On this day in history:
37 - Roman Emperor Caligula accepts the titles of the Principate, entitled to him by the Senate. (Obama, Principate?)
845 - Paris is sacked by Viking raiders, probably under Ragnar Lodbrok.
1930 - Constantinople and Angora change their names to Istanbul and Ankara.
1939 - Spanish Civil War: Generalissimo Francisco Franco conquers Madrid.
1979 - In Pennsylvania, Three Mile Island's Unit 2 nuclear reactor has partial melt down. (China Syndrome)
Also: Hai 7.2X ammo.
Also: Yes
Also: Absolutely.... the Federal Reserve is run by Martians under day by day control o
Also: Buy ammo! The economy needs you!
#2
Brings back memories of many C-17 trips through Ramstein. Sometimes you just had to wait till the lights were dimmed, pull your hat down over your face, slump down in the seat, and let'r rip for a while. It never got easier, but I suppose it's not supposed to.
Security forces in Afghanistan announced on Friday that they had killed 18 militants in various operations while a Taliban suicide bomber blew himself up near Italian troops but only killed himself. The deadliest battle was late Thursday during a raid against a 'key Taliban militant' and to disrupt a bombing cell.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/28/2009 00:00 ||
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Colombian President Alvaro Uribe says security forces have foiled a plan by FARC rebels to assassinate the country's defense chief. If you can't beat 'em, assassinate 'em.
Ten FARC soldiers disguised in police uniforms had planned to kill Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos and his family, Uribe said Thursday during a televised address. Police Director Oscar Naranjo said eight FARC soldiers were captured some 90 km (55 miles) outside Bogota, the capital near the minister's home. Officials did not reveal where the other two alleged assassins were detained. "Ungh! What hit me? Where am I?"
"Shuddup.[THUMP]!"
"Ungh! What hit me? Where am I? Who're you?"
"Shuddup.[THUMP]!"
"Ungh! What hit me? Where am I? Who're you? Who am I?"
"Into the paddy wagon wit' yez!"
Uribe congratulated those involved in the operation saying, "This investigation had been proceeding for several months, and fortunately the National Police has dealt this well-placed blow."
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), has been fighting the government since 1960's over the distribution of wealth in the country.
The rebels regularly attack government officials and troops. In the latest of such incidents the leftist group attacked an elite counter-guerrilla unit in the country's southeastern jungle, killing four soldiers.
So far 74 Colombian soldiers have been killed in fighting with Marxist guerrillas in 2009, according to the Defense Ministry. The police's share of the toll stands at 28.
Meanwhile, Colombia braces for serious FARC attacks this week as the rebel groups marked the anniversary of the death of its founding commander, Manuel Marulanda.
FARC has about 9,000 to 12,000 armed soldiers and several thousand supporters, operating mostly in Colombia.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/28/2009 00:00 ||
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A good rundown of the current situation, including a good map.
Pottu Amman and Soosai directing Tiger cadres in battlefront
With the Sri Lankan Army advancing into their last stronghold, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam are facing grave difficulties in their attempt to slow down the army's progress in what could be safely termed the last phase of the Eelam war. Among the many difficulties assailing the LTTE are shortage of arms and trained cadres, lack of proper military planning and especially the weak leadership. With the rapid advance of the troops, the LTTE leadership has become very weak, in the recent past, according to the former LTTE cadres, who fled to the cleared areas. Due to the situation, several leaders were reportedly under house arrest including former LTTE military spokesman Ilanthariyan and Peace Secretariat Head Pulidevan. Now no one knows the whereabouts of these two senior leaders. It was learnt that they were captured while attempting to flee the area
Also it has been reported that the health condition of LTTE Leader Velupillai Prabhakaran was getting worse as he was under severe mental stress due to the current war situation.
Several senior LTTE cadres who surrendered to the military have stated that none of the LTTE leaders could prevent the successive defeats suffered by the LTTE and this had weakened their leadership prowess. According to those surrendered cadres who had seen Prabhakaran on several occasions last week, before they fled, believed he was now hiding inside the government declared 'Safe Zone' mingling among the civilians. Surprise, surprise. Much, much more at link.
#1
also, nice map of Mario's health ills. Perhaps cut back on the Linguine? I don't think he'll die of natural causes or disease, unless you consider getting dead at the losing end of a civil war "natural causes"
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/28/2009 15:56 Comments ||
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#2
Here's an even better map, from Sri Lanka Maps. It shows even more troops, and is interactive. It looks like the LTTE's days are numbered, and in low double digits.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/28/2009 17:36 Comments ||
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#3
cool map, OP. Looks like the UN, Norway, et al, better quicktime their demands for a ceasefire or it will shortly be over...
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/28/2009 17:44 Comments ||
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#4
Good riddance.
Sri Lanka can't kill them fast enough in my opinion.
Security forces and militants on Friday clashed in Qamber area of Swat Valley, which resulted in the death of a recently released militant and injuries to a soldier.
The gunfight took place when militants allegedly fired at a convoy of the security forces, which was taking ration to Qamber town on the outskirts of Mingora. This was the third clash between the militants and forces after the peace deal between the NWFP government and the TNSM. However, officials of the local administration and Maulana Sufi Muhammad, head of TNSM, succeeded in keeping the peace accord intact.
Locals said the convoy of the security forces, mainly consisting of freight vehicles, came under fire from the militants at Qamber. The forces returned the fire, which led to a gunfight that continued for quite sometime. During the exchange of fire, a militant commander identified as Hayat Khan of Qamber was killed. Hayat Khan was freed some days ago when the government released the Taliban prisoners under the peace agreement. A soldier, Saifur Rahman, suffered injuries in the exchange of fire.
The main Mingora-Peshawar road remained blocked for hours due to the incident, causing problems to the people. Malakand Commissioner Syed Muhammad Javed and District Coordination Officer Khushal Khan rushed to the area to bring the situation under control. They succeeded in effecting a ceasefire between the two sides. However, sources said the militants took away eight vehicles of ration.
Meanwhile, Maulana Sufi Muhammad addressing the Friday congregation at the Mamdherai seminary, the former headquarters of Maulana Fazlullah, Sufi Muhammad urged people to play their role in the restoration of peace. In another incident, a cop identified as Zahid was picked up by militants from the busy Banr School Chowk. However, he was later released.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/28/2009 00:00 ||
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Suspected Taliban blew up a bridge on the Landikotal bypass on Friday evening, Levy Force personnel said, however, no causalities were reported. Local administrative sources said the bridge was hit with a mortar shell, damaging it partially and forcing the suspension of supplies to NATO forces in Afghanistan. Frontier Corps personnel had fired at the suspected locations after the blast, the sources added. The bridge was a key road link between Torkham and Peshawar.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/28/2009 00:00 ||
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Taliban on Friday killed two Afghan nationals, accusing them of spying for the United States in North Waziristan. Bodies of Ibrahim and Noor Gul were found on Mirali-Tall Road in Toda Cheena in the Shwa district. A note left with the bodies warned that anyone found spying for the US would meet the same fate. Separately, unidentified people shot dead Shirin Khan, a local, and escaped.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/28/2009 00:00 ||
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Seventy-six persons were killed and over 100 injured in an apparent suicide attack on a mosque at Peshawar-Torkham Highway during the Friday congregation, eyewitnesses said.
It was one of the worst suicide attacks and authorities said 16 among the dead were security personnel. Intelligence sources, however, put the number of dead at 86 but officials of the political administration were conservative by putting the death toll at 50.
The huge explosion, fourth in Jamrud, reduced the single-storey roadside mosque to rubble. Witnesses said they heard a big explosion that jolted the area just as the Imam (prayer leader) concluded his Friday sermon and the faithful stood up for the Friday prayer.
The dead included the prayer leader and his brother. Four personnel of the Frontier Corps (FC) and 12 Khassadars (tribal police). The others were tribesmen belonging to the nearby villages, Pakistani and Afghan civilians travelling between Peshawar and Torkham, and drivers and conductors of trucks carrying goods to neighbouring Afghanistan.
Political administration officials said the number of dead was more than 50. Talking to journalists at the Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC) in Peshawar, Political Agent Khyber Agency Tariq Hayat said 46 people were killed. However, the administration's control room in Jamrud put the death toll at 50. Some of the wounded were also stated to be in critical condition.
The targeted mosque is located on the roadside between Rekalay, Kufar Tangi and Sur Kamar villages. Locals said six of the dead were from Rekalay village while one hailed from Kufar Tangi.
Hundreds of people from the three villages and Jamrud town rushed to Bagyari on hearing the deafening sound of the blast. Announcements were made through loudspeakers in Jamrud, sited four km from Bagyari, asking the people to reach the blast site to help retrieve the dead and evacuate the injured to hospitals.
There were tragic scenes at the site of the explosion. Many of the dead were mutilated beyond recognition. Rescuers and grief-stricken relatives of the missing and the dead were collecting pieces of bodies in the hope of locating their near and dear ones. A goat killed by the blast was also lying near the destroyed mosque.
The confusion over the exact figure of the dead was primarily due to the fact that the local people quickly shifted bodies of their relatives to their villages. Three unclaimed bodies were brought to the HMC and another seven to the Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH) in Peshawar.
Hospital sources said 71 injured were admitted to the KTH, 25 to the HMC and another 10 people were brought to the Lady Reading Hospital (LRH). Several others with minor injuries were discharged after first aid, KTH Medical Superintendent Dr Khushdil told journalists.
Witnesses said there were more than 200 people in the mosque at the time of the blast. The main hall of the mosque, the veranda and the courtyard were crowded and this was the reason for the unusually high number of casualties.
Bismillah Jan, an FC official performing duty at the security post overlooking the highway, said the blast occurred soon after the Imam concluded his sermon. "I saw a flame leaping from the mosque and heard a deafening sound. I then rushed toward the mosque sited 50 metres away," he recalled. He said initially there weren't many rescuers to remove the faithful trapped under the debris of the collapsed mosque.
Jan reminded that the Khassadar picket just above the mosque had come under a rocket attack by suspected militants about a month back. He and some local tribesmen told The News that four militants were killed in exchange of fire with FC and Khassadars at the Bagyari checkpost one a half month ago. "This may be the Taliban retaliation to avenge the killing of their colleagues," said a Khassadar official at the checkpoint.
According to locals, a 10th class student, Irshad, who had come from his hometown Landikotal to appear in the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examination at the Higher Secondary School in Jamrud, was among the dead.
Another slain man was identified as Mohsinullah, son of Bashir Ahmad, a resident of Usmanabad in Charsadda district. He was a sub-engineer with a private firm and was offering prayer at the mosque.
The four FC men who lost their lives were identified as Naik Saeed Mulagori, Hawaldar Aulia Khan, Naik Farooq Khattak and cook Hidayat Khattak. Sepoy Dilawar Shalmani and Naik Fayaz of the FC suffered injuries.
Those killed among the Khassadar were Kaptan Khan, Abdullah Jan, Latif, Jan Muhammad, Hashmat Khan, Bahadar Chitrali, Irshad Khan, Zafar Khan, Shahid, Mosam Khan, Maslihat Gul Mulagori, Ziaur Rahman, Fahim, Afsar Khan and Khan Zada.
Their injured colleagues included Jan Akbar, Abdul Malik, Khizar Hayat, Asim and Muqadar Khan. Although no one has claimed responsibility for the attack, a commander of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan's Khyber Agency chapter had warned through the media of attacks if the security forces did not vacate the FC checkposts in Jamrud and Landikotal till February 20.
Khassadars at Bagyari told reporters after the blast that a Taliban commander Nazeer Afridi from the Sepah tribe in Bara had issued the warning through letters. Taliban had made it clear they would not allow the Peshawar-Torkham route to be used by vehicles carrying supplies for Nato forces in Afghanistan.
It is pertinent to add that suspected Taliban fighters have carried out several attacks against Afghanistan-bound Nato convoys and truck terminals in Peshawar and Khyber Agency in recent months and torched hundreds of trucks and containers.
Meanwhile, some residents and injured belonging to the villages of Rekalay and Kufar Tangi said they saw aircraft flying above the area since Friday morning. They feared the blast at the mosque could have been caused by a missile fired by a US drone.
However, the authorities in Khyber insisted that it was a suicide attack. APP adds from Islamabad: President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani strongly condemned the suicide attack and vowed the perpetrators would be brought to justice, according to separate statements issued here. They directed the concerned authorities to investigate into the matter.
President Zardari and Prime Minister Gilani also condoled with the families of the deceased. Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Speaker National Assembly Fehmida Mirza, Deputy Speaker Faisal Kundi, Chairman Senate, Farooq H. Naek, Deputy Chairman Jan Muhammad Jamali, ANP President Asfandyar Wali Khan, NWFP Governor Owais Ghani, NWFP Chief Minister Ameer Haider Hoti, Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad, MQM chief Altaf Hussain and Quaid-e-Milliat Jafariya Agha Syed Hamid Ali Shah Moosavi also strongly condemned the suicide attack.
They termed it as a cowardly act committed by the enemies of Islam and the country. They said these terrorists are enemies of Islam and humanity as killing innocent civilians has no justification whatsoever. They condoled with the bereaved families and prayed for early recovery of the injured.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/28/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
That will teach Imams from quoting from the gospel of Matthew, Mark, Luke and Duck.
A local official said on Friday that the death toll of the suicide blast in northwestern Pakistan''s Khyber tribal agency may reach above 70. The death toll may rise to 70 or more as more people are buried under rubbles after the explosion ripped through a mosque in Khyber Agency on the Afghan border, political agent Tariq Hayat told reporters on the spot.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/28/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Safest place to be is anywhere except inside a mosque.
PESHAWAR: The District Coordination Officer (DCO) Sahibzada Muhammad Anis said on Friday that 40 dead bodies were admitted to different hospitals of Peshawar from tehsil Jamrud.
Talking to Geo News here, he said that 40 bodies of the Jamrud suicide blast were brought to Khyber Teaching Hospital, Hayatabad Medical Complex and Government Leady Redding Hospital.
Anis said that as many as 170 people were getting medical treatment in various hospitals of the city.
He further said that emergency was declared in all hospitals of Peshawar immediately after the suicide attack.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/28/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Bringing the dead bodies to the hospital doesn't exactly strike me as prescient behavior...
#2
gromky, maybe the hospitals have the facilities for identifying the bodies? and cleaning up the corpses so the families don't have to deal with that ghastly gob before the funeral?
It was reported last night that Peter Moore, a computer programmer, and four security guards who have been held for almost two years, would gain their freedom in a prisoner swap arrangement. The Government refused to comment on the claims.
The British embassy in Baghdad confirmed last week that it had received a proof of life video of Mr Moore from the kidnappers. Officials have concluded that the men were moved to Iran late last year.
The group claimed that it had secured the freedom of 10 prominent Shia Muslim militants from US custody in Iraq. One of the men, Qais al Khazali, the group's leader, had been accused of murdering five US soldiers in a raid on an army base near the city of Karbala in 2007. Iranian op to capture US hostages after US forces arrested a bunch of Iranian operatives
His brother Laith and Ali Mousawi Dakdouk, a Lebanese Hezbollah figure, were also reportedly included in the phased release agreement.
Nouri al-Maliki, Iraq's prime minister, has recently stepped up his involvement in talks to free the men. He is believed to want the men, who were seized from the ministry of finance in Baghdad in May, 2007, to be freed before British troops withdraw from southern Iraq in a few months.
However, there was no official confirmation that the men would be released. "We've seen similar reports," a Foreign Office spokesman said. "This is a sensitive case. We are not going to comment on one media report on alleged remarks by people claiming to be hostage takers.
Posted by: ed ||
03/28/2009 09:45 ||
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BC News' Luis Martinez reports: Israel has conducted three military strikes against targets in Sudan since January in an effort to prevent what were believed to be Iranian weapons shipments from reaching Hamas in the Gaza Strip, ABC News has learned.
Earlier this week, CBSNews.com was the first to report that Israel had conducted an airstrike in January against a convoy carrying weapons north into Egypt to be smuggled into the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.
But actually, since January, Israel has conducted a total of three military strikes against smugglers transporting what were believed to be Iranian weapons shipments destined for Gaza, a U.S. official told ABC News.
The information matches recent reports from Sudanese officials of two airstrikes in the desert of eastern Sudan and the sinking of a ship in the Red Sea carrying weapons.
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/28/2009 11:10 ||
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#1
kinda hard too believe if it was an Iranian flagged ship they didn't raise a big stink and start rattling their swords
#2
On the flip side, having ships of your flag sunk while transporting weapons might not look too good, either. Might want to be careful about what gets attention and what doesn't.
THAILAND'S restive south was hit by fresh bomb blasts and shootings that left two people dead and 16 injured, police said on Friday.
They said suspected separatist militants shot dead a 29-year-old policeman in Narathiwat province and a 36-year-old Muslim deputy village chief in neighbouring Yala province late on Thursday.
On Friday nine soldiers were wounded, two seriously, when their army truck was hit by a roadside bomb during a routine patrol in Yala.
It was the fourth bomb attack to be blamed on southern militants in two days.
Two army rangers were also injured in a separate bombing in Narathiwat on Friday.
On Thursday three people including a policeman on foot patrol were injured in an explosion in Yala town, while two soldiers were hit by a blast in Narathiwat.
More than 3,600 people have been killed and thousands more injured in five years of separatist violence in the Muslim-majority provinces near the Malaysian border.
Buddhist-majority Thailand annexed the mainly Muslim, ethnic Malay area in 1902, sparking decades of tension and mistrust.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/28/2009 00:00 ||
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Two men suspected in several grenade explosion terrors in Aceh province was arrested in Langsa regency on Thursday and was immediately taken to the National Police headquarters in Jakarta.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/28/2009 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.
Security forces in Afghanistan announced on Friday that they had killed 18 militants in various operations while a Taliban suicide bomber blew himself up near Italian troops but only killed himself. The deadliest battle was late Thursday during a raid against a 'key Taliban militant' and to disrupt a bombing cell. 
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe says security forces have foiled a plan by FARC rebels to assassinate the country's defense chief. 
Security forces and militants on Friday clashed in Qamber area of Swat Valley, which resulted in the death of a recently released militant and injuries to a soldier.
Taliban on Friday killed two Afghan nationals, accusing them of spying for the United States in North Waziristan. Bodies of Ibrahim and Noor Gul were found on Mirali-Tall Road in Toda Cheena in the Shwa district. A note left with the bodies warned that anyone found spying for the US would meet the same fate. Separately, unidentified people shot dead Shirin Khan, a local, and escaped.
Seventy-six persons were killed and over 100 injured in an apparent suicide attack on a mosque at Peshawar-Torkham Highway during the Friday congregation, eyewitnesses said. 
A local official said on Friday that the death toll of the suicide blast in northwestern Pakistan''s Khyber tribal agency may reach above 70. The death toll may rise to 70 or more as more people are buried under rubbles after the explosion ripped through a mosque in Khyber Agency on the Afghan border, political agent Tariq Hayat told reporters on the spot.
PESHAWAR: The District Coordination Officer (DCO) Sahibzada Muhammad Anis said on Friday that 40 dead bodies were admitted to different hospitals of Peshawar from tehsil Jamrud. 
THAILAND'S restive south was hit by fresh bomb blasts and shootings that left two people dead and 16 injured, police said on Friday. 
