KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - A German engineer and four Afghans taken hostage in July were freed Wednesday in exchange for six Taliban fighters, an Afghan official said. Rudolf Blechschmidt and the four Afghans were handed over by local elders to officials from Afghanistan's intelligence service in the Jaghato district of Wardak province, said the district chief, Mohammad Nahim. Six detained Taliban militants had been freed in the swap, he said.
In Germany, Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier confirmed that Blechschmidt had been freed, and the former captive told Spiegel magazine on his release that he was "doing well."
"I'm just a little tired," he told the magazine in a short telephone interview posted on its Web site.
Blechschmidt had also talked with the German ambassador by telephone and confirmed he was safely in the custody of Afghan security forces, Steinmeier said in a statement. "We are all pleased and relieved," Steinmeier said.
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - A German engineer and four Afghans taken hostage in July were freed Wednesday in exchange for five imprisoned criminals, an Afghan official said.
Rudolf Blechschmidt and the four Afghans were handed over by local elders to officials from Afghanistan's intelligence service in the Jaghato district of Wardak province, said the district chief, Mohammad Nahim.
Nahim at first said that six Taliban militants had been freed in the swap. But he later said no Taliban had been released and that five imprisoned criminals had been freed. He said one of the criminals was the father of the Taliban commander who had taken the German and Afghans.
Nahim said the exchange had been arranged by Afghan elders. An Interior Ministry spokesman confirmed the release but said he didn't have further details about how it was arranged. (...)
#2
Hope they took retina scans, finger prints etc. of the released persons. Someday we should also put GPS inplants in these people, maybe even with little explosive devices to prevent tampering.
Around 100 Taliban stormed a remote police post, sparking lengthy exchanges that left 10 militants and a policeman dead, while five rebels died elsewhere, officials said on Tueday, AFP reported.
After 11 hours of fighting overnight in the western province of Farah, the attackers left three bodies at the scene and took the rest with them, provincial police operations chief Juma Khan told AFP. Ten Taliban were killed, 10 Taliban were wounded and a policeman was also martyred in the battle, Khan said.
In another incident on Monday, four Taliban were killed when NATOs International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) ambushed them in the eastern province of Paktika. ISAF ambushed the Taliban as they crossed into Afghanistan from Pakistan. Their bodies were brought to the provincial capital, said army spokesman Colonel Muhammad Gul. The troops also seized 36 anti-personnel and anti-tank land mines, he added. ISAF could not immediately comment.
Roadside bomb: In Kabul, A NATO airstrike on militants planting a roadside bomb in eastern Afghanistan left five suspected insurgents dead, officials said Tuesday, AP reported. The strike happened as the group was spotted digging on the road and laying a roadside bomb in Bermel district, in Paktika province late Sunday, said Sgt 1st Class Dean Welch, a US-led coalition spokesman. Authorities retrieved the bodies, which were later handed over to village elders from Bermel, said Provincial Police Chief Nabi Jan Mullahkheil.
Two Afghan men working for a Danish aid group were freed by the criminal gang that abducted them after relatives negotiated their release, AFP reported. The driver and technician for the Danish Committee for Aid to Afghan Refugees were freed Monday in Logar province, near Kabul, after nine days in captivity, said spokesman Christian Jepsen. Their relatives negotiated the release directly with the kidnappers, Jepsen told AFP. There were no political demands, he said.
This article starring:
Colonel Muhammad Gul
Danish Committee for Aid to Afghan Refugees
Provincial Police Chief Nabi Jan Mullahkheil
Sgt 1st Class Dean Welch, a US-led coalition spokesman
provincial police operations chief Juma Khan
spokesman Christian Jepsen
Posted by: Fred ||
10/10/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11125 views]
Top|| File under: Taliban
#1
"airstrike on militants planting a roadside bomb"
It should be harder to detect roadside bombs in Afghanistan because the roads are so bad. But on the other hand, it should be easier to catch the bombers since there are so few miles of road to plant them on. Plenty of goat-paths to booby-trap, but it's not very cost-effective, even to Talibunnies, to go through all that risk, time and effort to get a chance to blow up one guy and his donkey.
Rebels in Chechnya have ambushed an interior troops convoy on a mountain road, killing four and wounding 10 servicemen and police officers, officials said Monday. The attack occurred Sunday in the Vedeno region in Chechnya's southern mountains, said Magomed Deniyev, a spokesman for Chechnya's branch of Russia's Interior Ministry. The attackers fled.
Large-scale battles in Chechnya ended years ago, but rebels continue to mount regular hit-and-run raids against federal troops and local Moscow-backed authorities. Other provinces in Russia's volatile North Caucasus also have remained restive, plagued by frequent clashes and attacks on authorities. In the province of Dagestan east of Chechnya, two army soldiers were wounded in a gunbattle with a group of gunmen, said Mark Tolchinksy, a spokesman for the regional branch of Russia's Interior Ministry.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/10/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11127 views]
Top|| File under: Chechen Republic of Ichkeria
The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to review a lawsuit brought by a German man who says he was kidnapped and tortured by agents of the Central Intelligence Agency. The high court rejected the appeal of Khaled el-Masri without explanation. El-Masri is a German citizen of Lebanese descent who says he was kidnapped by CIA agents in Macedonia in 2003 and then taken to Afghanistan where he was held for months and tortured by his captors.
"And then they turned me into a newt, yer honor!"
"Case dismissed!"
This article starring:
Khaled el-Masri
Posted by: Fred ||
10/10/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11124 views]
Top|| File under: Global Jihad
#1
How does he know it was CIA who captured him - did they show him their CIA badges? Could have been Mossad pretending to be CIA, couldn't it? I would say it could have even been Al Qaeda, thinking he was a spy, except they'd have killed him anyway, even if they figured out he wasn't. Then again, maybe he IS a spy for us, and this is all part of his cover to get him close to bin Laden.
#2
I agree that the Bush Administration can request that this lawsuit be dismissed and that the courts should comply with this request.
I think also that if the Bush Administration declines to explain its actions in its treatment of this person, then the public can fairly judge those actions on the basis of this person's account of what happened.
The publicly available information that I have read indicates to me that the CIA mistreated this person on flimsy grounds. It seems to me that the CIA abducted him to Afghanistan on a hunch and then tried to coerce him into a confession that might prove the hunch. When that failed, the CIA released him.
Maybe the CIA had more than flimsy grounds, more than a hunch. Some people will grant the CIA the benefit of the doubt in this issue.
Some, however, will suppose that the CIA made only foolish and abusive mistakes in this case, and that is a reasonable supposition.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
10/10/2007 7:35 Comments ||
Top||
#3
How does he know it was CIA who captured him
The US Government has admitted so.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
10/10/2007 7:37 Comments ||
Top||
#4
I think also that if the Bush Administration declines to explain its actions in its treatment of this person, then the public can fairly judge those actions on the basis of this person's account of what happened.
Um, Mikey? What's the first thing that happens when these guys get near a reporter?
That's right - accuse their captors of torture. It's in the al-Queda handbook; you can look it up.
#5
Why would the CIA admit they grabbed somebody? Serious question. They routinely deny all sorts of petty stuff every day. It makes me wonder why they admitted this, when it would have been so easy, and seemingly beneficial, to deny. Since I do not believe they have suddenly become an 'open' organization, it must either be due to internal dissent (in serious violation of various security processes, but still possible), or because it was part of some mission.
#6
The AP writeup on this case (front page of today's Akron Leakin' Urinal) was so sympathetic to the poor plaintiff that I half expected the paper itself to burst into tears.
(Not-antiwar-just-on-the-other-side files, example #647)
Posted by: Mike ||
10/10/2007 8:39 Comments ||
Top||
#7
Why would the CIA admit they grabbed somebody?
The grabbed guy was a citizen or legal resident of Germany.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
10/10/2007 9:52 Comments ||
Top||
#8
Personally, I buy this guy's story about as much as I buy Dan Rather's air force documents.
#9
"publicly available information" is almost NEVER the full story, is almost always biased by the reporter, and is ALWAYS incomplete and inaccurate for things like this.
Trusting "publicly available" info on covert items is unwise - you end up awfully ignorant of much of the real info, and in the worst cases, you eat spin insstead of facts and become MAL-informed - i.e. one ends up with bad data that is maliciously bad, and one has that as his/her basis for thinking - meaning his/her reasoning will lead even further into error since one is beginning with false premises. And whats worse, the person will be convinced to the rightness of his/her position, but be utterly unable to sustain it if the real facts where known.
#10
The US Government told the German Government that the CIA grabbed this guy and held him for a long time and subjected him to harsh interrogation methods and then released him without any information that Germany could use for a prosecution or even for further investigation.
That information is publicly available. Without some further explanation to the US public, it is reasonable for any member of the public to assume that the CIA acted foolishly and abusively in this case.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
10/10/2007 11:18 Comments ||
Top||
#11
it is reasonable for any member of the public to assume that the CIA acted foolishly and abusively in this case.
It's not reasonable for anyone to make assumptions based on only part of the information. You wind up making bad assumptions and look like an idjit.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
10/10/2007 11:47 Comments ||
Top||
#12
Can we put some things together. Days ago it was revealed that the Bush Administration was providing the Donk front runners with intel for Iraq which coincided with the time those same people started to cut back on their rhetoric about 'pulling out now'. If the Bush Administration was willing to share this information with such detractors in the legislative branch and party in opposition, would it not be a reasonable continuation of the concept, that the Administration would share similar information with select members of the judicary, i.e. SCOTUS? We know that 50 years from now, all those close hold papers and communications will eventual get into the hands of historians to see what was going on in this period. The court being particularly an animal in search of 'historical' standing would find itself rather naked if the record did reveal the extent of the danger, their awareness of the danger, and their business as usual approach to the danger. You think they want to get tagged with a 'Dred Scott' title for their tenure?
#15
That information is publicly available. Without some further explanation to the US public, it is reasonable for any member of the public to assume that the CIA acted foolishly and abusively in this case.
Posted by Mike Sylwester
Right. Just like Blackwater has public stock... I think KOS is missing it's putty kat.
Any rational American would assume this turd was a Muslim terrorist. Especially since the ACLU was involved. Plus el-Masir is a dirt bag.
According to Die Welt Online (in German) the problem arose over a dispute over an iPod that El-Masri had bought at a METRO warehouse club store back in April in the city of Neu-Ulm.[31] He claimed the iPod malfunctioned just hours after purchase. When he tried to return it, the store refused, and the situation escalated into a shouting match. El-Masri spit in the face of a female employee, and was barred from the store.
On May 17th, El-Masri kicked in a door of the Metro store and used gasoline to start a fire. The fire caused over 500,000 ($678,000) in damages. Nobody was hurt. El-Masri was arrested near the scene of the crime. After arrest, a judge ordered him held in a psychiatric hospital for unknown reasons. On May 18, El-Masri's attorney, Manfred Gnjidic, conceded his client did burn down the store, but blamed it on his client's torture experiences and claimed that the German government did not provide enough therapy to him after his return from Afghanistan. [32]
German Prosecutors in the arson case also revealed that El-Masri faced charges for allegedly attacking a truck driving instructor. They said Masri lost his temper after the instructor criticised him for failing to attend his lessons.[33]
#16
Icerigger, thanks for the interesting information about El-Masri's argument with the Metro warehouse club about an I-Pod that he bought there.
For you and for many others, such information seems to be significant. Therefore, I too will consider it in my thoughts and prayers.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
10/10/2007 14:03 Comments ||
Top||
#17
Re #11 (Deacon Blues): It's not reasonable for anyone to make assumptions based on only part of the information.
It is reasonable to withhold judgement, and it also is reasonable to trust in the government's management of the Intelligence Community.
And also it is reasonable to conclude that it seems in retrospect that the Bush Adminisration has made way too many rash, arrogant decisions in its management of the Intelligence Community.
Rarely are such disagreements decisive in national elections, but they might be significant in the presidential election in November 2008. During the past eight years, the Bush Administration has lost much credibility and trust among the public, especially on Intelligence issues such as intelligence estimates, treatment of captives, adherence to established procedures in wiretapping, and so forth.
Because these matters must remain mostly secret, the public can control the government only based on its impressions and perceptions of whether or not the government continues to deserve the public's trust. We can throw the rascals out and give the other party a chance for a while.
Between now and November 2008, it would be a good thing for the country and especially for the Republican Party if the Bush Administration would address the public's concerns frankly. To simply assert that the Bush Administration has not made any mistakes, has not committed some excesses, and does not have to justify any of its actions probably will not cut it on Election Day.
Posted by: Mike Sylwester ||
10/10/2007 14:19 Comments ||
Top||
#18
Q: How does he know it was CIA who captured him?
A:The US Government has admitted so.
But since we know the government always lies, doesn't the fact that they admit it refute the possibility that they did?
#19
The question also arises as to what el Masri was doing in Macedonia. Maybe the CIA had justifiable reason to grab his a$$. Al-Masri seems to be a bit of a bully, and also very arrogant. As for torture, anything done to islamists seems to be rated as torture, whether it's waterboarding, sleep deprivation, or feeding them three squares a day. Not much is said about decapitations, beatings, the use of drills and electric cords, and other attrocities used by muzzie extremists against their perceived enemies, however.
Frankly, I wouldn't trust the CIA to open the door for me, but that's just me. I do believe we have good intelligence from NSA and NISC, and possibly even from DIA. Politics within the CIA make its actions questionable, whether they're directed by the president or not. The number and severity of leaks leave me no choice but to believe they would do anything to destroy GWB, including creating this incident. There needs to be a housecleaning in DC. It's beginning to become inescapable that the beast isn't able to control itself, and people from outside will be the only source of that housecleaning. Unfortunately, no politician is going to be willing to lift a finger, so they will have to be swept out with the rest of the dirt.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
10/10/2007 15:16 Comments ||
Top||
#20
OP:
10-4 on all that. Problem is that there is an entrenched Eastern Establishment Elitist element (=Clinton appointees) in the CIA from 80-90's Ivy League recruitment. There is a known cabal interested in only making Bush looked like the "deranged"one. The FBI and Secret Service know this (that I know) and are concerned enough that it would not suprise me if there is a couple of major arrests soon for sedition and treason regarding all the leaks and compromising our intelligence gathering strictly for political purposes. I also think it was a very strategic move by the Administration to admit complicity in the el-Masri rendition and interrogation in order to get the Supremes to decide on National Security grounds. Precedent setting. Keeps the ball rolling for all the intel guys. No pesky lawyers to worry about. Keep up the good work and ferret out the weasels (double entendre) at the CIA.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
10/10/2007 16:33 Comments ||
Top||
#21
Come on damn it. Baby needs shoes. I got $10 sez 70 or higher. Let's juice it up a bit. Come on Nike man, show some heart and lungs, this isn't a sprint. You spun for Daddy now take on THE MAN!
Posted by: Kojo (I can get it for you wholesale) ||
10/10/2007 16:55 Comments ||
Top||
#22
it would not suprise me if there is a couple of major arrests soon for sedition and treason regarding all the leaks and compromising our intelligence gathering strictly for political purposes.
That would be lovely, Jack. Or failing before January, 2009, an important early move by the new administration. These days intelligence is too important to be left to political gamers.
A self-styled commander of the Hizb ul-Mujahideen was among seven persons killed in separate incidents in the Kashmir valley, the police said on Tuesday.
Top Hizb ul-Mujahideen militant Latief Ahmad Ganai alias Furkaan and his lover close associate Rafiq Ahmad Shah were killed in an encounter with a joint search party of the police and the Rashtriya Rifles in Baramulla district, Deputy Inspector General of Police, North Kashmir, B Srinivas said. A policeman was also injured in the encounter which started on Monday night when the police cordoned off a house in the village following specific information about the presence of militants.
This article starring:
Hizb ul-Mujahideen
Deputy Inspector General of Police, North Kashmir, B Srinivas
Latief Ahmad Ganai
Hizb ul-Mujahideen
Rafiq Ahmad Shah
Hizb ul-Mujahideen
Posted by: Fred ||
10/10/2007 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[11127 views]
Top|| File under: Hizbul Mujaheddin
Another 50 people were killed as fighter jets bombed militant hideouts in North Waziristan on Tuesday, taking the total death toll from three days of fighting to around 250. Military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad said fighter jets bombed militant targets in Ipi, Khedherkhel and Khushali Torikhel villages in Mir Ali tehsil in the afternoon. Security sources said 50 people were killed in the bombing, though there was no official confirmation. AFP, citing security sources, reported that 50 militants were killed and a similar number injured.
Before the air strike, the army said around 150 militants and 47 soldiers had been killed in three days of clashes during Operation al-Mizan (Justice) in North Waziristan, and that the army had turned down request for a ceasefire. During (the) last three days of clashes with security forces as many as 150 militants have been killed while 50 were wounded. Forty-five security personnel have also embraced Shahadat while 20 others were injured during these clashes which started on Saturday in North Waziristan Agency, a military statement said.
The military said two soldiers were killed in a blast in Mamoon Panga, Burmand, in North Waziristan at 1:50pm on Tuesday. An attack on Gharlamai check-post west of Miranshah in Dattakhel tehsil resulted in the death of two army soldiers and serious injuries to four others.
Ceasefire request rejected: Security forces have also turned down the ceasefire request of militants as their demand cannot be met, the military said, adding that security forces would continue punitive action till complete peace is restored in restive North Waziristan. There was no official word on civilian casualties, but local residents around Mir Ali said several dozens were killed in the crossfire between soldiers and militants.
Civilians flee homes to escape fighting: Meanwhile, thousands of civilians were reported to be fleeing their homes in Mir Ali and nearby villages. I am leaving for a safer place as living here is like inviting death, Muhammad Anwar, a resident of Khasokhel village, told Daily Times.
Several families fled Harmuz village, leaving male members behind to guard their houses. I am alone at home. Most families are taking women and children to safer places and leaving one or two male members at home to protect the house, said Salam Dawar, a resident of Harmuz. He said wounded civilians were finding it hard to get to hospital for treatment. Gen Arshad said all wounded civilians were allowed to proceed to hospitals and that families wanting to move to safe places would be helped. Local residents also said food and medicine supplies were running low.
Late in the evening, a rocket attack on the military headquarters in Miranshah prompted artillery fire in the direction of Mir Ali, where announcements through mosque loudspeakers asked residents of Harmuz and Musaki villages to evacuate, residents said.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/10/2007 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[11128 views]
Top|| File under: Taliban
#1
Count von Count is busy this morning. 19, 16, 50, ...
A time bomb exploded at Nishtarabad CD-market here on Tuesday, injuring at least 16 people, police said. SSP Tahir Khan said the bomb was placed between two video centres in a crowded area. The injured were rushed to hospital. Four were stated to be in critical condition.
Nishtarabad Video Shops Union President Sher Dil told Daily Times the violence against CD shops was orchestrated by intelligence agencies. Were being targeted to malign the image of some people.
He said the blast damaged almost all 40 shops in the market, causing losses in the millions. We suspect people who recently sent letters warning CD-shop owners to shut their businesses, saying it is un-Islamic, AP quoted police chief Abdul Majid Marwat as saying.
Separately, four CD-markets in Mattani, bordering Darra Adamkhel, were bombed on Monday, destroying 12 shops. Meanwhile, four policemen were injured by a remote-controlled bomb in Kohat, police said.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/10/2007 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[11130 views]
Top|| File under: Taliban
#2
There was this guy in the car next to me at a traffic light yesterday with some hideous rap CD playing at 140 decibels - maybe they can blow up his CD market next time.
#3
If it's any comfort, Glenmore, I've heard that exposure to such loud music can cause temporary sterility in males... and extensive and prolonged may make that permanent. I haven't seen any data, though (not that such macho types would admit it).
#4
I have heard a car stereo being played so loud that it was literally shaking the vehicle apart. You could actually see the loose hinges and body panels vibrating. The entire syndrome revolves around what is known as "sonic turf". I've been forced to listen to some bastard slowly drive up my residential street at 3:00AM with all his windows rolled down playing gangsta rap trash at well over 100dB. I truly regretted not having a wrist rocket and some ball bearings at my bedside.
BAGHDAD - Two suicide car bombs killed 22 people in northern Iraq on Tuesday in attacks targeting a police chief and a tribal leader working with US forces, part of an upsurge in violence that killed 56 across the country.
In Baghdad, foreign security guards escorting a convoy of four vehicles through the city centre killed two women when they opened fire on a car, the government said. Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said private US security firm Blackwater was not involved in the deaths of the two women in Baghdad. There has been an incident, an attack on civilians. Two Iraqi women were killed, Dabbagh said, adding the company was also not Iraqi, but declining to give more details.
One witness said the guards fired a warning shot when a car carrying two women and children pulled out of a side road. But the driver edged forward and the security guards opened fire.
US embassy spokeswoman Mirembe Nantongo, referring to the incident, said there may be a contractual relationship with a US non-governmental organisation (NGO). She did not elaborate.
In the northern town of Baiji, officials said the police chief was wounded and the condition of the Sunni Arab tribal leader was unknown after the two suicide car bombings. Baiji, 180 km (110 miles) north of the capital in Salahuddin province, is a major oil refining centre fed with crude oil and gas from the vast fields under the nearby city of Kirkuk.
We were standing beside the mosque waiting for sunrise. We saw a blue minibus approaching, the imam of Baijis Abdullah al-Nami mosque told Reuters Television. One of those killed told me earlier that he wanted to lead prayers tomorrow.
Police said the other bomb was in a pick-up truck aimed at Baijis police chief, Colonel Saad Nifous, who was wounded in the blast. Police and the US military both said the bomb by the mosque had targeted a Sunni Arab tribal leader.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/10/2007 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[11124 views]
Top|| File under:
#2
The "foreign security guards" are from a Dubai firm. Link
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
10/10/2007 9:29 Comments ||
Top||
#3
The MSM finally has something to report. Must be boring over there in the green zone bars. My nephew says its kinda boring where he is, and my ex-employee (Ks. Nat/ Grd.)says its boring running convoy security. Isn't boring Great?
#4
Security firm is Australian. They could be using anyone - especially ex-South African security folks. They don't give a s**t about anyone darker than white bread.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
10/10/2007 16:36 Comments ||
Top||
#5
...part of an upsurge in violence that killed 56 across the country.
The use of the word "upsurge" would not be an accidental play on words here. Clearly "The Surge" is not working.
Additionally, the "upsurge" would infer a previous state of reduced violence, but since as HU6667 notes, the headline "Another Boring Day in Iraq" would not be a story, we can only conclude that today the "upsurge" follows closely on the "jump" from yesterday while the reporter waits with copy ready for the "leap" tomorrow.
Furthermore, it is only "part" of the whole "upsurge", so if you think 56 deaths is a bad day, things are a lot worse.
Unknown gunmen kidnapped Tuesday the director of Basra International Airport near his house in northern Basra, southern Iraq, a security source said. A security source from Basra told KUNA on the phone the gunmen forced Abdurrazaq Qassem at gun point to get out of his car and took him to an unknown destination.
US troops killed five and detained three suspected rogue Shi'ite insurgents in an operation in eastern Baghdad early Monday meant to provide support for local reconciliation efforts, the military said.
The operation targeted a commander of a rogue Shi'ite group suspected of involvement in a kidnapping network and attacks by armor-piercing roadside bombs known as explosively formed penetrators, or EFPs, the military said. The military statement said US troops took small-arms fire upon arrival at the targeted suspect's location and responded, killing four gunmen and wounding three. Another suspect was killed as he attempted to plant a roadside bomb in the path of US soldiers.
Earlier, an Iraqi police official reported a lower toll in what he described as a joint Iraqi-US troops raid on Sadr City in eastern Baghdad. The official said two men were killed and four wounded, while four others were arrested. The discrepancy in the numbers could not be immediately reconciled.
The operation in Sadr City, the capital's sprawling Shi'ite slum in northeastern Baghdad and base of the Mahdi Army, took place before dawn with support of US helicopters, the Iraqi official said. Sadr City is controlled by the Shi'ite armed group loyal to the radical anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who in August announced a "freeze" of his group's activities for up to six months to allow for its restructuring.
However, it is unclear how much control he maintains over his fighters as groups have splintered from the main movement and attacks on US and Iraqi forces by rogue Shi'ite elements, which the US military says are funded by Iran, have increased. "We continue to support the Government of Iraq in welcoming the commitment by Muqtada al-Sadr to stop attacks, and we will continue to show restraint in dealing with those who honor his pledge," US army spokesman Maj. Winfield Danielson said Monday. "We will not show the same restraint against those criminals who dishonor this pledge by attacking security forces and Iraqi citizens. Coalition forces will take the necessary action against these criminals to protect the Iraqi people against future terrorist acts."
This article starring:
MUQTADA AL SADR
Mahdi Army
Maj. Winfield Danielson
Mahdi Army
Posted by: Fred ||
10/10/2007 00:00 ||
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[11128 views]
Top|| File under: Mahdi Army
Up to 22 people were killed and many more wounded when two suicide truck bombs exploded in a town in northern Iraq today, targeting a police chief and a tribal leader who had joined forces with the US military against al-Qaeda. The attacks raised fears of further bloodshed during the holy month of Ramadan a time that has been marred in the past by headline-grabbing spectacular bombings, though US commanders have noted that violence this year is lower.
Challenging the new trend, the two bombers struck within minutes of each other in the Sunni Arab town of Baiji, 110 miles (175km) north of Baghdad. The first pick-up truck targeted Colonel Saad Nifous, the towns police chief, who was wounded in the blast. "Three houses were completely demolished, said Lieutenant-Colonel Fadhil Mahmoud, of the provincial Salahuddin police. Eight people were killed and 16 wounded and they are still searching for other bodies under the rubble.
Casualty figures varied, with some sources putting the death toll at 22 and others at 18. About 50 people were injured in the blasts. Awakening councils, such as the one led by Mr Jubouri, are based on a model first adopted this year in Anbar province, west of Baghdad. Under the grassroots uprising, Sunni Arab sheikhs, sponsored by the US military, are turning against al-Qaeda and organising young men to don uniforms and protect their neighbourhoods. Attacks in Anbar have plummeted as a result, much to the delight of President Bush, who points to the province as proof that his surge of 30,000 extra troops in Iraq is working.
Choosing to side with the American forces is a risky business, however. Last month a roadside bomb killed Sheikh Abdul Sittar Bezea al-Rishawi, who led the Anbar Awakening in western Iraq. Sheikh Sittar, 36, had been lauded by General David Petraeus, the top US commander in Iraq, during testimony to Congress, for helping to transform a region that was once the heart of the anti-American insurgency into one of the safest provinces in Iraq.
Responding to the latest attacks, the spokesman for US troops in northern Iraq said: This is yet another failed attempt to break the will of the Iraqi people.
Further denting the relative calm of this years Ramadan, a parked car bomb struck a commercial area of Baghdad today, killing at least eight and wounding 25 people, including four traffic policemen. Another two people died and 16 were injured when a second car bomb exploded in the capitals predominantly Shia neighbourhood of Shaab.
Al-Qaeda in Iraq had given warning that it would increase attacks during Ramadan, which is drawing to a close. The Sunni Islamist group has also threatened to target Iraqis who have joined US forces in fighting local al-Qaeda members.
This article starring:
Colonel Saad Nifous
General David Petraeus
Hamad al-Jubouri, the leader of the Salahuddin Awakening
Lieutenant-Colonel Fadhil Mahmoud
Sheikh Abdul Sittar Bezea al-Rishawi
Thamir Attallah, the military chief of the Sunni Arab Awakening council in Baiji
Posted by: Fred ||
10/10/2007 00:00 ||
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[11123 views]
Top|| File under:
NABLUS, West Bank (AP) - Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian militant affiliated with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah Party in a raid early Wednesday, members of the armed group said.
The shooting also wounded a senior militant from the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, the group said. The wounded man, Sufian Kandeel, had recently signed a deal granting him amnesty from Israel, but had not fulfilled several conditions, group spokesman Mahdi Abu Ghazaleh said.
Israel's army said it was checking into the report.
Israel offered the amnesty to about 200 West Bank militants, mostly from Fatah, over the summer as part of efforts to bolster Abbas in his rivalry with the Islamic militant group Hamas. Under the deal, the militants agreed to sit in a Palestinian jail for three months and surrender their weapons. Kandeel had agreed not to harm Israelis, but did not accept the other conditions, said Abu Ghazaleh, who also signed the amnesty deal.
"We signed the list but will not go along with the Israeli conditions and we said ... 'We will not sit in jail and not give in our weapons because they are our Manhood valuable to us,'" Abu Ghazaleh said. "We don't believe the Israeli government and all that they say."
Witnesses said the Israeli soldiers entered Nablus' Old City, known as a militant stronghold, disguised in Palestinian security forces uniforms and carrying Kalashnikov rifles typical of the forces, witnesses said.
They spoke Arabic to passers-by, asking "how are you," and raising no suspicions as they took positions on rooftops, the witnesses said. Cool move.
The troops shot toward about a dozen Palestinian militants, some of whom were armed, and wounded Kandeel, who was unarmed, Abu Ghazaleh said. As the militants tried to evacuate Kandeel, the troops shot again, killing another unarmed man, he said.
Members of the group had said earlier that the two men were armed, but Abu Ghazaleh, who was at the scene of the shooting, said after that they were not. "Yeah, we were minding our own business, and they started shooting at us with depleted uranium rounds, for no reason at all! My aunt fatima has kept one the round, she'll show it to you."
It's Debka, so take it FWIW. But wouldn't that just twist knickers in Teheran?
The air base, according to DEBKAfiles military sources, will be located at Kleiat in northern Lebanon roughly 75 air miles from Damascus, which these days doubles as a shared Syrian-Iranian military hub and Tehrans eastern Mediterranean forward base. The American air installation will also lie 22 air miles from Tartous, Syrias main naval base and the Russian Mediterranean fleets command center. And the aircraft posted there will be minutes away from the joint Syrian-Iranian arms and missiles industries at Homs and Hamma.
DEBKAfiles source report the Bush administrations drastic change of policy on Lebanon was settled in consultations at the Pentagon and National Security Council after the talks the chief of the US Central Command Adm. William Fallon held with Lebanese government heads on July 29.
This new direction was confirmed after the Israeli air raid over Syria of Sept. 6.
It brings the American military back to Lebanon after a 25-year absence. In 1983, President Ronald Reagan pulled US troops out of the country after Syrian military intelligence orchestrated terrorist bombing attacks on the US embassy and Marines headquarters in Beirut, which left more than 300 soldiers, diplomats and CIA agents dead.
The first stage of construction will reactivate the small defunct air base at Kleiat as a joint US-Lebanese venture. Prime minister Fouad Siniora will explain that the four months of bloody fighting to crush the Fatah al-Islam revolt in the northern Nahar al-Bared camp demonstrated how badly the Lebanese army needs an operational air base in the region. US Air Force engineers and technicians have begun work on the new air field. At a later stage, it will be expanded for American military use.
#6
Doesnt it seem risky to have an airbase within artillery range of the border? You wouldnt ahve much time to respond if they decided to be belligerent.
#7
Kinda like having troops on the DMZ.... which we still do. The old trip wire mentality and some Syrian will just not be able to refuse trying to mess with the base.
The US can "respond" from many other bases. But thats just a theory from me.
#8
My guess is such a base would be used for helicopters that might sorty out with Special Forces and/or air rescue teams. Your guess is as good as mine what special forces and air rescue teams might do to keep themselves occupied on the Syrian border.
Posted by: Richard Aubrey ||
10/10/2007 16:28 Comments ||
Top||
#14
It would definitely be to Lebanon's advantage to have the US there, especially if the US provided aid to their securing their border against Syria. In turn, it would seriously put the squeeze on the Syrians and Hezbollah.
#15
It will really twist their knickers if its a double-wide 14K foot airfield big enough for buffers and C-5's and the KC-767.
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
10/10/2007 16:42 Comments ||
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#16
Sadly, I sense s certain silliness in this story.
Posted by: Thomas Woof ||
10/10/2007 17:00 Comments ||
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#17
But, wouldn't it be easier just to build an air installation in the desert of western Iraq?
There are two that I know of, and several more that were used mainly for oil exploration. H1 and H2 were both Iraqi military bases and oil exploration sites. There was another one about 70km north of H1 along the Syrian border that was a forward operating base for Hussein's Air Force. There was another one near the Syrian border north of the Euphrates river in that area. I don't have any knowledge of current status of any of them.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
10/10/2007 17:24 Comments ||
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#18
If an airbase were built in Lebanon, that might limit some of the shennigans going on in Lebanon sponsored by Syria--maybe limit some Hezbollah's crap in Israel too. Might be a good move.
#19
OldPat SOCOM had first call on those a few years ago when I was still with that sort of people.
Mainly the rangers used them to assault in, and some interdiction work done out that way.
I'd say they are quiet for a reason. Unlike centrally located Balad (busier than O'Hare these days), they are out of the way, but near certain very interesting Syrian places.
#20
Agree wid #8 - IMO the base, at least in early phases, will likely be home to joint US-Lebanese units including SPECOPS + armed Helo teams for use agz Terror groups-elements. Iff true, this decision by the USA is indicative of Dubya's = Amer's desire for the entrenchment of Local-Regional democracy in the whole of Asia Minor including the ME, and as a window for settling the Arab-Israeli Conflict once and for all!? ARE BOTH JEWS AND MUSLIMS READY FOR MUTUAL PEACE AND COOPERATION, OR DOTH OLD HABITS DIE HARD???
#22
That does seem to be the obstacle to peace in the ME - the Jews' refusal to throw themselves into the sea. However, if they ever did, peace would be short-lived as the Paleos would then turn on each other with their Arab brethren, no doubt, joining in on the various sides.
#23
IMO the base, at least in early phases, will likely be home to joint US-Lebanese units including SPECOPS + armed Helo teams for use agz Terror groups-elements.
#24
H1-3 are in the western Iraqi desert. One of them, H1 I believe, is used for training the Iraqi army. Hard place for a suicide bomber to get to without being noticed.
The google pics of these bases are very interesting, showing lots of tracks and damage and stuff. Special Forces were all over this area during the war. It would not surprise me to find that there is still such interest in the area.
#25
If this is the quid pro quo for our recent armaments donations to Lebanon, then all's well and fine. Let there be a thousand points of light American bases in Islam's back yard.
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KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - A German engineer and four Afghans taken hostage in July were freed Wednesday in exchange for six Taliban fighters, an Afghan official said. Rudolf Blechschmidt and the four Afghans were handed over by local elders to officials from Afghanistan's intelligence service in the Jaghato district of Wardak province, said the district chief, Mohammad Nahim. Six detained Taliban militants had been freed in the swap, he said. 
Around 100 Taliban stormed a remote police post, sparking lengthy exchanges that left 10 militants and a policeman dead, while five rebels died elsewhere, officials said on Tueday, AFP reported.
Rebels in Chechnya have ambushed an interior troops convoy on a mountain road, killing four and wounding 10 servicemen and police officers, officials said Monday. The attack occurred Sunday in the Vedeno region in Chechnya's southern mountains, said Magomed Deniyev, a spokesman for Chechnya's branch of Russia's Interior Ministry. The attackers fled.
A self-styled commander of the Hizb ul-Mujahideen was among seven persons killed in separate incidents in the Kashmir valley, the police said on Tuesday. 
Another 50 people were killed as fighter jets bombed militant hideouts in North Waziristan on Tuesday, taking the total death toll from three days of fighting to around 250. Military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad said fighter jets bombed militant targets in Ipi, Khedherkhel and Khushali Torikhel villages in Mir Ali tehsil in the afternoon. Security sources said 50 people were killed in the bombing, though there was no official confirmation. AFP, citing security sources, reported that 50 militants were killed and a similar number injured. 
A time bomb exploded at Nishtarabad CD-market here on Tuesday, injuring at least 16 people, police said. SSP Tahir Khan said the bomb was placed between two video centres in a crowded area. The injured were rushed to hospital. Four were stated to be in critical condition.
Unknown gunmen kidnapped Tuesday the director of Basra International Airport near his house in northern Basra, southern Iraq, a security source said. A security source from Basra told KUNA on the phone the gunmen forced Abdurrazaq Qassem at gun point to get out of his car and took him to an unknown destination.
US troops killed five and detained three suspected rogue Shi'ite insurgents in an operation in eastern Baghdad early Monday meant to provide support for local reconciliation efforts, the military said. 
Up to 22 people were killed and many more wounded when two suicide truck bombs exploded in a town in northern Iraq today, targeting a police chief and a tribal leader who had joined forces with the US military against al-Qaeda. The attacks raised fears of further bloodshed during the holy month of Ramadan a time that has been marred in the past by headline-grabbing spectacular bombings, though US commanders have noted that violence this year is lower. 
NABLUS, West Bank (AP) - Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian militant affiliated with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah Party in a raid early Wednesday, members of the armed group said. 
