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WASHINGTON, Nov. 26, 2006 – Coalition forces conducted several operations yesterday that resulted in the deaths of 26 insurgents, and supported an Iraqi tribe under attack by al Qaeda today, military officials in Iraq announced. Al Qaeda terrorists attacked the Abu Soda tribe in Sofia today, officials reported. After establishing positive identification, coalition forces conducted air strikes and fired artillery at al Qaeda forces in support of the tribe. The insurgents attacked through a tribal area checkpoint and engaged the Abu Soda, burning homes and killing tribe members using small-arms fire and mortars. Both al Qaeda and the Abu...

Reflecting a year of cooperation with Democratic lawmakers, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger marked the end of the legislative bill-signing period Saturday, vetoing bills at a lower rate than in the first two years of his term and approving several measures he had previously rejected. The flurry of last-minute signings came as analysts said Schwarzenegger has taken more moderate public positions this year and departed from the more conservative and strident tone of last fall's special election campaign. "The signing decisions are more reminiscent of 2004 than 2005," said Tim Hodson, executive director of the Center for California Studies at California State...

Al-Qaeda chief kills Turkish hostage on film By Paul Willis (Filed: 24/09/2006) A video purporting to show the new leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq murdering a Turkish hostage has appeared on the internet. If authentic, the recording would be the first known footage of Abu Ayyoub al-Masri, a Sunni Muslim who is said to have assumed leadership of the organisation after the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in an American airstrike in June. The items were posted on Friday night with a statement identifying Masri, also known as Abu Hamza al-Muhajer, as the executioner. Masri appears flanked by two men...

Scottish mineral water 'kills cancer cells' By Auslan Cramb, Scottish Correspondent (Filed: 13/09/2006) The water of life – or “uisge beatha” in Gaelic - is a euphemism for whisky, but another Highland drink has been shown to have a more valid claim to the title. The water, sourced from near Balmoral Castle, has been said to possess healing qualities since 1760 A mineral water taken from wells near the Queen’s Balmoral Castle can help to slow the spread of cancer, according to scientists. Tests on Deeside Mineral Water suggest that it inhibits the growth of certain cancerous cells and kills...

An Assembly committee killed legislation Thursday that would have required the California Energy Commission to analyze and rank four existing proposals to import liquefied natural gas into the state. In the absence of such a comparative statewide review, environmentalists argued, Californians will be stuck with whichever proposal wins the race to first gain a federal permit. The bill, SB426, was first proposed last year but was resurrected as lawmakers neared the end of their session because all the LNG proposals — including two off the Oxnard coast — remain stalled in the federal regulatory process. After a brief and hastily...

WASHINGTON, August 4, 2006 – Three Iraqi civilians were killed, and nine were injured yesterday when insurgents fired a mortar round at a residential area in Ubaydi, Iraq, U.S. military officials reported. The mortar round landed directly on a home. No coalition personnel were killed or injured in the attack. All nine injured Iraqi civilians were immediately medically evacuated to a nearby U.S. military medical facility. The wounded civilians’ exact condition is unknown, but four were listed as requiring “urgent surgical” medical care, officials said. Marine Corps officials said the attack was intended to strike a nearby coalition forces outpost....

WASHINGTON, July 17, 2006 – Initial reports indicate 40 Iraqi citizens were killed and 90 wounded today when terrorists stormed a market area near the Mohammed Al Amin Mosque in Mahmudiya, Iraq, military officials reported. Iraqi security forces and soldiers from Multinational Division Baghdad immediately responded to the attack. Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, responded to explosions in the area at about 9:15 a.m. The troops began taking small-arms fire from unknown assailants southwest of the mosque while they performed a cordon-and-search operation for a suspicious vehicle in the neighborhood. Meanwhile, U.S. soldiers from 1st...

WASHINGTON, July 17, 2006 – A suicide bomb attack in the Gardez district Afghanistan's of Paktia province killed five people and wounded up to 22 others, mostly innocent civilians, yesterday, military officials reported. An extremist armed with a suicide vest detonated his explosives as an Afghan National Army patrol approached. One Afghan soldier and four Afghan civilians were killed in the blast. Two Afghan soldiers and up to 20 more innocent Afghan civilians were wounded by the explosion and transported to a local hospital for treatment. Several vehicles and structures also were damaged. A coalition quick reaction force and explosive...

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Israeli warplanes killed six people in an attack early Wednesday on a Gaza City meeting of Hamas commanders, Israelis and Palestinians said, while Israel's military expanded an offensive in the region with an incursion in the southern Gaza Strip. The military said it attacked the Gaza City residence because it was a "meeting place for terrorists." It also confirmed Israeli forces were operating in southern Gaza as part of an effort to win the release of a captured soldier. With tanks and troops on the move in the south, a huge explosion destroyed the house...

Father kills 4 children, self after spousal disputeAssociated Press Posted on Wed, Jul. 05, 2006 An undated photo provided by the Gustine Police Department shows twins Alyssa Branscum, 5, left, and Taylor Branscum. The twins and their two other siblings were found dead in their Gustine, Calif., home Tuesday, July 4, 2006, officials said. The children apparently died of gunshots to the head, and their father, Trevor Branscum, 38, died of a self-inflicted wound, Mayor Jim Bonta said. Police Sgt. Vince Inaudi said the children appeared to be sleeping when they were shot. The evidence was consistent with a murder-suicide,...

WASHINGTON, July 7, 2006 – Iraqi army forces conducted an early morning raid today in eastern Baghdad, Iraqi police repelled a terrorist attack in Baghdad today, and coalition forces killed two terrorists and detained five during a raid yesterday, military officials reported. The Iraqi army raid was part of Operation Together Forward, the Iraqi government's plan to improve security conditions in Baghdad. Insurgents immediately engaged the forces, and a firefight ensued. The purpose of the raid was to capture an insurgent leader responsible for numerous deaths of Iraqi citizens, officials said. Police from 2nd Battalion, 4th Brigade, 1st National Police...

WASHINGTON, June 30, 2006 – Coalition forces in Afghanistan today killed 14 enemy fighters at a Taliban safe house and killed one enemy fighter and captured eight others in a separate raid, military officials reported. A coalition patrol in the Kamdesh district in Nuristan province tracked a band of 14 extremists traveling with AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenades and attacked them once they reached their safe house, destroying two buildings in the compound, officials said. Afghan National Army and coalition forces seized the compound and identified 14 dead enemy combatants. No ANA or coalition soldiers or civilians were injured in the...

WASHINGTON, June 28, 2006 – A coalition soldier was killed and three others were injured today when their vehicle struck a land mine in Afghanistan's Helmand province, and Afghan and coalition forces today killed 12 terrorists at a Taliban compound, military officials reported. The dead and wounded soldiers' uparmored vehicle struck a land mine likely left behind from 25 years of war, according to Combined Forces Command Afghanistan officials. "We sincerely regret the loss of our fellow soldier today; his sacrifice will not be forgotten," Army Maj. Gen. Benjamin C. Freakley, commander of Combined Joint Task Force -76, said. "Our...

WASHINGTON, June 27, 2006 – Afghan National Army soldiers and coalition forces killed 10 extremists yesterday in a raid on a Taliban compound belonging to a known weapons and bomb distributor, U.S. military officials reported. No injuries to civilians were observed during the operation, which was conducted in Uruzgan province, officials said. "We will continue to intensify our pursuit of extremists hiding in southern Afghanistan," said Army Lt. Col. Paul Fitzpatrick, a Combined Joint Task Force 76 spokesman. "We call on the extremists to reconcile with the government of Afghanistan. Our efforts are to improve security, economic development and stable...

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - An Israeli airstrike against suspected rocket launchers in the Gaza Strip killed one senior Palestinian militant and injured at least two Friday, the army and Palestinian officials said. Earlier in the day, Palestinian militants fired five homemade rockets into Israel, a day after the Hamas-led government offered to renew a cease-fire. Though the rockets were not fired by Hamas, they are likely to endanger prospects for a return to quiet following days of intense bloodshed. The response came after nightfall, when Israel aircraft hit a vehicle carrying a cell from the Islamic Jihad militant group....

WASHINGTON, June 15, 2006 – A bus bombing in Afghanistan killed several passengers this morning, and Operation Mountain Thrust continues in the southern portion of the country, military officials said. A bus exploded near the intersection of highways 1 and 4 in Kandahar City at about 8 a.m. today. The explosion, caused by a bomb on the bus, killed seven and injured 17. It was believed to be a deliberate attack against Afghan civilians. Afghan national security forces and coalition forces have responded by assisting with the evacuation of casualties to the Mirwais Hospital in Kandahar City. "This is a...

GAZA CITY, GAZA Strip - An Israeli airstrike Thursday killed the top Hamas enforcer in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian hospital officials and group members said. Israel has accused militant faction leader Jamal Abu Samhadana of spearheading rocket attacks on Israel and of the fatal 2003 bombing of a U.S. convoy in the Gaza Strip that killed three American security guards. Two other people were killed and seven were wounded in a strike on a Popular Resistance Committees training camp. The 43-year-old militant had been No. 2 on Israel's wanted list and had tried to avoid detection by moving stealthily, switching...

WASHINGTON, June 4, 2006 – In what was described as an accident during training, a U.S. unit fired an artillery shell June 2 that killed three Iraqi civilians, military officials in Iraq reported today. Officials also announced the capture yesterday of 19 terror suspects in eastern Baghdad. On June 2, a Task Force Band of Brothers unit fired an artillery round from a military base near Baqubah, Iraq, that landed in an inhabited area, officials said. The unit, from the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, fired a 155 mm round from a Paladin self-propelled howitzer during training,...

SHANGHAI (AP) - Tropical Storm Chanchu swept into the East China Sea Friday leaving behind a path of destruction in southern China, where it killed at least 11 people and left 27 Vietnamese fishermen missing after their boats sank in Chinese waters. Chanchu, downgraded early Thursday from a typhoon, has killed at least 50 people in Asia, including 37 last weekend in the Philippines, where it destroyed thousands of homes. There were fears the death toll could rise dramatically. Chanchu hit China Thursday, flooding scores of homes and forcing the evacuation of more than 1 million people before weakening to...

WASHINGTON, May 14, 2006 – Terrorists killed 14 Iraqi citizens and injured at least six others in an attack today in western Baghdad. In other news, coalition forces raided a terrorist safe haven near Julaybah yesterday, killing three terrorists and detaining four suspects, officials in Iraq reported today. In today's attack, two vehicles packed with explosives detonated near a Camp Victory complex checkpoint. Initial reporting indicates that the terrorists blew themselves up in a parking lot east of the coalition forces' base. Their target wasn't the compound, bur rather, Iraqis congregated in a parking lot, officials said. Those injured were...