Posted by: Fred ||
02/14/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Birthday/Daily Gam Shot
Lois Maxwell aka Miss Moneypenny in "14 Bond Films 1962-1985" aka Julia Kane (with Ronald Reagan) in "That Hagen Girl" aka Nurse Mary Lore in "Lolita" (Died in 2007 at age 80)
#2
I don't know if it has been said or not...
thanks GB,
Your happy birthday posting is not the reason I come to Rantburg, but it is a nice addition to my day.
Posted by: abu do you love ||
02/14/2011 11:27 Comments ||
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Residents in Surrey and Kent villages have been ordered by police to remove wire mesh from their windows as burglars could be injured.
Home owners in the villages of Tandridge and Tatsfield in Surrey and in Westerham, Brasted and Sundridge in Kent have said they are furious that they are being branded 'criminals' for protecting their property.
Locals had reinforced their windows with wire mesh after a series of shed thefts but were told by community police officers that the wire was 'dangerous' and could lead to criminals claiming compensation if they 'hurt themselves'.
[Tolo News] At least three non-combatants were killed in festivities between foreign forces and gunnies on Saturday in eastern Kunar province, ... which is right down the road from Binny's house in Chitral... local officials said.
The incident happened in Asmar district of Kunar province yesterday when gunnies attacked an Isaf convoy in the district, Khalillulah Ziayee, police chief of Kunar told TOLOnews.
Foreign forces suffered no casualties in the incident, he added.
Police said the victims of the attack are two women and a young man.
No group including the Taliban grabbed credit for the attack.
Foreign forces have not yet commented about the festivities.
Asmar is an insecure district in Kunar province where gunnies are active and often use Improvised Explosive Devices to target Afghan and Nato forces.
Residents of Kundar province said that gunnies have often attackede civilians and Afghan and foreign forces cars on the way to the district.
Afghan officials in the province said they have launched many military operations to wipe out the gunnies from the province.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/14/2011 00:00 ||
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[Tolo News] Some people have been nabbed in connection with the murder of an Afghan girl and abduction of her sister in Takhar province, officials said.
Takhar governor, Abdul Jabbar Taqwa, said the nabbed suspects have been introduced to the Attorney General's Office.
Last year an Afghan girl was killed by local warlords who also kidnapped her sister in Rustaq district of Takhar province.
"Our started an investigation in the right time and tracked those behind the incident," Mr Taqwa said.
Meanwhile, ...back at the ranch... Takhar governor said that security has improved in Khwaja Ghar, Darqad, Yangi Qala and Khwaja Bahauddin districts, urging government's attention to the districts.
He also urged international organisations to increased food aid to the province.
Takhar is bordered by Kunduz province that has recently been cleared of krazed killers.
Despite clean-up operations conducted in Takhar, beturbanned goons are still active in some districts in the province.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/14/2011 00:00 ||
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NAIROBI, Kenya - Somali pirates hijacked a ship with 23 crew, and a Danish warship freed a hijacked Yemeni fishing vessel that had been held for nearly a year, maritime authorities said on Sunday.
The Maltese-flagged bulk carrier MV Sinin had 13 Iranians and 10 Indians onboard when it came under attack Saturday, the European Union Naval Force said. The ship subsequently lost communications and a maritime patrol aircraft photographed two skiffs onboard the vessel. The MV Sinin was taken about 350 miles (560 kilometers) east of Masirah in Oman.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/14/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
nobody cares too much because they refuse to solve the piracy problem on land where it is easy to fix.
nobody cares about seafarers... they are all from 3rd world cesspits these days where labour is cheap.
But people will care when - and the day will come - when a cruise ship with rich old westerners is hijacked. 3000 pensioners from the UK, US, Germany, Belgium etc... then the world will go nuts
#2
Maybe that's exactly why the cruse ships are NOT attacked, also I understand many have skeet shooting off the afterdeck and these Pirates are cowards.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
02/14/2011 22:48 Comments ||
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[Emirates 24/7] A Danish ship patrolling the Gulf of Aden under NATO operational control captured 16 suspected Somali pirates who were sailing a hijacked vessel, the Danish navy and NATO said on Sunday.
"The Esbern Snare warship on Friday morning captured a pirate group which operated from a hijacked ship," the Danish Navy operational control (SOK) said in a statement.
The Danish crew spotted a small suspicious vessel while patrolling off the Somali coast Friday and decided to investigate it.
"After boarding the vessel it became clear that those (aboard) were 16 suspected pirates and two Yemeni hostages," NATO's Allied Maritime command said.
"The original fishing crew of nine people had been held for a year but most of them had been released," it added.
The Danish crew found rocket launchers, assault riffles, ammunition, large quantities of fuel and two skiffs on board.
The two Yemeni hostages, who apparently had been put to work on the ship, were taken onto the Esbern Snare and would later be returned to Yemen, SOK said.
It added a task force determined there were no sufficient grounds to prosecute the suspected Somali pirates, who were brought back to land early Sunday.
Ships such as the one captured are referred to as "pirate motherships."
"These ships provide the pirates with a floating base when they are operating far from the shore. They pose a great threat to the merchant shipping," the commanding officer of the Esbern Snare, Commander Haumann, said in the NATO statement.
The Danish command and control vessel is taking part in NATO's anti-piracy operation in the Gulf of Aden, dubbed "Ocean Shield", which started in August 2009 and has been extended until the end of 2012.
Somali pirates staged 37 successful hijackings of ships in the region in the first 10 months of 2010, up from 33 in the same period of 2009, the United Nations, aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society said in a report published in early November.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/14/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
PEOPLES DAILY FORUM > [INTERTANKO Group] SOMALI PIRACY A THREAT TO "GLOBAL OIL SUPPLIES".
ARTIC > Recently captured, Greek-flagged "IRENE L" oil tanker represented up to 20% OF AMER'S CRUDE OIL IMPORTS FOR ONE DAY. The Somali Bad Boyz are also believed to had converted TWENTY-OR-MORE CAPTURED VESSELS INTO "MOTHER SHIPS" [afloat = ocean-going Bases] FOR FUTURE ATTACKS.
IIRC INDIA > Govt. Officials were complaining about how the offshore attacks = pirate operations of the Somali Boyz are getting closer to India's Western coastline, wid the Pirates presently oper widin a roughly 300-PLUS KMS ARC OFF INDIA FROM SOMALIA, + LIKELY TO COME CLOSER STILL IN FUTURE.
#2
The two Yemeni hostages, who apparently had been put to work on the ship
You misspelled Slaves.
It added a task force determined there were no sufficient grounds to prosecute the suspected Somali pirates, who were brought back to land early Sunday.
WTF?
In that case there's no need to return them to shore either - throw them off the ship and let them fend for themselves without their slaves.
CAIRO Feb 14 (Reuters) - About 2,000 people gathered in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Monday, halting traffic only hours after military police and soldiers had cleared the last few dozen pro-democracy activists from the area, witnesses said.
The army had appeared to be in full control of the square, heart of the protests that toppled President Hosni Mubarak. Then hundreds of police marched through, unhindered by troops, saying they wanted to show solidarity with the revolution.
The police protesters and the crowds of onlookers around them disrupted traffic which had begun flowing at the weekend for the first time in more than two weeks.
Either this is phase II of the Muslim Brotherhood plan or the military isn't as unified as one might want. Or both...
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/14/2011 15:41 ||
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#1
I wonder when the people will realize they've been had.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
02/14/2011 19:33 Comments ||
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Deacon---the fine line between opportunity and disaster. All across that area of the middle east, people are realizing that the money and resources have not gone to the people, but to the usual graft and corruption.
The dictatorial regimes, like Iran, Syria, Algeria, Tunisia, have been blocking internet and other media to keep the Egypt situation from spreading to their countries and thus their honey pots.
Meanwhile, Islamist elements hear opportunity knocking, too, and many of them are quite organized, or relatively so.
I think that this process is destined to run, for better or for short time big time suck ill, but it will run.
The thing that really bothers me is that we are not prepared, energywise to weather the storm. And O admin has accelerated this crisis for our energy, but previous administrations have not helped, either.
In the short term, we have lots of natural gas and we have coal. We need to be making our own gasoline and diesel from non imported crude or other means. It is outrageous that the Congress and the Presidents, past and present have let us become so vulnerable to energy supplies from unstable parts of the world.
Now if you will excuse me, I must add a load of wood to the stove.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
02/14/2011 20:54 Comments ||
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[Al Jazeera] Algerian opposition groups have said they will follow up the protests held this weekend by calling a demonstration in Algiers, the capital, every Saturday until the government is changed.
"We will continue to march until the regime steps down. Each Saturday we will maintain the pressure," said Mohsen Belabes, a front man for the RCD opposition party which helped organised the demonstrations.
Elias Filali, an Algerian blogger and activist, quoted Ali Yahia Abdennour, a senior figure and human right activist, as saying: "We should continue protesting every Saturday in the same square, we will gather momentum as we progress we want our dignity back.
"Yesterday the police has brutally beaten many protesters amongst them a pregnant women, old ladies, a journalist, young men and women, we should carry on protesting until we get our rights."
The call came as hundreds of stone-throwing demonstrators clashed with police on Sunday in the eastern city of Annaba.
Four coppers were slightly injured during festivities with young protesters outside the local government headquarters.
Several thousands protesters, inspired by revolts which overthrew entrenched leaders in Egypt and Tunisia, defied a police ban and protested in Algiers on Saturday.
Widespread discontent with unemployment, poor housing conditions and high food prices sparked rioting in early January across the country.
Local media reported that Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the president, is preparing to make wholesale changes in his government line-up, a move which could relieve some of the pressure on his administration.
"What happened in Tunisia and Egypt is not likely to happen here," said Nacer Jabi, an Algerian sociologist, as he watched the protest on Saturday.
"This march shows ... that the [political] parties are unable to mobilise the crowds."
Flammable mix
The resignation on Friday of Hosni Mubarak, Egyptian president, and last month's overthrow of Tunisia's leader, have led many to ask which country could be next in the Arab world, with its flammable mix of authoritarian rule and popular anger.
Widespread unrest in Algeria could have implications for the world economy because it is a major oil and gas exporter, but many analysts say an Egypt-style revolt is unlikely as the government can use its energy wealth to placate most grievances.
The government has said it refused permission for Saturday's rally for public order reasons, not because it is trying to stifle dissent.
It has said it is working hard to create jobs, build new homes and improve public services.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/14/2011 00:00 ||
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[Arab News] Police in the Yemeni capital Sanaa attacked anti-government demonstrators who called for the country's president to step down.
The peaceful demonstration started from Sanaa University and headed to the presidential palace when it was intercepted by police using tear gas and electric batons.
Many activists and demonstrators were maimed and others reportedly rounded up by police. To head off other protests in Tahrir Square, police erected barbed wire in the square and around nearby government facilities.
In southeastern Taiz, one of the densely populated cities in Yemen, thousands of protesters gathered in Tahrir Square and staged a sit-in demanding the ouster of President President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, after serving as a lieutenant colonel in the army. He had been part of the conspiracy that bumped off his predecessor, Ibrahim al-Hamdi, in the usual tiresome military coup, and he has maintained power by keeping Yemen's many tribes fighting with each other, rather than uniting to string him up. ... and the resignation of his relatives who are in power, including his son, nephews and brothers-in-law.
The Egyptian-inspired protesters, who are not connected to any political party, have been demonstrating in the street since Hosni Mubarak's resignation. The protesters have rebuffed calls from the government not to organize unlicensed rallies. During Sunday's protest, they raised slogans such as "People want to oust the regime" and "Get out, get out." Police nabbed dozens of the demonstrators.
Meanwhile, ...back at the ranch... Yemen's main opposition bloc -- Joint Meetings Parties (JMP) -- has agreed to resume talks with the ruling party ending months of freeze in relations.
In a presser in the capital on Sunday, JMP welcomed President-for-Life Saleh's ... exemplifying the Arab's propensity to combine brutality with incompetence... call for a resumption of dialogue with his party and said they should start from where the previous talks stopped.
Saleh recently vowed that he will not stand for re-election and lashed out at newspaper reports that suggested his son will succeed him. He also froze controversial constitutional amendments and postponed planned elections in April.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/14/2011 00:00 ||
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[Pak Daily Times] Yemeni police armed with sticks and daggers beat back thousands of protesters marching through the capital in a third straight day of demonstrations calling for political reforms and the resignation of the country's US-allied president.
The protests have mushroomed since crowds gathered on Friday to celebrate the ouster of Egyptian geriatric President Hosni Mubarak after an 18-day revolt fuelled by similar grievances. Yemen is one of several countries in the Middle East feeling the aftershocks, as pro-reform demonstrators take inspiration from the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia.
On Sunday, uniformed police used truncheons to stop protesters, many of them university students, from reaching the capital's central Hada Square. Witnesses said plainclothes coppers wielding daggers and sticks also joined security forces in driving the protesters back.
Much is at stake in Yemen - already a deeply troubled nation - if the pressure on President President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, after serving as a lieutenant colonel in the army. He had been part of the conspiracy that bumped off his predecessor, Ibrahim al-Hamdi, in the usual tiresome military coup, and he has maintained power by keeping Yemen's many tribes fighting with each other, rather than uniting to string him up. ... further erodes stability.
The US is most worried about an al Qaeda offshoot that has taken root in Yemen's mountains in the last few years and used the haven as a base to plot attacks beyond the country's borders, including the failed attempt to blow up a US-bound airliner in December 2009 by an attacker with a bomb sewn into his underwear.
Saleh - in power for three decades - is quietly cooperating with the US in efforts to battle the al Qaeda franchise, but his government exercises limited control in the tribal areas beyond the capital. The US is funnelling him military aid and training.
The country's security forces, however, are already stretched thin on two other fronts: Since 2004, they have struggled to contain a serious rebellion in the north by Shias who complain of neglect and discrimination.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/14/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Is Saleh really an ally??
Posted by: American Delight ||
02/14/2011 7:37 Comments ||
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#2
When it's convenient.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/14/2011 8:55 Comments ||
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#3
He occasionally lets us blow up al Queda types on his soil, torments them when the feeling strikes, and hasn't been seriously supporting an insurrection against our troops in a neighboring country, although the Saudis might disagree with that last characterization. As far as all that goes, he's a better ally than the last two-three Pakistani regimes.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
02/14/2011 13:05 Comments ||
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PR flack cuts him off part way thru his answer - hedging about who found what where - article in the Telegraph re this and link to the video interview below. Presumably they'll have to roll up any part of the network they were letting run on a leash.
[Iran Press TV] Unknown bully boyz have attacked a house in the Khyber tribal region in northwest Pakistain and killed at least five people and injured two others, security officials say.
Militants hurled hand grenades into a guest house (Hujra) of local primitive Fazal Muhammad in Tabi Shan Khel village in Landikotal Tehsil of Khyber Agency late on Saturday, killing five people and injuring two others, Pak officials told Press TV on Sunday.
The injured people were transferred to a local hospital as security forces cordoned off the area and started search operations to arrest the krazed killers. No group or individuals grabbed credit of the attack.
Meanwhile, ...back at the ranch... Pak security forces on Saturday killed at least 9 bully boyz in two different incidents in Swat valley in the northwestern Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... province.
Officials told Press TV that five bully boyz were killed by the soldiers in a clash in an area between Swat and Dir districts.
In another incident, Pak troops clashed with bully boyz and killed at least four bully boyz in the Madayan area of Swat.
Security Forces have also nabbed a would-be bomber in a separate incident in Swat district.
Sporadic outbreaks of violence continue in the region although Pak troops launched a military operation in the region after bully boyz moved out of Swat and advanced to within 100 kilometers of the capital Islamabad in April 2009.
After heavy fighting ... as opposed to the more usual light or sporadic fighting... that displaced an estimated two million people, the military declared the region back under army control last summer.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/14/2011 00:00 ||
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KIRKUK / Aswat al-Iraq: Two blasts took place southwest of Kirkuk on Sunday evening, leaving 20 vehicles ablaze and damaging several houses, a senior security official said.
Al-Zab district, (85 km) southwest of Kirkuk city, was rocked by two blasts near a store and a house that belongs to a leader of the sahwa (awakening) tribal fighters, Brig. Sarhad Qader, the director of the Kirkuk Districts Police Department (KDPD), told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
The two blasts left 20 vehicles on fire and caused damage to the house of a sahwa leader and nearby houses, but left no casualties, Qader added. He did not give further details.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/14/2011 00:00 ||
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TRIPOLI, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Palestinian refugees should capitalise on the wave of popular revolts in the Middle East by massing peacefully on the borders of Israel until it gives in to their demands, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi said on Sunday.
He was giving his first major speech since a popular uprising in neighbouring Egypt forced President Hosni Mubarak to resign, an event which electrified the Arab world and prompted speculation that other Arab governments could also be toppled.
"Fleets of boats should take Palestinians ... and wait by the Palestinian shores until the problem is resolved," Gaddafi was shown saying on state television. "This is a time of popular revolutions."
"We need to create a problem for the world. This is not a declaration of war. This is a call for peace," he said in a speech given to mark the birthday of the Prophet Mohamed, a holy day in the Islamic calendar.
He also said: "All Arab states which have relations with Israel are cowardly regimes."
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/14/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Ima thinking we should help the oppressed Berbers rise up and overthrow Colonel Sprocket
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/14/2011 7:09 Comments ||
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#2
Gaddafi revolting? Definition of revolting: Causing abhorrence or disgust.
We're not surprised Gaddafi is abhorrent and disgusting. We've all known that for years. Can we add "cross-dressing dipwad" to the definition?
#7
Sounds like the spirochetes are nibbling again.
Is there anything left to nibble on?
NEVER underestimate the power of spirochetes working in a social network!
The XM-25 performed flawlessly and has our soldiers asking for more. The XM-25, Counter Defilade Target Engagement System with 25mm rounds, is semi-automatic, and includes fully integrated day/night, full-solution target acquisition/fire control. Soldiers in the field have given it the nickname "The Punisher."
"Since its first contact Dec. 3, the XM25 has been in nine engagements with two units at different locations, officials said. Specifically, it has disrupted two insurgent attacks on observation posts, taken out two PKM machine gun positions and destroyed four ambush sites.
In one engagement, an enemy machine gunner was "so badly wounded or so freaking scared that he dropped [his] weapon" and ran, said Lt. Col. Christopher Lehner, Program Manager Individual WeaponsThere were no casualties among units carrying the XM25 in those nine engagements, Lehner said.
"No longer can the enemy shoot at American forces, then hide behind something," said Brig. Gen. Peter Fuller of Program Executive Office Soldier. "This is a revolutionary weapon. This is a game-changer."
The XM25 has a target acquisition system that calculates range with the push of a button. The data is transferred to an electronic fuse, enabling the 25mm round to explode over the target and rain shell fragments on the enemy.
All five prototypes were sent to Afghanistan in November. Officials are putting the final touches on data and analysis, but said Col. Douglas Tamilio, project manager for soldier weapons, said the weapons "performed flawlessly" and no maintenance issues showed.
Soldiers have been so pleased with the XM25 that they are carrying it as a primary weapon, and not bothering to bring an M4 as a secondary weapon, said Maj. Christopher Conley, who monitored the employment of XM25 on behalf of PEO Soldier.
Lehner said the tests revealed only one problem: The units didn't want to give the Punisher back." With 100m of MER over an AK-47, I can see how this would just be a mother in the offense. As backup, I think I'd go for an automatic shotgun, like a AA-12, so if the XM-25 goes south, nobody is going to advance on me without getting shredded.
#3
I always get a hoot out of the exoskeleton idea, because its best application is not combat, but rear area. Such a tool would be invaluable in doing what could be the work of a hundred men, things like loading trucks. Without a healthy percentage of them injured in the process.
Norman Schwartzkopf was only able to pull off his hail Mary movement on the Saudi border because of a Herculean movement of supplies through hundreds of miles of desert, and by air. It is logistical movements like that, that determine the outcome of modern wars.
A machine that could speed that up many times would be worth its weight in gold.
#5
Moose speaks the truth. I was in the very front of the sweep of VII Corps wiht 2ACR. The logistics guys kept up with us even though we were hauling ass and had sprinted out 40Km in front of the Corps main elements. Gassed up and plenty of ammo is a nice way to be when your regiment has to chew through and open a breach in the side of 2 Guards mech/armored divisions.
#6
I take it the Talib are getting an object lesson in Concealment versus Cover, and finding that neither may matter anymore against US forces armed with this thing.
Just curious if this is supposed to be a squad weapon like an LMG (SAW or M60 type), or an individual like a grenade launcher.
If they could build in an over/under barrel that would fire 5.56NATO then you'd have the best of both worlds.
The only concern I have, now that it apparently does will in real filed conditions, is ammo weight and capacity. How much does a grunt need, versus how much can he carry.
#7
If they could build in an over/under barrel that would fire 5.56NATO then you'd have the best of both worlds.
It originally was part of a combined-weapons sytem called the XM-29, which got split into the XM-25 and the XM-8, which was a lot better than the M-4/M-16 for about the same price, but runs into the barrier that You Can't Ever Admit There's Anything Wrong With The Various M-16 Rifles...
You can type in "XM-29" and "XM-8" into the search engine of your choice to see what they looked like.
#8
On second thought: I may start a company to buy XM-8's and market them to the military. I figure if I rebadge them as "M-16A8"s I may be able to pull it off.
Nine suspected insurgents terrorists were rounded up in Yala province. Some of them are suspected being involved in the car-bomb attack in downtown Yala on Sunday.
The suspects were detained after 300 border patrol policemen, provincial policemen and Provincial Administration Department officials besieged and carried out searches in 10 different locations.
An unidentified security official said the suspects included two Islamic teachers of a private school and eight local youths.
The authorities launched an operation to search for suspected terrorists insurgents after a group of terrorists insurgents blew up a powerful car-bomb in downtown Yala, wounding 18 people and starting a massive fire that destroyed 11 shophouses.
The source said the authorities had learnt that a group of terrorists insurgents led by Ahmad Tu-nga has been operating in Muang district. He said the nine were arrested under the emergency decree and they were taken for questioning. The suspects are not being identified for now.
The source said the Islamic teachers are suspected of sowing hatred among Muslim youths to launch terrorist campaigns against the local authorities. The suspects are also thought to be involved in the deaths of nine Buddhists in Yaha district.
[Straits Times] THE Philippine government and communist rebels will begin peace talks in Norway this week, but analysts say recent deadly festivities show there is no chance of a quick end to the decades-long insurgency.
After a breakthrough last month in which the two sides agreed to negotiate for the first time in six years, President Benigno Aquino's administration voiced hope that the conflict would be over by 2014.
'Our most optimistic projection is that... substantive agreements can be reached in 18 months' time and peace achievable in three years,' chief government negotiator Alexander Padilla said on Friday before flying to Oslo. But less than a week after the foes agreed to meet, communist rebels killed five coppers in a well-planned ambush in a northern Philippine town.
The assault marked the start of an offensive across the country that the military said left at least 14 people dead ahead of the week-long talks that will begin in Oslo on Tuesday.
'Certainly, it is a sign of bad faith on their part,' military front man Brigadier General Jose Mabanta told AFP when asked about the communists' intentions in carrying out the assaults.
The Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the New People's Army (NPA), launched their uprising in 1969, and tens of thousands of people have been killed during the conflict, according to military estimates.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/14/2011 00:00 ||
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[Straits Times] TROOPS overran the jungle lair of Al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf Orcs and similar vermin in the troubled southern Philippines, killing five of the guerrillas, the military said on Sunday.
Regional military front man Lieutenant Colonel Randolph Cabangbang said the army offensive on remote Basilan island on Saturday also left two soldiers dead.
'The firefight lasted for three hours,' Cabangbang said in a brief statement sent to news agencies.
He said the Abu Sayyaf turbans, numbering around 30, abandoned the small rebel encampment of seven bunkers, communications equipment and ammunition.
One of the five gunnies killed was believed to be Juhaiber Alamsirul, a known 'sub-commander' of the Abu Sayyaf, who operates mostly on Basilan island and has been linked to previous kidnappings in the area.
The Abu Sayyaf is a 300-strong gang of self-styled Islamic turbans. It was set up in the 1990s by a Filipino Islamic firebrand using seed money from Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda network, local and western intelligence groups said.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/14/2011 00:00 ||
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IRANIAN protesters took to the streets of capital Tehran for a major rally overnight in support of Arab revolts, while fresh anti-government protests were reported in Yemen and Bahrain.
By midday local time, more than 4000 people gathered in central Tehran's Azadi Square, with many more streaming in, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Anti-riot police on motorbikes armed with riot shotguns, tear gas, batons, paintball guns and fire extinguishers were deployed in parts of the capital as authorities feared the rally could turn into an anti-government demonstration, AFP reported.
The Iranian regime also barred opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi from attending the rally by blocking his house with police vans and vehicles, his website reported.
Iran previously backed the Arab uprisings, but the interior ministry refused to permit the opposition rally because officials believed it was a ploy to stage fresh anti-government demonstrations as seen in 2009 after the disputed re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
#1
http://warnewsupdates.blogspot.com/ has about a dozen stories on demonstrations in Iran (about halfway down the page) along with stories on unrest several other Arab countries.
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.
[Emirates 24/7] A Danish ship patrolling the Gulf of Aden under NATO operational control captured 16 suspected 
President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh
KIRKUK / Aswat al-Iraq: Two blasts took place southwest of Kirkuk on Sunday evening, leaving 20 vehicles ablaze and damaging several houses, a senior security official said.
The XM-25 performed flawlessly and has our soldiers asking for more. The XM-25, Counter Defilade Target Engagement System with 25mm rounds, is semi-automatic, and includes fully integrated day/night, full-solution target acquisition/fire control. Soldiers in the field have given it the nickname "The Punisher."
Nine suspected insurgents 
