U.S. Begins Major Offensive Operation Against Afghan Taliban
July 2, 2009 by national
Filed under World Report
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Thousands of U.S. Marines began a “major operation” in southern Afghanistan early today, moving into towns and villages to protect civilians from the Taliban under the Pentagon’s new counterinsurgency strategy.
Almost 4,000 American personnel and 650 Afghan soldiers are taking part in Operation Khanjar, or Strike of the Sword, pushing into the Helmand River valley in helicopters and armored vehicles to set up bases, the military said in an e-mailed statement.
“Where we go, we will stay and where we stay, we will hold,” Brigadier General Larry Nicholson said in the statement.
The operation comes two days after U.S. combat troops withdrew from Iraqi cities under a drawdown that will allow the Pentagon to focus on the conflict in Afghanistan. The Marines involved in today’s offensive were deployed as reinforcements in May, as part of President Barack Obama’s commitment to defeat a resurgent Taliban.
U.S. General Stanley McChrystal assumed command of international forces in Afghanistan last month and is spearheading new counterinsurgency tactics aimed at better protecting civilians.
U.S. and NATO-led forces have failed to establish a permanent presence in the Helmand River valley, an insurgent stronghold and center of illicit opium production where militants have thrown out local police and government officials.
Lebanon Unmasks 4 al-Qaeda Suspects
July 1, 2009 by national
Filed under World Report
According to a report released by the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International (LBCI), three of the suspects were charged on Monday by the Lebanese military prosecutor Judge Saker Saker with establishing a clandestine gang connected to the al-Qaeda terror group, while the fourth suspect remains at large.
The judicial officials meanwhile announced the three in custody are of Kuwaiti, Syrian and Tajik nationalities. Under the Lebanese Constitution, they will be handed death sentences should they be convicted of the charges.
The report comes as an al-Qaeda group — allegedly plotting attacks in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and the Persian Gulf states like Kuwait — was exposed earlier this month.
Recent acts of violence in Lebanon and Syria have largely been pinned on extremist groups inspired by the al-Qaeda.
Honduras President Ousted In Coup, Chavez Threatens To Invade
June 28, 2009 by national
Filed under World Report
Honduras was plunged into a political crisis that threatened to spill across the region hours after President Manuel Zelaya was thrown out by the army and exiled to Costa Rica prompting his leftist ally in Venezuela, President Hugo Chavez, to threaten military intervention.
In the first successful military coup in Central America since the end of the Cold War, the army sent masked soldiers into the presidential palace before dawn. The President, who was in dispute with his military about a planned constitutional referendum, was then escorted to a military plane which took him into exile.
Mr Chavez went on state television later in the day claiming that the coup leaders had taken away the Cuban ambassador to Honduras and left the Venezuelan ambassador by the road in the capital, Tegucigalpa, after beating him. He said that if troops enter his embassy “that military junta would be entering a de facto state of war,” and “we would have to act militarily”.
The Congress in Honduras said later that it had received a letter of resignation from Mr Zelaya, purportedly signed on Friday. In a show of hands, representatives accepted that he had stepped down from office.
More…
Army ousts Honduras president in vote dispute…
President calls arrest ‘kidnapping’…
ASKS FOR ASYLUM IN COSTA RICA…
Troops surround presidential palace…
OBAMA SAYS DEEPLY CONCERNED ABOUT DETENTION, EXPULSION…
Paksitan – Terror Attack On Norwegian and Swedish Embassies Thwarted
June 28, 2009 by national
Filed under World Report
A man with two tons of explosives in his possession has been arrested in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad. According to reports the man had planned to blow up the Norwegian and Swedish embassies in the city.
In addition, the Hungarian, Czech and South African embassies were also among the targets for the man’s terrorist attacks, the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet reports.
The newspaper quotes a central source as saying that the Swedish military presence in Afghanistan was the reason for the planned attack.
Also Norway is participating in the ISAF forces in Afghanistan. The Norwegian Foreign Office has declined to comment on the reports, but security at the Norwegian embassy has been stepped up.
One year ago the Danish embassy in Islamabad was attacked, and six people were killed.
Hat Tip – Infidels Are Cool
Al-Qaeda Planning Cyber Terror War Against Britain
June 25, 2009 by national
Filed under World Report
Al-Qaeda is intent on using the internet to launch a cyber-warfare campaign against Britain, Lord West, the Security Minister, has warned.
Terrorist groups, which already use the internet for recruitment, propaganda and communication purposes, want to turn it into a dangerous weapon, he said.
Lord West issued the warning as he published the Government’s new Cyber Security Strategy aimed at heading off online threats.
As well as potential cyber-attacks from terrorists, Britain faces a real and growing threat from foreign governments such as China and Russia, and from organised criminal gangs, he said.
Targets include key businesses, the national power grid, financial markets and Whitehall departments.
As part of attempts to beef up defences, a new Office for Cyber Security will be set up to co-ordinate Government policy.
Another new development will see the creation of a “cyber-forensics” team based at GCHQ, the Government’s eavesdropping centre in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.
The Cyber Security Operations Centre will constantly monitor, analyse and counter cyber attacks as they happen.
North Korea Warns Of Fire Shower of Nuclear Retaliation
June 25, 2009 by national
Filed under World Report
North Korea condemned a recent U.S. pledge to provide nuclear defense of South Korea, saying Thursday that the move boosts its justification to have atomic bombs and invites a potential “fire shower of nuclear retaliation.”
The commentary in Pyongyang’s main Rodong Sinmun newspaper was the North’s latest reaction to last week’s summit between President Barack Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak. The allies issued a joint statement committing the U.S. to defend the South with nuclear weapons.
It also came as an American destroyer trailed a North Korean ship suspected of shipping weapons in violation of a U.N. resolution punishing Pyongyang’s May 25 nuclear test, and as anticipation mounted that the North might test-fire short- or mid-range missiles in the coming days.
The North’s newspaper claimed that the “nuclear umbrella” commitment made it more likely for the U.S. to mount a nuclear attack on the communist North, and only “provides us with a stronger justification to have nuclear deterrent.”
Pakistan Foils Major Terror Attacks
June 24, 2009 by national
Filed under World Report
Pakistani police today claimed to have foiled terror attacks in major cities across the country, including on parliament here, with the arrest of 25 “significant terrorists”, including at least two would-be suicide bombers.
Interior minister Mr Rehman Malik said one of the two would-be suicide bombers had plans to target the parliament house. The other bomber had plans to strike at the office of an intelligence agency, he said.
Police said the arrested suspects were planning attacks in major cities across the country. Inspector general of police Syed Kaleem Imam described the arrested persons as “significant terrorists”. Six of them were “high value targets” wanted by authorities for killing law enforcement personnel in Swat and carrying out bomb attacks, he said. The arrests had helped foil attacks and subversive activities in Karachi and Lahore.
Some of the terrorists hailed from Swat and South Waziristan tribal agency while some had links to the radical Lal Masjid in Islamabad, Mr Imam said.
The terrorists, who were arrested with the help of intelligence agencies, planned to target law enforcement agencies, vital installations and foreign dignitaries. Suicide jackets and explosives had been found in their possession, Mr Imam said.
U.S. Drone Strike Said to Kill 60 in Pakistan
June 23, 2009 by national
Filed under World Report
An airstrike believed to have been carried out by a United States drone killed at least 60 people at a funeral for a Taliban fighter in South Waziristan on Tuesday, residents of the area and local news reports said.
Family members mourned Mr. Zainuddin, a tribal leader, on Tuesday in Abbotabad.
Details of the attack, which occurred in Makeen, remained unclear, but the reported death toll was exceptionally high. If the reports are indeed accurate and if the attack was carried out by a drone, the strike could be the deadliest since the United States began using the aircraft to fire remotely guided missiles at members of the Taliban and Al Qaeda in the tribal areas of Pakistan. The United States carried out 22 previous drone strikes this year, as the Obama administration has intensified a policy inherited from the Bush administration.
Taliban Use Stolen U.S. Gear Against U.S.
June 23, 2009 by national
Filed under World Report
Some Taliban fighters have been able to ward off attacks by U.S. aircraft by wearing special infrared patches on their shirts that signal that they are friends rather than foes.
The patches, which can also help suicide bombers get close to U.S. targets, are supposed to be the property of the U.S. government alone, but can be easily purchased over the Internet for about $10 each. Also available online: night-vision goggles and military-grade communications systems like the ones used by the terrorists who attacked the Indian city of Mumbai last year.
While stealing uniforms is as old as warfare itself, the Internet has made purchases of military equipment much easier and increased the risk to U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Some of the patches have been stolen during raids on U.S. resupply convoys in Afghanistan and Pakistan. But they can also be purchased in the United States and sent overseas with little detection.
In a recent investigation, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) bought patches using fake names and a front company with only a valid credit card. The patches reveal an American flag when looked at with an infrared light and were designed to avoid friendly fire during nighttime battles.
Jonathan Meyer, assistant director of forensic audits and special investigations for the GAO, told The Washington Times, “Based on our conversations with the Department of Defense, terrorists have used U.S. uniforms and the infrared patches to get close to U.S. and allied forces on the battlefield and at bases. This is more of a potential suicide-bomber risk.”
How Safe Is Pakistan’s Nuclear Arsenal
June 23, 2009 by national
Filed under World Report
The safety of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal is a cause for international concern. Even as the Zardari regime is waging a war against Taliban in the Swat valley with support of the US, Taliban has made known its resolve to seize control of the nuclear arsenal of Pakistan and use it to fight the US. The US won’t allow Pakistan’s nuclear arms to pass into the hands of Taliban.
To checkmate that possibility, US has enough safeguards in place to take over Pak’s nuclear weapons in case Islamist fighters came close to doing so. US President Barack Obama recently expressed the confidence that Pakistani government has safeguarded its nuclear arsenal. However, no one has been able to ascertain the validity of Pakistan’s assurances about their nuclear weapons security.
Yemen Terror Killings May Be Work of Former Gitmo Prisoner
June 20, 2009 by national
Filed under World Report
The fate of three of nine foreigners abducted in Yemen last week is known — their bodies were found, shot execution style. The whereabouts of the other six — including three children under the age of 6 — remain a mystery.
But terrorism experts say their abductors and killers are almost certainly not a mystery. They say the crimes bear the mark of Al Qaeda, and they fear they are the handiwork of the international terror organization’s No. 2 man in the Arabian Peninsula: Said Ali al-Shihri, an Islamic extremist who once was in American custody — but who was released from the U.S. detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
And if al-Shihri is behind the gruesome murders and abductions, they say, it raises grave concerns that the scheduled January 2010 closing of the Guantanamo prison and the release of most of its prisoners to foreign countries will galvanize Al Qaeda and compromise American national security.
Militants Behead Afghan University Student
June 19, 2009 by national
Filed under World Report
Several armed militants entered the compound of Kandahar University in south Afghanistan Friday and after beheading a student took away another.
“The gruesome incident occurred at 11:00 a.m. local time when several unknown armed militants entered the compound while students were enjoying weekly holiday Friday in the garden of university and horribly beheaded Mushtaq Ahmad and took away another,” Ahmad Shah a student of the university told Xinhua.
The terrified Shah added that Mushtaq was a student of grade fourth of medical faculty of Kandahar university.
This is the first time that militants attack higher educational institutions in the country.
Police officials at the site did not put finger at any particular groups, saying the enemies of peace a term used against Taliban militants are behind such barbaric acts.
Taliban fighters who have vowed to intensify activities this year in Afghanistan have not made comment so far.
U.S.S. John McCain Prepares To Intercept North Korean Ship
June 19, 2009 by national
Filed under World Report
The U.S. military is planning to intercept a flagged North Korean ship suspected of proliferating weapons material in violation of a U.N. Security Council resolution passed last Friday, FOX News has learned.
The USS John McCain, a navy destroyer, will intercept the ship Kang Nam as soon as it leaves the vicinity off the coast of China, according to a senior U.S. defense official. The order to inderdict has not been given yet, but the ship is getting into position.
The ship left a port in North Korea Wednesday and appears to be heading toward Singapore, according to a senior U.S. military source. The vessel, which the military has been tracking since its departure, could be carrying weaponry, missile parts or nuclear materials, a violation of U.N. Resolution 1874, which put sanctions in place against Pyongyang.
The USS McCain was involved in an incident with a Chinese sub last Friday – near Subic Bay off the Philippines.
The Chinese sub was shadowing the destroyer when it hit the underwater sonar array that the USS McCain was towing behind it.
That same navy destroyer that was being shadowed by the Chinese is now positioning itself for a possible interdiction of the North Korean vessel.
This is the first suspected “proliferator” that the U.S. and its allies have tracked from North Korea since the United Nations authorized the world’s navies to enforce compliance with a variety of U.N. sanctions aimed at punishing North Korea for its recent nuclear test.
Iran’s Ayatollah Power Slipping Away?
June 18, 2009 by national
Filed under World Report
Since Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared runaway winner of the presidential election last week, Iran has seen a daily wave of opposition demonstrations, police crackdowns and violence.
Not since the 1979 Islamic Revolution when Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini overthrew the shah has Iranian society been so rattled and divided.
According to the Iranian constitution, the Guardians of the Constitution are supposed to monitor and sign off on election results.
After the votes have been counted and the winner announced by the interior ministry, the Guardians have the responsibility to endorse the result within 10 days if there are no complaints from the defeated candidates.
The president-elect is then confirmed and later sworn in by Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
But last week’s election did not follow these procedures.
Despite complaints by Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi and Mohsen Rezaei, the opposition candidates, Ayatollah Khamaenei congratulated Ahmadinejad in a public speech and pointed out that he had got 14 million votes more than the first time he was elected president four years ago.
