By the Bey, I looked that up, wondering if it was a name or a title. Technically it was the title of Ottoman provincial governors, and before that of tribal sub-chieftanis, but as far as I can tell, it's used like effendi and emir as an indication of flattering respect, translating more as sir than anything.
#4
Good morning indeed. Earthquake this morning in Maryland. Little sucker (3.7), but the cats ran off the bed right before it happened and woke me up. Nothing damaged around here, which is good. We don't exactly do earthquakes in these parts.
#5
There was a young lady named Harrison,
Who wanted hot love with a Saracen
But she had to confine her
Great love to a Shriner
Who suffered a great deal by comparison.
A NATO airstrike killed a Taliban commander responsible for a suicide attack on a U.S. aid program in northern Afghanistan, police said, while a raid killed another insurgent who smuggled in foreign fighters through Iran, officials said Friday.
International troops working with Afghan forces say they have killed or captured dozens of senior insurgent figures since April as they aggressively step up operations against the Taliban leadership. However, those successes haven't slowed the pace of militant attacks, which continue daily, killing dozens of people each month.
In the northern province of Kunduz, a precision airstrike killed a local Taliban commander who uses the alias Qari Latif, the provincial police chief said.
Latif died along with 12 other insurgents while they met in a field under a tree
That would be vaguely proletariat enough for the Rab to go to work, but only if it were deep in the middle of the night when law abiding folk are in the deepest phase of REM sleep.
Thursday outside the provincial capital, police chief Abdul Razaq Yaqoubi said.
NATO confirmed an airstrike targeted a senior insurgent commander who was at a meeting to choose a new Taliban "shadow governor" in a Kunduz district, but the alliance said in a statement it was still investigating the outcome.
The international force said the insurgent chief had boasted of being behind a suicide car bomb on a USAID station in Kunduz city earlier this month that killed two civilians and wounded seven others.
"The Kunduz attack was a shameful act against an organization that was here only to provide assistance to the Afghan people," said Lt. Col. Ian Tudlong, joint command chief of operations for the NATO-led force
Posted by: Fred ||
07/16/2010 09:25 ||
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The US-led NATO force said on Thursday that two insurgents had been arrested for posing a "direct threat" to a major international conference due to take place in the Afghan capital next week. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and senior officials from over 60 countries and international organisations are scheduled to attend next Tuesday's conference to discuss the rebuilding of the troubled nation. Afghan and NATO security forces have already stepped up security in Kabul to guard against possible Taliban attacks from marring the gathering. NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said its troops along with Afghan security forces raided a house and detained two "facilitators" of insurgent attacks in Kabul. One was wanted over three suicide attacks on the city and both "were considered a direct threat to the international Kabul conference," ISAF said. The men surrendered peacefully after troops used a loudspeaker to call on them to exit the house, ISAF added. Tuesday's conference is a bid by Afghan government officials to call for a start to the spending of billions of dollars of pledged development funds. Officials will present donors with their long-term national development strategy, following a donors' meeting in London in January. Afghanistan is trying to rebuild with the help of international community, mainly Western powers following the overthrow of the Taliban regime in a US-led invasion in late 2001. The efforts have however, been hampered by an insurgency launched by the Taliban following their ouster.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/16/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Why create a target rich environment except as fly paper? And who gets credit if it backfires?
Police have arrested a suspect in connection with the Uganda bomb attacks that killed 76 people watching the World Cup final on television, an official said Friday.
The man was arrested at a police checkpoint Wednesday near the Kenya-Somalia border with a satellite phone and digital camera, Northeastern Provincial Commissioner James ole Seriani said.
Police say the man said he supported Somalia's al-Qaida linked group, al-Shabab, despite his claim to be a member of the Ugandan army. Police officers are interrogating the man to determine his nationality, Seriani said.
Kenya beefed up its security along its porous border with Somalia after al-Shabab claimed responsibility for Sunday's twin blasts in Uganda.
In a separate development, police in the Kenyan capital have arrested more than 100 foreigners in an operation aimed at clearing the city of illegal immigrants, said Nairobi police chief Anthony Kibuchi.
Kibuchi said the operation, which started late Thursday and will continue indefinitely, has netted Ethiopians, Somalis, Nigerians and Cameroonians.
"We are not targeting one community," he said. "We are targeting everyone who is here illegally."
Kenya, which has the most advanced economy in East Africa, is fearful that illegal foreigners in the country may compromise its security, a fear heightened by the recent attacks in Uganda.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/16/2010 09:21 ||
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#1
"We are not targeting one community," he said. "We are targeting everyone who is here illegally."
[Arab News] Sudan expelled two aid workers Thursday, the government said, three days after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Bashir on genocide charges.
Sudan said the expulsion of the workers from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) was not related to the genocide accusation.
Khartoum expelled 13 foreign aid organizations last year after the court issued an initial arrest warrant in March 2009 against Bashir for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Darfur conflict.
UN officials say as many as 300,000 people have died and over 2.7 million been driven from their homes in seven years of ethnic and politically motivated violence in Darfur, a remote region of Western Sudan. Khartoum says 10,000 have died.
"We have declared two employees of IOM persona non grata. This is absolutely not related to the International Criminal Court," a Sudanese Foreign Ministry spokesman said.
"The reason is that they practiced many activities that were not related to their duties and their mandate," Moawia Osman Khalid told Reuters without specifying those activities.
The IOM headquarters in Geneva confirmed the expulsions and said the Sudanese government had given it no explanation for the decision. The two international staffers had been working with refugees in Darfur, it said in a statement.
"We regret very much what they have done," IOM chief of mission in Khartoum, Jill Helke, said, adding the pair would leave on Saturday.
The ICC warrant issued against Bashir on Monday was based on three counts of genocide, five of crimes against humanity, including murder, extermination, forcible transfer, torture and rape, and two of war crimes.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/16/2010 00:00 ||
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[Maghrebia] Four Algerian soldiers died from roadside blasts on Wednesday (July 14th) in the Kabylie region, Tout sur l'Algerie reported. Terrorists triggered four bombs as an ANP patrol passed on the road between Tadmait and Larbaa, about 18km west of Tizi-Ouzou. Some 13 injured soldiers were taken to the Bordj Menail hospital.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/16/2010 00:00 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] A Dhaka court yesterday placed Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojahid on a three-day fresh remand in a case filed for killing 345 people during the country's Liberation War in 1971.
Meantime, Jamaat Ameer Motiur Rahman Nizami was also shown arrested on Wednesday in the case following an application submitted by the Criminal Investigation Department. CID also prayed for a ten-day remand to interrogate Nizami.
The hearing on the remand prayer will be held in the court after he is produced before the court on expiry of his remand period in another case.
Metropolitan Magistrate Roksana Begum Happy issued the remand order after CID Inspector Nurul Islam Siddiqui, also the investigation officer (IO) of the case, produced Mojahid before it with a 10-day remand prayer.
Earlier on Wednesday, the same court granted a five-day remand each to detained Jamaat leaders Muhammad Kamaruzzaman and Abdul Quader Molla in the same case.
Freedom fighter Amir Hossain Mollah filed the case on January 25, 2008, with the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court.
REMAND OF MOJAHID-SAYEDEE
Third Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad Ali Hussain yesterday allowed Uttara police to take Mojahid and Sayedee on a three-day remand granted earlier in connection with a case filed with Uttara police for creating anti-state activities across the country.
The duo were produced before it on completion of their 13 days' remand in four cases filed with Paltan and Ramna police stations on February 12, 17 and June 20 and 26.
The two along with Nizami were shown arrested on June 30 in the case and they were placed on a three-day remand.
CASE AGAINST SAYEDEE
The same court yesterday re-fixed July 18 for hearing on a prayer for a seven-day remand of detained Jamaat Nayeb-e-Ameer Delwar Hossain Sayedee in a case filed for attempt to kill late Prof Humayun Azad on February 27, 2004.
Assailants stabbed prominent writer Humayun Azad brutally with machetes in front of Bangla Academy when he was on his way back to his residence.
The court fixed the date again as CID Inspector Mostafizur Rahman, also the IO of the case, could not submit the case diary before it yesterday.
The CID produced Sayedee before the court as it had fixed yesterday for hearing the remand prayer earlier. The IO on July 11 prayed for his seven-day remand.
Sayedee was also shown arrested in connection with the case on the same day.
REMAND OF JAMAAT LEADER'S RELATIVES
Another Dhaka court yesterday placed seven people including Quader Molla's son and two sons-in-law and also Kamaruzzaman's son and nephew on a two-day remand in a case filed under section 54 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
The arrestees are Quader's son Hasan Jamil and sons-in-law Zahirul Islam and Mahibullah, Kamaruzzaman's son Hasan Imam and nephew Mashqur Rahman Jitu, and Shibir activists Zaman and Monirul Huq.
Metropolitan Magistrate GM Al Masud passed the order after Kotwali police produced them before it with a seven-day remand prayer.
Police arrested them from the court on Wednesday on charges of attempts to deteriorate law and order on the court premises.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/16/2010 00:00 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] Banned militant organisation Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh has destroyed all the explosives it had in northern region, claimed detained outfit leader Anwar Alam. Law enforcers, however, have doubt over the account. Police suspect Anwar Alam alias Nazmul alias Bhagne Shahid might have huge explosives and firearms stashed in the region.
Anwar, the acting JMB chief, told police during an interrogation yesterday that they had announced northern region as an area free from bomb-making factories, interrogators said. "As part of a new strategy taken around three months back, they [the organisation leaders] have already dismantled their explosives in the area," Bogra Superintendent of Police Humayun Kabir told The Daily Star quoting Anwar.
A top police official, who led the drives to catch Alam and former JMB chief Saidur Rahman, said, "We suspect Alam has kept explosives hidden in dens in northern region."
"We're worried about it as we seized powerful belt-bombs in Narayanganj in May. Those bombs can kill 50 to 60 people at a time if blasted in a gathering," added the official seeking anonymity.
I assume belt-bombs are a local variant on the suicide vests, considered the height of fashion amongst the Palestinians.
The Bogra SP also quoted Anwar saying, Saidur Rahman took the decision to make the region a peaceful area so that locals get attracted to the outfit and law enforcers do not disturb its members anymore.
How terribly, terribly clever of them. Sneaky, too.
Anwar Alam, arrested on July 12 in Bogra, is now being grilled by Bogra police. He is likely to be brought to the capital today to put him face to face with Saidur and detained JMB military commander Shiblu alias Shishir.
Intelligence Wing Director of Rapid Action Battalion Lt Col Ziaul Ahsan said, "We suspect JMB still possesses a good amount of explosives and hand made bombs and grenades." Ziaul Ahsan said they are on efforts to seize explosives, if JMB possesses any. I smell a few upcomming moonlight drives to hunt arms caches. Those are always good for a "Crossfire" accident.
In an interrogation statement of JMB's ex-military commander Zahidul Islam Sumon alias Bomaru Mizan read Bhagne (nephew) Shahid is operating a bomb-making factory in north Bengal. The Daily Star obtained a copy of the statement.
Mizan was arrested on May 14 in 2009. The following day, 11 bombs, a pistol, and a huge stash of chemical residues, plastic explosives, grenade casings, fuses and detonators were seized from the capital's Mirpur area.
The clues given by Mizan led Rab to launch a number of unsuccessful drives in several northern districts to unearth the factory.
Detained Saidur has already admitted to detectives that his outfit has several hundred explosives, handmade bombs and grenades stashed at different dens, said the DB official who interrogated the JMB man.
The Bogra SP also said Anwar claimed that as part of a new strategy they have deactivated their military wing in northern region and are now focusing on new recruitment from the region.
The JMB boss also admitted that they made a good number of bombs and grenades in northern region to foil the 2008 national elections.
He also said explosives might have been stashed in Dhaka region.
Police said Nazmul alias Bhagne Shahid, a highly motivated JMB member, is accused in several cases filed at different places in the country.
Some of the cases are in connection with assaulting police and arms looting in Joypurhat, Grameen Bank robbery in Pabna, lootings of BRAC banks in Natore and Tangail, bomb attacks on four cinemas in Mymensingh and attack on Prof Humayun Azad.
Yet another demonstration that jihadis are nothing more than jumped-up gangsters.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/16/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
I smell a few upcomming moonlight drives to hunt arms caches. Those are always good for a "Crossfire" accident.
Pls call home, it's not the same. Must have green.
Speculating here, but it is possible that last Sunday morning's attack in Juarez was a prelude to this attack. Google Translate
Two unidentified Mexican Federal agents were killed and several others were wounded in a car bomb attack in downtown Juarez, according to Mexican new reports.
The attack took place near the intersection of calles 16 de Septiembre and Bolivia at about 2000 hrs, and was less than a half mile from the US border. Several others were injured in the attack downtown including a television reporter.
A message appeared nearby threatening more car bombs.
The attack is the first car bomb attack in Mexico and is considered an escalation in the Mexican drug war.
#2
Let me pile on the kudos. The whole 'More Mexican Mayhem' and the tracking of what is, essentially, terrorism on our southern border here at the Burg was Badanov's idea. I certainly have a better understanding of what's going on there and I thank him for it.
Any regulars with working Spanish language skills and a desire to review the Mexican news should also feel free to contribute. I have the sad feeling that these stories are going to be more and more important to us in the months ahead.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/16/2010 9:42 Comments ||
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#3
Hummmm.... he only doing it to track their Order of Battle.
To amplify. I generally cover the northern tier of Mexican border states: Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas.
The only time I cover other states is if the Mexican Army is conducting an operation, a major state official is murdered, or a major shootout.
We could use someone to cover the following states in toto or in part: Durango, Sinaloa, Guerrero, Jalisco, Colima, Guanajuato, San Luis Potosi, and Nayarit. These states sit astride a modern interstate highway system and represent a battleground, as it were, amongst criminal gangs to safely ship their product northward without local interference.
The pay is non-existant and the hours are long, but after only two months I really look forward to coming home from real work and scanning Mexican press for organized crime news.
I like to think that by exposing the terrible shooting gallery Mexico has become to feed a nation's drug habit, we are framing debate in many, many other areas of political debate to come.
Plus, as Shipman has said, there's the order of battle thing.
Google Translate
Ground forces of the Mexican Navy and elements from Secretaria de Marino (SEMAR) conducted sweeps in areas of northern Saltillo, Coahuila Thursday morning, according to Mexican press reports.
Local police were dispatched to the Privadas La Torre district after receiving reports of gunfire only to realize combat operations by SEMAR were underway.
Before police arrived at the scene reports were received of a firefight lasting an hour in the Balcones de Morelos, district including the use of fragmentation grenades and antitank rocket fire.
Unofficial reports received during the two battles were that two people were hurt in the firefight, but nothing was determined if the wounded were civilian, friendly or criminal.
Two military helicopters were observed in area area in apparent support of Navy forces, which continued throughout the day in the San Patricio and San Agustin district and in areas near the intersection of Bulevar Carranza and Calle Pedro Figueroa.
Later reports were received of three suspects detained and the seizure of two armored vehicles, as well as munitions and other materiel.
The Coahuila Fiscalia General del Estado had not as of report time received any officials results of military operations carried out today.
Google Translate and a hat tip to Nota Roja for dditional details.
A Mexican Federal prosecutor ending his day late last night was hot to death as he sat in his car by a group of armed suspects in Mazatlan, Sinaloa, according to Mexican news reports.
Jesus Manuel Ramirez Murillo, 37, had just finished his day at about 2330 hrs. when he was attacked in front of his fellow colleagues near the offices of the Procuraduria General de Justicia.
Witnesses say Murillo was sitting in his Toyota Corolla on Avenida del Mar when two SUVs, a Chevrolet Avalanche and a GMC Yukon, pulled up and discharged two groups of armed suspects, who then started firing. He was shot from the right side by suspects with 9mm pistols and from the left side with AK-47 assault rifles. He was shot at more than 60 times.
The suspects then boarded the two SUVs and fled the scene.
Reports are three others were murdered in Mazatlan in three other unrelated crimes.
Thirteen people were killed in ongoing drug and gang violence including four unidentified men shot to death in Juarez and four shot to death in Monterrey,
Four unidentified men were shot to death in Juarez Wednesday afternoon, according to Mexican press reports.
The attack took place near the intersection of calle Parritas and Ramon Rayon in the Manuel Valdez district when the four victims attempted to elude a group of armed suspects following them by ducking into a private home. Witnesses say the gunmen rounded up the victims and shot them before fleeing the scene.
An unidentified man was shot to death Thursday afternoon in front of a church in Juarez Wednesday, say Mexican news reports. The attack took place in front of the Catholic temple on calle 16 de Septiembre when a man was shot aboard his Chevrolet Impala.
A Juarez municipal police officer was shot to death Thursday morning as he ended his shift, according to Mexican press reports. Luis Javier Ramirez was shot aboard his Lincoln at an Oxxo gas station near the Estacion Babicora on calle Santiago Tronosco.
Two men were shot to death at a sports field in Hermosillo, Sonora Wednesday, according to Mexican press reports. Flavio Cordoba Lopez, 36, died at the scene near the intersection of Calle Minorca and Avenida Andaluza in the Las Granjas district at about 1750 hrs, while Francisco Alain Duarte Felix, 22, died later at a hospital. Investigators at the scene found spent shell casings for .45 caliber and Super .38.
A knife wielding suspect was shot to death by municipal police in Guayamas, Sonora, Wednesday, say Mexican news reports. Reports are officers intercepted a suspect who was throwing stones at officers in the area Nacionalizacion del Golfo. When the suspect attacked an officer with a hidden knife he was shot.
The victim, Madrid Rafael Gonzalez, died at the scene. The officer treated for minor wounds.
The young man who was shot to death by armed suspects resisting abduction at his father's store in Chihuahua city, was the nephew of Chihuahua governor elect Cesar Duarte, say Mexican press accounts.
Four unidentified men were found shot to death in Monterrey Neuvo Leon Thursday morning, say Mexican press reports. The discovery was made at about 0500 hrs. when drivers in the area heard gunshots near the intersection of calles Fundadores Garza Laguera and Lampazos in the Hacienda San Agustin district.
All four victims were bound by their hands. Three of the victims were in their 20s. The fourth, in his 30s, was blindfolded. Investigators found spent cartridge casing for 9mm and AK-47s.
Meanwhile, Joe Arpaio launches 16th illegal immigrant sweep on Interstate 8 near Gila Bend. This time, he is bringing a belt fed .50 cal, in case anyone starts shooting at his deputies.
The sheriff said criminals smuggling drugs and immigrants across the border are now carrying AK-47s along the swath of desert that is seldom patrolled. The Barry M. Goldwater Range is used for shooting and cannot be patrolled without permission from the United States Air Force. That gives smugglers an easy path for entry, Arpaio said.
This article's author has quite an economic way with words, doesn't she?
And yes, Ebbang, Joe got himself a 50-cal. Given who he is, I'm not surprised he has one. On the flip side, I expect to see technicals soon if Joe becomes a pain in their @$$.
#5
"Technicals" are only good as long as the other side doesn't have anything better. If we start seeing technicals in Arizona, I'd also expect the Arizona National Guard to start flying Apache missions along the border. I don't think Jan Brewer will play games. I KNOW Sheriff Joe won't.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/16/2010 18:19 Comments ||
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#3
with this one out of the picture, will there now be a 'renumbering of the holiest places in all of Mecca' and indeed the entire Muslim world' effort launched?
A suicide bomber blew himself up near a busy bus stand in Mingora on Thursday, killing five people and injuring 60 others.
Police said five people were killed, including two women and a couple visiting from Punjab. Four of the injured were in critical condition and have been shifted to a Peshawar hospital. At least 10 shops and eight vehicles were damaged in the blast.
Police believes the bomber was on foot, and he detonated himself when a security convoy was passing through the area. A military spokesman said the army had been the target and that two security force personnel were wounded.
"The man was sitting in my bus and got down as soon as I pulled over and ran towards the security forces' vehicles and then there was a big explosion," said Siddique Jan, the driver of the bus.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/16/2010 00:00 ||
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US missiles destroyed a compound used by militants in Pakistan's tribal belt on Thursday, killing at least 10 militants in the first such attack for two weeks, officials said.
A US drone fired at least two missiles into the compound in the village of Sheerani Mada Khel in the district of North Waziristan, a Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked stronghold heavily targeted in a covert US drone war this year.
"At least 10 militants were killed," a senior security official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
"Most of the dead militants are said to be foreigners," he added, but said that their nationalities were not yet known.
Pakistani officials use the term "foreigners" for Al-Qaeda fighters operating in the tribal regions.
Another security official said up to 14 militants were killed when three missiles slammed into the compound.
The area, 40 kilometres (25 miles) from Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan, is a stronghold of Pakistani warlord Hafiz Gul Bahadur.
He is reputed to control up to 2,000 fighters in the region who stage attacks over the border against foreign forces stationed in Afghanistan.
It was not immediately clear whether there were any high-value targets among the dead.
The missiles were fired at around 6:30 pm (1330 GMT) and militants quickly surrounded the site, barring access to local residents, officials said.
US forces have been waging a covert drone war against Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked commanders in Pakistan's northwest tribal belt, where militants have carved out havens in mountains outside direct government control.
Washington has branded the rugged tribal area on the Afghan border a global headquarters of Al-Qaeda and the most dangerous place on Earth.
The US military does not, as a rule, confirm drone attacks, but its armed forces and the Central Intelligence Agency operating in Afghanistan are the only forces that deploy pilotless drones in the region.
Thursday's strike was the first drone attack in Pakistan's tribal belt since six militants were killed in South Waziristan on June 29.
Around 960 people have been killed in more than 100 drone strikes in Pakistan since August 2008, including a number of senior militants. However the attacks fuel anti-American sentiment in the conservative Muslim country.
Waziristan came under renewed scrutiny when Faisal Shahzad, the Pakistani-American charged over an attempted bombing in New York on May 1, allegedly told US interrogators he went there for bomb training.
The United States has been increasing pressure on Pakistan to crack down on Islamist havens along the Afghan border.
Pakistani commanders have not ruled out an offensive in North Waziristan, but argue that gains in South Waziristan and the northwestern district of Swat need to be consolidated to prevent their troops from being stretched too thin.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/16/2010 00:00 ||
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SALAH EL-DIN / Aswat al-Iraq: Casualties from the car bomb explosion in central Tikrit on Thursday went up to 6 dead and 12 wounded, according to a security source.
The car bomb explosion in front of al-Enab restaurant in al-Arbayeen street, central Tikrit, killed six, including four policemen, and injured 12 civilians, the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
The blast set a number of stores and three civilian vehicles ablaze, he added.
Tikrit, the capital of Salah el-Din, lies 175 km north of Baghdad.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/16/2010 00:00 ||
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KIRKUK / Aswat al-Iraq: A gunman blew himself up inside his house in Kirkuk after police besieged it, a police source said on Thursday.
A police force besieged the house of a gunman in al-Hasriya village in Soliman Beik district, southern Kirkuk, the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
The gunman blew himself up before security forces stormed the house, he added, without giving further details.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/16/2010 00:00 ||
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KARBALA / Aswat al-Iraq: Five persons were arrested in Karbala on Thursday, including two wanted on charges of involvement in two car bombing attacks in the holy Shiite city three months ago, according to a police official.
Security agencies captured the five men based on intelligence tip-offs in the city and in accordance with arrest warrants as part of several search raids, Maj. General Ali Jassem, the Karbala police chief, told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
Two of the arrested persons are suspected of involvement in two car bombs in the city three months ago, Jassem added.
One car bomb attack had occurred in al-Baladiya neighborhood, followed by another one 10 minutes later near a dentistry clinic, leaving together dozens of people killed or wounded.
Jassem noted that the five arrested men, who have confessed to their criminal and terrorist acts, would be referred to courts.
The predominantly Shiite city of Karbala lies 110 km southwest of the Iraqi capital Baghdad.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/16/2010 00:00 ||
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Smuggling tunnels linking Egypt and Gaza have been called a lifeline for Palestinians during Israel's stifling three-year blockade of the Palestinian territory.
But now that Israel is allowing more goods into Gaza, the smugglers have started going out of business.
More than 150 tunnel operations have closed and thousands of people risk losing their jobs. I'm sure arms trafficking will pick up the slack.
Cheez, even Gaza has suffered in the Obama depression ...
Al Jazeera's Nicole Johnston reports from Rafah, where the once busy smuggling bussiness has turned strangely quiet. Video report at link.
#6
They used to tell me I was building a dream
And so I followed the mob
When there was tunnels to dig
Or jooos to kill
I was always there right on the job
They used to tell me I was building a dream
With peace and glory ahead
Why should I be standing in line
Just waiting for UN bread
Once I dug a tunnel
Smuggled guns
Made it race against time.
Once I dug a tunnel
Now it's done
Mahmoud, can you spare a dime?
Once I shot a rocket
Up to the sun
No idea where its gone
Once I shot a rocket
Now it's done
Mahmoud, can you spare a dime?
Jumped through flaming hoops
Gee we looked swell
Full of that to the last drop of blood
Half a million boots went flying under beds
And I was left holding the bag
Say, don't you remember
They called me Mo
It was Mo all the time.
Why don't you remember
I'm your pal
Mahmoud, can you spare a dime?
Thailand's military says a suspected Muslim terrorist insurgent was killed and another turned himself in during a raid in the country's restive south. Lt. Col. Prathan Talabthong says the military, police and paramilitary troops surrounded a house in Pattani province's Mayo district. One terrorist suspected insurgent immediately surrendered. Four hours later, another man opened fire at the security forces, leading to an exchange of gunfire. Afterward, authorities found his dead body. Prathan says he was wanted by the police.
Also Wednesday, police Col. Suwat Wongpaiboon said a village defence volunteer was shot dead in an terrorist insurgent attack in nearby Yala province.
A police officer was pronounced dead at hospital after being wounded in a shooting and bombing attack at a checkpoint in Narathiwat on Monday. Pol.Sen.Sgt-Maj. Cherdsak Singbutrda, 52, died of massive blood loss while army Pvt. Aek Nimnuan, 22 is in critical condition in an intensive care unit.The private was shot in the head. The two men were attacked at a checkpoint in the provincial seat Monday evening.
A special military unit attempted to seal off an area in Bacho district and exchanged gunfire with terrorists suspected insurgents. Initially, however, there were no reports of injuries.
#4
In the movie Russian Ark, it was made abundantly clear that even in the days of the Czar, Russia considered Persia close to a vassal state. Today, they probably feel much towards it as does the US to Canada, and are willing to tolerate, or even encourage enormous amounts of nonsense from Iran.
The Soviets were very clear that they would have no problem at all in absorbing Iran into the Soviet Union.
Excerpt: [Energy Minister Sergei] Shmatko and Iranian Oil Minister Masoud Mir-Kazemi signed a "road map" outlining long-term energy cooperation Wednesday and said they would aim to form a joint bank to help fund bilateral projects and expand cooperation in natural gas deliveries and oil products.
"Sanctions will not hinder us in our joint cooperation," Shmatko said when asked about joint projects after the signing ceremony.
[Arab News] Lebanese security authorities arrested a second employee at state-owned mobile telecom firm Alfa on suspicion of spying for Israel, security sources said Thursday.
They described Tareq Raba'a as a telecoms engineer and said he was "more dangerous" than Charbel Qazzi, another employee who was arrested last month and was referred to a military court this week. If convicted he could face the death penalty.
Security sources said Raba'a was arrested Monday and was under investigation.
They said he had been an employee at Alfa since 1996 and began working for Israeli intelligence in 2001, adding that he used to leave Lebanon twice a month and every time he would bring back at least $10,000 in cash.
The arrests are part of a broad espionage investigation, which has led to more than 50 arrests since April last year. Israel has not commented on the detentions.
Lebanon has described the arrests as a major blow to Israel's intelligence gathering in the country and said many suspects helped identify targets in Lebanon that Israel bombed during its 2006 war with Hezbollah.
Qazzi's arrest last month shocked the country and prompted debate on how deeply Israel had infiltrated Lebanon's telecoms and security sectors.
That does explain how the cell phones of everyone important in Lebanon rang just before the last Israel invasion, with a canned message advising them to keep their heads down until it was over.
President Michel Suleiman, who under Lebanese law must sign a death sentence before it is carried out, has called for severe punishment for spies. The Cabinet also agreed that death sentences handed down to spies for Israel should be carried out.
May God watch over their souls, for their bodies are beyond aiding.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/16/2010 00:00 ||
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BEIRUT - An Israeli patrol crossed a UN-drawn border into Lebanese territory at the disputed area of Kfar Shuba on Thursday, the Lebanese army said, although the accusation was disputed by UN peacekeepers.
A patrol of eight enemy (Israeli) soldiers crossed the line of withdrawal at the town of Kfar Shuba in an attempt to abduct a shepherd, an army spokesman told AFP. He said the shepherd had managed to escape but the troops had crossed 20 metres (22 yards) past the UN-drawn Blue Line, an informal border established after the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon in 2000, following a 22-year occupation.
But the UN Interim Force in Lebanon had not observed any violation of the Blue Line, spokesman Neeraj Singh told AFP.
Israel, which fought a deadly 2006 war with Hezbollah that destroyed much of south Lebanon, has detained Lebanese shepherds in the area in the past but has generally handed them swiftly back to UNIFIL after questioning them.
Simple, heavily-armed shepherds ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/16/2010 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
A NATO airstrike killed a Taliban commander responsible for a suicide attack on a U.S. aid program in northern Afghanistan, police said, while a raid killed another insurgent who smuggled in foreign fighters through Iran, officials said Friday.
US missiles destroyed a compound used by militants in Pakistan's tribal belt on Thursday, killing at least 10 militants in the first such attack for two weeks, officials said.
Thailand's military says a suspected Muslim 
