(Interfax) - A foreign mercenary has been killed in a special operation conducted by law enforcement agencies in the Shatoi district of Chechnya, Russian Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev said on Wednesday. "I can say that an operation was successfully conducted in the Shatoi district yesterday and the day before yesterday, in which a foreign mercenary directly related to an organized core of international terrorism was killed," Nurgaliyev said at a meeting of the military board of the main command of the Russian Interior Forces.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/29/2007 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Chechen Republic of Ichkeria
A former sailor accused of disclosing information about Navy ships to a terrorism supporter made coded reference to Osama bin Laden in a recorded phone call with friends, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Phone calls were played in a court hearing to decide whether to admit the evidence in the case against Hassan Abu-Jihaad. Lawyers for Abu-Jihaad have argued that the calls and other evidence, such as e-mail searches, should be thrown out after a judge's ruling in September that struck down portions of the USA Patriot Act.
In one phone call between the sailor and some friends, Abu-Jihaad is heard making what prosecutors said is a coded reference to bin Laden, using the phrase "under the black leaves." He is also heard talking about the different techniques of American and Islamic snipers.
Abu-Jihaad, 31, of Phoenix, pleaded not guilty in April to charges he provided material support to terrorists with intent to kill U.S. citizens and disclosed classified information relating to the national defense. He has been held without bail since his arrest in March in Phoenix.
The hearing on whether to admit the evidence is expected to last three days.
A Florida-based doctor convicted of supporting al-Qaeda for swearing allegiance to Osama bin Laden and agreeing to help treat wounded fighters was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Wednesday Rafiq Sabir, 52, was found guilty by a federal jury of two terrorism charges based on an oath he and his friend Tarik Shah made in Arabic in May 2005 to an undercover FBI agent posing as an al Qaeda recruiter. He taped both men pledging support to the militant Islamic group and "Sheikh Osama."
Sabir, a strict Muslim raised in New York, pleaded innocent and said he had been misled by Shah, a martial arts expert and jazz musician. "I had no clue I was being asked to treat al Qaeda members," Sabir said in pleading for leniency to U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska, repeating his trial testimony that he did not understand the pledge because his Arabic was poor. "I am an extremely gullible man who made some foolish mistakes in my life," he said.
But the judge said evidence showed Sabir had a good understanding of Arabic and clearly understood the pledge. "Terrorists cannot succeed without the treatment of their wounded," she said, adding Sabir's situation was worse because he failed to show any remorse. "He has deeply held views regarding militant fundamentalist Islam."
Shah and two other men also charged in the case pleaded guilty to terrorism charges. Earlier this month Shah was sentenced to 15 years in prison for agreeing to help train al Qaeda fighters in hand-to-hand combat.
This article starring:
al Qaeda
Rafiq Sabir
al-Qaeda
Tarik Shah
al-Qaeda
U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska
Posted by: Fred ||
11/29/2007 00:00 ||
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[11135 views]
Top|| File under: al-Qaeda
#1
ROT
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
11/29/2007 1:41 Comments ||
Top||
#2
This Jihadist will end up like "Eco Boy" a few years back, and end up on the receiving end of some "Recto-Terrorism". He'll end up as Bubba the swamp mans' Prom Date
Owners of garment shops in Peshawar have either removed the mannequins used for displaying dresses or covered them with clothes after receiving threatening letters from militants. A meeting of the shopkeepers association of Karimpura, held here on Tuesday to discuss the militants threat, decided to remove the mannequins altogether or fully cover them. The meeting was informed that 10 militants visited the Shaheen Bazaar, a market for women, and asked the shopkeepers to remove mannequins which, they said, promoted obscenity. The letter sent by the militants warned them of dire consequences, if they did not carry out the instruction.
#3
Interesting how the militants went into a 'women's market' to find the offensive settings! I wonder if they probed the lady's rooms also? Benazir has a uphill fight ahead of her.
#4
I would use mannequins such as these to create a "honeypot" to attract extremists. I set the shop up in a way I know would offend extremists. When they come around to do me harm, I eliminate them. After some period of time the number of extremists will dwindle.
#8
I'm a thinking... Get a bunch of obsolete mannequins and air drop all over Peshawar from way up. So what if they break. The Talibunnies will have to run all over collecting the dirty pieces to destroy.
"Accidents" like this on a regular basis could drive them crazy...
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has stepped down as chief of the army in a ceremony transferring power to his hand-picked successor, General Ashfaq Kayani. On Thursday, Mr. Musharraf is scheduled to take the oath as a civilian president. Members of Pakistan's caretaker government joined journalists and military officers for the resignation ceremony in a small stadium in Rawalpindi.
In the country's first such transfer of power broadcast live on television, an emotional Pervez Musharraf passed the ceremonial command stick of the army chief of staff to his successor. They then saluted each other. General Musharraf, wearing a uniform studded with medals, said he was sad to leave the army after 46 years of service, but he expressed confidence in its new leader, General Ashfaq Kayani. He said he has known General Kayani for the last 20 years. Mr. Musharraf said the general has served under his command and he found him to be an exceptional soldier.
This article starring:
Ashfaq Kayani
Posted by: Fred ||
11/29/2007 00:00 ||
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[11133 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
Troops on Wednesday seized Maulana Fazlullahs base in Swat, where nearly two weeks of clashes have killed around 250 militants, officials said. Security forces entered the town of Imam Dheri, the main base of Maulana Fazlullah, provincial government spokesman Amjad Iqbal told AFP. The whereabouts of Fazlullah, however, remain unknown.
He has gone underground, the official said. Security sources in the area said the clerics close aides have also fled, including his spokesman, Maulana Sirajuddin. They quoted residents as saying they [Fazlullahs men] were seen heading for the mountains. Iqbal said security forces were in complete control of a large stretch of Kabal district after shelling suspected insurgent locations with artillery and mortar fire.
Locals destroy militant bunkers: As the militants fled, people in a number of towns destroyed the fortified bunkers they left behind, Iqbal said, adding that authorities would on Thursday extend a break in the curfew to allow residents time to demolish the remaining positions.
He said foreign militants were fighting alongside the Fazlullah loyalists. The security forces recovered six bodies from Najia Top, they included two foreigners, he said, referring to the highest peak in Kabal district.
Security forces took the bodies of 50 dead militants into custody during the operation. Iqbal told BBC that some militants dead bodies had, however, been handed over to their families.
This article starring:
Maulana Fazlullah
TNSM
government spokesman Amjad Iqbal
Posted by: Fred ||
11/29/2007 00:00 ||
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[11130 views]
Top|| File under: TNSM
#1
Last seen entering "Allans Bridal Emporium" Sixth and Main
Posted by: Steven ||
11/29/2007 9:23 Comments ||
Top||
GHALANAI: Militants kidnapped eight khasadars (tribal policemen) late on Tuesday night at Karappa mountain, 10 km south of Mohmand Agency headquarters Ghalanai. The khasadars were on watch at the Sharmakhano checkpost when militants besieged them around midnight. The militants took them along with their weaponry to an unknown destination.
The kidnapped khasadars are Subedar Bakhtawar Gul, Hawaldar Mehr Khan, jawan Hashmatullah, jawan Salauddin, Akbar Said, Ameer Nawaz, Jehangir and Taj Muhammad.
Local Taliban militants appear to be involved, sources said. The kidnapping seems to be motivated by gaining leverage to bargain with for the release of four of their comrades who were arrested in Swat while fighting against government forces in the recent anti-Maulana Fazlullah operation, they said. The strategy appears to have been given impetus by the kidnapping of around 250 soldiers in Waziristan on August 30. Over 200 of them, held hostage for more than two months, were ultimately freed in exchange for 25 militants on November 4.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/29/2007 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Taliban
KHAR: Pro-Taliban militants have warned residents here not to put musical ring tones or pictures in their mobile phones, witnesses said on Wednesday. A pamphlet distributed in Khar, the main town of Bajaur district bordering Afghanistan, also told people not to shave their beards, listen to music or smoke cigarettes and hashish. The pamphlet, handwritten in Pashto language, also forbade tribesmen from leaving their homes without caps or to carry weapons without permission from the militants. Bajaur is one of seven semi-autonomous tribal regions in the area. In the past militants have blown up music shops and hair salons and plucked stereos from vehicles. Many tribesmen sympathise with the Taliban in Afghanistan and are pushing for a Taliban-style system of governance in the rugged region.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/29/2007 00:00 ||
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[11128 views]
Top|| File under: Taliban
LANDI KOTAL: A Turkish national was kidnapped in the Takkiya area of Khyber Agency on Wednesday, officials said. Landi Kotal Assistant Political Agent Ahmed Khan Orakzai told Daily Times that authorities had set up roadblocks as part of efforts to recover the kidnapped man. The Turkish national, identified as Buryal, arrived in Pakistan on Wednesday. The political authorities in Torkham deputed Khasadar Jehanzaib as his guard. Unidentified kidnappers intercepted the car carrying Buryal and the khasdar at Takkya at around 12.30pm, an official said. Eyewitnesses said the kidnappers were bearded men with long hair, and were sporting turbans. They had been waiting all morning for the ambush, they added. The kidnappers later released the khasadar, who had to be hospitalised as he had been beaten severely. Buryal arrived in Pakistan from Afghanistan but it could not be ascertained whether he was on an official or private visit.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/29/2007 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: al-Qaeda
Gunmen ambushed a paramilitary convoy in Balochistan on Wednesday, killing three soldiers and injuring five others, officials said. The attack took place in Panjgur district, bordering Iran, an area where both tribals and criminals are known to be active, a paramilitary commander told AFP. Unknown miscreants lobbed a hand grenade and fired bullets at two vehicles of the Frontier Corps in Panjgur district, killing three soldiers and wounding five, he said. Troops returned fire but there were no immediate reports of casualties among the assailants, the official said. Nobody has claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), a banned group, has claimed responsibility for several such attacks in the past.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/29/2007 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under:
6,000 Sunnis join pact with U.S. in Iraq
U.S. officers describe deal as crucial for stopping militants' escape routes
HAWIJA, Iraq - Nearly 6,000 Sunni Arab residents joined a security pact with American forces Wednesday in what U.S. officers described as a critical step in plugging the remaining escape routes for extremists flushed from former strongholds.
The new alliance called the single largest volunteer mobilization since the war began covers the last gateway for groups such as al-Qaida in Iraq seeking new havens in northern Iraq, U.S. military officials said.
U.S. commanders have tried to build a ring around insurgents who fled military offensives launched earlier this year in the western Anbar province and later into Baghdad and surrounding areas. In many places, the U.S.-led battles were given key help from tribal militias mainly Sunnis that had turned against al-Qaida and other groups.
Tribesmen will man 200 security checkpoints
The ceremony to pledge the 6,000 new fighters was presided over by a dozen sheiks each draped in black robes trimmed with gold braiding who signed the contract on behalf of tribesmen at a small U.S. outpost in north-central Iraq.
For about $275 a month nearly the salary for the typical Iraqi policeman the tribesmen will man about 200 security checkpoints beginning Dec. 7, supplementing hundreds of Iraqi forces already in the area.
About 77,000 Iraqis nationwide, mostly Sunnis, have broken with the insurgents and joined U.S.-backed self-defense groups.
Those groups have played a major role in the lull in violence: 648 Iraqi civilians have been killed or found dead in November to date, according to figures compiled by The Associated Press. This compares with 2,155 in May as the so-called surge of nearly 30,000 additional American troops gained momentum.
Anyone else notice this now often used phrase so-called "surge"
It keeps poppin up in different spots. And prolly by the same folks that were so opposed to the "surge" to begin with! Now, it's the so-called "surge."
#1
They can call it anything they want, but it's working, and that's all that matters. In the end, they will have to eat crow. Of course, they will never ADMIT eating crow, or that the surge worked, or that things are turning around quite nicely in Iraq, but that won't keep it from happening. Because it's happening from the bottom up, instead of from the top down, it's more likely to last past the withdrawal of most US combat troops, and will unite Shia, Sunni, Kurds, and the rest of Iraq far more closely than anything the US or the Maliki government could implement. Bush 10, Aq/MSM/Dems/BDS 0.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/29/2007 17:26 Comments ||
Top||
#2
This can't be! We lost. Quagmire. More quagmire. Doom. Gloom. Retreat. Pull out. Harry Reid said so. Wheweee, what a bunch of leftards and morons are the donks and their fellow travelers.
#3
A quick google news search on "so-called surge" returns something like 345 stories using that phrase. It is probably now part of the style manual in most newsrooms.
S'Okay, the black feathers stuck in their teeth always give them away.
Right now, if we have to win "ugly, then so be it. I just wish we didn't need to rely upon people whojust a few short months agowere trying to kill us. Just because they figured out that their's was the wrong side of the equation doesn't mean that they'll stay loyal when Infidel push comes to Islamic shove. In typical Muslim fashion, this is an alliance of convenience and not any genuine convergence of ideologies.
I can only hope Petraeus and his staff have full contingency plans in place for doing without the help of these one-time enemies. All of that said, my hat's off to Petraeus for turning around what was obviously a really sticky wicket. The man deserves our nation's thanks for saving untold numbers of our soldiers' lives.
#5
They'd call Bush "so-called President" and Republicans "so-called humans" too, if they thought they could get away with it.
And didn't you just love the fair and balanced selection of questions for the YouTube/CNN debate? You can't accuse them of double standards: for the Democratic debates they used questions by Democratic activists, and for the Republican debates they used questions by Democratic activists! And the Dems have the gall to boycott Fox because of bias??
#6
Z: Right now, if we have to win "ugly, then so be it. I just wish we didn't need to rely upon people whojust a few short months agowere trying to kill us.
I'm thinking that there might have been some kind of misunderstanding among the Sunnis. The Shiite-controlled central government was mounting an economic embargo against Sunni areas. We weren't providing any economic help. They might have thought we were trying to kill them all by proxy. By switching gears and disbursing aid money directly to them instead of routing it via the Shiite controlled central government, we might have convinced the Sunnis that we weren't interested in their extinction, and were in fact concerned about preventing the Shiites from wiping them out. I'm sure the anti-American propaganda coming out from the Arab media's airwaves - combined with everything they learned in Saddam's school system - wasn't helping. (Of course, the Sunnis also learned from al Qaeda's actions who their friends were not).
#7
I'm thinking that there might have been some kind of misunderstanding among the Sunnis.
After all, they've always been our friends in times before this.
The Shiite-controlled central government was mounting an economic embargo against Sunni areas. We weren't providing any economic help.
Mebbe because they were doing their best to kill us in large numbers?
They might have thought we were trying to kill them all by proxy.
A less deserved fate is difficult to imagine after the 9-11 atrocity.
Zhang Fei, I understand the partisan motivated political structure that you are identifying. I happen to have some exceptional reservations about just how far such previously inimicable forces can be trusted, if at all.
#8
Z: Zhang Fei, I understand the partisan motivated political structure that you are identifying. I happen to have some exceptional reservations about just how far such previously inimicable forces can be trusted, if at all.
I think individual Sunnis can be trusted to act in their own interests. I don't think getting killed because they disagree with some Sunni or Shiite leader or don't like going to mosque is in any Sunni's interests. We are basically bypassing the Shiite-run central government's combination of corruption and anti-Sunni sentiment to hand out the goodies directly to Sunnis AND whacking any Sunni extremist leader who thinks he's got the right to kill anybody he feels like killing. Ordinary Sunnis might simply be responding to our combination of benefits AND protection. Stateside, we have witness protection programs for people who have some likelihood of getting killed for providing information. In Iraq, spies and enforcers are literally everywhere, and we weren't providing protection for individuals who were risking their entire families' lives (as well as those of hundreds of friends and relatives - given the broad Arab notion of revenge).
#9
We are basically bypassing the Shiite-run central government's combination of corruption and anti-Sunni sentiment to hand out the goodies directly to Sunnis AND whacking any Sunni extremist leader who thinks he's got the right to kill anybody he feels like killing.
I truly and personally believe that you're right,in your estimation. I just happen to have a deeply cynical view of Islam in general that has yet to be disproven. Three cheers for our ability to adapt to the ridiculous Arab antics we've been confronted with.
This in no way makes your own analysis any less appropriate, Zhang Fei. I'm just having a great deal of trouble trusting any followers of a creed that recognizes religiously sanctioned lies.
DEBKAfile reports: Israeli troops fighting off Palestinian assaults on Gaza-Israel border fence kill 5 Hamas Wednesday night
Our military sources report they were killed by Golani Brigade troops, who drove into the Gaza Strip and intercepted Hamas gunmen heading for the fence. Altogether in the last 48 hours, 15 armed Palestinians were killed before they reached firing positions on the border or managed to cross over. Among them was a three-man Hamas mortar crew on its way to shell Kerem Shalom.
#3
I LIKE the new Israeli policy of hitting Hamass any time there's a rocket or mortar shell fired at Israel. They need to up the ante by cutting all supplies to Gaza and the West Bank, and implementing the policy on both sides. Nothing succeeds quite as well as destroying your enemy's ability to wage war against you. Economic warfare is a legitimate means of doing that.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/29/2007 17:28 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Hamas needs a hot sand suppository every time they even try to pull this crap.
Jordan's military court on Wednesday sentenced an al-Qaida militant to 10 years in prison for the 2002 slaying of a US diplomat in a retrial of the defendant, who had earlier been sentenced to death for the crime.
Judges of the State Security Court concluded that while Mohammed Ahmed Youssef al-Jaghbeer was involved in terrorist actions, he did not intend to kill the envoy, Laurence Foley, who was gunned down outside his Amman home on October 28, 2002. Foley, 60, was an administrator for the US Agency for International Development. Jaghbeer, 36, was convicted in absentia in 2004 and sentenced to death.
This article starring:
Laurence Foley
Mohammed Ahmed Youssef al-Jaghbeer
al-Tawhid
Posted by: Fred ||
11/29/2007 00:00 ||
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[11132 views]
Top|| File under: al-Tawhid
An IAF aircraft targeted a Hamas base in southern Gaza on Wednesday, killing two Hamas men and wounding more than 10 others, Palestinian officials said. The IDF confirmed the strike, saying it was retaliation for Palestinian rocket and mortar fire from Gaza into Israel.
Three explosions hit the Hamas installation in the town of Khan Yunis, leaving two Hamas policemen dead and more than 10 people wounded, Hamas radio reported. Dr. Moaiya Hassanain of the Gaza Health Ministry confirmed the deaths.
Seven mortar shells and two Kassam rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, landing in the western Negev. One mortar caused damage to a chicken coop; the rest of the shells landed in open fields.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/29/2007 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Hamas
An Israeli Arab woman was sentenced to three years in prison Wednesday for aiding the Hezbollah militia that fought a bitter war with Israel last summer.
According to the ruling, Manar Jabarin, 24, from the Israeli Arab town of Umm al-Fahm met with Hezbollah agents while studying at Amman University, Jordan in 2004. She agreed to transfer a computer memory card with intelligence information from Hezbollah to its operatives in the West Bank. Jabarin never actually joined the militia, nor did she deliver their messages, but she did maintain contact with an enemy agent for two years, the ruling said.
Israel and the Hezbollah fought a 34-day war last summer after Hezbollah guerrillas killed three Israeli soldiers and captured two others in a cross-border raid. Hezbollah is defined as a terrorist organization by Israel, the U.S. and others. The judges wrote that they took into account her young age at the time of the events as well her expressions of remorse throughout the trial. She has 45 days to appeal the sentence.
This article starring:
Manar Jabarin
Hezbollah
Posted by: Fred ||
11/29/2007 00:00 ||
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[11132 views]
Top|| File under: Hezbollah
#1
Israeli Arab woman sentenced hanged for assisting Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas
#2
If she is an Israeli citizen, she is a traitor. If she's a traitor, 3 years in prison for treason makes a laughingstock of the judicial system. Treason deserves a far harsher punishment.
A Muslim military informant was shot and crucified, while two Buddhist men were beheaded on Wednesday by suspected Islamic separatists in Thailand's restive south, police said.
Shouldn't that be "Thailand's barbaric south"?
The Muslim man, a 58-year-old who acted as an informant to Thailand's military, was shot and then stabbed so badly that he was nearly decapitated, police Lieutenant Khanchitthol Kreunor told AFP. Suspected rebels then drove six-inch nails through his head, arms and legs to attach him to two pieces of wood, which were laid out like a cross in the middle of a road in Rueso district of Narathiwat province, near the southern border with Malaysia, he said. Khanchitthol said police found a note written in Thai and left near the cross, reading:
"This is what the infidels deserve. The soldier dogs must meet this end."
"This is what the infidels deserve. The soldier dogs must meet this end."
"The victim was attacked and killed in such a grisly way because they knew he was a military informant. This is to terrify the people," Khanchitthol said.
No! Reeeeeally?
About two hours later, two Buddhist fishmongers aged 20 and 61 were shot and then beheaded in another district of Narathiwat, police said. The killings came after a month of spiralling violence in the region, which has seen more than 2 700 killed since separatist unrest erupted four years ago.
Thailand's southernmost provinces were an ethnic Malay sultanate until the Buddhist kingdom annexed it a century ago, provoking decades of tension. Monitoring group Intellectual Deep South Watch said last week that November has been one of the most violent months this year.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/29/2007 00:00 ||
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[11131 views]
Top|| File under: Thai Insurgency
#1
Mennonites? Zen buddhists?
Oh! iSlam!
iSlam is the problem. iSlam always has been the problem.
#2
Thailand needs to build an Israeli-style fence across its southern border, and put a few dozen more patrol boats among the islands to the west. The terrorists may or may not be local, but the funding definitely comes from the south.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
11/29/2007 17:31 Comments ||
Top||
A disabled Tamil Tiger suicide bomber with explosives hidden in her bra blew herself up outside the office of a Tamil minister Wednesday, killing his secretary, the Sri Lankan military said.
Two men from the ministers security staff were also wounded in the blast, one seriously, Colombo national hospital spokeswoman Pushpa Soysa told AFP. Officials said they believed that the attack was the work of the Tamil Tigers and aimed at Social Welfare Minister Douglas Devananda, who has survived at least four previous attempts on his life. At 8:05 am today (an) LTTE handicapped female suicide cadre exploded herself at the office of minister Douglas Devananda, in the heart of the Sri Lanka capital, the defence ministry said in a statement. Devananda, a vocal opponent of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), once fought alongside the guerrillas before turning to politics in the 1980s.
The minister, leader of the Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP) - a key ally in President Mahinda Rajapaksas ruling coalition - escaped unhurt, a party spokesman said. The minister generally meets the public on Wednesdays to look into their grievances. The woman blew herself up when the ministers security personnel carried out a routine body check on her, the EPDP spokesman said.
Police investigators at the scene said the Tamil suicide bomber was disabled with polio and appeared to have wired her bra to explode when it was tampered with. She also died in the blast. Tiger suicide bombers usually don jackets with a manual detonating device around waist level, police said. Devananda survived a similar bra bomb attack in 2004. Attack of the FemBots!
Wednesdays attack came one day after Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran declared that Sri Lankan peace efforts were a waste of time and vowed to strike back at the islands genocidal government. Those who plan to destroy the Tamil nation will in the end be forced to face their own destruction, he said delivering his annual policy speech from a jungle hideout in his northern fiefdom. A reclusive leader, Prabhakaran launched a furious assault on the islands Sinhalese majority accusing The Sinhala nation of trying to destroy the Tamil nation. It is unleashing unthinkable violence against another people. It only desires to find a solution to the Tamil question through military might and oppression, he said. On Monday the islands defence secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapakse, told AFP that his forces were now going all out to kill Prabhakaran and recapture the north of the country.
The government has this year wrested control of the east from the LTTE, sunk several LTTE gun-running ships and earlier this month killed the LTTEs political chief in an air raid.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/29/2007 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under:
A U.N. inquiry has made progress in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, closely examining the possibility that two or more teams may have carried out the attack, the chief investigator said Wednesday. While not identifying anyone, Belgian prosecutor Serge Brammertz said in his final report to the Security Council that progress by the U.N. International Independent Investigation Commission has led to the identification of new "persons of interest" and other new leads.
"The commission has also deepened and broadened its understanding of the possible involvement of a number of persons of interest, including persons who have recently been identified by the commission, who may have been involved in some aspects of the preparation and commission of the crime or who may have known that a plan to carry out the crime was being prepared," Brammertz said.
Brammertz said the commission also confirmed its hypothesis that "operational links may exist" between the perpetrators of 18 other targeted assassinations and bombings in Lebanon, adding that confirming these links and establishing new links will also be a priority in the near future.
Continued on Page 49
#1
Investigators have previously confirmed that a single blast from a Mitsubishi Canter van packed with 3,960 pounds of high explosives was detonated "most likely" by a male suicide bomber in central Beirut on Feb. 14, 2005, killing Hariri and 22 others.
The Lebanese army has been deployed in Tripoli to try prevent further clashes between gunmen from opposition and pro-government groups. Fighting broke out on Tuesday between a newly-formed group loyal to parliamentary majority leader Saad Hariri and a local Islamist group.
A member of the pro-Syrian Islamic Unification Movement (IUM) died during the fighting, police said. It comes amid a sharp political crisis and fears of a return to civil strife.
IUM and Tripoli Brigades members exchanged automatic fire in the Abi Samra neighbourhood in the northern port city. In all seven people were wounded during the clash. Reports say a second man, from the pro-government Tripoli Brigades, died of his injuries later in hospital, but this has not been confirmed. Security sources are quoted saying the bloodshed occurred near the IUM's headquarters and was sparked by a dispute between two men.
This article starring:
Islamic Unification Movement
Posted by: Fred ||
11/29/2007 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Islamic Unification Movement
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.
(Interfax) - A foreign mercenary has been killed in a special operation conducted by law enforcement agencies in the Shatoi district of Chechnya, Russian Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev said on Wednesday. "I can say that an operation was successfully conducted in the Shatoi district yesterday and the day before yesterday, in which a foreign mercenary directly related to an organized core of international terrorism was killed," Nurgaliyev said at a meeting of the military board of the main command of the Russian Interior Forces.
A Florida-based doctor convicted of supporting al-Qaeda for swearing allegiance to Osama bin Laden and agreeing to help treat wounded fighters was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Wednesday 
Owners of garment shops in Peshawar have either removed the mannequins used for displaying dresses or covered them with clothes after receiving threatening letters from militants. A meeting of the shopkeepers association of Karimpura, held here on Tuesday to discuss the militants threat, decided to remove the mannequins altogether or fully cover them. The meeting was informed that 10 militants visited the Shaheen Bazaar, a market for women, and asked the shopkeepers to remove mannequins which, they said, promoted obscenity. The letter sent by the militants warned them of dire consequences, if they did not carry out the instruction.
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has stepped down as chief of the army in a ceremony transferring power to his hand-picked successor, General Ashfaq Kayani. On Thursday, Mr. Musharraf is scheduled to take the oath as a civilian president. Members of Pakistan's caretaker government joined journalists and military officers for the resignation ceremony in a small stadium in Rawalpindi. 
Troops on Wednesday seized 
GHALANAI: Militants kidnapped eight khasadars (tribal policemen) late on Tuesday night at Karappa mountain, 10 km south of Mohmand Agency headquarters Ghalanai. The khasadars were on watch at the Sharmakhano checkpost when militants besieged them around midnight. The militants took them along with their weaponry to an unknown destination.
KHAR: Pro-Taliban militants have warned residents here not to put musical ring tones or pictures in their mobile phones, witnesses said on Wednesday. A pamphlet distributed in Khar, the main town of Bajaur district bordering Afghanistan, also told people not to shave their beards, listen to music or smoke cigarettes and hashish. The pamphlet, handwritten in Pashto language, also forbade tribesmen from leaving their homes without caps or to carry weapons without permission from the militants. Bajaur is one of seven semi-autonomous tribal regions in the area. In the past militants have blown up music shops and hair salons and plucked stereos from vehicles. Many tribesmen sympathise with the Taliban in Afghanistan and are pushing for a Taliban-style system of governance in the rugged region.
LANDI KOTAL: A Turkish national was kidnapped in the Takkiya area of Khyber Agency on Wednesday, officials said. Landi Kotal Assistant Political Agent Ahmed Khan Orakzai told Daily Times that authorities had set up roadblocks as part of efforts to recover the kidnapped man. The Turkish national, identified as Buryal, arrived in Pakistan on Wednesday. The political authorities in Torkham deputed Khasadar Jehanzaib as his guard. Unidentified kidnappers intercepted the car carrying Buryal and the khasdar at Takkya at around 12.30pm, an official said. Eyewitnesses said the kidnappers were bearded men with long hair, and were sporting turbans. They had been waiting all morning for the ambush, they added. The kidnappers later released the khasadar, who had to be hospitalised as he had been beaten severely. Buryal arrived in Pakistan from Afghanistan but it could not be ascertained whether he was on an official or private visit.
Gunmen ambushed a paramilitary convoy in Balochistan on Wednesday, killing three soldiers and injuring five others, officials said. The attack took place in Panjgur district, bordering Iran, an area where both tribals and criminals are known to be active, a paramilitary commander told AFP. Unknown miscreants lobbed a hand grenade and fired bullets at two vehicles of the Frontier Corps in Panjgur district, killing three soldiers and wounding five, he said. Troops returned fire but there were no immediate reports of casualties among the assailants, the official said. Nobody has claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), a banned group, has claimed responsibility for several such attacks in the past.
An IAF aircraft targeted a Hamas base in southern Gaza on Wednesday, killing two Hamas men and wounding more than 10 others, Palestinian officials said. The IDF confirmed the strike, saying it was retaliation for Palestinian rocket and mortar fire from Gaza into Israel. 
An Israeli Arab woman was sentenced to three years in prison Wednesday for aiding the Hezbollah militia that fought a bitter war with Israel last summer.
