BRITISH helicopter gunships killed 50 fleeing Taliban fanatics yesterday as they desperately tried to float their trucks over a river. The devastating strike will be some revenge for the killing of seven UK servicemen in a week.
"Fleeing fanatics." "Desperately." "Devastating." I don't think the journalist likes the Taliban very much.
It came as British troops began to win Operation Panther's Claw, the bloodiest battle of the year in the Afghan badlands.
We like it when our British cousins do themselves proud.
An unmanned aerial drone spotted dozens of trapped fighters trying to float their convoy of 4x4 vehicles across the river after attaching plastic barrels to them.
Is that common practice?
The gunships peppered the convoy with cannon fire and anti-personnel rockets, leaving at least 50 dead, military sources have revealed.
After three weeks of intense combat since the operation was launched, Taliban resistance around the central Helmand hotspot of Babaji is starting to collapse, the MoD said yesterday. Helmand Task Force commander Brigadier Tim Radford said: "We are sending a very clear message to the insurgents. We will not allow them to return and strike fear into the communities."
Among the seven British soldiers killed was Trooper Christopher Whiteside, who had dreamed of competing at the 2012 London Olympics. Talented swordsman Christopher, 20, of the Light Dragoons, hoped to win a place in the British fencing team. Also among the casualties was Lt Col Rupert Thorneloe, 39, commanding officer of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards. A total of 176 British servicemen and women have died in Afghanistan since operations began in October 2001.
May they each find their just reward for standing between civilized freedom and the tyranny of evil.
Posted by: ed ||
07/11/2009 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[10327 views]
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#2
There is pre-attack recon drone video at the link. The boyz are really doing the cockroach-kitchen light drill when they realize helicopters are bearing down on them.
Posted by: ed ||
07/11/2009 1:06 Comments ||
Top||
#3
More...
Faster...
Posted by: abu do you love ||
07/11/2009 3:32 Comments ||
Top||
#4
I don't think the journalist likes the Taliban very much
It's the Sun. Remember, Sun readers care about one thing- large female breasts. The Taliban hate that sort of stuff. The two are therefore natural antagonists.
[Iran Press TV Latest] Conflicting reports are coming out of Afghanistan over the death figures in overnight fighting between the Taliban militants and coalition troops.
Afghanistan's Police Chief Khalil Boz Sherzai said on Friday that around 22 Afghans were killed in the central Ghazni province in an air strike while the US-led coalition report denied any air strike and only said that several militants had been killed.
Coalition Spokeswoman Capt. Elizabeth Mathias said the toll figure given by the Afghan police sounded high. She also denied that any air strike had taken place. Mathias however said that clashes began as international troops, while pursuing militants in the Giro district, were fired at by the insurgents. The troops retaliated and killed some militants. She added that the troops also confiscated grenades, guns and ammunition found in a weapons cache during the operation.
We're counting in base 10. They're using... something else.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/11/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Taliban
#1
I suppose they're only going to be happy if the coalition supplies footage of the coalition not killing them?
A foreign fighter and a top government security official are among 16 people killed in Saturday's fighting between U.N.-backed government forces and Islamist insurgents in the north of the capital, a Somali official said.
Presidential information officer Abdulkhadir Wehliye said the foreign fighter is believed to be Bangladeshi because of identity documents found on the body.
Bangladeshi? Has Pakistan given up supporting its jihadis in the renegade province, then?
An Associated Press reporter saw the body of the man, who appeared to be of non-African origin, displayed at the presidential palace on a stretcher.
There are believed to be hundreds of foreign jihadi fighters in Somalia supporting an Islamic insurgency. Government officials have claimed there are thousands of foreigners fighting against them but most analysts dismiss this as a ploy to wring cash and support for the international community, which is worried about the failed state becoming a haven for al-Qaida-linked terrorists.
Saturday's attack also claimed the life of Nor Daqli. He was head of security for the capital, Mogadishu, and the surrounding Benadir region.
[Al Arabiya Latest] Somalia's hard-line Islamist rebels beheaded seven people on Friday for being "Christians" and "spies" in the latest implementation of strict Sharia law by the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab movement, witnesses said.
Though al-Shabaab has carried out such punishments before in regions it controled, the beheadings on Friday were thought to be their largest number of executions at one time, Somalis said.
" Al Shabaab told us that they were beheaded for reasons they described as being Christian followers and spies "
Relative of one of the victims
"Al-Shabaab told us that they were beheaded for reasons they described as being Christian followers and spies," said one relative, who gave his name only as Aden, after the executions in the south-central town of Baidoa.
The group beheaded three people in the region last month.
Al-Shabaab, which means "Youth" in Arabic, have vowed to rule the majority Muslim nation by a hardline interpretation of Islamic law. The group has dug up Sufi graves, forced women to wear veils and amputated limbs for theft.
Somalia's government has been unable to wrest control of large tracts of the Horn of Africa nation and the capital from Shabaab militants who continue to wage guerrilla-style attacks on Somali troops and an African Union force there.
Last month the speaker of Somalia's parliament asked neighboring countries to deploy foreign troops to help the embattled six-month-old government fight rising attacks by hardline Islamist rebels following the killing of high-profile Somali officials.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/11/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: al-Shabaab
[Al Arabiya Latest] Egypt has seized a cache of explosives in a mountainous area near its border with Israel, a security source said on Friday, one day after 26 people were arrested on suspicion of targeting the Suez Canal.
In the latest of crackdowns on terror cells, an unnamed Egyptian security source said 700 kg (1,540 lb) of explosives were on Thursday evening in a mountainous area south of el-Arish and was likely to be smuggled to Gaza. The source added that residents had alerted security forces to the cache, which was buried two meters (6.6 feet) below the ground. No one was arrested, but there was evidence the cache had been used recently, the source said.
On Thursday, Egypt's interior ministry said it had arrested 26 people suspected of plotting to target oil pipelines and foreign ships in the Suez Canal, which separates the Sinai Peninsula from the rest of Egypt. Egyptian security found evidence that the group, some of whom were technologically savvy engineers, maintained communication with al-Qaeda abroad and other terror networks using complex devices as well as cell phones and the internet.
Abdul Rahim Ali, director of the Arab Center for Research and Studies, told Al Arabiya members of the cell caught Thursday had entered Gaza through the assistant of a Palestinian named Abu Gazar.
Ali said that the investigation remains in its infancy and that the links between the group arrested and the Army of Islam, a Palestinian faction in Gaza, remains unclear.
Egypt has taken a tough line again smugglers and migrants seeking to move goods and people across the borders with both Israel and the Gaza Strip. Police shot dead at least 28 African migrants at the border last year. The government stepped up security measures against smugglers in April after prosecutors accused Lebanese group Hezbollah of planning attacks in Egypt through a group of 49 men.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/11/2009 00:00 ||
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[10325 views]
Top|| File under: al-Qaeda
[Maghrebia] A Moroccan court on Thursday (July 9th) ordered that 8 members of a recently dismantled Salafia Jihadia terror cell be jailed until trial, MAP reported. The group is accused of plotting to destabilise Morocco with violent strikes against tourist locations and diplomatic headquarters. Four members of the cell, including leader Abou Yassine, 34, were arrested last month on the Spanish enclave of Ceuta.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/11/2009 00:00 ||
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[10325 views]
Top|| File under: Salafia Jihadiya
[Mail and Globe] A key militant in Nigeria's southern Niger Delta detained since September 2007 has accepted President Umaru Yar'Adua recent offer of unconditional amnesty, his lawyer said on Thursday. "Henry Okah has accepted the unconditional amnesty as offered by President Yar'Adua," Femi Falana said.
Yar'Adua on June 25 declared an unconditional pardon for armed groups who say they are fighting for a greater share of the oil wealth. The amnesty offer remains open until October 4.
"He [Okah] is worried about his deteriorating state of health in detention and he wants to be released soonest," he said. Falana, a human rights activist, said that his client "has not yet signed any formal document on his acceptance of the amnesty offer as talks were ongoing between government officials and his lawyers on details of his release."
Yar'Adua is upbeat about the militant's acceptance of his amnesty offer, presidential spokesperson Olusegun Adeniyi said. "The president feels elated by the acceptance of amnesty offer by Mr Henry Okah," Adeniyi said in a statement sent from Italy.
"Before he left Abuja yesterday [Wednesday], the president mandated the attorney general of the federation to work with Falana to tidy up the legal process so that Okah's release can be effected," he stated.
Yar'Adua, who arrived on Thursday in L'Aquila, Italy, for the Group of Eight summit, urged the remaining militant leaders "to avail themselves of the amnesty offer so as to pave the way for peace and rapid development in the Niger Delta".
Posted by: Fred ||
07/11/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
he's already detained, ill, and accepts amnesty to fight again another day. Jeebus
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/11/2009 8:26 Comments ||
Top||
[ADN Kronos] Saudi authorities have arrested five Al-Qaeda suspects in the city of Taif, located in the country's southwest near Islam's holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabian daily Okaz said. The arrests took place during a raid by Saudi security forces in an apartment in Taif, Saudi daily Okaz said on Friday.
The incident took place a day after a Saudi court issued verdicts against 330 suspects of an Al-Qaeda cell, in the kingdom's first terrorism trials. The detainees were put on trial for belonging to a "deviant group", financing terrorism and threatening national security in attacks that took place in 2003 in the capital Riyadh (photo) and the coastal city of Jeddah, said the country's official news agency Saudi Press Agency. Saudi officials often use the term "deviant group" to refer to Al-Qaeda.
One militant was sentenced to death, while others face jail terms and house arrest. However, the defendants can still appeal. Many were also acquitted.
More than 1,500 suspects are due to go on trial in the kingdom and the media are expected to be allowed to cover the appeals, a court official told Dubai-based network Al-Arabiya on condition of anonymity.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/11/2009 00:00 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] A criminal was killed and three of his accomplices were injured in a gunfight between members of Rapid Action Battalion and criminals on Ispahani Road in the city's south Keraniganj last night. Where the hell is that?
The deceased was identified as Tapan, 28. Any word on whether his mother misses him?
Locals said the gunfight broke out at about 8:30pm when a team of Rab-10 raided the area to arrest the gang members who robbed an employee of Shakti Foundation, a non-governmental organisation, on Wednesday there.
Rab arrested four criminals -- Tapan, Salman alias Hridoy, 22, Pappu, 18, and Kamal, 25 -- with bullet wounds in legs while their cohorts managed to escape. "Aaaiiieee! My kneecaps!"
They were rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital where Tapan succumbed to his wounds at about 10:00pm. Bled to death from knee wounds? Clearly the bullet entered through the kneecap, tumbled, and cut through the major artery in the groin. Naturally poor Tapan bled out directly. We see this kind of case all the time on the various CSI locations.
Two pistols and four bullets were recovered from them. Two of the bullets they recovered were used ...
SM Kamal Hossain, commanding officer of Rab-10, told The Daily Star, "Sensing Rab's presence, the criminals opened fire on the Rab members prompting them to retaliate."
Posted by: Fred ||
07/11/2009 00:00 ||
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Uzbek authorities have arrested 10 alleged militants after identifying a suicide bomber who blew himself up in the eastern city of Anidjan in May, a pro-government website said on Friday. Twenty-seven-year-old Kamoliddin Matkosimov had been trained in Pakistan and recruited Uzbek migrant workers in Kazakhstan's capital Astana, the report said. The 10 young people -- who are now being interrogated -- were followers of Matkosimov and were involved in militant groups' activities, the report said. The suicide bombing killed a policeman and injured several civilians in Andijan on May 26.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/11/2009 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[10325 views]
Top|| File under: Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan
#1
love the pic
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/11/2009 8:28 Comments ||
Top||
[Al Arabiya Latest] Chinese riot police broke up a small demonstration by Uighurs after Friday prayers in a Muslim neighborhood, arresting several after security forces relented on a decision to close mosques for the day to avoid ethnic tension.
Chinese authorities arrested several Uighurs who were taken away from the White Mosque in Urumqi with their hands above their heads for protesting the government's orders to ban Friday prayers. A crowd of several hundred gathered near the White Mosque in Urumqi to witness riot police with submachine guns block roads around the building fearing further ethnic violence in the Xinjiang region.
Earlier on Friday, Chinese security attempted to ban Muslims from gathering at mosques for Friday prayers but relented on the ban when crowds of up to a thousand Uighur faithful refused to disperse without being allowed to pray. "You see, this is how they treat Uighurs -- like animals," said one woman of what appeared to be only a localized flare-up.
Security forces earlier banned Uighurs from Friday prayers
Security forces ordered some 200 mosques to shut down and not allow worshippers in the wake of race riots between local Uighur Muslims and the majority Han Chinese that claimed 156 lives. But the afternoon prayers were testing the government's ability to impose control on the far Western city and contain Uighur anger after Han Chinese, China's predominant ethnic group, attacked Uighur neighborhoods on Tuesday leading to the region's worst ethnic violence in decades.
Beijing has ruled the Xinjiang region with an iron fist as it cannot afford to lose its grip on the vast territory that borders Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, has abundant oil reserves and is China's largest natural gas-producing region.
Suspension notices
Other mosques frequented by Hui, a Muslim group culturally akin to Han Chinese, opened their doors on Friday after crowds of a few hundred worshippers began shouting.
Mosques in the overwhelmingly Uighur bazaar district of Urumqi earlier displayed notices that prayers had been suspended. A cluster of Uighurs outside the big Dong Kuruk Bridge Mosque said they were angry and disappointed it hadn't opened. "We feel we are being insulted. This is our mosque. But we are not allowed in, while they let in non-believers," said a young man, pointing out that Chinese security forces had been stationed inside and even in the minarets jutting out above an adjacent expressway.
"Under instructions from superiors, normal prayer will be suspended from today," said a notice at the gateway of the nearby Guyuan Mosque. It was dated Wednesday. Anybody wishing to pray ... please do so at home."
China's ruling Communist Party may fear that big Uighur religious gatherings could become another catalyst for unrest after a week of ethnic strife. Uighurs, a Turkic people who are largely Muslim and share linguistic and cultural bonds with Central Asia, make up almost half of Xinjiang's 20 million people.
President Hu Jintao, forced to abandon a G8 summit in Italy by the ethnic violence in Xinjiang, has said maintaining social stability in the energy-rich region is the "most urgent task". Hu described the Sunday riots as a "serious violent crime elaborately planned and organized by 'three forces' at home and abroad".
"Three forces" is a term China uses to refer to religious extremists, separatists and terrorists it says menace Xinjiang.
There appears little likelihood China will slow its drive to punish those found guilty of killing Urumqi residents in the Sunday mayhem, when cars and buses were burnt. On Tuesday, thousands of Han Chinese, shouting for vengeance, attacked Uighur neighborhoods, and many Uighur residents said people died. The government has not released any numbers. Authorities have posted notices in Urumqi urging rioters to turn themselves in or face stern punishment.
Xinjiang has long been a tightly controlled hotbed of ethnic tensions, fostered by an economic gap between many Uighurs and Han Chinese, government controls on religion and culture and an influx of Han migrants who now are the majority in most key cities, including Urumqi.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/11/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
The Han seem to have adopted the concept of dhimmitude - and applied it to all who are not the Han.
[Iran Press TV Latest] An unknown attacker has fired several shots at riot police in central Athens, the latest in a series of violent incidents to plague Greece.
Reports said a hooded man approached riot police on duty along a busy street in Athens and fired several shots before fleeing. No one was injured and a manhunt is underway to capture the assailant. The officers were on duty outside the offices of the main opposition Socialist PASOK party.
Since January, three police officers have suffered gunshot wounds, and an anti-terrorism officer was killed last month by unknown assailants while on duty. A radical left-wing group calling itself Revel Sect claimed responsibility for the death of the officer last month and threatened to target politicians and journalists in a proclamation sent to a newspaper.
Greece has been plagued by daily bombings and arson attacks on banks and multinational businesses since the police shot dead a teenager in December 2008, sparking the worst riots the country has seen in decades.
The violence has embarrassed Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis' government, which has been criticized for its inability to protect citizens. The government has vowed to crack down on the increasing violence and has sought advice from Britain's Scotland Yard.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/11/2009 00:00 ||
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Sixteen Taliban and six security forces' personnel were killed in separate clashes in Bajaur Agency and Malakand division on Friday.
In Bajaur, security forces attacked Taliban hideouts in Charmang Valley with helicopter gunships, killing 10 Taliban and wounding several others. In retaliation, the Taliban martyred two security forces' personnel and injured five others.
Earlier, on Friday morning, the Taliban attacked a Bajaur Levies checkpost with heavy weapons, rockets and hand grenades, killing four Levies personnel. In retaliation, security forces killed three Taliban. Political Agent Zakir Hussain Afridi announced Rs 100,000 each for the bereaved families.
Arrested: Separately, security forces claimed to have apprehended 26 Taliban and killed another three during operations in Malakand Division. According to an Inter-Services Public Relations press release, one of the Taliban was killed during a search operation at Sar Colony, while the remaining two were killed in Gujro Kille near Malam Jabba. The ISPR also claimed a Taliban centre had been destroyed at Kuz Darmal near Lower Dir, killing and wounding an indeterminate number of Taliban.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/11/2009 00:00 ||
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[10324 views]
Top|| File under: TTP
All the "perpetrators" behind attacks in Islamabad have been arrested and the country will soon be purged of terrorists, a private TV channel quoted Interior Minister Rehman Malik as saying on Friday. According to the channel, Malik said the government believed in dialogue for resolving the Balochistan issue, but the army could also be used there, if needed. He said the killing of Benazir Bhutto was part of a global conspiracy, adding that the masterminds behind the assassination would be unmasked.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/11/2009 00:00 ||
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[10324 views]
Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Pakistan
#1
I'm sure the Mumbai-Massacre support group will find themselves arrested tout de suite.
Mohmand Agency political administration after the men vowed to cooperate with the government in its peace efforts in the area. Adam Kor tribal jirga representative Umarkhel and other tribesmen from Ambar tehsil held a meeting with officials of the political administration and after talks, handed over 30 Taliban wanted by the government, APP reported. Yakagund Assistant Political Agent (APA) Rasool Khan said the tribal elders had also formed a 100-member peace committee, which would work with the government and the law enforcement agencies to maintain peace. He said the committee would work with the national tribal laskhar in the tehsil to maintain law and order and flush out anti-state elements from the area. "We will not compromise on the government's writ and strict action is being taken against miscreants," he said. The jirga assured support for the political administration and promised to fulfil its responsibilities by maintaining peace in the agency. Meanwhile, three men wanted by the Khyber Agency political administration turned themselves in to authorities in Jamrud on Friday. They were identified as Amjad, Daulat Shah and Shahid. Jamrud Political Tehsildar Rashid Khan told Daily Times that the three were issued notices, adding that two others had also been issued notices. The houses of the three who handed themselves over had already been demolished.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/11/2009 00:00 ||
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Ten Taliban were killed during a clash with security forces in Zhob district of Balochistan on Friday. Quoting official sources, a private TV channel said the Taliban had been killed in retaliation after they attacked a security checkpost in the Sambaza area of Zhob. Local administration and security officials told the APP news agency that an unknown number of Taliban had killed one security official, Hazrat Mir, and wounded two others during the attack on the security checkpost. They said the two injured personnel were injured in the brief exchange of fire and had been admitted to Zhob CMH for treatment.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/11/2009 00:00 ||
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[Geo News] Five extremists were killed in a drone attack in South Waziristan while eleven people were killed and several injured in a tribal clash. According to sources, two missiles were launched through drones at a hideout of extremists in Kundsarai, an area of Tiarza in South Waziristan. Dead bodies of five extremists, and three wounded have so far been recovered from the destroyed hideout. The drone plane flew for an hour before attacking the area.
Meanwhile, firing exchanged among two armed tribal groups due to old enmity in Zarmilna, a suburban area of Wana and heavy weapons were used against each other groups. Eleven persons of both groups were killed and several wounded in their clash.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/11/2009 00:00 ||
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[10329 views]
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Swat Taliban chief Fazlullah on Friday said the government would not be allowed to restore its writ in Malakand and Swat, a private TV channel reported. According to an audio message the channel claimed to have received from Fazlullah, ...
... who is currently succumbing to sepsis ...
... the Taliban leader criticised the government for launching the military operation in Swat and Malakand, saying that for siding with the government, residents of the area should suggest their punishments themselves. Swat Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan confirmed the authenticity of the message.
Meanwhile, the Online news agency said Fazlullah had also vowed to continue struggling for the imposition of sharia. Fazlullah said he and other top Taliban leaders were alive and would continue their struggle.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/11/2009 00:00 ||
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[10326 views]
Top|| File under: TTP
#1
Over his dead body.
Posted by: ed ||
07/11/2009 1:03 Comments ||
Top||
In separate incident, Iraqi truck driver who ignored warnings killed
Iraqi police say a car bomb has exploded in a Shiite village in northern Iraq, killing at least four people. A provincial police officer says Saturday's explosion also wounded 38 people in the village of Gugjeli, about five kilometers (three miles) east of the city of Mosul. The police official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to journalists.
An American soldier in Iraq shot and killed a truck driver who did not respond to warnings to stop on a highway north of Baghdad, the U.S. military said Saturday. The incident happened at around 2:15 a.m. on Friday when the truck approached a U.S. logistics convoy that had stopped because one of its vehicles had broken down, the military said.
Soldiers flashed vehicle lights and shouted for the truck to stop, but it continued to accelerate, according to the military. A soldier thought the convoy was under attack and fired on the truck, the military said. A teenage passenger in the vehicle, identified by Iraqi officials as a brother of the driver, was not harmed. Maj. Derrick Cheng, a U.S. military spokesman, described the killing as "tragic" and said the soldier acted in line with terms of a joint U.S.-Iraqi security deal.
Two militants preparing to fire mortars into Israel were detained Saturday by interior security officials of the Islamic Hamas movement, reported a group to which the militants claim membership. The statement, from the Saraya al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad, announced the arrest of their members Saturday, reporting that the two men had been arrested as they engaged an Israel Defense Forces unit along the border of Israel and the eastern Gaza Strip.
The group added one of the two men is wanted by Israel and had been previously injured in an Israel Air Force attack on Islamic Jihad militants several months ago. The other is a brother of a suicide bomber who was killed near the Gaza-Israel border in 2004.
Four Palestinians wounded in smuggling tunnel collapse
Four Palestinian workers were wounded on Saturday when a tunnel they were building to smuggle goods across the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip collapsed, Palestinian medics said. The wounded were being treated for suffocation and other injuries at Rafah's Abu Yusef al-Najjar hospital. Two were in stable condition, medics said, adding that rescue crews were still scouring the area, fearing that others might still be trapped.
The Hamas-controlled Gaza Interior Ministry said that Egyptian security forces had in recent days redoubled their efforts to find and destroy smuggling tunnels across the border that bisects the town of Rafah, and that they had found and destroyed "a number of tunnels."
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.
BRITISH helicopter gunships killed 50 fleeing Taliban fanatics yesterday as they desperately tried to float their trucks over a river. The devastating strike will be some revenge for the killing of seven UK servicemen in a week. 
A foreign fighter and a top government security official are among 16 people killed in Saturday's fighting between U.N.-backed government forces and Islamist insurgents in the north of the capital, a Somali official said.
[Al Arabiya Latest] Somalia's hard-line Islamist rebels beheaded seven people on Friday for being "Christians" and "spies" in the latest implementation of strict Sharia law by the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab movement, witnesses said.
[Maghrebia] A Moroccan court on Thursday (July 9th) ordered that 8 members of a recently dismantled Salafia Jihadia terror cell be jailed until trial, MAP reported. The group is accused of plotting to destabilise Morocco with violent strikes against tourist locations and diplomatic headquarters. Four members of the cell, including leader Abou Yassine, 34, were arrested last month on the Spanish enclave of Ceuta.
[ADN Kronos] Saudi authorities have arrested five Al-Qaeda suspects in the city of Taif, located in the country's southwest near Islam's holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabian daily Okaz said. The arrests took place during a raid by Saudi security forces in an apartment in Taif, Saudi daily Okaz said on Friday.
[Bangla Daily Star] A criminal was killed and three of his accomplices were injured in a gunfight between members of Rapid Action Battalion and criminals on Ispahani Road in the city's south Keraniganj last night.
Uzbek authorities have arrested 10 alleged militants after identifying a suicide bomber who blew himself up in the eastern city of Anidjan in May, a pro-government website said on Friday. Twenty-seven-year-old Kamoliddin Matkosimov had been trained in Pakistan and recruited Uzbek migrant workers in Kazakhstan's capital Astana, the report said. The 10 young people -- who are now being interrogated -- were followers of Matkosimov and were involved in militant groups' activities, the report said. The suicide bombing killed a policeman and injured several civilians in Andijan on May 26.
[Al Arabiya Latest] Chinese riot police broke up a small demonstration by Uighurs after Friday prayers in a Muslim neighborhood, arresting several after security forces relented on a decision to close mosques for the day to avoid ethnic tension.
[Iran Press TV Latest] An unknown attacker has fired several shots at riot police in central Athens, the latest in a series of violent incidents to plague Greece. 
Sixteen Taliban and six security forces' personnel were killed in separate clashes in Bajaur Agency and Malakand division on Friday.
All the "perpetrators" behind attacks in Islamabad have been arrested and the country will soon be purged of terrorists, a private TV channel quoted Interior Minister Rehman Malik as saying on Friday. According to the channel, Malik said the government believed in dialogue for resolving the Balochistan issue, but the army could also be used there, if needed. He said the killing of Benazir Bhutto was part of a global conspiracy, adding that the masterminds behind the assassination would be unmasked.
Ten Taliban were killed during a clash with security forces in Zhob district of Balochistan on Friday. Quoting official sources, a private TV channel said the Taliban had been killed in retaliation after they attacked a security checkpost in the Sambaza area of Zhob. Local administration and security officials told the APP news agency that an unknown number of Taliban had killed one security official, Hazrat Mir, and wounded two others during the attack on the security checkpost. They said the two injured personnel were injured in the brief exchange of fire and had been admitted to Zhob CMH for treatment.
[Geo News] Five extremists were killed in a drone attack in South Waziristan while eleven people were killed and several injured in a tribal clash. According to sources, two missiles were launched through drones at a hideout of extremists in Kundsarai, an area of Tiarza in South Waziristan. Dead bodies of five extremists, and three wounded have so far been recovered from the destroyed hideout. The drone plane flew for an hour before attacking the area. 
Swat Taliban chief Fazlullah on Friday said the government would not be allowed to restore its writ in Malakand and Swat, a private TV channel reported. According to an audio message the channel claimed to have received from Fazlullah, ...
In separate incident, Iraqi truck driver who ignored warnings killed
Two militants preparing to fire mortars into Israel were detained Saturday by interior security officials of the Islamic Hamas movement, reported a group to which the militants claim membership. The statement, from the Saraya al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad, announced the arrest of their members Saturday, reporting that the two men had been arrested as they engaged an Israel Defense Forces unit along the border of Israel and the eastern Gaza Strip. 
