Posted on 09/04/2006 3:52:34 PM PDT by Gucho
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Sep. 4, 2006 – The capture of a top-tier terrorist has left al Qaeda in Iraq in a "serious leadership crisis," an Iraqi government official said here yesterday.
Iraqi forces, with coalition support, captured Hamed Jumaa Farid al-Saeedi, who is thought to be responsible for the Feb. 22 bombing of a Samarra shrine sacred to Shiia Muslims, said Mowaffak al-Rubaie, national security adviser to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, in a nationally televised address.
The mosque bombing helped fan the flames of sectarian violence in Iraq. Saeedi – also known as Abu Humam and Abu Rana – was reportedly captured as he hid in a residential building southwest of Baquba.
"(Saeedi) is the direct supervisor of the criminal Haitham al-Badri, who planned and executed the bombing of the Askariya Shrine in Samarra," Rubaie said.
The Iraqi national security adviser said Saeedi carried out the policy of the al Qaeda in Iraq organization to ignite sectarian riots. According to Rubaie, Saeedi also is accused of supervising the creation of death squads and ordering assassinations, bombings, kidnappings and attacks on Iraqi police and army checkpoints.
(Adapted from an article posted on the Multinational Force Iraq Web site.)
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WASHINGTON, Sep. 4, 2006 – Citing media reports suggesting a possible connection between three U.S. soldiers killed in June and the alleged rape of an Iraqi girl and murder of the girl and her family in March, military officials in Iraq today issued a statement saying “no evidence” connects the dead soldiers to the incident.
“Past articles could be read to imply that the three deceased soldiers were somehow involved in the alleged crimes,” Multinational Corps Iraq officials said in the statement.
Spc. David Babineau, Pfc. Thomas Tucker and Pfc. Kristian Menchaca – all assigned to Company B, 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division – were manning a checkpoint that came under attack June 16. Babineau died at the scene, and Tucker and Menchaca went missing. Their bodies were found three days later.
Six current and former soldiers from the same unit are facing criminal charges in connection with the alleged March 12 rape and murder incident in the southern Iraq town of Mahmudiyah.
“The criminal investigation into the crimes committed against the Iraqi family in Mahmudiyah is still ongoing, and comment on the investigation would be inappropriate,” the MNC-I statement said. “Thus far, however, no evidence has been discovered implicating Babineau, Tucker or Menchaca in any criminal involvement with the Mahmudiyah incident.”
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Monday, September 4, 2006
Kabul suicide bomber kills five
September 4, 2006
Mon Sep 4, 10:35 AM ET - The U.S. soldier monitors militants movement over Naray in eastern Afghanistan from Chinook helicopter in this August 3, 2006 file photo. U.S. Army force out of New York is keeping up the hunt for Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaida allies in eastern Afghanistan despite five years passing since they carried out the Sept. 11 attacks. (AP Photo/B.K.Bangash/FILE)
By 101st Airborne
Sep 4, 2006
TIKRIT, Iraq – Iraqi Soldiers on patrol near Khanaqin, in the eastern part of Diyala Province, discovered a large cache of mortar and artillery rounds Friday afternoon.
1st Brigade 5th Iraqi Army Division seized 93 artillery shells and 23 mortar rounds and transported the weapons to a local military installation where they were safely destroyed by a US explosive ordnance detachment team in a controlled detonation.
Finding and disposing of weapons caches is an ongoing mission for both Iraqi and coalition forces. Weapons such as those discovered in this cache are commonly used in IEDs and carbombs that terrorists continue to use against innocent civilians as well as security forces throughout Iraq.
By MULTI-NATIONAL FORCE-IRAQ, COMBINED PRESS INFORMATION CENTER - BAGHDAD, Iraq
Sep 4, 2006
BAGHDAD, Iraq – An air strike near Yusufiyah Friday afternoon killed three terrorists observed operating a mortar there.
While conducting operations to disrupt al-Qaida in Iraq activities in the area, coalition forces reported receiving indirect mortar fire. Shortly thereafter, coalition aircraft observed a white bongo truck with three passengers and three mortar rounds in the back of the truck.
The vehicle was tracked to a nearby location where the three terrorists exited the vehicle and entered a building. The structure was declared hostile and close air support was cleared to engage.
The first bomb hit vicinity of target and struck a portion of a nearby building. A second bomb hit target and destroyed it. Ground and aerial reports indicate bystanders may have been injured. An assessment from this aerial strike is ongoing at this time to determine if there are any civilians injured and the extent of the damage to the buildings.
Further details will be provided as they become available.
By 138TH MOBILE PUBLIC AFFAIRS DETACHMENT
Sep 4, 2006
TAL AFAR, Iraq – The 1st, Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 3rd Iraqi Army Division became the third and final battalion to take the lead in assuming security operations for the city of Tal Afar during a ceremony held at Fort Tal Afar on September 2.
On hand for the ceremony was the mayor of Tal Afar, Najim Abdullah al Jubori; Maj. Gen. Khorsheed, commander, 3rd IA Div.; Brig. Gen. Qais Hamza, commander, 2nd Brig., 3rd IA Div.; Lt. Col. John Tien, commander, Task Force 2-37 and various dignitaries from the surrounding area.
With this ceremony, all of the Iraqi Army battalions in Tal Afar have taken the lead in security operations.
ADDITIONAL PHOTO:
Iraqi Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 3rd Iraqi Army Division march during the unit's assumption of security responsibility ceremony in Tal Afar Sept. 3. The battalion joins two other Iraqi battalions with the responsibility of securing the city. (US Army photo by SFC Steven Pettibone, 138th MPAD)
By MULTI-NATIONAL FORCE-IRAQ, COMBINED PRESS INFORMATION CENTER - BAGHDAD, Iraq
Sep 4, 2006
BAGHDAD, Iraq – Combined operations by Iraqi security force and Coalition Force troops continued to target terrorist cells this week. The operations resulted in the death and capture of multiple terrorist suspects and associates.
Baghdad
Iraqi army and security forces, with Coalition forces supporting, conducted multiple early-morning raids on Aug. 23, capturing three primary suspects tied to placing improvised explosive devices and illegally armed groups. The first raid resulted in the capture of an individual suspected of emplacing IEDs and targeting U.S. military personnel in Al Ramadi. Five other persons were detained for questioning. The second raid resulted in the capture of two persons who allegedly belonged to a cell that engaged in promoting sectarian violence through kidnapping and murder in southern Baghdad.
Two early raids on Aug. 28 resulted in one terrorist killed and four others detained southwest Baghdad. The assault forces conducted operations to search for a known al-Qaida in Iraq leader with ties to the illegal movement of foreign fighters, and attacks against Iraqi citizens and Coalition forces. The assault forces found three suspected terrorists and detained them for further questioning. The forces then approached a subsequent objective to search for an associate of the senior al-Qaida in Iraq leader. At this point, the forces observed an individual running through the building. Upon clearing the building, they engaged and killed a terrorist armed with an AK-47 assault rifle. An additional suspect was detained for further questioning.
An Aug. 27 raid, targeting an associate of an al-Qaida in Iraq terrorist leader responsible for car bomb and rocket attacks, resulted in one terrorist killed and two detained. Ground forces moved on the objective, located in a rural area south of Baghdad, and engaged an armed terrorist posing an immediate threat to the forces and other Iraqis in the area. Numerous civilians were in the area, but none harmed. Terrorists often operate in the vicinity of innocent Iraqis.
Mussayib
On Aug. 27 Iraqi Security Force captured an IED maker and cell leader near Mussayib. Intelligence indicates the suspect participated in multiple IED attacks on Iraqi Security and Coalition Forces, including one killing 4 U.S. servicemen on May 5th. This suspect also allegedly supplied IEDs to illegal armed groups and incited sectarian violence and government instability through kidnapping, murdering and conducting armed attacks. Additionally, ground forces detained another suspect.
Mosul
A raid on the evening of Aug. 29, targeting a key figure in the Mosul al-Qaida in Iraq organization, led to one terrorist killed, two detained, and the recovery of a cache of grenades and bomb making materials. The targeted terrorist is linked to the movement of explosives and participated in other anti-coalition operations. During the assault on the objective buildings, two terrorists fled to the roof of a nearby house. When located, one engaged the assault team with a pistol. Forces returned fire and killed him. Ground forces detained the second terrorist on the roof and another suspect for further questioning. This raid resulted in the discovery of grenades and explosives inside one of the objective buildings.
On Aug. 31 ground forces conducted an operation in Mosul and captured the city’s chief of terrorist operations and his head of security. Intelligence indicates these terrorists have directed attacks against Iraqi military and police, and Coalition forces. The suspects are also allegedly responsible for the movement of fighters, weapons, explosive materials, and funds to support terrorist operations near Mosul.
Muqdadiyah
An Aug. 28 morning raid targeting an associate of a former al-Qaida in Iraq cell leader resulted in three terrorists killed in Muqdadiyah. While moving to the objective, forces began clearing multiple buildings. Several terrorists ran out of the buildings into an adjacent field. The terrorists began digging up a possible weapons cache. The troops did not pursue the fleeing suspects. As the forces prepared to depart the target area, they observed the three suspects moving into positions to attack incoming aircraft. The terrorists began firing on a Coalition helicopter. The helicopter returned fire until the terrorists fire ceased.
Coalition officials said the removal of terrorists in Iraq will significantly hamper al-Qaida in Iraq’s abilities to move personnel into and out of Iraq, and cut financial support channels. Iraqi Security and Coalition Forces will continue to dismantle the al-Qaida in Iraq network through constant, deliberate, and methodical operations.
BAGHDAD – Lt. Col. Rashid, commander, 2nd Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, and Col. Michael Shields, commander, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, Multi-National Division – Baghdad, took to the streets of Adhamiyah to meet the local residents and hear their concerns Tuesday. (U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Keith DeVinney, COMCAM, MND-B)
By Lance Cpl. R. Drew Hendricks - Marine Forces Pacific
U.S. MARINE CORPS FORCES, PACIFIC, CAMP H. M. SMITH, Hawaii– (Aug. 30, 2006) -- Every year on the first Monday of September workers around the country enjoy an extra-long weekend. The holiday is Labor Day and for some that’s all that is known about it.
Labor Day is a simple and straight-forward holiday celebrating the American worker.
The holiday started during an era when the laborers were the heroes that drove this country onward, much as they continue to do today.
The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated Tuesday, Sept. 5, 1882, in New York City in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. The second Labor Day holiday was held just a year later, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
It is still disputed as to who started the holiday, but two names are mentioned. Some say it was Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a co-founder of the American Federation of Labor who first suggested a day to honor the American Laborer, according to the DOL.
He said we should honor those "who from rude nature have delved and carved all the grandeur we behold."
Others say it was Matthew Maguire, a machinist, who founded the holiday. Most research seems to support Matthew Maguire with the proposal of the holiday in 1882 while he served as secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York, according to the World Book Encyclopedia.
Regardless who proposed the holiday, Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday. That law was signed by President Grover Cleveland, June 28, 1894.
While the holiday is mostly celebrated with backyard barbeques or short family vacations, some places such as New York still adhere to the traditional celebrations of parades and festivals.
The first Labor Day parades demonstrated to the public "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations" of the community.
They were usually followed by a festival for the recreation and amusement of the workers and their families. This became the pattern for the celebrations of Labor Day. Speeches by prominent men and women were introduced later, as more emphasis was placed upon the economic and civic significance of the holiday, according to the DOL.
While Labor Day is not celebrated with such grandeur in most areas, the people it recognizes still find ways to use their well deserved long weekend.
"Labor Day differs in every essential way from the other holidays of the year in any country," said Samuel Gompers, founder and longtime president of the American Federation of Labor. "All other holidays are in a more or less degree connected with conflicts and battles of man's prowess over man, of strife and discord for greed and power, of glories achieved by one nation over another. Labor Day...is devoted to no man, living or dead, to no sect, race, or nation."
It is dedicated to those who continue to complete those every day tasks that, no matter how much they go unnoticed, are absolutely essential to the success of the nation and its people.
By Multi-National Corps, Public Affairs Office, Camp Victory
Sep 4, 2006
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq — Marines from Regimental Combat Team 5 uncovered hundreds of weapons and combated insurgents in running gun battles recently during Operation Rubicon in Mushin, Iraq, west of Habbaniyah.
The RCT-5 Marines, assigned to 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment and 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion, recovered more than 500 mortar rounds, nearly 100 artillery rounds, more than 130 rocket-propelled grenades, an excess of 120 grenades, 22 mines, 10 mortar tubes, 20 rifles and machine guns, 18 sets of body armor and various other items including binoculars and bayonets.
Cpl. Brandon M. Stair, a team leader assigned to 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion, was among the Marines who discovered the multiple cache sites.
“This area was definitely an insurgent stronghold,” said Stair, a 25-year-old team leader from Utica, Ohio. “They had stuff for the long fight, and they had stuff for tomorrow. There were initiator systems ready to go.”
One cache yielded 500 blasting caps, each one capable of detonating a single IED. Another one featured mortars. In yet another was a stash of insurgent sniper rifles.
“Every cache was a separate set-up,” explained Gunnery Sgt. Kenneth A. Westgate, a 35-year-old platoon sergeant from East Wareham, Mass., assigned to 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion.
“We usually find just mortars or just guns. These had a mix of everything.” Sgt. Joshua D. Cross, a 26-year-old reconnaissance team leader from Forestville, N.Y., spoke with local residents and said one in particular told Marines he was grateful for their efforts to rid the region of insurgents.
“He was real grateful for what we were doing there,” Cross said. “That’s gratifying to hear that kind of result. We put a hurting on them. We slowed them down for a couple of months.”
By Sgt. 1st Class Reginald Rogers, USA - Special to American Forces Press Service
BAGHDAD, Sep. 4, 2006 – Two Longbow Apache helicopters provided air-to-ground support to American soldiers by blasting enemy vehicles during action in western Baghdad yesterday, U.S. officials reported.
The flight of choppers from Multinational Division Baghdad’s Combat Aviation Brigade teamed up to assist U.S. ground forces from the division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division.
The combined effort resulted in one terrorist killed, four captured and two terrorist’s vehicles destroyed, officials said.
The Apache crews were conducting a combat air patrol mission when they received the call to assist. At about 4:45 p.m., the pilots noticed two abandoned vehicles near where the attack was reported.
“The vehicles were staged for the (terrorists), who tried to engage the infantry guys,” explained Army Maj. Byron Needum, one of the Apache pilots assigned to the CAB’s 1st Battalion, 4th Aviation Regiment. “When we got there, the infantry had already got the best of them and detained three.
“They were still looking for more (terrorists),” Needum continued. “That’s when we found the vehicles, and vehicles didn’t fit the situation.”
Apache teams rarely have to engage the enemy once they arrive on the scene, Needum said.
“Normally when we get there, people don’t want to ‘play’ anymore,” he explained. “Even if we don’t engage the enemy, our presence alone helps the ground guys out.”
Helicopter crews have a picture-window view of enemy activity on the ground, Needum said. That advantage, he said, is often used to support U.S. ground forces.
“We have a different vantage point, and we can see farther than you can on the ground,” said Needum, who is also the company commander for his battalion’s Headquarters and Headquarters Company. “I don’t think they would have seen those (enemy) vehicles without us.”
According to Chief Warrant Officer Scott Quaife, who piloted the second of the two Apaches, his team spotted the two vehicles upon arrival to the location, but could not engage without receiving confirmation that they belonged to the terrorists.
“We spotted the two Bradleys, and they had already opened fire on the canal with their 25 mm guns,” Quaife explained. “They said there were two possible (terrorists) running in the canal, but we didn’t find anybody.”
Then, Needum’s helicopter crew noticed the two vehicles, Quaife recalled, “so we investigated the vehicles. We called the (ground unit) and told them we thought the vehicles were the enemy’s.”
Quaife said the ground unit sent personnel to investigate, and once confirmation was given, the helicopters attacked the enemy vehicles.
“The ground unit’s leadership approved the Apaches to destroy the vehicles to keep its soldiers safe,” Quaife said. The ground unit reported that the two vehicles contained loaded AK-47s, he said, and possible improvised explosive device-making materials.
The Apache team fired on the vehicles with at least 150 rounds from its 30 mm machine guns and shot four rockets, Quaife said. The barrage, he said, destroyed both vehicles.
“The lead vehicle blew up and caught on fire after being engaged by Needum’s helicopter,” Quaife said, noting his chopper crew “shot two rockets to help destroy the other vehicle.”
Officials said a post-engagement assessment showed that the ground unit had killed a terrorist, wounded another and detained three. The soldiers also found a weapons cache containing four rocket-propelled-grenades, two RPG launchers, an AK-47 rifle, three machine guns with 100 rounds, a pair of flares and numerous rounds of 7.62 mm ammunition.
(Army Sgt. 1st Class Rogers is assigned to the 4th Infantry Division’s Combat Aviation Brigade Public Affairs Office.)
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Beautiful photo Gucho.
BUMP to this thread.
By Gerry J. Gilmore - American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Sep. 4, 2006 – Bruce Gorman is driven, literally, in demonstrating his belief that Americans should close ranks against terrorism and never forget the people who were killed during the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
Bruce Gorman poses inside his 36-foot-long International bus parked on the Pentagon’s north parking lot Sept. 2. (Photo by Gerry J. Gilmore)
Gorman retired from the Navy in January as a petty officer first class with 20 years’ service. Since then, the 47-year-old former religious program specialist has poured time, energy and money into a 36-foot-long International passenger bus, turning it into a mobile memorial featuring photos of the nearly 3,000 victims killed in the attacks at New York City, the Pentagon, and Shanksville, Pa.
The northern-Florida resident said he wants to heighten Americans’ “awareness that we really are at war with some fanatical groups in the world, and we have to stand by one another, support each another.”
Gorman drove his bus from Florida to the Pentagon to support the memory of the people killed in the 9/11 attacks. He plans to continue on to Shanksville, Pa., and then drive to New York City’s “ground-zero” site in time to observe the city’s Sept. 11 memorial events.
Gorman arrived at the Pentagon’s north parking area Sept. 2 and plans to depart for Shanksville early Sept. 5. His bus is covered, inside and outside, with 2,876 plastic-laminated black-and-white photos of 9/11 victims. In total, 2,996 people died in the 9/11 attacks, excluding the 19 hijackers. Four hijacked U.S. airliners were involved in the attacks.
“I would just do search engines on the Internet to come up with the photos,” Gorman explained, noting he paid $6,000 for the six-cylinder, diesel-engine, Navy-surplus bus in February and has since spent another $20,000 or so transforming it into a moving memorial.
Gorman was inspired to build his rolling 9/11 memorial, he said, upon hearing singer Jennifer Renee’s haunting 9/11 remembrance song, “Light a Candle in September.”
The collective images of 9/11 victims displayed on the bus convey a sense of community and unity, Gorman said.
“When I look at these people I see you, I see me, I see everybody in the world,” Gorman explained. “I think it brings to mind that life is short. We need to protect our values in America and prevent this from happening again.”
Americans should remember the 9/11 victims each September, Gorman said, because the departed personify the personal sacrifice that pays for our freedoms and way of life.
“We are them and they are us. We are all good, freedom-loving Americans and we need to support each other and be united in our cause as a country,” he concluded.
Bruce Gorman holds a photo of Karleton D. B. Fyfe, one of the 9/11 attack victims killed aboard hijacked American Airlines Flight 11 when it crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center in New York City, as he’s seated in his bus’s driver’s seat Sept. 2. (Photo by Gerry J. Gilmore)
You're welcome Gucho.
04 Sep 2006 - 15:54:27 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Ibon Villelabeitia
BAGHDAD, Sept 4 (Reuters) - The United States and Iraq hope to sign an agreement by next week to hand operational command of Iraq's new army to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, an aide said on Monday, after wrangles on wording had held up the accord.
Transferring security from U.S.-led forces to the Iraqi army it is training is key to Washington's plans to withdraw its 140,000 troops. A handover ceremony set for Saturday was delayed over disagreements between Baghdad and Washington over the wording of a document outlining their armies' new relationship.
"Both sides have agreed on the main issues. I think the document is ready to be signed, probably by the end of this week or early next week," government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh told Reuters, adding remaining disagreements were "technicalities".
He denied there had ever been a serious disagreement.
The agreement, which the U.S. military says is a key step toward Iraq taking responsibility for its security, lays out a gradual transfer of command from U.S. forces to Iraqi units.
Under the timetable, every two weeks command of Iraqi units meeting certain criteria would be transferred until, by April 1, Iraqi troops in even the Sunni insurgent strongholds of Ramadi and Falluja would no longer be under U.S. command, Dabbagh said.
In parallel with this, control of security is being handed over province by province to Iraqi leaders, a process Dabbagh said would largely be complete this year, requiring U.S. forces then to receive approval for any movements across the country.
Defence Ministry spokesman Mohammed al-Askari said Iraqi government lawyers had recommended that some articles of the document, drafted by U.S.-led forces, be rewritten.
"Our legal advisers are asking us for some time to reconsider these articles and to rewrite them. It is a very important document because it deals with the whole handover of sovereignty," Askari told reporters.
U.S. spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Barry Johnson said the disagreements were a "legalistic matter" and predicted the document would be signed soon.
With U.S. forces in Iraq dying almost daily and the threat of a sectarian civil war looming, the U.S. military is anxious for Iraq's new army to take over security.
Although mindful of his dependency on U.S. military power, Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is keen to be seen winning independence from Washington. A government source told Reuters Maliki was pushing for guarantees that his forces would have freedom to make decisions independently.
INSURGENTS KILLED
One day after Iraq announced it had "severely wounded" al Qaeda in Iraq after the arrest of a man it identified as the Sunni Islamist group's second most senior figure, the Iraqi army said it killed fourteen suspected insurgents who had been plotting to attack Shi'ite pilgrims south of Baghdad.
The military said it had received intelligence that insurgents in Jurf al-Sakhar, a mainly Sunni town 85 km (55 miles) south of Baghdad planned to attack pilgrims heading to the holy Shi'ite city of Kerbala. Pilgrims are a frequent target for Sunni rebels fighting Maliki's Shi'ite-led government.
But an Iraqi al Qaeda-led group questioned the alleged rank of Juma Faris al-Suaidi, whom Iraq's national security adviser called the deputy of Abu Ayyub al-Masri, who took over the group after U.S. forces killed Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in June.
"We bring good tidings to our brethren that all our leaders are well, praise God, leading the ranks," the Mujahideen Shura Council said in an Internet statement.
Despite Iraq's reported successes on the battlefield, sectarian violence that that pushed the country close to civil war raged on.
The bodies of 33 men, some with their hands bound and bearing signs of torture, were found across Baghdad on Monday, an Interior Ministry source said. All had been shot.
Annan to mediate for soldiers' release
By HERB KEINON AND AP
Updated: Sep. 5, 2006 - 0:26
Senior government officials in Jerusalem denied Monday that Israel had agreed to indirect talks with Hizbullah, through a UN appointed mediator, for the release of kidnapped IDF soldiers Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Monday in the Saudi Arabian Red Sea port of Jiddah that Israel and Hizbullah have agreed to indirect talks for the release of the two Israeli soldiers and that he would appoint a mediator.
For a Jerusalem Online video of events click here
Annan said at a press conference that both sides had agreed to let his office negotiate between them on the issue of the soldiers, according to an Arabic translation of his comments.
He said he would appoint a mediator who would operate secretly to facilitate working between the two sides.
But senior sources in Jerusalem said Israel would not negotiate with Hizbullah and was demanding the unconditional release of the soldiers, as is called for under UN Security Council Resolution (UNSC) 1701.
"We don't need a mediator, we need the unconditional return of the soldiers," the sources said. The sources said Israel viewed the UN, which adopted UNSC 1701, as responsible for the implementation of the resolution.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said the issue of the kidnapped soldiers was raised in each of the meetings Annan had in Israel last week.
"We said their continued holding was a direct violation of Security Council Resolution 1701, upon which the cease-fire is based, and we urged him to act to bring about their immediate and unconditional release in accordance with the resolution," Regev said.
Hizbullah has said it would only free the soldiers as part of a swap for Arab prisoners in Israeli jails.
Hizbullah's chief spokesman, Hussein Rahal, refused to comment on the report.
Annan did not specify whether the mediation would center on proposals for a prisoner swap. Annan's spokesman, Ahmed Fawzi, said Israel and Hizbullah had both requested that Annan mediate in the prisoner issue.
"The secretary-general has accepted to play a role as mediator in the matter of the abducted soldiers," Fawzi said.
Annan was in Jiddah to meet with Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah. This was his latest stop in an 11-day tour of the Middle East aimed at bringing about the implementation of UNSC 1701.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1154526001957&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull
By IANS
Tuesday September 5, 2006 - 08:11 AM
New Delhi, Sep 5 (IANS)-- Condemning the killing of three Indian pilgrims in Iraq, the country's charge d'Affaires Muayad Hussain has urged India to bolster democracy and help in restoring security in his strife-torn country.
'We consider all such activities as terrorism. My government is doing its best to ensure the security of the Iraqi people and expatriates living there,' Hussain told IANS in an interview here.
He was speaking about to the gunning down of by insurgents of three Indians and eleven Pakistanis last week when they were going on a pilgrimage to the Shia holy town of Karbala. The 14 Indians and 26 Pakistanis were intercepted at Rutba in Iraq and killed. It was the first reported case of Indians falling victim to the escalating anarchy in Iraq.
The diplomat asserted it was a 'freak incident' and hoped it would not happen again. He sought India's support for Iraq's fledgling democracy and also to arrest the rapid deterioration in law and order in his country.
'Our government is taking more positive steps to overcome the security situation in Iraq. We want India to support the new government and evolve democracy there and help us in creating a safe and secure Iraq,' Hussain said.
India has spurned an American request to contribute troops for peacekeeping in Iraq, saying it would do so only under the UN flag. New Delhi has however agreed to help in Iraq's reconstruction.
The Aug 31 terror attack on pilgrims has again put the spotlight on the sharpening Shia-Sunni divide and the unending activities of insurgents in Iraq since an attack on a Shia mosque in Samarra early this year.
The Indians and Pakistanis were executed in Rutba, the heartland of Sunni insurgency. The three Indians, all males, were from Andhra Pradesh and were with their families when they were ambushed, separated from the women and shot.
Indian government officials have insinuated that the killers were robbers.
Saying that while Iraq respects New Delhi's travel advisory asking Indians not to visit his country, Hussain claimed Baghdad would still love to receive Indians. 'We respect the Indian decision. Iraq is open to Indians visiting the country. We welcome them to visit Iraq,' Hussain said.
The diplomat, however, admitted to logistical problems in ensuring the security of everyone in as vast a country as Iraq. 'It's a sad incident. But Iraq is a huge country and it's not possible to ensure everybody's security day and night. I hope that this incident is not repeated in the future,' he said.
Asserting that the new Iraqi regime headed by Nouri Al-Maliki enjoyed popular backing, he blamed the killings of Indians and Pakistanis on 'isolated disgruntled elements opposed to democracy and human freedoms'.
'Most of the Iraqi people are supporting the new government in Iraq,' the diplomat insisted.
'There are some frustrated people, however, who don't like freedom and who don't like democracy. These are terrorists and we are confident we will be able to rid Iraq of them.
'We hope we will be able to establish lasting security in Iraq,' he added.
Hi Gucho thank you!
You are very special and so are your threads about our troops. I read your threads every day.
BUMP !!!!
Thanks for the Bump, Deetes.
NATO says major offensive cornering Taliban
Sep 5, 2006 — By Sayed Salahuddin
KABUL (Reuters) - NATO forces cornering Taliban guerrillas killed up to 60 fighters in artillery and air strikes and ground battles on Tuesday in a major offensive to crush a revitalised Taliban in southern Afghanistan, the alliance said.
"We are closing the circle on the Taliban. We have got the Taliban in a bit of a trap," NATO spokesman Major Quentin Innes said. Late on Tuesday, he estimated Taliban casualties at up to 60 based on observations by NATO troops on the ground.
Last weekend, NATO launched Operation Medusa, its biggest offensive against an increasingly active Taliban, in Kandahar province, the hardline Islamist group's spiritual heartland.
The operation is focused on Panjwai district, near the capital, Kandahar city, and is being supported by air strikes.
Panjwai has been the scene of a series of operations by Afghan and foreign forces this year. Several thousand civilians have fled in the face of previous battles and residents say many have died in the latest fighting.
Medusa was launched after NATO forces encountered stiffer than expected Taliban resistance as they took over the south from U.S.-led troops in the alliance's biggest ground operation.
NATO says it has killed more than 250 guerrillas, a claim the Taliban disputes. At least five Canadian soldiers have died in combat and 14 British troops were killed when their plane crashed early in the offensive.
CIVILIAN DEATHS
Mohammad Giran, a resident, said civilians had taken the brunt of the death toll and accused NATO and Afghan troops of firing indiscriminately. NATO denies civilian casualties.
"Bombings happen day and night," Giran told Reuters by phone. "If one Taliban dies, three civilians also get killed. In the past four days, 10 of my relatives have been martyred.
"The joint forces fire upon any one without making sure if he is a Talib or not. I think 20 Taliban may have been killed, the rest are all innocent civilians."
With heavy action in the south, a NATO official in Brussels said commanders in Afghanistan had made a call in recent days for nations with troops in the country to consider earmarking some as reserves for possible deployment to the area.
The official confirmed the Dutch had redeployed 100 extra soldiers there temporarily to help the Canadians.
A NATO delegation led by Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and Allied Commander for Europe General James Jones is visiting Afghanistan to meet President Hamid Karzai and other leaders and assess the situation on the ground.
And Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf is due to arrive in Kabul on Wednesday for a two-day visit which will include talks on counter-terrorism cooperation.
Afghan leaders have criticised Islamabad for not doing enough to stop the Taliban and other militants sheltering across the border, charges Pakistan denies and which have soured relations.
Taliban military chief Mullah Dadullah has threatened to target journalists spreading NATO propaganda. The Taliban says its casualties number barely a dozen.
Pakistani officials said the bodies of at least six guerrillas had been secretly buried in Pakistan on Tuesday.
Separately, Afghan police said at least three Taliban fighters were killed and two wounded in a NATO air strike after a rebel attack on a government office in neighboring Helmand province, west of Kandahar.
Fighting across Afghanistan is the worst since U.S.-led forces ousted the Taliban in late 2001.
More than 2,000 people, most of them militants, along with scores of civilians and aid workers and hundreds of Afghan security personnel, have been killed so far this year. More than 115 foreign troops have died.
NATO's commander in Afghanistan, Lieutenant-General David Richards, has described Medusa as a pivotal campaign in putting down the Taliban to allow vital reconstruction and development.
(Additional reporting by Ismail Sameem in Kandahar and Terry Friel in KABUL)
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2396228&page=1
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