Daily Terrorist Round-up Stories - March 24, 2005 (Take a break from Terry and check on the WOT)

3/25/05

[Straight Vermonter]

US troops clash with insurgents in Iraq's Tal Afar

(Tal Afar, Iraq-NBC) March 24, 2005 - More firefights broke out between US forces and insurgents in the northern Iraq town of Tal Afar Thursday. For the second day in a row US troops fought with insurgents in the streets. Tal Afar is about 40 miles west of Mosul, and is considered a tough town. Last summer US forces assaulted Tal Afar and tried to cut insurgent's supply routes.

Two civilians have been killed in the fighting so far.There's been no word on US casualties.

Further to the west in Rabia, Iraqi police mistook Iraqi commandos in civilian clothes and opened fire. Before the gunshots ended, three soldiers and two police officers were killed.

Wednesday's largest battle was the Iraqi Commando assault on insurgent camps near Tikrit.

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Assassination ban 'no shield' for al-Qaida (Excerpted)
By Shaun Waterman

Washington, DC, Mar. 24 (UPI) -- CIA Director Porter Goss told lawmakers the ban on assassinations by U.S. intelligence is still in force but that it does not prohibit the agency from killing the terrorist enemies of the United States.

The assassination ban, contained in executive order 12333, Goss told the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, "would not bar the use of lethal force in self-defense, for example, in appropriate cases against members of al-Qaida planning attacks against the United States."

His comment, an unusually candid statement about an area of law and policy that officials rarely touch on in public, came in a series of written answers to questions submitted by the committee.

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Pentagon Expands Intelligence Gathering (Excerpted)
By Mark Mazzetti and Greg Miller, Times Staff Writers

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon's new emphasis on intelligence gathering overseas has led to a "dramatic" expansion of espionage operations and a more prominent role for intelligence officers in military decision-making and war planning, Defense officials said today.

As part of the plan, the Pentagon is expanding the number of spies and special operations forces in foreign countries, increasing the number of Defense Department "case officers" who work in undercover assignments overseas and creating new intelligence analysis centers inside military commands worldwide, the officials said.

The changes are part of a push to improve the Pentagon's ability to gather intelligence on terrorist networks and rogue states that are seen as potential adversaries, according to Defense officials who provided new details about the Pentagon's expanded role in intelligence operations.

SV-The article is excerpted because it is from the LA Times.  The entire article is a good read.

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Sudan, Saudi sign deal on combating militant attacks

KHARTOUM, March 24 (AFP) -- Sudan and Saudi Arabia signed two agreements on strengthening cooperation in the fight against terrorism and narcotics, the countries' respective interior ministers said.
 "We and Saudi Arabia are in one trench in fighting terrorism," said Sudanese Interior Minister Abdul Rahim Mohamed Hussein at a joint news conference with his Saudi counterpart Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz.

The Saudi minister said winning the war against terrorism would require more than military confrontation with militants.  "Confronting terrorism requires an intellectual offensive so as to mitigate fanaticism and fundamentalism," added Prince Nayef, after the two sides inked the agreements. "Thought is only faced by thought."  Saudi Arabia has been rocked by a series of bloody attacks over the past two years, which mostly targeted the kingdom's expatriate community, leaving many dead and injured.

Many of the strikes were claimed by groups linked to the Al-Qaeda network of Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden, whom the United States accused of masterminding the September 2001 attacks on its soil.  Bin Laden and his henchmen spent some time in Sudan in the mid-1990s when the country's Islamist rulers played host to Muslim fundamentalists from around the region and beyond.  Khartoum remains on Washington's list of terrorist-sponsoring countries and until the late 1990s was considered the black sheep of the region for its alleged support for Islamist terrorists.

Prince Nayef described his three-day visit to Sudan as being "successful", saying it had "achieved its goals."

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Middle East: Confusion over death of Saudi terrorist

[Middle East News] RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, March 24 : The Saudi Interior Ministry said Thursday questions remain over whether terrorist leader Abdullah bin Rached al-Rachoud is dead or alive.

"The ministry never confirmed that he was killed or captured but press reports published last week hinted that he might have been eliminated because he has not appeared on any video tape for a long while," Ministry spokesman Brig.Mansour Turki said.

Rachoud appeared on a videotape before al-Qaida's main operative in the kingdom, Abdul Aziz al-Muqrin, was killed in a clash with police last July.

Rachoud is believed the mastermind of the terrorist attacks blamed on al-Qaida in Saudi Arabia.He figures high on the interior ministry's list of 26 most-wanted terror suspects.

SV-My scorecard lists him as being at large.

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Iraq launches purge of foreign Arabs

[Middle East News] BAGHDAD, March 23 : Iraq has imposed strict new residency rules as part of a plan to expel insurgent non-Iraqi Arabs from the country.

So far, about 250 people have been ordered to leave by the Interior Ministry, mostly Syrians, Sudanese, Saudis and Egyptians, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday."The fact is that some, not all, Arabs and foreigners have destroyed the reputation of Arab and foreign countries in Iraq," said Brig.Gen. Taif Tariq Hussein, who heads the Interior Ministry's residency office."They have either helped in executing sabotage operations or they have carried out sabotage themselves."

The new requirements say a person must have a valid passport or travel document from his or her native country, an entry visa for Iraq, and, if coming for work, a signed contract.However, anyone married to an Iraqi is exempt.

Baghdad has been a hub for decades for Arabs from other Middle Eastern nations who came for work and study.The new regulations have brought fear to foreign-Arab neighborhoods, some of which have existed for more than a generation, the report said.

- -- Copyright 2005 by United Press International.

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Convicted militants' Al-Qaeda ties disclosed

A criminal group of six members which had planned terror acts in Baku and was earlier detained in Azerbaijan, had ties with Al-Qaeda terror organization, the Ministry of National Security said in a statement on Thursday.  The group members, led by Amiraslan Isgandarov, were sentenced to between three and fourteen years in prison by the court this February. 

Isgandarov was proven to have been involved in military action within the Al-Qaeda terror organization in Afghanistan in 1999-2003, making and using explosives, and preparation of weapons of mass destruction.  After returning to Azerbaijan, Isgandarov planned committing terrorist acts in the country. He conducted propaganda among representatives of ethnic minorities, in particular, young people. While attempting to set up an entity called "Jamaat", Isgandarov tried to sow the sentiment of hatred among people towards the Azerbaijani state. 

The criminal group was masterminding terrorist acts in different parts of Baku, including areas where large numbers of foreign citizens live and work, power ministries, strategic and other sites, and acquired parts of explosive substances. Isgandarov was actively involved in preparing suicide bombers, trying to attract girls inclined to radical religious views. Upon consent of several girls, he instructed them to wait for their time to commit the terrorist acts. Isgandarov also acquired recipes of poisonous substances, planning to further use them to commit mass killings of people in Azerbaijani regions.  The criminals wrote a letter to the Azeri government on behalf of the "Al-Qaeda Caucasus" organization demanding it to give up its anti-terrorist course and principles of a secular and democratic state, and warning of imminent explosions in Baku.

During the search, the National Security Ministry impounded large quantities of TNT and other explosives, hand grenades, fuses, ammunition, books and tapes propagating terrorism and Jihad.

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LeT dist chief killed in encounter

Poonch, March 23: Three Pakistani militants, including the district commander of the pan-Islamic Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and area commander of Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen (TuM) outfit, were killed in a fierce firefight with the security forces at Chinar Mohalla (Sangla) in the Surankote tehsil in Poonch district.
 
The slain ultras have been identified as Abu Assadullah, district commander of LeT, Abu Talha, area commander of TuM, and Abu Mudassir, area commander of LeT.

Sources said Abu Talha was the one who used to take the infiltrating militants from the Nakka Majari area to safer hideouts in Surankote heights. Talha also used to provide ultras with initial details about the adjoining villages and the security deployment to make it easy for them to carry out operations in the area.

Giving details of the operation, S M Sahai, Deputy Inspector General of the Rajouri-Poonch range, said the encounter started at 5.30 am today when the police party headed by DSP Surankote P R Shan and an Army column led by 25 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) Commanding Officer (CO) Sanjay Kaushal cordoned the militant hideout. Abdul Rehaman and Ajay Singh Chib, both SIs also participated in the operation.

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10 sacks of bomb-making chemicals seized

THE military claimed Wednesday to have confiscated 10 sacks of bomb-making chemicals in an abandoned house in Fairview, Quezon City.

Aside from bomb ingredients, Intelligence operatives of the Armed Forces also recovered from an apartment type of a house situated along Orchids Street one computer and video camera. No one was arrested during the raid.

Some of the sacks contained ingredients in the manufacture of trinitrotoluene (TNT), a powerful bomb.

Armed Forces-National Capital Region Command Chief Allan Cabalquinto said the explosive cache could be part of a plot to launch terror attacks this Holy Week.

Lieutenant General Cabalquinto refused to give further details in a press conference Wednesday afternoon to avoid jeopardizing the ongoing military and police operations against those Abu Sayyaf members who are out to carry out terror attacks in Metro Manila.

Police and military authorities have been on alert status amid plans by the Abu Sayyaf Group to launch attacks this Lenten break to avenge the killing of its 24 leaders and members in an assault at a prison center in Bicutan, Taguig last week.

Police intelligence confirmed that seven Abu bandits are in Metro Manila, waiting for orders from their leaders to strike. Two of them were identified as Abu Ubayda and Iban Hassan whose sketches have been released to the public.

National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) Chief Avelino Razon Jr. and other police officials have been going around Metro Manila to make sure that security are in place in crowded areas like churches, bus terminals, airports and seaports, train stations, parks, shopping malls and other "potential targets" of the bandits.

Razon said police visibility in Metro Manila has also been intensified.

About 15,000 policemen and soldiers have been deployed in various areas in Metro Manila to ensure an uneventful observance of the Holy Week.

The military units in Metro Manila, including the major services - Army, Navy, and Air Force - will augment the PNP for any eventuality during the period. (JFF)

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Three Lashker-e-Taiba militants killed in Kashmir

[Kashmir, India News] Jammu, March 22 : Three top militants of the Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT) were killed Tuesday in an encounter with security forces in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said.
The police said LeT district commander Abu Assadullah, his deputy Abu Thalla and another militant Abu Muddassar were shot dead in the snow-bound Sangla village of Surankote, about 220 km north of Jammu.Three AK-56 rifles and ammunition were seized.

"With this encounter, the (entire) LET leadership in the Pir Panjal region of Jammu and Kashmir has been eliminated," a police official in Poonch told IANS on phone.

--Indo-Asian News Service

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Good signs in Iraq (Excerpted)

   These are not the best of times for Saddam loyalists, jihadists, common criminals and associates of Abu Musab Zarqawi who comprise the insurgency that has terrorized the Iraqi people for almost two years. Iraq's soldiers and private citizens are fighting back.

    The first major blow against the insurgents came as a result of the Jan. 30 elections, in which millions of Iraqis defied the terrorists and went to the polls to begin the process of writing a new constitution and electing a government. The second damaging development is the fact that Iraqis have become much better at defending themselves. During the past few weeks, a spate of news reports have appeared in mainstream media outlets showing that Iraqi military and police forces and armed civilians are beginning to make life miserable for the insurgents.
  
    On Monday, the New York Times ran a front-page story, "On Iraq's Street of Fear, the Tide May Be Turning," which showed how Iraqi soldiers in Baghdad have been increasingly successful in combating the insurgents. As a result, the terrorists are finding it increasingly difficult to pin down American troops and hit the Green Zone, headquarters of the Iraqi government, with mortar fire. American officers said that previously, the terrorists had been able to mass in groups as large as 150, pinning American soldiers down for as long as six hours at a time. But that no longer is the case, because the Iraqis have become a much more effective fighting force and are refusing to buckle to the intimidation campaign.

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Two insurgents killed in shoot-out in deep South Thailand
 
    BANGKOK, March 23 (Xinhuanet) -- Two suspected Islamic insurgents were killed in a shoot-out with police in Thailand's southern-most province of Pattani Wednesday morning.  A police officer was wounded in the skirmish, reported the Thai News Agency.   The two on a motorcycle shot Police Senior Sergeant Major Anand Maksakoon in the arm in front of a house.

     A passing police patrol stopped and returned fire.  The two attackers died instantly at the scene. The police found a student identity card on one of the bodies and are now trying to identify the other assailant.

    Southern Thailand has been plagued by a violent insurgency for more than a year that has claimed hundreds of lives, including civil servants, teachers and civilians. Enditem

 

[Straight Vermonter]

Let me know if you want on/off the terrorist roundup ping list.

Terrorist Scorecard

[iopscusa]

Thanks for the WoT update.

[Pro-Bush]

Washington, DC, Mar. 24 (UPI) -- CIA Director Porter Goss told lawmakers the ban on assassinations by U.S. intelligence is still in force but that it does not prohibit the agency from killing the terrorist enemies of the United States.

Nice workaround.

[Deetes]

assassinations by U.S. intelligence is still in force but that it does not prohibit the agency from killing the terrorist

I guess it doesn't hurt to remind them.

[coconutt2000]

[•] ON
[ ] OFF

Please.

[leadpenny]

Bump!

[Coop]

The new requirements say a person must have a valid passport or travel document from his or her native country, an entry visa for Iraq, and, if coming for work, a signed contract.However, anyone married to an Iraqi is exempt.

I imagine the wedding planning business in Iraq is about to boom.

[Valin]

Iraq launches purge of foreign Arabs

THE MESOPOTAMIAN
TO BRING ONE MORE IRAQI VOICE OF THE SILENT MAJORITY TO THE ATTENTION OF THE WORLD
http://messopotamian.blogspot.com/

Monday, February 21, 2005
ONE+ ONE
Hi,

So, the “Arab and Moslem World” is furious with U.S. for the actions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Yet, the peoples most directly concerned, i.e. the Afghans and the Iraqis are behaving in a very strange manner. The majorities in both these two victim countries of “American aggression” just do not seem to be sufficiently outraged. Of course, they said, what do you expect of “puppets” installed by the “occupiers”? But, Lo & behold, these very same puppets get elected by majorities in fair and honest elections, which probably, were the first of their kind in the history of the region. In Iraq, not even the bitterest enemies can deny the fact; and the worst accusation they can level against these elections is that of being of “incomplete legitimacy”, due to the non-participation of many of the Sunni minority. People brave death, bombs, suicide bombers and hardship to line up to vote despite the privations and sufferings of their daily life in one of the most impressive demonstrations of courage and defiance in history. Thousands of Iraqi security forces protect the voters and behind there are the American boys of the “occupation” forces sharply vigilant to protect the Iraqis. 60% of the eligible voters did vote, this figure would have risen at least to 80% had the conditions permitted. Thus, the majority of Iraqis chose to vote for these same “puppets” and “stooges” who “came with the American tanks”. This is peculiar behavior of a people who are supposed to be absolutely fed up and angry at the “occupation”, according to all the knowledgeable pundits and commentators all over the world. Wouldn’t this occasion have been very appropriate to demonstrate apathy and disapproval in a very easy, passive and quite risk-free manner simply by abstaining from the vote and staying home; especially when the opposite course was so full of danger? Indeed, as the rejectionists had demanded, it would have been appropriate to refuse to have anything to do with an event under the auspices of a hated "occupier".

We have an Iraqi saying: “When the Judge is satisfied, the Mufti has no business to object”. In other words, it is the positions of those directly concerned that matter, not that of others. But could the wise guys and passionate anti-this and anti-that people understand. It seems to me as simple and as evident as 1+1=2 ....

Salaam

# posted by Alaa : 11:42 AM

[Valin]

I can't understand how anyone would say it does.

[BayouCoyote]

BTTT!