CNN) -- Insurgents locked in a standoff with U.S. Marines tricked them by dressing up as women to escape, a task force spokesman said Monday.
Women and children had been caught in the standoff between the armed groups, but some of the women were not what they seemed, according to task force spokesman Capt. William Pelletier.
After the Marines began taking fire from insurgents in the town of Khan Neshin, in south Afghanistan near the Helmand River, the militants ran into a multiple-room compound, the U.S. military said.
Unsure of whether civilians were inside the compound, the Marines had an interpreter talk to the insurgents, said an official who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak publicly. After some time, a number of women and children left the compound, the military official said.
The released hostages told the Marines that there were no more civilians inside the compound, Pelletier said. But the Marines held their fire anyway, the official said. About 4 p.m. (7:30 a.m. ET), in the midst of the standoff, another group of women and children emerged from the compound, the official said. The Marines continued to hold their fire and wait out the insurgents, the official said.
Finally, a screaming woman emerged from the compound with a bullet wound to her hand, Pelletier said. Then, another group of women came out, covered from head to toe according to custom, he said, with a couple of children in tow. The Marines attended to the wounded woman while the others walked away.
When the Marines went into the compound, they discovered that it empty, Pelletier said. That's when they realized the fighters had dressed up as women to escape, he said.
"Apparently these were tall, rather broad-shouldered women with hairy feet," Pelletier said.
The Marines' restrained approach differs from previous hits on compounds when airstrikes were readily called in, the official said.
Under a new tactical directive for forces in Afghanistan, some of which was unclassified Monday, forces must protect civilians soldiers and must be sensitive to Afghan cultural norms regarding women.
Pelletier said that during the standoff, "the Marines didn't have any female forces to do any searches, and they weren't going to violate cultural norms by patting down these women."
The standoff in the town of Khan Neshin was especially significant because it has been a Taliban stronghold for several years, and the U.S. military reported that the Afghan government regained control of the town Monday.
Coalition forces began talks with local leaders several days ago and have moved about 500 Marines into Khan Neshin, a U.S. military news release said. The government takeover of Khan Neshin marks the first time coalition forces have had a sustained presence so far south in the Helmand River valley, the release said.
The mission to secure Khan Neshin coincides with "establishing secure conditions" for August elections in Afghanistan, according to the release.
Elsewhere in Afghanistan, a six U.S. soldiers were killed Monday by two roadside bombs, a representative for NATO forces said. Four were killed in Kunduz province in northern Afghanistan, the U.S. military said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. Two soldiers were killed in southern Afghanistan, NATO's International Security Assistance Forces said.
I'm suprised they were able to carry this out. I wouldn't have been able to keep from rolling on the floor laughing my ass off at the stupid, stupid, americans.(1)
I wonder how many more american soldiers (not to mention _REAL_ civilians) are going to die because of this. If I were the Tallibunnies I'd be grabing every women and child I could get my hands on - the best body armor in the world.
(1) By that I am referring to whoever approved this policy. I do *not* mean the marines who were there.
#5
I seem to recall that in Iraq we put each person's finger into a thingy that took a fingerprint and a DNA sample, to build a data base. The Iraqis believed we could do magical technical things with their samples. How much more would ignorant village Afghanis and the equally ignorant Taliban believe us capable of? Make them line up -- beyond gunshot distance of the compound, of course, to protect them from the mean Taliban still holed up there -- give a sample, and write down the names and relationships each gives on a form. Meanwhile the rest of the Marines carry on with what they do so well.
The situation would be stressful to those already frightened, and would give the Marines a chance to look for masculine feet and listen for masculine falsetto voices. Not to mention that the illiterate believe that the act of writing things down is very powerful to the illiterate.
And for goodness sake, get some Lionesses out to each unit, or put a padded bra and some eyeshadow on two of the slighter, tenor-voiced lance corporals. I realize the Marines are all Eagle Scouts, but surely they could square their consciences with a little subterfuge.
#7
Sounds more like the Monty Pithon stoning skit. This would be funny if is was not so true. I trust the Marines will improvise and overcome our senior leadership's lunacies.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
07/06/2009 20:32 Comments ||
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#8
How about the US just announces "Any one found near folks waging war on US forces surrenders the cultural sensitivities as far as we are concerned."
Let the enemy make the choice and when the left starts up the propaganda machine explain the policy and the choice the enemy made.
#9
Two can play that game. Find some burkhas for 6'2" Marines and they're ready for body cavity searches.
Posted by: ed ||
07/06/2009 20:35 Comments ||
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#10
Seven Marines were KIA today. If we continue seeing this rate of casualties, Obama will be a one term president. And McChrystal will be turfed chop chop.
#11
Seven? FU$K! Thats seven mothers, seven fathers, seven widows, god knows how many siblings, kids and friends. The numbers of lives affected by one KIA is staggering. One too many to suffer fools as leaders.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
07/06/2009 23:55 Comments ||
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UPDATE: A U.S. military spokesman says 2 more U.S. troops have been killed in a blast in southern Afghanistan, bringing to six the number of Americans killed Monday. Navy Chief Petty Officer Brian Naranjo says all six American troops were killed in two roadside bomb attacks. Four American soldiers were killed in the north of the country. They were involved in the training of the Afghan security forces.
Naranjo did not have details about the two troops killed in the country's south, where thousands of U.S. Marines are pushing forward with the biggest American military offensive in Afghanistan since the ouster of the Taliban from power in 2001.
KABUL (AP)--A roadside bomb in northern Afghanistan killed four American soldiers Monday, while a suicide attack in the south killed two civilians, officials said. The bombing in the northern Kunduz province targeted an American military convoy, said Kunduz Gov. Mohammad Omar.
In Berlin, German Defense Ministry spokesman Thomas Raabe said that Germany was told the dead soldiers were American. "We received a message today that four American soldiers were killed in" a roadside bomb in the Kunduz area, he said. "There are no further details. So far as we know, it was a mentor team on the road in a Humvee."
Omar said the attack happened in the Ali Abad district of Kunduz province and wounded two Afghan civilians.
In comparison to the country's south and east, northern Afghanistan is relatively quiet. But roadside and other insurgent attacks have been increasing in the last few years.
The attack came after a suicide car bomber blew himself up outside the outer gate of the main NATO base in southern Afghanistan, killing two civilians and wounding 14 other people. Those wounded near the gates of Kandahar Airfield included 12 civilians and two Afghan soldiers, said Gen. Sher Mohammad Zazai, the top military commander for southern Afghanistan.
"In comparison to the country's south and east, northern Afghanistan is relatively quiet. But roadside and other insurgent attacks have been increasing in the last few years. "
The north has been quiet because the north is mainly not Pashtun, and the Taliban are a Pashtun organization. Kunduz is the one mainly Pashtun province in northern afghanistan. This was discussed at great length in october/November/decemeber of 2001.
Some folks either dont remember, or were not paying attention.
Posted by: liberal hawk ||
07/06/2009 12:27 Comments ||
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#2
You forgot one other factor, LH - some people just plain don't care. All they want to do is to force the US to leave the job unfinished, so they can claim credit for forcing them to leave. Most WESTERN reporters are extremely liberal and will do/say/infer anything that's negative to the image of the United States.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/06/2009 15:13 Comments ||
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#3
STRAITS TIMES > US MARINES IN "HELL OF A FIGHT".
Also from STimes > JAPAN: INDIA MUST TAKE ACTION [agz Climate Change].
The Taliban confirmed on its Web site that it is holding an American soldier that the U.S. military had earlier described as possibly being in enemy hands.
The report of the capture was last in a routine list of Taliban activities posted on the Web site. "It is to be said that five days ago, a drunken American soldier who had come out of his garrison named Malakh, was captured by mujahedeen... He is still with mujahedeen," said the report.
The short message did not elaborate on his whereabouts or their plans for him, nor did it provide any proof of its claim.
The U.S. military earlier said it had intercepted communications in which insurgents talked about holding an American.
The soldier was noticed missing during a routine check of the unit on Tuesday and first was listed as "duty status whereabouts unknown." His body armor and weapon were found on the base.
It was not until Thursday that officials said publicly that he was missing and described him as "believed captured." Details of such incidents are routinely held very tightly by the military as it works to retrieve a missing or captured soldier without giving away any information to captors.
Two U.S. defense sources said the soldier "just walked off" post with three Afghans after he finished working. They said they had no explanation for why he left the base.
#2
Malakh would be a Jewish or Arab name, gromky, but I think more likely Arab.
I have to wonder about the Taliban claim that they captured a drunken American soldier. I thought there was no alcohol available to troops in Muslim countries.
As Marine Corps forces roll into southern Afghanistan, they face an enemy familiar to US officials -- Mullah Zakir, a former Guantanamo Bay prisoner who now leads a reconstituted Taliban. Abdul Qayum Zakir, also known as Abdullah Ghulam Rasoul, is from Helmand Province and has taken a circuitous route to become head of the radical Islamic group.
Zakir was a senior fighter during the Taliban regime in the 1990s. In a memorandum prepared for his administrative review board at Guantanamo, Zakir apparently "felt it would be fine to wage jihad against Americans, Jews, or Israelis if they were invading his country." And he acknowledged that he was "called to fight jihad in approximately 1997," when he joined the Taliban. In 2001, he surrendered to US and Afghan forces in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif as the regime was collapsing. He spent the next several years in custody, was transferred to Guantanamo around 2006, then to Afghanistan government custody in late 2007, and was eventually released around May 2008. American officials won't say why he was let go and have not released a photograph of him.
Zakir wasted little time rekindling his relationship with the Taliban, especially its inner shura, or leadership council, based in Pakistan. According to some accounts, Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar appointed Zakir as a senior military commander in mid-2008. He quickly developed a reputation as a charismatic leader. By this time, the Taliban had established a system of shadow-government structures in parts of Afghanistan: provincial governors, military commanders, and mullahs who served on Islamic courts. The Taliban's goal, as with many insurgent groups, has been to provide more effective law and order than the Afghan government. But it has been one of the most oppressive governments in modern history, banning many forms of entertainment, prohibiting women from working, and conducting public executions of suspected collaborators.
It was in this context that Zakir made his defining contribution to the southern insurgency -- and created an opportunity for US forces to exploit. Early this year, he began to reorganize the Taliban. He helped create an "accountability commission" to monitor and evaluate the performance of key Taliban leaders and track spending. In some ways, Zakir's efforts paralleled those of the United States, which was laying out a new Afghanistan strategy under the Obama administration at about the same time. The Taliban, apparently concerned that some governors and military commanders had become ineffective and bracing for the growing US military presence, announced its own new strategy in April. They called it Operation Nasrat ("victory") and pledged to use "ambushes, offensives, explosions, martyrdom-seeking attacks, and surprise attacks." The Taliban also warned that they would attack "military units of the invading forces, diplomatic centers, mobile convoys and high-ranking officials" of the Afghan government.
As Marines move through Helmand, they will be on the lookout for Zakir and his support network. But like many senior Taliban leaders, Zakir spends a lot of time in Pakistani cities like Quetta and Karachi, frightened he'll be killed in an attack. Zakir's restructuring presents an opportunity for NATO and Afghan forces. As in any business reorganization, firing senior leaders is bound to create a contingent of disgruntled individuals who may be co-opted to turn against the Taliban. A number of fired Taliban commanders have apparently refused to give up their jobs.
[Quqnoos] Two British soldiers have been killed in separate incidents in Helmand, late Saturday, according to UK military A soldier was killed when a rocket propelled grenade (RPG) hit an army vehicle during a 'deliberate operation', and the second one was killed due to an explosion.
May their memory be for a blessing to their comrades and loved ones, and for those whose lives they made better by their choice to serve.
Both incidents that occurred last night near Gereshk, a district in central Helmand, took the number of British military personnel killed in Afghanistan since 2001 to 173.
Three days ago, two other British soldiers were killed in Helmand after a roadside bomb went off beneath their vehicle in which the most senior British Army officer to die in action since 1982 was killed in Helmand. "The loss of these soldiers, and colleagues, has come as a huge blow to us all," said Lt Col Nick Richardson, a spokesman for Task Force Helmand. "But it is the family, friends and loved ones, as well as the men and women who served alongside them, who feel the greatest pain," he added.
Thank you all. May we be worthy of your sacrifice.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/06/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Tragic, but these numbers should go down as the offensive succeeds.
#2
To put the numbers in perspective, the Brits lost over 400 men in aircraft and glider crashes in the opening hours of Operation Market Garden. The US didn't fare any better. Modern warfare and effective training has made fighting far less hazardous than it was during WWII, but the MSM has nothing to compare it against. They totally lack any education in military matters or history.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/06/2009 15:25 Comments ||
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[Quqnoos] The 4,000 US Marines have regained the control of two Taliban stronghold districts of Nawa in the north and Khanshin in the south of the provincial capital, Lashkar Gah. Now, the fighting moves towards another Taliban stronghold, Garmsir District, in the southern Helmand, to setback the militants, says our correspondent Baryalai Rahimi in Lashkar Gah.
According to fresh reports, militants have planted landmines to prevent the US Marines and Afghan Army to speed up the offensive in the volatile Afghan province.
There have been no causalities reported yet in the major fighting but a Taliban spokesman claimed to have killed five US soldiers in Shinkai and Zor Abad villages of Nad Ali districts, Saturday evening. Moreover, a militant website quoting a purported Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid reports that a US military helicopter was knocked down by insurgents, Saturday, in Garmsir district.
Brave, brave lions of Islam ...
"The offensive is not going-on as speedy as we expected, because of landmines planted on the way," said Maj Gen Zahir Azimi, spokesman for Afghan Defence Ministry.
A militant commander in Nad Ali district said Taliban cannot fight face to face with the US and Afghan troops in on-going offensive, Khanjar, ...
... that's a correct statement ...
... therefore planting mines is a preferred tool, holding up the troops to enter further districts.
US officials said the aim of the operation in short term is to secure the area to run the elections in August and in long term, the US army would seek people's support to stablise the province. The US troops would station the districts regained from the Taliban, US military officials insisted. "The operation is to clear up the area, provide security, good governance and to begin construction programmes," MoD spokesman further said.
It seems operation Khanjar is a long-run one as a large number of militants are positioned in Helmand province.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/06/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
good luck, good hunting, and blessings to the Marines.
Posted by: liberal hawk ||
07/06/2009 12:22 Comments ||
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You can say that again. And the opposite of blessings to the sovereign nations that are in close proximity to Afghanistan and do nothing.
[Quqnoos] Gunmen kidnapped 16 de-miners Saturday in Afghan south-eastern province of Paktia, official said. The mine-clearance personnel, affiliated to the UN Mine Action Coordination Centre of Afghanistan (MACA) were abducted in Wochekhas suburb, about 12 km north of the provincial capital, Gardiz. Head of UNMACA in the Afghan south-eastern region, Engineer Shir Agha Ahmadzai, confirmed the kidnapping and urged any involved parties to immediately secure the release of the Afghan humanitarian aid workers.
No groups or individual, including the Taliban militants have yet claimed responsibility for the seizure. A purported Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, dismissed any involvements of Taliban insurgents in the kidnapping. He said Taliban militants have 'no problem' with mine-clearance employees.
Unless it's Taliban mines being cleared ...
A top provincial security official, who wished to remain anonymous, told Quqnoos that the efforts have begun to secure the release of the de-miners.
Quqnoos' Neyaz Mohammad Aseel in Paktia said, this is the first abduction case of mine-clearance personnel in the restive Afghan province. Last year, in Paktia's eastern district of Sayed Karam, three health employees were kidnapped who were later released under secret agreements with the kidnappers, Aseel added.
Recall, there are plenty who claim the name of Taliban who are no more than common criminals... and kidnapping foreigners is practically a sport in Afghanistan, just as it is in Yemen.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/06/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
They want the de-miners out of the way so they Talib can do the de-mining and recover the HE, allegedly because they are getting constrained logistically.
[Beirut Daily Star: Region] Heavy shelling between Somali rebels and government forces near the presidential palace killed at least 12 people on Sunday, witnesses said, and the prime minister looked for help from more African Union peacekeepers. Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke said more AU troops were expected soon to back his forces but gave no further details Sunday. "It was a very gruesome scene," said Sahra Abdulle, a Mogadishu resident who saw bodies in the streets Sunday and wounded people running from the mortar shells. Another witness, Suleyman Abdel-Kadir, said at least 12 people died.
On Saturday, at least 23 Somalis, mostly civilians, were killed and more than fifty wounded in Mogadishu in clashes between government troops and insurgents, medics said. "As of now, I can tell you that 23 died and more then 50 injuries were dropped at the hospital," Ali Muse, a paramedic told Reuters.
Over 100 people have been killed since Wednesday as government troops try to drive insurgents out of their Mogadishu bases. African Union peacekeepers (AMISOM) have warned hardline Islamist insurgents who have been advancing on Somali government positions to back down or face retaliation. "There is a limit, when they [the insurgents] cross that line we shall engage them immediately," Major-General Francis Okello, AMISOM's commander, told Reuters. "That is in our mandate, and we are carefully watching them."
The 4,300 Ugandan and Burundian troops have been confined to their bases and are limited to protecting key sites such as the presidential palace, airport and seaport.
How well can they protect anything except themselves, when confined to their bases?
African leaders who met at an AU summit in the Libyan city of Sirte last week did not adopt a much anticipated proposed resolution to give AMISOM troops a mandate to do more than just defend themselves from rebel attacks. Instead, the 53-member AU summit adopted a resolution condemning insurgent attacks in Somalia and backing the government. They also accused Eritrea of supporting the rebels and called for sanctions on the tiny country.
The government of former hardliner turned moderate President Sheikh Sharif Ahmad, has been pushing for the AMISOM mandate to be beefed up so it can help the government take on the rebels. But the Al-Shabaab group had warned that a stronger AMISOM would have made the situation worse.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/06/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
But the Al-Shabaab group had warned that a stronger AMISOM would have made the situation worse.
Yeah, for Al-Shabaab. Yet the idiots bought it.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/06/2009 15:35 Comments ||
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Violent street battles killed at least 140 people and injured 828 others in the deadliest ethnic unrest to hit China's volatile western Xinjiang region in decades, and officials said Monday the death toll was expected to rise.
Security forces have clamped down on the city of Urumqi and set up checkpoints to catch any fleeing rioters, state media reported, after tensions between ethnic Muslim Uighur people and China's Han majority erupted into riots.
Rioters on Sunday overturned barricades, attacking vehicles and houses, and clashed violently with police, according to media and witness accounts. State television aired footage showing protesters attacking and kicking people on the ground. Other people, who appeared to be Han Chinese, sat dazed with blood pouring down their faces.
There was little immediate explanation for how so many people died. The government blamed Uighur exiles for stoking the unrest. Exile groups said the violence started only after police began violently cracking down on a peaceful protest.
Posted by: ed ||
07/06/2009 08:27 ||
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#1
I know most of y'all have no use for the Uighurs (mostly Muslim, and some really nasty Muslims among them) but do recognize that 'State Television' (Chinese equivalent of our CNN etc. only even more so) is the source, and do remember how the Chinese government handles even peaceful protests (e.g Tiannemen Square). My understanding is that this protest was intended to be peaceful, and to get some public attention on their grievances (many of which I find legitimate - East Turkestan is treated by the Chinese government in many ways similar to Tibet but with a different religious underpinning.) Why and how that evolved into this disaster I do not yet know, but I bet it is not a 'simple' answer.
#3
This is the sequel to riots in Guangdong. Short version: factory boss brings in Uighurs to work alongside Han because they're cheaper. Uighurs start stealing from Han because they feel it's justified payback. Han get mad about it. Uighurs rape a Han girl, Han go after Uighurs. Uighurs retaliate with knives and bats, and then the Han do what they always do when there's a fight with a foreigner, call in EVERYBODY. The Uighurs were defeated and 150 or so went to the hospital (got the snot beaten out of them.) The violence will continue until the Han eradicate the Uighurs from their homeland, which should take another 100-200 years. They just bulldozed a huge historic district in the Uighur capital a few weeks ago in order to build concrete apartment blocks for Han settlers.
#4
The violence will continue until the Han eradicate the Uighurs from their homeland, which should take another 100-200 years.
My feeling is that China's Final Solution will take a lot less time than a century. Heck - ordinary Chinese literally hacked to pieces 40,000 Chinese Christians during the run-up to the Boxer Rebellion using little more than machetes and axes.
#5
Radio Free Asia has an article on the anti-Uighur pogrom in Guangdong:
Three youths belonging to the mostly Muslim Uyghur ethnic group and now under Chinese government protection after ethnic clashes in the southern province of Guangdong said fighting began when Han Chinese laborers stormed the dormitories of Uyghur colleagues, beating them with clubs, bars, and machetes.
The deadly fighting between Turkic-speaking, Muslim Uyghurs and Han Chinese at the Lacewood toy factory in Guangdong's Shaoguan city began late June 25 and lasted into the early hours of the following day.
Authorities said two people died and 118 were injured in the clashes, which were sparked by an online report that Uyghur migrant workers at the factory had raped two Chinese women. A Chinese man is now detained for "forging" that report.
Excerpts of interviews with the three men, conducted on a single, hidden cell phone, follow. All spoke on condition of anonymity, and while their accounts cannot be independently verified, they are consistent:
Uyghur Man 1: Who are you?
RFA: Radio Free Asia's Uyghur service. We broadcast in the Uyghur language.
Uyghur Man 1: We do not have any freedom here. If they hear us talking on the phone, they will punish us.
RFA: Where were you when the brawl happened?
Uyghur Man 1: We were taking our meal break after the night shift, when the day shifters [Uyghurs] were sleeping in their dorms. We saw them [Han Chinese] storm into their dorms, pull them out from their beds, and start beating them, hacking and burning.
RFA: What time was it when this happened?
Uyghur Man 1: It was around 12:30 a.m. or 1 a.m.
RFA: How many people stormed in?
Uyghur Man 1: Thousands of Chinese, and 800 Uyghurs were there.
A long and illuminating interview transcript follows.
#6
and how will the Obama Administration play this?
probably they will be 'concerned' or maybe 'very concerned'
Posted by: Lord garth ||
07/06/2009 15:18 Comments ||
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#7
China will have to address the Xinjiang situation urgently. They've been too focused on the Eastern part of China. Most likely scenario will be based on the "make love, not war" gambit. All they need to do is is abolish the "one child" policy, for Han in the area. The policy doesn't apply to minorities, i.e Uigurs. Xinjiang is about 45% Uyghur. Han is over 40%
As Mark Steyn endlessly reiterates, "it's the demographics, stupid" It's the most potent weapon in the islamists armory, witness the takeover of Europe.
I'm also guessing that the majority of those killed and injured would have been Han.
#9
See also PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUM > WHY RED CHINA FEARS ISLAM?
* BHARAT RAKSHAK > JAPAN MAY DEPLOY MORE TROOPS TO DISPUTED CHINA SEA REGIONS [Daoyus] TO INCREASE ITS CONTROL [JSDF increase size of Younaguni Island Garrison just across from TAIWAN]. MANY WMF POSTERS are viewing this move as an attempt by Japan to geopol isolate = contain China as well as to MILPOL SHORE UP OR SUPPORT TAIWANESE SOVEREIGNTY AGZ MAINLAND CHINA [Japanese mil protection of TAIWAN agz CHIN]???
* WAKK > JAPANESE GOVT. GETS TOUGH WITH RUSSIA OVER KURILS ISLANDS. Tokyo = Japanese Diet unilater passes NEW LEGISLATION PROCLAIMING SOUTHERN KURILS/KURILES AS AN "INTEGRAL PART" OF JAPAN-NIPPON.
OTHER > JAPAN has also repor agreed to de facto purchase the US THAAD BMD SYSTEM + closely coordinate wid USA on ASIA-SPECIFIC TMD-RMD.
SEOUL, July 5 (Yonhap) -- A North Korean cargo ship being tracked by the U.S. Navy on suspicion of carrying illegal weapons has been sailing in international waters off the Yellow Sea of South Korea, military sources said Sunday.
The freighter Kang Nam left North Korea's western port of Nampo June 17 and is the first vessel the U.S. Navy has tracked on suspicion of carrying illegal weapons under U.N. Resolution 1874.
"I believe that the North Korean cargo ship Kang Nam is heading toward North Korea in international waters 200km off the western coast of South Korea," a source said, adding the ship is expected to enter into the North Korea's territorial waters at about 10 a.m. Monday.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/06/2009 00:00 ||
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so probably NOT heading to a Chinese port on the return trip?
Posted by: liberal hawk ||
07/06/2009 12:17 Comments ||
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#2
Q-ship. They want to instigate an international incident to force the US to drop its sanctions. The US didn't fall for it, so it's going home. The Norks will try again.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/06/2009 15:40 Comments ||
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North Korea has threatened a Christian ministry to stop sending Gospel messages to the country through fax, saying the consequence will be "very bad," amid testing of seven missiles on U.S. Independence Day.
Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) confirmed that an anonymous fax apparently from the North Korean embassy for Finland on 5 June promises workers affiliated with VOM that "something very bad will happen to you" if VOM continues a special project to share the Gospel.
VOM said during the past year it had collected many fax numbers from inside North Korea, and have been sending weekly faxes containing Christian messages and Scripture passages on love and forgiveness to each of the fax numbers.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/06/2009 00:00 ||
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Let's see now, the Romans did that and ended up a Christian nation, albeit a mighty corrupt one.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
07/06/2009 9:16 Comments ||
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SEOUL (Reuters) - A report said Pyongyang may have shot mid-range missiles in a series fired on Saturday. North Korea launched seven ballistic missiles, South Korea's defense ministry said, in an act of defiance toward the United States on its Independence Day, further stoking regional tensions already high due to Pyongyang's nuclear test in May.
The North appears to have fired two mid-range Rodong missiles, which can hit all of South Korea and most of Japan, and five Scud missiles, which can strike most of South Korea, Yonhap news agency quoted a South Korean official as saying.
The official said two of the missiles travelled at a greater velocity than the others, indicating they were the Rodong type. "We found five of the seven missiles fell near the same spot in the East Sea (Sea of Japan), which indicates that their accuracy has improved," another official told Yonhap.
The missiles flew about 420 kms (260 miles) and it will take a few days to confirm what was fired, the official said. Initial reports on Saturday said all the missiles appeared to be Scuds.
The Scud and Rodong are ballistic missiles. North Korea has more than 600 Scud type missiles and 300 Rodong missiles which have been deployed and target U.S. allies South Korea and Japan, defense officials have said.
Japan is considering introducing a new ground-based missile defense system to complement interceptors it currently has, the Japanese daily Mainichi reported.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/06/2009 00:00 ||
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[The News (Pak) Top Stories] Fifteen men of an armed tribal Lashkar and three militants were killed when fierce clashes erupted in Fam Pokha and Kharai Darra areas of Ambar Tehsil in Mohmand Agency in the wee hours of Saturday.
Sources said the militants attacked the armed men of tribal Lashkar of Utmankhel tribe in Fam Pokha area, killing 15 Lashkaris on the spot. Official sources put the death toll at 12. It was learnt that three Lashkaris were still missing.
Some of the slain Lashkaris were identified as Bacha Khan, Qabil Khan, Mullah Zar Wali, Ali Rehman, Masood Khan, Misal Khan, Hazrat Bacha, Gul Bacha, Lal Gul, Hazrat Shah and Taza Khan.
Also, the sources said three militants were killed and seven others sustained injuries in the pre-dawn clashes in Fam Pokha and Kharai Darra areas.
Official sources said the slain militants belonged to Dawezai area of the Mohmand Agency. However, their identity could not be established.
Meanwhile, security forces arrested a local militant commander, Fazal, of Qandaro area from the Nadra Centre in Ghallanai. The militant commander had come to make a computerised national identity card, but someone informed security forces about his presence. Fazal was apprehended and shifted to an unknown location for interrogation.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/06/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Fred - would it make sense to somehow combine the Pakistan and Afghanistan sections?
I love rantburg and will read it any way you organize it of course.
[The News (Pak) Top Stories] Security forces on Saturday set ablaze 10 houses and 14 shops owned by the militants in various areas of Swat district while the body of an unknown person was recovered here on Saturday.
Sources said security forces torched shops and houses of the militants in the surrounding areas of Mingora city.
In Oudhigram area, security forces set ablaze four shops owned by a militant identified as Ziarat Gul, the sources said. In the Haji Ishaq Mohalla, security forces burnt the houses of the militants identified as Haji Bahadar, Musa Khan and Akhtar Ali.
The house of another militant, Sherzada, in the Faizabad area was also torched. Security forces also set ablaze three houses of alleged militants in Khwaja Abad area and recovered arms and ammunition.
An unidentified body was recovered from Amankot area, who was reportedly killed by unknown persons.
In a statement, the ISPR said during a search operation in general area Shamozai Mines, three tunnels approximately 50-60 metres long were found. Security forces also recovered 15 rifles, three pistols, 11 SMGs, five mortar shells, one binocular, safety fuzes, one roll of detonating cord, plenty of ammunition and police bullet proof jackets.
During a search at Surgalai and Parinda Baba Ziarat, one IED attached with a mortar shell, five rocket launcher fuzes, one rocket of RPG-7 and currency of different countries were recovered.
Similarly, during a search operation at Mangaltan valley, six terrorists were apprehended. Security forces also recovered two rifles, 22 pistols, eight grenades, remote control sets, four IEDs, three wire rolls, explosive RDX, electric detonators, rations in abundance, large quantity of camouflage uniforms and medical kits.
During a search operation in Dangram and Kokarai, security forces recovered three vehicles (Pajero, Hiace and Hyundai). A small machinegun, one pistol and a motorcycle were also recovered in Sangota and Shamlay. A known militant of the area Sher Alam, who was also second-in-command of Khush Mir, surrendered before security forces on Friday at Bahrain. Security forces during a search operation at Shah Dheri recovered five small machine guns.
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07/06/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: TTP
[Iran Press TV Latest] More than 30 people are killed in separate incidents of violence in northwestern Pakistan where the army has opened several fronts against pro-Taliban militants.
Fresh clashes between the army and insurgents erupted on Sunday in the town of Mingora north of Swat.
"Gunship helicopters shelled militant hideouts at Mangaltan area of Charbagh town. At least ten militants were killed in the shelling," said a military spokesman.
This is while the military claims to have 'almost cleared' the volatile Swat valley of Taliban-linked militants.
In addition to Swat, at least six insurgents related to pro-Taliban warlord Baitullah Mehsud were reportedly killed in the tribal North Waziristan when jet fighters bombed militants' hideouts in the conflict-torn region.
Also, in the Orakzai region, gunship helicopters shelled militant positions in two areas, killing at least three alleged militants.
Moreover, nine members of a tribal voluntary force, lashkar, and three militants were killed during a clash in the volatile Mohmand Agency, according to the Dawn newspaper.
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07/06/2009 00:00 ||
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[Geo News] Islamabad police has arrested 3 alleged terrorists, sources said here on Sunday. The arrested belong to South Waziristan and Buner, sources added. According to police sources, heavy arms and explosives have been recovered from the accused. During initial interrogation the accused said they were planning to target important buildings and places in Islamabad, the police said. Important maps have also been recovered from the accused who have been shifted to unknown location for further investigation.
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[Haaretz Defense] The Be'er Sheva District Court on Sunday charged a Palestinian man from the Gaza Strip with attempting to set up a terror network on Israeli territory with the intention of carrying out a massive bombing attack.
Abd El-Rahman Talalkeh, a resident the Nuseirat refugee camp, was arrested early last month in the Negev by Dimona police officers, after allegedly receiving classified intelligence pertaining to the Shin Bet security forces.
Talalkeh was interrogated thoroughly by agents from the Shin Bet and the southern police district's unity for Hostile Destructive Activity. He has been charged with conspiracy to commit murder, contact with a foreign agent, and illegal military training.
Talalkeh is suspected of fomenting terrorist connections within Israel and plotting mass attacks against Israel Defense Forces bases and police stations. He was also charged with attempting to abduct an IDF soldier as collateral for the release of Palestinian prisoners jailed in Israel.
The suspect told interrogators that he had undergone extensive military training in the Gaza Strip, on behalf of the Popular Resistance Committees, in order to establish a terrorism infrastructure inside Israel.
His training was said to include the use of small arms; preparation of various chemicals, car bombs, explosive belts and bags; use of GPS devices; and intelligence gathering.
According to the indictment, Talalkeh was initially active with Hamas, but broke off his connections to a difference of opinion with the leader of his cell. The suspect told interrogators that he believed Hamas members need to become more involved in their religion and carry out their attacks from a place of faith.
Talalkeh is suspected of learning from his dispatchers the various interrogation methods used by the Shin Bet, in case he were to be caught. He was allegedly planning to carry out a mass bombing on a multi-story building using a car laden with explosives which he was to detonate from afar.
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A roadside bomb planted by suspected Muslim insurgents in restive southern Thailand wounded 11 security forces Monday when one of them stepped on the explosive, police said. A group of soldiers and government-trained defense volunteers was on foot patrol near railway tracks in Narathiwat province when the small homemade bomb went off at a roadside, army spokesman Col. Parinya Chaidilok said. One of the volunteers lost his left leg, he said.
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.
The Taliban confirmed on its Web site that it is holding an American soldier that the U.S. military had earlier described as possibly being in enemy hands. 
As Marine Corps forces roll into southern Afghanistan, they face an enemy familiar to US officials -- Mullah Zakir, a former Guantanamo Bay prisoner who now leads a reconstituted Taliban. Abdul Qayum Zakir, also known as Abdullah Ghulam Rasoul, is from Helmand Province and has taken a circuitous route to become head of the radical Islamic group. 
[Quqnoos] The 4,000 US Marines have regained the control of two Taliban stronghold districts of Nawa in the north and Khanshin in the south of the provincial capital, Lashkar Gah. Now, the fighting moves towards another Taliban stronghold, Garmsir District, in the southern Helmand, to setback the militants, says our correspondent Baryalai Rahimi in Lashkar Gah.
[Quqnoos] Gunmen kidnapped 16 de-miners Saturday in Afghan south-eastern province of Paktia, official said. The mine-clearance personnel, affiliated to the UN Mine Action Coordination Centre of Afghanistan (MACA) were abducted in Wochekhas suburb, about 12 km north of the provincial capital, Gardiz. Head of UNMACA in the Afghan south-eastern region, Engineer Shir Agha Ahmadzai, confirmed the kidnapping and urged any involved parties to immediately secure the release of the Afghan humanitarian aid workers.
[The News (Pak) Top Stories] Fifteen men of an armed tribal Lashkar and three militants were killed when fierce clashes erupted in Fam Pokha and Kharai Darra areas of Ambar Tehsil in Mohmand Agency in the wee hours of Saturday.
