[Tolo News] Three people including two policewoman were killed and 10 others were maimed in a kaboom near Herat ...a venerable old Persian-speaking city in western Afghanistan, populated mostly by Tadjiks, which is why it's not as blood-soaked as areas controlled by Pashtuns... airport on Thursday morning, local officials said.
Sayed Sharif Mohammad, police commander for Herat airport, said the bomb exploded remotely and the target was five policewomen riding in a police vehicle on their way to their jobs at the airport.
This is the first time that bully boyz have targeted Afghan policewomen in Herat province.
No one has as yet grabbed credit for the attack.
Five police offers and five civilians were among the maimed.
Recently, United Nations ...a lucrative dumping ground for the relatives of dictators and party hacks... Secretary General the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon ... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan... said in a report to the Security Council that civilian casualties in Afghanistan are 39 per cent higher this year than last year.
The report acknowledged that night raids by NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... contributed to the civilian casualty figures.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/01/2011 00:00 ||
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This thing gets better and better... A Saudi militant believed killed in the U.S. drone strike in Yemen constructed the bombs for the al-Qaida branch's most notorious attempted attacks -- including the underwear-borne explosives intended to a down a U.S. aircraft, and a bomb carried by his own brother intended to assassinate a Saudi prince.
The death of Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri would make the Friday drone strikes on a convoy in the central deserts of Yemen one of the most effective single blows in the U.S. campaign to take out al-Qaida's top figures.
The strike also killed Anwar al-Awlaki, a Yemeni-American cleric who had been key to recruiting for the militant group and a Pakistani-American, Samir Khan, who was a top English-language propagandist.
But Christopher Boucek, a scholar who studies Yemen and al-Qaida, said al-Asiri's death would "overshadow" that of the two Americans due to his operational importance to al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, the Yemen-based group that is considered the most active branch of the terror network.
[An Nahar] Heavy fighting ... as opposed to the more usual light or sporadic fighting... broke out Friday close to Somalia's border with Kenya as beturbanned goon Shehab fighters launched a dawn attack on the town of Dhobley but were later repelled, fighters on both sides said.
"The fighting was very heavy but we emerged victorious, there are casualties on both sides," a senior commander of the Azania militia group controlling the area told Agence La Belle France Presse by phone from the battleground.
Dhobley is under control of forces from the self-declared state of Azania, an anti-Shebab militia reportedly backed by Kenya to create a buffer zone along the troubled frontier.
"We have fully regained Dhobley after a fight, the Shebab were pushed out of the area," the Azanian commander added, declining to be named.
Civilian casualties are reported to be high with fighting inside the town itself.
However, a poor excuse is better than no excuse at all... a senior Shebab commander said his fighters had made a tactical withdrawal a short distance outside the town after intense fighting.
"The enemy suffered heavy casualties as planned, and we will return back again when it is good for us," said Sheikh Mohamed, claiming that Shebab fighters had also seized large stores of weapons from the town.
Dhobley is just five kilometers from the Kenyan border, and is a key crossing point for people fleeing to the giant Dadaab refugee camps, some 100 kilometers into eastern Kenya.
Dadaab, the largest refugee complex in the world houses some 450,000 people, with 140,000 Somalis fleeing drought, famine or violence arriving this year alone, according to the U.N. refugee agency.
Civilians and fighters were reported to have crossed the border towards the Kenyan town of Liboi, while Kenyan tanks and helicopters were reported in the area.
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10/01/2011 00:00 ||
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[Tripoli Post] The National Transitional Council's forces as revolutionary fighters continued their offensive to seize control of Sirte from former Al Qadaffy ...a reminder that a single man with an idea can screw up an entire nation... loyalists who keep on stubbornly defending the leader's hometown. At the same time, hundreds of families packed up their personal belongings and tried to flee the besieged city.
The exodus of fleeing residents from one of only two remaining Al Qadaffy bastions grew larger on Friday, as they tried hard to escape a town that has for weeks been under heavy bombardment and shelling from the new rulers' fighters and NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis.... from three fronts.
With mortar and gunfire echoing in the background, with black smoke rising from the centre of the city and with NATO jets flying overhead, the NTC fighters did their part by launching an assault on the coastal city in an effort to dislodge the deposed leader's loyalists,
Sirte civilians, men, women and kiddies, fearing for their lives joined long lines of cars that queued up at NTC checkpoints leading out of the town to be checked and the people inside them identified. There is also great concern for civilians still trapped inside the city of about 100,000 people.
Aid agencies said this week that a humanitarian disaster loomed in Sirte amid rising casualties and shrinking supplies of water, electricity and food, with doctors at a field hospital near the eastern front line saying an elderly woman died from malnutrition on Friday morning. They also witnessed other cases of malnutrition.
AL Qadaffy loyalists and some civilians have accused NATO air raids and shelling by the forces of the NTC of killing civilians. But both NATO and the NTC deny the accusations. Civilians coming out of Sirte say pro-Al Qadaffy fighters are executing people they believe to be NTC sympathisers.
Reports say families have not eaten for days and the maimed are unable to be transported to hospitals for treatment., while medical sources have been reported saying that even if the maimed do reach hospitals, doctors are unable to tend to their injuries due to lack of power and limited supplies.
As such, according to a UN source, the NTC has asked the UN for fuel for ambulances to evacuate its maimed fighters from Sirte. He went on to tell Rooters that the UN is sending trucks of drinking water for the civilians crammed into vehicles on the road from Sirte, heading either towards Benghazi to the east or Misrata to the west.
He went on to say that fighting around the city and continuing insecurity around Bani Walid, the other Al Qadaffy bastion, are preventing the world body from deploying aid workers inside.
"There are two places we'd really like access to, Sirte and Bani Walid, because of concern on the impact of conflict on the civilian population," he said
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10/01/2011 00:00 ||
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[Tripoli Post] The National Transitional Council's military chief Suleiman Mahmoud al-Obeidi on Friday attended a meeting in the southwestern town of Ghadames between Tuareg rustics and local Arabs in the Ghadames, that had been believed to have been hiding former Libyan leader Muammar Al Qadaffy. ...Custodian of Wheelus AFB for 42 long years... The meeting at the town close to the border with Algeria was aimed at patching up differences that have recently spilled over into violence and drew international attention on it when it was the subject of speculations that Tuaregs there were protecting the runaway leader.
Before going to the meeting, in the town about 600 km southwest of the capital Tripoli Mr al-Obeidi would not comment with Rooters on the report or on the hunt for Al Qadaffy. He told the news agency: "I am now here to to witness the agreement between Ghadames and the Tuareg. There has been a problem since July 17."
Al-Obeidi, who took part in the 1969 coup that brought Al Qadaffy to power at the end of a bloodless coup, said he had joined the revolution on the 20th day of the Mohammedan fasting month of Ramadan.
He told Rooters> "On the 17th of Ramadan Al Qadaffy sent me 1,000 weapons to attack the city of Darnah, but I refused to do that ... and on the 18th of Ramadan he sent to me mercenaries with the same intention but I refused. On the 20th of Ramadan I joined the revolution."
Earlier this month Tuareg rustics reportedly fought skirmishes in the Ghadames area with gangs from Libya's interim government.
Tuaregs, are known to have backed the deposed Libyan leader because he supported their rebellion against the governments of Mali and Niger in the 1970s and later allowed many of them to settle in southern Libya. They reportedly view the NTC with suspicion.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/01/2011 00:00 ||
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The Associated Press reported that Ibrahim Hassan Tali al Asiri, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula's senior bomb maker may have been in the same strike that killed Anwar al Awlaki and possibly Samir Khan. The report has not been confirmed. I heard some speculation Friday evening about Asiri being killed but nothing definitive.
If we had a CIA that was any good at all we'd spread the rumor that Asiri is dead, and force him to surface to prove that he isn't. Then we'd drone-zap him for sure.
The US added Asiri to the list of designated terrorists in March of this year. Asiri is best known for assembling the explosive device that was used by his brother, who in some circles is known as the 'anal bomber.'
#2
Underwear-bomb maker believed dead in Yemen strike Late Friday, two U.S. officials said intelligence indicated al-Asiri was among those killed in the strike. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because al-Asiri's death has not officially been confirmed.
SANAA: Yemens President Ali Abdullah Saleh said in an interview published Friday that he will only step down if key rivals do not take over, a stance that could further hinder a long-stalled deal to ease him out of power.
A little unclear on the concept of transferring power? Once you're out you don't have any say over what happens next.
Because if we transfer power and they are there, this will mean that we have given into a coup, Saleh told The Washington Post and Time magazine.
Saleh has hung onto power despite eight months of mass protests demanding an end to his 33-year rule and a June assassination attempt that sent him to Saudi Arabia for three months of treatment for severe burn injuries. His surprise return to Yemen last week halted negotiations over a Gulf-brokered transition plan that had been revived despite days of heavy violence in the capital.
Over 100 people have been killed in violence that has rocked Sanaa for two weeks. Loyalist troops have been fighting with the forces of rebel Gen. Ali Mohsen and the fighters of tribal leader Sadeq Al-Ahmar, both of whom have joined the opposition.
Saleh wants Mohsen, whose defection in March dealt a great blow to the president, and Ahmar and his brother Hamid to be excluded from power.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/01/2011 00:00 ||
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[Yemen Post] Only a few days after Foreign Minister al-Qirby declared to the United Nations ...aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society... General Assembly that his government was committed to peace and to a timely transition of power, President President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower... , ordered the shelling of several revolutionaries' strongholds in the capital, Sana'a. At dawn this Thursday, residents of Hasaba, a northern district of the capital under the control of the powerful tribal leader, Sheikh Sadeeq al-Ahmar, reported heavy kabooms. Eye witnesses said they saw "a rain of mortar shells" strike the area, bringing more misery to an already strained population. Sheikh Sadeeq al-Ahmar, who so far was determined not to retaliate at the many provocations of the government, respecting the terms of Saudi brokered ceasefire back in June, decided that this morning attack was the last straw. He ordered his men to fight back, unwilling to stand idly while innocent civilians were being targeted by what he calls "the government's thugs". "Change Square" which has been the gathering point of the revolution since February, fell also victim to the government' shelling campaign, putting an end to the last few days of relative peace. Defected GeneralAli Mohsen al-Ahmar's was also targeted as Elite Republican Guards under the order of president Saleh's eldest son, Ahmed Ali, attacked his men and his base north of the capital. Once again it seems that politicians have failed to come up with a viable solution to the country's crisis, unable to ink the GCC brokered proposal.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/01/2011 00:00 ||
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[Yemen Post] A big kaboom rocked late on Tuesday the headquarters of the Central Security in downtown Yemen's capital Sana'a injuring four troops, informed sources said on Wednesday.
A rocket landed into the middle of the headquarters but those behind the attack were unknown, the sources said, amid reports the attack was in response to a similar attack on the first armored division which deserted from the army and announced peaceful support to the popular uprising seeking the ouster of the regime months ago.
After the kaboom, central security forces were placed on high alert and vehicles deployed to streets nearby the compound, the sources said.
The incident comes amid tense clam in Sana'a after heavy festivities between pro and anti-regime forces that triggered fears of civil war in the country.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/01/2011 00:00 ||
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[Yemen Post] Yemen's Vice President, Abd Rabu Mansour Hadi, warned that if the situation explodes in the country the GCC-brokered power transition deal and all peaceful solutions to the political crisis will end, Saba reported on Wednesday.
The current situation represents a direct threat to the general situation in Yemen and with it the country enters a dangerous stage of civil war, he said.
Despite meetings with the opposition that started last Sunday, the opposition continued to escalate and inflame the situation through occupying and stationing on streets and deploying vehicles and troops, a move with which the crisis worsened, he was quoted as saying during his meeting with ambassadors of permanent members of the Security Council, and EU and GCC blocs.
The security-military committee on supervising a ceasefire after heavy festivities between pro and anti-regime forces in Sana'a last week attended the meeting.
Hadi addressed the meeting saying, "I preferred to meet you today to launch together a process that will lead to agreeing on a mechanism for signing and implementing the GCC plan and ensuring the commitment of all parties to the plan's terms".
Hadi considered the meeting as a kick-start to practical implementation of the GCC deal after he had been authorized by President-for-Life Saleh ... exemplifying the Arab's propensity to combine brutality with incompetence... to hold a dialogue with the opposition over necessary steps to make the deal a success.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/01/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Somehow, for me, "civil" and Arab intertribal conflict don't mix.
[Yemen Post] Abdullah Qeeran who was appointed this year by president President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower... as Taiz new Chief of the police forces, has been nabbed today following allegations that he was involved in torture cases leading to the deaths of some anti-government protesters. According to Mareb Press a Yemeni Court would have agreed to look into the case presented forward by a group of Yemeni human rights ...which are usually entirely different from personal liberty... activists. They are mainly accusing Qeeran of using lethal force against Taiz peaceful protesters, unlawfully detaining freedom fighters and in some cases allowing civilians to be tortured to death. Since the beginning of the uprising in February, Taiz which is Yemen's second largest city and important flashpoint of the revolution has had to endure most the regime's brute force. On one instance, in May 29th, the government ordered the destruction of the city's opposition encampment, killing a reported 200 people and injuring several thousands. Qeeran has been barred from traveling outside Yemen by the Court for the time being.The Chief of Police was nabbed alongside an alleged accomplice, whose identity is still unknown. The government refused to comment so far on the matter. However since Qeeran was appointed directly by president Saleh, and assuming the man was following direct orders, a guilty verdict could have severe repercussions, both politically and socially.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/01/2011 00:00 ||
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[Daily Nation (Kenya)] Tens of thousands of anti-government protesters called on Yemeni President President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower... to quit, in a mass protest after Friday prayers a day after the embattled leader said he will not step down.
The demonstrators marched along a main avenue in the capital, chanting "victory for our Yemen and our Syria" in a statement of support for Syrian freedom fighters calling for the ouster of President Bashar Al-Assad.
"Oh God, give victory to Syria and Yemen, Oh God... let Saleh and Bashar fall," they chanted as they emerged in their tens of thousands from Friday prayers.
In Syria freedom fighters had called for protests on Friday under the slogan "victory for Syria, victory for Yemen."
Also in Sanaa, thousands of pro-Saleh activists voiced their support for the president.
The rival protests came just a day after Saleh told Time and The Washington Post that he will not step down if his rivals are allowed to compete in future elections.
He was referring specifically to dissident General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar who defected earlier this year in support of anti-government protesters, and powerful tribal chief Sheikh Sadiq al-Ahmar.
"If we transfer power and they are there, this will mean that we have given in to a coup," Saleh said in his first interview since returning home a week ago from Soddy Arabia to recover from wounds suffered in a June attack on his palace.
Anti-government protesters in Yemen and Syria have for months been calling for their respective leaders to resign. Both governments have responded with deadly crackdowns.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/01/2011 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] President Barack B.O. Obama said Friday the killing of US-born holy man Anwar al-Awlaqi was "major blow" to al Qaeda's Yemeni franchise and vowed to be relentless in destroying global terror networks.
"The death of Awlaqi is a major blow to al Qaeda's most active operational affiliate. (It) marks another significant milestone in the broader effort to defeat al Qaeda and its affiliates," Obama said.
Obama said Awlaqi was the leader of external operations of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and had taken the lead in planning and directing efforts to murder innocent Americans.
He said Awlaqi's killing in an air raid in Yemen was a tribute to the US intelligence community and to Yemen's cooperation with the United States in a common anti-terror campaign.
He also warned that though "weakened," AQAP was still "dangerous" Going forward, we will remain vigilant against any threats to the United States or our allies and partners.
"But make no mistake, I once thought it'd be amusing to down a shot every time B.O. said 'make no mistake.' Now I think my liver's going... Light up a smoke every time he says, "let me be clear" and you'll die of emphysema for sure...
"this is further proof that al Qaeda and its affiliates will find no safe haven anywhere in the world.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/01/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
The omnipotent wet worker speaks of "tributes" (to his supreme leadership of course); weakened enemies (gotta have weak enemies, boogie men, etc); of making mistakes (get a clue you waspi, unbelieving, fly-overville little people), and of lastly but not least of "proofs" and threats. Such wisdom. I feel like, well, just bowing in awe.
#2
Well, good job but it's not the stake in the heart. Awlaqi talked a good game but not sure how important he really was. Good luck getting a 2-for-1 deal with the other AQ publicist.
#3
al-Awlaqi was the imam that facilitated and encouraged Maj. Hasan's attacks on his own unit within the US, gromky.
Even our little bit of open source info here at the Burg has documented quite a few naturalized (and increasingly native born, IIUC) US citizens who were persuaded by him to head over to Yemen or Pakistan, pick up some training and materials, and return to attempt attacks here. He also directed / aided the Detroit airline bombing attempt and the 2007 attack on the London tube.
These may seem like small things to you. In certain Islamicist circles, they are seen as proof positive that the Great Satan is becoming demoralized and will soon fall to the ummah.
#4
Al-Awlaqi was also the imam to 3 of the 911 hijackers as well as the airliner underwear bomber (fail). In addition there was the failed Times Square car bomber, last years disrupted Portland Christ tree lighting ceremony bombing and bombs aboard air freight packages. There was also a stabbing of an MP in England. Good riddance. Too bad his extended family didn't burn up with him.
#6
We should all remain mindful of the fact that retaliation is a normal course of action and these major losses to AQ may stimulate AQ to respond. The more publicity, the more AQ is stimulated to repond. Continuing to feed the rabid dog, so to speak.
Threats by Obama and others that we can destroy other AQ threats wherever they hide does not take into account the long waiting line of seething replacements and ignores the time factor. Realistically, the mean time between targeting a high-value individual and actually achieving success against that target is often measured in months or years, so defenders and other stakeholders (US Citizens at home and abroad) have to deal with threats of retaliation from survivors in AQ or more incidental threats from non-affiliated loner types like the MAJ Hasan's, etc.
All said, this explains my lack of enthusiasm for the euphoria and celebration of these of events. Better executed are the ones now taking place in Iran which produce little or no notice. Once again, our amateurs in Washington are doing us no favours.
#7
"The death of Awlaqi is a major blow to al Qaeda's most active operational affiliate. (It) marks another significant milestone in the broader effort to defeat al Qaeda and its affiliates," Obama said,
discovering these facts for the very first time as he read the words someone else wrote and listened to them come out of his mouth, no doubt in a decisive tone which doesn't quite convince anyone beyond himself that he actively participates in formulating policy, or really has much knowledge of it at all.
[Emirates 24/7] Kazakhstan's Senate approved on Thursday tougher laws on religious activity in the Central Asian state, ignoring criticism.
The new law, which will ban prayer rooms in state institutions, will have to be signed into law by President Nursultan Nazarbayev ...has served as the President of Kazakhstan since the Fall of the Soviet Union and the nation's independence in 1991. Contrary to commonly held belief, there is a difference between Kazakhs and Cossacks: Kazakhs have mustaches. Or maybe it's the other way around... . Kazakhstan's veteran leader proposed tough new laws to his compliant legislature a month ago.
Around 70 per cent of the 16.5-million population in Kazakhstan is Mohammedan.
Kazakhstan also last month temporarily blocked access to a number of foreign Internet sites after a court ruling.
The law also requires the review of all religious literature and the mandatory annual registration of all foreign missionaries, who can be expelled if deemed to pose a threat to the "constitutional order and public peace".
Authorities say they want to stop the spread of extremism into Kazakhstan, the most prosperous of Central Asia's nations, from the overpopulated and impoverished Ferghana Valley shared by ex-Soviet neighbours Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
A day earlier, Kazakhstan's lower house of parliament had voted in favour of the bill.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/01/2011 00:00 ||
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#2
Because of all the space activity, Kazakhstan has become an odd place. Most of the people are typical central Asians, but in the middle of things were "brain cities" like Los Alamos or Huntsville, AL, in the US.
This gave the Kazakhs a very interesting window on the world, as in, "If we get our act together, we might someday get some of this." And that is a huge motivator.
[Iran Press TV] One person has been killed in an kaboom outside a military police headquarters near the southern Turkish city of Antalya, reports say.
Two others were also maimed in the blast in the Kemer district of the resort city on Friday. The blast also damaged several cars and smashed windows of nearby buildings.
While some reports suggest a bomber triggered the kaboom, Deputy Governor Recep Yuksel told the state-run Anatolia news agency that the cause of the latest blast remained unclear, adding that it happened far from any tourist area.
The blast came nearly ten days after a car booming near a school in Ankara killed three people and maimed 34 others.
No group has yet grabbed credit for the Friday attack, but the finger of blame has been pointed at the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK), a terrorist group known to be an offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
Last month, the TAK threatened attacks targeting civilians and tourists in response to recent military strikes targeting the PKK.
TAK has grabbed credit for a small bombing in Kemer on Aug. 28, which left 10 people, including four Swedish nationals, maimed. A bombing, also claimed by the Falcons, left 32 people maimed in Istanbul in November 2010.
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10/01/2011 00:00 ||
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One of the leaders of the Haqqani network, Haji Mali Khan, has been captured. He was nabbed during an operation by Afghan and coalition forces in Paktiya province, according to a statement. He was heavily armed but did not resist, the statement added.
Haji Mali Khan was one of the top leaders in the network.
[Emirates 24/7] A fierce gunbattle between faceless myrmidons and security forces in Indian Kashmire entered a fourth day on Thursday, with the corpse count from the clash rising to nine.
The army said a group of about seven faceless myrmidons had been fighting with Indian troops in forests of the northern district of Kupwara, and that just two faceless myrmidons appeared to be still holding out after the others had been rubbed out.
"Five bad turbans, two coppers and two soldiers have been killed," Indian army officer Syed Ata Hasnain told news hounds in Srinagar, the main city of Indian Kashmire.
"They are from the Lashkar-e-Taiba group," Hasnain said, referring to the Pakistain-based bad turban group active in Kashmire and blamed for the 2008 Mumbai attacks that left more than 160 people dead.
Kupwara district borders Pakistain-administered Kashmire, and Hasnain said the faceless myrmidons had recently crossed into the Indian sector.
Pakistain denies Indian allegations that it arms faceless myrmidons and sends them over the de facto border known as the Line of Control.
There are nearly a dozen Kashmire bad turban groups fighting for the divided Mohammedan-majority region to become part of Pakistain.
More than 47,000 people have been killed since the outbreak of the separatist insurgency in Kashmire in 1989.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/01/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
ISI, ISI, ISI ...
why no attacks on them?
Posted by: Water Modem ||
10/01/2011 3:50 Comments ||
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[Tolo News] Many of Pakistain's political, military and media elite are convinced that America is on the road to war with the country, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani ... Pakistain's erstwhile current prime minister, whose occasional feats of mental gymnastics can be awe-inspiring ... today convened a conference of government allies and opposition parties to discuss the crisis. He has also met with Chinese and Saudi officials.
After meeting on Tuesday with Meng Jianzhu, China's vice premier, Mr Gilani said: ''China categorically supports Pakistain's efforts to uphold its illusory sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity," the paper said.
Army chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani ... four star general, current Chief of Army Staff of the Mighty Pak Army. Kayani is the former Director General of ISI... on Sunday held a meeting with commanders, according to the newspaper. Local media outlets subsequently reported warnings of a "stern response" to any attack on Pakistain by US forces from Afghanistan. Stoking the sense of crisis, Gen Kayani on Monday cancelled a visit to the UK.
Pakistain's spy chief, Lieutenant General Ahmed Shuja Pasha on Monday with officials from Soddy Arabia.
Relations between the US and Pakistain have ebbed lower since Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Admiral Mike Mullen described the Haqqani network as a "veritable arm" of the ISI spy agency. He also said that the ISI supported the group's September 13 attacks on the US Embassy in Kabul.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/01/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
The all knowing Light Bringer had the answer nearly 5 years ago. Why has no one acted?
Late Sept 2007 speech excerpt:
" ....But Obama proposed in his speech a more aggressive stance with that nuclear nation, making the "hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. military aid to Pakistan conditional, and I would make our conditions clear: Pakistan must make substantial progress in closing down the training camps, evicting foreign fighters and preventing the Taliban from using Pakistan as a staging area for attacks in Afghanistan."
#3
Well duh... ongoing cellphone calls from the terrorists to the ISI while the terrorists are attacking the US Embassy etc.. all recorded by sigint... is a pretty retarded action as it makes it a direct attack by the ISI & Pakiwakiland on the USA - ergo an ACT OF WAR and it makes clear the IQ of the ISI leadership is below MORON.
Posted by: Water Modem ||
10/01/2011 3:56 Comments ||
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#4
Note that no one ever says that Pakistan is on the path to war with us.
Typical of the Obamanation, no matter what it is all our fault and all our responsibility.
[Dawn] A US drone strike on Friday killed three Taliban fighters in Pakistain's tribal badlands bordering Afghanistan, blowing their vehicle into a ball of flames, local officials said.
It was the first deadly missile strike in a week and comes as Washington appeared to ease pressure on Islamabad demanding action against the al Qaeda-linked Haqqani network based in the North Wazoo tribal district.
The Death Eaters were killed in Baghar village of neighbouring South Waziristan, where the Pakistain military carried out a sweeping offensive against homegrown Death Eaters in late 2009.
"A US drone fired two missiles at a vehicle and at least three Death Eaters were killed," a senior Pak security official told AFP on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to talk to media.
At least two other Pak intelligence officials confirmed the drone strike and the corpse count.
The dead were identified as Paks who fought under a nebulous Taliban umbrella, on behalf of Pak warlord Maulvi Nazir, whose fighters are allied to the Haqqanis and active in the 10-year war in Afghanistan.
One Pak official said a deputy to Nazir, named Haleem Ullah, was among the dead. The official said he was among those Death Eaters who had beat feet survived a drone strike in South Waziristan three days ago by escaping.
The tense partnership between Pakistain and the United States in the war on terror took a further battering this month, with Washington demanding that Islamabad take action against the Haqqani network and cut ties to the group.
The outgoing top US military officer Admiral Mike Mullen, called the Haqqani network a "veritable arm" of Pakistain Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency and accused Pakistain of supporting attacks on US targets in Afghanistan.
Islamabad officially denies any support for Haqqani activities, but has nurtured Pashtun warlords for decades as a way of influencing events across the border and offsetting the might of arch-rival India.
The Pak military says it is too over-stretched fighting local Taliban to acquiesce to American demands to launch an offensive against the Haqqanis, a battle that not all observers think the Pak military would win.
Stepped up US drone strikes is the most probable alternative American course of action, local analysts say.
The United States does not publicly confirm the drone campaign, but are the only forces that deploy the unmanned Predator aircraft in the region.
Around 30 drone strikes have been reported in Pakistain since elite US forces killed Al-Qaeda chief the late Osama bin Laden ... who is now sometimes referred to as Mister Bones... near Pakistain's main military academy in Abbottabad, close to the capital, on May 2.
The raid humiliated Pakistain but is thought to have contributed to debate within the military about the merits of traditional support for jihadi groups.
On Thursday, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ... sometimes described as the Smartest Woman in the World and at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as Another Edward Everett ... said Washington wants to work to put its relationship with Pakistain on a stronger footing.
At a rare conference in the capital Islamabad, Pakistain sought to deflect US pressure by gathering together more than 50 military commanders and politicians, and saying dialogue was the best way of easing tensions.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/01/2011 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] Thirty-four labourers were kidnapped from two different locations in the Khyber tribal region, DawnNews reported on Friday.
According to security officials, dozens of gunnies picked up 30 labourers working in a coal mine in Bara's Akkakhel area. In a separate incident, four labourers working on a roadside were also kidnapped in the tribal region.
All the kidnapped labourers were shifted to an unknown location, sources added.
Panic gripped the locality and security forces started a rescue operation after cordoning off the area.
No group has grabbed credit for the kidnappings so far.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/01/2011 00:00 ||
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DIALA / Aswat al-Iraq: Three armed cells, belonging to al-Qaeda organization, including 16 persons involved in killing, abduction and forcing hundreds of people to desert their homes, have been detained in northeast Iraqs Diala Province on Friday, the Provinces Police Commander reported.
Our force have managed to detain 16 armed men, belonging to al-Qaeda organization, forming 3 armed cells, including the Emir (Prince) of the organization, Saleh Abdullah al-Kheilany. He, along with his cell, have killed 300 persons in al-Miqdadiya township, 45 km to the northeast of Baaquba, after forcing them to drink a poisonous chemical substance, Lt-Brigadier, Jamil al-Shimmary told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
He said that the Provinces Judicial Authorities have also issued arrest warrants against 50 persons, belonging to al-Qaeda organization, charged with Article 4 Terrorism, following confessions by some detained al-Qaeda elements.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/01/2011 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV] At least 18 people have been killed and 48 others have been maimed in a huge bomb kaboom that targeted mourners at a funeral in the city of Hillah in central Iraq.
A massive car boom detonated on Friday, ripping through a crowd of people mourning the death of a local sheikh near a mosque in Hillah, 100 km (60 miles) south of Storied Baghdad ...located along the Tigris River, founded in the 8th century, home of the Abbasid Caliphate... , AFP reported.
The huge blast left at least 48 people injured and damaged a number of vehicles near the tent where the mourners had gathered, police said.
On Thursday, two women and a man were killed and 76 others were maimed when an explosive-laden truck detonated in front of a bank in Kirkuk as coppers were collecting their monthly salaries.
In a separate incident, an Iraqi policeman was bumped off in Storied Baghdad. A soldier was also killed and two others were maimed by a mortar attack on an Iraqi military base in Tarmiyah, north of the capital.
Iraq witnessed its deadliest terrorist attack of the month on September 25, when twin bombings rocked the southern Iraqi city of Karbala, killing at least 25 people and wounding dozens of others in the shrine city.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/01/2011 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Islamic State of Iraq
#1
Somebody please tell me that we have systems like this on our own border crossings.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
10/01/2011 16:15 Comments ||
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#2
we do - on the rural Route 94 checkpoint near Jamul, CA, my Lab Tech's nuke gauge (for checking soil compaction) set off the rad detectors the BP wear. He spent about 3 hrs in custody til we convinced them he was legit. Didn't help that his answer to "where were you born?" was "Tijuana"
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/01/2011 16:33 Comments ||
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A motorcade of the Southern Border Provinces Administrative Center's secretary-general, Panu Uthairat, was ambushed by terrorists armed men in Pattani province yesterday afternoon. No one was injured.
Panu was returning from a signing ceremony to promote community enterprises at the Halal Food Industrial Estate in Panare district of Pattani. His motorcade was ambushed on the Panare-Sai Buri road around 1 p.m.
Panu was travelling in the first car. Bullets hit a police patrol car that was following his vehicle but no one was wounded. Ten policemen accompanied Panu in their two patrol pickup trucks. The officers fired shots into the roadside bushes where the terrorists attackers were thought to have been hiding. The terrorists attackers fled left.
A patrol vehicle then escorted Panu's car to the local police station. When security authorities returned to the ambush site, they found a patrol pickup truck with a damaged window and bullet holes in the roof. Fifteen spent assault rifles shells were found at the location.
It was the second attack on a high-level official in the province in the past six months. In April, a bombing targeted Pattani governor Niphon Narapitakkul in the province. No one was hurt.
Meanwhile, a recently-established center led by a former terrorist separatist figure has called for Muslim academics and leaders to band together to fight separatism, said Chaiyong Maneerungsakul, a member of the Advisory Council for Peace Building in the Southern Border Provinces.
Mr Chaiyong said Yase Pateh, the former head of the Pattani United Liberation Organisation (PULO) chapter based in Europe, is now chief of the so-called Centre for People's Volunteers to Solve the Problems of the Southern Border Provinces. Yase has returned to his native Yala from Germany, where he reportedly owned a Mercedes Benz dealership. He came back after PULO's European office was closed in August. Yase was named the centre chairman to help the SBPAC deal with the southern security strife.
Also yesterday, the new Malaysian ambassador to Thailand visited the troubled South. During her visit, ambassador Nazirah Hussain was briefed by Pramuk Lamun, deputy secretary-general of the SBPAC, on the security situation and on measures being taken to confront the terrorists unrest.
A village leader in Narathiwat province district was gunned down in Chanae late Saturday morning. Witnesses told police that Waepayunan Sideh, 50, went to follow the progress of a construction of the village mosque by his pickup truck. When he arrived at the construction site and got off his car, a terrorist gunman riding pillion on a motorcycle shot at him three times with a pistol. The assailants then fled. The village chief took three bullets and died at the scene.
A truck driver was killed in a drive-by shooting in Pattani province on Saturday morning. The victim, identified as Pisuth Boonnap, 61, was riding motorcycle heading to a teashop in his village when a terrorist gunman riding pillion on another motorcycle fired at him with a 9 mm pistol. Pisuth was hit five times in his neck, bodied and died at the spot.
[An Nahar] Twenty-seven people have been killed on Friday at the hands of Syrian security forces during anti-regime demonstrations that took place in various Syrian cities, according to activists.
The Syrian Revolution General Commission said that 27 people were killed and tens were maimed in the crackdown against protestors.
The casualties took place mainly in Homs, Hama, and its nearby regions.
A rights group told AFP 11 people were killed in Reef Hama in festivities between Syrian security forces and army defectors.
Meanwhile, ...back at the wine tasting, Vince was about to start tasting his third quart... activists told the news agency that more than 250 armored vehicles stormed al-Rastan in the Homs province.
Syrian opposition websites said that demonstrations erupted in the regions of Tadmor, Deir al-Balaa, Karam al-Zeitoun, Bab Houd, Hab al-Jandali, Cairo street, and al-Qusseir in Homs.
Hundreds of peoples also erupted into the streets in the areas of Zamalka, Hammourieh, Arbin, Kfar Batna, al-Kaswa, and other regions in reef Damascus ...The City of Jasmin is the oldest continuously-inhabited city in the world. It has not always been inhabited by the same set of fascisti... Thousands of demonstrators also protested against the regime in the regions of al-Qamishli, Idlib, Hama, Deir al-Zour, and Tartous.
Syrian revolution coordination committees stated that injuries were reported when Syrian security forces started shooting at protestors in Qamishli, reported al-Arabiya.
Demonstrations broke out in the neighborhoods of Kfar Sousa, al-Zabadani, Qadisa, al-Qaboun, and Daraya in Damascus province.
Anti-regime protests have been taking place in Syria since March 15.
The regime has retaliated by launching a bloody crackdown against them.
The United Nations ...a formerly good idea gone bad... said that some 2,700 people have been killed since the beginning of the protests.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/01/2011 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
[An Nahar] Seven masked gunnies broke into the home of al-Mustaqbal ... the Future Movement, political party led by Saad Hariri... official Amer al-Mohammed in the region of Wadi Khaled in Akkar on Thursday night with the intention of abducting him, the National News Agency reported. But when the men entered the home in the town of al-Amayer, they realized that al-Mohammed was not there, NNA said. The gunnies later decamped the town, it added. The incident created tension and fear among al-Amayer residents.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/01/2011 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] The United States said Friday it summoned the Syrian ambassador to Washington to read him "the riot act" after President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad's One of the last of the old-fashioned hereditary iron-fisted fascist dictators. Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor... supporters tried to attack the U.S. envoy in Damascus. ...The City of Jasmin is the oldest continuously-inhabited city in the world. It has not always been inhabited by the same set of fascisti... Ambassador Imad Mustapha "was called in to the State Department ... and read the riot act about this incident," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told news hounds.
She added that Mustapha's meeting with Jeffrey Feltman, the assistant secretary of state for near East affairs, took place late Thursday, hours after Assad's supporters tried to attack U.S. ambassador Robert Ford in Damascus.
Mustapha "was reminded that Ambassador Ford is the personal representative of the president (Barack B.O. Obama) and an attack on Ford is an attack on the United States," Nuland said.
"He was also asked for compensation for our damaged vehicles," she said, adding "a very strong set of representations were made again about their Vienna convention responsibilities" to protect U.S. diplomats.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ... sometimes described as the Smartest Woman in the World and at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as Another John Marshall ... demanded that Syria "take every possible step" to protect U.S. diplomats after a front man said a mob tried to attack Ford and embassy staff as they visited a Syrian opposition leader in Damascus.
Clinton's deputy front man Mark Toner said the pro-regime demonstrators seriously damaged U.S. vehicles and pelted the visitors with tomatoes but did not hurt Ford or his staff.
Opposition figure Hassan Abdelazim, whom the U.S. ambassador had arrived to meet, told AFP that the mob "tried to break down the door of my office, but didn't succeed" during a siege that lasted two hours.
Toner charged that Assad's regime was behind the incident in what he said amounts to a campaign aimed at intimidating U.S. diplomats as they carry out their normal duties.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/01/2011 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.