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Al-Nusra Syria Rebels pledge allegiance to leader of al-Qaeda
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 1: WoT Operations
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Page 2: WoT Background
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Page 3: Non-WoT
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Page 4: Opinion
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Page 6: Politix
6 21:03 ed in texas [4]
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Good Morning
Posted by: badanov || 04/10/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Birthday Gam Shot

Chyler Leigh[Filmography](age 31)



Slim Profile Design


Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 04/10/2013 3:33 Comments || Top||

#2  Hey GB I know you like the lines of a woman. Give us a little history on the red trim and standing collar. "man in uniform" stuff. Perhaps others have other things they could add. Allot of history there. Like Tattoo only 24 notes, simple but perfectly played. Just salt as needed. :)
Posted by: Dale || 04/10/2013 11:45 Comments || Top||

#3  Well now I thought I might have had some nibbles.
History many times is told differently. Fact and fiction mix at times. Over two hundred years I would expect some variations. I enjoy oral history handed down. Written can be doctored by the times.
Posted by: Dale || 04/10/2013 18:35 Comments || Top||


-Short Attention Span Theater-
Driver In Custody After Claiming To Have Bomb Near White House
All's well that ends well. but why did he do this, and what if it had been real?
[FoxNews] A man is in jug after claiming his vehicle was rigged with explosives near the White House.

Streets in the area were closed as U.S. Park Police, Washington D.C. Metro Police and the Secret Service investigated the vehicle at Vermont and H Street Northwest.

A source close to the investigation tells FoxNews.com the suspect, identified as Krsytoff Wasik, told authorities he had a bomb and his vehicle was rigged with explosives. The vehicle was reportedly the cab of a tractor trailer.

Secret Service front man Brian Leary says the vehicle was reported just before 5 a.m. in the area of the White House and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Officials have cleared the vehicle and streets in the area are now open.
Our gratitude to those who quietly guard our country, at home as well as abroad.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/10/2013 12:06 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  ...and in other automobile-related news....
Posted by: Uncle Phester || 04/10/2013 15:37 Comments || Top||

#2  "Caution: Items hanging from the window are smaller than they appear"
Posted by: USN, Ret. || 04/10/2013 16:42 Comments || Top||

#3  Well, he IS the Vice-Mayor!
Posted by: Skidmark || 04/10/2013 22:48 Comments || Top||

#4  All's well that ends well. but why did he do this, and what if it had been real?

??Test run??
Posted by: USN, Ret. || 04/10/2013 23:23 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan
Two US troops killed in Afghan chopper crash
KABUL: A NATO helicopter crashed in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday killing two US troops, officials said, adding there was no insurgent activity in the area at the time of the incident.

Taliban militants said they had shot down the helicopter, but the group often makes exaggerated claims of success on the battlefield against NATO forces and the US-backed government.

"Two International Security Assistance Force service members died following a helicopter crash in eastern Afghanistan today," ISAF said in a statement. "The cause of the incident is under investigation, however initial reporting indicates there was no enemy activity in the area at the time of the crash."

Witnesses told AFP the accident happened in Nangarhar province bordering Pakistan, with the helicopter crashing into farmland in the district of Pachir Wa Agam.
Posted by: Steve White || 04/10/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:


Africa Horn
5 Indian peacekeepers killed in South Sudan
NEW DELHI — Five Indian peacekeepers escorting a United Nations convoy in South Sudan have been killed in an ambush by rebels, the Indian foreign ministry announced on Tuesday. A Lieutenant Colonel is among the dead.

“Peacekeepers from India in UNMISS (United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan) attacked in Jonglei. Five dead and four wounded,” ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin tweeted.

Elaborating on the incident, Akbaruddin said: “It happened this morning about 8:30 a.m. The convoy carrying 32 Indian soldiers was attacked by rebels. There were five casualties, including a Lieutenant Colonel, a JCO (junior commissioner officer) and three soldiers. Four others have been wounded.”

“We were informed that there were five casualties of Indian battalion that was attached to the UN peacekeeping force in South Sudan. They were escorting a UN convoy in the volatile state of Jonglei in South Sudan,” he told a TV channel. “The casualties, including the injured, are being brought back by the UN by helicopters from Jonglei to Juba (the capital of South Sudan),” Akbarudddin said.

He said the Indian ambassador in South Sudan, along an officer of the Army Medical Corps, is waiting at the Juba airport to receive the bodies and the injured. “We have 2,200 India personnel in South Sudan. Our embassy is in touch with UN representative on this matter,” he added.
Posted by: Steve White || 04/10/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:


Africa North
Egypt's pope blasts Mursi 
for 'inaction' over violence
CAIRO -- The leader of Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Church on Tuesday blasted the president Mohammed Mursi over his handling of the recent deadly sectarian violence, including an attack on the main cathedral in Cairo.

The remarks by Pope Tawadros II underscore rising sectarian tensions in Egypt. They were Tawadros' first direct criticism of President Mursi since he was enthroned in November as the spiritual leader of Egypt's Orthodox Christians. They are also likely to fuel the political turmoil roiling the country for the two years since the ouster of autocrat Hosni Mubarak.
There's something about popes and moral authority...
Tawadros also warned that the state of Egypt was "collapsing" and described Sunday's attack on the St. Mark Cathedral in central Cairo, which serves as the Coptic papal seat, as "breaching all the red lines."

Tawadros said Mursi had promised him in a telephone conversation to do everything to protect the cathedral, "but in reality he did not." Asked to explain Mursi's attitude, Tawadros, who spoke in a telephone interview to a political talk show aired on the private ONTV network, said it "comes under the category of negligence and poor assessment of events."

Tawadros also criticised the president over his decision on Monday to revive a state body mandated to promote equality between Egyptians regardless of their religious and ethnic background. Mursi's decision was in response to the sectarian violence. "Enough already of formations, committees and groups and whatever else," Tawadros said.

"We want action not words and, let me say this, there are many names and committees but there is no action on the ground," he added. Mursi has condemned the recent violence and ordered an investigation into the violence.

"Should we wait for instructions to start an investigation when something happens?" Tawadros said in response to Mursi's order. "Egypt's laws must be adequate to deal with the situation. This is a society that is collapsing. Society is collapsing every day."

The office of Mursi's issued a statement shortly after the pope's remarks, saying that the "Egyptian presidency would like to affirm its full rejection of violence in all its forms, and under any pretext, and affirms that all Egyptians are citizens who should enjoy all rights and are equal before the law."
Posted by: Steve White || 04/10/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring

#1  Sounds like a stand up guy.

"Be careful out there."
Posted by: Dopey Sinatra9196 || 04/10/2013 16:18 Comments || Top||


Arabia
Tribesmen fight off Al Qaeda in Abyan
[YemenPost] Officials confirmed on Monday that pro-government tribal militias operating in the southern province of Abyan
...a governorate of Yemen. The region was a base to the Aden-Abyan Islamic Army terrorist group until it dropped the name and joined al-Qaeda. Its capital is Zinjibar. In March 2011, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula declared the governate an Islamic Emirate after seizing control of the region. The New York Times fastidiously reported that those in control, while Islamic hard boyz, are not in fact al-Qaeda, but something else that looks, tastes, smells, and acts the same. Yemeni government forces launched an effort to re-establish control of the region when President-for-Life Saleh was tossed and the carnage continues...
successfully attacked one of al-Qaeda hideouts near the city of Qoud, in the district of Qarnah.

Mahjoud Nama, Chief leader of the militia told the press on Monday his unit acted on informations provided by a terror beturbanned goon now under custody.

"The Saudi tossed in the clink
Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages!
gave serious information, including the location of the hideout of a terrorist cell of three Saudis and seven Yemenis," Nama told the press, adding both the popular committees and the local security forces were chasing down the beturbanned goons, determined to have them arrested.

The Saudi national was arrested by pro-government fighters near the southern of Zinjibar. Back in 2011, bully boyz used a breakdown in security brought about by the the popular uprising to seize large swathes of land.

Both the cities of Zinjibar and Jaar fell to the control of al-Qaeda and were proclaimed Islamic Caliphates by the beturbanned goons.

Only after a wide military campaign did the central government manage to force back al-Qaeda gunnies and reclaim control over all its southern territories.

Local tribes organized in popular committee played a vital role in supporting the government's military efforts in the province of Abyan, providing local intelligence and ground presence.

With terror cells spread out throughout the province, such an alliance between the central government and local tribes is proving a winning combination.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/10/2013 05:28 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Arabia


Bangladesh
Hartal continues amid violence; 1 dead
Dhaka -- The 36-hour hartal, enforced by the BNP-led 18-alliance, is progressing amid violence that left a truck driver dead in Bogra as pro-hartal elements took to the streets in the northern district town early Tuesday. The victim was identified as Khokon Mia, 35, son of Jainal Abedin of Matidali Biman crossing in Bogra Sadar upazila.

Victim's helper Rahmat said the truck carrying wheat was on its way to Bogra town from Dinajpur when a group of pickets showered brick chips on it near Barpur Bridge around 5am, leaving the driver injured. He was rushed to Bogra Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College Hospital with injuries in his chest, where he died after admission.

Police later held six people from the area in this connection. Another truck was torched in the area following the attack.

The opposition alliance enforced the countrywide 36-hour shutdown at 6am today (Tuesday) to realise its various demands, including the release of its arrested leaders and activists.

Though the nationwide 36-hour shutdown began at 6am on Tuesday, the Bogra district BNP enforced an extended 48-hour hartal in the district from 6pm on Monday to push for the same demand. About 50 vehicles were vandalised and five set afire at different parts of the district on Monday night.

Hartal supporters blocked the Bogra-Dhaka Highway at Noymile in Shajahanpur upazila by placing logs on Monday night.

Meanwhile, bomb blasts, arrests and torching of vehicles mark the shutdown in capital Dhaka and elsewhere of the country.

Around 11:30 am, two crude bombs went off near Awami League central office on Bangabandhu Avenue in the capital, injuring a small boy, police and witnesses said. Police detained a man from the spot as he allegedly tossed the bombs from the rooftop of Agrani Bank Building adjacent to the Awami League office. The bombs were blasted at a time when leaders and activists of the ruling party were gathering before the party office after an anti-hartal procession.

Besides, eight crude bombs were also exploded at five places in the city.

Islami Chhatra Shibir activists brought out a procession at Dakkhin Banasree in the city around 5:30am. A passenger bus was torched by the Shibir men at that time.

Hartal supporters brought out processions at 10 other places of the city, but police dispersed the processionists.

Police also dispersed a procession, brought out by BNP, and arrested a picket from near BRAC University at Mohakhali. Police held another picket along with three bottles of petrol from Khilkhet in the city around 7:30am.

Huge law enforcers were seen posted in front of the BNP's Nayapaltan central office in the morning.

Educational institutions remained closed, but government and non-government offices are open, though the attendance is thin. Rickshaws and auto-rickshaws are dominating the city streets because of lesser presence of motorised vehicles.

Mohakhali and Gabtoli bus terminals were found closed as no long-distance buses left Dhaka for their different destinations outside the capital.

Huge law enforcers are guarding the city streets to maintain the law and order.
Posted by: Steve White || 04/10/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


China-Japan-Koreas
North Korean Army 'Split' Over Kim Jong-Un
[Telegraph] North Korea's army was deeply split over whether to accept the command of Fat Boy Kim Jong-un, a former officer has revealed, giving a possible clue to the tensions lying behind the young leader's calls to war.

First Lieutenant Kim, 42, said he had been forced to flee North Korea after he murdered a rival officer as the factions within his army unit battled for control.

"I killed a three-star company commander, the same rank as me," he said. "He was the head of the faction supporting Kim Jong-un. There were two fights. In the first fight, they surrounded us and arrested a lot of people. "But I got away and gathered others from the barracks. We found them and I shot the commander. After that, I escaped".

The battles occurred at the end of 2011, shortly before Suet Face Kim Jong-un succeeded his father as the "supreme commander" of the Korean People's Army, the 1.2 million-strong standing force that remains at the heart of North Korea's "military-first" society.

"It was before he came to power, but we all knew for a long time that he was going to be made the leader. There were a lot of people who were against him. But everyone in that faction got arrested after he came to power," said Lt. Kim.

His group, he said, supported Kim Yong-nam, North Korea's 85-year-old president.

Divisions within the military, and the desire of a leader who may be only 30-years-old to consolidate his position, could be one factor behind the current spate of aggression.

"The further north you go (in North Korea), the more you hear rumours of dissension and divisions over who is or who would have been a better leader," said Joseph Bermudez, an expert on the North Korean military and an analyst at DigitalGlobe.

He added that there had been rumours last year of a possibly violent falling-out between two major departments over who would be in charge of army reconnaissance. That, he said, might have alarmed Pudgy Kim Jong-un, who subsequently reshuffled a host of leading generals.
'Reshuffling' is what dictators do. Keeps the underlings on their toes and afraid for their lives...
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/10/2013 06:52 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "Reshuffling?" Is that a euphemism for "kill that one?"
Posted by: AlmostAnonymous5839 || 04/10/2013 11:56 Comments || Top||

#2  Jeebus.

I concur wid a number of Perts on the Net whom believe that Kim jong-un's rants may a sign that the DPRK is very close to an IRREVERSIBLE COLLAPSE where the most realistic outcomes is either de facto Chinese takeover ASAP, or in the alternate China-led UNO/UNSC intervention.

North Korea's hallowed "German/Germany" Model
of Inter-State Reunification may longer be possible???

* TOPIX > PROFESSOR: NORTH KOREA UNLIKELY TO QUIETLY IN THE NIGHT, i.e to be VIOLENT = MUTUALLY DESTRUCTIVE.

Lest we fergit, DPRK = IRAN = WHAT IRAN'S MULLAHS WANT IFF THE US-ALLIES EVER ATTEMPT TO INVADE + OCCUPY SAME, ee DETONATE NUKES-WMDS, ETC. ON THEIR OWN SOIL TO DEFEAT THE INVADER.

In sum,

> THE DPRK WANTS INTEGRATION + REUNIFICATION
N-O-W - de facto started NLT 2015 = end of PTUS Bammers' 2nd term???
> "POST-US", "MAHANIST" CHINA WANTS TAIWAN N-O-W.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 04/10/2013 19:46 Comments || Top||

#3  Collapse would likely mean disintegration of the state into areas controlled by warlords. South Korea and China would likely see mass refugee attempts (I suspect China will at best turn them back; more likely there'll be lots of mass graves.)

Defacto Chinese takeover sounds like the more likely option - after the NorKs have bled themselves out.
Posted by: Pappy || 04/10/2013 22:05 Comments || Top||

#4  See also RELATED TOPIX > KIM HYUN-BEE, EX-NORTH KOREA SPY [female], SAYS KIM STRUGGLING TO CONTROL MILITARY.

According to same, she believes the DPRK armed forces is split over loyalty to KJU whom many consider too young + experienced to lead.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 04/10/2013 23:57 Comments || Top||


ROK raises surveillance status to monitor NK missile launch
SEOUL -- South Korea and the United States have upgraded their surveillance status on Wednesday to monitor an imminent missile test by North Korea, military officials said, at a time of escalating tension on the Korean Peninsula. Ahead of an imminent test, the Combined Forces Command raised "Watchcon" 3 status, a normal defense condition, by one level to step up surveillance monitoring and increase the number of intelligence staff, a senior military official said.

South Korea's military also launched an emergency task force team charged with monitoring and analyzing the latest development in North Korea's preparations, he said. South Korean and U.S. intelligence officials have been closely monitoring the North Korean facility believed to contain the Musudan missiles mounted on the TELs (transporter-erector-launcher).

Seoul officials say there are high chances that Pyongyang could fire off a missile around April 15 to mark the birthday of late founding leader Kim Il-sung, the current ruler Kim Jong-un's grandfather. Last year, the North unsuccessfully conducted a rocket launch days before the 100th anniversary of Kim's birth.

Officials in Seoul say there are possibilities that the North may fire off several missiles from different sites, in case of an unsuccessful launch of the Musudan missile, which has never been tested before.

According to satellite imagery, four or five more TELs were recently spotted in South Hamkyung Province, sparking speculation that the North may fire off missiles in several places. The TELs were believed to be launch platforms for short-range Scud missiles, which have a range of 300-500 kilometers, and medium-range Nodong missiles, which can travel 1,300-1,500 km, the source said.

"There are clear signs that the North could simultaneously fire off Musudan, Scud and Nodong missiles," a government source said, asking for anonymity citing confidential information.
Posted by: Steve White || 04/10/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Ima guessing that the result of this whole fiasco is that the ROK and the US have not been so militarily and politically united at any other time since the Korean War. (Not to mention getting the Japanese onboard too.) Is this really what the Chinese wanted? Inscrutable.

Posted by: Dopey Sinatra9196 || 04/10/2013 16:33 Comments || Top||

#2  As things stand on the Korean Peninsula, IMO the only way for formal Inter-Korean Reunification to take place is iff both NOKOR + SOKOR have potent Nuke Arsenals [+ SSSHHHHH by extens also JAPAN], as complemented by US-led GMD-TMD.

US-LED SPACE STRIKE = US-LED SPACE DEFENSE. Instead of "Offensive Strike" versus "Defensive Strike', lets all be good Politicos + label both as "Active Defense" or "Limited Offense'.

THE PROB IS THAT "POST-US', "MAHANIST", "FUTURE WORLD #1" MAINLAND CHINA WILL LIKELY SEE THE BILATERAL NUCLEARIZATION OF THE KOREAN PENINSULA AS MORE EVIDENCE OF US INTENT TO ISOLATE + CONTAIN CHINA WIDIN ITS LIMITED HISTORICAL PARAMETERS.

'TIS A MAJOR OR SERIOUS PICKLE - OH YEAH, YOU BETCHA!

Again, unless China is made willing to delay or alter its anti-US "Manifest Destiny", a US-China confrontation + mil conflict in East Asia or Asia-Pacific before Year 2050 is all but absolut inevitable. EITHER CHINA CONCEDES, OR THE US MUST CONCEDE.

IFF NOT, BY DEFINITION "OUT THE WINDOW" THERE GOETHS THE US BELIEF THAT THERE WILL BE NO MORE MAJOR OR WORLD WARS THRU 2050 IFF NOT THE REST OF THE 21ST CENTURY.

[US WOMEN-IN-COMBAT-VS-PLA here].
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 04/10/2013 20:25 Comments || Top||

#3  Clearly women should serve in combat because NAKTONG II, PUSAN PERIMETER II, CHOSIN RESERVOIR II, HEARTBREAK RIDGE II, PORK CHOP HILL II, MIG ALLEY II, ETC. BATTLES is absolutely positively categorically undeniably ... ... good asymmetric OWG-NWO = UNO "Peacekeeping"???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 04/10/2013 20:30 Comments || Top||


N.Korean Missiles 'Ready for Launch'
North Korea has finished preparations to launch one or two Musudan medium-range missiles that have moved to an area on the east coast. South Korean military authorities worry that the North could also launch other short- and medium-range missiles.
I'd let the Norks launch all the missiles they want into the ocean. Let them waste the time and energy required. I'd monitor every one, learn everything I could, and practice my own missile defense.
"We've discovered that the North finished preparations to launch two Musudan missiles after moving them to an area near Wonsan by train from Jamjin Missile Plant in Nampo last week," a government source in Seoul said Tuesday. "They seem to be ready for launch four to six hours after being injected with liquid fuel."

The Musudan missiles have a range of 3,000 to 4,000 km plus/minus 3,000 to 4,000 km.
Posted by: Steve White || 04/10/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I would assume the Pentagon has their satelite and even stealth resources monitoring and mapping longitude, latitude taget data for input into Flir (Forward Looking Infrared) guidance systems for Tomahawks, etc..

Do the NK rocket scientists have thier missile guidance systems GPS capable? I doubt it. But even if it is, can we turn off the GPS Satelites in that area for a few moments or at least have the GPS Satelites send them some really wacky GPS coordinates for fun?

Or are these rockets scuds?

Whatever, this could be a great opportunity to play with all kinds of star wars stuff, taking advantage of this Kim Jung Un fat boy tantrum as "guinea pig" technological test moments.
Posted by: Bigfoot Sforza6821 || 04/10/2013 0:34 Comments || Top||

#2  even assuming 4000km range that doesn;t take it to either hawaii or alaska
Posted by: lord garth || 04/10/2013 0:50 Comments || Top||

#3  More likely a Sino-Russian test of American resolve. Meanwhile back at the WH, heads and bums bobbed to the sound of Memphis Soul.

God be with the 2nd Infantry Division.
Posted by: Besoeker || 04/10/2013 1:52 Comments || Top||

#4  Perhaps someone here with better knowledge than I could help me; those pictures of the earth with neat little circles on ranges, my gut tells me that when the rotation of the earth is taken into consideration should those not be at least oblong or otherwise distorted?
Posted by: swksvolFF || 04/10/2013 9:21 Comments || Top||

#5  Not certain which circles you are speak of, but you are correct swksvolFF. Oblique imagery from satellites or other high altitude collection platforms will provide the true curvature, albeit oftentimes undiscernable. Imagery collected from directly overhead or analytic markings used to identify specific items of interest will generally, but not always be circular.
Posted by: Besoeker || 04/10/2013 10:25 Comments || Top||

#6  Above: Items of interest aka points of interest or POI.
Posted by: Besoeker || 04/10/2013 10:42 Comments || Top||

#7  Oh, just the occasional picture showing the range of so and so's missile. Some just do not look true, implying a single possible point of origin and, for example NORK, a launch due north would show a different path than a launch due east, or a different distance due east vs. due west.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 04/10/2013 11:05 Comments || Top||

#8  Got it. Those are called "range fans" and oftentimes do not take into account the earth's curvature. Hi-tech, computer generated range fans certainly have the capability to portray curvaturer. An analyst will oftentimes use ovals to graphically depict potential impact areas. Angles of flight and altitude may also be depicted in some illustrations.
Posted by: Besoeker || 04/10/2013 11:25 Comments || Top||

#9  Thanks for the lesson Besoeker.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 04/10/2013 11:58 Comments || Top||

#10  And those circles are appropriate on some projections, and wildly wrong on others.
Posted by: rammer || 04/10/2013 18:28 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Tirah Toe Tally
PESHAWAR: Heavy fighting between troops and militants has killed 23 soldiers and 110 enemy fighters at a flashpoint near the Afghan border, military officials said on Tuesday.

The clashes signalled a fresh military push in the Tirah valley of Khyber district, where the military has been targeting Taliban and militia Lashkar-e-Islam who threaten the nearby Peshawar. Khyber straddles the NATO supply line into Afghanistan, used by US-led troops to evacuate military equipment ahead of their 2014 withdrawal, and officials say it is key to protecting security in Peshawar for elections next month.

“Twenty-three soldiers have been martyred over the past three days in different parts of Tirah valley,” a military official told AFP. Ground forces have intensified operations against TTP (Tehreek-e-Taliban) and Lashkar-e-Islam,” the official said.

The official said at least 110 militants had also been killed, but the death toll was not possible to verify independently as the area is cut off to journalists and aid workers. He said the town of Tut Sar had been “captured” back from militants and that soldiers had now erected a post in the area.

“Helicopters and jets participated in the operation. They are shelling militant hideouts in the valley,” the official said.

A second military official confirmed the same details. According to a spokesman of ISPR here on Tuesday, a number of hideouts have also been destroyed during the operation.
Posted by: Steve White || 04/10/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: TTP


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Jewish terrorist Jack Tytell two life for murder of Palestinians
Terrorism is terrorism.
The Jerusalem District Court sentenced Jewish terrorist Yaakov (Jack) Tytell on Tuesday to two life terms and 30 years in prison, after he was convicted in January on two counts of murder, two counts of attempted murder, and one count of assault. In addition to the prison sentence, Tytell was ordered to pay NIS 360 thousand in compensation to the families of his murder victims and NIS 320 thousand to his other victims.

Tytell was convicted of murderring two Palestinians in 1997, two attempted murders, assault with intent, illegal manufacturing and possession of firearms, and incitement of violence and terrorism between the years 1997 and 2008.

"It was proved before us that hatred and frustration furnished the accused as he committed his crimes, while sacred principles were trampled into dust under his feet." Judges Tzvi Segal, Moshe Drori, and Moshe Yoad Hacohen wrote in their verdict. "Jewish tradition prescribes 'Thou shalt not kill', but the accused closed his ears and eyes, murdered and tried to murder in cold blood."

After receiving two contradicting psychiatric evaluations, the court determined a year ago that Tytell was fit to go on trial for murder. The court said Tytell is intelligent and is aware and therefore fit to stand on trial, regardless of his refusal to recognize the court's authority.

Since the trial began, Tytell claimed he was insane and so unfit to go on trial, while he himself acted as such.

Tytell, a Jewish American, is a resident of the West Bank settlement Shvut Rachel. He was arrested in 2009 on the suspicion that he was responsible for the murder of two Palestinians. Tytell was charged in November 2010 with murdering two Palestinians and attempting to murder more, including Hebrew University Professor Zeev Sternhell and Ariel teenager Ami Ortiz. Ortiz, a member of a family of Messianic Jews, was gravely wounded by a bomb packaged inside a Purim gift in March 2008.

Tytell admitted to planting the bomb at the time of his arrest, calling the Ortiz family "missionaries trying to capture weak Jews."
Posted by: Steve White || 04/10/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:


Israeli Arab gets 7 years for spying for Hezbollah
The Haifa District Court on Tuesday sentenced an Israeli Arab to seven years in prison for spying for the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Milad Khatib was convicted of being in contact with a foreign agent and assisting an enemy in wartime, according to a court document. It added that he confessed to the charges against him as part of a plea bargain. Khatib was accused of gathering intelligence on the security detail for President Shimon Peres and on army installations.

The 26-year-old was arrested in September 2012 and charged a month later.

The Majdal Krum resident first made connection with Hezbollah in 2007, and was recruited into the group by an agent named Barhan in 2009. The two held several meetings in Denmark and Turkey, among other locations, until 2011.

Barhan instructed Khatib to observe and pass on information about Israel Defense Forces bases in the north, secret weapons stores, weapons manufacturing plants and other strategic sites, the indictment said. He was also asked to collect information about Israeli Arabs that belong to Zionist political parties.

After returning to Israel, the indictment said, Khatib collected information about the security arrangements for Peres when he visited Majdal Krum in August 2012. He was expected to pass on the information to Barhan in another face-to-face meeting in May 2013, but the plot was foiled with his arrest.

Khatib's attorney, Hussein Abu Hussein, argued that the appropriate sentence in the defendant's case would be 10 months in prison and a month's probation, claiming that he wasn't driven by ideological motives.
Oh no, it was just personal, yer honor...
Abu Hussein said his client's weak personality allowed him to be swayed by Barhan, who was much older than Khatib. He asked for the judges' lenience, citing the adversities that a lengthy sentence would inflict on Khatib's family.

The prosecution attorneys, in turn, asked for a graver penalty, stressing that the espionage endured for years and that Khatib failed to put an end to the violations of his own accord. Only his arrest prevented serious harm from being done to national security, they said. They counter-argued that Khatib was motivated by ideology, noting he wasn't paid much for his services.

The three-judge panel, which consisted of Yosef Elron, Oded Gershon and Avraham Elyahkim, sided with the prosecution, emphasizing that national security was compromised by Khatib's actions.
Posted by: Steve White || 04/10/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Hezbollah


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Al-Nusra Syria Rebels pledge allegiance to leader of al-Qaeda
The leader of the al-Nusra Front, a jihadist group fighting in Syria, has pledged allegiance to the leader of al-Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri. The announcement by Abu Mohammed al-Jawalani comes a day after al-Qaeda in Iraq said it had merged with al-Nusra.

But Mr Jawalani said al-Nusra had not been consulted on the merger and insisted his group would not change its stance in Syria.

Al-Nusra is at the forefront of the rebellion against the Syrian president. It claims to be responsible for many of the suicide bombings in the country, and has been designated by the US as a terrorist organisation.

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the head of the Islamic State in Iraq, which is the Iraqi wing of al-Qaeda, had said on Tuesday that his group would be joining with al-Nusra under the name The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant.

But Mr Jawalani said he only heard about the announcement from media and had no prior knowledge of it.
Posted by: john frum || 04/10/2013 08:52 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


One killed, two injured in Damascus mortar attack
At least one civilian has been killed and two others injured after foreign-backed militants fighting against the Syrian government targeted a residential area in western Damascus. The attack damaged a number of cars parked in the area.

Foreign-sponsored militants also fired mortar shells at the Qasaa neighborhood in central Damascus. There were no immediate reports of any damage or casualties.

Meanwhile, two mortar shells fell near the al-Firdous Mosque in Baghdad Street, causing material damage and a fire at the site.

Over the past few weeks, Damascus has come under increasing mortar fire from anti-government militant groups holed up in the suburbs of the capital. Syrian army troops continue their operations against armed groups in these suburbs in a bid to flush them out.
Posted by: Steve White || 04/10/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring



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Two weeks of WOT
Wed 2013-04-10
  Al-Nusra Syria Rebels pledge allegiance to leader of al-Qaeda
Tue 2013-04-09
  N.Korea Pulls Workers Out of Kaesong Complex
Mon 2013-04-08
  Nigeria's MEND Says It Killed 15 Security Personnel in Fight
Sun 2013-04-07
  Bangla: AL man beaten and hacked to death at madrasa
Sat 2013-04-06
  Egypt's Azhar, Mursi supporters clash near Muslim Brotherhood HQ
Fri 2013-04-05
  Syrian regime troops appeal for immediate aid in Al-Raqqa
Thu 2013-04-04
  Syrian jets 'attack' Lebanese town
Wed 2013-04-03
  N. Korea approves nuclear strike on US
Tue 2013-04-02
  Dutch Hold 4, Search for Alleged Sarin Nerve Agent
Mon 2013-04-01
  Al Nusra Front chieftain killed in Syria
Sun 2013-03-31
  North Korea Declares 'State of War' with Seoul
Sat 2013-03-30
  Hundreds rally against Egypt's prosecutor general
Fri 2013-03-29
  52 Taliban killed in one day in Afghanistan
Thu 2013-03-28
  Sectarian clashes in central Nigeria kill 23: Military
Wed 2013-03-27
  Bangla: 12 vehicles torched, Train compartment set ablaze, police station bombed

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