Smoke rises from the Nairobi City Hall, after it was gutted by fire early Tuesday, March 2, 2004. The cause of the fire was not known. (AP Photo/Sayyid Azim)
PLUS
| This thread has been locked, it will not receive new replies. |
|
Locked on 03/13/2004 7:51:57 AM PST by Admin Moderator, reason:
Thread 4: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1096779/posts |
Posted on 02/24/2004 3:19:05 AM PST by Revel
Edited on 05/26/2004 5:19:43 PM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
Brilliant. Is it contained or spreading unchecked?
KARBALA, Iraq - Several explosions hit major Shiite shrines here and in Baghdad on Tuesday where thousands of pilgrims were gathered to for a religious festival, killing and wounding dozens of people.
In Karbala, five blasts went off almost simultaneously near two major Shiite Muslim shrines, throwing bodies for yards and sending crowds of pilgrims into a panic in the city 55 miles south of Baghdad.
An Associated Reporter saw 10 bodies that appeared to be dead being loaded onto a cart and taken away, as well as many injured.
In Baghdad, three explosions targeted the Kazimiya shrine, too, killing and injuring scores of people, an Associated Press Television News reporter said.
Shiites were gathered at the shrines to mark Ashoura, a mourning festival commemorating of the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, a top Shiite saint and the grandson of the prophet Muhammad.
Smoke rises from the Nairobi City Hall, after it was gutted by fire early Tuesday, March 2, 2004. The cause of the fire was not known. (AP Photo/Sayyid Azim)
PLUS
The 17 page letter found referencing causing discourse between the Shite and Sunnis and the latest go signal from Zawahiri comes to my mind.
By IBRAHIM BARZAK, Associated Press Writer
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Gunmen killed an adviser to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in a street ambush early Tuesday, feeding fears of growing lawlessness and chaos ahead of a possible Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
Khalil al-Zaben, 59, was hit by 12 bullets as he left his Gaza City office. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the killing, seen as one of the most serious challenges yet to Arafat. Security officials said they had no suspects.
The Palestinian Authority has been weakened by more than three years of Israeli-Palestinian fighting, and armed gangs, included gunmen with ties to Arafat's Fatah movement, are increasingly controlling the streets.
Al-Zaben, a local publisher, had recently criticized the growing chaos and spoken out against the rogue armed gangs roaming Gaza. He was the best-known Palestinian to be killed in the internal fighting and power struggles in Gaza City.
The Palestinian Cabinet and national security council were to discuss the killing at a meeting Tuesday, said minister Saeb Erekat.
"This chaos will not be tolerated. I believe the Palestinian government and security forces must take all action to end this chaos," Erekat said. "It is really undermining the Palestinian struggle to establish an independent state."
The shooting was the latest in a string of violent confrontations in Gaza and the West Bank.
On Saturday, about 15 masked, armed Palestinians barged into the Gaza City offices of the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation, demanding jobs.
In a similar incident last Wednesday, about 20 masked men armed with submachine guns and hand grenades raided the Gaza City office of the Palestinian Land Authority, demanding land deeds be transferred to their names, employees said.
On Friday, the mayor of the West Bank's largest city, Nablus, resigned amid growing chaos and infighting between armed militias. Mayor Ghassan Shakaa accused Arafat of not doing enough to prevent Nablus from plummeting into lawlessness. In November, Palestinian gunmen shot and killed Shakaa's brother.
At Gaza police headquarters recently, rival groups opened fire on each other after an armed man slapped the police chief. A policeman was killed in the exchange that followed, which involved Arafat's forces and men loyal to Gaza strongman Mohammed Dahlan, an Arafat rival. Later, Arafat and Dahlan met in an attempt to stop the violence.
There is concern that chaos will follow a planned Israeli pullout from most of the Gaza Strip. Islamic militant opposition groups could try to seize power.
In more than three years of fighting, Israel has attacked and destroyed the headquarters and infrastructure of many branches of the official Palestinian security forces. In most places, the uniformed men barely function. In some cases, security forces are active in militant activities.
Al-Zaben joined forces with Arafat in the 1960s and held a number of positions, including media adviser and personal secretary. He returned to Gaza along with Arafat and other exiled Palestinian leaders in 1994, under terms of Israeli-Palestinian interim peace accords.
More recently, he published a weekly magazine devoted to Palestinian affairs and human rights. In a recent article, he criticized "killer gangs" he said were behind the chaos.
Two of his brothers are Palestinian ambassadors in South America, and his son works as an airline pilot there. He is also survived by his wife and three daughters.
The Gaza journalists' association condemned the killing and called for the Palestinian attorney general to resign for his "failure" to protect civilians. The group urged Arafat to bring the attackers to justice.
"Everyone will remember March 1 as a black day in the history of freedom and democracy," said Tawfiq Abu Khoussa, deputy chairman of the Palestinian Journalists' Syndicate.
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a militant group, also condemned the killing. "We hold the Palestinian Authority responsible for the continuation of attacks against journalists and other sectors of the Palestinian civil society," the group said.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces killed an unarmed Palestinian man as they surrounded the home of a fugitive in the West Bank village of Yatta, an army spokeswoman said. The man fled the home and was shot after he refused to halt, she said.
In Washington, an Israeli delegation headed by Dov Weisglass, the head of Sharon's office, met National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of State Colin Powell to outline and discuss the prime minister's plan to unilaterally withdraw from parts of the Gaza Strip.
BAGHDAD, Iraq - An American soldier was killed Tuesday when insurgents tossed a grenade at an Army Humvee as it drove down a road Baghdad, the military said.
Another soldier was injured and taken to a military hospital where he was listed in serious condition. There was no word on Iraqi casualties.
Both soldiers were part of the 1st Armored Division. Their names were being withheld.
The military said it didn't believe the attack was related to the bombings at Shiite shrines in the capital in Karbala, which left several dead and injured.
The latest death brings to 548 the number of U.S. service members who have died since the United States launched the Iraq war in March. Most have died since President Bush declared an end to active combat May 1.
JIHAD WATCH.org (AFP): "PHILIPPINES DEPORTS 2 U.S. NATIONALS" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Brothers Michael Ray Stubbs, 55, and Jamil Daud Mujahid, 56, were turned over Saturday to American marshals who escorted them back to the United States. Both were blacklisted as "undesirable aliens and threats to national security," the bureau said. The two had been in detention since December after being arrested south of Manila. Authorities said the suspects were earlier seen meeting with leaders of the Abu Sayyaf and the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). (March 1, 2004) (Read More...)
CLICK 2 HOUSTON.com - News: "OFFICIALS RELEASE SKETCH OF MAN LEAVING PLANE CRASH Witnesses Describe Man Leaving Plane Crash" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "HOUSTON -- Investigators are looking for a man who witnesses said walked away from a small plane crash in Brazoria County. The Cessna 172, which was reportedly stolen from the Brazoria County Airport 6:30 a.m. Sunday, crashed in a field near Lake Jackson, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. The plane struck some power lines about two miles south of the airport and crashed in a field around 6:45 a.m. Nearly 11,000 people in the Lake Jackson area temporarily lost power Sunday morning after the plane crashed. Power was restored a few hours later. Investigators with the Brazoria County Sheriff's Department said 16 hangars were apparently broken into at the airport Sunday morning.") (Updated March 1, 2004) (NOTE: CLICK ON THE LINK TO VIEW SKETCH and Read More...)
TEXAS...DFW.com - STAR-TELEGRAM: "MOTORIST SHOT AFTER ARGUMENT, POLICE SAY" by Dave Ferman (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Police are also investigating two other reports of vehicular damage involving a firearm Saturday morning. Jason Connover, 28, of Garland was traveling west on Interstate 635 near Texas 121 about 5:15 a.m. when shots damaged both of his vehicle's front windows. He was not injured. About 6 a.m., Brendia Taylor, 53, of Keller was traveling south on Texas 121 near Texas 360 when she heard something hit her vehicle. She arrived at her job in Fort Worth and discovered a bullet hole in the rear driver's-side door of her Dodge Durango. She was not injured. Police have not established whether the three incidents are connected, but they were continuing to interview witnesses in the Plummer shooting Saturday afternoon, Dearing said." (February 28, 2004) (Read More...)
THE HAWAII CHANNEL.com - KITV 4 NEWS: "DIVER SIGHTING NEAR COAST GUARD STATION RAISES CONCERN" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: ""A man in a black diving suit come out from that area, like coming up off the shoreline, walk by that bathroom, cut across, and going towards the waterline," Laurie Johansen said. "He had some kind of a box in left hand, or right hand, cause he was facing this way." She said the black box measured about 15 inches high and maybe two feet in length. He was also carrying what looked like a fishing spear. "You could tell he was slowing down looking around, but he had one of those masks across his face, so you couldn't see his face and he had the gear over his head already, completely in black with gloves," Johansen said.") (February 29, 2004) (Read More...)
SUN-SENTINEL.com - South Florida's Latest News: "POLICE SEEK PUBLIC'S HELP TO ID DIVER" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "An autopsy revealed the man may have died under suspicious circumstances, but police would not elaborate.") (February 26, 2004) (Read More...)
CDNN.info: "SCUBA DIVER FOUND DEAD IN HUDSON RIVER" by Michael Randall (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "NEWBURGH, New York (24 Feb 2004) -- Here's a mystery that would challenge even Sherlock Holmes. A man's body is found floating in the Hudson River. He's wearing a diving mask and scuba gear. But it's February, a time of year in the Northeast when only members of the Polar Bear Club – or actual polar bears – are likely to venture into the water. That's the mystery that federal and local investigators were still trying to solve yesterday afternoon. The man's body was first spotted Sunday morning by the crew of a Cyprus-based ship that had just delivered a load of coal to Dynegy's Danskammer power plant.") (February 24, 2004) (Read More...)
stepping back in time...FBI.gov - Congressional Statement: "Statement for the Record of James F. Jarboe Special Agent in Charge, Tampa Field Office Federal Bureau of Investigation on Homeland Security: Facilitating and Securing Seaports Before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on National Security,Veterans Affairs and International Relations Washington, D.C." (August 5, 2002) (Read Entire Text Here.)
An Interesting Discussion on FREEREPUBLIC.com regarding an LA TIMES article: "FEARS PERSIST OF TERRORISM LINKS AT SCUBA SCHOOL Few Answers Appear in the Probe of Students in Netherlands Suspected of Ties to Al Qaeda" (July 31, 2003) (Read More...)
WHITEHOUSE.gov - News - Offfice of the Press Secretary: "Expanding the Scope of the National Emergency and Invocation of Emergency Authority Relating to the Regulation of the Anchorage and Movement of Vessels Into Cuban Territorial Waters By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation" (February 26, 2004) (Read Entire Text Here.)
WorldNetDaily.com: "9 IRAQI SCIENTISTS MURDERED IN PAST 4 MONTHS U.S. Believes Killings Effort to Conceal Scope of Iraq's Nuke Program" (February 26, 2004) (Read More...)
PAK TRIBUNE.com: "TALIBAN LURCHES BACK TO POWER" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "KABUL, March 01 (Online): A convoy of about 20 Honda motorcycles surrounds a house, looking for people who support the United States or President Hamid Karzai. If they find one, they kill him. If not, the householders are beaten to serve as a warning to others. In the village of Shah Joy, about 300 kilometres southwest of Kabul, the return of the Taliban has been swift and harsh, as it is in about one-third of Afghanistan's southern regions where the ousted regime has regrouped and is widely thought to be preparing for a spring offensive against the Karzai government and its U.S. allies.") (March 1, 2004) (Read More...)
ZAMAN.org - Politics: "ILLEGAL GOODS CONFISCATED FROM UZAN" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Istanbul Security Deputy Manager Halil Yilmaz announced that 3 million 897Telsim prepaid phone cards have been found in a secret depot of Young Party (GP)General President Cem Uzan's villa in Cubuklu.") (February 29, 2004) (Read More...)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.