April 11, 2006: France is sending its nuclear powered aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, to the coast of Pakistan. There, the carrier will sent its twenty warplanes to bases in Afghanistan, to support NATO peacekeeping efforts. The de Gaulle will arrive off Pakistan in May, 2006.
Note they are not even trying to run flight operations off this tub, just using her to ferry planes to the theater.
Posted by: Steve ||
04/11/2006 10:41 ||
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#8
Good question SSET! But it does state that it is going to support NATO, at least until they surrender. Odds are that it will turn back or get drydocked halfway there like that Russian tub a few years back that was on it's way to Serbia.
#14
why would they run carrier ops, when there are bases in afghanistan, and water is pretty far from the scene of battle?
I guese it's the little things, like getting permission to base a lot of aircraft, ammunition, and support elements, wrangling over the resulting usage fees and political costs, having refueling aircraft available, dealing with unfriendly people sitting near the airstrip with cell-phone in hand...
#22
[Captain of the Charles de Gaulle addressing his crew]
Greetings, Crew of the Charles de Gaulle. It's great to be out of drydock. The sun is shining down on us. Everyone and everything is looking good.
Well, we've seen Toulon, for too long, so now it's the Indian Ocean for us. Be careful and get your sea legs during the first days of the voyage. Drydock is nothing like the open sea, you know. We will be the keystone in the big picture of fighting radical terrorists. Everybody show what the French Navy can do.
[aside] Little nuclear reactor and boiler, don't fail me now!
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
04/11/2006 16:14 Comments ||
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#23
"French Carrier To Support Afghanistan Operations"
Is this Scrappleface again?
Posted by: Scott R ||
04/11/2006 16:42 Comments ||
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#24
DB's got it: Let the Somali pirates grab it and you save the asbestos/hazmat removal costs
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/11/2006 17:03 Comments ||
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#25
Is it really for Afghanistan or in place for an operation to protect the straits of Hormuz?
#26
The French will probably sacrifice the de Gaulle during the attack on Iran. This way they won't have to worry about the decommissioning costs and asbestos removal.
And for all you environmental activists out there, the sinking will allow for a brand new reef to develop for mutant fish. Isn't that wonderful?
#27
Danking70 And for all you environmental activists out there, the sinking will allow for a brand new reef to develop for mutant fish. Isn't that wonderful?
Unidentified gunmen killed five Afghan health workers at a remote clinic in the northwestern province of Badghis, Reuters reported on Monday.
Esquimoux? Lapplanders? Samoans?
"Five Health Ministry workers including nurses, doctors and a driver were killed when gunmen fired at them in their clinic last night," said the governor, Enayatullah Enayat. "Only enemies of Afghanistan would resort to this type of act," he said.
Doctors and nurses, of course, are much less likely to be armed and able to fight back...
Five workers of the Medecins Sans Frontieres medical aid group, three foreigners and two Afghans, were killed in an ambush in Badghis in 2004. Officials said at the time Taliban insurgents were responsible. A Health Ministry official blamed terrorists. "It's a terrorist attack to intimidate people working with the government side," said the official, Abdullah Fahim. The attackers also set fire to the clinic, he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/11/2006 00:00 ||
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Mogadishu - At least two people died and nine, including a Somali parliamentarian, were wounded when a United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) convoy of 72 food aid trucks was ambushed near the central Somali town of Baidoa, local officials said on Monday. "We managed to save the food from looting after the militia realised we would not pay $500 per truck, but unfortunately two of the men guarding the food were killed," said Mohamed Ibrahim Habsade, a Somali politician who accompanied the convoy told reporters.
WFP resorted to delivering food aid by overland transport accompanied by armed escorts after two WFP-contracted food aid ships were hijacked, one for three months, last year. The donated food was destined for the drought-stricken Bay and Bakol regions in southern Somalia. The convoy and its contents were reportedly intact and were being guarded by Habsade's men in Baidoa town. A WFP spokesperson in Nairobi declined to comment on the Monday night incident, saying it was still under investigation.
Aid workers in the region fear that attacks on the few aid convoys braving the lawless Horn of Africa country will only further keep an already wanting humanitarian response to the 1,2-million Somalis currently in need of urgent food assistance, to the barest minimum. A regional drought affecting Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Tanzania with its epicentre in Kenya has also provoked increased armed conflict in the region.
Posted by: Steve ||
04/11/2006 11:23 ||
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#2
At least two people died and nine, including a Somali parliamentarian, were wounded when a United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) convoy of 72 food aid trucks was ambushed near the central Somali town of Baidoa, local officials said on Monday.
So, the Somali Parlimentarian was accompanying the food to his constituency to take credit for it's delivery, and he JUST gets shot?
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, April 11 (UPI) -- Saudi Arabia has denied foreign press reports that it plans to build a security barrier along its border with Iraq to beef up control over infiltration. Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Mansour Turki was quoted in daily al-Riyadh as saying Tuesday that no barrier will be built along the 562-mile border with Iraq as part of an overall plan to increase the oil-rich kingdom's defense along its 4,062-mile borders.
"We are currently conducting a study on technical defense systems which we can use to beef up security measures along the border."
"But, it's not a wall. It's something else."
The Times of London reported Monday that Saudi Arabia had received offers from international contractors to build the alleged security barrier with Iraq at the cost of millions of dollars. The British paper said many British security companies were interested in the project, which is aimed at guarding Saudi Arabia from the spread of sectarian violence, notably between Shiites and Sunnis, in addition to curbing the infiltration of fighters returning from Iraq.
The paper said Riyadh is worried about the growing influence of the Iran-backed Shiites in Iraq, and fears the barrier could encourage its Shiite minority community towards extremism. Saudi Shiites mainly inhabit east Saudi Arabia, where the majority of the kingdom's oil wells are located.
Posted by: Steve ||
04/11/2006 11:41 ||
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#1
Time to call Christo, Hey it's ART! He did build a wall out of oil drums.
Posted by: bruce ||
04/11/2006 20:18 Comments ||
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Khulna: Four alleged cadres of Islamist outfit Harkatul-Jihad were jailed here Sunday. Additional District and Sessions Judge of Khulna, Kabita Khanam, in her judgement sentenced them to suffer 20 years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) each, for making bombs. Rubel alias Mamun, Abul Bashar, Faruque Ahmed and Farhadul Islam Tuhin were convicted under Section 3 and Section 4 of Explosive Substances Act. Each of them was fined Tk 5,000, in default, to suffer one year more RI. Five charge-sheeted Ansars, Noor Mohammad, Rajab Ali, Ashiqur Rahman, Humayun Kabir and Matiar Rahman Shikder, were acquitted of charges.
On the plus side, the HUJI is a real terrorist organization, unlike JMB, which is more of a Taliban...
The prosecution story in brief is that the convicts were severely injured in explosion of bombs they were making in Room No 145 of Hotel Rupsha International in the city on December 24, 2003.
The Banglas seem to ignore the existence of HUJI, except when they blow themselves up.
The Ansars on-duty allegedly helped them escape from there. But the four were later arrested by police with help of local people. The Ansars were also arrested.
I'm guessing the Ansars are security guards...
Police recovered a large number of bomb-making materials and booklets on Islamic militancy from the hotel room.
They kinda go together, don't they? There were probably a couple dozen Korans, as well...
SI Mohammodullah lodged FIR with Khalishpur Police Station on December 25, 2003 as complainant accusing nine persons including five Ansars. SI Masud Pervez of the same police station submitted charge-sheet to court against all the nine FIR-named accused on March 8, 2004. Statements of 12 out of 18 prosecution witnesses were recorded during trial of the case. The convicts are cadres of Harkatul-Jihad, according to sub-inspector (SI) Mohammadullah who was the first investigation officer (IO) of the case.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/11/2006 00:00 ||
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The Speedy Trial Tribunal of Sylhet Division yesterday sentenced two people to 31 and 17 years' rigorous imprisonment in two sensational arms and explosives cases. The convicts are Rajkanta Dev Barma alias Sunil Chowdhury of Srimangal and Hamir Dev Barma of Komolganj upazila of Moulvibazar district.
The cases were filed following a gunfight between criminals and a joint team of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) and Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) at a bordering village in Komolganj that left six people killed on May 27 last year. Rajkanta and Hamir Dev were arrested from the spot. The BDR and Rab raided the area suspecting that a group of Indian criminals gathered there. They seized one sub-machine gun, six grenades, four wireless sets, 134 bullets, three mobile phones and some Bangladeshi and Indian currencies from the spot. Judge Biplob Goswami sentenced Rajkanta to 31 years and Hamir Dev to 17 years in jail.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/11/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
I'm surprised they lasted to stand trial. No early morning recovery of weapons caches?
#2
The Speedy Trial Tribunal of Sylhet Division yesterday sentenced two people to 31 and 17 years' rigorous imprisonment in two sensational arms and explosives cases.
RAB in black robes?
The cases were filed following a gunfight between criminals and a joint team of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) and Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) at a bordering village in Komolganj that left six people killed on May 27 last year. Rajkanta and Hamir Dev were arrested from the spot. The BDR and Rab raided the area suspecting that a group of Indian criminals gathered there.
Must be a greenhorn RAB unit: they made the mistake of searching the area AT THE TIME OF ARREST, instead of waiting until 0200 hours.
A militant, known to be the ideologist of the "Shariat" extremist group, was killed in a sweep operation in Dagestan on Monday morning, the Interfax news agency reported. The agency quoted Dagestan's Interior Ministry as saying another leader of the same group managed to escape. The Ministry's press service also said that two policemen were killed and another was wounded in the operation. The sweep operation, which targeted militants who were hiding in a private house in Primorsky, was launched at 5:30 a.m. on Monday, said the agency quoting a source in the Dagestani Interior Ministry.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/11/2006 00:00 ||
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In Europe, Big Brother is listening -- and being allowed to hear more and more.
Since the September 11 attacks and the terrorist bombings that followed in Madrid and London, authorities across the Continent are getting more powers to electronically eavesdrop, and meeting less public opposition than President Bush has over his post-September 11 wiretapping program.
As part of a package of European Union anti-terrorism measures, the European Parliament in December approved legislation requiring telecommunications companies to retain phone data and Internet logs for a minimum of six months in case they are needed for criminal investigations.
In Italy, which experts agree is the most wiretapped Western democracy, a report to parliament in January by Justice Minister Roberto Castelli said the number of authorized wiretaps more than tripled from 32,000 in 2001 to 106,000 last year.
Italy passed a terrorism law after the July 7 subway bombings in London that opened the way for intelligence agencies to eavesdrop if an attack is feared to be imminent. Only approval from a prosecutor -- not a judge -- is required, but the material gleaned cannot be used as evidence in court.
Similar laws have been approved in France and the Netherlands or proposed elsewhere in Europe, prompting some complaints that the terrorist threat is giving authorities a pretext to abuse powers.
"There is clearly a legitimate role for surveillance. It's a question of what the safeguards are," said Ben Ward, associate director of the European and Asian division of Human Rights Watch.
The use of hidden microphones in criminal investigations is routine in Italy, but a Swedish government proposal to permit such taps has drawn sharp opposition from civil-liberties advocates.
Posted by: Captain America ||
04/11/2006 10:56 ||
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#1
Is Russ Feingold going to introduce a resolution censuring the enlightened, tolerant Europeans?
Posted by: Mike ||
04/11/2006 12:32 Comments ||
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Madrid, 11 April (AKI) - A Spanish judge on Tuesday indicted 29 suspects in connection with the deadly al-Qaeda-linked train bombings in Madrid two years ago that killed 191 people and wounded 1,741 in a series of blasts on morning rush-hour commuter trains. One of the alleged ringleaders of the attacks, Jamal Zougam, was among those charged, by judge Juan Del Olomo, Spain's National Court announced. No-one has yet stood trial for the Madrid blasts - the deadliest terrror attacks in Western Europe since the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, that killed 270 people in 1988.
The number of individuals indicted is far fewer than the 116 suspects who faced preliminary charges, and no trial is expected for months. The slow-pace of the judicial process has sparked criticism as unless the investigation is stepped up, some of the 25 defendants currently detained - 24 in Spanish jails and one Egyptian in the northern Italian city of Milan - might have to be released from custody before any trial ends.
The attacks are believed to have been carried out by three al-Qaeda linked groups, made up largely of Moroccans. The three groups were allegedly augmented by other individuals linked to an al-Qaeda cell broken up in Spain in 2001. These groups were reportedly linked to a radical strain of Islam espoused by the North African Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group (GICM). The militants appear to have carried out the bombings on behalf of al-Qaeda in revenge for the presence of Spanish troops in Iraq, Del Olmo wrote in December 2004. In the same document he detailed a series of radical Isalmic cells that that had formed in Spain and advocated carrying out Jihad - or holy war - on European soil.
More than 80 people have so far been questioned by investigators, 200 DNA tests have been carried out, and more than 50,000 phone-conversations tapped in the course of an investigation that has so far run to thousands of pages. Seven key bombing suspects are dead. They blew themselves up three weeks after the Madrid bombings, as police closed in on their hideout in a southern Madrid suburb. A police special operations officer was killed and 18 police officers were injured in the blast.
Victims are angry that Del Olmo has so far only called some 10 of those caught up in the bombings to testify.The Spanish government has granted more than 900 residency cards to immigrants who were victims or to their family members, the interior ministery said. The government has paid more than 70 million dollars in compensation to victims and their relatives.
Posted by: Steve ||
04/11/2006 08:42 ||
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Turkish security personnel found on Monday a time bomb placed on a bus used for transportation of judges and arbitrators who work in the district of Bay Oglu in this city, Anatolia news agency reported. It quoted security sources as saying that the driver, after dropping the judges at their work places, found the bomb concealed in a bag and hidden behind his seat.
"Hmmm... What's this baggy behind the seat?"
The bomb was attached to wires and a battery. The driver, who reported to the police, was questioned.
"Hey! That's my seat they left it behind!"
The tourist city last week witnessed a bomb blast that damaged an identical bus and wounded six of its occupants. Authorities blame Kurdish activists for many such attacks in the country. Southeastern Turkey has recently witnessed violent confrontations between the Turkish government troops and activists of the PKK, an outlawed Kurdish group that advocates independence from the Turkish mainland.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/11/2006 00:00 ||
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This seems more likely to be an inta-Sunni attack to me, as the Salafis cannot stand anyone celebrating the birthday of Mohammed.
A suicide bomber blew himself up in the Pakistani city of Karachi as Sunni Muslims celebrated the birth of the Prophet Mohammed, killing at least 47 people including several religious party leaders, officials said. The attacker climbed onto a wooden stage in a public park as a crowd of around 50,000 offered sunset prayers, then approached the religious leaders and detonated explosives strapped to his body, police said. Angry mobs waving black flags rampaged through the streets after the blast, burning motorcycles, cars, a bus and a fire engine, and police fired tear gas and live rounds in the air to disperse them, witnesses said.
"At least 47 people have died in this incident," Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao said. He told state television that around 100 injured people had been rushed to hospital. The blast yesterday scattered body parts and corpses dressed in white ceremonial outfits across Karachi's historic Nishtar Park, while dazed and bloodstained worshippers wandered through the smoke. Amid piercing screams and wails of grief, men wearing green turbans dragged the dead and the most seriously injured to ambulances. Green Turbans are the uniform of the Sunni Tehrik, a Brehvli Sunni group that has been in a turf war with the MQM for the past couple years, but suicide bombing isn't the MQM's style. The Sunni Tehrik has also had clashes with Deobandi groups over control of Mosques and the donations that go to them. I'm not aware of any serious disputes between the Brehvlis and the Shias.
"I was near the back of the stage when I heard a huge explosion and something hit my head," said 40-year-old worshipper Mohammed Osman. "When I woke up there were pieces of flesh everywhere." "It was a suicide bombing," said Karachi police chief Niaz Siddiqi, adding that the man was wearing the same robes as the Sunni followers. "The suicide bomber got onto the stage and as they were praying he exploded himself. We took extra security measures but since he was part of the group on the stage it was very difficult to prevent." The influential chief of Pakistan's relatively moderate Sunni Tehreek religious party, Abbas Qadri, died in the blast, party official Abdul Rafey said. Qadri, 45, was a firebrand speaker who had a massive following in volatile Karachi and had survived several attempts on his life in the past. The party's deputy chief Akram Qadri and spokesman Iftikhar Bhatti also died in the blast, along with the leaders of two other moderate Sunni factions: Hafiz Mohammed Taqi and Hanif Billo. "Since he was on the stage he was there for a specific purpose, and most of the leadership were on stage," police chief Siddiqi said.
After the blast religious leaders called from the remains of the stage for volunteers to go to hospital and donate blood. Witnesses said the massive blast also triggered panic and a mob of up to 5,000 people fought running battles with riot police, which continued hours after the explosion. Some of the faithful also surrounded local hospitals, where they chanted and waved their fists in the air as bodies covered in bloodstained white sheets were stretchered inside, television footage showed. Military ruler President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz strongly condemned the "heinous act" and ordered security to be stepped up at mosques, a government statement said.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
04/11/2006 19:42 ||
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A bomb exploded during evening prayer Tuesday at a public park in southern Pakistan, injuring dozens of people, a witness said. The bomb went off at Nishtar Park in Karachi, the capital of southern Sindh province, when hundreds of people were praying after celebrating the anniversary of the birth of Islam's Prophet Muhammad, said witness Mohammed Asif.
"I saw dozens of people being taken to hospital in ambulances," he said.
Posted by: Steve ||
04/11/2006 10:59 ||
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#1
From AP: A bomb exploded during evening prayers at a park in this southern Pakistani city on Tuesday, killing at least 32 people and wounding dozens of others, witnesses and a doctor said. The bomb went off near a stage as hundreds of people conducted a prayer service after celebrating the anniversary of the birth of Islam's Prophet Muhammad, said witness Mohammed Asif.
These were Sunni Muslims.
Posted by: ed ||
04/11/2006 11:20 Comments ||
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Tribal Taliban offered to enter into negotiations with the government for peace in the tribal areas as thousands attended a jirga in Mir Ali, the second biggest town in North Waziristan, on Monday.
And the terms of surrender are:
Troops should leave Waziristan, all arrested people should be released, wanted men be given amnesty, military operations be halted and innocent people should no longer be killed or their homes demolished and the ban on display of weapons be lifted, were some of the key Taliban demands read out from a letter by clerics at the jirga, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) general-secretary Maulana Abdur Rehman told Daily Times by phone.
"Prisoners will then be released and heads reattached. Officers will be permitted to keep their scimitars and sidearms."
NWFP Chief Minister Akram Durrani and National Assembly Opposition Leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman were named as would-be key witnesses to the peace agreement. But the Taliban made it clear that the withdrawal of troops was the key demand if the government was interested in peace in North Waziristan.
"Otherwise, we'll demand unconditional surrender and you won't be allowed to keep your scimitars!"
He said that the armys presence had contributed to anarchy and lawlessness in Waziristan and the whole Utmanzai tribe at the jirga agreed that a military pullout was the best course to follow.
"Yasss. It's better that you leave. We'll take it from here."
He dismissed government claims that the army has been deployed in the area to fight foreign militants. There are no foreigners here, he said. Here are those people who were earlier granted licences by the government, he added, but did not elaborate.
That'd be the foreigners, of course, but once you've got a license you're not a foreigner anymore, and it's good forever...
He said the Utmanzai tribe hoped the army would respond positively to the demand for surrender its withdrawal from major towns, leaving it to guard only the border. Let the paramilitary force and tribal police ensure law and order in all towns of Waziristan, he said.
"Let a million poppies bloom!"
A tribal elder who attended the jirga said the clerics dominated the meeting. Mostly the clerics spoke and tribal elders were either not allowed to speak or deliberately kept silent, he told Daily Times on condition of anonymity.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/11/2006 00:00 ||
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#2
I would suggest the Musarif accept terms and fall back into Pakland proper then also accept US treaty to allow the US forces to move forward to new temporary Pakland border at Pakland Proper temporarily of course.
Once US forces are done killing all they wish and feel their work is done then Pakland military will renegotiate surrender of what is left of the tribes.
#3
Can we lend the Paks MOABs without them falling into the wrong hands?
Posted by: Howard UK ||
04/11/2006 4:42 Comments ||
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#4
I'm not sure, is the Taliban accepting Pakistan's surrender ?
We will surrender eff you give us all our weapons back and badges, we want badges.
And wimen ! Give us de wimen.
#8
Might I suggest that we treat this offer the way the British paras did in my favorite scene from A Bridge Too Far:
Major Harry Carlyle: [an SS officer is approaching under a flag of truce] Rather interesting development, sir.
Major Harry Carlyle: [to the German] That's far enough!
Major Harry Carlyle: We can hear you from there!
SS Panzer Officer: My general says there is no point in continuing this fighting! He wishes to discuss terms of a surrender!
Major Harry Carlyle: Shall I answer him, sir?
Lt. Col. John Frost: Tell him to go to hell.
Major Harry Carlyle: We haven't the proper facilities to take you all prisoner! Sorry!
SS Panzer Officer: [German officer looks confused] What?
Major Harry Carlyle: We'd like to, but we can't accept your surrender! Was there anything else?
Lt. Col. John Frost: [German officer walks off] Well; that's that.
Posted by: Mike ||
04/11/2006 15:30 Comments ||
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#10
It's time to dust off the old Rolling Thunder plans from Vietnam and implement them in North Waziristan. When 10 foot of top soil is overturned you tend to change your perspective on surrender.
At least two people were killed and 20 injured when a powerful bomb exploded in a barber shop in Kohlu, some 300 kilometres east of Quetta, on Monday morning. A bakery and an adjacent flat were completely destroyed, said Akbar Marri, the district administrative officer. He said that a levies constable was killed on the spot and another man died on the way to hospital. Marri said that seven suspects had been arrested, including a man who was seen running from the spot after the incident.
Meanwhile, the Frontier Corps seized heavy weapons from a town located near Loralai district some 130 km northeast of Quetta. About 300 missiles, rockets, mortars and other weapons were seized and three suspects arrested from the spot. Also, a Frontier Corp's vehicle struck a remote-controlled explosives device in Mand injuring three soldiers. Locals said that at least five men were injured. Three were admitted in the hospital and two were discharged later.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/11/2006 00:00 ||
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Justice Amir Hani Muslim, an anti-terrorism court judge, remanded another of Akhtar Mengal's servants to police custody on charges of kidnapping two army officials and keeping them in illegal confinement. Ghulam Qadir, arrested on Saturday, could not be produced before court because of the holiday on Sunday. Three other servants of Akhtar Mengal, the Balochistan National Party chief, were remanded to police custody on the same charges on Friday. After going through the remand report, Justice Amir Hani gave accused Ghulam Qadir in police custody on physical remand till April 14.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/11/2006 00:00 ||
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London, Apr. 11 Iraqi military forces recently discovered an Iranian-make weapons cache hidden in the city of Tikrit, north-west of Baghdad. The weapons, which were all new and of Iranian origin, were found hidden in a large well in the west of Tikrit, according to an Iraqi army officer whose comments were reported by Iraqi media.
The United States and Iraqi officials have accused Irans radical Islamic government of sending agents and arms into Iraq to assist the insurgency.
Posted by: Steve ||
04/11/2006 10:48 ||
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Musta had a shipment sent to the wrong place? Or maybe a shipment of cargo fell out of an air freighter by mistake?
Posted by: Captain America ||
04/11/2006 11:06 Comments ||
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An Iraqi Lieutenant was injured in Kirkuk Sunday while trying to liberate a hostage from his kidnappers, a police source said. The source told KUNA unknown gumnen kidnapped an Iraqi civilian from the industrial neighborhood in Kirkuk. But during clashes with the police force, he added, Lieutenant Idriss Mahmoud was injured and was taken to hospital. The kidnappers managed to escaped the scene, said the source.
Meanwhile, a force from the Iraqi and coalition troops arrested 10 suspected terrorists near Kirkuk in Northern Iraq. A source at the emergency police told KUNA one of the arrestees was a leader of a terrorist cell called the "Islamic Army."
In Nasiriya in Southern Iraq, the Iraqi forces captured scores of former baathists and foreigners suspected of committing terrorist actions. The apprehension campaign was based on intelligence information about the whereabouts of the suspected terrorists, whose number is unknown.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/11/2006 00:00 ||
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Armed insurgents and government forces on Monday engaged in fierce fighting in the town of Fallouja west of the Iraqi capital killing at least 10 people, a source of the interior ministry said. At least 60 people were wounded in the five-hour battle that ended at sundown, the source told KUNA.
Hospital sources in Fallouja said 10 Iraqis including six army soldiers were killed in the clashes, and witnesses said policemen were seen involved in evacuation of casualties from the scenes of the fighting. Situation in the town turned calm after the gunmen withdrew, he said, adding that the fighting broke out when the armed men attacked an American Army patrol, inflicting casualties and knocking out one vehicle.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/11/2006 00:00 ||
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JERUSALEM - Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni warned on Tuesday that Israel would keep up its bombardment of Gaza for as long as Palestinians fire rockets, despite the death of a young girl in the latest shelling. The role of the Israeli army is to defend Israeli civilians, combat terrorism and prevent rocket attacks, Livni told public radio. As long as Palestinians fire at residential area, the army must reply.
Her comments came after an eight-year-old Palestinian girl was killed and 12 other people wounded Monday when an Israeli shell struck a house in the Beit Lahiya region of the northern Gaza Strip. A seven-year-old boy was also killed in an Israeli air strike on Friday night while accompanying his father, a local leader of the Popular Resistance Committees, at a militant training base.
Livni said she regretted the deaths of civilians but that it was an inevitable consequence of the fact that militants operated out of residential areas. Israel withdrew all its ground troops from the Gaza Strip last September and its bombardments of the territory have either been carried out from the air or by tank shelling from across the border.
If the army could locate the terrorists one by one, it would do so. This is what we have tried to do for a long time, said Livni. But when the terrorists hide themselves in residential areas, the consequences can be terrible and cost the lives of innocent people, said the foreign minister. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to make a distinction (between militants and civilians) in these residential areas.
Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert also voiced his regret over civilian deaths at Sundays cabinet meeting while pledging there would be no let-up in the militarys activity as long as the rocket attacks continued. One thing must be clear -- whoever fires Qassam rockets, whoever is engaged in terrorist activity, is a legitimate target and will be dealt with, without hesitation, by the security forces, Olmert told ministers.
Posted by: Steve ||
04/11/2006 09:00 ||
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It's because the rocket-launchers are operating in violation of the Geneva Conventions.
Israeli occupation troops have barred the Palestinian police commander Alaa Hosni from heading to the west Bank. Palestinian police sources who requested anonymity told KUNA the Israeli authorities refused to grant a permission for Hosni to cross the Erez checkpoint. Israeli authorities said Palestinian police headed by Hosni is officially linked to the interior ministry, which is controlled by the Islamic Resistance Movement of Hamas, said the sources, adding that the Israeli decision applies to all Palestinian security officials.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/11/2006 00:00 ||
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"Sorry, no terrorists allowed."
"But I'm a PA OFFICIAL!"
"Official, unofficial - who cares? Chuck you, Farley."
Philippine troops clashed with Muslim militants in a southern city Tuesday, killing two guerrillas, including a local Abu Sayyaf commander suspected in a 2002 bombing that left a U.S. soldier dead, the army said. The firefight broke out east of Zamboanga, a city 530 miles south of Manila, after a military intelligence unit confronted a group of guerrillas led by Amilhamja Ajijul, army Col. Edgardo Gidaya said. Ajijul and another militant were wounded and later died in the hospital, he said. There were no reports of government casualties.
Excellent
Ajijul was allegedly involved in a series of bombings in Zamboanga, including a 2002 attack that killed two Filipinos and a U.S. soldier at a cafe, near where U.S. troops are stationed to provide counterterrorism training to Philippine soldiers.Gidaya said four other suspects were arrested and interrogated, and soldiers recovered two .45-caliber handguns, a machete, cell phones and documents.
Posted by: Steve ||
04/11/2006 14:46 ||
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#1
I thought it might have been Commander Ziplock...
JAKARTA -Imam Samudra, one of three people on death row for their key roles in the 2002 Bali bombings, will be executed as soon as possible after his family refused to seek presidential clemency, an Indonesian judicial official said on Tuesday. The results of checks by teams from the prosecutor office and the Denpasar state district court are that the family of Imam Samudra will not seek presidential clemency, said Masyudi Ridwan, spokesman for the Attorney Generals Office.
Under Indonesian law the family of a convict sentenced to death has the right to seek clemency from the president should the convict himself refuse to do so.
Samudra, 35, has said he will not seek a pardon or a case review.
The October 2002 attacks on Bali nightspots by the Al Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah terror network killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists, in the worst terrorist attack since September 11, 2001, in the United States. Samudxra had attended planning meetings, selected the targets and assigned tasks to the bombers as part of what he saw as a holy war against the United States and its allies.
The families of brothers Amrozi and Ali Ghufron, alias Mukhlas, are also being asked if they wish to seek mercy. If the families of all three people are not seeking clemency, it means that all legal recourses have been taken and the prosecutors office will as soon as possible hold the executions, Ridwan said.
He said that even though Samudra has no other avenue to avoid execution, his office would wait for the replies from the families of the two other before planning the executions. These are carried out by police firing squads.
Might as well do all three together
Two other Bali bombers are serving live sentences while around 25 are serving shorter jail terms.
Samudra said from his death row cell last August that he did not need mercy. I believe I will die on the right path, he said. I dont need mercy in this world because God has forgiven me.
Say hello to Hitler, A-hole
Posted by: Steve ||
04/11/2006 09:03 ||
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COLOMBO - A mine exploded in northern Sri Lanka on Monday, killing five soldiers and two relief workers, the military said, as foreign ambassadors urged Tamil Tiger rebels to seek a peaceful settlement to the countrys two-decade conflict.
The soldiers were moving in a van when the Claymore mine exploded, killing four, military spokesman Brig. Prasad Samarasinghe said, adding that two other soldiers were also wounded. One of the wounded later died. Two Sri Lankan relief workers who were in another vehicle coming from the opposite direction were also killed, he said.
Samarasinghe said the attack was carried out by suspected Tamil Tiger rebels. The Tigers are known for using Claymore mines that can be detonated by remote control and which fire hundreds of steel balls propelled by plastic explosives.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/11/2006 00:00 ||
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Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad confirmed Tuesday that his country has successfully produced low-grade enriched uranium at a level sufficient to power nuclear plants.
"I officially announce that Iran has joined countries with nuclear technology," Ahmadinejad said.
He stressed that Iran's nuclear efforts were for peaceful efforts and that no country should stand in its way.
"Our nation is a peaceful nation," Ahmadinejad said.
The enrichment took place Sunday, the president said, adding that "our nuclear activities have been under complete supervision, unprecedented supervisions" by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
"And today we are interested in operating under IAEA supervision," he said.
IAEA inspectors are at a facility in Natanz, but it is unclear whether they witnessed the enrichment process.
Earlier Tuesday, Gholamreza Aghazadeh, head of Iran's atomic energy agency, said that the Natanz facility had enriched uranium at 3.5 percent -- a low-grade level sufficient to run a power plant but not pure enough for weapons.
The U.N. Security Council has demanded that Iran cease its enrichment activities, but Tehran says that the country has a right to produce nuclear fuel for peaceful purposes.
The West, led by the United States, believes that Iran plans to build nuclear weapons.
Earlier, former President Hashemi Rafsanjani told the Kuwait News Agency that Iran's enrichment facility had successfully enriched uranium using a cascade of 164 centrifuges. Last month, Iran said it was producing enriched uranium from a cascade of 20 centrifuges.
Thousands of the devices must operate in a series of cascades to yield enough highly enriched uranium needed for a nuclear bomb.
After Rafsanjani's announcement, White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters that Iran should be taking steps to renew confidence in its nuclear intentions, instead of moving in the "wrong direction."
Iran's new statements would only result in further isolation, and the United States will have to consult with its allies on what the next step in the diplomatic standoff would be, McClellan said.
Talks between Iran and Britain, France and Germany stalled in January when Iran began small-scale uranium enrichment and ended its voluntary cooperation with the IAEA, which had been conducting surprise inspections.
IAEA Director-General Mohammed ElBaradei plans to visit Iran this week. Rafsanjani said ElBaradei would face "new circumstances" when he arrives but did not elaborate.
Rafsanjani said that the attention given by the West had made Iran's nuclear program "extremely complicated," adding that "Iran is very serious about defending its legal rights."
#1
They enriched the uranium.
They Prayed to it and sang it a song, and held it up with a heroic stance.
I believe they intend to enshrine the uranium.
But they are not idol worshippers.
IRAN'S hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared tonight the Islamic republic will "soon join the club of countries that have nuclear technology", state television reported.
The announcement came 15 days before the expiry of a UN Security Council deadline for Iran to slam the brakes on its uranium enrichment programme - the focus of fears the Islamic regime could acquire nuclear weapons.
"Iran will soon join the club of countries that have nuclear technology," the president was quoted as saying in a speech in the northeast of the country.
"The equation will change in favour of the Iranian people," Mr Ahmadinejad said.
Mr Ahmadinejad has also told the country to expect "good news" later today about the nuclear drive, amid reports the country has made key progress in uranium enrichment to make reactor fuel.
Enrichment is the process used to manufacture fuel for civil nuclear power stations but can be also be extended to manufacture the fissile core of an atomic bomb.
On March 29, the UN Security Council called on Iran to suspend uranium enrichment to provide a watertight guarantee that its nuclear programme is peaceful, with International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei asked to report on Iranian compliance after 30 days.
Iran categorically rejects charges that it is seeking atomic weapons and has so far rejected the ultimatum.
And in an interview with the Kuwait news agency KUNA, influential former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said a cascade of centrifuges - devices that spin at supersonic speeds to enrich uranium - had been operated at a facility in Natanz.
"We operated the first unit which comprises 164 centrifuges, gas was injected, and we got the industrial output," Rafsanjani was quoted as saying.
"We must expand the operation of these devices in order to become a full industrial unit, as we still need dozens of such units to become a plant for uranium enrichment," he said.
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/11/2006 16:50 Comments ||
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#9
Since there have reports that Iran already bought or acquired nuclear devices after the fall of the Shah, and intensified such after the implosion of the USSR, vv the Russian Mafias and black markets, methinks this article should be properly re-titled "IRAN SOON TO JOIN SUPERPOWER CLUB".
Former Iranian President Hashemi Rafsanjani said Tuesday that Iran has enriched uranium using 164 centrifuges, a major development in nuclear fuel cycle technology, news agencies reported. Rafsanjani made the comment to the Kuwait News Agency during an interview in Tehran.
Iran has put into operation the first unit of 164 centrifuges, has injected (uranium gas) and reached industrial production," the Kuwait News Agency quoted Rafsanjani as saying. Iranian authorities had promised to announce "good nuclear news" on Tuesday.
Additional: KUWAIT (Reuters) - Iran is producing enriched uranium from 164 centrifuges, influential former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani told Kuwait's KUNA news agency on Tuesday. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said he would announce "good news" about Iran's atomic program later on Tuesday. Media speculated he would announce the production of low-grade enriched uranium suitable for running atomic power stations. The announcement is likely to anger the West and the United Nations, which have demanded that the Islamic Republic halt its atomic work.
"We operated the first unit which comprises of 164 centrifuges, gas was injected, and we got the industrial output," Rafsanjani said in an interview.
"There needs to be an expansion of operations if we are to have a complete industrial unit; tens of units are required to set up a uranium enrichment plant," he added.
The West fears Iran could be using its power station program as a smokescreen for building atomic bombs, a charge Tehran denies. The International Atomic Energy Agency said in March Iran had started testing 20 centrifuges. Gholamreza Aghazadeh, head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, said in February Iran had started work on uranium fuel but only using a few centrifuges. He said then Iran was months away from operating a full cascade.
Each chain contains 164 centrifuges. Such cascades refine uranium gas into fuel for power stations, or if highly enriched, for bombs. Around 1,500 centrifuges running optimally for a year could yield enough material for a bomb, experts say.
Posted by: Steve ||
04/11/2006 11:37 ||
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#1
I smell cordite coming
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/11/2006 11:44 Comments ||
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RIYADH - Saudi Arabia, fearing that US military action against Iran would wreak further havoc in the region, has asked Russia to block any bid by Washington to secure UN cover for an attack, a Russian diplomat said on Tuesday. During a visit to Moscow last week, the head of the Saudi National Security Council urged Russia to strive to prevent the adoption of a UN Security Council resolution which the United States could use as justification to launch a military assault to knock out Irans nuclear facilities, the diplomat told AFP in Riyadh on condition of anonymity.
Prince Bandar bin Sultan, a former longtime ambassador to the United States who is often tasked with delicate missions, met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow on April 4. Saudi officials did not give details about the meeting. The Russian diplomat said the talks focused on the row over Irans nuclear program but did not make clear what Moscows response was to the call for restraining the United States.
Several recent reports in the US media raised the possibility that the administration of US President George W. Bush was considering US air strikes against Irans nuclear sites. Bush described the reports as wild speculation and said Washington wanted to settle the long-running nuclear standoff between Teheran and the West through diplomacy. The United States believes Iran is secretly trying to build atomic weapons under cover of a nuclear energy program, allegations Iran has consistently denied.
A Gulf diplomat, who also requested anonymity, said Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries were worried about the possibility of US military action against Iran at a time when Iraq is engulfed in what is increasingly turning into civil war.
Gulf Arab states fear the fallout of a US-Iran conflict on the oil-rich region, which has seen three wars since 1980, most recently the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, the diplomat said.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal said last week that Riyadh believes Teherans assertions about its nuclear activities. That is why we dont see a danger in Iran acquiring knowledge about nuclear energy provided it does not lead to (nuclear) proliferation. Of course, we believe proliferation is a threat, he said. Saud also played down Irans recent war games during which it tested new weapons, saying the exercises did not pose a threat to Teherans Gulf neighbours. He also said he would visit Iran soon but did not give a specific date.
Bandar earlier visited China, another permanent UN Security Council member with veto power, a trip diplomats in Riyadh believe was also linked to the standoff over Irans nuclear activities.
Posted by: Steve ||
04/11/2006 08:45 ||
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#1
I have to ask: Is this Muslim First or Marx Bros?
I must've gotten up too soon, obviously this nightmare's unfinished.
#3
Several recent reports in the US media raised the possibility that the administration of US President George W. Bush was considering US air strikes against Irans nuclear sites. Bush described the reports as wild speculation and said Washington wanted to settle the long-running nuclear standoff between Teheran and the West through diplomacy.
f*ck*ss writer: it was the use of nuclear weapons to bomb the sites that Bushlabelled "wild speculation". Military operations against Iran were always on the table and never were removed.
#4
"...a UN Security Council resolution which the United States could use as justification..."
Saudi logic never ceases to amaze me. Seems to me that a UNSC resolution would be an attempt at a diplomatic solution. Pipe dreams perhaps but an attempt non-the less. So what am I supposed to take away here? The Saudis believe the Iranians will not only refuse to respect a UN resolution but they will cause trouble as a result. And depending on what form the retaliation takes, the US would most assuredly respond in kind. Look, the US would not be using the resolution as justification but simply countering Iranian belligerence and aggression. Maybe the Saudis should be focusing their efforts urging Iran to behave in the event a resolution does come to fruition. Or maybe abandon their nuclear aspirations all together and avoid incineration. Just a thought.
#6
The home base of the religion of pus must be freaking out at the prospect not getting nukes from their brothers in crime in Iran.
A hint to the President, if you are going to drop a bunker buster on Iran, let a couple go Bosnian wild into the Kaaba. Just be sure to paint, "9-11" on the side of the missles.
#8
Looks like the Saudis are demanding to be dominated or controlled by IRAN and the future revived Persian Empires - like good Clintonian God-based Lefties, they demand to be enslaved iff not destroyed.
Lebanon denied a report Monday that nine had been arrested in a plot to kill Hizbollah chief Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, but confirmed the men had been detained for planning an attack against the state.
The plans of the arrested did not include the assassination of Nasrallah, a judiciary official said, on condition of anonymity.
"It was... ummm... somebody else."
He dismissed the report in the As-Safir daily as exaggerated and said the suspects were being hauled before a military court for trying to carry out an attack against the authority of the state and for possessing weapons. He added the group was planning its actions in the case of instability in Lebanon.
In its article, As-Safir cited security sources who said that the assassination of the head of the armed Shiite party was planned for April 28 when Nasrallah was due to attend Lebanon's ongoing national dialogue. Lebanon's military intelligence service broke the network last week, it added. The group had been tracking Nasrallah's movements for March and April and had put in place a thorough plan to assassinate Nasrallah during the next meeting of the national dialogue. The attack would have been involved firing anti-tank rockets at the Hizbollah chief's vehicle convoy as Nasrallah made his way to the talks.
Not the usual car bomb, huh?
Five of the suspects were relatives and weapons ranging from guided-missiles, rocket-propelled grenades, assault rifles and silencers were found on the men when they were picked up at their homes and at work.
The national dialogue, bringing together factions across Lebanon's political spectrum, started meeting in March with the aim of healing national divisions and tackling sensitive issues like the continued existence of Hizbollah's armed wing. Hizbollah had no comment on the newspaper report. The security sources told As-Safir the group had a sophisticated structured and had received advanced training in weapons handling. The paper gave no information about the cell's affiliation or motivations.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/11/2006 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.
Unidentified gunmen killed five Afghan health workers at a remote clinic in the northwestern province of Badghis, Reuters reported on Monday. 
Khulna: Four alleged cadres of Islamist outfit 
The Speedy Trial Tribunal of Sylhet Division yesterday sentenced two people to 31 and 17 years' rigorous imprisonment in two sensational arms and explosives cases. The convicts are Rajkanta Dev Barma alias Sunil Chowdhury of Srimangal and Hamir Dev Barma of Komolganj upazila of Moulvibazar district.
A militant, known to be the ideologist of the "Shariat" extremist group, was killed in a sweep operation in Dagestan on Monday morning, the Interfax news agency reported. The agency quoted Dagestan's Interior Ministry as saying another leader of the same group managed to escape. The Ministry's press service also said that two policemen were killed and another was wounded in the operation. The sweep operation, which targeted militants who were hiding in a private house in Primorsky, was launched at 5:30 a.m. on Monday, said the agency quoting a source in the Dagestani Interior Ministry.
Turkish security personnel found on Monday a time bomb placed on a bus used for transportation of judges and arbitrators who work in the district of Bay Oglu in this city, Anatolia news agency reported. It quoted security sources as saying that the driver, after dropping the judges at their work places, found the bomb concealed in a bag and hidden behind his seat. 
Tribal Taliban offered to enter into negotiations with the government for peace in the tribal areas as thousands attended a jirga in Mir Ali, the second biggest town in 
At least two people were killed and 20 injured when a powerful bomb exploded in a barber shop in Kohlu, some 300 kilometres east of Quetta, on Monday morning. A bakery and an adjacent flat were completely destroyed, said Akbar Marri, the district administrative officer. He said that a levies constable was killed on the spot and another man died on the way to hospital. Marri said that seven suspects had been arrested, including a man who was seen running from the spot after the incident. 
Justice Amir Hani Muslim, an anti-terrorism court judge, remanded another of Akhtar Mengal's servants to police custody on charges of kidnapping two army officials and keeping them in illegal confinement. Ghulam Qadir, arrested on Saturday, could not be produced before court because of the holiday on Sunday. Three other servants of Akhtar Mengal, the Balochistan National Party chief, were remanded to police custody on the same charges on Friday. After going through the remand report, Justice Amir Hani gave accused Ghulam Qadir in police custody on physical remand till April 14.
An Iraqi Lieutenant was injured in Kirkuk Sunday while trying to liberate a hostage from his kidnappers, a police source said. The source told KUNA unknown gumnen kidnapped an Iraqi civilian from the industrial neighborhood in Kirkuk. But during clashes with the police force, he added, Lieutenant Idriss Mahmoud was injured and was taken to hospital. The kidnappers managed to escaped the scene, said the source.
Armed insurgents and government forces on Monday engaged in fierce fighting in the town of Fallouja west of the Iraqi capital killing at least 10 people, a source of the interior ministry said. At least 60 people were wounded in the five-hour battle that ended at sundown, the source told KUNA. 
JERUSALEM - Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni warned on Tuesday that Israel would keep up its bombardment of Gaza for as long as Palestinians fire rockets, despite the death of a young girl in the latest shelling. The role of the Israeli army is to defend Israeli civilians, combat terrorism and prevent rocket attacks, Livni told public radio. As long as Palestinians fire at residential area, the army must reply.
Israeli occupation troops have barred the Palestinian police commander Alaa Hosni from heading to the west Bank. Palestinian police sources who requested anonymity told KUNA the Israeli authorities refused to grant a permission for Hosni to cross the Erez checkpoint. Israeli authorities said Palestinian police headed by Hosni is officially linked to the interior ministry, which is controlled by the Islamic Resistance Movement of Hamas, said the sources, adding that the Israeli decision applies to all Palestinian security officials.
Philippine troops clashed with Muslim militants in a southern city Tuesday, killing two guerrillas, including a local Abu Sayyaf commander suspected in a 2002 bombing that left a U.S. soldier dead, the army said. The firefight broke out east of Zamboanga, a city 530 miles south of Manila, after a military intelligence unit confronted a group of guerrillas led by Amilhamja Ajijul, army Col. Edgardo Gidaya said. Ajijul and another militant were wounded and later died in the hospital, he said. There were no reports of government casualties. 
JAKARTA -Imam Samudra, one of three people on death row for their key roles in the 2002 Bali bombings, will be executed as soon as possible after his family refused to seek presidential clemency, an Indonesian judicial official said on Tuesday. The results of checks by teams from the prosecutor office and the Denpasar state district court are that the family of Imam Samudra will not seek presidential clemency, said Masyudi Ridwan, spokesman for the Attorney Generals Office.
COLOMBO - A mine exploded in northern Sri Lanka on Monday, killing five soldiers and two relief workers, the military said, as foreign ambassadors urged Tamil Tiger rebels to seek a peaceful settlement to the countrys two-decade conflict.
Lebanon denied a report Monday that nine had been arrested in a plot to kill 
