Some of the clerics in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif on Monday slammed the recent violence in the city in which the UN office was attacked by demonstrators protesting at the recent Koran burning by a US pastor.
Demonstrators overran the Unama's regional office in Mazar on Friday and some insurgents who had reportedly infiltrated in the crowd killed seven foreign workers. Four civilians lost their lives in the incident and 24 others were injured.
Calling the Koran burning by the Florida pastor a shameful act, clerics emphasised that the reaction should not have violent leading to the killing of innocent individuals.
Whoa! A vibration of common sense!
Clerics said as Muslims respect all the holy heavenly books,
Except that Muslims say the Jewish and Christian holy books are full of lies and distortions. But let's not quibble when the clerics are spreading verbal balm.
they expect others not to desecrate the Muslims' holy book.
You might want to speak to your religious brethren in the Ivory Coast...
One of the clerics slamming the deadly attack is Maulawi Qasem Khateeb at the Blue Mosque where demonstrators had first gathered before marching on the UN office. "I disapprove of what happened in Mazar. People did not expect the demonstration to lead to bloodshed and spoil the beauty of Balkh province," Maulawi Khateeb said.
Wait -- wasn't his mosque one of those that had a series of fiery sermons on the subject of the burning last Friday? If yes, what on earth did the maulawi expect to happen?
Meanwhile, residents of Alingar district of the eastern Laghman province on Monday staged a protest at the Koran burning and peacefully blocked the Jalalabad-Torkham route for some hours. The protesters chanted anti-US slogans and urged punishement of the Florida pastor.
Head of the Kandahar Religious Council condemned the violence in the city describing is as against Islamic teachings. He said plundering people's properties is considered a major crime in Islam.
The dhimmis are as sheep for the Muslim shearing, as fields of grain to be harvested, it is also said. Clearly the plunderers held to that opinion. Perhaps a public debate should be held on the subject.
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04/05/2011 00:00 ||
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Uhm, a little late for that isn't it Mahmud? Time to leave this hell hole.
#5
Screw you and every "islamic" country for that matter. Bring our MEN out of the devils a$$hole. There is no use in helping the barbarians from hell anymore. Our task is finished. If we have another 9-11, Nuke them. Thats our new foreign policy with all moslems.
Al-Qaida is exploiting the conflict in Libya to acquire weapons, including surface-to-air missiles, and smuggle them to a stronghold in northern Mali, a security official from neighbouring Algeria told Reuters.
The official said a convoy of eight Toyota pick-up trucks left eastern Libya, crossed into Chad and then Niger, and from there into northern Mali where in the past few days it delivered a cargo of weapons.
He said the weapons included Russian-made RPG-7 anti-tank rocket-propelled grenades, Kalashnikov heavy machine guns, Kalashnikov rifles, explosives and ammunition.
He also said he had information that al-Qaida's north African wing, known as al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), had acquired from Libya Russian-made, shoulder-fired, Strela surface-to-air missiles known by the Nato designation Sam-7.
"A convoy of eight Toyotas full of weapons travelled a few days ago through Chad and Niger and reached northern Mali," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity. "The weapons included RPG-7s, FMPK (Kalashnikov heavy machine guns), Kalashnikovs, explosives and ammunition and we know that this is not the first convoy and that it is still ongoing," the official told Reuters.
While American intelligence experts search for "flickers" of jihadist involvement in the Libyan rebellion, a French reporter on a brief visit to eastern Libya had no problem finding numerous jihadists on the front.
I have the impression there are two groups rebelling: the eastern jihadis who've caused Qadddafi trouble before, and the educated youth of the cities, who are feeling their generational oats along with their fellows in the rest of the Arab/North African world.
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A zero sum game no matter how you rack it up. Cept Gaddafi was co-op in keeping these scumbags from killing our Soldiers in Iraq. Well, whatever.
#3
I have the impression there are two groups rebelling: the eastern jihadis who've caused Qadddafi trouble before, and the educated youth of the cities
Lets hope Qadaffy's mercs can kill them all, so Allan can sort them out.
#4
Amongst a few "flickers" and rounds of golf, obama calmly decides to pull the plug on the US kinetic No-Fly effort. Appears the telling CIA morning brief and frantic, follow-up Surface to Air missile updates, have come just in the nick of time. "Flickers" have now become blinding flashes of the obvious. Next time quit listening to the emoting bitches, tell Gates to do his phueching inter-agency homework, and keep Clapper close at hand.
#5
Besoeker, drop the 'emoting bitches' bit please. It's worse than offensive - it's inaccurate. If you think Samantha Power and Hillary Clinton are emoting, you're greatly underestimating their commitment to the transnational leftist agenda.
#8
Besoeker: you're hard against the line here. Rein it in.
AoS
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Roger, got it 5x5. However, you simply can't reassemble a 19 year old kid from Omaha, who's just stepped on a pressure plate IED for his country. In fact, you oftentimes can't find his weapon or anything below his upper chest. Please forgive me if I get a little carried away about "community organizers" and ...concerned others who have no skin the game and never will, ordering these young kids off to failed foreign misadventures and death. It just doesn't sit well with me.
#12
lotp, Besoeker is supporting Afghanistan at the moment. I assume "the kid from Omaha" is not theoretical.
Besoeker, I know a slice of imaginary melktaart and chamomile tea won't help much, under the circumstances, but that and my tears for the kid's voluntary sacrifice to keep us safe are all I have to offer. Along with my prayer that it will turn out not to have been in vain.
#13
Yes, I know where Besoeker is posting from. And I know the costs to military families of our current wars. I've buried a few friends and ex-students myself over the last few years.
But if Besoeker is going to reference IEDs to try to justify the use of language like 'emoting bitches' it's fair to point out that the women in question did not push involvement in Afghanistan, but in Libya - the subject of this article.
#14
But if Besoeker is going to reference IEDs to try to justify the use of language like 'emoting bitches' it's fair to point out that the women in question did not push involvement in Afghanistan, but in Libya - the subject of this article.
Not a mind reader, but I assume that Besoeker is referring to their role in the tightening of ROE's in Afghanistan and the diversion of air assets to Libya, both of which could result in higher casualties.
#15
You are correct, they deserve a better treatment. My apologies to Canis lupus familiaris everywhere.
You know, I know this will probably get me the usual "tisk tisks" followed by parental lecturing, but since when did Rantburg become Politically Correct Burg? Why not let the man speak his mind? He's not making a death threat, using profanity, or calling for the overthrow of the duly elected government of the United States.
What then, exactly, is the harm?
I know I'm not the most regular poster here, but I've been a citizen of the 'burg almost since the beginning. People used to really RANT here. Now we just sort of cluck at each other like pithy chickens.
#18
I'm in agreement with Secret Master. I've never said boo against those who monitor this site, but "hard against the line"??? Please. Maybe its time for the AoS to have some of TW's relaxing tea.
#19
'Jamahiriya'- "in theory, governed by the populace through local councils; in practice, an authoritarian state. This is EL Quaddafi's strength but most of this rebel group fail to recognize it. Forty years he has worked this way. It is the Arab way. The blood hate would last for generations should the rebels win some portion of that country.
#20
I must complement Besoeker for his many postings. I have found your work very creative and original. I like your writing style. This was a creative moment to express something I believe he feels strongly about. Things like this will happen time to time. We just reflect upon it and move along.
More British warplanes are being sent to Libya amid concerns that many of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's forces have survived air strikes.
David Cameron announced that four more Tornado fighter-bombers were being deployed to the Libyan mission, taking the total for the operation to 12. It is understood the Tornados, from RAF Marham in Norfolk, will help fill gaps left by US forces, which are reducing their operations in Libya.
William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, also told MPs that Britain would supply the rebels with equipment, including communications kit.
Officials said it would "primarily" allow rebel commanders to contact the front line, but could also be used to call in coalition air strikes. Mr Hague said: "We are not engaged in arming the opposition forces."
On his flight to the Gioia del Colle airbase in southern Italy, the Prime Minister said British forces destroyed 10 armoured vehicles and three tanks over the weekend.
The US military on Monday withdrew its fighter jets from the international air campaign in Libya, officials said, after NATO asked Washington to keep up bombing raids for another 48 hours.
The United States had planned to halt combat missions and Tomahawk cruise missile launches at the weekend but accepted a NATO request to continue the operations for another 48 hours until Monday.
US combat sorties ended at 2200 GMT, with American warplanes on standby as NATO takes the lead, Pentagon spokesman Captain Darryn James said. After that, "US aviation assets are expected to cease strike sorties and will remain on an alert status if NATO requests their support," James said in an email.
So we're on alert status but we won't honor NATO requests to perform missions. Are we fooling anyone other than the New York Times?
Between 2200 GMT on Tuesday and 1000 GMT on Monday, US aircraft carried out at least two raids but launched no Tomahawk cruise missiles, James said. A US Harrier jet "engaged military vehicles near" Sirte and a US A-10 Thunderbolt "engaged military vehicles near Brega," he said.
US lawmakers have criticized President Barack Obama for scaling back the US military's role, saying NATO allies have no equivalent ground-attack aircraft to the A-10 "warthog."
Perhaps the Euros should consider designing and building such an aircraft. That way they wouldn't be beholden to the U.S. in situations like this. And while you're at it...
As other NATO countries plan to step up combat flights to replace the American aircraft, the US contribution will be confined mainly to electronic jamming, mid-air refueling, surveillance and search and rescue efforts.
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US lawmakers have criticized President Barack Obama for scaling back the US military's role, saying NATO allies have no equivalent ground-attack aircraft to the A-10 "warthog."
#2
The question now is whether the Euros can replace the US sorties and for how long they can keep the raids going. The rebels apparently cannot take the western part of Libya, even with air support. A Yahoo article today said the rebels were being pushed back again. I notice that the media is avoiding the "Q" word they so quickly used against Bush. And yes, it would not surprise me to hear, after the fact, of new air raids by US planes.
One side note, the A-10, the US Air Force did not want it in the first place, they tried to retire it, and it keeps showing up as a vital warplane when the bullets fly. One of the great warplanes of history!
Rifle 308
RABAT (Reuters) Libyan state television Monday showed live footage of leader Muammar Gaddafi saluting supporters from a jeep that drove outside his fortified compound of Bab al-Aziziyah in Tripoli.
A written newsflash read: "The brother leader among his supporters."
Gaddafi briefly waved to his backers through the roof of his vehicle as bodyguards tried to prevent his supporters from mobbing him.
Just enough of a tease for the live footage, without attracting the attention of the Predator somewhere overhead.
Posted by: Steve White ||
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Yeahhhh, they will not be around you very long.
Gaddafi loyalists continue to pound the city of Misrata, 214 kilometres (132 miles) east of Tripoli. Rebels in Misrata have again asked for support from the international coalition to counter the heavy artillery of Gaddafi's forces who have bombarded the city for a month.
"Gaddafi's forces will not stop bombing the city. The planes of NATO, whose mission is to protect civilians, do not even fly over the region," a spokesman for the rebels said on condition of anonymity.
"Twelve thousand families have been forced to evacuate their homes, causing an alarming humanitarian situation," and dozens of people have been "kidnapped" by Gaddafi loyalists, the rebel spokesman said.
For more than 40 days the insurgents have defended Misrata, Libya's third largest city, as it is besieged and pounded by Gaddafi's troops. The rebels say that more than 200 people have been killed in the fighting there.
Gaddafi's forces besieging Misrata have been targeted by air strikes since March 19 under a UN mandate to use "all necessary measures" to protect civilians, but the siege has not been broken.
A Turkish aid ship which arrived in Benghazi on Sunday carrying more than 250 patients it had picked up in Misrata left early on Monday for the Turkish port of Cesme.
Those on board, many torn apart by shrapnel and bullets, told of a city under lockdown that has gone for weeks without electricity or running water, where snipers have emptied the centre, and mortar rounds and rockets rain down on residents huddled inside their homes.
Brega:
Rebel fighters also made a new attempt to recapture Brega, advancing to the outskirts of the oil refinery town only to be forced back under artillery fire, as Gaddafi's envoy arrived in Turkey for talks on a possible "roadmap."
Rebel fighters came under heavy shelling from Gaddafi's forces as they pushed towards Brega in a new bid to take the refinery town, forcing them to beat a hasty but measured retreat, an AFP correspondent reported. The battle for the town is fast reaching stalemate.
Gaddafi's men will not risk advancing farther into rebel-held territory through the open desert, where they are easy targets for NATO air strikes. But the rebels do not have the weaponry to counter the artillery the loyalists have inside the town.
Elsewhere:
Loyalist forces were also attacking oilfields in the remote south that the insurgents were hoping to use to fund their month-old revolt. Rebels said on Monday that Gaddafi's troops had attacked an oilfield in the remote south that the insurgents hope to use to fund their month-old revolt against his regime.
A TNC spokeswoman said the attack had damaged a diesel storage tank at the Mislah oil facility, without providing further details.
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Libyan rebels on Monday dismissed any possible peace deal which might see Muammar Gaddafi's son left in charge of the war-wracked country.
The charming one turned out not to be a changeling, but a true son of his vicious father all along.
Rebel fighters also made a new attempt to recapture Brega, advancing to the outskirts of the oil refinery town only to be forced back under artillery fire, as Gaddafi's envoy arrived in Turkey for talks on a possible "roadmap."
The old famous 'roadkill', with a distinctly lethal and Libyan twist.
Former colonial power Italy announced it was joining France and Qatar in recognising the rebels' Transitional National Council, and said it would send ships and planes to evacuate the wounded from besieged Misrata city.
The rebels insisted Gaddafi's entire family must leave Libya before there could be a truce amid reports the regime is pursuing a ceasefire and his sons want to oversee a transition.
After Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou met Libyan Deputy Foreign Minister Abdelati Laabidi on the first leg of his mission, Athens said Gaddafi's regime was "looking for a solution."
One that keeps Gaddafi and his evil spawn in power and in Krugerrands...
The New York Times had reported that two of Gaddafi's sons were offering to oversee a transition to a constitutional democracy that would include their father's removal from power.
Because the Gaddafi boys have the interests of the people at heart...
But the rebels swiftly rejected any deal involving the Gaddafi family. "Gaddafi and his sons have to leave before any diplomatic negotiations can take place," the spokesman of the rebels' Transitional National Council, Shamseddin Abdulmelah told AFP.
He said the regime had lost any right to talk of a negotiated exit after it continued to pound Misrata, 214 kilometres (132 miles) east of Tripoli. "Gaddafi's forces will not stop bombing the city. The planes of NATO, whose mission is to protect civilians, do not even fly over the region," a spokesman for the rebels said on condition of anonymity.
Gaddafi envoy Laabidi travelled to Ankara on Monday for talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, with an eye to drawing up a possible ceasefire and a "roadmap" of political reform.
"Both sides have told us that they have certain thoughts on a ceasefire. We will talk to the two sides and see whether there is any common ground," a senior Turkish foreign ministry official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Italy's Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, however, dismissed the diplomatic overtures concerning a ceasefire from Gaddafi's regime. He said the proposals were "not credible" after Rome on Monday recognised the rebel Transitional National Council (TNC) as its sole interlocutor.
Britain said it was not pursuing "an exit strategy for Gaddafi" but a "genuine ceasefire."
"There have been lots of reports of envoys and of the regime reaching out in a number of ways... We have been very clear throughout about what the next step should be and that needs to be a genuine ceasefire and an end to violence," a spokesman for Prime Minister David Cameron said.
Cameron himself made a surprise visit to the southern Italian Gioia del Colle base hosting British jets enforcing the no-fly zone, and announced four more Tornado warplanes for the Libya mission. He said the British jets had saved "literally thousands of lives in Benghazi and elsewhere in Libya."
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I love a good mystery.
An air strike on a car on Sudan's Red Sea coast killed its two passengers and destroyed the vehicle, the head of the state assembly said.
"A plane bombed a small car which was coming from Port Sudan airport to the town... There were two people in the car and both were killed. The vehicle was completely destroyed," Mohammed Tahir said.
The unidentified plane, which struck about 10:00pm (local time), flew in from the Red Sea to which it then returned, Mr Tahir added. There was no immediate word on the identity of the two dead passengers or on whose aircraft carried out the strike.
The United States maintains a counter-terrorism base in Djibouti which has been active against Al Qaeda suspects on both sides of the Red Sea, but its reported strikes against jihadist targets are all said to have involved drones.
Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, has also long maintained a base in exile in Sudan and Israeli officials have expressed concern about suspected arms smuggling through the country. But the Israeli military had no immediate comment on the air strike.
WASHINGTON Counterterrorism operations in Yemen have ground to a halt, allowing Al Qaedas deadliest branch outside of Pakistan to operate more freely inside the country and to increase plotting for possible attacks against Europe and the United States, American diplomats, intelligence analysts and counterterrorism officials say.
Al-Qaeda and Iran win again.
In the political tumult surrounding Yemens embattled president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, many Yemeni troops have abandoned their posts or have been summoned to the capital, Sana, to help support the tottering government, the officials said. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the groups affiliate, has stepped in to fill this power vacuum, and Yemeni security forces have come under increased attacks in recent weeks.
A small but steadily growing stream of Qaeda fighters and lower-level commanders from other parts of the world, including Pakistan, are making their way to Yemen to join the fight there, although American intelligence officials are divided on whether the political crisis in Yemen is drawing more insurgents than would be traveling there under normal conditions.
Always hard to tell when things are 'out of control' in Yemen, since it's never really under control.
Taken together, these developments have raised increasing alarm in the Obama administration, which is in the delicate position of trying to ease Mr. Saleh out of power, but in a way to ensure that counterterrorism operations in Yemen will continue unimpeded. These developments may also help explain why the United States has become less willing to support Mr. Saleh, a close ally, given that his value in fighting terrorism has been diminished since demonstrations swept his country.
Then again, while Saleh is a thug, he's likely better and likely more willing to control terrorism than anyone else who will come along in Yemen.
Some experts on Yemen who have observed Mr. Salehs long domination through political shrewdness speculated that he might be deliberately withdrawing his forces from pursuing Al Qaeda to worsen the sense of crisis and force the Americans to back him, rather than push him toward the exits.
That's a high-risk strategy; thugs generally dislike chaos.
But a senior American military officer with access to classified intelligence reports discounted those doubts on Monday: This is a reflection of the turmoil in the country, not some political decision to stop.
Mr. Salehs son and three nephews are in charge of four of Yemens main security and counterterrorism agencies, including the Republican Guard and the Central Security Forces, which are trained and equipped by the United States. If they were forced to step down as part of any deal to remove Mr. Saleh, American officials acknowledge that the countrys counterterrorism efforts would be left in the hands of untested lieutenants.
We have had a lot of counterterrorism cooperation from President Saleh and Yemeni security services, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said March 27 on ABCs This Week. So if that government collapses or is replaced by one that is dramatically more weak, then I think well face some additional challenges out of Yemen. Theres no question about it. Its a real problem.
Perhaps most worrisome, American intelligence officials have collected information from informants and electronic intercepts that Al Qaedas branch in Yemen has increased planning discussions about another attack. This increased threat chatter, as intelligence officials call the reports, was first reported by The Washington Post late last month, but officials say the trend has continued since then.
The Qaeda group in Yemen is responsible for failed plots to blow up a commercial airliner as it approached Detroit on Dec. 25, 2009, and for planting printer cartridges packed with explosives on cargo planes bound for Chicago last October.
The United States now has about 75 Special Forces trainers and support personnel in Yemen, as well as an unspecified number of Central Intelligence Agency operatives. The Americans in Yemen are working closely with dozens of British special forces and intelligence officers, as well as operatives from Saudi Arabias spy agencies. While the Americans largely provide intelligence, the Yemeni counterterrorism troops have conducted raids and attacks on suspected terrorists in recent months.
The suspension of these Yemeni counterterrorism operations and the heightened Al Qaeda activity have prompted the United States Central Command to dust off plans to resume airstrikes against top Qaeda targets if the United States receives solid intelligence about the location of senior militants, a senior military official said.
The United States has not carried out such airstrikes in Yemen since last May, when an attack accidentally killed a deputy governor and set off a huge political dispute with Mr. Saleh. Last year, the United States quietly began patrolling Yemen with armed Predator drones.
One top insurgent on the American target list is Anwar al-Awlaki, the Yemeni-American cleric who is a top propagandist for Al Qaeda. Last Wednesday, Mr. Awlaki broke his silence on the uprisings in the Arab world to speak glowingly in a new issue of the English-language Qaeda magazine Inspire about the toppling of autocratic governments.
Pentagon officials said that the chaotic security conditions in the country might embolden senior Qaeda officials in Yemen to come out of hiding. If we have Awlaki in our sights, well take a shot, the senior American military officer said on Monday.
Over the past year, however, the American Special Forces in Yemen have shifted their focus to help the Yemeni security forces carrying out the counterterrorism missions. But those programs to train and assist the Yemenis have also been suspended in the wake of the political tumult. The American Special Forces soldiers are keeping a low profile but are maintaining ties with midlevel and senior Yemeni officers, and provide information on how the military is reacting to the upheaval.
American officials privately concede they have only a marginal influence on Mr. Salehs fight for his political survival and exit from power. At best, these officials say, the Americans are looking to identify and carefully support competent lower-ranking officers and civilian officials who could take over the security agencies if Mr. Salehs relatives are forced to flee.
Gregory Johnsen, a Princeton scholar who closely tracks militants in Yemen, said the United States narrow focus on combating Al Qaeda through military operations overseen by Mr. Saleh and his family means its position could be precarious in a post-Saleh Yemen.
Count on the NYT to find an Ivy League expert to tell us that we're doing it all wrong, as usual...
The U.S. idea of tying counterterrorism to this one family has not been the best way to approach the Al Qaeda problem, said Mr. Johnsen, who has argued for greater focus on development aid for the impoverished country.
Oh, national-building?
The Yemeni governments already weak reach is withering by the day, as violent convulsions rack several parts of the impoverished country. American officials said they were watching unrest in Shabwa Province, a Qaeda stronghold, as well as in Jaar, a city in the southern province of Abyan where Al Qaeda is known to have set up a base.
An officer in Yemens counterterrorism forces said his unit had not been deployed and was on standby, even though much of the south was apparently outside government control and jihadists had apparently declared a separate emirate in Abyan. Yemeni counterterrorism officers would like to respond, but we are only door-kickers, he said. We need support from the army, and the army is busy splitting.
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See also FREEREPUBLIC this AM > [AQAP aka AQIY]AL-QAEDA QUIETLY FILLS VOID AS OBAMA ADMININSTRATION PUSHES YEMENI PRESIDENT FROM POWER.
AQ Fighters, Cells, + Leaders etal. slowly but steadily creeping into YEMEN, + likely to initiate various anarchies + mayhem on the Arabian Peninsula [read, anti-Saudi Royals] at some future point.
MANAMA -- Seven suspects have been referred to special courts for trial in connection with the murder of two on-duty policemen, Bahrain's Military Public Prosecutor has announced.
The suspects are facing charges of pre-meditated murder of Kashif Ahmed Mandhour and Mohammed Farooq Abdul Samad. They will stand trial under Article 333 of the Penal Law promulgated in 1976 and articles 2 and 3 of a 2006 law on protecting society from terrorist acts, it was revealed.
All crimes pertaining to the State of National Safety are being investigated by the military prosecution and will be referred to specialised courts while warranting legal rights for all suspects, the Military Public Prosecutor added.
All the legal rights you'd ever want in an Arabic military court...
The suspects have been arrested for running over their car on the two policemen and then disfiguring their bodies. The incident happened last month on the day when the main roundabout in Manama was cleared of protesters who had been staging sit-ins and protest at the place.
Meanwhile,
back at the oasis...
the Information Affairs Authority (IAA) has allowed the printing of Al Wasat newspaper after a one-day suspension, following a decision by the newspaper's board to sack Editor-in-Chief Mansour Al Jamri, Managing Editor Walid Nouwaihidh, and head of Local News Department Aqeel Mirza.
They're lucky. Saddam would have just shot them...
He saved the plastic shredders for more serious cases.
The IAA suspended the newspaper on Saturday after a Bahrain TV programme claimed the paper fabricated news reports concerning recent unrest in the country, including copying photos and other material from other Arab countries media and showing them as incidents that took place in Bahrain.
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SANAA Embattled Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh thanked thousands of supporters gathered near the presidential palace on Saturday for backing the constitution in a further sign he has no immediate plans to step down.
Weeks of protests across Yemen have brought Salehs 32-year rule to the verge of collapse but the United States and Saudi Arabia worry about who might succeed him. On Friday, tens of thousands of people, both for and against Saleh, took to the streets in Sanaa as negotiators struggled to revive talks to determine his fate.
I salute you for your heroic stand and thank you for supporting constitutional legitimacy, Saleh told the crowd on Saturday amid a sea of portraits of the president and banners supporting his continued rule.
Saleh, who has lost the support of many tribal, military and political backers, met representatives of several tribes, officials said, as he dug in against demands for his resignation.
Thousands of protesters continued sit-ins in the capital, the southern port city of Aden, Taiz, 200km south of Sanaa, and other cities. Protesters in Aden called for a general strike and acts of civil disobedience, closing down public transport and prompting many shops to close. Troops fired in the air to disperse young people blocking roads, witnesses said.
Saleh wants to stay on as president while new parliamentary and presidential elections are organised by the end of the year, an opposition source said on Tuesday.
Talks over his exit have stalled and Saudi authorities have deflected Yemeni government efforts to involve them in mediation. Rallies could spiral into violence at any time in the country where more than half the 23 million population own a gun.
Some 82 people have been killed so far, including 52 shot by snipers on March 18. Rows often turn to bloodshed, from tribal clashes over dwindling water resources to army skirmishes with separatist militants in the south.
Saleh has talked of civil war if he steps down without ensuring power passes to safe hands and has warned against a coup after senior generals turned against him.
Opposition parties say they can handle the militant issue better than Saleh, who they say has made deals in the past to avoid provoking Yemens radicals.
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SANAA -- Yemeni security forces shot dead at least 17 protesters on Monday as Gulf states offered their mediation and Washington reportedly pulled the plug on embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
"The death toll has gone up to 17," said Sadeq al-Shujaa, head of a makeshift field hospital at a square in central Taez after security forces opened fire on demonstrators marching on the local governorate headquarters.
Witnesses said the demonstrators stormed the courtyard of the governorate and that plainclothes gunmen and rooftop snipers also took part in the gunfire to push them back.
The bloodshed, a day after another protester was shot dead in Taez, 200 kilometres (125 miles) from the capital, sent the death toll to more than 100 in a crackdown on protests in the impoverished state since late January.
On the ground in Sanaa, soldiers from units whose commanders have sided with protesters intervened on Monday to prevent about 200 police from taking on thousands of demonstrators camped since February at a square in central Sanaa.
In the western city of Hudaydah, witnesses said dozens of people were wounded by police gunfire and rocks, while hundreds of others needed treatment for tear-gas inhalation. Thirteen people were shot and wounded in Hudaydah late on Sunday, witnesses said, as police clashed with thousands of demonstrators marching on the Red Sea city's main local government building.
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A 'gunfight' is like a 'shoot-out' except that the perps are arrested, not executed killed.
Gazipur, Apr 03 (UNB) - Four alleged criminals were arrested along with arms and Yaba tablets
Yaba is a combination of methamphetamine and caffeine. Yaba, which means crazy medicine in Thai, is produced in Southeast and East Asia. In the U.S. it is also known as crazy medicine and Nazi speed.
after gunfight with RAB in Board Bazar Kolomeshwar area in Sadar upazila on Saturday night.
This efficiency drive has clearly gone too far -- key details are missing. Our apologies, dear Reader, but of course we cannot invent the missing information, no matter how firm the traditional forms.
The arrested were identified as Monir Hossain alias Pichchi Hossain, 28, Aziz Khan, 43, Rashed Mia, 29 and Shahidul Islam Khokon, 28.
Acting on tip-off a team of RAB-1 conducted a drive in the area last night. Sensing presence of the law-enforcers, the criminals opened fire on them, prompting retaliation.
Four criminals including a bullet-wounded were arrested from the spot. Pichchi Hossain who received bullet wound in the line of fire was admitted to Sadar hospital.
Two foreign made pistols, a shutter gun and 125 pieces of Yaba tablets were recovered from their possession.
A shutter gun for a mere gunfight?
The men are clearly small-timers, with only 125 pills. They're the size of a pencil eraser, according to the link above, so that's like a baggy's worth.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/05/2011 00:00 ||
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Two foreign made pistols, a shutter gun and 125 pieces of Yaba tablets
And not a round of bullet between them. Excluding any that might be embedded in the aforementioned bullet-wounded miscreant, of course. Small timers, indeed.
Federal investigators on Monday found human remains on an isolated country house perched on a hill where a confessed criminal said he disposed of as many as 60 bodies, a leading activist said. prolific lil guy!
After two days of excavation, investigators for SIEDO, the federal agency that targets organized crime, found the remains in a clandestine grave inside the property, said Fernando Ocegueda, a leader in a citizens organization that represents the families of 234 people who disappeared.
The uninhabited property, covering about 3,000 square meters, is located in the eastern, semi-rural neighborhood called Loma Bonita.
Ocegueda said that human tissue also was found in a 55-gallon metallic drum inside a small warehouse where its believed the criminal, Santiago Meza, dissolved bodies sent to him. The small building, which Tijuana firefighters had to vent, is located on the same property. Whew!
Meza, who was nicknamed El Pozolero, or stew maker, was arrested by the Mexican military in January of 2009 in a home near Ensenada. He confessed to authorities that he had dissolved the bodies of some 300 victims on orders of drug traffickers supported by the Sinaloa cartel.
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/05/2011 19:35 ||
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MULTAN, Pakistan - A pair of suicide bombers struck a shrine in Pakistan Sunday, killing 30 people gathered there and pressing a campaign of attacks against places of worship that extremists consider un-Islamic, officials said.
The practice of praying, singing and meditating at the shrines of holy men is widespread and much loved across Pakistan, but extremists consider it a dangerous deviation from the austere Islam they espouse.
So they have to kill anyone who does it, of course. This is why it's the 'Religion of Peace'. Just do as some nutter holy man tells you to do.
Several thousand people were attending celebrations to mark the anniversary of the Sakhi Sarwar shrine in Dera Ghazi Khan district of Punjab province when the bombers struck crowds outside the complex, said government administrator Iftikhar Saho.
A stampede followed the bombings, but it was unclear whether that caused any casualties.
Hard to see how it wouldn't...
Emergency coordinator Natiq Hayat said 30 people were killed and 100 wounded, 20 of them critically.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/05/2011 00:00 ||
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QUETTA: Unidentified men killed a man and a woman over the suspicion that they had illicit relation, in Tambu tehsil of Dera Murad Jamali on Monday.
According to a Levies official, unidentified armed men opened fire at a man and a woman accusing them of having illicit relation, in the limits of the Manjo Shura Levies Station. Both the man and woman died on the spot while their killers managed to escape from the crime scene.
The deceased were identified as Imdad Husain and Mumtaz. The dead bodies were shifted to the Dera Murad Jamali Civil Hospital for autopsy and were later handed over to the heirs. A case has been registered against the unidentified killers and investigations are underway.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/05/2011 00:00 ||
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MEs report: Dead, bullets. Next please,
Posted by: Steven ||
04/05/2011 17:10 Comments ||
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RAWALPINDI: Intelligence agencies arrested three people in connection with the Dera Ghazi Khan Sakhi Sarwar twin suicide blasts from Chakri Interchange, motorway, on Monday.
All three of them are told to be linked with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and have been shifted to an undisclosed location, where they are being grilled regarding Dera Ghazi Khan Sakhi Sarwars suicide blasts. The sources informed that those arrested were identified as Mati Jan Afghan, Abdullah and Ustad Fasehullah.
Regional Police Officer (RPO) Hamid Mukhtar Gondal, however, when contacted for his comments on the issue, expressed complete unawareness about the arrest of the three suspects. He said that he had made a phone call to the station house officer (SHO) of the area concerned and later also contacted the motorway police but both did not know anything about such development or any arrest.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/05/2011 00:00 ||
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More adventures in the Wild East, unaffected by untrumpeted happenings in the swamps of Florida.
KARACHI: At least five people, including two activists of a religious party, Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ), fell prey to targeted killings while another man was killed by one of his relatives in the Karachi on Monday.
As per reports, two workers of the ASWJ, formerly known as Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, were gunned down near Liaquatabad underpass in the limits of the Liaquatabad Police Station. Abu Hashim, 28, along with his friend Zubair was on his way to his house on a motorcycle when two unidentified armed men riding a motorbike opened fire at him and his friend. They both received bullet injuries and died on the spot.
The bodies were shifted to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (ASH) for necessary medico-legal formalities. According to Mubeen Tariq, a police official, Hashim had received three bullets and Zubair two. Hashim, a resident of Sarjani Town, was a student of the DJ Science College while Zubair had been studying at the NED University of Engineering and Technology. The two students were going home after attending a Seeratun Nabi conference in Bandhani Colony when the unidentified attackers targeted them. Tension gripped Liaquatabad and Sarjani areas after the killings of the ASWJ workers. Spokesman of the ASWJ, Maulana Taj Hanfi, condemned the incident and demanded early arrest of the killers. A case has been registered against the unidentified killers and investigations are in progress.
Separately, a sanitary worker was shot dead in Ranchor Line in the jurisdiction of the Eidgah Police Station. The victim, identified as Ravi, 22, was standing outside his residence when two unidentified gunmen opened fire at him. He received several bullet injuries and died instantly. The body was shifted to the Karachi Civil Hospital for postmortem and was later handed over to the heirs.
A senior police official, Raja Tanveer, suspected that Ravi might have been liquidated over the suspicion of being an informer.
In another incident, police found a dead body in Korangi area in the precincts of the Awami Colony Police Station. SHO Shakir Ali said the victim was shot in the temple. He suspected that unidentified criminals had kidnapped him and later killed him. The policeman said the victim seemed to be a Bengali national, aging 27 years. The body was taken to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) for autopsy and later shifted to the Edhi morgue for identification.
In a separate incident, a truck driver was killed by one of his relatives near a truck stand in the limits of the Site-A Police Station. The victim, 35-year-old Abdul Ghaffar alias Paapa, was a resident of Bawani Chalie. Reportedly, Ghaffar and his relative Mehboob were not on good terms. On the day of the incident, they both exchanged hot words, as a result of which, Mehboob pulled a pistol at Ghaffar and killed him. The accused fled the scene after committing the crime.
Police has registered a case against Mehboob and is investigating. Separately, a man was shot dead in the limits of the Sacchal Police Station. The deceased, Muhammad Akakhel, 39, a resident of Junejo Town, was a social worker, said SHO Agha Shamshad. He was shot by two gunmen, riding a motorbike, when he was sitting at a spare parts shop on Abdul Hassan Ispahani Road.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/05/2011 00:00 ||
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THI-QAR / Aswat al-Iraq: A U.S. vehicle patrol was damaged on Monday by a bomb blast in Thi-Qar province, according to a security source.
A U.S. vehicle was damaged as an Explosively Formed Penetrator (EFP) was remotely detonated targeting a U.S. motorcade on the road linking between al-Masouriya region and Imam Ali airbase, southern Nassiriya, the source, who asked for anonymity, told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
The road was closed for two hours to defuse two more EFP bombs at the same place, he added.
Nassiriya, the capital of Thi-Qar, is 380 km south of Baghdad.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/05/2011 00:00 ||
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When found, these really need to start showing back up at random locations in Iran which are frequented by Iranian military vehicles.
BEERSHEBA, Israel - Israel on Monday charged a detained Palestinian engineer with hundreds of counts of attempted murder, accusing him of developing missiles that the Islamist group Hamas fired from Gaza against Israelis.
Dirar Abu Sisi, a director of the Gaza Strip's sole power station, says he was kidnapped during a visit to Ukraine in February and transferred secretly to Israel.
Those Juices truly are all-powerful. Best to not catch their attention.
A court in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba handed down a 15-page indictment, revealing the allegations at the heart of the mysterious case.
"Abu Sisi was engaged in the development of missiles to be launched by Hamas, including increasing their range and ability to pierce steel so as to penetrate armoured vehicles and thus strike at soldiers," a summary of the indictment said.
"Abu Sisi is accused of nine charges regarding activity in a terrorist organization, hundreds of counts of attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder and production of weaponry offenses," it added.
Abu Sisi denies wrongdoing and Hamas has said he was not a member of their organisation.
"No, no, certainly not!"
Sisi is married to a Ukrainian and his relatives say he went to Ukraine to arrange residency there for himself and his family. Ukraine says Abu Sisi's disappearance is under investigation. Israel has not provided details on how the Palestinian came into its custody, although Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last week it was a "legal arrest".
Monday's indictment names a Ukrainian professor at the Kharkov Military Engineering Academy as Abu Sisi's mentor. It said "Konstantin Petrovich" was an expert in Scud missile control systems.
So Sisi was taught about Scuds, yet all the Gazooks launched were Qassams. Something doesn't add up here...
What's the difference between Scud missile controls and Qassem missile controls, once installed? "Search and reapply" is all the rage in industry these days, significantly shortening research cycles.
"Abu Sisi acquired extensive knowledge in missile development, control systems, propulsion and stabilisation. Parallel to his work as an engineer for the Gaza electric company, Abu Sisi secretly joined Hamas," the summary added.
He had to do something when he wasn't busy not delivering electricity in Gaza...
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/05/2011 00:00 ||
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Just see if the missiles stop.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
04/05/2011 9:45 Comments ||
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The Jerusalem Post has a background piece on Mr. Abu Sisi. He's been quite effective at improving Hamas's anti-Israel weapons. As a result of his work, half of Israel is now within range of Hamas rockets.
Israel has Rafael, Elbit Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries. Hamas has Dirar Abu Sisi, the so-called Rocket Godfather of the Gaza Strip.
In 2005, Hamass Kassam rockets had a range of about 6 kilometers. Later that year, the range jumped to 15 km., and then in 2007 to 22 km.
In 2002, Hamass domestically manufactured anti-tank missile known as Yassin was capable of penetrating 6 cm of armor. By 2008, it could penetrate 26 cm.
What made Abu Sisi unique was that he had studied in Ukraine in the late 1990s in the Kharkov military academy, under a professor who had been one of the key developers in the Soviet Scud missile program.
There, Abu Sisi was allowed to sit in on classes and learn about missile design, boosters, stabilizers and different power sources.
[Monday's indictment] provides unprecedented insight into the Hamas military wing and how it has turned into a military one would expect to see in a country not just with brigades, battalions and special forces, but also with an in-house defense industry.
JENIN, Palestinian Territories Masked gunmen shot dead a well-known Jewish-Arab actor and director on Monday in the northern West Bank town of Jenin, Palestinian police and medics said.Juliano Mer-Khamis, the 52-year-old director of The Freedom Theatre in Jenin, died when gunmen inside the towns refugee camp opened fire on his car, hitting him with five bullets, police chief Mohammed Tayim told AFP.
Witnesses in the camp told AFP they saw two masked gunmen open fire on his car before speeding away. However, Jenin governor Qadura Musa told AFP initial reports indicated a lone gunman had carried out the attack.
He was shot by a masked gunman who fired five bullets into the window of his car, he said. A woman from Bethlehem who was in the car with him was wounded in the hand, he said.
Musa said he was not aware of any threats against Mer-Khamis, however his theatre had been attacked in the past. We have not arrested anyone yet, but we have formed a crisis group from all the Palestinian security forces to investigate this crime and we hope to have some results within the coming hours.
An Israeli citizen, Mer-Khamis was born of a Jewish Israeli mother, Arna Mer, and a Palestinian Christian father, Saliba Khamis, and had lived in Jenin for seven years, officials said. He was well-known for his political activism as well as his acting and directing, and most recently starred in Miral, (2010) the story of two Palestinian women after the creation of Israel in 1948, which had its premiere at UN headquarters in New York.
With his mixed parentage, Mer-Khamis refused to describe himself as an Arab Israeli, telling Israels army radio in 2009: I am 100 percent Palestinian and 100 percent Jewish.
You might have done a little better if you were 100% Paleo and 100% Jewish -- and living in Tel Aviv.
The theatre was first set up by his mother, Arna Mer-Khamis in 1987, when it was known as The Stone Theatre. A committed peace activist, she had wanted to create a space where the children of Jenin could escape the violence of the first intifada which had begun several months earlier.
Fifteen years later, the theatre was destroyed during the second intifada when Israeli troops launched a massive operation to root out gunmen from the refugee camp then a major militant stronghold. It was rebuilt in 2004 by her actor son with the help of Zakaria Zubeidi, one of the most powerful militants in the city, who himself was part of the theatre project.
The Freedom Theatre doubles as a cultural centre inside the refugee camp which is home to some 16,000 Palestinian refugees, more than half of them minors.
But the theatre was not without its critics. Two years ago, two Molotov cocktails were hurled at the building, which was empty at the time, setting the door on fire. Since then, there have been no reports of attacks or threats against the theatre or those running it, locals and officials said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/05/2011 00:00 ||
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A village defense volunteer was gunned down at a fresh market in Pattani province on Tuesday morning.
While Amnuay Khongthong, 39, was buying vegetables at a fresh market in Khlong Khut village, one of four men on two motorcycles walked up to him and fired one shot in his head at a point-blank range with a handgun, instantly killing him. The gunman left the scene on a waiting motorcycle.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/05/2011 00:00 ||
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Happy Birthday/Daily Gam Shot
Krista Allen aka Jenna Avid in "Baywatch Hawaii" aka Stacy in "Anger Management" aka Samantha Lane in "The Final Destination" aka Patricia in "Locker 13" (age 40)
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.
More British warplanes are being sent to Libya amid concerns that many of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's forces have survived air strikes. 
QUETTA: Unidentified men killed a man and a woman over the suspicion that they had illicit relation, in Tambu tehsil of Dera Murad Jamali on Monday. 
BEERSHEBA, Israel - Israel on Monday charged a detained Palestinian engineer with hundreds of counts of attempted murder, accusing him of developing missiles that the Islamist group Hamas fired from Gaza against Israelis.
JENIN, Palestinian Territories Masked gunmen shot dead a well-known Jewish-Arab actor and director on Monday in the northern West Bank town of Jenin, Palestinian police and medics said.Juliano Mer-Khamis, the 52-year-old director of The Freedom Theatre in Jenin, died when gunmen inside the towns refugee camp opened fire on his car, hitting him with five bullets, police chief Mohammed Tayim told AFP.
