Daily Terrorist Round-up 7/14/05

[Straight Vermonter]

Matt Maupin is still a prisoner somewhere in Iraq.  Wednesday was his 22nd birthday.

Stay Angry

---

Zarkawi’s Main Leader in Baghdad Has Been Captured
Abu Abd Al-Aziz was seized on Monday by American forces

According to the official statement of a top U.S general, American forces snared a key operative in Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’s Al Qaeda organization in Iraq.

The capture of Abu Abd Al-Aziz, Zarqawi's "main leader in Baghdad, "might" hurt that operation of Zarqawi's pretty significantly”, Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the PBS program "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer", reports Reuters.

Apparently, Al-Aziz, who had been portrayed as the “emir of Baghdad” for Zarkawi, was captured on the battlefield. "When you look at the picture of the Zarqawi network of the different elements that are known to exist, he's the second-in-command of the Baghdad element”, said an anonymous source from the defense department.

There are still no details on the involvement of the Iraqi government forces in the operation.

Zarkawi’s Al Qaeda Organization for Holy War in Iraq is responsible of some of the deadliest attacks against U.S. forces, the Iraqi government and Shi'ite Muslims in Iraq as part of a obstinate insurgency, but also for most of the kidnappings, executions and suicide bombings in the area.

The last execution announced by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was that of the Egyptian ambassador kidnapped by his organization and killed on July 7, the same day London terrorist attacks took place.

The Iranian-born leader of "At-Taukhid wal-Jjihad" was on FBI"s top most wanted list. The US was willing to pay $25 million USD of reward money for Zarkawi, the same amount of money as for the leader of "Al Qaeda" Osama bin Laden.

Centcom's Iraq Scorecard (updated)

---

 
Kurds arrest suspects from six terrorist networks (Excerpt)

Kurdish security officials said Sunday that they had arrested suspects from six different terrorist groups that they believe help form wide insurgent training and support networks inside Iraq and have links with international terrorist organizations.

The officials, including senior members of the Kurdish security police and the intelligence arm of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, say the groups, most of them previously unknown to the Kurdish authorities, appear to have ties to more established jihadist organizations like Ansar al-Sunna.

That group in turn can be traced to a collection of militants who fought US forces in the mountains near Halabja, on the Iranian border, in the weeks leading up to the 2003 invasion.

Abdulla Ali, the chief in Erbil of the security police, the Kurdish equivalent of the FBI, said Sunday that evidence also links the groups to intelligence services from neighboring countries. He declined to elaborate on that evidence, or say which countries he suspected of involvement.

The security officials said their conclusions had emerged from extensive questioning of the suspects, documentary evidence and forensic examinations of crime scenes. They would not say how many suspects had been arrested. Ali, who was himself severely wounded in a suicide car bombing last year, said the arrests indicated that for the first time, international elements appeared to be working together with local Islamic extremists and disaffected remnants of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party to push the boundaries of the violence wracking the country farther north, into the Kurdish region.

The groups are "putting their minds together," Ali said, and collaborating on "how to best achieve their goals."

What appears to be an alliance between Arab Islamic extremists and local Kurds is disheartening after the decades of oppression the Kurds suffered under Saddam's rule, said Nawzad Hadi Mawlood, the governor of Erbil Province.

---

Indonesian police arrest man suspected of harboring Malaysian terrorist fugitives

Indonesian police have arrested a man they suspect of harboring a Malaysian militant accused of masterminding the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings and other attacks on Western targets in recent years.

The suspect, identified only as Fauzan, is being held at National Police Headquarters under anti-terror laws that allow police to detain a suspect for an initial period of seven days, Maj. Gen. Aryanto Budiharjo said Monday.

Fauzan was arrested "recently" at an undisclosed location in east Java province, said Budiharjo. Officers suspect he hid Malaysian militant Noordin Mohamed Top earlier this year in a house in east Java, said Budiharjo, giving no more details.

Noordin is accused of helping plan the Bali bombings, which killed 202 people, the 2003 attack on the J.W. Marriott Hotel, and a blast last year outside the Australian Embassy. He remains on the run in Indonesia and is plotting more attacks, police say.
 

---

A mosque for ex-Nazis became center of radical Islam (Excerpted - Worth reading the entire article)
By Ian Johnson

MUNICH, Germany -- North of this prosperous city of engineers and auto makers is an elegant mosque with a slender minaret and a turquoise dome. A stand of pines shields it from a busy street. In a country of more than three million Muslims, it looks unremarkable, another place of prayer for Europe's fastest-growing religion.

The mosque's history, however, tells a more-tumultuous story. Buried in government and private archives are hundreds of documents that trace the battle to control the Islamic Center of Munich. Never before made public, the material shows how radical Islam established one of its first and most important beachheads in the West when a group of ex-Nazi soldiers decided to build a mosque.

The soldiers' presence in Munich was part of a nearly forgotten subplot to World War II: the decision by tens of thousands of Muslims in the Soviet Red Army to switch sides and fight for Hitler. After the war, thousands sought refuge in West Germany, building one of the largest Muslim communities in 1950s Europe. When the Cold War heated up, they were a coveted prize for their language skills and contacts back in the Soviet Union. For more than a decade, U.S., West German, Soviet and British intelligence agencies vied for control of them in the new battle of democracy versus communism.

---

US and Afghan forces kill 19 insurgents

KABUL: US and Afghan forces killed 19 militants and captured six in fighting in southern Afghanistan this week, the US military said on Wednesday, while Taliban guerrillas shot dead a senior pro-government cleric.

US paratroopers and Afghan troops backed by US helicopters had taken part in fighting since Monday in the Dai Chopan district of Zabul, military spokesman Lt Col Jerry O’Hara said.

“Seventeen enemy were killed between yesterday afternoon and today and two others on Monday,” he said. “We are going after enemy forces in what they used to call safe havens.” The military said six militants were captured and 23 other people were being questioned about involvement in the fighting. A cache of munitions was found in a mosque during the operation, including RPGs and machinegun ammunition, it said.

A US statement quoted Major Douglas Vincent, executive officer of the paratroopers’ battalion, as saying that US and Afghan troops were “experiencing numerous tactical successes in the northern districts of Zabul province”. O’Hara said two Mexican civilian contractors working at the US air base in the southern city of Kandahar were wounded when four rockets landed there early on Monday. A senior Afghan military officer had earlier said the wounded men were Canadians.

---

In a Wide Sweep for Militants, Italy Detains 174
By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL

ROME, July 13 - In a nationwide sweep aimed at ferreting out potential terrorists, the Italian police on Wednesday searched 201 homes and detained 174 people suspected of being involved in militant Islamic groups. But at the day's end, the police announced no formal arrests and said only that they had confiscated some literature in Arabic from some of the homes.

In all, the police investigated 423 people, some of whom were questioned about their immigration status, the Interior Ministry said.

"I'm not saying that we have seized terrorists," the interior minister, Giuseppe Pisanu, said from Brussels, where he was attending a European Union conference to discuss antiterrorism measures. "It's a preventative operation in high-risk environments."

The raids occurred just one day after Mr. Pisanu went before Parliament to request expanded police powers to combat terrorism, including, for example, the right to question terrorism suspects without a lawyer.

But Italy's lawmakers have not yet passed judgment on his request, and the raids on Wednesday were conducted in accordance with previous Italian laws. Under Article 41 of the penal code, the police may enter a house without a search warrant if they believe it may contain weapons or explosives.

But in the wake of the London bombings, it is clear that the Italian police and court system are prepared to push the limits of the legal system and to respond in new ways.

In Brescia on Wednesday, an Italian court for the first time convicted suspects under an Italian law aimed at international terrorism that was passed after the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States and that has stirred considerable debate.

Muhammad Rafik, a Moroccan cleric who had been an imam in Florence before moving to Cremona, was sentenced to 4 years and 8 months in prison for a plot to attack a Milan subway station and a church in Cremona. A second man, Kamel Hamroui, who was accused of involvement in the plot, was sentenced to 3 years and 4 months.

Italian prosecutors had previously sought convictions under the law in many other cases, but judges have been reluctant to invoke the law, and suspects had previously been acquitted or sentenced on lesser charges.

Mr. Rafik is wanted in Morocco in connection with a bombing in Casablanca, but Italy has previously refused a request to extradite him.

---

One of four Arab militants recaptured in Afghanistan

One of four Arab al-Qaida militants who escaped from the main U.S. military detention center in Afghanistan was recaptured yesterday, a senior Afghan official said. The man was found hiding in a mosque about two kilometers northwest of the giant U.S. base at Bagram that houses the prison from which the militants escaped early on Monday, said the official, who did not want to be identified. "He was found in the mosque at about 9.30 (local time)," he said. "He was hiding there. The others are still at large."

He said the unindentified Arab was recaptured unhurt in an operation involving the Afghan police Rapid Reaction Force and was handed over to U.S.-led forces.

A spokesman for the U.S. military said he had no information to confirm the report, but was checking it.

The reported arrest came amid a big ground and air operation involving hundreds of U.S. and Afghan troops after the first ever escape from the heavily guarded center deep within Bagram Air Base, the largest U.S. base in Afghanistan. The escape was a major embarrassment for the U.S. military, which invaded Afghanistan in 2001 to overthrow the fundamentalist Taliban government after it refused to hand over Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaida leaders responsible for the September 11 attacks.

The U.S. military said there would be an investigation. "It is a very serious matter for us," Lieutenant-Colonel Jerry O'Hara said when asked if the escapees might have received inside help from guards. "We will carry out an investigation on the issue certainly." He declined to name the men he termed "dangerous enemy combatants," but Afghan officials said they were Syrian Abdullah Hashimi, Kuwaiti Mahmoud Ahmad Mohammad, Saudi Mahmoud Alfatahni and Libyan Mohammad Hassan.

The U.S. military provided Afghan security forces with photographs of the escapees, which showed bearded men in orange prison uniforms whose ages appeared to range from 20 to 40. O'Hara said there had been no U.S. casualties in the escape and he had no reports of violence or any U.S. personnel missing.

Kabir Ahmad, the chief of Bagram district, said he had heard the men may have escaped the base by a car.

Bagram has housed hundreds of militant suspects, including senior al-Qaida members arrested in neighboring Pakistan and elsewhere, since the Taliban's ouster. A U.S. military spokeswoman about 450 were being held there.
 

---

U.S. troops kill 14 insurgents in north, Iraqi soldiers killed in central Iraq (Excerpt)
Robert H. Reid

A family member of Hadi Hasan cries over his body at a morgue in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday. Hasan, an employee of the Ministry of Electricity, was shot and killed Sunday in Baghdad's Dora district. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban
 
BAGHDAD (AP) - U.S. soldiers killed 14 insurgents in two days of fighting in a strategic northern city, the American military said Monday, and gunmen killed 10 Iraqi soldiers in the central Sunni heartland. A hardline Sunni clerical group accused Iraqi government commandos of torturing and killing 10 Sunni Arab civilians in Baghdad, fuelling sectarian tensions between the country's two major religious groups.

Soldiers of the U.S. 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment killed four insurgents in a gunbattle Sunday, and 10 more were killed Monday as fighting raged in Tal Afar, 400 kilometres north of Baghdad, the U.S. command reported. American troops suffered no casualties, the statement said.

---

Afghan army detains 5 suspected Taliban militants
 
    KABUL, July 12 (Xinhuanet) -- Afghan National Army (ANA) has detained five suspected Taliban militants including two commanders in the troubled Urzgan province, Defense Ministry spokesman said Tuesday.

    "Personnel of ANA during a clean-up operation arrested five Taliban militias including their local commanders Mullah Jalil and Mullah Mirajan from Charchino district Saturday," Zahir Azimi told Xinhua.

    Some arms and ammunition including nine Kalashinkoves assault rifles were also recovered from their possession, he added.

    The former Taliban regime's loyalists, who vowed to derail the coming September 18 parliamentary polls, have stepped up their hit-and-run attacks since early spring.

    The militants, in their latest wave of violence, had killed 12 soldiers in the insurgency-plagued Kandahar and Zabul provinces asof Monday, according to their spokesman Mullah Abdul Latif Hakimi.

    Over 400 people including rebels, Afghan and US troops as well as civilians have been killed in Taliban-led militancy since earlythis year. Enditem

---

SAUDI ARABIA: EIGHT TERROR SUSPECTS ARRESTED
 
Riyadh, 11 July (AKI) - Eight terror suspects were arrested on Sunday morning at dawn by the Saudi police in the city of Arar, close to the border with Iraq. The arrests followed a series of raids carried out by the security forces in several areas of the city. The interior ministry spokesman, Mansur al-Turki, was quoted by the Saudi newspaper Al-Watan as saying that police are now interrogating the men to find out if they were linked to terror attacks carried out in the kingdom.

It is thought that at least four of those arrested may be on the list of 36 'most wanted' terror suspects issued by the interior ministry at the end of June.

Al-Qaeda documents show that Arar has always been considered a departure point for Saudi mujahadeen crossing the kingdom's border with Iraq to join the Jihad or holy war there, led by the Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

The latest most wanted list is the third of its kind issued by the Saudi authorities since May 2003. Just days after the new list was issued, the number one, Moroccan national Younis Mohamed al-Hayari, considered al-Qaeda's new leader in Saudi Arabia, was killed in a shootout with the Saudi security forces following a raid. Local newspapers reported last week that the number two on the list, Fahd Faraj Mohammed al-Juwari, is expected to replace him as leader.

---

Philippine army says kills 4 Muslim rebels

MANILA, July 12 (Reuters) - The Philippine military killed four Muslim rebels linked with Jemaah Islamiah militants, an officer said on Tuesday, in a raid on a village where two Indonesian suspects in the Bali bombings may have been hiding.

Lieutenant-General Alberto Braganza, the most senior army commander on the southern island of Mindanao, said helicopter gunships strafed a rebel position in a remote coastal village near Datu Odin Sinsuta town on Monday.

He said Umar Patek and Dulmatin, two Indonesians suspected of involvement in the 2002 Bali bombings that killed at least 200 people, were believed to be hiding in the area along with members of the Philippine group Abu Sayyaf led by Khaddafy Janjalani.

"We're running after the group of Janjalani," said Braganza. "We're pouring in more troops to box in the rebels."

Citing intelligence reports, he said troops were chasing about 30 militants, including some Indonesians, holed up in the coastal area for the last two weeks.

Philippine officials say there are nearly three dozen Indonesian and Malaysian militants hiding and training with some homegrown Muslim rebels on Mindanao.

Indonesian authorities have blamed the al Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiah militant network for the Bali blasts.

---

Battle on for hours as 35 Pak militants sneak across the LoC
MIR EHSAN
 
SRINAGAR, JULY 12 In a major infiltration bid across the Line of Control (LoC) near the Gurez sector, the Army intercepted a group of 35 heavily armed militants.
This is the first major infiltration attempt made by militants since the India-Pakistan peace process began. Sources said this morning 35 militants sneaked into the Indian side of the LoC in Gurez sector. The militants, however, where spotted by the troops of 20 Punjab near Kabuli Gai.

The militants were challenged by the troops and asked to lay down their arms but they retaliated.

Until 10 pm, the encounter was still going on right on the border of Baramulla and Kupwara districts in Gurez. Sources said fresh reinforcements have been sent to the mountains but harsh weather is hampering the operation.

Deputy Inspector General of Police, Baramulla-Kupwara Mohammad Subhan Lone said the encounter was still on. ‘‘All communication links are down as the area is located high in the mountains. So far, we don’t have any information about possible casualties,’’ he said.

Today’s infiltration attempt comes a day after Foreign Minister Natwar Singh had said that militant camps were still active on the other side of LoC. On Sunday, a high-level security rewiew meeting was held, chaired by Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil.
  

---

Seven LeT, JeM militants among 10 killed in J-K

Srinagar, July 11: Seven militants of Pakistan-based Lashker-E-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad, including three top commanders, and an Army jawan were among ten persons killed and seven others injured in separate incidents in Jammu and Kashmir since last night, a police spokesman said today.
In a major success, a self-styled divisional commander of LeT Mohammad Hafiz, alias Shahbaz, was killed in an encounter lasting for four hours during search operations by security forces at Ghodal in Doda district today, the spokesman said.

One AK rifle, three magazines, 10 rounds, a hand-grenade and a wireless set were recovered from the deceased, he said.

Hafiz, a resident of Chitrana village of Doda, was active since 1994 and was wanted in a large number of killings, including those of security personnel and civilians.

Two more LeT militants, including an area commander identified as Akbar alias Abu Rehan, a resident of Sindh in Pakistan, were killed in a gunfight in Gambir Mughlan in rajouri district last night. Two AK rifles, six magazines, 90 rounds, five detonators and a hand-grenade were recovered from them, the spokesman said.

He said a self-styled district commander of JeM, Mominkhan of Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, was killed along with his local associate Mohammad Iqbal Wani in an encounter with security forces, lasting for nearly two hours, at Chhatawach-Shopian village in Pulwama district last night.

Two AK rifles, six magazines, 36 rounds and a radio set were recovered from the slain militants who were involved in looting Rs 35 lakh from Imam Sahib branch of Jammu and Kashmir Bank on November 4 last year, besides other militancy-related incidents, he said.

In another encounter, two Jem militants and a civilian were killed during search operations at Bapura in Bandipora area of Baramulla district last night, the spokesman said and identified the deceased as Pakistani militants Umer Gazali and Hanzulla, alias Hamza Bhai, and civilian Nazir Ahmad Khan. However, a defence spokesman said khan was also amilitant.

The residents of the area took to streets this morning to protest the killing of Khan, claiming that he was not associated with any militant group and was performing duties of Imam at a local mosque.

An Army jawan was killed and three others were injured when militants ambushed a patrol party at Nawapachi area of Doda district last night, official sources said.

The patrol party was attacked when it was returning to the camp after an operation, they said.

The sources said police recovered the body of an unidentified person from the remote Khurihar village in Rajouri district today.

The spokesman said militants hurled a grenade towards the transit camp of security forces at Surankote this morning, but it fell short of the target and exploded on the road, causing minor injuries to three civilians moving near the camp.

He said none of the security personnel were injured in the attack. Militants also targeted a vehicle of the Territorial Army battalion with a grenade in Poonch district town last night but it failed to cause any damage.

He said security forces arrested a militant alongwith two IEDs from Chontipora in Kupwara district today.

---

Terror bust: Hizb man, J&K official held
 
NEW DELHI: Another militant of the terrorist outfit Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, Abdul Majid Bhat (45), was nabbed from the New Delhi Railway station on Monday night -- a direct fallout of the arrest of four militants from near the airport on June 2. They had apparently come to the Capital to execute some major attack in the Palam area. The police have also arrested a deputy director with the J&K government who was getting fake currency into the country through hawala channels for terror groups.

Said joint CP (southern range) B S Bassi: "They were recceing the area around Palam airport. We also found maps and Army combat uniforms from them. It seems they were planning a major operation there."

Acting on a tip-off that Bhat would come to Delhi by Malwa Express, the police laid a trap at the railway station and managed to arrest him from the Paharganj side. He was apparently going to Nepal to arrange for arms and ammunition. Bhat was found carrying a travel bag containing three detonators.

On interrogation, Bhat told the police that he was introduced to the outfit by his brother. "His younger brother Gulam Mohammad Bhat is also an active terrorist of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen and is presently operating from PoK. Till recently, he was the area commander of Pulwama and had asked him to provide secret information about deployment of security agencies like Army and Air Force in exchange for a huge amount of cash in 2002. In June this year, he was asked to procure arms which were sent to Delhi," the joint CP said. Bhat was wanted by the J&K police under the Public Safety Act.

The government official -- Mohammed Qayoom Khan -- was arrested by a Delhi police team from Srinagar. A Masters degree holder in agronomy, Khan was posted as a deputy director with the soil and conservation department of the J&K government.

"Khan was acting as a hawala agent who got fake currency into the country from Kathmandu and Patna for terror groups. Recently, he had arranged Rs 1 crore worth of fake currency for terrorists," the officer added. About Rs 9.5 crore worth of hawala money which was in his account in a J&K bank has also been frozen by the police.

His wife is a doctor and a relative works in the office of the J&K chief minister but the police are ruling out their involvement for now.

The police have recovered arms and ammunition including one AK-47 assault rifle, 2 magazines, 130 live rounds, 15 foreign made grenades, one RCD box, three detonators and a radio set from the accused and from raids conducted at the hideouts of the four terrorists arrested earlier.

On July 2, four terrorists namely Saqib Rehman, Basir Ahmed Shah, Nazir Ahmad Sofi and Hazi Gulam Muhiddin Dar were arrested from near the airport. They were found carrying a map of the Palam air base and an Army combat uniform. 
 

---

Top Lashkar terrorist killed in Kashmir
 
A top terrorist of the Lashkar-e-Taiba outfit was killed in Jammu and Kashmir, in what is being seen as a big success in counter-terrorism operations by the Indian Army.

Troops sighted and engaged the terrorist Hafiz Peer in Ogad in a forested area of Doda district Sunday evening in a gun battle that lasted for more than two hours, army spokesman Col DK Badola said.

Hafiz Peer was said to be involved in several murders and blasts. With his killing, security forces can claim a major victory against terrorists in the region, Col Badola said.
 
(SV-I think trying to blow up a temple might have pissed off the Indians.)

---

Militant killed while meeting reporter

ISRAELI soldiers killed a Palestinian militant as he was meeting a British reporter in the West Bank city of Nablus, witnesses said.

They said soldiers broke into a house where Mohammed Alasi, 24, a local leader of the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, was talking to the reporter. Alasi tried to flee, but soldiers shot him dead and took his body, witnesses said.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment.

The witnesses did not know which news outlet the reporter represented, giving her name only as "Annie".

They said she was being questioned by Israeli forces, and her translator was detained.

The Al Aqsa group is linked to the ruling Fatah party of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Nablus, the largest city in the West Bank, is a main centre of militant activity. Israeli forces carry out frequent raids there.

[Straight Vermonter]

Vacation is over. Back to the round-up!

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

Terrorist Scorecard

The Iraqi "Deck of Cards" Scoreboard

Centcom's New Iraq Scorecard

Saudi Arabia's Most Wanted Scorecard

Saudi Arabia's Most New Wanted Scorecard

[Straight Vermonter]

Ping

[FairOpinion]

Thanks for researching and putting all this info together.

It is very helpful.

Prayers for Matt Maupin and all other brave troops fighting for our freedoms.

[Just A Nobody]

May I please be on your Round-Up ping? Thank you in advance.

[leadpenny]

Welcome back. Glad the sharks didn't get ya.

[Straight Vermonter]

I always swim with slow people.

[leadpenny]

About 20 years ago, while swimming and body surfing with my teenage sons off the coast of SC, I was 'bumped' by something I couldn't see. Once I realized my sons were not near enough to have caused the bump, I had this awful fear come over me. Since then I have not been able to go back in the salt water.

One of those, now not-so-young, sons returned from Zobul Province in April. During the winter he kept saying that intel was showing the Taliban was up to something. Otherwise, it was mostly quiet until the 25th returned to Hawaii. Looks like intel was right.

[csvset]

Here's a pic of the four escapees. Nice looking bunch, eh? One down, three to go.

[PGalt]

I always swim with slow people.

LOL. If your faster but heavier you might be a challenge to some up-and-coming hungry shark.

Thanks for the headline/information. Your new format is Drudge-like. Great job!

[Ben Hecks]

Welcome back - hope you had a great vacation! Thanks for your excellent summary of events.

[Valin]

On a related note

Italy not to reduce troop strength in Iraq
http://www.manoramaonline.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=manorama/MmArticle/FullText&c=MmArticle&cid=1121282050131&p=1002366458817

Washington: Expressing solidarity with the United States in the war against terrorism, Italy has said it would not reduce its troop strength in Iraq.

"Terrorists will not succeed in weakening Italy's determination", Italian Defence Minister Antonio Martino said after a meeting with US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld at the Pentagon.

"Italy will stay in Iraq as long as necessary, not one day more, but certainly not one day less," he said. "The mission will remain the same. The effectiveness will remain the same," Martino said, adding the security situation had improved in Dhi Qar, the province patrolled by the Italian troops. "We refuse to be terrorised," said Martino.

"We would never make any unilateral decision regarding our presence in Iraq. We shall always work in agreement with our allies and with the government of Iraq." Asked about reports that Italy planned to reduce its troop strength in Iraq, Martino explained that Italy has since January planned to replace a brigade of paratroopers numbering 3,300 with an armored brigade of 3,000 troops.

Rumsfeld praised Italy for its "courage and vision in the war against violent extremists". He also expressed support for the people of Great Britain after the July 7 terrorist attacks in London. "The world has been impressed, though I think not surprised, by the British people's gritty resilience. And, needless to say, the United States government is proud to stand with them," he said.

[Coop]

That was like the world's shortest vacation ever! Not that I'm complaining. :-)

US and Afghan forces kill 19 insurgents

...and "experiencing numerous tactical successes." Gotta luv the sound of that!