Awwww. Cry me a f'in river Their craven and cowardly leaders slipped out of this capital under the cover of darkness. The best jobs are gone. Their former offices were the first to be looted in a spasm of vandalism last week by angry young men. Monday, Somali Prime Minister Ali Mohammed Gedi renewed his offer of amnesty to mid-level officials and fighters of Somalia's now-defunct Council of Islamic Courts who lay down their weapons. He also issued a three-day deadline for everyone in Mogadishu to turn in their guns.
But for the Islamists left behind in Somalia's long-troubled capital, the ordeal is not over. While top Islamist officials escaped south toward Kenya last week, thousands of employees, fighters and other court supporters remain trapped in Mogadishu, struggling to comprehend the new reality.
In hiding
Once part of the city's new elite bunch of thugs, many have gone into hiding, fearful about retribution or worried that enemies might finger them as Islamist court collaborators to Somali soldiers, Ethiopian troops allied with the 2-year-old transitional government or the warlord militias reasserting control in the city.
Monday, weary Mogadishu residents tried to return to normalcy after a week of turmoil and a three-day Eid al-Adha holiday. Shops and offices reopened. People ventured out on the streets. Only a handful of soldiers were visible patrolling the congested roads or guarding government buildings. Ethiopian soldiers seen in public generally drew large crowds of Somali onlookers, who would stand together in groups and observe the soldiers from afar. Most of the city quickly has adapted to the fall of the Islamists, resuming activities once discouraged. Cinemas reopened. Children played soccer again on the beach. Vendors of khat, a leafy stimulant, resumed daily deliveries in the marketplace.
But supporters of the courts remained largely in the background. Some still defend the courts and predict resurgence of the once-powerful alliance of Islamists. But others insist they were misled and exploited by an organization that fell victim to infighting and greed. ``It was a black day for Somalia,'' said one mid-level court official, referring to when Islamist fighters abandoned Mogadishu on Thursday to advancing soldiers from Ethiopia and Somalia's transitional government. ``I'm still not sure what happened.'' He was too afraid to have his name or former position revealed.
Courts unravel
He said the courts began to split in recent weeks into two factions, one that wanted to pursue negotiations with the weak transitional government and another that was pushing for an attack on Baidoa, the temporary seat of the government. The latter group won out, only to find their fighters routed by Somali forces and more than 4,000 Ethiopian soldiers. Nevertheless, he said he had no inkling Wednesday that the movement he devoted his life to would collapse the next day. Co-workers phoned him that evening with rumors that his bosses had fled. It was not until he heard the radio the next morning that he realized the courts had disintegrated. ``I was just an employee,'' he said. ``They didn't invite us to go with them.'' "I never liked them. I only joined the Party for the social contacts."
Now he is scrambling to find another job to support his children and turning to his clan for protection. So far, he has not been threatened, but he fears it is only a matter of time. ``Right now, everyone is focused on the presence of Ethiopians,'' he said. ``That's taking the attention off the powerful Islamic courts.''
``Right now, everyone is focused on the presence of Ethiopians,'' he said. ``That's taking the attention off the Islamic courts.''
Corrupted by power
Afrah Adan Gagale, 27, a former Islamist fighter, said the court's leadership was corrupted by power and its sudden success. The courts seized Mogadishu in June after a surprising victory over U.S.-backed warlords, bringing a degree of stability to a country that had been without an effective government since 1991. ``Their ambition was high, but they had no plan,'' Gagale said. He blamed the court militia's defeat on conflicting orders from superior officers, who first called for an attack and then a retreat. Many court supporters accused top security officer Yusuf Mohammed Siyad of mishandling the standoff. It was Siyad who issued the seven-day ultimatum for Ethiopian soldiers to leave the country and later publicly welcomed Islamists from around the world to come and fight in Somalia. Such rhetoric pushed Ethiopia to attack the Islamists on Christmas Eve. ``We coulda been a contendah have stood up to the Ethiopians, but we were told to retreat,'' he said. ``It was a betrayal.''
#6
It's an LA Times reporter TW they are right up there with the NYT and AP in truthyness. I am just waiting for reports in the of Ethiopian difficulties in the south near Keyna from the harsh Somali winter.
I think it was last Saturday or Sunday, in an article posted here at RB, that noted in passing the ICU (the Taliban wannbes) and it's supporters were shaving their beards off en mass.
The reporter here, intuitively, sought out the hard boyz of just the right age, all of who looked relatively clean shaven. By that I mean, anything less than a good four - five day beard.
Call me wicked, but if I were an Ethiopian warrior over the weekend: all "relatively" clean shaven men and hard boyz of a certain age would be rounded up, detained, and questioned - extensively - without exemption. Those without a week old beard arguabaly should be shot on sight. The Taliban pulled the same stunt in Afghanistan and were able to melt away unmolested only to return to haunt the Coalition.
Posted by: Mark Z ||
01/02/2007 15:50 Comments ||
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#11
What worries me is the possibility that these POS followers of Allan will come to the US through any number of legal and illegal means. The San Diego and Minneapolis Somali community (thanks for the first mooselimb US Congressman) are the signature of what is to come from our governments incomprehensible belief that an actual, responsible, honest government exists in Somalia and therefore some mutt that presents Somali government documents and a visa are acceptable to enter the US. Nothing good can come from letting any Somali in unless we have a real insight to their background and beliefs. I know it's tought for the idiots at the Department of State to believe, buit these people don't actually tell the truth and they have suspect motives in comuing here, especially since the Ethiopians are actually killing the Jihadi's in substantail numbers. (Lions of the Desert revealed again for the cowardly, load of crap braggarts they are.)
#13
Yeah, that's my favorite metre too. Hard to believe it was constructed from used analog widgets. I've been told that the display is the only digital part on the whole thing and that there's an emergency hex key wind-up under the biggest inspection plate on the back.
Of course, that depends on whose side you are on...
MOGADISHU, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Somalia's Islamists suffered rapid defeat against Ethiopian troops and their Somali government allies because they fought the wrong kind of war -- a conventional one, experts said on Tuesday. But their slaughter on Somalia's low bushlands and arid wastes, followed by a hasty retreat from the capital Mogadishu and later the key southern port of Kismayu, may portend the start of a guerrilla war of bombings and assassinations. That would be innovative of them.
After systematically defeating warlords in more than four months of fighting for Mogadishu, the Islamists won credit for producing one of the most disciplined military forces in Somalia since the Cold War heyday of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre. That's not just putting the bar on the ground, that's putting it in a shallow trough and paving over the darn thing.
"Taking on the Ethiopians in a conventional war, fighting these set-piece battles, was a tactical mistake for the courts," said independent Somalia analyst Matt Bryden. Wonder how much he gets paid to come up with insights like this?
The gunmen of the Somali Islamic Courts Council (SICC) chose to fight the joint Somali-Ethiopian forces, packing the support of tanks, helicopter gunships and jets, on front lines spread across flat terrain with only rudimentary cover.
"I think the Islamists were on a roll and overconfident ... No!! You don't say!
against a competent, professional military force like the Ethiopians," said a military expert and combat veteran who follows Somalia and is not authorised to speak to the press. Then why are you babbling, Top Job?
Ethiopia has demonstrated its military power in the Horn of Africa before, sending troops to attack the militant Somali group al-Itihaad al-Islaami several times from 1992 to 1998, and defeating Eritrea in a 1998-2000 border war. No independent casualty figures are available, but the government has estimated its fighters and the Ethiopians killed several thousand Islamists. That's what we call 'a good start.' (BTW- more at the link.)
#4
I'm sure the bombings and such will start up. But after the Somalis demonstrate their displeasure by wiping out entire villages for harboring terrorist thugs, I expect a steep drop-off.
Not a pretty picture, eh? Not civilized. The only thing to recommend it is that it works.
#5
After systematically defeating warlords in more than four months of fighting for Mogadishu, the Islamists won credit for producing one of the most disciplined military forces in Somalia since the Cold War heyday of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.
#7
They fought the wrong opponent, one not wracked with western guilt and fear of inflicting unnecessary casualties. The old tricks don't work when they are willing to blow up you and the family you are hiding behind rather than risk themselves.
More proof of why the US should use more and more proxies in the war on terror.
#8
You only had to read as far as the 'MOGADISHU, Jan 2 (Rooters) to know which direction this hang wringer was gonna go.
Note to independent analyst Matt: Please STFU.
thank you.
#9
This brain-dead analyst forgot one essential point of this war : the ICU was trying to set itself up as the GOVERNMENT of Somalia, with all the powers and privileges that entails. In order to do that against tribal militias and assorted gunmen in widely dispersed towns, one is forced into a near conventional light infantry/light cavalry assault force, which is what the gunnies and technicals of the ICU functioned as. So while the LI/LC model worked against the warlords for the ICU, against the Ethiopian Army it was a recipe for disaster. Also, it is VERY difficult to change military models during a war - especially one that only lasts two weeks.
So now, the ICU will revert back to hit-and-run? Big deal! That will actually play to the strengths of the TFG's militias, especially if they are specifically designed to function as Village Defense Forces, pinning down the ICU fighters until the helicopters and light armour can get there. And considering how much of the Ethiopian Air Force is likely to remain "on call" for the TFG, company-sized ICU attacks will result in massive losses for them {meaning the ICU}.
Bright boy analyst also forgot to mention just how much equipment will be left behind by the Ethiopians for the TFG - a little light armour goes a long way in this type of warfare.
#10
HHHHHMMMMMM, HHHHHHMMMMM, a mostly uneducated, lucky-to-have-any-training-at-all, Teen and Tweeney-something armed force = scattered groups, to include alleged numbers of similar aged girls; versus a mostly adult male, well-seasoned, professional modern force - OBVIOUSLY THE TWEENS WOULD'VE WON.
(SomaliNet) Shortly after the takeover of southern and central Somalia, the interim government empowered by the Ethiopian forces formed on Monday a new administration for Hiran region in central Somalia as the government is now affirming total control of Somalia.
Somalias president Abdulahi Yusuf Ahmed has nominated Hussein Mohamud as chairperson of Hiran region who will replace Yusuf Ahmed Hagar Dabageed, former administrator of the province. The president, who made the nomination in a decree he has issued today, said he had consulted with his Prime Minister Ali Gedi over the replacement of Dabageed. Suleiman Ahmed Hilawle was named as his assistant chairman. The president has also nominated other individuals as district commissioners in the region.
Meanwhile, the allied forces of Somalia and Ethiopia have taken control of Kismayo city, 500 km (310 miles) south of the capital Mogadishu. Hundreds of people have welcomed the arrival of the Ethiopian and government forces in Kismayu. Islamists have entirely gone out of Kismayo area heading to unknown destination. In Dhobley town which borders Kenya, the Islamists were reported to have run away left there without fighting. The Islamists are still on the run.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/02/2007 00:00 ||
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Islamists have entirely gone out of Kismayo area heading to unknown destination.
There is a really beautiful area at the botom of Red Sea. Just sayin'.
#4
There was an article yesterday in one of the South African papers saying they were "evacuating to Eritrea". There's no direct connection between Somalia and Eritrea, except through Kenya and Sudan. It's also a long, Loooooong way. After being seen as such total losers, I don't think they'll get very far.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/02/2007 14:12 Comments ||
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Defeated Somali Islamists fled their defences near a southern town and headed towards the Kenyan border on Monday in what looked like the end of a nearly two-week war with the Ethiopian-backed government.
Several thousand Islamist fighters, who abandoned the capital to take a stand 300 km (186 miles) to the south near the port of Kismayu, fledran away melted away again overnight after trading artillery fire with advancing Ethiopian and government troops.
The leaders and fighters of the powerful Somalia Islamic Courts Council (SICC), driven from Mogadishu on Thursday after occupying it for six months, headed further south along the Indian Ocean coast towards neighbouring Kenya, residents said. They have vowed to hit back with guerrilla tactics.
Some Kismayu residents said the Islamists were going to the hilly region of Buur Gaabo, just on the Somali side of the border. "If they go there, it will be very hard for the Ethiopians to get them," one resident said, comparing the region to Afghanistan's Tora Bora region where the Taliban hid.
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Posted by: Fred ||
01/02/2007 00:00 ||
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headed further south along the Indian Ocean coast towards neighbouring Kenya
Red Sea, you dummies! (not sure Kenya would be too happy to allow them to pass)
#4
The author of this piece needs to learn a bit of geography. The Tora Bora area extends to 15,000 feet high. The highest point in southern Somalia is about 7,000 feet. There are forests around Tora Bora - the only vegetation around and in the Somali "highlands" are a few short scrub trees and other desert vegetation. You can't walk in that dusty, dirty area without leaving footprints. There are very few caves. There's no friendly government just across a border through the middle of these "highlands". I think the Islamists are in for a terrible, terrible surprise.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/02/2007 14:19 Comments ||
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#5
You can't walk in that dusty, dirty area without leaving footprints.
And plumes of dust floating in the air behind you as you go, Old Patriot? The kind that airborn (or satellite) observers might easily observe?
#6
The problem is, TW, it's also home to nomadic herders and trading caravans that leave dust clouds behind them, except during the very short "rainy season". You can see people for miles (including vertically), but only boots on the ground can detect who's who. "Technicals", on the other hand, would stand out like fruitcake in a pie-eating contest.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/02/2007 16:56 Comments ||
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#7
Thank you, Old Patriot dear. You are as ever a font of useful information.
(SomaliNet) The Islamic leaders and their fighters have withdrawn mid night from their last outpost in southern Somalia after facing superior power from Ethiopian backed interim government. "Holy shit! Allahu akbar! That's live ammunition! We are outta here!"
Witnesses in Jilib town of Middle Juba region told Somalinet this morning that they saw large number of Islamist troops with their battle wagons moving away from the town and abandoned the frontlines. "See ya! We're... ummm... goin' to get help!"
People began looting the properties of Islamists. I could set eyes on militiamen driving a luxury car left by the ousted Islamists.
The situation in the southern port city of Kismayo is now clam after the Islamists left there without war. Local militiamen were said to be roaming inside the city. We have found that all the Islamist fighters and their leaders have deserted the city around 2:00 last night heading towards the western jungle of Kismayo, we could see their armed convoys rolling out of Kismayo, Farhan Nor Lafole, a local journalist told Somalinet by telephone. He said no one now controls Kismayo and all the people rallied on the streets surprising the immediate change. Lafole also said people began looting the properties of Islamists. I could set eyes on militiamen driving a luxury car left by the ousted Islamists. No one knows the exact destination of the Islamic clerics but some reports say that Raskanboni Island in southern Somalia will be the last hideout of Islamic hardliners.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/02/2007 00:00 ||
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The situation in the southern port city of Kismayo is now clam
Cherrystone or fried or half-shell or chowder or what?
(KUNA) -- Algerian army forces arrested two Tunisians linked to an international terrorist network, who came here to join an armed group in Algeria, a security source said here Monday. An Algerian military patrol picked up two Tunisians in Meftah, Blida, around 50 km south of Algiers, on the evening of December 29, an Algerian security source told the Algerian Radio.
Security investigations showed that the Tunisian terrorists admitted that they belonged to an international terrorist network and came here to join the armed Salafi Group for Call and Combat in Algeria, the source added. They also admitted that they came to Algeria via Libya with the help of persons who belonged to the Algerian armed organization. The armed Salafi Group for Call and Combat in Algeria said a couple of months back it had joined Al-Qaeda organization.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/02/2007 00:00 ||
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It is believed no less than seventeen 22-year-old young men have recently joined armed groups in Blida (centre), some sources said. Investigations by the concerned authorities have confirmed a number of young men are missing for two months now and believe they would have joined armed groups.
Last week, security forces in Blida contacted the young mens families to ask them about their sons. Some of them said they were abroad whereas others acknowledged they had no information about them since they had left home. Security services interrogated the young mens relatives in different areas of Blida but failed to get information confirming they joined armed groups. In relation to whether or not they had links with terrorist acts the area has known in recent years, the same sources told us the young men in question had never been implicated in terrorist acts, neither belonged to terrorist groups nor wanted by justice.
Considering global security trend in Blida these last few years, marked by decrease of terrorist acts, it is ruled out that remnant armed groups would recruit new elements to carry out terrorist attacks inside Algeria. Their focus would be now on training young men to fight out of Algeria, as in Iraq; especially as the young mens missing coincides with the announcement of the arrest of foreign elements related to armed groups in Algeria. They were working together to provide training for Algerians in order to send them fight in Iraq.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/02/2007 00:00 ||
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Muslim: if your country is backward because of Islamic idiocy, fighting for Islamic states will accelerate backwardness.
Muslims point to the Golden Age of Islam during the Islamization of Spain. In fact, research reveals that converted Muslims accepted the cult as a matter of private faith. The so-called Andalusian prosperity, was the result of syncretic conversion, where the country was Muslim in name only. Proof: there was almost no theology produced in Muslim polluted Spain. The most famous Berber/Moor from the era - Ibn Khaldun - is known for his comparative culture studies. In the Muqadimmah, he wrote that the Bedouins - meaning the uncouth original Arabs - "destroy every city they occupy." The West should be encouraging the Berber, Egyptian and Sudanese identities, rather than treating anyone who speaks the soon to be dead language that originated in the Arabian desert, as an Arab.
WPB is being opposed by jahils and munafiqs
According to daily Express, Provincial Minister of Education Maulana Fazal Ali Haqani condemned President Musharrafs statement that those who oppose the Womens Protection Bill are jahil (ignorant). He said the president had earlier said that those who oppose the bill are munafiq (hypocrites). He said the World Bank report clearly says that corruption in the Punjab is more than in NWFP and our government is working honestly.
Dancing naked to celebrate WPB
As reported in daily Nawa-i-Waqt, a young man, Malik Usman, in Dhok Maulvi Mohammad near Attock had started dancing naked in a populated bazaar near fawara chowk. He chanted slogans in favour of President Musharraf, Women Protection Bill, Shaukat Aziz and Benazir Bhutto. He also raised slogans in favour of Kashmala Tariq, Sumaira Malik, President Bush and Muslim League government. A huge crowd gathered to see the performance of a naked young man.
Possessed girl murdered by her father
As reported in daily Jang, in Harappa a superstitious father Jamal killed his daughter Shagufta and then burnt her to death fearing she was possessed by jinns and witches. The girl was mentally unstable. She was about to get married but she burnt her dowry and said she doesnt want to get married. Her father Jamal told the police that when he woke up in the morning she was possessed by a witch and attacked him, So I killed her and then set her on fire. The residents of the area said she was pious and a hafiza Quran, but mysterious fires burnt things in their house regularly.
Miracle in Kala Shah Kaku
As reported in Daily Pakistan, in Kala Shah Kaku a 12 years old hafiz Quran was standing in a square and giving a sermon when his father came and told him that the era of divine help is over, and if you are such a believer then jump into a tandoor (oven) and let us see if divine help comes to save you. The son shouted Allah-o-Akbar and jumped into the oven and when people took him out of oven he was miraculously safe. This moving vision brought tears to the eyes of his father and other bystanders. His father, who is a famous goon and drunkard of the area, left his old habits and starting offering regular prayers.
Woman imam leads Friday prayers
As reported in daily Khabrain, around one hundred men and women offered Friday prayer lead by Amina Wadood, a professor at Virginia Commonwealth University. The prayers were offered in a church when no mosques gave them permission for prayers. The Islamic thinkers society activists demonstrated against the prayers in front of the church and said that a new deviation is being introduced in the religion of Islam. The main organiser of this event was Asra Naumani, a Mumbai born American.
Maulvi arrested for making fake marriage certificate
Accroding to daily Express, Supreme Court has ordered the arrest of Hafiz Abdul Ghafoor (nikahkhawan) and four witnesses who made a fake nikahnama (marriage certificate) to avoid the punishment of counsellor Basharat Choudhry who raped a housemaid. Police arrested the culprits outside the court. Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry initiated an inquiry against the counsellor of Wahga town after reading the letter written by the parents of raped housemaid. The learned judge told nikahkhawan Hafiz Abdul Ghafoor that he should be ashamed of providing a fake marriage certificate and cancelled his registration.
Fighting one Satan with the help of another
In daily Express columnist Javed Chaudhry wrote that Major (Retd) Amir said that Pakistan had started jihad before the coming of American aid in Pakistan. He said our courageous leadership, our secret agencies and Afghans had already encircled the Russians. The American dollars started coming after two years. Javed Chaudhry said, if we were able to strike back at Russia, then why did we need American dollars? Why did we have to sell the faith and emotions of mujahideen in the American markets? Does our religion allow such a strategy? Can we fight one Satan with the help of another Satan? Did Caliph Omar Farooq wage jihad against the Roman with the help of Persians? So Major Sahib! Admit that your leadership started Islamic jihad but the strategy was devised by the Americans and Indian, and it was against the spirit of Islam.
Our honour not for sale
Sarerahe wrote in daily Nawa-i-Waqt that is there a solution for the people who print nude pictures of women to sell their newspapers? Dont they know that if this nudity is spread then what shall be left with us? Even those we consider responsible for our sins dont print such obscenity. To earn money, respect and fame doesnt mean that we should lose our honour.
No azan, only church bells
According to daily Nawa-i-Waqt, the members of Norwegian nationalist Democrat party are opposing the construction of a mosque in southern city of Christian Sand. They claimed that the construction of a mosque would give rise to the criminal activities and encourage inhuman activities in the area. They said we wouldnt let the symbol of Muslims come to our town. They said there should be no azan and only the bells of the church shall ring. The mayor of Christian Sand criticised these statements of the Democrats and said their opinion about religion of Islam is not correct. Democrats have a strict policy for immigrants in the country. There are already two mosques in the city and Muslims have moved an application to build another mosque.
Religion cant divide family
As reported in daily Khabrain, the family member of cricketer Mohammad Yousuf said, We are Christian and are proud of being Christians. His father Youhanna Masih told the newspaper that Yousuf asked other family member to convert to Islam. He said he lives with his elder son and his wife lives with Mohammad Yousuf. His mother said the changing of our religion cant change the relationship. All religions give same message but their methods are different.
Maulvi is a symbol of resistance
In daily Express famous columnist Abdul Qadir Hassan wrote that today maulvis are under attack from all sides. Communists of yesterday and industrialists of today have jumped upon the maulvis and have started hurling allegations on their lives, politics and personalities. Maulvis are being treated today as they were treated during the British Raj. The rulers are descendants of British legacy but have adopted all the negative qualities and have shunned the positive qualities of Britishness. Maulvis were targeted when they started war of independence against the British in 1857.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/02/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
The girl was mentally unstable. She was about to get married but she burnt her dowry and said she doesnt want to get married
#2
"The girl was mentally unstable. She was about to get married but she burnt her dowry and said she doesnt want to get married."
In reality, she had recently been to the fawara chowk bazaar and witnessed Malik Usman perform the amazing naked man dance and after comparing him to prospective hubby Wilbur al-Vienna Sausage, decided that Malik was the better deal...(so to speak)
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Coalition Forces killed three terrorists, wounded one and detained two other suspected terrorists in a raid Tuesday morning targeting an al-Qaida weapons dealer in the Baghdad area.
When Coalition Forces approached the targeted building, they called out for the occupants to exit the building. No one responded.
Coalition Forces then breached the wall and entered the building. Five armed men began firing at Coalition Forces. Coalition Forces returned fire killing three armed men and wounding a fourth.
During the breach and firefight, the building caught fire. Once the building was secure and everyone was safely outside, Coalition Forces began extinguishing the fire and called the Baghdad Fire Department.
Two men surrendered and were detained. Two women and three children were present during the raid and none were injured. Coalition Forces ensured the women and children were safe and looked after by their neighbors.
The wounded terrorist was administered first aid and transported to a nearby medical facility.
One of the men killed, an al-Qaida weapons dealer whom Coalition Forces were targeting, was identified by his wife.
Terrorists continue to deliberately place innocent Iraqi women and children in danger by their actions and presence. Coalition Forces will continue deliberate and methodical operations in order to hunt down and capture or kill terrorists trying to prevent a peaceful and stable Iraq. These operations will continue to be successful with the support and cooperation of the Iraqi people.
#12
"Terrorists continue to deliberately place innocent Iraqi women and children in danger by their actions and presence. Coalition Forces will continue deliberate and methodical operations in order to hunt down and capture or kill terrorists trying to prevent a peaceful and stable Iraq. These operations will continue to be successful with the support and cooperation of the Iraqi people."
Interesting. I argued for language like this, except stronger (and placed up towards the front of releases, or included in spoken statements in such a way that quotes would be likely to include them) with members of the former public affairs crew at MNF-I. I guess a slug at the end of a press release is better than nothing - though not much, as the media tends to barely use these releases as it is. One depressing certainty out of Iraq is that there is no level of barbarity or brutality - by the enemies of civilization, anyway - that will draw the attention of the media, so long as the US is the other side. Think about it - it's the lack of outrage, the lack of indignation, the lack of accurate and therefore provocative coverage of enemy activity that is a large part of the effed up framework in which the media and so many Americans understand this conflict.
SINIYAH, Iraq Many terrorists sought a haven here but were now confined to the cordoned city by a 12-foot high berm that wraps eight miles around Siniyah in the shape of a horseshoe. Razor wire outlines the tops of the berm amid surveillance and patrols by Iraqi and U.S. troops.
The only way in or out of the city is through a single, paved road with checkpoints manned by Iraqi army soldiers. The checkpoints have always existed but were reinforced after numerous attacks on security forces and civilians in Siniyah, said Lt. Col. Scott Harris, commander, 1st Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division.
Siniyah lies in northern Salah ad Din Province and is the first city east of the Syrian Deserts northeastern edge. Because of the citys location, coalition forces believe terrorists harbor them selves there before filtering to other areas throughout Iraq, Harris continued.
Security in Siniyah began showing signs of weakening Oct. 24, 2006, when the police force of more than 100 quit due to terrorist attacks and threats against them and their families. Security didnt show any signs of improvement as the police station was completely destroyed only 13 days later.
The insurgents had a very strong hold on the city, Harris said. The entire city council quit; even the mayor resigned.
The increased violence in Siniyah led to a city-wide cordon taking effect Nov. 29, 2006. Soldiers from the 4th Iraqi Army Division, and Paratroopers from 1st Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, established the citys current posture to prevent terrorists from infiltration and escape, Harris said.
Paratroopers from the 618th Engineer Support Company (Airborne), 20th Engineer Brigade, began constructing the berm. They worked hand in hand with their Iraqi engineer counterparts to reinforce the obstacle, according to 1st Lt. Time Hassell, the companys executive officer.
Only those who required urgent medical attention were allowed to leave the city, and no one was allowed to enter. Supply trucks carrying food, water, and heating oil were searched and escorted to drop-off points on the edge of the city inside the cordon.
People may endure discomfort, but isolating the terrorists is important to the long-term success for security in the city, Harris said. There are 29,000 good people in Siniyah, and we just want to help them get a grip back on their lives without fear of terrorism or violence.
Two weeks passed before troops began clearing Siniyah. They began with more than 500 Iraqi troops from eight different Iraqi army units and a company-size element of Paratroopers from 1st Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, Dec. 13, 2006, in search for the isolated terrorists.
Initially, Iraqi and U.S. troops stayed in the city for more than 72 hours straight. They searched homes for weapons and terrorists with hasty searches by day and nighttime raids.
Paratroopers from Company Cs First Platoon detained 17 suspected terrorists during an early morning raid Dec. 15, 2006. The clearing operation totaled more than 80.
During the two weeks of isolation inside the city, insurgent attacks decreased by at least 300 percent. The citys focus now is to establish a police force to actively patrol, Harris said.
If Siniyah doesnt have an enduring security force in the city, it invites wrong-doing, Harris continued. I dont know if well be able to show the people a totally happy and secure population, but weve certainly set the conditions for success in the future.
Siniyahs western boundary will remain permanently cordoned from the desert. Iraqi and coalition troops will continue to provide security to the outer limits of the city, while the enduring police force patrols the inner, Harries added
#2
THIS is the sort of thing that many of us have been wanting to see since late 2004, at least. Variations on this have been tried in a few places. I'd like to see an analysis of the different situations and the effectiveness of the different packages of tactics applied. My impression is that they have always been successful. D'oh! Note the reference to "discomfort" for the citizens. Imagine that, in a war .....
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- Government officials reported that 16,273 Iraqi civilians, soldiers and police died violent deaths in 2006, a figure larger than an independent Associated Press count for the year by more than 2,500. The tabulation by the Iraqi ministries of Health, Defense and Interior, showed that 14,298 civilians, 1,348 police and 627 soldiers were killed in the violence that raged in the country last year.
The Associated Press accounting, gleaned from daily news reports from Baghdad, arrived at a total of 13,738 deaths. The United Nations has said as many as 100 Iraqis die violently each day, which translates into 36,500 deaths annually.
You can accept any of the three published figures: 13,000, 16,000, 36,000. Multiply by three and somewhere between 40,000 and 100,000 civilians, soldiers and police have died since the invasion. These have died from all violent causes, and let's do remember the jihadis, sectarians and Ba'athists who've killed the greater number of people. That's 30 to 100 per day in a country of 24 million people.
Not 600,000, as the Lancet claimed in a terribly shoddy article from October. Not the 600,000 as claimed by Johns Hopkins 'investigator' Gilbert Burnham, known for his far-left views and, let's say, unimpressive methodologies. Dr. Burnham won't be held accountable for this paper; if anything he'll be praised for getting a 'high-impact' publication. Shame.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/02/2007 00:47 ||
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#1
And academic morons like Juan Cole, who learned Arabic during his 6 years in Cairo, continue to spread atrocity propaganda that runs counter to what they read in the Iraq media.
I would strip tenure from any professor who uses acadmic title in order to advance a terrorist agenda. And people like Cole are brain dead if they think that their Marxist agenda would be advanced in an Islamofascist Iraq.
#2
So does this mean the AP accepts the 16,273? Or that they reject the 600,000?
Or how 'bout this conclusion: The 600,000 is accurate, which means 2006 was waaaay below average and a huge improvement.
Posted by: Bobby ||
01/02/2007 6:17 Comments ||
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#3
Hmph. The late, unlamented butcher of Baghdad generated 3,000 dead people a month, and this flunkies contribute a great deal to that number.
AP shows their innumeracy by taking a PEAK number ("as many as 100 Iraqis die violently each day") and treating it as an AVERAGE. The AVERAGE is 44-45 per day.
#5
This figure doesn't seem to include those the Coalition and Iraqi military kills. Just the US military has been reported to have killed over 50,000 in 3 years and their relatives are unlikely to report it and attract governmental attention. That's greater than the total civilians, police and soldiers reported by the Iraqi government.
Posted by: ed ||
01/02/2007 12:55 Comments ||
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US troops killed six people Monday morning during a raid on a possible safe house for al-Qaida in Iraq, the military said. The attack occurred near the west Baghdad offices of Saleh al-Mutlaq, a senior Sunni Arab politician of the National Dialogue Front, the US military and Iraqi police said. American troops took on heavy gunfire and grenades were launched at them from the building, the military said in a statement.
Police said the home of Salama al-Khafaji, a former Shi'ite parliamentarian who abandoned her residence after escaping an assassination attempt last year, was also targeted.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/02/2007 00:00 ||
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(KUNA) -- Two US soldiers were killed in a bomb explosion in Diala province, northeast of Baghdad, the US army said here Monday. The two US soldiers were killed on Sunday in a bomb explosion near their patrol in Diala, the US army said in a release circulated here.
US army statistics said 95 US soldiers were killed in Iraq in December, 2006, while a US website put the figure at 112 casualties. However, the US army said in an exclusive release to Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) that neither it nor the US Department of Defense (Pentagon) was carrying out monthly statistics of the US casualties in Iraq.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/02/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Are we still granting "diplomatic immunity" to Iranians visiting the Iraqi presidential palace bearing gifts of IED's FOR DUMMIES manuals, money, and intelligence info?
(KUNA) -- Four unidentified corpses have been found in scattered places in Mosul, the Iraqi police announced on Monday. A police source told KUNA that two corpses of men were found in the old industrial area west of Mosul with scars of gunfire on them. It added that the security personnel also fished out two corpses of women who had been killed in an agricultural area west of Mosul.
Furthermore, multi-national forces said in a statement today that they were able to arrest a number of al-Qaeda suspects during operations conducted yesterday west of the city. The statement added that the suspects were believed to have carried out a series of abduction and killing cases of Iraqi civilians and security authorities.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/02/2007 00:00 ||
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The Iraqi government ordered the closure of a popular independent television channel on Monday for inciting sectarianism, two days after the hanging of Saddam Hussein sparked anger among his fellow Sunni Arabs.
Sharkiya is owned by a London-based Iraqi businessman and says it takes an independent editorial line, though many viewers see it as leaning toward a minority Sunni Arab viewpoint.
The channel was still showing programming on Monday, as it broadcasts from Dubai, and it was not immediately clear what impact the government's order would have.
Interior Ministry spokesman Brigadier Abdul Karim Khalaf said the government had ordered the channel to close indefinitely. "We have warned them many times not to broadcast any false news that would increase tension in Iraq," Khalaf told Reuters, declining to specify which particular reports were false.
The order comes two days after Saddam's execution for crimes against humanity over the killing of Shi'ite Muslims.
The execution, which was rushed through by Iraq's Shi'ite-led government at the start of a religious holiday, and video of the hanging that showed Shi'ite officials taunting Saddam before his death, have raised fears of a backlash.
Asked if the move was prompted by Sharkiya's coverage of the execution, Khalaf said: "In the last three days if you watch their channel you can see they are leading people to violence and increasing the sectarian tension."
An employee of Sharkiya in Baghdad who declined to be identified said the channel had very few staff left in Baghdad and nearly all programming was done from Dubai.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/02/2007 00:00 ||
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GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) -- Palestinian militants attacked the Gaza Strip's main cargo crossing with mortar fire early Tuesday, lightly wounding an Israeli truck driver in the latest flare-up of violence in the coastal strip.
The attack on the Karni crossing came shortly after warring Palestinian factions resumed their violent infighting following a one-week pause, and gunmen abducted a foreign news photographer.
The Israeli army said the mortar attack hit a truck that was delivering building materials to Gaza. It said the attack did not disrupt the flow of goods into Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has pledged to increase the movement of goods in and out of Gaza in an effort to boost the moderate Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, in his power struggle with the Islamic militant group Hamas.
There was no claim of responsibility for the attack. Medical officials said the truck's driver was lightly wounded and taken to a hospital.
Karni is the main transit point for Gaza's imports and exports, and is critical to the area's fragile economy. Traffic through the crossing has been severely restricted during months of fighting between Israel and Palestinian militants.
PALESTINIAN gunmen kidnapped a Peruvian photographer working for Agence France-Presse in Gaza yesterday. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the abduction of the photographer, named by the French news agency as Jaime Razuri. He was seized while entering the agency's office in Gaza City, according to witnesses. Militants in Gaza have abduct-ed foreigners in the past, to put pressure on the Palestinian government to give them jobs.
After members of the Palestinian Hamas and Fatah factions carried out tit-for-tat kidnappings Monday in northern Gaza City, violating an internal agreement to avoid such deeds, the Islamic Jihad has stepped in and is attempting to mediate between the two warring factions, Israel Radio reported Monday evening.
The Islamic Jihad boycotted the Palestinian Authority legislative elections last January and has refused to sign any agreements on a cease-fire with Israel.
Seven of the Hamas members kidnapped had been released later Monday evening, sources said. They said that initially Hamas gunmen abducted the brother of a senior Fatah member in northern Gaza Strip refugee camp of Jabaliya, provoking Samih al-Madhoun of Fatah's armed wing to seize a number of Hamas loyalists. They said a total of three Fatah members were abducted by Hamas, which had 13 loyalists kidnapped by Fatah. Local media reported two people wounded in gun battles that coincided with the kidnappings.
Also Monday, a French news agency Agence France Presse photographer was kidnapped in Gaza City on Monday just before sundown, the news agency and security officials said. AFP identified the photographer as Jaime Razuri, 50, from Peru. An AFP reporter said the photographer was returning from an assignment in Gaza and was abducted at gunpoint as he got out of his car with his driver.
Palestinian security officials said the kidnapping happened in central Gaza City, in the area where many foreign news agencies have offices. They said the victim was standing at an intersection when about five masked men approached him, pushed him in a car and sped away. There has been no public claim of responsibility for the kidnapping. The AFP reporter said the photographer spent most of his career covering Latin America.
This would be just the latest in a string of kidnappings of foreigners in Gaza in recent months. Most have been carried out by disgruntled workers seeking promises of payment of long overdue salaries or splinter militant groups. In most cases, the victims have been released unharmed within hours. An exception was the abduction of two Fox News employees over the summer - they were held for two weeks. Most of the kidnapped foreigners have been journalists, but aid workers have also been targets.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/02/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
ha ha
the world gave guns to the thugs 'to keep the peace'
lol
ie
'' OK boys lets have a hate session then go shoot someone..preferably innocent and unarmed.
those Palestinian 'heroes' need to get 'flushed'
j
Posted by: Jim ||
01/02/2007 0:40 Comments ||
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(KUNA) -- Palestinian militants attacked an Israeli military patrol in Nablus city, the West Bank, on Monday, injuring two soldiers, according to Israel Radio. The patrol came under heavy fire while taking part in a crackdown in the old city. The Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the military wing of Fatah movement, claimed responsibility for the attack that coincided with the 42nd anniversary of the movement on Monday. During the crackdown the Israeli forces rounded up 22 Palestinian suspects in the West Bank, according to the radio.
Meanwhile Israeli sources said the military would start easing restrictions on the movement of Palestinians in the West Bank as from Monday. The move comes in line with the understandings reached by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas two weeks ago, according to Israeli sources. Under the decision dozens of the 600 roadblocks will be removed in the West Bank and the procedures at checkpoints will be eased to facilitate the movement of Palestinian individuals and goods in Nablus and elsewhere in the West Bank. The facilitations exclude the crackdowns and arrests in the Palestinian towns, the sources added.
Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz drew a plan for removing 29 roadblocks in the area as a first phase of the easing process. However, the Israeli army refuses to remove most of the roadblocks under the pretext that Palestinian militants could take advantage and launch more attacks on Israel.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/02/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Poor IDF
Not much help from wimpy Olmert and his toady defence minister Peretz
Posted by: Jim ||
01/02/2007 0:43 Comments ||
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(KUNA) -- Violence Monday claimed 10 lives in the Northern and Eastern parts of Sri Lanka in renewed violence in the island nation. Suspected cadres of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) triggered a claymore mine, killing two policemen and injuring another in Vavuniya in the island nation, today evening, news agencies reported.
This incident occured after another claymore mine was triggered by LTTE against a Sri Lankan army patrol, killing one soldier and injuring two others in Jaffna in Northern Sri Lanka also on Monday, the news agencies said.
In two separate incidents in Eastern Sri Lanka, three bodies belonging to minority Tamils and four others from the majority Sinhala community were recovered by Sri Lankan Army today, the news agencies reported.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/02/2007 00:00 ||
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#13
That configuration just can't be structurally sound. AP, Frank, we need to do an in-depth engineering study. I'll take care of the photo interpretation.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/02/2007 14:01 Comments ||
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#14
Oo! Oo! Can I volunteer to do the field survey? I think I'll need my climbing gear.
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.
(SomaliNet) Shortly after the takeover of southern and central Somalia, the interim government empowered by the Ethiopian forces formed on Monday a new administration for Hiran region in central Somalia as the government is now affirming total control of Somalia. 
(SomaliNet) The Islamic leaders and their fighters have withdrawn mid night from their last outpost in southern Somalia after facing superior power from Ethiopian backed interim government. 
(KUNA) -- Algerian army forces arrested two Tunisians linked to an international terrorist network, who came here to join an armed group in Algeria, a security source said here Monday. An Algerian military patrol picked up two Tunisians in Meftah, Blida, around 50 km south of Algiers, on the evening of December 29, an Algerian security source told the Algerian Radio.
It is believed no less than seventeen 22-year-old young men have recently joined armed groups in Blida (centre), some sources said. Investigations by the concerned authorities have confirmed a number of young men are missing for two months now and believe they would have joined armed groups. 
WPB is being opposed by jahils and munafiqs
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Coalition Forces killed three terrorists, wounded one and detained two other suspected terrorists in a raid Tuesday morning targeting an al-Qaida weapons dealer in the Baghdad area. 
The wounded terrorist was administered first aid and transported to a nearby medical facility.
SINIYAH, Iraq Many terrorists sought a haven here but were now confined to the cordoned city by a 12-foot high berm that wraps eight miles around Siniyah in the shape of a horseshoe. Razor wire outlines the tops of the berm amid surveillance and patrols by Iraqi and U.S. troops. 
(KUNA) -- Two US soldiers were killed in a bomb explosion in Diala province, northeast of Baghdad, the US army said here Monday. The two US soldiers were killed on Sunday in a bomb explosion near their patrol in Diala, the US army said in a release circulated here.
(KUNA) -- Four unidentified corpses have been found in scattered places in Mosul, the Iraqi police announced on Monday. A police source told KUNA that two corpses of men were found in the old industrial area west of Mosul with scars of gunfire on them. It added that the security personnel also fished out two corpses of women who had been killed in an agricultural area west of Mosul.
The Iraqi government ordered the closure of a popular independent television channel on Monday for inciting sectarianism, two days after the hanging of Saddam Hussein sparked anger among his fellow Sunni Arabs.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) -- Palestinian militants attacked the Gaza Strip's main cargo crossing with mortar fire early Tuesday, lightly wounding an Israeli truck driver in the latest flare-up of violence in the coastal strip.
PALESTINIAN gunmen kidnapped a Peruvian photographer working for Agence France-Presse in Gaza yesterday. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the abduction of the photographer, named by the French news agency as Jaime Razuri. He was seized while entering the agency's office in Gaza City, according to witnesses. Militants in Gaza have abduct-ed foreigners in the past, to put pressure on the Palestinian government to give them jobs.
The Islamic Jihad boycotted the Palestinian Authority legislative elections last January and has refused to sign any agreements on a cease-fire with Israel. 
(KUNA) -- Palestinian militants attacked an Israeli military patrol in Nablus city, the West Bank, on Monday, injuring two soldiers, according to Israel Radio. The patrol came under heavy fire while taking part in a crackdown in the old city. The Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the military wing of Fatah movement, claimed responsibility for the attack that coincided with the 42nd anniversary of the movement on Monday. During the crackdown the Israeli forces rounded up 22 Palestinian suspects in the West Bank, according to the radio.
(KUNA) -- Violence Monday claimed 10 lives in the Northern and Eastern parts of Sri Lanka in renewed violence in the island nation. Suspected cadres of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) triggered a claymore mine, killing two policemen and injuring another in Vavuniya in the island nation, today evening, news agencies reported.
