We had this story yesterday. Here's the missing detail.
A TALIBAN warlord behind suicide attacks on British troops has been killed during a daring operation in Afghanistan, it was reported today. The Special Boat Service ambushed Mullah Abdul Matin as he crossed a desert on a motorbike. He was shot dead by troops from the elite division of the Royal Navy after they were dropped into his path by helicopter. Reports said Matin opened fire with an AK47 rifle, but was shot dead along with two guards including key Taliban lieutenant Mullah Karim Agha.
Matin, who was in his 40s, was killed on Monday near Gereshk in Helmand Province.
Matin had been one of the Coalition's top targets in recent months. He and his followers are believed to be responsible for several suicide bomb attacks on British convoys. His men are thought to have been behind the deaths of Royal Marine Gary Wright, 22, in October 2006, and Sgt Dave Wilkinson, 33, last July, as well as the murders of dozens of Afghan civilians.
This article starring:
MULLAH KARIM AGHA
Mullah Abdul Matin
Posted by: Fred ||
02/23/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Love the bit about a 'copter dropping off interdiction teams!
I don't know much about how the Special Boat Service works (is it like the SEALS?) but something about it/them being dropped in the desert gave me a smirk. Nice hunting.
#6
Well, use firefox, install RIP extension, right click on pic - RIP advanced - Remove from this website. Right click on pic - Remove this permanently.
#7
"Hello, this is Mullah Matin! I am caught in an ambush and need helo evac immediately! Alert the Talib Air Force. What's that? We don't have an Air Force? No helos? Aiiiigggghheeee!" *bam*
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/23/2008 8:50 Comments ||
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#8
How long before the one-eyed Mullah Omar becomes the late Mullah Omar?
#9
I don't know much about how the Special Boat Service works...
Kinda like SEALs, only without the PR office.
Posted by: Steve ||
02/23/2008 12:26 Comments ||
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#10
LOL. That sums it up nicely Steve. Not by strength, by guile
"The SBS is secretive, with no public media exposure like that which followed the SAS raid on the Iranian embassy in London, but in 1972 the service was in the spotlight after parachuting SBS troops onto the QEII in the mid-Atlantic in response to a bomb threat. The event formed the basis for a movie called 'Assault Force' in 1980.
Also a Wikipedia link.
#13
Seeing as a Hellfire would have been effective, dropping SBS of a helicopter appears that the primary goal was an intelligence capture, not just termination.
Army troops last weekend have killed 2 terrorists, and have retrieved a Kalashnikov gun machine at Iazaben village, 10km south east Menacer municipality, Tipaza province, a coastal area near Algiers. Both terrorists have been among a terrorist group whose number has not been determined, while four of them have left the group in view of getting information about the security forces, they have been surprised by the army troops setting an ambush; two of them have been killed, a source briefed on the situation reported. A gun machine has been recuperated, but the other has been taken by the terrorists.
In this context, a local source indicated that this terrorist group are likely to have fled to Ain Defla mountains, as the ambush has occurred few kilometres away the borders between Ain Defla and Tipaza.
In another hand, during the first criminal session of 2008, beginning today, 611 defendants will be judged, including 341 are on a run, all them are terrorists, including 10 Emirs terrorist chiefs. They have been charged of pertaining to terrorist groups, premeditated crimes, and setting bombs in public places.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/23/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
"611 defendants will be judged, including 341 are on a run, all them are terrorists, including 10 Emirs terrorist chiefs."
Reminds me of that trial story on the global net in Starship Troopers.
"A murderer was captured this morning."
"Trial was held this afternoon."
(gavel pounds) "GUILTY!"
"Execution at 10 o'clock, all channels."
A Montreal man accused of terrorist ties displayed secretive and violent behaviour and once discussed commandeering a commercial aircraft for "aggressive ends," Canada's spy service alleges.
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service allegations against Morocco-born Adil Charkaoui came late Friday as the federal government renewed its efforts to deport five Muslim men accused of terrorist links.
Ottawa filed updated national security certificates against the five - including some pointed fresh accusations - following recent passage of new legislation. The reworked law creates special advocates to defend the interests of suspected terrorists and spies tagged for deportation under the controversial security certificate process. The change is intended to bring the process in line with the Charter of Rights, after the Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional last year.
The government did not file a new certificate against a sixth man, Manickavasagam Suresh, accused of ties to the Tamil Tigers. It was not immediately clear what would become of his case.
Charkaoui, a landed immigrant from Morocco, was arrested in Montreal in May 2003, accused of being an al-Qaida sleeper agent prepared to wage terror attacks against western targets. He denies the allegations.
Lies, all lies, as usual, despite all the evidence ...
CSIS claims convicted terrorist Ahmed Ressam has identified Charkaoui as being present at an al-Qaida training camp in Afghanistan. The newly filed documents say that in November 2001, Charkaoui described the war in Afghanistan as a battle against Islam "led by the wicked and the Crusaders."
In June 2000, Charkaoui allegedly had a conversation with two others about their apparent desire to take control of a commercial plane for aggressive purposes. The documents say he once applied to work in the air traffic control operations at Air Canada and, later, had an interest in working in the baggage section of Mirabel airport. CSIS suggests the job search, taken in connection with the earlier conversation, may have been part of the "planning of an attack."
The documents allege he has shown violent and impulsive behaviour, once beating up a delivery man. CSIS also says that on several occasions Charkaoui stressed the need for secrecy, once cautioning an associate to "speak only in generalities."
Security certificates have been issued in 28 cases in Canada since 1991. The secrecy of the process has drawn vocal criticism from lawyers, civil libertarians and human-rights advocates in recent years.
Under the new law, the special advocate would serve as a check on the state by being able to challenge the government's claims of secrecy over evidence, as well the relevance and weight of the facts.
The five men facing deportation under the refiled certificates will each be granted a new court hearing to determine the validity of the case.
#1
There are those magic words again "National Security Certificates". When the Canadian guv drags those out then you know they're serious.
All that matters here is that these dudes are being kept in custody. . . . . indefinitely. They can have all the lawyers they want but they will remain in custody. . . . . indefinitely.
And while they're in custody every word they say will be weighed and analyzed to dig out more of their buddies and more of their secrets until they've been drained. Eventually they'll be deported. Eventually, eventually. . . . . but it happens. And the way it's done ain't pretty.
Diphu: Three cadres of the Karbi Longri NC Hills Liberation Front were killed in a gunfight with Assam Rifles personnel even as seven persons were apprehended in Karbi Anglong district on Friday.
Posted by: john frum ||
02/23/2008 00:00 ||
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Malakand Region Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Syed Akhtar Ali Shah said on Friday that all police stations and checkposts in the militancy-hit Swat district had been restored and the police was ready to deal with any kind of situation.
The police kept the situation under control in cooperation with the general public during elections and no unpleasant incident took place, DIG Syed Akhtar Ali Shah told Daily Times in an interview.
Restoration of police stations and check posts comes weeks after a military operation started against militants loyal to pro Taliban cleric Maulana Fazlullah who made an unsuccessful attempt last year to take over the district and establish Islamic administration. Shah said that police personnel had also been deployed at the restored police stations and that they had resumed their professional duties.
Preparedness: The DIG said the Swat police was well prepared to handle any unpleasant incident and was effectively dealing with militants in the area. The police official said the people of Swat played a courageous and commendable role during the general elections, which made the elections not only possible but also peaceful.
The DIG said 569 polling stations in Swat were declared highly sensitive while 116 were declared dangerous.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/23/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Dr. Who?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
02/23/2008 12:22 Comments ||
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The security forces have restarted the military operation in Matta tehsil of Swat, Channel-5 reported on Friday. According to the channel, the measure followed a remote-controlled bomb explosion in Matta. Security forces shelled suspected positions of militants from Kanju, the channel said, and the operation had not ended until midnight.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/23/2008 00:00 ||
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A remote-controlled bomb ripped through a wedding party convoy on Friday, killing 14 people and wounding 13 others in the Matta tehsil of Swat district, hospital and police sources said. The bomb, which detonated in the Ronial Takh Maira area of the region, exploded around 4pm when the wedding party was travelling from Kandogai village to Pir Dar Baba village. The bride, four children aged between five and 12 years, and four bystanders died instantly. The injured, mostly children, were shifted to Saidu Sharif Hospital as well as a private hospital in Matta tehsil. Hospital sources said most of the injured were in critical condition.
Security forces reached the scene soon after the blast and cordoned off the area, local police said. There was a remote-controlled bomb explosion which targeted a wedding party. Two cars were destroyed including the car in which the bride was travelling, [and] she died, local police officer Haroon Khan told AFP. Interior Ministry spokesman Brigadier Javed Cheema confirmed that the bomb had targeted the wedding party. He and an ISPR spokesman had earlier said that eight people were killed in the bombing. This was the first such incident after the completion of the largely peaceful parliamentary elections on February 18. None of the militant groups have accepted responsibility and police have not made any arrests thus far.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/23/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
A wedding party attacked? Must have been by American soldiers who were illegally in P'stan. Right?
BANGALORE: An electrical engineer who was once employed with a leading US multinational and is an active member of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) has been arrested from Bangalore by police who claim the 32-year-old could hold the key to cracking a dangerous terror web that spanned swathes of India, from UP to Kerala.
A native of a village near Kozhikode, Kerala, Yahya Iyash Kamkutty came to Bangalore eight years ago after completing a bachelor's degree in engineering from one of Kerala's best institutes. While working with GE, he kept in touch with terror suspects Mohammed Asif, Asadullah Abubaker and their associates. The gang held several meetings in north Karnataka and were preparing to strike at key installations in the state, police said.
Yahya's arrest late on Thursday once again points to the increasing use of highly-trained professionals being lured into terror groups which have used sophisticated methods and planning in their attacks.
It was from Bangalore that Glasgow bomber Kafeel Ahmed, a PhD scholar in aeronautical engineering and his brother, Sabeel Ahmed, went to UK.
Police said Yahya became more active in SIMI after he lost his job at GE while trying to steal data to set up his own firm.
It was another arrested terror suspect, Mohammed Asif, who revealed the name of Yahya and his association with SIMI. Thereafter, the cops, who were investigating recent terror cases in north Karnataka, started questioning Yahya. Finally, on Thursday night, he was arrested.
Police have seized a laptop, hard disc, jihadi material and hundreds of books from Yahya's house. They would be sending the hard disc for decoding information. They are hoping to get his contacts, communication and plans from the email communication.
Karnataka sleuths took Yahya to Hubli to produce him before a magistrate because the case is registered there. They plan to take him in their custody and put him through polygraph tests, brain mapping and narcoanalysis
Posted by: john frum ||
02/23/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Maybe it was the nickname of Yahya 'the Torpedo' Kamkutty that got the Bangalore cops suspicious...
The Supreme Court on Friday refused to pass a direction for expediting the execution of death sentence of Mohmammad Afzal, convicted in the 2001 Parliament attack case."It is not our duty. It is for the executive to decide how to consider the matter. We cannot pass such direction," a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan said.
The executive is worried about their Muslim votebank. Afzal won't be hanged. He'll probably be released after a few years and enter politics.
"This court cannot give such directions. We already passed the final order. You go to the executive," the Bench told the petitioner, NGO Lashkar-e-Hind.
The court's remark's came while dismissing a PIL seeking direction to the Centre not to delay the hanging of Afzal, a Jaish-e-Mohammadterrorist activist, whose death sentence was upheld by the apex Court on August 4, 2005.
Afzal's conviction and death sentence by the trial court was upheld by both the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court which had dismissed his review and curative petition, the last legal remedy available to a convict.
While two of the three other accused were acquitted, Shaukat Hussain Guru, Afzal's associate, was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for not informing the police about the conspiracy to attack Parliament.
The petition pointed out the Centre cannot sit on the mercy petition indefinitely."There is no laid down procedure which the President and the council of ministers must follow while dealing with mercy petitions which means empowering the government with unfettered authority which is undesirable," counsel appearing for the petitioner contended.
The Counsel submitted that he had approached the President but had received no response. The Bench, also comprising Justices R V Ravindran and Markandey Katju, however, dismissed his contention.
This article starring:
Mohmammad Afzal
Shaukat Hussain Guru
Jaish-e-Mohammad
Posted by: john frum ||
02/23/2008 00:00 ||
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MOSUL, Iraq Coalition forces discovered a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device disguised as a Red Crescent food relief truck in southeastern Mosul Feb. 15. Isn't using relief trucks as weapons some kind of war crime?
The truck was labeled with hospital markings but contained eight 55-gallon drums with more than 5,000 pounds of unknown bulk explosives.
The discovery was made during a route clearance operation as part of Operation Phantom Phoenix. Because of the proximity of the VBIED to civilian population, an explosive ordnance disposal team determined the truck would need to be removed from the neighborhood before its destruction.
A VBIED detonation of this size would kill or injure many innocent civilians. This just shows how ruthless al Qaeda is and their lack of concern for the effect of their operations on the Iraqi people, said Lt. Col. Christopher Johnson, commander of 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment.
#3
Well, the thing is that the rules of war were designed to create an economic barrier of entry into warfare so as to keep the riffraff out of it. In order to fight within the rules of war, one needs some significant financial backing and training and leadership not generally found in the lower classes. The purpose is to reserve war fighting for the upper classes as far as the conduct of it is concerned. Rabble can't afford uniforms and don't really care about rules. The British thought as much about us not playing by the rules in the Revolution. Imagine, us hiding behind rocks rather than standing in neat lines and facing our enemy!
#6
George Washington and the Continental Army didn't slaughter civilians with kegs of gunpowder.
The rules of war were created to try and keep disputes between governments as much as possible, and provide a bare minimum of protection. Rabble could wear uniforms if they wanted, but they don't want to, because wearing one makes you a huge target anywhere you go - that's the entire purpose of a uniform, to distinguish between civilians and soldiers.
I remember crosspatch; he's the one who called us brutal fascists because we don't agree with his worldview. Unlike others, I can have a difference of opinion with someone else, and it doesn't mean that they're unfeeling racists. But then again, I'm not closedminded.
#8
I guess I'm a brutal fascist then because this sort of attack is aimed primarily at civilians and that is a war crime. It was when Timothy McVeigh did it in OKC and it would have been here as well.
Terrorists are war criminals. They deserve the penalty for non-uniformed combatants spelled out by the Geneva Convention, to be shot out of hand on the battlefield.
PS. Don't try to tell me that Dresden, Tokyo, and the Hiroshima/Nagasaki attacks were war crimes as well - those were legitimate economic targets, if nothing else, during a long, brutal war and without those attacks thousands, possibly millions more would have died and the war would have gone on for perhaps a decade more.
#9
The 'Rules of War' were a creation of the late 19th Century finding a home in the Hague and Geneva Conventions more than over a 100 years after our experience in the War of Independence where the British thought nothing of letting the natives loose to butcher along the frontier. Just like AQ in Iraq, that disregard of and targeting of civilians drove fence sitters and even those who were up to that time Crown loyalist Tories to throw in with the Continental Congress.
The Turkish military said Friday it had sent troops into northern Iraq on Thursday night, in a limited operation to weaken Kurdish militants there. The military announced the operation on its Web site Friday, but Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan later played it down, describing the mission as "limited" in size and emphasizing that the soldiers would return to Turkey "in the shortest possible time."
Reports of the numbers of troops varied. Reuters cited the Turkish foreign minister and an unidentified American official in Baghdad as saying that only a few hundred had been deployed, while Turkish television reported that about 10,000 troops had been deployed. In Baghdad, Rear Admiral Gregg Smith described the incursion as "an operation of limited duration to specifically target PKK terrorists in that region."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/23/2008 00:00 ||
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Bombs, including one hidden under a horse-drawn cart, struck targets in Baghdad and to the north and west of the capital Friday, killing at least 12 people, police said.
The deadliest blast occurred in the Anbar city of Amiriyah, 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of Baghdad, when a suicide attacker targeted worshippers leaving a Sunni mosque following weekly Islamic prayer services, killing at least four people and wounding four, including the local police chief, officials said.
Anbar province is a former al-Qaida in Iraq stronghold that has seen a recent decline in violence after Sunni tribal leaders turned against the terror network, but sporadic attacks continue.
The bomb hidden under a horse-drawn cart exploded in downtown Baghdad, killing three civilians, including a street sweeper, and wounding six people, police said. AP Television News footage showed the dead horse lying on its side surrounded by rubble.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/23/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Killing horses? NOW they've gone too far. Even PETA and the SPCA will be against them.
Turkish General Army Staff on Friday said its troops will return to bases as soon as they achieve their targets against PKK in northern Iraq. The ground attack was executed by some 10,000 troops that made a 10-kilometer incursion into Iraqi soil and will return after ending the mission, Turkish news Agency Cehan said.
On his part, Iraq's Ambassador in Ankara told Turkish News Agency Anatoli that his country did not send an objection letter to Ankara regarding the attack, saying that such reports were "baseless." The Turkish military was authorized last November to enter into northern Iraq to pursue PKK rebels.
#1
What....they've no interest in sticking around for the "nation buidling" or the restoration of "democracy" phases??? Good on them, they have learned well from our missteps.
#2
troops will return to bases as soon as they achieve their targets against PKK in northern Iraq. The ground attack was executed by some 10,000 troops that made a 10-kilometer incursion into Iraqi soil and will return after ending the mission, Turkish news Agency Cehan said.
so in other words, they didn't leave yet and they have no intention on leaving anytime soon. Gosh, it almost seems as if the headline is written to downplay the significance of the fact that the Turks just invaded Northern Iraq.
#3
NOR yesterday said it was really more like 100 troops... but that may be because so many Turkish troops had already been parked on the wrong side of the border, if I remember correctly.
#4
When is Turkey going to force one of their top families who robbed Motorola and Noika of 10s of billions and have world court injunctions demanding it to turn over their loot to the pension funds and stockholders. Its way more damage then any PKK guys have been doing in Turkey.
#5
Actually Turkish troops advanced the first day some 20km, the second day helicopters dropped special troops on the Kandil mountains some 90km inside Iraq. The distance is not much, the importance is the area which is full of steep mountains where terrorists hide. In other words the Tora Bora of the Kurds.
Posted by: Harry ||
02/23/2008 17:03 Comments ||
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#6
So possibly both 10,000 and 100 are correct, Harry? Thanks!
Fourteen Aksa Martyrs Brigades terror operatives gave themselves up to the Palestinian Authority Friday after escaping from a Nablus prison the previous day. Palestinian officials said that the inmates surrendered after negotiations with Palestinian security forces. The prisoners, who are wanted by the IDF, said Thursday they had escaped "to protest the prison administration not living up to agreements" with them. Israeli officials said the escape demonstrated the PA's inability to fight terror.
Meanwhile, IDF troops arrested ten Palestinian fugitives in overnight operations in the West Bank. The detainees were transferred to security forces for interrogation.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/23/2008 00:00 ||
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Two Palestinian terrorists activists were killed and a third was wounded in an Israeli air raid early Friday on Maghazi Camp, central Gaza Strip. Palestinian witnesses and medical sources said Israeli helicopters launched a missile at a number of Palestinian terrorists activists massing grouping near the border between eastern Maghazi Camp and Israel, killing two and wounding a third.
Ambulances rushed to the area and medics transported ammunition the three victims to a hospital in Der Al-Balah, central Gaza.
Meanwhile, Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of Islamic Jihad, identified the two terrorists activists as Bassam Al-Hazeen and Ayman Saeed, both in their 20s. Local radio quoted a brigades spokesman as saying that the terrorists activists were on a mission from God when they were attacked by the Israeli helicopter.
(PTI): At least 43 LTTE militants and two soldiers were killed in fierce ground clashes in the embattled Northern Sri Lanka as air force fighter jets pounded a rebel stronghold, officials said on Friday. "Sri Lankan Air Force fighter jets made offensive sorties at an inland sea Tiger base this morning at Kiranchchi, west of Kilinochchi," the Media Centre for National Security (MCNS) said. The air raid was conducted around 8:15 am, it said adding "pilots have confirmed completing the mission successfully".
In ground clashes between the LTTE and security forces, five militants were killed in two separate confrontations in North-Western Mannar yesterday, the army said. Three rebels were gunned down in Parappakandal area in the region on Thursday in another confrontation.
Also, eight LTTE rebels were killed in west Mullikulam area of Vavuniya yesterday while another militant was killed elsewhere in the region on Thursday, the Defence ministry said.
Meanwhile, in clashes at the Northeastern Welioya, troops killed six LTTE cadres yesterday, the army said. In Karampaikulam area of Mannar, troops killed four Tiger militants yesterday, the army said adding two soldiers also lost their lives in the confrontation.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/23/2008 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.