[Maghrebia] The al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) is recruiting militants who fought in the Iraq war, according to Algeria's local press and security sources.
Sixty fighters have been recruited from Oued Souf, Batna and Msila following their return to Algeria, the Arabic-language daily Ennahar claimed in a November 11th article. However, security sources who spoke with Magharebia put the number at 56, and say small groups of five or six have been returning to the bush since 2007.
Military sources confirmed that the majority of the combatants recruited for AQIM -- formerly known as the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) -- hail from Oued Souf. Several students are believed to be among the recruits.
"These individuals can be very dangerous in more ways than one, because they have acquired considerable experience on the ground and have knowledge that [AQIM] stands to benefit greatly from," said Hichem A., a journalist who specialises in security issues.
An Algerian military source with experience in counter-terrorism said the recruits could "serve as a prop for Droukdel's criminal organisation."
"They can contribute strategic support and contribute to an overhaul of AQIM, which would change the current situation, especially since further attacks cannot yet be ruled out," said the source, adding, "This organisation, which deals in violence and devastation, is capable of causing more surprises."
There are also concerns that Libyan terrorist networks are funnelling militants from Iraq into the Algerian bush. Algerian Interior Minister Noureddine Yazid Zerhouni warned as early as 2008 that foreigners were joining AQIM ranks with the help of the "king of the desert", Mokhtar Ben Mokhtar, a criminal kingpin who specialises in smuggling people and weapons.
Zerhouni claimed that 40 AQIM militants were originally from Libya, Tunisia, Mali and Morocco.
To counter AQIM's recruitment drive, Algerian and Iraqi leaders will soon co-operate by sharing counter-terrorism information. Morocco and Algeria have also agreed to work together and share their knowledge.
"I think it's to be expected that these young men who have returned from a war will head off to the bush," said a psychologist who works with jailed terrorists. "Several terrorists who are being treated here have managed to re-establish their links with other terrorists despite being imprisoned, and went back down the road of resistance after being lucky enough to be among those to benefit from the laws on the Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation."
"These individuals have lost all concept of life," said the psychologist. "Now they hide out in the bush, where they only know the law of violence -- so inevitably, they've become addicted to blood."
However, some experts are confident that AQIM is weakening, and cannot meet its goals even by finding new recruits. "[AQIM] continues to menace parts of the Maghreb and the Sahel but has failed to meet its objectives," the co-ordinator for counter-terrorism at the US Department of State on Tuesday, Daniel Benjamin, said on Tuesday. "[AQIM] is financially strapped, especially in Algeria, and is incapable of achieving its objectives in terms of recruitment," added Benjamin.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/22/2009 00:00 ||
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[Maghrebia] A Sale court on Thursday (November 19th) postponed the trial of 15 alleged terror cell members until January 7th, MAP reported. At the time of their arrests last August, the "Fath Al Andalous" (Reconquest of Andalusia) terror cell suspects reportedly possessed chemicals and electronic equipment used to manufacture explosives. Officials said the men, all Moroccan nationals in their twenties, planned to carry out attacks in Morocco and had already formed links with foreign extremists linked with al-Qaeda.
Five members of the cell had reportedly been in contact with Arab Afghans, who were ready to teach them long-distance bombing techniques used in Afghanistan, Iraq and Algeria.
Arab Afghans would be Al Qaeda, of course. I wonder why Maghrebia chose to use the old-style name?
Posted by: Fred ||
11/22/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Makes a change from critics of the Kremlin being murdered.
Posted by: Gaz ||
11/22/2009 3:36 Comments ||
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#2
This sounds like a professional hit, not something you would expect from Muslims. A tall Caucasian, wearing a mask, using a silenced pistol, and getting a positive ID on his target before capping him twice with a head and neck shot.
Major Nidal Hasan, charged with killing 13 in the Fort Hood shooting spree, is paralyzed from the chest down and is not a flight risk, said his defense attorney after a hearing before a military magistrate in Hasan's hospital room Saturday. The accused Fort Hood shooter had his first court hearing in the intensive care unit of a San Antonio hospital at 1 p.m. His status has now been changed from pre-trial restriction to pre-trial confinement, meaning that he will be confined until his court martial.
Attorney says Hasan is lucid and won't plead guilty to charges of killing 13.
The military magistrate ruled that Hasan will stay at Brooke Army Medical Center for now, but the military has the option of moving him to another medical facility or to jail. According to defense attorney John Galligan, Hasan is paralyzed from the chest down, is incontinent and "in severe pain."
"He is an individual in need of constant medical attention," Galligan said. "He has no sensation from his chest down."
I loved the silhouette/picture of a man being hanged sitting in a wheelchair, think we can "Make it So"?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
11/22/2009 11:45 Comments ||
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#2
those 72 sturgeons will be disappointed
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/22/2009 11:56 Comments ||
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#3
Nothing but good news there. I especially like the incontinent part. No way we should execute him. Let him tote his shit bag with him in every corner of his cell in Super Max for the next 40 years. That's punishment.
#4
bad thing is he will never be in supermax now that he is paralyzed from the chest down. He will go too a prison hospital. But we can always hope a new nurse will "accidentally" give him a shot and air will get into his veins.
Posted by: chris ||
11/22/2009 12:40 Comments ||
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#6
Hasan is paralyzed from the chest down, is incontinent and "in severe pain."
This would seem to indicate that he was shot in the spine, which is a neat trick when you consider that the Piece of Sh*t had no spine.
#7
. According to defense attorney John Galligan, Hasan is paralyzed from the chest down, is incontinent and "in severe pain."
"He is an individual in need of constant medical attention," Galligan said. "He has no sensation from his chest down."
So which is it? If he has no sensation from his chest down, how can he be in severe pain?
I agree that we shouldn't execute him now. Instead, to save money, just don't give him any pain medication.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
11/22/2009 15:11 Comments ||
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#8
Hasan doesn't have much going on for himself from the chest up either. He's in for a long stay in hell too.
[Dawn] NWFP Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti reiterated the involvement of foreign hands in the current wave of terrorism in the province and asked the federal government for the use of diplomatic channels in this regard.
Talking to the media after a meeting on law and order situation here on Saturday, he said that the resurfacing of Malana Fazallullah has proved the involvement of foreign hands. However, he said that the implementation is being carried out through the people from our own country.
He said that the terrorist incidents were planned somewhere outside Pakistan but implemented through people known as Taliban and terrorists in our country.
Replying a query, Hoti said that foreign policy is domain of the federal government and provincial governments could make recommendations in it.
He said information regarding funding of the terrorism would be shared with the countries concerned.
To a question regarding the fleeing of the chief of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Swat chapter, Maulana Fazalullah, he cast doubt on the identification of his voice. He expressed surprise that the fugitive Fazallullah considered himself to be safe in Afghanistan.
Hoti questioned as to why Fazallullah, the supposed king of Swat, had fled to Afghanistan instead of fleeing to Bajaur. The presence of Fazalullah in Afghanistan is better proof and argument to allegations made against Pakistan, said Hoti.
The CM said that a task force constituted in this regard would hold meetings twice a month and a meeting on the provincial level would be held after two months.
Hoti disclosed that wedding halls of the provincial metropolis have been directed to complete their functions before midnight. 'The closure of the weeding halls means closure and completion of function before the deadline,' he clarified. He said that an austerity plan was also under consideration.
The CM also announced doubling of the compensation to the martyrs of police from Rs1.5 million to Rs3 million. He said the whole nation was united against terrorism and saluted the bravery and courage of the law-enforcement agencies in battling terrorism. He said that a Rs22 billion development package for NWFP was also on the cards.--
Posted by: Fred ||
11/22/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
[Al Arabiya Latest] U.S. Justice Department prosecutors asked a federal judge on Friday to dismiss the charges against one of five Blackwater security guards accused of killing 14 unarmed Iraqi civilians in a 2007 shooting in Baghdad.
In a brief court notice, prosecutors said they filed a motion to dismiss the indictment against Nicholas Slatten of Sparta, Tennessee, but they also said they requested the ability to possibly refile the charges later.
Slatten was one of five men charged in December last year with 14 counts of manslaughter, 20 counts of attempt to commit manslaughter and one weapons violation count over the shooting that outraged Iraqis and strained relations between the two countries.
Except that Blackwater was clever enough to have taped the entire encounter, which revealed their men responded to an attack, they didn't start it. One assumes that of course the other charges will be dropped in the very near future. One wonders how much business the company picked up from customers reassured that their people would not be put at risk to comply with ridiculous rules of engagement...
Posted by: Fred ||
11/22/2009 00:00 ||
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[Ma'an] Israel's Channel 10 reported on Saturday that President Mahmoud Abbas refused a proposal from the United States to resume negotiations with Israel.
According to the report, the US administration suggested, and Israel was preparing to allow, the following in exchange for a guarantee from Abbas that the PLO would re-enter talks.
Channel 10 reported that Abbas rejected all of these offers, sticking instead to his insistence that there be no negotiations while Israel's borders continue to expand.
The network also reported that the US Consulate in Jerusalem and the PA have established a joint monitoring committee for the construction of settlements inside Jerusalem.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/22/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Palestinian Authority
#1
US Consulate in Jerusalem and the PA have established a joint monitoring committee for the construction of settlements inside Jerusalem
There is a special relation between USA and Israel.
[Ma'an] Armed Palestinian groups in Gaza have reached an agreement to stop firing homemade projectiles into Israel except during army incursions, de facto Interior Minister Fathi Hammad said on Saturday.
"We don't prohibit resistance except when there is a national consensus for a ceasefire, like after the last Israeli war against the Gaza Strip," he told a group of journalists.
Hammad added that his ministry stays in contact with military factions before making any decision, and has held several evaluative meetings to discuss the matter, coming to the conclusion that factions should restrain themselves except in the event of an Israeli incursion.
It was not clear when the supposed ban was set to begin. A projectile fired from Gaza struck southern Israel on Saturday morning, according to Israeli media.
At the meeting, Hammad highlighted that 60 police buildings were bombed in the Israeli assault last winter. He said some 350 security officers were killed, including his predecessor, Sa'id Siyam.
As for allegations his government arrests people based on political affiliation, he insisted that "there isn't a single prisoner left in custody for his political affiliation. We are not detaining any Fatah-affiliated prisoners, except for a few held by prosecution for domestic assault."
In regard to a crackdown on a small group of religious extremists in Rafah over the summer - a response viewed by human rights groups as disproportionate - Hammad said of the 180 suspects originally detained, only 35 remained in jail. The remaining 35 members of Jund Ansar Allah could also be released on the occasion of the Muslim Eid Al-Adha holiday, he said.
Also addressed in the meeting was Gaza's new police academy, which Hammad said began operations with 150 students. He stated that the ministry's employees are selected on the basis of professional eligibility from a pool of highly educated applicants.
Hammad touched upon a number of other issues like crime, which he said was down noticeably. He also said no one was living in President Mahmoud Abbas' Gaza residence.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/22/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
squeeze on the tunnels must be hurting
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/22/2009 10:05 Comments ||
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#2
Official: Armed groups to limit projectile fire
OK Folks, Whats wrong with this headline?
Answer, They can't use one word where twenty will do.
oh yes
BULLSHIT.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
11/22/2009 11:54 Comments ||
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#3
New group (unsigned to that agreement) to appear in 5..4..3
The army has shot down a call to negotiate with insurgents to end conflicts in the restive South. Army chief Anupong Paojinda said no talks would be held with separatist groups during his tenure, which ends in September next year.
"We won't negotiate with them. But we will take legal action against them," he told the Bangkok Post. "They have to be brought to trial for having murdered innocent people," said Gen Anupong, who accompanied Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban on a trip to inspect government development projects in Pattani and Narathiwat last week.
Gen Anupong was reacting to calls by Puea Thai chairman Gen Chavalit Yongchaiyudh to negotiate with separatist groups to end the violence. Gen Chavalit has also proposed an amnesty for militants in the three Muslim-dominated provinces.
The Internal Security Operations Command believes 8,000-10,000 insurgents are active in the deep South. The insurgents took shelter in more than 200 villages in the so-called red zone and used pondok schools as a base to carry out attacks against civilians and state officials, it said.
"The insurgents want to separate our land and set up an autonomous area," the army chief said. They carried out attacks to draw international attention to their "plight". But the army leader said that the southern violence was a domestic issue that could be solved by the government alone. No other countries, including fellow members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, had offered themselves as brokers in talks between the government and the separatist groups.
Prime Minister Najib Razak of Malaysia plans to tour the three southernmost provinces with Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva early next month. The trip is intended as a show of Malaysian support for Thailand's efforts to tackle the violence. Gen Anupong said no Asean members would interfere in the southern issue.
There are 20,000 soldiers, 18,000 police and 40,000 defence volunteers providing security for two million people in the deep South. "We will not abandon people to live alone. Without us, how could they survive?" Gen Anupong said.
He had told border officials to keep a close watch on people with dual Thai-Malaysian nationality as he believed many were involved in attacks in the deep South. Security experts believe militants with dual nationality carry out attacks there, then flee to neighbouring Malaysia to avoid being caught.
The question of how to tackle assailants with dual Thai-Malaysian nationality will be tabled for talks between the two leaders when Mr Najib is visiting here, officials say.
Gen Anupong also criticised "the Pattani model" pushed by Gen Chavalit as a solution to the violence. Gen Chavalit has proposed a form of elected self-government for the region, similar to the way Bangkok is run. He says the government is deliberately misinterpreting his call as advocacy for an independent Pattani state, which he opposes. He was not proposing separatism, just self-government.
Gen Anupong, however, said the details were still unclear and had led to misunderstanding among southern residents. "I don't understand exactly what Gen Chavalit is advocating. Further discussions are needed. I believe he has a hidden agenda," he said.
Faced with mounting pressure over his country's atomic ambitions, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad left on a five nation tour Sunday, including Brazil in a bid to boost ties with Latin America's biggest economy and a rare backer of Tehran's nuclear programme.
Since coming to power in 2005, Ahmadinejad has sought to form bonds with leftist south American leaders, and enjoys "brotherly ties" with fiercely anti-US Hugo Chavez, president of Brazil's neighbour, Venezuela.
His five-day trip will also take in Venezuela as well as another left-leaning South American country, Bolivia and the West African countries of Senegal and Gambia, the presidential website said.
"Nations such as Iran, Brazil, Venezuela, Gambia and Senegal have the ability to restore a new world order," Ahmadinejad said before leaving Tehran.
Highlighting Tehran's growing ties with Brazil, the hardliner said: "Iran and Brazil have a common vision about the situation in the world and are determined to develop their cooperation."
The Islamic republic's influence in arch-foe the United States' back yard has unnerved Washington and its key Middle Eastern ally Israel amid speculation Venezuela and Bolivia might be providing uranium to Iran for its controversial nuclear programme.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has backed Iran's nuclear development programme as long as it is peaceful, as Brazil seeks to up its diplomatic profile by playing a mediating role in the Middle East. And if it is not peaceful, then a carefully worded statement of regret will be issued by Lula.
Lula, who hosted Israeli President Shimon Peres earlier this month, is firmly against sanctions on Iran over its nuclear defiance and has called for diplomacy and talks.
Israel accuses Iran of seeking atomic bombs and along with the United States has never ruled out a military option to thwart the nuclear drive. Iran denies it seeks atomic weapons.
The West is currently hoping to receive a positive response from Iran on a UN-brokered nuclear deal aimed at allaying their fears that Iran could use its enriched uranium to make a bomb.
In an interview with AFP in September, Lula said he believed US-led criticism of Iran was reminiscent of Washington's fallacious justification for the war in Iraq.
"Even today, those leaders in favour of the war in Iraq are unable to explain why they invaded if there were no chemical weapons. Well, I am seeing the same sort of things starting to happen over Iran," he said.
Iran is already under three sets of UN sanctions over its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment.
Ahead of the visit, Ahmadinejad welcomed Brasilia's support for Tehran's nuclear drive.
"While there is an unfair polemic in Western countries against Iran's peaceful nuclear programme, the people of Brazil side with the Iranian people," Ahmadinejad said in a statement.
"If the Brazilian people and the Iranian people are united on issues such as the Zionist regime's cruel attack on the defenceless people of Gaza, this will show a mutual desire" for peace, he added.
During the visit Ahmadinejad is expected to discuss cooperation in the areas of technology, oil production and space exploration.
In his trip to Bolivia, which sits on South America's second largest gas reserves, Ahmadinejad and his counterpart Evo Morales will hold a private meeting and sign bilateral agreements, La Paz has said.
And in Venezuela, the Iranian hardliner is expected to receive a warm welcome given his good relations with Chavez, as the two leaders are known for their populist economic policies and strong anti-US tirades.
Chavez, who also supports Tehran's nuclear programme, has himself been a regular visitor to Iran since the presidency of Ahmadinejad's predecessor Mohammad Khatami, the reformist president.
Since his disputed re-election in June, Ahmadinejad has been dogged by mass protests by opposition supporters charging the polls were rigged, and the regime has come under fire abroad for its violent suppression of protests. The Big O is not included in this issue.
Ahmadinejad has also faced criticism at home by his political rivals over the benefits of seeking allies thousands of miles away in Latin America. We need allies within commuting distance, not just across the Pond.
And the United Nations human rights committee blasted Iran for "serious, ongoing and recurring" human rights violations, in a non-binding resolution adopted on Friday. That will show the world that the UNHRC is still in the game.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
11/22/2009 21:20 ||
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TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran will begin large-scale air defense war games Sunday aimed at protecting its nuclear facilities from possible attack, a senior military commander said Saturday, reflecting the country's concern that Israel could make good on threats to strike militarily. The five-day drill will involve Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard and the regular army and will cover 230,000 square miles - or about 600,000 square kilometers - of central, western and southern Iran, said air force Gen. Ahmad Mighani.
The defense drill will involve an attack by airplanes representing a hypothetical enemy.
"Reconnaissance enemy planes will violate our air space and try to disrupt electronic and radar systems, identify sensitive facilities, take photos and ... attack air defense sites," Mighani said, according to a state TV report. "And our air defense system will confront the intruding planes."
For a very short period of time ...
A planned key component of Iran's air defenses, an anti-aircraft missile system from Russia, has yet to be delivered.
The representative of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to the Guard, warned Saturday that Iranian missiles will target Tel Aviv should an Israeli missile land in Iran.
"If the enemy want to test its bad luck and fire a missile into Iran, before the dust settles, Iran's ballistic missiles will target the heart of Tel Aviv," Mojtaba Zolnour told the official IRNA news agency.
Iran restructured its military this year in an effort to improve its air defenses. The changes were seen as part of a broader focus on bolstering the military by Tehran, which has been concerned about the U.S. military's presence in neighboring Iraq and Afghanistan as well as the Israeli threats to target its nuclear facilities.
Crusaders to the west, northeast, southwest and south of you, and Zionists just over the horizon. Yes indeed, time for a restructuring ...
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ordered a new branch to be split off from the air force this year to deal specifically with threats to the country's air space. Mighani was appointed to head the unit. The order rearranged the regular military into four branches - the ground force, the navy, the air force and the new air defense force.
Mighani now oversees radar, military intelligence gathering equipment and anti-aircraft missile units.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/22/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
radar signatures captured and verified for later use
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/22/2009 10:06 Comments ||
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#2
Hehehe.... this might be an excellent time for Israel (and the US - if Michelle will loan OBumble his balls back for a few hours) to perform an actual attack on the facilities.
#3
"if Michelle will loan OBumble her balls back for a few hours"
Fixed that for ya', CF.
No charge. :-D
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
11/22/2009 10:21 Comments ||
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#4
Ummm, nasty thought, we know he has balls he has a daughter, or is she his?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
11/22/2009 12:23 Comments ||
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#5
I was wondering - if you were going to show up unannounced and offer to play OPFOR in someone else's wargame, is it better to do it in the middle of the action or to wait until everyone has gone home for the weekend?
#8
WAFF > MEMRI.org = IRAN'S ANSWER TO THE WEST: "WE WILL NOT WAIT FOREVER...WE'VE BEGUN ENRICHMENT OF 20% URANIUM [IIUC MOTTAKI > Iran considers enrichment of uranium for MILITARY PURPOSES as separate from any international deal to enrich uranium for energy abroad]???
YOU CAN HEAR THE WORLD SAYING "YUH OH", CAN'T YE!?
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.
The army has shot down a call to negotiate with insurgents to end conflicts in the restive South. Army chief Anupong Paojinda said no talks would be held with separatist groups during his tenure, which ends in September next year.
