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Thread Six: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1109459/posts |
Posted on 03/12/2004 8:23:06 PM PST by thecabal
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- This week's deadly train bombings in Spain will not lead to a rise in the U.S. color-coded terror threat alert system, a Department of Homeland Security spokesman said Friday.
"Based on the current intelligence, we have no specific indicators that terrorist groups are considering such an attack in the U.S. in the near term," said department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
Sun Mar 21, 9:35 PM ET
By PAUL GARWOOD, Associated Press Writer
TIKRIT, Iraq - U.S. soldiers arrested three related men in this central Iraqi town early Monday, including one suspected militant linked to a roadside bomb attack in Tikrit earlier this month that killed two American soldiers.
Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, out of Germany, arrested the three men — all members of the same family — during a pre-dawn raid on their downtown Tikrit house.
About 40 soldiers stormed into the modest home, quickly detaining and blindfolding the men and moving the women and children in the house into a separate room before searching the premises.
Soldiers were seeking two men suspected of direct involvement in the March 13 roadside bomb blast that killed Cpt. John F. Kurth, 31, of Columbus, Wis., and Spc. Jason C. Ford, 21, of Bowie, Md., said Lt. Col. Jeff Sinclair.
The U.S. military was led to the house by information given to them by a man arrested several days ago in connection with the incident.
Only one of the two targeted individuals was captured, but two other men were held for further questioning. All three were taken to a detention facility inside the main U.S. military in base in Tikrit.
Sinclair said the military believes the targeted men are involved in "anti-coalition activities" and have "some connection" with the March 13 bombing.
The soldiers were killed on the first day that Sinclair's unit took over security in Saddam Hussein's restive hometown, which is located within the so called Sunni triangle, a hotbed of anti-coalition activity.
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Well they are burning tires at the present, for all that represents.
Al Aqsa Brigades is declaring an immediate response.
I'm just glad I was not born in the mideast. Their streets run with blood. They know nothing but killing, but it is all the US's fault don't you know.
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Anti-American insurgents killed a U.S. soldier and an Iraqi interpreter with a roadside bomb as they were carrying out a patrol west of Baghdad, the U.S. military said Monday.
The incident took place Saturday evening as a group of soldiers were moving through the volatile district of Abu Ghraib on the western outskirts of the capital.
"A Task Force 1st Armored Division soldier and an Iraqi interpreter were killed and three other soldiers were wounded during an (improvised explosive device) attack on March 21," a statement from the U.S. military said.
The deaths raise to 396 the number of U.S. soldiers and Marines killed in action since American forces invaded Iraq to overthrow Saddam Hussein a year ago.
Improvised explosive devices, in which explosive charges are hidden in soft drink cans, animal carcasses or other disguises and wired to a simple detonator, have become the most common and deadly technique used by guerrillas to attack U.S. forces.
By Hafiz Wazir
WANA, Pakistan (Reuters) - Suspected al Qaeda fighters attacked a Pakistani army camp early on Monday just hours after the military called a cease-fire to let tribal elders negotiate the militants' surrender.
Rockets were fired at the army camp in the western town of Wana, residents said. Militants and troops then exchanged fire for more than two hours.
"They fired rockets...then the army retaliated with artillery," one resident said.
There was no immediate word of casualties, though gunfire could also be heard from the area to the west of the town where troops and militants have been battling.
Fighting erupted last week after security forces moved in to hunt hundreds of al Qaeda suspects and their Pakistani tribal allies the army says it has surrounded in the desolate mountains west of Wana.
The battle, involving 5,000 troops, is the biggest Pakistan has ever waged in its semi-autonomous tribal border lands and is part of a major push to sweep foreign militants from the Afghan border region and catch al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.
A military spokesman in Islamabad declined immediate comment on Monday's clash but said government forces were still willing to call a cease-fire to allow a council of tribal elders, or jirga, to negotiate with the militants.
"The jirga are going to go in to ask militants to surrender. For this particular period, the security forces will hold their fire," said Major-General Shaukat Sultan, the spokesman.
In Afghanistan, U.S. troops have also stepped up their hunt along the border in what they call a "hammer and anvil" operation with Pakistan.
The Pakistani army has declined to give casualty figures although local officials have said about 30 soldiers and a similar number of militants have been killed since Tuesday.
At least 13 civilians have been killed. (Additional reporting by Amir Zia)
08:59 Sheikh Ahmed Yassin to be buried in Gaza on Monday afternoon
08:54 Fatah armed wing: Sharon `has signed death warrant of hundreds of Zionists, in Israel and abroad`
One or more of those nutcases blame America, stated that Israel got permission from America to assissinate Yassin.
We know, then, O God, that we are not to be alarmed by the firestorms which arise daily throughout the world; rather, You would have us fully robed in the armor of God, that we would be able to withstand the onslaught. Keep us ever before the Throne of Grace, Merciful Father, that Your hand of protection might continue to cover our beloved country. We covet Godly wisdom for our leaders ... we covet a populace whose hearts are turned toward You. Yet, the darkness of men's hearts are stirred in anger this night, O Lord, and plans to shed innocent blood will be set in motion. Hear our plea that You would place a hedge around the innocents ... that every plan for destruction would fall back upon the enemy. Let the people rise up in righteous anger and turn upon the enemy, united against the growing evil. Protect our President and his administration from harm ... let nothing come near them to hinder their commitment to the security of our beloved country. We pray for the peace of Jerusalem, for You have promised that this prayer for Your beloved city will bless those who pray. Psalm 122:6
May it be thus, O God, in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I pray, Amen ...
We know, then, O God, that we are not to be alarmed by the firestorms which arise daily throughout the world; rather, You would have us fully robed in the armor of God, that we would be able to withstand the onslaught. Keep us ever before the Throne of Grace, Merciful Father, that Your hand of protection might continue to cover our beloved country. We covet Godly wisdom for our leaders ... we covet a populace whose hearts are turned toward You. Yet, the darkness of men's hearts are stirred in anger this night, O Lord, and plans to shed innocent blood will be set in motion. Hear our plea that You would place a hedge around the innocents ... that every plan for destruction would fall back upon the enemy. Let the people rise up in righteous anger and turn upon the enemy, united against the growing evil. Protect our President and his administration from harm ... let nothing come near them to hinder their commitment to the security of our beloved country. We pray for the peace of Jerusalem, for You have promised that this prayer for Your beloved city will bless those who pray. Psalm 122:6
May it be thus, O God, in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I pray, Amen ...
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE - Office of the Spokesman - PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT: "WORLDWIDE CAUTION" (ANNOUNCEMENT SNIPPET: "The U.S. Government remains deeply concerned about the security of U.S. citizens overseas. U.S. citizens are cautioned to maintain a high level of vigilance, to remain alert and to take appropriate steps to increase their security awareness. We are seeing indications that Al-Qaida continues to prepare to strike U.S. interests abroad. Al-Qaida and its associated organizations have most recently struck in the Middle East and in Europe but other geographic locations could also be venues for attacks. Future Al-Qaida attacks could possibly involve non-conventional weapons such as chemical or biological agents as well as conventional weapons of terror. We also cannot rule out that Al-Qaida will attempt a catastrophic attack within the U.S. Terrorist actions may include, but are not limited to, suicide operations, hijackings, bombings or kidnappings. These may involve aviation and other transportation and maritime interests, and may also include conventional weapons, such as explosive devices. Terrorists do not distinguish between official and civilian targets. These may include facilities where U.S. citizens and other foreigners congregate or visit, including residential areas, clubs, restaurants, places of worship, schools, hotels and public areas. U.S. citizens are encouraged to maintain a high level of vigilance and to take appropriate steps to increase their security awareness.") (March 19, 2004) (Read More...)
AZCENTRAL.com - THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC: "TRAFFIC STOP LEADS TO SHOOTOUT NEAR CASA GRANDE" by Emily Bittner (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "CASA GRANDE - A traffic stop on the Tohono O'odham Reservation left one undocumented immigrant dead, two other people in the hospital and a U.S. Border Patrol agent with a minor injury. Two Border Patrol agents stopped a suspicious vehicle around 10 p.m. along Federal Route 15, said Rob Daniels, a spokesman for the Border Patrol in Tucson. One of the agents walked up to the driver's side window and the male passenger fired at him, Daniels said. The bullet grazed the agent's ear.") (March 22, 2004) (Read More...)
TUCSON CITIZEN.com: "SMUGGLER CONVOY CALLED A FIRST HERE 6 Trucks with 165 People Stopped; 6 Vehicles Escape" by Gabriela Rico (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "In an unprecedented move along the U.S.-Mexico border, a convoy of 12 pickup trucks packed with suspected illegal immigrants barreled through the Tohono O'odham Nation and tried to run down approaching Border Patrol agents.") (March 19, 2004) (Read More...)
TUCSON CITIZEN.com: "'FedEx' DOESN'T FOOL AGENT" by Gabriela Rico (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Adame said that in the past 14 months, drug or immigrant smugglers have used the following counterfeit vehicles: a yellow school bus, two Border Patrol vehicles, a Phoenix news station truck, another FedEx van and a Douglas city utility vehicle.") (March 19, 2004) (Read More...)
MERCURY NEWS.com - Breaking News: "NEWS IN BRIEF FROM AROUND CALIFORNIA" - AP: Barstow, California - (NEWS BRIEF SNIPPET: "Twenty-six of the 98 cars on the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway freight train derailed at about 10 a.m., said Tom Barnes, dispatch supervisor for the San Bernardino County Fire Department. There were no reported injuries but two derailed cars leaked about 30,000 gallons of calcium chloride solution, Barnes said. Calcium chloride is a salt frequently used to melt snow and ice, as well as control dust. The substance is not hazardous, but hazardous materials crews were expected to clean up the spill, Barnes said. Another car carrying 12,600 butane lighters also derailed but was not damaged.") (March 21, 2004) (Read More...)
IDF.il - ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES - IDF Spokesperson's Unit: "THE LEADER OF THE HAMAS TERROR ORGANIZATION AHMED YASSIN, AND HIS AIDES, KILLED IN AN IDF ATTACK" (March 22, 2004) (Read More...)
ASSIST NEWS.net: "UGANDA: TWO AMERICAN MISSIONARIES AND UGANDAN STUDENT KILLED" by Wolfgang Polzer (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "According to police reports seven armed and uniformed men entered the premises of the school near Yumbe during the night of March 19. They stole equipment and set fire to eight residential cottages for students. One of them died. The Americans Warren and Donna Pett, missionaries with Africa Inland Mission, were shot.") (March 19, 2004) (Read More...)
FREE CONGRESS FOUNDATION - Notable Now: "CHECHNYA: BLOOD, CORRUPTION, INTRIGUE, AND EXTREMIST ISLAM" -Commentary by Paul M. Weyrich (March 19, 2004) (Read More...)
DAILY TIMES.com.pk (AFP): "SMELLS LIKE AL QAEDA" (PHOTO CAPTION: "A bottle of cologne with a picture of Osama Bin Laden is displayed at a cosmetics shop in Lahore on Monday.") (View a photo of Usama Bin Laden cologne here.) (March 22, 2004)
The explosion occurred outside the base near the town of Balad, about 50 miles north of Baghdad, the official, Saeed Kadhim, said.
He said the wounded had been taken to nearby hospitals.
U.S. officials in Baghdad could not confirm the attack.
By SADAQAT JAN, Associated Press Writer
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - A top U.S. commander was in Pakistan on Monday on an unannounced visit to meet with senior officials during a crucial time in Pakistan's hunt for al-Qaida fugitives, an army spokesman told The Associated Press.
Gen. John Abizaid, the leader of U.S. Central Command, which overseas forces in the Middle East, Central Asia and the Horn of Africa, arrived in the past 24 hours, said Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan. Abizaid oversees the U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Sultan would not say who Abizaid met with, or whether the trip had anything to do with a week-old offensive by thousands of Pakistani forces against hundreds of al-Qaida holdouts in the tribal South Waziristan, a region bordering Afghanistan.
But he said Abizaid's visit was routine and had been planned before the current military action.
The Pakistani military believes a "high-value" target is holed up in the besieged area, but it is uncertain if it is al-Qaida commander Ayman al-Zawahri, Uzbek militant Tahir Yuldash, or another terrorist.
Pakistan insists no U.S. forces are involved in the offensive, though it acknowledges that about a dozen intelligence agents are helping with technical and logistical support.
The U.S. embassy could not immediately be reached for comment.
Abizaid's last known visit to Pakistan came on Jan. 16, when he met with President Gen. Pervez Musharraf on Friday. That trip was just a week after the last major operation by Pakistan's military in South Waziristan.
Ahmad Said al-Kadr, an Egyptian-born Canadian citizen who was suspected of being a top al-Qaida financier, was killed along with seven other suspects.
BAGHDAD (AFP) - Iraqi leaders condemned Israel's killing of Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and expressed fears it would plunge their war-torn country into further chaos.
As Iraq braced for the worst, an explosion outside a US military base north of Baghdad killed one Iraqi paramilitary and wounded eight civilians, while a bombing near the capital claimed the lives of a US soldier and his interpreter.
The assassination of the wheel-chair bound Yassin threatned to fan the flames of violence in Iraq, already snared in a lethal battle between US forces and suspected Islamic extremists.
"Such assassinations only feed terrorist networks who will take it as a justification for them to conduct attacks under the pretense of revenge," said a deputy for interim Governing Council member Ibrahim al-Jaffari.
With the United States a close ally of Israel, Adnan al-Assadi warned that the killing of the 67-year-old cleric would only further endanger US personnel and interests in Iraq.
"This could happen in Iraq because the Israelis are well protected in Israel and the Americans are more vulnerable here in Iraq. It could escalate the dangers in Iraq," warned Assadi, of the fundamentalist Shiite Dawa party.
The Governing Council members worried about the reverberations of the killing of the militant cleric for Iraq, which stands as the US test model for promoting democracy in the Middle East.
"We condemn the killing, which will only serve to strengthen the justifications for terrorist acts in the world and does not serve peace," Governing Council member Muwaffaq al-Rubaie told AFP.
"It's not going to affect the Iraqis themselves, but there are terorrists in Iraq who are not Iraqis. They are coming to Iraq," Rubaie said, raising worries over attacks in a country regularly jolted by suicide and car bombings.
The wheel-chair bound leader of the Islamic radical movement, who sanctioned suicide bombings in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, was widely viewed in the West as a terrorist.
However, in the Arab world, he was seen by many as both a symbol of the Palestinian nationalist struggle and a respected religious figure.
Even the allies of America on its hand-picked Governing Council were careful to pay homage to Yassin, whose organisation was branded a terrorist group by the US government.
"We are losing a leading resistance figure and a great religious guide in Palestine, the Arab world and the Muslim world," Rubaie said.
The bloodshed Iraqis fears in the countdown to the country's regaining of sovereignty on June 30 manifested itself Monday in an attack on civilians working with US forces.
One Iraqi paramilitary was killed and eight civilians wounded in an explosion of what was thought to be a car bomb Monday at the entrance to a US base near Balad, 75 kilometres (47 miles) north of Baghdad, a member of the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps told AFP.
The explosion occurred in a line of vehicles where each morning Iraqi contractors and construction workers enter the base, the ICDC member told AFP.
Overnight, a US soldier and an Iraqi interpreter were killed by a roadside bomb in Baghdad, and nine soldiers were also wounded in various attacks in the Iraqi capital, the military said Monday.
Added to an AFP tally, the latest US death raises to 281 the number of US soldiers killed in action since US President George W. Bush declared major hostilities in Iraq over on May 1.
Another six soldiers were lightly wounded in attacks from a rocket-propelled grenade, small arms fire and homemade bomb, while sweeping for insurgents and weapons in Baghdad, the army said, adding that they had returned to duty.
Seven suspects were arrested and several weapons and ammunition seized in the sweeps, the statement said.
Near the town of Samarra, 125 kilometres (75 miles) north of Baghdad, a US soldier was killed in a live-firing accident that took place before he was due to head out on patrol, a statement early Monday said.
IDF.il - ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES - IDF Spokesperson's Unit: "THE LEADER OF THE HAMAS TERROR ORGANIZATION AHMED YASSIN, AND HIS AIDES, KILLED IN AN IDF ATTACK" (March 22, 2004) (Read More...)
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