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Area: WoT Background    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix   
Haqqani Facilitator, 10 Insurgents Arrested in Afghan Raids
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 1: WoT Operations
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Page 2: WoT Background
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4 23:10 Angie Schultz [1]
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Page 3: Non-WoT
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Page 4: Opinion
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Page 6: Politix
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7 20:44 Procopius2k []
Good morning
Posted by: Fred || 03/11/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Birthday Gam Shot

Lindsey McKeon[Filmography](age 31)



Is she working for the "Welcome Wagon"?


Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 03/11/2013 1:40 Comments || Top||

#2  I like the Keeler chair theme GB.
Posted by: Skidmark || 03/11/2013 7:39 Comments || Top||

#3  I like Fred's Joan Blondell chair GB. Lets take a vote shall we?. Its all good anyway.
Posted by: Dale || 03/11/2013 8:37 Comments || Top||

#4  Disconcerting, this dialogue on furniture. :-(
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/11/2013 10:16 Comments || Top||

#5  Well since we can't talk about intelligent design....
Posted by: Pappy || 03/11/2013 17:41 Comments || Top||

#6  I was hoping for a Sharon Stone, Basic Instinct type follow on.
Posted by: tipper || 03/11/2013 17:45 Comments || Top||

#7  Wahahaha, well Pappy, the older I get, the more uncomfortable I become attempting to speak "intelligently" about anything.
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/11/2013 19:02 Comments || Top||


-Lurid Crime Tales-
Soldier smuggled $1MILLION during Afghanistan deployment
A female sojur smuggled $1 million from Afghanistan and spent the cash on body enhancements plastic surgery, a vacation and an 18-wheeler truck and trailer, a court has heard.

Tonya Long, 30, of Fayetteville, NC was sentenced on Monday to five years in prison and has been ordered to pay back the money she stole.

Long, aka Tonya Long-Keebaugh, was convicted of bulk cash smuggling and aiding and abetting the same crime in what authorities called a gov't like revenue creating double-billing kickback scheme.

Authorities said she worked with a co-conspirator who hasn't been named.

The Fort Bragg-based soldier was a staff sergeant assigned to 189th Combat Self Sustainment Battalion attached to the 7th SFG(A).
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/11/2013 16:04 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Sounds like she's qualified to head the Securities and Exchange Commission, or maybe become Sec Treas.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 03/11/2013 20:09 Comments || Top||

#2  A female sojur smuggled $1 million from Afghanistan and spent the cash on body enhancements..

You know Hollyweird could make a movie that premise. Oh, wait, never mind.

Unfortunately, she doesn't have an established record for heavy political donations, say like Wall Street and the Banks, which would get her a pass from our DoJ.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 03/11/2013 20:27 Comments || Top||

#3  More likely guilty of not greasing the appropriate political palms - both there and in D.C.
Posted by: CrazyFool || 03/11/2013 20:33 Comments || Top||

#4  Exactly, CF. If she had spent that money wisely (i.e., bribes) rather than foolishly (18 wheeler, trailer, plastic surgery), she might have been able to keep more of it.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia || 03/11/2013 21:01 Comments || Top||

#5  When I pointed out this story to one of my workmates - COL(R) USMA '78 - said; "She must have been running the SNCO club."
Posted by: GORT || 03/11/2013 22:41 Comments || Top||

#6  Ah, yes, the 1st Sergeant Major of the Army -

"In 1969, while Command Sergeant Major of the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, Wooldridge was accused in a congressional inquiry of fraud and corruption related to the military club system. This resulted in Wooldridge being tried in the court of public opinion. In 1973 the Department of Justice and Wooldridge reached an agreement whereby Wooldridge pleaded guilty to accepting stock equity from a corporation engaged in providing merchandise to the noncommissioned officers' clubs in Vietnam."
Posted by: Procopius2k || 03/11/2013 23:01 Comments || Top||

#7  Who is her "sealed" partner?
Why sealed?
Posted by: Water Modem || 03/11/2013 23:24 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan
Afghan Policeman Kills US, Afghan Special Forces in Wardak
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/11/2013 13:04 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


2 Afghan Police Killed in Attack on Iranian Border Outpost
[TOLONEWS] Two border police have been killed and another injured in an apparent Taliban attack in western Farah province Saturday, local officials said.

The attack took place in Farah's Pasht Koh district of the province when a group of insurgents raided a border police outpost, according to the commander of border police in western Afghanistan Shir Ahmad Maladani.

"More security forces have been deployed to the outpost. The forces also supplied more weapons for the outpost. The Taliban insurgents fled from the area after the attack," he said.
Posted by: Fred || 03/11/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Haqqani Facilitator, 10 Insurgents Arrested in Afghan Raids
[TOLONEWS] A Haqqani facilitator and 10 other insurgents have been arrested Sunday in separate security forces operations in Afghanistan, Isaf said.

"An Afghan and coalition security force arrested a Haqqani facilitator and one other insurgent during an operation in Gardez district, Paktiya province, today," Isaf said in a statement.

The facilitator is accused of procuring and distributing lethal aid to extremist fighters, and is believed to have history of planning attacks against Afghan and coalition forces, the statement said.

Nine other insurgents have been arrested in an operation in Panjwa'i district of southern Kandahar province, the statement said.

The operation was launched to search for a Taliban commander who is accused of constructing improvised explosive devices and coordinating their use in attacks throughout the district, Isaf said.

"He is also believed to exercise operational control over a cell of Taliban fighters and maintain a sophisticated operations center used to plan insurgent activity," it added.

Meanwhile,
...back at the Hubba Hubba Club, Nunzio had his hands full of angry bleached blonde...
three other insurgents were killed Saturday in a joint operation in Nahr-e Saraj district of southern Helmand province.

Isaf said the security forces "positively identified" fighters conducting insurgent activity and engaged them, killing three militants.
Posted by: Fred || 03/11/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Pakistan


Africa North
Jihadist Groups Launch Missile In Sinai Military Drill
[Maan] Jihadist groups operating in Egypt's Sinai peninsula on Sunday fired a long range missile during a military drill, Egyptian security sources said.

The missile, believed to have a range of 45 kilometers, was fired from Nekhel in central Sinai towards the direction of Suez, Egyptian military sources told Ma'an.

The missile landed in a desert area and left a crater three meters deep and two meters wide.

Egyptian military experts said it is likely that the missile was an unexploded Israeli ordnance left behind from wars in the Sinai peninsula.
Or Libyan, or a gift from Iran. Possibly even part of the shipment Hamas rejected for being bugged by Mossad.
Left over from 1973?
On Saturday, Egypt's Interior Ministry told police in the Sinai peninsula to raise a state of emergency after obtaining intelligence that jihadists might attack their forces there.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/11/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Kinda reminds me of NORTH-KOREA-VS-USS-GEORGE-WASHINGTON.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 03/11/2013 0:46 Comments || Top||


Algeria kills two terrorists
[MAGHAREBIA] Algerian security services killed two terrorists on Friday (March 8th) night near Constantine, APS reported. The joint security services were conducting a search operation in the region of Benbadis, some 30km east of Constantine.
Posted by: Fred || 03/11/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in North Africa


Exclusive report from jihadist stronghold in Mali
[FRANCE24] This is where the final phase of France's "Operation Serval", launched on January 11 against Islamist groups in Mali, is unfolding.

It is also where two of the four French soldiers who have died over the course of the operation were killed, and where the French hostages taken by AQIM (Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb) were held.

And it is here that the Chadian army says it recently killed two of the main jihadist leaders, Abu Zeid and Mokhtar Belmokhtar.

A vast inferno of sand and stones situated between Kidal and Tessalit in the northeastern region of the country, the Adrar des Ifoghas mountain range is currently the principal combat zone where French and Chadian forces are facing off against Islamists. In cave after cave, "meter by meter", as French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian phrased it, soldiers are searching for Islamists tucked away in last-resort hiding places.

Matthieu Mabin, FRANCE 24's special correspondent in the region, was able to accompany French soldiers on their mission.
Posted by: Fred || 03/11/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in North Africa


Disgruntled Mali Soldiers Desert Posts Demanding Bonus
[An Nahar] A group of Malian troops briefly abandoned their posts this week and fired shots in the air to demand a deployment bonus, soldiers and officials said Sunday.

"Several dozen Malian soldiers positioned in Diabaly with the forces from Burkina Faso deserted their posts on Thursday and Friday," a local official told Agence France Presse.

"They pulled back to Segou to demand their deployment bonus and fired shots in the air," he said on condition of anonymity.

"Our bonus is a right. That's why we left our positions. Now the issue has been sorted and we are back in Diabaly," said one soldier involved in the protest.

A senior army official based in the larger city of Segou said the situation was back to normal in Diabaly and added that some of the ring leaders were punished.

France launched a military operation on January 11 to prevent Al Qaeda-linked groups that had occupied northern Mali for nine months from pushing south and threatening the capital Bamako.

Days later, Islamist fighters were retreating on several fronts but made surprise foray into government-controlled territory to briefly capture Diabaly, which lies 400 kilometers (250 miles) north of Bamako.

The Malian army has been in disarray since a renegade captain carried out a coup in March 2012, ostensibly to protest against the military's failure to stop the Islamist takeover of the north.

Bamako faces the daunting task of securing enough funds to pay and train its soldiers, who are expected to take over from French and African forces when the last pockets of diehard jihadists have been flushed out.
Posted by: Fred || 03/11/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in North Africa

#1  Were they promised a bonus? Or just rebelling?
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 03/11/2013 0:44 Comments || Top||

#2  Likely promised, but never delivered.

A problem quite endemic to Africa.
Posted by: Pappy || 03/11/2013 15:56 Comments || Top||


Italy sez 7 Foreign Hostages Held by Ansaru Terrorists have been killed
European diplomats said Sunday that seven foreign hostages kidnapped in northern Nigeria had been killed as claimed by Islamic extremists, the worst such foreign abduction violence to hit this turbulent West African nation in decades.

Both Britain and Italy said all seven of those taken from northern Bauchi state on Feb. 16 were killed by the group known as Ansaru. Greece also confirmed one of its citizens was killed, while Lebanese authorities did not immediately comment.

"It's an atrocious act of terrorism, against which the Italian government expresses its firmest condemnation, and which has no explanation, if not that of barbarous and blind violence," a statement from Italy's foreign ministry read.

Italy also flatly denied a claim by Ansaru that the hostages were killed before or during a military operation by Nigerian and British forces, saying there was "no military intervention aimed at freeing the hostages."

Italian Premier Mario Monti identified the slain Italian hostage as Silvano Trevisan and promised the Rome government will use "every effort" to stop the killers. British Foreign Secretary William Hague called the killings "an act of cold-blooded murder."

A statement from Greece's foreign ministry said authorities had already informed the hostage's family. "We note that the terrorists never communicated or formulated demands to release the hostages," the statement read, which also denied any military raid took place.

Ansaru previously issued a short statement saying its fighters kidnapped the foreigners Feb. 16 from a construction company's camp at Jama'are, a town about 200 kilometers (125 miles) north of Bauchi, the capital of Bauchi state. In the attack gunmen first assaulted a local prison and burned police trucks, authorities said. Then the attackers blew up a back fence at the construction company's compound and took over,killing a guard in the process, witnesses and police said. Those kidnapped included four Lebanese citizens and one citizen apiece from Britain, Greece and Italy.
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/11/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Bangladesh
Jamaat now terror outfit
[Bangla Daily Star] The government has been considering taking action against the Jamaat-e-Islami under the Anti-Terrorism Act, 2009 as the party has emerged as a terrorist organisation, Information Minister Hasanul Haque Inu yesterday said.

"Jamaat has turned out to be a party of militants and terrorists. We are assessing the law to take action against it," the minister told a press briefing at the Press Information Department at the Secretariat.

Under the anti-terrorism law, the government can ban an organisation for terrorism and militant activities.

Inu did not make it clear whether the law would be applied to ban Jamaat but said a tribunal could be formed for speedy trial of a terrorist party under the law.

Over the last few weeks, Inu and some other ministers have been talking about the government assessing different laws to take action against Jamaat.

Asked how long the assessment would continue, Inu said the recent attacks and violence by Jamaat had been taken under consideration seriously.

But Jamaat was registered with the Election Commission, he said, adding which was why the government was moving slowly to ensure everything was done rightly.
Posted by: Fred || 03/11/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Jamaat-e-Islami


Cop killed as a team of 12 went to nab accused of Khulna mayhem
[Bangla Daily Star] A constable was shot dead by Jamaat-Shibir men when a police team went to a remote village in Koira upazila of Khulna to arrest Jamaat activists early yesterday.

The cops came under attack after they arrested three Jamaat men on charges of assaulting police and looting and torching houses of the local Hindus and Awami League supporters between February 28 and March 6 over the death sentence to Jamaat leader Delawar Hossain Sayedee.

The Jamaat-Shibir men snatched away two of the arrestees.

The constable, Mofizur Rahman, 48, died of bleeding from a gunshot wound in one of his legs, said Officer-in-Charge Fazlur Rahman of Koira Police Station. Four other cops and 11 Jamaat-Shibir activists were injured in a shootout that followed when the police returned fire.

The team of 12 policemen, led by Sub-Inspector Momin of Angtihara police outpost under Koira Police Station, had reached Golkhali village on foot shortly after midnight.

As soon as it made the arrests, Jamaat men urged villagers through loud speakers at local mosques to resist the cops and free the arrestees.

Fired up, some 2,000 Jamaat-Shibir supporters, armed with sticks and firearms, pounced on the policemen. Firing at the law enforcers, they snatched away two of the arrestees -- Gani Sarder and Rashid. The other arrestee is Mazid.

By the time the policemen managed to break up the mob, Mofizur had started bleeding profusely with a bullet lodged in one of his legs.

It took his colleagues hours to get him to Koira upazila health complex, 25 kilometres away. He was declared dead on arrival at the facility around 4:30am.

Khulna Superintendent of Police Golam Abdur Rauf said, "The village where Mofizur was shot is situated by the Sundarbans and is quite inaccessible. It was too late when he was taken to the health complex."

A case was filed with the police station against 800 Jamaat-Shibir men for attacking law enforcers and obstructing them in the discharge of duties during hartal hours on February 28.
Posted by: Fred || 03/11/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Jamaat-e-Islami


China-Japan-Koreas
Norks sever communication hotline with ROK
SEOUL, March 11 -- North Korea severed the inter-Korean communication hotline that runs through the truce village of Panmunjom following its threat to do so last week, South Korea's unification ministry said Monday.

The ministry said the North seems to have disconnected the emergency link set up to ensure prompt two-way communication to deal with any sudden developments along the demilitarized zone (DMZ) that separates the two Koreas. It said attempts to contact the North by telephone at 9 a.m. failed.
Posted by: Steve White || 03/11/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Yes, we reported that yesterday.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 03/11/2013 0:39 Comments || Top||

#2  ION TOPIX > [FreeRepublic] NORTH KOREA FORCES AWAIT FINAL STRIKE ORDER [war order] FROM KIM JONG-UN.

* ALso from TOPIX > [SCMP.com] CHINA'S RELENTESS PUSH TO REDUCE US INFLUENCE IN ASIA-PACIFIC.

ARTIC > "Unrelenting Strategy" = one of 36 strategems derived from the "I Ching".

But isn't that why HUGO CHAVEZ + 1960's-70's Guam Taotamonas talked about the US dev land/island-sinking "Earthquake/Tectonic Bombs", now isn't it?

D *** NG IT, WELL WHADDAYA KNOW, THEM "TEXAS-SIZED ASTEROIDS" WERE INNOCENT ALL ALONG!

VERSUS

* TOPIX > [News.net] WHITE HOUSE: US CAN DEFEND FROM A [DPRK = North Korean] NUCLEAR STRIKE [ballistic missle strike].
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 03/11/2013 1:24 Comments || Top||

#3  I'm still not unable to access Chinese, Japanese, + Korean news blogs, etc. as like over the weekend. I continue to interprete this as not a good sign.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 03/11/2013 3:28 Comments || Top||

#4  An accurate assessment Joe. Sadly, I suspect we'll soon be waking up soon to a very unpleasant surprise.
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/11/2013 3:43 Comments || Top||

#5  Jim: we reported the threat; now the Norks have actually done it.
Posted by: Steve White || 03/11/2013 7:48 Comments || Top||

#6  Pudge maybe has run out of room for work camps and needs more real estate?

I thought the ChiComs were a bit put off by all of this and wanted to keep the little fatass under control.

So much for that, now what are the puppet masters in Beiging going to do? Invade? And what would they do with that mess once they got it? Same for SoKor, I don't think there are many economies with the financial wherewithall to absorb that kind of burden.
Posted by: Bill Clinton || 03/11/2013 10:38 Comments || Top||

#7  My son is an Air Force officer, currently stationed in Washington state. In July, he is scheduled to report to Kunsan AFB in Korea.

I find all this saber rattling very scary. At least Kunsan is several hundred miles from the DMZ.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia || 03/11/2013 11:02 Comments || Top||

#8  It is scary.

Dictators like Pudgy and his Peking puppet masters have no respect for human life. They don't care how many die as long as they achieve their goal. Pudgy smells fear and weakness in the White House so he may well believe that he can get away with aggression.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 03/11/2013 12:06 Comments || Top||

#9  Pudgy smells fear and weakness in the White House

EU, I'm afraid you're right and Pudgy is wrong. What he smells in the WH is arrogance and stupidity as you find in a Hyena trying to protect its kill.
Posted by: Alanc || 03/11/2013 12:31 Comments || Top||

#10  Between this and the commander of the Pacific Forces stating that 'Global Warming' is the greatest threat - this is scary indeed.

Seriously. Suppose Pugley decided to fire a nuke at Anchorage or Seattle (in the opening round of a SKOR invasion) - what would happen in the few minutes the missile is in flight? Will the order be given in time to intercept? Or will a focus group need to be formed and consulted first? Sure he can't now but what's to say in the next year or two (with a little help from his friends)?
Posted by: CrazyFool || 03/11/2013 12:35 Comments || Top||

#11  Prediction:

1. Declare National Emergency
2. Set US Constitution aside.
3. Send strongly worded letters to Pyongyang.
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/11/2013 12:56 Comments || Top||

#12  Puffy may be reading the tea leaves wrong this time. If there is one thing that rallies the USA, both economically and emotionally, its a new "enemy". If he watches the old classic "Canadian Bacon" he will figure that out. Even though Pencilneck, Iran and even Karzai are playing bench strenght on the bad guys team, they arent exactly on the ice. Puffy however wants to be a "player". Wrong timing.
While I know a lot of the readers here are of the view that Obama will do squat after making a speak in which he stares in all directions and then waits for the applause, I am of the view that his handlers will encourage him to ramp things up a bit - this will give new reason to water down significantly the sequester cuts on the military, ease springs on the navy and air force, and drive the sequester mess to the right.
A bet on a Kilo of Canadian Bacon anyone?
Posted by: Northern Cousin || 03/11/2013 15:42 Comments || Top||

#13  Obama wants to wreck the economy ever worse than he already has? That wouldn't surprise me. But it wouldn't surprise me if he threw both Korea and Israel under the bus either. I think the guy would rather keep borrowing money from China to pay for ObamaCare than to stand up for our allies.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 03/11/2013 16:27 Comments || Top||

#14  After four decades of watching and reading the "sea of fire" and "running dog imperialists" rhetoric, I think pudgy may may be trying to reset the edge. Their one-trick pony threats have increasingly become meaningless, even to the gutless American left. Time to be more scary, and do more to bring the edge sharp again to ry and resist the sanctions, get concessions, and perhaps, ward off the coming anger when the Iranian nukes they helped build are displayed. Problem is, such brinksmanship requires deft assessments/intel and solid reasoning skills. What we have instead is a national security team of Obama, Rice and Jarrett, with JFKerry blathering on, Hagel dumber than a post, and Dempsey waiting for the next photo=op. Brennan might actually understand but his focus is being the new guy and all the cool things he owns/and gets to know.
Very perilous chance for a serious ooops moment with dead guys all around.
Posted by: NoMoreBS || 03/11/2013 16:46 Comments || Top||

#15  If they're serious, we should begin to see [or someone will see] a radical uptick in cross-border and maritime infiltrations from the north. If it starts up again, it will happen quickly and will be one bloody, nasty SOB. If Champ isn't 'ALL IN' within the first hours of the conflict the 2nd Infantry Division and a lot of good soldiers will be lost.
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/11/2013 16:56 Comments || Top||

#16  Personally I think Obama is much like Pugsley in that he doesn't give a rats arse about human life - just look at his stance on Abortion. And I think the Rules of Engagement for Afghanistan tells us all we need to know about what he thinks about military personal.
Posted by: CrazyFool || 03/11/2013 17:53 Comments || Top||

#17  we should begin to see [or someone will see] a radical uptick in cross-border and maritime infiltrations from the north

Methinks the infiltrations have been underway for a while. The question is how soon they'll be activated.
Posted by: Pappy || 03/11/2013 17:54 Comments || Top||


Europe
Arrested Islamists suspected of planning attack in France
Three suspected Islamist terrorists arrested in southern France appeared to be planning an attack in the days ahead of the anniversary of an al-Qaeda-inspired shooting that rocked France, the Paris prosecutor said on Monday.

Police found weapons and explosives at the home of one of the suspects in the town of Marignane, near Marseille, and intercepted communications between the men suggested they were close to going into action, prosecutor Francois Molins said.

The three men, who were taken in for questioning last week with a fourth man who was later released, were to be placed under formal investigation later on Monday.

"The investigation showed we were faced with a veritable laboratory for making improvised explosive devices and, even if we had no evidence of a precise plan, the messages exchanged by the participants suggested the timetable could be accelerated," Molins told reporters.
Posted by: tipper || 03/11/2013 14:25 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


India-Pakistan
Blast in Landi Kotal kills one child
[Dawn] A blast in Khyber tribal region's Landi Kotal area killed one child and injured three others on Sunday. The explosion occurred near a mosque and a house and the condition of the injured was reported as stable.
Posted by: Fred || 03/11/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: TTP

#1  The same child that's been "Killed:" the last 5 times?

Get the body out Mahmoud.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 03/11/2013 0:42 Comments || Top||

#2  Nah, that's Palestine/Lebanon.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 03/11/2013 8:22 Comments || Top||


Militant Killed in Suspected U.S. Drone Strike in Pakistan
[An Nahar] A U.S. drone strike on Sunday killed at least one militant riding on horseback in a mountainous area of Pakistan's northwestern tribal belt, security officials said.

The missile attack, the first by an unmanned American drone in Pakistan for at least a month, came in Dehgan village, 30 kilometers (18 miles) west of Miranshah, the main town in lawless North Waziristan.

North Waziristan is one of seven tribal districts on the rugged border with Afghanistan which are a haven for Taliban and al-Qaida-linked militants.

"A U.S. drone fired one missile, killing a militant traveling on horseback," a security official said.

Local intelligence officials said the drones fired two missiles killing two militants.

Security officials in northwestern city of Peshawar, which lies on the edge of the tribal region, said the man was believed to be a "foreign national" -- a term officials use to describe al-Qaida linked militants.

The last reported drone strike in Pakistan was on February 8 and killed nine militants, though unnamed American officials quoted by the New York Times last week said the incident was not a U.S. attack.

Another look, from Dawn:

Drone strike in N Waziristan kills two suspected militants

A drone strike in Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal region on Sunday killed two suspected militants, DawnNews reported.

The drone strike targeted two horse riders in Degan village of North Waziristan tribal region's Datta Khel area. The targeted persons and their ride died on the spot.

Unnamed intelligence officials talking to Dawn.com's Zahir Shah Sherazi confirmed that two militants were killed in the drone strike.

This was the first strike in March after a gap of at least one month, the two previous attacks occurred on Feb 6 and Feb 8 respectively.
Posted by: Fred || 03/11/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Pakistan

#1  Has the SPCA been heard from over the killing of the horse? And was the horsemeat salvagable for use by Taco Bell?
Posted by: Glenmore || 03/11/2013 12:50 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
Three killed, one wounded in four attacks in southern Thailand
Three people were killed and one wounded in four separate attacks in Pattani province over the weekend. The latest violence comes shortly after the government's agreement to hold peace talks with the rebel group Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN), signed last month in Malaysia.

The first attack took place on Saturday night in Pattani's Sai Buri district. Mahamalayeng Waedamae, a 50-year-old village leader, was killed outside a mosque. Police said he was shot three times in the torso by a suspected terrorist militant. Witnesses said Mahamalayeng was about to return home after prayers when two gunmen on a motorcycle shot him.

Meanwhile, a deputy village chief was shot and critically wounded in Pattani's Yaring district early yesterday. Police suspect an terrorist insurgent is to blame for that attack as well. Abdulkordae Hayeesalae, 51, was shot after he returned home at 3:30 a.m. Two gunmen shot him three times in the groin area and then fled.

Also in Pattani, Maporsee Awae, 42, a village defense volunteer was gunned down in Nong Chik district yesterday. Gunmen in a pickup truck sprayed his car with bullets and then fled.

Meanwhile, the wife of a border patrol officer was gunned down in Mayo district while returning home from a market yesterday around 11 a.m. Nipa Promphet was killed as she was on a motorcycle returning to her home in Yaring district. A group of men in a car on the Narathiwat-Pattani Road had followed her. One of the men shot her in the head with a pistol. When she fell to the ground, the man fired another shot, hitting her in the torso. She died immediately.

Nipa was the wife of an officer attached to Border Patrol Police Unit 444 in Yaring district.
Posted by: ryuge || 03/11/2013 05:47 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Thai Insurgency


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Asir Warns: We Will Escalate if Our Demands Were Not Met
[An Nahar] Islamist cleric Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir called on Hizbullah on Sunday to "recognize how things are developing in the southern city of Sidon before the situation gets out of control", warning the cabinet that not responding to his demands will "alert his movements".

"We will escalate our movements in a completely different manner if our demands were not answered," Asir stated in a speech he gave after he lead his supporters in a march towards Sidon's Abra neighborhood apartments where allegedly Hizbullah gunmen reside.

He noted: "They tried to prevent us from reaching al-Karameh, Elia and al-Nejmeh roundabouts but we did, even making it to (Beirut's district of) Tariq al-Jadideh".

"I pity the army members installed among us here," he said, calling instead for deploying them to the border to face "Israeli and Syrian dangers".

Asir expressed: "(Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hasan) Nasrallah chose the Prime Minister, appointed a foreign minister that follows an Iranian agenda and is threatening the Lebanese people".

"Can't all this be considered an Iranian occupation?" he asked, urging the Shiites of Lebanon to "take to the streets and reject the Iranian plan that hurts the sect first and foremost".

Adir's supporters returned back to Asir's Bilal bin Rabah Mosque and no clashes or problems were registered.

Earlier this week, Supporters of Asir staged a sit-in at Sidon's Elia roundabout as the Islamist cleric himself led a rally in Tariq al-Jadideh.

Asir and his supporters has also rallied in the past weeks near the Bilal bin Rabah Mosque in Abra to protest claims that Hizbullah rented apartments in the vicinity of the mosque.

Last month, the anti-Hizbullah cleric urged officials and authorities to force the evacuation of apartments allegedly inhabited by Hizbullah gunmen near his mosque to avert a possible "strife or any dangerous incident."
Posted by: Fred || 03/11/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Hezbollah


Report: Blast Injures Several People In South Iran
[Ynet] An Iranian semi-official news agency is reporting that an kaboom has injured several people in a port in the south of the country.

The late Saturday report by ILNA did not specify the cause of the blast. It says it also damaged several cars and shattered windows of nearby buildings including a hotel in Imam Khomeini port, some 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) southwest of Tehran.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/11/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Report: Americans training Syria rebels in Jordan
[Ynet] Der Spiegel weekly says not clear whether those training Free Syrian Army members in use of anti-tank weaponry are soldiers or people working for private firms

Americans are training Syrian anti-government fighters in Jordan, the German weekly Der Spiegel said on Sunday, quoting what it said were participants and organizers.

Spiegel said it was not clear whether the Americans worked for private firms or were from the army but said some wore uniforms. The training focused on use of anti-tank weaponry.

Some 200 men have already received such training over the past three months and there are plans in the future to provide training for a total 1,200 members of the "Free Syrian Army" in two camps in the south and the east of the country.

Britannia's Guardian newspaper also reported that US trainers were assisting Syrian rebels in Jordan. British and French instructors were also participating in the US-led effort, the Guardian said on Saturday, citing Jordanian security sources.

Jordanian intelligence services are involved in the program, which aims to build around a dozen units totaling some 10,000 fighters to the exclusion of radical Islamists, Spiegel reported.

"The Jordanian intelligence services want to prevent Salafists
...Salafists are ostentatiously devout Moslems who figure the ostentation of their piety gives them the right to tell others how to do it and to kill those who don't listen to them...
(radical Islamists) crossing from their own country into Syria and then returning later to stir up trouble in Jordan itself," one of the organizers told the paper.

The reports could not be independently verified.

The United States has said it would provide medical supplies and food directly to opposition fighters but has ruled out sending arms for fear they may find their way to Islamist hardliners who might then use them against Western targets.

Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in their national face...
and Qatar are widely believed to be providing weapons to the rebels, and Arab League
...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing...
ministers decided on Wednesday to let member nations arm them.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/11/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Ja, when we saw that first HIND helo auger in via MANPAD, we sort of knew somebody had set up a new school nearby. The "WND search team" in Jordon was my first pick.

Some of the recent anti-tank work has been fairly professionally done as well.
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/11/2013 4:22 Comments || Top||


Syria Islamist Rebels Set Up Religious Council in East
[An Nahar] Rebel groups including the jihadist Al-Nusra Front have set up a religious council to administer affairs in the east of Syria which is mostly under their control, a rights watchdog said on Sunday.

"God commanded the Islamic battalions to form a religious council in the east to administer the affairs of the people and fill a security gap," the groups said in a statement distributed by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The council will include several offices charged with functions including justice, policing and emergency services, the statement said.

Video footage distributed by the Britain-based Observatory showed an Islamist convoy draped with black flags bearing Islamic inscriptions and driving in the Deir Ezzor area of the east.

The video shows rebels attaching a banner to a building in the town of Mayadeen, on which is written "Religious Committee of the Eastern Region."

Rebels in the eastern provinces of Deir Ezzor, Hassaka and Raqa have made significant military gains as they battle forces loyal to President Bashar Assad in the country's oil-producing region.

The Al-Nusra Front, completely unknown before the rebellion in Syria that began two years ago, has been a rebel standard-bearer since mid-2012 when it became the spearhead of the insurgency ahead of the Free Syrian Army.

FSA fighters, composed mainly of army deserters, have told Agence France Presse that despite being fewer in number, the Al-Nusra jihadists have better logistic and economic backing and receive financing "from abroad."

The Front has gone for strategic targets in the east such as oil wells, and also recruits local fighters and pays them.

Al-Nusra makes no secret of its aims to see Syria become an Islamist state. Damascus accuses both Saudi Arabia and Qatar of financing Islamist groups battling the Assad regime.
Posted by: Fred || 03/11/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Nusra


Air strikes on Baba Amr Hours after Surprise Attack by Syria Rebels
[An Nahar] Syrian warplanes on Sunday bombed the Baba Amr district of Homs hours after insurgents attacked the former rebel stronghold that was devastated by an army siege last year, a watchdog said.

"The air force is bombing Baba Amr," which thousands of residents have returned to since it was taken by the army last March, said Syrian Observatory for Human Rights director Rami Abdel Rahman.

Rebels had launched a surprise dawn attack on the battered Homs neighborhood for the first time since they were driven out by the army a year ago in a bloody campaign that lasted more than a month and left hundreds dead.

The Observatory said the central Syrian city was "completed surrounded" by the army, and that "no one has the right to enter or leave."

Regime troops closed off several roads around Baba Amr, which was almost entirely under siege.

Earlier, activists said the rebels had entered the district by stealth before launching their attack.

"The rebels infiltrated Baba Amr during the night. Those manning the army checkpoints barely had time to realize what was going on," said Omar, an activist who was also in touch with the insurgents.

Baba Amr gained notoriety during last year's bloody siege, with dozens of bodies also found in neighboring districts of Homs, including those of people fleeing the fighting, which also claimed the lives of two foreign journalists.

American reporter Marie Colvin of The Sunday Times in Britain and French photojournalist Remi Ochlik were among those who died when a makeshift media center in Baba Amr was shelled by Syrian forces.

The army, which controls around 80 percent of Homs, launched an offensive several days ago aimed at capturing rebel enclaves, notably in the northern Khaldiyeh district and in the old city, using helicopters to bombard them.

In a video posted on the Internet on Sunday, a rebel announced "a 'great victory battle' to liberate neighborhoods (controlled by the army), namely Baba Amr, and ease the pressure on our comrades and on besieged Homs districts."
Posted by: Fred || 03/11/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria



Who's in the News
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3al-Qaeda in North Africa
3al-Qaeda in Pakistan
2Govt of Syria
2Govt of Pakistan
2Taliban
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1HUJI
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1TTP
1Thai Insurgency
1Govt of Iran

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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.
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In no particular order...
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Two weeks of WOT
Mon 2013-03-11
  Haqqani Facilitator, 10 Insurgents Arrested in Afghan Raids
Sun 2013-03-10
  Bomb kills five, wounds 28 in Pakistan's Peshawar
Sat 2013-03-09
   Mob in Pakistan torches Christian homes
Fri 2013-03-08
  N. Korea to sever hot line with Seoul, nullify non-aggression pacts
Thu 2013-03-07
  Libya Interim Head's Car Comes under Fire
Wed 2013-03-06
  Syria rebels detain UN Golan observers
Tue 2013-03-05
  Chavez Dead
Mon 2013-03-04
  Twenty Islamists Killed in Northeast Nigeria
Sun 2013-03-03
  Jamaat, Shibir stay violent; toll rises to 47
Sat 2013-03-02
  Chad says soldiers in Mali kill al Qaeda's Belmokhtar
Fri 2013-03-01
  Al-Qaeda commander Abu Zeid killed in Mali
Thu 2013-02-28
  Syrian Rebels Say They Killed Hezbollah Deputy Chief
Wed 2013-02-27
  Syria Rebels Push into Police Academy as Jets Strike
Tue 2013-02-26
  Over 50 killed in battle for Syria police academy
Mon 2013-02-25
  Taliban suicide bombers hit Afghan cities, Kabul attack foiled

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