Daily Terrorist Round-up Stories - March 24, 2005 (It was a bad couple of days to be a terrorist)

3/24/05

[Straight Vermonter]

85 Militants Killed in U.S. Raid in Iraq

By EDWARD HARRIS, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. and Iraqi forces killed 85 militants at a suspected training camp along the marshy shores of a remote lake, one of the highest guerrilla death tolls of the two-year insurgency, officials said Wednesday. They said citizens emboldened by the January elections are increasingly turning in intelligence tips. The raid at Lake Tharthar in central Iraq (news - web sites) turned up booby-trapped cars, suicide-bomber vests, weapons and training documents, Iraqi Maj. Gen. Rashid Feleih told state television. He said the insurgents included Iraqis, Filipinos, Algerians, Moroccans, Afghans and Arabs from neighboring countries.

"What's really remarkable is that the citizens this time really took the initiative to provide us with very good information," Feleih said.

In three days, according to Iraqi and U.S. officials' accounts, troops have killed at least 128 insurgents nationwide, culminating in the announcement of Tuesday's attack by Iraqi commandos, backed by U.S. air and ground fire. On Sunday, U.S. soldiers killed 26 insurgents south of Baghdad, while a fight during an ambush on an Iraqi security envoy killed 17 militants on Monday.  "This string of successes does have positive repercussions in that it may convince Iraqis not supporting the insurgents — but not supporting the United States either — to perceive that the tide is turning and not go with the insurgents," said Nora Bensahel, a Washington-based Iraq analyst for Rand Corp.But while it's been "a fairly successful few days," Bensahel cautioned that "there's a long, long way to go."

The U.S. military gave the first report of the Lake Tharthar raid, saying that seven commandos and an unspecified number of militants were killed. The military declined Wednesday to confirm the Iraqi government's death toll of 85 militants, and it was impossible to check the figure independently.  But 85 deaths would make the raid the heaviest hit militants have taken since the opening days of the U.S.-led attack in November on the city of Fallujah, where more than 1,000 insurgents died.

U.S. Army Maj. Richard Goldenberg, a 42nd Infantry Division spokesman, said an estimated 80 to 100 insurgents were at the camp, 60 miles north of Ramadi, and that some insurgents fled with casualties before the area could be surrounded. Iraqi commandos were in the area to conduct a different raid, but tips from residents redirected them to the lakeside camp, Goldenberg said. An Iraqi officer said residents had been providing intelligence for 18 days before the attack.

Iraqi officials also credited other successes to a torrent of intelligence that has begun flowing from citizens heartened by Jan. 30 elections and emboldened by film footage aired on state television that shows captured insurgents confessing their roles in attacks.  "Before, the people had a neutral stance toward this issue," said Sabah Kadhim, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry. "Now, they have turned against the terrorists." Kadhim said insurgents initially operated in small cells but that crackdowns have caused them to change tactics and gather in larger groups. They chose the lakeside camp because of its terrain, he said. "The area is full of marshes and lakes. It is hard to comb, and that's why the terrorists chose it," Kadhim said. "They used to use boats to get to the camp. It's difficult to get there, and to discover the location."

Analysts, however, warned the spate of deadly clashes wasn't likely to end an insurgency believed to have thousands of supporters.

"We're in a phase where it could be a tipping point one way or the other in terms of whether the insurgency is on a downward slope, with the elections moving things to the Iraq government more," said Marcus Corbin, an counterinsurgency specialist for the Washington-based Center for Defense Information. "But the real issue is the long-term political solution and what the power-sharing will be between the ethnic groups."

On that front, politicians helping shape the emerging government said negotiators are considering naming a Sunni Arab as defense minister to try to bring that group into the political process — and perhaps deflate the Sunni-led insurgency. "The Defense Ministry will go to a Sunni Arab because we do not want Arab Sunnis to feel that they are marginalized," said Abbas Hassan Mousa al-Bayati, a top member of the Shiite-dominated United Iraqi Alliance. "They will be given one of the four major posts because we want them to feel that they are part of the political formula."

Sunni Arabs, dominant under ousted dictator Saddam Hussein (news - web sites), largely stayed away from the balloting, either to honor a boycott or because they were afraid of being attacked.

Kurds are thought to number between 15 to 20 percent of Iraq's 26 million people, with Sunni Arabs roughly equivalent. Shiite Arabs make up 60 percent of the population.

Associated Press writer Mariam Fam contributed to this report from Baghdad.

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US warplanes kill five militants near Khost city

* Afghan official says militants came from Pakistan

KABUL: US warplanes killed five militants near the Pakistani border after guerrillas attacked American and Afghan military positions, US-led troops also killed an Afghan boy during a botched search operation, the military said on Wednesday.

The planes were launched after militants fired eight rockets at a US base near Khost city and attacked three border posts with rockets and guns on Tuesday, said an American military statement.

“Coalition aircraft killed five militants,” said the statement said, adding that US troops also responded with artillery fire from their base. No US or allied forces were hurt, it added.

Mohammed Nawab, a senior Afghan commander, blamed Taliban or Al Qaeda militants for the attacks and said they came from the Pakistani side of the border. “They also retreated in that direction,” said Nawab adding that his troops had found the militants’ bodies and weapons. The boy was killed when US-led troops opened fire at a suspected bomb maker and two armed men in a village near Asadabad in Kunar, the military said later on Wednesday.

“When it appeared that militants were taking firing positions, coalition forces engaged them with small-arms fire. The boy was killed during the fire,” said the statement. Afghan leaders have complained repeatedly of heavy-handed US search operations, while UN officials and human rights groups say the death of civilians in a string of incidents plays into the militants’ hands. US Marine Gen James L Jones said Afghanistan was stable and that recent attacks were just “random acts of violence.” He said, “I don’t think we’re facing anything that remotely resembles an organised insurgency.” He said that he was optimistic that parliamentary elections slated for September will also go well.

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Malaysia quietly hands Muslim militants to Bangkok
  
By Jahabar Sadiq

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia has quietly arrested five Thai Muslim militants and handed them over to Thailand, an intelligence source said on Wednesday, in a sign that cooperation has survived recent bilateral bickering. Malaysian police declined to confirm the arrests but a regional security analyst said they were typical of back-channel cooperation between Southeast Asian intelligence agencies. "Five Thais were arrested on March 9 and have been sent back to Thailand," the intelligence source told Reuters.

This week, TIME magazine reported that the five armed Thai militants had been arrested in Kuala Lumpur on March 9 but did not say that they were being handed over to Thai custody. "I have checked with my officers. There is nothing on this so far," Malaysian deputy police chief Musa Hassan told Reuters. There has been some tension between Thailand and Malaysia, a Muslim majority country to its south, over Bangkok's fight against militant violence in its mainly Muslim south.

But the quiet detention and cross-border movement of suspected militants happens regularly, despite political relationships sometimes being strained over the issue of security, said Singapore-based analyst Steve Wilford, of Control Risk Group. "There is a channel or what they call a 'track-two cooperation' between the two countries for the extradition to happen," he told Reuters by telephone. More than 600 people have been killed in separatist violence in Thailand's Muslim south over the past 15 months.

In one incident that sparked anti-Thai rallies in Malaysia, 78 Muslim men were crushed to death or suffocated after they were stacked into Thai army trucks after a protest in the southern village of Tak Bai last October. Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra later upset Malaysia and Indonesia by saying Thai militants had trained in the jungles along the border with Malaysia and had been exposed to radical ideas in Indonesia, where members of Jemaah Islamiah, regarded as the regional arm of al Qaeda, have launched bomb attacks.

Despite the recent arrests in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia drew the line in January at handing over a top suspected militant leader, Jehkumir Kuteh, to Bangkok, claiming Jehkumir was a Malaysian and the two countries had no formal extradition treaty. Thaksin has sought custody of Jehkumir, president of the little-known Gerakan Mujahideen Islam Pattani party (GMIP), in connection with the violence in southern Thailand.

In this month's arrests, police nabbed the five at the Kuala Lumpur Sentral railway station, the intelligence source said. The station is a busy hub for intra-city trains and has an express link to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Arms were seized in the arrest, the source said, but the source could not identify them. 

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Russia Says Kills Chechen Rebel With Links to CIA

Field commander Rizvan Chitigov has been killed in Chechnya during a raid carried out by pro-Moscow security forces and the republic’s Interior Ministry troops, the Itar-Tass news agency cited the republic’s first deputy prime minister Ramzan Kadyrov.  “Chitigov was surrounded and eliminated after he put up armed resistance,” Kadyrov was quoted by the news agency as saying.

Chitigov, aka American or Suraka, born 1965, was placed on the federal wanted list on suspicion of being involved in kidnappings. In the early 1990s Chitigov visited the United States and upon his return he oversaw military intelligence in Aslan Maskhadov’s government.  The FSB, Russia’s domestic security service, suspected that Chitigov had been maintaining ties with foreign intelligence services and was himself a CIA agent, former FSB spokesman Aleksandr Zdanovich said in April 2001.

According to some reports, Chitigov had a green card — a permanent residence permit in the U.S.  In the summer of 2001 he told journalists that he intended to poison Russian soldiers with virulent toxins. Rizvan Chitigov was also a close ally of the infamous warlord Khattab.

In 2002 Russian security services obtained a recording of Chitigov’s conversation with the Chechen envoy to the United Arab Emirates Khizir Alkhazurov, where Chitigov allegedly asked his interlocutor to write a manual for preparing toxic substances and send it to Chechnya.  During a search at one of Chitigov’s bases in the Chechen highlands security forces discovered stocks of ricin and other toxins and instructions on how to use them in combination with conventional weapons.

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Transcript of a press conference detailing US military activities in the Horn of Africa.

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Congress activist shot; 4 die in JK

Srinagar, Mar 22: Four militants including two district commanders of Hizbul Mujahideen and Lashkar-e-Toiba were killed and a Congress activist shot in separate incidents across the state since Monday.
Three militants of Lashkar-e-Toiba including their district commander were killed by troops and police in an encounter at Dhara Sangla sector Surankote Poonch on Tuesday.
According to a police communiqué, the slain militants have been identified as district commander Abu Asadullah, area commander Abu Mudasir and tehsil commander Abu Tallah. Troops have also claimed recovery of arms and ammunition from the possession of slain militants.

Troops killed a Hizbul Mujahideen district commander in a gun-battle at Veel Nagabal Aishmuqam in Islamabad district Tuesday morning.
According to reports, Ashiq Hussain Shah son of Muhammad Yousuf shah of Halan Hapatnar Aishmuqam was killed by troops in an encounter. However, negating the troops’ claim, the locals told Greater Kashmir that the slain commander was detained by troops and police on Monday night in ailing condition at Sallar Pahalgam. Ashiq, the locals further said was killed by troops in a fake encounter today.
Suspected militants shot at and injured a Congress activist Muhammad Yousuf Sheikh son of Abdullah Sheikh of Akingam Achabal near his house Monday night. The Congress activist was shot in leg and has been hospitalised.

Troops recovered huge cache of arms and ammunition from Galuti Rajouri, Nachiana Doda and Kadwa Rai Chak Udhampur

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Ambushed GIs Kill 26 Militants

BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. soldiers, ambushed by dozens of Iraqi militants near the infamous "Triangle of Death," responded by killing 26 guerrillas in the largest single insurgent death toll since last fall's battle for Fallujah, the U.S. military said Monday.  The high number of deaths in Sunday's daylight battle south of Baghdad was attributed to the large number of attackers, unusual in a country where most clashes are carried out by small bands of gunmen or suicide bombers. "I was surprised at the numbers," said Staff Sgt. Timothy Nein, a squad leader for the 617th Military Police Company of Richmond, Ky., and a native of Henryville, Ind., involved in the firefight. "Usually we can usually expect seven to 10." 

As the U.S. military reported that and other successes against the insurgency, attackers struck several times Monday, killing seven civilians and three Iraqi soldiers. A roadside bomb in Aziziyah, 35 miles southeast of Baghdad, killed four women and three children, police said. 

Reporting on Sunday's big firefight, the U.S. military said MPs and artillery units from the Kentucky National Guard were traveling along a road 20 miles southeast of Baghdad around noon when 40 to 50 militants emerged from a grove of trees and a roadside canal firing automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades.  The soldiers returned fire, killing or wounding all the insurgents in a field and driving away those attacking from the canal. Seven Americans were reported wounded, but no details were given on their conditions. Commanders said seven wounded insurgents and one unwounded attacker were captured.  The guerrilla death toll - 26 - was the highest in a single clash in Iraq since U.S. forces took control of the formerly insurgent-held city of Fallujah west of the capital.

In late December, an attack on a U.S. military outpost in Mosul resulted in the deaths of 25 insurgents and one U.S. soldier.

Military officials said the road where Sunday's attack occurred has seen a surge in violence against coalition forces, including an ambush Friday in nearly the same spot that killed a foreign driver. They blame a nearby village believed to be an insurgent hideout.  After the battle, U.S. troops recovered six rocket-propelled grenade launchers, 16 rockets, 13 machine guns, 22 assault rifles, more than 2,900 bullets and 40 hand grenades. It was one of several blows to the insurgency that were reported Monday.

A pre-dawn raid Monday by U.S. and Iraqi forces in Kirkuk captured 13 people believed tied to a fatal attack on a local police officer and the bombing of his funeral procession that killed three more officers. Thirty other suspects were detained Friday in Karbala. U.S. officials also said two suspects were arrested in the suicide bombing Sunday that killed the anti-corruption director in the northern city of Mosul, Walid Kashmoula. In addition, they said 10 men captured by Iraqi soldiers last week had confessed to staging a March 9 suicide bombing in Baghdad using a garbage truck near the Agricultural Ministry and a hotel favored by Westerners. At least four people, including the attackers and a guard, were killed in that attack.

Officials also said two insurgents were killed and two wounded in two separate incidents when they were found digging roadside holes for homemade bombs in Salaheddin province north of Baghdad.

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Sayyaf bomb plot foiled as explosives seized in Fairview
By Cecille Suerte Felipe
 
The military claimed it foiled a plot by the Abu Sayyaf to bomb "soft targets" in Metro Manila during the Lenten season with the arrest of a Muslim convert and the seizure of 11 sacks of explosives in Fairview, Quezon City yesterday. Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman Col. Buenaventura Pascual said the plot was uncovered following the arrest of Tyrone Dave Santos, who yielded 11 sacks of explosives and 18 canisters containing improvised explosive devices. Santos, alias Daud, is allegedly a "balik-Islam" convert of the Rajah Solaiman Revolutionary Movement (RSRM).

Santos was arrested by the military last Tuesday and led lawmen in subsequent operations to recover the explosives at the group’s supposed warehouse on Lilac street in Fairview, Quezon City yesterday.
The lawmen, however, failed to arrest some of the suspects in the area who managed to escape through the air-conditioning vent of the warehouse.

"The capture of Santos and the subsequent recovery of this large amount of explosive has foiled a major plan of the Abu Sayyaf group to conduct more bombings in urban centers," AFP -National Capital Region Command (NCRCom) chief Lt. Col. Allan Cabalquinto said. Cabalquinto said the seized improvised bombs were stashed in sardine cans filled with nails and powdery substance.  "The explosives are intended to be used during this Lenten season to bomb soft targets within Manila," he said.

Lt. Col. Lito Tabangcura, chief of the Explosives and Ordnance Division (EOD) of the Armed ForcesNCRCom, explained the explosives have enough power to blow up a two-story building. If properly prepared, the device could explode with a velocity of 6,000 to 8,000 meters per second, Tabangcura pointed out.

Santos, on the other hand, is currently on bail on charges of illegal possession of explosives. He was earlier arrested along with other suspected militants after policemen raided the RSRM headquarters in Anda, Pangasinan on May 2, 2002.  The Rajah Solaiman Movement is composed of former Christians who converted to Islam.  A police intelligence report last year also revealed the RSRM primarily seeks converts to Islam in the Philippines’ predominantly Roman Catholic north to carry out terror attacks. The same group was tagged by the police for plotting the bombing of the feast of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo, Manila last January.

Throughout the country, security forces are on alert for retaliatory attacks by the Abu Sayyaf following last week’s failed jailbreak attempt that left 22 alleged members of the Muslim extremist group dead at the hands of police. The Abu Sayyaf has claimed responsibility for the Valentine’s Day attacks that rocked three cities across the country and left 13 people dead and several others wounded.

As tens of thousands of Filipinos began the long trek to their home provinces since yesterday, Metro Manila was on a heightened state of alert for possible terrorist attacks during the long Easter break. National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Deputy Director General Avelino Razon said more than 10,000 policemen have been deployed throughout the metropolis mainly at bus, sea and air terminals. Razon appealed to the general public to remain "vigilant" throughout the holiday period.

Television footage yesterday showed commuters flocking to the Araneta Center bus terminal in Cubao, Quezon City and the South Harbor ferry terminal in Manila. Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Arturo Lomibao has also appealed to transport operators to implement the "no search, no ride" policy. Churches and shopping malls throughout Metro Manila are said be potential targets for the Abu Sayyaf during the Easter break. So far, artist’s sketches of the seven Islamic militants have been released as a preemptive measure against terrorist attacks.

On Tuesday, the military announced the arrest of Indonesian suspect Rohmat, alias Zaki, an alleged Jemaah Islamiyah trainer of Abu Sayyaf bombers who reportedly helped plan the Valentine’s Day bomb blasts. 

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Morocco holds 5 militants for bomb training -paper

 
RABAT, March 22 (Reuters) - Moroccan police arrested five suspected Islamic militants near the main business hub of Casablanca, a newspaper reported on Tuesday.

The Arabic-language daily al-Ittihad al-Ichtiraki quoted a security source as saying the five were being trained to use bombs controlled by mobile phones.

Morocco police and Interior Ministry officials declined to comment on the report in the paper, a mouthpiece of Morocco's Socialist Union of People's Forces, a leading party in the government coalition.

Spanish officials say those behind last year's Madrid train bombings, in which 191 people were killed, set off a series of explosions using mobile phones connected to detonators. Most of those arrested in connection with the attack were Moroccans.

The Moroccan paper said the five were arrested in the town of Mohammedia near Casablanca, which was hit in May 2003 by suicide bombings that killed 45 people.

The newspaper said the five belonged to a "Jihadist" cell, hinting at Salafist Jihad, a militant group that was blamed for the Casablanca attacks.

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Top Kashmiri militant arrested in Bengal town

Police in West Bengal in India claimed to have arrested what they described as a "front ranking" member of a Kashmiri militant group accused of killing Indian troops, Indo-Asian News Service reported Monday.

Nazir Ahmed Khan alias Javed Kalim has been described as the " second-in-command" of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Kashmiri terrorist organization. Khan, 24, is the main accused in the killing of 18 Indian soldiers, including a major.  He was among the "most wanted" militants in Indian administered Jammu and Kashmir, police said. He was picked up early Sunday from a brick kiln worker's home in Kaliachak in West Bengal Malda district.  The operation was carried out jointly by West Bengal and Indian administered Jammu and Kashmir Police.

"Khan is a front ranking member of Lashkar-e-Taiba. He was picked up from his hideout in Kaliachak," said West Bengal Inspector General of Police K.L. Meena. Police recovered several incriminating documents from Khan that apparently established his regular contact with other terrorist organizations. Khan was planning to escape to Bangladesh after fleeing the police in Indian administered Jammu and Kashmir and Mumbai. Two more people who helped Khan hide in Kaliachak had also been arrested.

SV-Once again signs that Bangladesh is the "new Afghanistan".

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Suicide bomber caught

[World News] KABUL, Afghanistan, March 20 : Afghan officials said Sunday they have arrested a suspected suicide bomber.

The officials identified the bomber as Shahbaz Khan and said he was a Pakistani citizen who had crossed into Afghanistan to target coalition and Afghan troops.

He was arrested in southeastern Khost province, which borders Pakistani, following a tip.U.S., Afghan and Pakistani officials believe that hundreds of Taliban and al-Qaeda suspects fled to the neighboring Pakistani districts of south and north Waziristan after the collapse of the Taliban regime three years ago.

In March 2004, Pakistan launched a major military offensive against the suspects, which resulted in the death of hundreds of Pakistani troops, local tribesmen and terror suspects.

Although Pakistan says the operation has been successfully completed, the troops are still stationed there.

[Straight Vermonter]

I will probably add a few more later in the day as I get caught up on the news.

[Straight Vermonter]

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

Terrorist Scorecard

[Straight Vermonter]

"Sleeper agent" pinpointed military bases for Al-Qaeda

[U.K. News] Melbourne, Mar. 23 : A Muslim convert, who was accused of working in Australia as a "sleeper agent" for Al-Qaeda, was reportedly assigned the task of pinpointing military bases that could be attacked by the terrorist network.

The fact came to light during the first day of Jack Thomas's, the accused, committal hearing. The prosecution alleged that Thomas was trained at Al-Qaeda bases in Afghanistan, after which he returned to his home in suburban Melbourne to plot terror strikes, The News reported.

Thomas, however, has denied the charges of receiving financial support from al-Qaeda, providing the group with resources and support to carry out a terrorist attack and having a falsified passport, or being trained.

The former taxi driver, Thomas, at one time stayed in Al-Qaeda safe houses in neighbouring Pakistan and was asked by one operative to return home and work for the organisation from Melbourne. (ANI)

[musicman]

Good news and great post!!..... BTTT !!!

[Straight Vermonter]

US 'kills key' Afghan militant

A suspected Taleban militant and at least five others have been killed by US-led coalition forces in Afghanistan.
Raz Mohammed, described by the US military as a "high-level Taleban" was killed in the province of Paktika, close to the border with Pakistan.

An Afghan woman and two children were also killed in the exchange, a US military statement said.

The US-led coalition has about 18,000 troops hunting Taleban and al-Qaeda militants in Afghanistan.


"Coalition forces were fired on by Raz Mohammed and other Taleban forces when they attempted to capture Mohammed," the US military statement said.

Two other suspected Taleban militants were also killed in the exchage.

The violence came even as a campaign to disarm tens of thousands of Afghan militiamen entered its final phase.

Suspected Taleban and al-Qaeda fighters continue to attack Afghan and US-led troops, government officials, aid workers and civilians four years after the fall of the Taleban regime.

[nopardons]

bttt

[Straight Vermonter]

Television helps break mystique of holy warrior
By Steve Negus and Dhiya Rasan
Published: March 24 2005 02:00 | Last updated: March 24 2005 02:00

Say theword mujahid- or holy warrior - these days and many inhabitants of Baghdad are likely to snigger.

An appellation once worn as a badge of pride by anti-American insurgents has now become street slang for homosexuals, after men claiming to be captured Islamist guerrillas confessed that they were holding gay orgies in the popular Iraqi TV programme Terror in the Hands of Justice.

For Iraqis opposed to the predominantly Sunni Islamist insurgency, Terror in the Hands of Justice, which airs twice daily on Iraqi public television, has broken the mystique of a force that used to strike terror into the hearts of anyone working with the Americans or the new government.

But for many Sunni, even some who do not support the insurgents' goals, the programme's suggestion that the entire guerrilla movement comprises sexual libertines and petty criminals is an insult to their community.

The "terrorists" on television are almost certainly not actors but genuine detainees arrested by the security forces on suspicion of being part of the insurgency. Many Iraqis claim to have recognised on television the guerrillas who threatened them, while the families of some of the televised detainees have called up Iraqi politicians trying to convince them of their sons' innocence.

However, many Iraqis believe that the stern-faced officers of the "Wolf Brigade", the Iraqi security unit that arrested most of the alleged terrorists, may have pushed the suspects - some of whom appear on the programme sporting bruises - to embellish their "confessions".

When the programme first aired two months ago, it mostly featured non-Iraqi Arabs who claimed to have entered the country to aid the insurgency, reinforcing many Iraqis' belief that the insurgency is driven by foreign extremists such as al-Qaeda.

In time, however, the programme began to feature men who said they were petty criminals, killing "collaborators" for a few hundred dollars' bounty.

In fact, the US and Iraqi security forces have for some time claimed to have ample evidence that many insurgent attacks were launched by out-of-work soldiers desperate for money. Some well-known insurgent captains had former lives under the old regime as gang leaders.

In recent weeks, however, the insurgents' confessions have become increasingly at odds with the movement's reputation for stringent Islamic austerity.

One long-bearded preacher known as Abu Tabarek recently confessed that guerrillas had usually held orgies in his mosques, secure in the knowledge that their status as holy warriors would win them forgiveness of their sins.

Another guerrilla commander had a somewhat unusual nomme de guerre for an Islamic insurgent - "Abu Lahab", an enemy of the Prophet Mohammed singled out in the Koran for special opprobrium.

Many Iraqi Shia, whose clerics and mosques are targeted increasingly frequently by insurgents, have no reservations about the show, claiming it shows the "true face of the criminals".

But for some Sunni, the show is evidence of the depths to which Iraq's new rulers will go to defame the insurgents. In a sermon last Friday, the popular preacher Abd al-Salaam al-Qubaisy urged his west Baghdad congregation to "defend the reputation of the nationalist resistance" against the "Americans and their agents", a reference to the current politicians ruling the country.

Meanwhile, more mainstream Sunni leaders want the programme taken off the air, claiming it polarises an already divided country.

Some human rights activists, meanwhile, say that the programme encourages police to abuse insurgent and ordinary criminal suspects by implying that it is desirable to extract as outrageous a confession as possible.

Sabah Khadim, spokesman for Iraq's interior minister, says that the programme may have run its course, and should be reviewed.

He denies that the confessions were extracted by torture but has his doubts as to whether those confessing are being truthful or simply saying whatever they think their captors want to hear. He also has reservations over whether the display of prisoners on television violates the Geneva Convention.

But, Mr Khadem says, the programme has been immensely effective in getting Iraqis to come forward with information about guerrillas, leading to a surge in the number of insurgents captured.

"If this were not an emergency situation, we would not have run this," he says. "But it is an emergency situation, and this produces results." Additional reporting by Dhiya Rasan

[Deetes]

He said the insurgents included Iraqis, Filipinos, Algerians, Moroccans, Afghans and Arabs from neighboring countries.

Filipinos , first I heard of them on the other side.

Bigger groups, should make for bigger kills. Big change in there plans.

[Straight Vermonter]

Bigger groups, should make for bigger kills. Big change in there plans.

Absolutely. I think someone has been giving them bad advice. Maybe they believe that the battle of Mogadishu was a victory for them and they are trying to reproduce that "success".

My guess, though, is that the reason for this is somewhat simpler. The mental defects who want to die have already done so. The remainder of the cadre wants to live and they are scared of encountering American (or even Iraqi!) forces. Their leaders, bowing to popular pressure from within, have allowed the attackers to use larger groups. When even this fails so spectacularly I have to suspect there will be some unrest within the enemy camp.

A few more of these encounters may result in the "insurgency" start to lose a lot of momentum.

[csvset]

More news from the PI...From the other day...

Cops announce arrest of alleged JI man

By FERNAN MARASIGAN

TODAY Reporter

A suspected Indonesian terrorist, tagged as among those allegedly planning bombing activities in Metro Manila and key cities in Mindanao, was arrested by the authorities in Maguindanao last week.

On Tuesday, military and defense officials presented to journalists Rohmat alias Zaki, Hamdan and Akil, an alleged operative of the Asian terror group Jema’ah Islamiyah and liaison to the Abu Sayyaf under Khadaffy Janjalani.

Rohmat was arrested by a joint intelligence team from the Army and the Bureau of Immigration along with one Makmod Maido in a mobile military checkpoint on Marcos Highway, Datu Saudi Ampatuan, Maguindanao, on March 16.

Maido was temporarily released pending the determination of charges that can be filed against him.

Two of their colleagues eluded arrest.

Authorities said the arrest came following a report that four suspicious looking men aboard a motorcycle without license plates were seen heading toward Cotabato City through Datu Saudi Ampatuan.

When accosted, the four scampered in different directions but alert soldiers collared Rohmat and Maido.

A caliber .45 pistol was seized from Rohmat. But the suspicion that he is a terrorist was bolstered when during questioning, Rohmat could not speak the local language.

He was identified later as a JI operative who served as the liaison to the group of Janjalani.

It was learned that prior to Rohmat’s arrest, he and his companions have just left Janjalani in a still undisclosed place.

Authorities said they announced the arrest of Rohmat only Tuesday because he had to undergo debriefing and tactical interrogation.

Rohmat reportedly became the Abu Sayyaf liaison on orders of Zulkifli, the former head of the JI's Wakalah Hudeibiyah (Wahud) of Mantique-3 based in Mindanao.

Prior to this, he underwent training in 2002 in Camp Jabal Quba in Butig, Lanao del Sur, and was later appointed explosives instructor to trainees of the Abu Sayyaf.

The military said during tactical interrogation, Rohmat revealed that Janjalani and Abu Sayyaf spokesman Abu Solaiman ordered and financed the Valentines Day bombings in the cities of Makati, Davao and General Santos that left eight people dead and more than 100 others wounded.

He claimed that he was present during the planning of the bombing operations.

Authorities said Rohmat arrived in the country in 2000 along with 20 others using the "southern backdoor."

Lt. Gen. Edilberto Adan, Armed Forces deputy chief of staff, said the arrest of Rohmat was a big blow to the local terrorist group because they lost a trainor and a leader.

Days prior to Rohmat’s arrest, the National Police heightened its alert level even as it released the identities of seven alleged Abu Sayyaf bandits and two Indonesian JI operatives including Rohmat as the ones allegedly planning to conduct bombing operations during the Holy Week.

The Armed Forces also placed the National Capital Region Command, the government’s anti-coup force, under red alert. Leaves and furloughs of military and police personnel assigned to the command are cancelled and they are required to be on their post 24 hours a day.

[Coop]

My guess, though, is that the reason for this is somewhat simpler. The mental defects who want to die have already done so. The remainder of the cadre wants to live and they are scared of encountering American (or even Iraqi!) forces. Their leaders, bowing to popular pressure from within, have allowed the attackers to use larger groups. When even this fails so spectacularly I have to suspect there will be some unrest within the enemy camp. A few more of these encounters may result in the "insurgency" start to lose a lot of momentum.

I think another reason is that so many of the experienced terrorists - excuse me, insurgents - have been killed or captured. I bet these newbies are often grouping together for training and planning. Unfortunately we're getting some pretty good intel. [wicked grin]

[Dog]

Yep....all those Zarqawi aides getting nabbed is taking a toll.

U.S. soldiers killed 26 insurgents south of Baghdad

And here is a little known fact..... part of this unit of US soliders were women.

Our WOMEN kicked their ass.

[Boot Hill]

This is sounding more and more like the whole nature of the Iraqi campaign has changed to a mopping up operation. If this is true, Syria and Iran can't be far behind. Before June, imo.

--Boot Hill

[Valin]

Maybe they believe that the battle of Mogadishu was a victory for them and they are trying to reproduce that "success".


Someone should tell them, "That was another place, and another time."

[Straight Vermonter]

What do you guys make of this: Breaking News: Showdown: Battle groups head for Mideast?

[Valin]

Iraqi TV programme Terror in the Hands of Justice.


YES! This is the sort of thing I've been talking about for a while now. I know the term "Hearts and Minds" doesn't go over well here, but hearts and minds is what this war is all about.

[Boot Hill]

Really hard to say, but I can't imagine Israel waiting much longer before launching a preemptive raid on Iranian nuke sites. Might be connected to that. That would be consistent with one carrier task force headed to the Mediterranean where it could blunt any Syrian response against Israel for the raid.

--Boot Hill

[Valin]

Three carrier battle groups are converging on the Persian Gulf.

For what it's worth, (one mans opinion freely given and worth almost that much)
This is sending a VERY STRONG message to the mullahs in Tehran that we are "very displeased" with them. It may also be an attempt to support and put teeth into the negotiations that the EU is having with Iran. Does it mean we are going to attack Iran at this time? I doubt it, to early in the game.

[StoneGiant]

[Former Dodger]

Good news, great post....seems like our Intel might be getting better in the region.

Maybe we are winning some "Hearts and Minds" after all.