bali, at this time due to the very high threat of terrorist attack.
"If you do decide to travel to Indonesia, you should exercise extreme caution."
The advice states Australian authorities were continuing to receive reports that terrorists were planning attacks against targets including Western interests, and places visited by foreigners.
It says there have been "recent arrests of high level terrorist operatives in Indonesia" but terrorists were still planning attacks and "these attacks could take place at any time".
"You should take particular care to avoid places known to be terrorist targets," the updated advice states.
The website carriers a five-stage threat level for countries, starting at the minimal "Be Alert to Own Security" through to the top "Do Not Travel" rating.
Indonesia remains at the fourth tier of "Reconsider your need to travel", and the updated advice has not increased its risk level.
"The overall level of the advice has not changed," the advice states.
A Swedish Migration Board (Migrationsverket) employee with 20 years' experience sued his employers alleging that he was demoted due to his pro-Israel political views. The board's counsel in the hearing has courted controversy by calling Hamas 'a liberation movement.'
The Local reported back in February 2008 that Lennart Eriksson, 51, after a 'long and relatively happy' career at the Migration Board (Migrationsverket), had been demoted from his post as head of an asylum assessment unit.
Eriksson alleged that he was moved to a lower ranking position when his supervisor, Eugene Palmer, learned of his pro-Israel views expressed on his blog, Sapere aude! "I want to defend freedom and democracy. I try to be humble and just. Therefore I must--as every good democrat must--defend Israel," read a passage on Eriksson's blog.
Palmer said at the time that after learning of the blog's controversial contents he was not alone in questioning whether it was appropriate for someone with Eriksson's position at the Board to publicly express opinions about such a sensitive topic. "Of course everyone has a right to any opinion. However, when holding an upper-level management position at the Migration Board, one must be careful about how one chooses to express private opinions in a public fashion," Palmer told The Local. One must be very, very careful. Why? Staffan Opitz will now explain ..
Staffan Opitz, representing the Migration Board at the hearing held at the district court in Mölndal, said during court proceedings on Friday, October 10th that Palestinian group Hamas should be considered a 'liberation movement'. He added that its founder Yassin was a 'Palestinian freedom-fighter', according to a report in Dagen, a Christian website.
The comments have further called into question the neutrality of the Migration Board. Member of parliament Annelie Enochson of the Christian Democrats has raised the question as to what the foreign minister, Carl Bildt, intends acting to ensure that public authorities do not forward political agendas significantly different from government policy.
While conceding that it was not a minister's job to engage in the detail of how a public authority operates, Enochson pointed out that Hamas has been classified by the (Swedish) government and the EU as a terror organisation.
"The statement from the Migration Board is therefore not in line with current government policy," Enochson argued in a press release on Friday. "The Swedish government stands for Israel's right to exist while Hamas through armed struggle wants to obliterate Israel and has the goal of liberating Palestine and Israel from the Jews. The question is whether it is the Migration Board's task to push its own foreign policy agenda." Mere technicalities.
The Migration Board's official position in the hearing at Mölndal district court, which concluded on Monday, October 13th, was that Eriksson's reassigment was due to poor performance and a lack of confidence in his abilities.
Lennart Eriksson hopes that the court will rule in his favour and force the Migration Board to nullify its decision and reinstate him. He is also seeking damages of 100,000 kronor ($15,850) plus interest. The verdict in the trial will be announced on Monday, November 10th 2008.
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. Navy is having hundreds of its older F/A-18 fighter jets inspected, including some flying operations over Afghanistan, for cracks in part of a wing assembly, officials said Friday.
Some 636 F/A-18 A through D model Hornets in both the Navy and the Marine Corps are being inspected for stress cracks on a hinge connecting the aileron to the flaps on the back side of the wings, according to Navy spokesmen. Inspectors started looking at the planes Thursday and have found 15 aircrafts with the problem. A panel on the wing can be swapped out with a new one to get rid of the problem.
The Navy is still looking at the hinge in question to see whether the problem is severe enough to ground the Hornets and come up for a permanent fix for the hinge. Navy officials said there are no immediate plans to ground the 636 planes. Navy flight operations around the world will not be interrupted because of the inspections, officials said.
This month, a post-flight inspection of one F/A-18 found a crack, and it was determined to be systemic enough to warrant an inspection of the older F/A-18s, according to Navy officials.
The Navy also flies the Super Hornet, a newer version of the F/A-18. That plane is not part of this inspection.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/25/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11125 views]
Top|| File under:
Assistant Secretary of Defense Michael Vickers addressed the Institute's 2007-2008 Counterterrorism Lecture Series on October 24, 2008. see link for story and details
#1
Mr. Vickers was the principal strategist for the largest covert-action program in the CIA's history: the paramilitary operation that drove the Soviet army out of Afghanistan.
Personally, I'm not at all certain if we should thank him for his work in this regard.
Three years ago, the man known as Internment Serial Number 669 stopped eating.
Ahmed Zaid Zuhair, a compact 43-year-old with 10 children in Saudi Arabia and Yemen, had been held at Guantanamo Bay since 2002 without charges and decided to join a mass hunger strike in protest. The U.S. military was determined not to let him succeed.
Since then, according to court documents reviewed by The Associated Press, guards have struggled with him repeatedly, at least once using pepper spray, shackles and brute force to drag him to a restraint chair for his twice-daily dose of a liquid nutrition mix force-fed through his nose.
The documents, filed in federal court in Washington, are a rare look at the military tactics used on hunger strikers, which have sparked international condemnation but remained hidden from view, with officials refusing to even confirm the identity of the men taking part in the protest.
Zuhair's attorney, Yale Law School lecturer Ramzi Kassem, says the tactics described in the documents amount to "cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment." The military says the only reason it uses such tactics is that Zuhair is violent and dangerous.
"ISN 669 has a very long history of disciplinary violations and noncompliant, resistant and combative behavior," according to Army Col. Bruce Vargo, commander of Guantanamo Bay's guards.
Zuhair's protest is the remnant of a mass hunger strike at Guantanamo Bay that began in the summer of 2005, with prisoners celebrating the 10 Irish Republican Army and Irish National Liberation Army militants who starved themselves to death in Britain's Maze prison in 1981 while demanding political-prisoner status.
At its peak, there were 131 prisoners refusing meals at the U.S. Navy base in Cuba. The U.S. began force-feeding prisoners, but some were regurgitating the liquid-nutrient mix. In January 2006, commanders adopted a practice borrowed from American civilian prisons of strapping detainees into a special restraint chair for the feedings, and the number of strikers quickly dropped off.
Eventually there were just two: Zuhair and another Saudi, Abdul Rahman Shalabi. The number has since fluctuated and 10 were participating this week.
A number of prisoners have alleged brutal treatment during the hunger strike, and lawyers and human rights groups have accused guards of using unnecessary force. Kassem and other attorneys say their clients have mostly complied with the force-feeding, and that the U.S. has used rough treatment in an effort to break the strike.
Physicians for Human Rights, the World Medical Association and the United Nations, among others, have condemned the use of restraint chairs and other tactics. In a 2006 protest, Physicians for Human Rights said "the infliction of pain and suffering to discourage a hunger strike violates U.S. law and basic principles of human rights."
The U.S. military has denied any abuse, though it has offered few if any details about what happens between guards and prisoners behind the coiled-razor wire.
The Defense Department has said it is U.S. military policy to keep hunger-striking prisoners alive by appropriate clinical means and in a humane manner. And while the U.S. considers the detainees "enemy combatants" for whom the Geneva Conventions do not apply, it says it treats them in a humane manner that in some ways exceeds international standards.
Stalin had a way of dealing with hunger strikes: he let you starve yourself to death without interference. And he made sure that no one, no one, ever heard about it. So there was no moral value, no press value, and no good reason to do it.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/25/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11134 views]
Top|| File under: al-Qaeda
#1
Leave a big ham sub for him...just out of reach, of course.....just to keep him honest.....
#3
If he's in Guantanamo, he was probably picked up as an unlawful combattant. Shoot him and his "hunger strike" is over. And stop giving the press ANYTHING - they just distort it and use it against us. Personally, some of the press NEEDS TO BE IN GUANTANAMO, THEMSELVES. Or shot - commander's choice.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
10/25/2008 22:45 Comments ||
Top||
India and Pakistan on Friday exchanged names of terrorists each claims is hiding in the other country, and decided to make the joint anti-terrorism mechanism a continuous process. A statement issued after a daylong meeting of the mechanism said "information on issues of mutual concern, including the bombing of the Indian embassy in Kabul, was exchanged". It said the meeting was held in a positive and constructive atmosphere. Both sides agreed to collectively combat terrorism by exchanging information regarding terror acts in each country. An Indian official claimed 'sensitive evidence' on involvement of some elements of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), if not that of the agency itself, in the July 7 bombing of the Indian embassy was shared with Pakistan. While refuting the charge, Pakistan promised to continue an independent investigation into the incident.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/25/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11130 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
(APP): Law makers in the Upper House of the Parliament Friday expressed serious concerns and condemned Thursday’s US drone strike in Miran Shah killing several people. The members urged the government to adopt a joint resolution condemning the incident, showing resolve and asking the armed forces to stand guard for security of the territory.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/25/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11134 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#5
and we care how? Oh right, because we are part of the big o'le world and we worry about our image, especially to the liberal illuminati treehuggers that don't want to help us do any of the lifting, but are quick to make judgement calls.
#6
I won't be happy until there are several ARCLIGHT strikes through MiranShah, Kabal, Chitral and vicinity, Wana, and Peshawar. If the Pakistanis scream about it, run a couple through Rawalpindi/Islamabad. The Pakistanis are NOT on our side, and it's time to let them know we understand that - the most painful way possible.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
10/25/2008 22:47 Comments ||
Top||
Al-Qaida in Iraq's leader says in a new audiotape that his group is focused on attacks outside Iraq and seems to claim responsibility for the June 2007 attack on Glasgow International Airport.
Abu Ayyub al-Masri, also known as Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, does not specifically mention Glasgow airport in the tape posted Thursday on the Internet.
But he says his group carried out its "last operation in Britain, a good part of which was launched on the airport and the rest was not carried out due to a mistake made by one of the brothers."
Two men were arrested and charged with conspiring to murder after a burning Jeep was driven into the airport in June 2007. A day earlier, police discovered two cars packed with explosives in central London.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/25/2008 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11126 views]
Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Iraq
Al Mustaqbal daily said the alleged Syrian colonel Firas Ghannam, under arrest before the Lebanese Military Tribunal, is charged with attempting terrorism in Lebanon. He revealed the involvement of Syrian Intelligence in the destabilization of Lebanon after they withdrew from the country in 2005.
The daily pointed out that Ghanam said, while being examined, that the Syrian officer Georges Salloum ordered him to detonate bombs in the Martyrs Square on the eve of the first commemoration of former Premier Rafic Hariris assassination on February 14, 2006. He added that he didnt want to execute the order but only agreed in order to move out from Syria through Lebanon with the Tunisian citizen Mounir Hilal. They were both arrested 3 days prior to the commemoration on the Lebanese-Syrian borders in Bekaa with forged identity card and a hand grenade. The report said Ghannam also testified to "relations" he had with Shehab Qaddour, better known by the code name of Abu Hureira, a ranking official of the Fatah al-Islam terrorist group who was killed in a clash with security forces in the northern city of Tripoli more than a year ago.
The military tribunal, chaired by Brig. Gen. Nizar Khalil, concluded its interrogations of Ghannam and Hilal on Friday. It is scheduled to convene on Feb. 20 to debrief witness Omar .
Syrian leaders have recommended reforming laws under which criminals convicted of so-called honour crimes get lenient sentences.
The commission for family affairs a government body proposed the change last week at the end of a state-sponsored forum on honour crimes, the first of its kind in Syria. More than 100 civic, religious and government leaders as well as legal experts attended the conference in Damascus, which also drew support from the ministry of justice and the ministry of religious endowments.
Under Syrian law, men who catch a female family member engaging in adultery or other illegitimate sexual acts, or even in a suspicious state, are exempted from the standard punishments for murder and assault. Those convicted of murders deemed to be honour killings face only six months to a year in prison.
The conference called for the honour crime exemption to be eliminated from the statute books, so that individuals convicted of murder in honour-related crimes would face a minimum of 15 years in prison.
Article 548 gives permission for half of the [Syrian] people to commit murder, said family affairs commission chair Simwa Astor. We want to eliminate this article for the sake of the sovereignty of the law, and to protect human beings.
Womens groups estimate that close to 300 so-called honour killings are committed every year, most in rural communities.
Brigadier Ali Alush, a senior official in the interior ministry, told the conference that honour crimes have accounted for seven per cent of homicides so far in 2008. But he acknowledged that the figure was probably an understatement because such crimes often go unreported.
The problem with these crimes is not the numbers, but rather the deed itself, said Raghda al-Ahmed, vice-president of the womens general union. Even if there is only one homicide, it remains a source of shame in our history.
Womens and human rights advocates have fought for many years for the honour crimes law to be changed.
The official backing given by the conference raised hopes that the recommendations could influence a change in a law that womens groups say decriminalises violent crimes against women.
Syrias chief Muslim cleric or Grand Mufti, Sheikh Ahmed Badr Hassoun, last year called for the law to be amended after parliament reportedly stalled on legislation that would have changed the penal code.
In 2006, human rights activists, intellectuals and media outlets also participated in a campaign to reform the laws.
Conference participants tried to pressure members of parliament invited to the event to change the penalties for this kind of crime.
But not all politicians favour reform.
Ghalib Inaiz, a member of the parliaments legislative committee, told the conference that the honour crime law is derived from Islamic sharia, and we cannot change it.
Another member of parliament, speaking on condition of anonymity, said he would not support changes to the law, because a person cannot give up his honour, and he should receive a commuted sentence if he kills one of his relatives if he catches them in the act.
But another legislator, Mohammed Habash, who is an expert on Islam, said this law is not based on Islam and has become a butchers knife to kill people in the name of honour.
Ahmed Talib, a Shia sheikh from Lebanon who attended the conference, blamed honour crimes on what he called the dominant culture, in other words local tradition rather than religious tenets.
Men grow up [thinking] they are above their wives, mothers, daughters and sisters. That is the primary reason for the prevalence of such crimes, he said.
Huda al-Himsi, a member of parliament who sits on the family affairs commission, said reforming the law would not automatically change the customs and traditions which sanction honour crimes.
I am not optimistic, she said. Even if we abolish Article 548, we will not be able to stop honour crimes.
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.
(Xinhua) -- Three of a fleet of seven NATO ships are on their way to the East African coast to escort World Food Programme (WFP) food shipments to Somalia, NATO's top military command for operations, Allied Command Europe, said Friday. 
