The Daily Terrorist Round-Up 9/15/05

[Straight Vermonter]

Bombers Kill 150+ in Baghdad


Stay Angry

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Large map of Iraq         Large map of Afghanistan         Large Map of Pakistan         Large Map of the Philippines         Large Map of Kasmir

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Al Qaeda Declines in Northern Iraq, Military Officer Says
by Gerry J. Gilmore

WASHINGTON, Sept. 14, 2005 – Eighty percent of al Qaeda's network in northern Iraq "has been devastated" since January due to the capture or killing of key leaders and the outrage of Iraqi citizens, a U.S. troop commander told Pentagon reporters today.  Army Col. Robert B. Brown, commander of the 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division's Stryker Brigade Combat Team, reported from Mosul, Iraq, during a videoteleconference that things are looking up in northern Iraq, where "the Iraqi army is being rebuilt" and citizens clearly "want freedom."

The situation in Mosul is "improving on a daily basis," Brown said. "Normalcy has come back into the city."  That wasn't the case prior to the Iraqi elections held in January, Brown recalled, when his soldiers "faced a foreign fighter that was very well-trained." However, the situation has changed significantly since then, he said.

Several events caused the decline of terrorist influence in Mosul over the past year by, Brown said. For one, Mosul's citizens, who'd had enough of the murder of innocent women and children by al Qaeda-sponsored terrorists, began supporting their new government after the elections. Carnage wrought by foreign terrorists also has caused Iraqis who used to favor the return of the defunct Saddam Hussein regime to change sides and support the new Iraqi government, Brown said.

Today, Mosul's citizens routinely identify insurgents and provide other information to U.S., coalition and Iraqi security forces, Brown said.

"People are fed up with the terrorists' acts," the colonel said, noting that Iraqis "want a brighter future."

Many key al Qaeda leaders in Iraq have been captured or killed in recent months, Brown said, affecting terrorist operations. Brown said enemy mortar attacks in his area have decreased to about six a month, compared to around 300 monthly prior to the January elections.  And "we have not seen well-trained foreign fighters" since the elections, Brown said. Foreign terrorists captured these days are poorly trained and "very young," he noted, ranging in age from 15 to 17 years old.

Al Qaeda is "clearly our biggest threat" in Iraq, Brown said. Of 550 terrorists killed during U.S.-coalition operations in northern Iraq during February and March, he estimated between 60 percent and 70 percent of enemy casualties were foreign fighters.

Brown said he's very proud of his hard-working soldiers. The brigade's victories against terrorists haven't come without cost, he noted, with 33 having lost their lives in Iraq over the past 11 months. However, the brigade's trademark vehicle has "saved hundreds of my soldiers' lives," Brown asserted. He said 115 rocket-propelled-grenade rounds, as well as myriad machine-gun bullets, have failed to penetrate the Stryker's tough skin during his brigade's tour in Iraq.

The Stryker has "done a fantastic job here in Iraq," Brown said.  

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Unsafe Havens
By Bill Roggio

While mop-up operations continue in Tal Afar, Coalition forces continue to keep al Qaeda off balance on the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers. Last night a raid was conducted in Haditha, where an al Qaeda aide was arrested and an airstrike was called in to destroy an enemy vehicle. Four of his associates were subsequently killed in the attack.

Several Days ago, al Qaeda’s Emir in Mosul, Abu Zayd, was killed. Zayd succeeded Mosul Commanders Abu Talha (former leader of Ansar al-Islam, captured) and Abu Zubayr (killed). Zayd also was the author of a scathing letter to Zarqawi, where he lamented the morale and living conditions of the terrorists in Mosul, and the notable decrease in the effectiveness of attacks in the city. He scolded the leadership for failing to provide proper equipment and squandering resources. His most telling and prophetic quote is as follows; “the fall of Mosul in the hands of the mujahedeen is possible, and because it relieves the pressure off the other cities such as al-Qaim, Tal Afar.” Success in Mosul has certainly led to the fall of Tal Afar. We’ll wait to see if he is correct about Qaim; we suspect he is.

In Ramadi, two more terrorist commanders are captured - Sheik Ammar, the leader of the Numan Brigade, and Sheik Sayf, one of Ammar’s cell leaders. In Saqlawiyah, a town west of Fallujah, nine terrorists are captured. In the Qaim region, we witnessed the removal of Abu Mohammad, Abu Ali and Abu Islam, all dangerous and known al facilitators and commanders, along with hundreds of al Qaeda foot soldiers.

The insurgents have changed their tactics and no longer attempt to fortify cities and towns to resist Coalition assaults, as they did in Fallujah last fall and Qaim this spring. This was first noted at the end of Operation Quick Strike in Haditha, and the assault on Tal Afar has also shown paucity in enemy fortifications.

More..

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Pakistan 'destroys al-Qaeda base' 
 
The Pakistani army says it has destroyed a major al-Qaeda hideout in its biggest ever operation in the North Waziristan tribal region.  The military says it has arrested more than 20 suspected militants near the Afghan border and seized a Chinese-made spy plane used to track army movements.  The army says the operation, involving helicopter gunships and thousands of troops, is still going on.

Some of the men arrested were described as "important figures". Some were said to be foreigners, although no more information was given on who they were or where they had come from.

Communications gear

The commander in charge of the operation said sophisticated equipment had been seized, including a small, Chinese-made remote controlled drone, which he said had been used by the militants to spy on army movements and positions in the area. The drone is thought the first of its kind found in Pakistan

The drone was shown to the media along with communications equipment which the army said had been used to give instructions to fighters in Afghanistan. An officer from the Signal Corps said the drone, believed to be the first of its kind found in Pakistan, was equipped with a sophisticated, wide-angle camera.

The BBC's Jannat Jalil in Islamabad says the Pakistani army is heralding its operation as another sign it has al-Qaeda on the run. The operation comes as President Pervez Musharraf, on a visit to the United States, says Pakistan is winning the war on terrorism.

He has been under pressure to show the army is also committed to rooting out Taleban fighters who might be using Pakistan as a base to launch attacks on Afghanistan. The Afghan government has repeatedly accused Pakistan of not doing enough to stop the Taleban from carrying out cross-border raids. Pakistan denies this and says it has boosted the tens of thousands of troops it already has on the border to stop militants disrupting Sunday's elections in Afghanistan.

It is thought al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden might be in the tribal area but he has not been traced in three years of military operations by Pakistan.

(In other news...Pakistan's South Waziristan is said to be in the control of the Taliban.)

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Guerrilla close to Maskhadov's successor killed in Chechnya

Five militants, including Shamil- Khadzhi Muskiyev, a guerrilla close to the alleged successor to late Chechen separatist leader Aslan Maskhadov, were killed in the town of Argun, Chechnya's First Deputy Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov told Interfax on Wednesday.

"An armed clash erupted between law enforcement officers and illegal armed group members in the town of Argun. Shamil-Khadzhi Muskiyev, Maskhadov's deputy successor, was killed. Another four guerrillas were eliminated as well," he said.

Kadyrov described Muskiyev as "the main ideologist of illegal armed groups and [Maskhadov's successor Abdul-Khalim] Saidullayev's right hand." The official also accused the guerrilla of involvement in the murder of nearly 90 people in the village of Tsatsan-Yurt in the Kurchaloi district.

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Bomb explosion prevented in Chechnya

MOSCOW. Sept 14 (Interfax) - An improvised remote-controlled bomb has been discovered and destroyed on the outskirts of the village of Tsa-Vedeno in Chechnya's Vedeno district, a source in the Chechen law enforcement agencies told Interfax on Wednesday.

The source also said that a woman residing in the village of Stariye Atagi informed the police on September 13 that her son was kidnapped from her home early on September 10 by ten unidentified abductors wearing camouflage.

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Six Hizb terrorists arrested in J&K

Security forces arrested six Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists, from Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir in two separate raids, official sources said on Tuesday.

Acting on a tip off, the troops arrested five Hizbul terrorists who used to ferry arms and gather information for the outfit from the Gandoh area of Doda district on Monday night. They were identified as Majid Hussain, Mukhtar Ahmed Dulla, Gulam Hassan and Mohammad Rafiq from Shatru area.

Troops also arrested a Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist identified as Makhan Din from Palmar area of Kishtwar tehsil in Doda district early on Tuesday and recovered from him a wireless set and a pistol, they said.

On the information provided by the arrested Makhan Din, police recovered an assortment of ammunition from Billawar area of Kathua district, sources said.
 

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Bangladesh police detain more bomb suspects
 
DHAKA, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Bangladesh police have detained 15 more people over last month's spate of bombings, including a brother of the suspected mastermind, a police officer said on Wednesday.  About 250 people have so far been arrested over the Aug. 17 bombings which killed two people and wounded about 100.

Shayek Abdur Rahman, leader of the banned Islamic militant group Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen which has been blamed for the blasts, remains at large. His brother Moulana Obaidur Rahman was detained in northern Jamalpur district on Monday, a police officer said adding they there looking for another brother, also believed to be involved in the attacks.

No one has claimed responsibility for some 500 small explosions on Aug. 17, but leaflets found at most of the bomb sites contained a call by the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen for the introduction of Islamic rule in Bangladesh.

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(Filipino) Marines raid Abu Sayyaf armory
By Bong Garcia Jr

Philippine Marine soldiers raided Tuesday morning an Abu Sayyaf hideout, believed to be an armory, and recovered high-powered firearms, ammunition and a motor boat in the hinterlands of Sulu. Marines spokesman, Capt. Rommel Abrau, said there was no gunbattle that ensued during the raid as the Abu Sayyaf reportedly detected the incoming raiders and fled in different directions.

The raiding team recovered a caliber .50 machinegun, an M-60 machinegun, an M-14 rifle, four boxes of ammunition for a caliber .50 machinegun and a motor boat with five outboard engines of 250 horsepower each. “The speedboat could outrun any Philippine Navy gunboat,” Abrau said, quoting 3rd Marine Brigade chief Col. Juancho Sabban as saying.

The raid was carried out following an intelligence report about the presence of an Abu Sayyaf armory in Pandan-Pandan, he said.

Abrau said raid was carried out by the 3rd Marine Brigade, at around 4:35 am in Barangay Pandan-Pandan, Kalingalang Kaluang town.

The Abu Sayyaf have tagged responsible in the series of kidnappings and bombings in the past years, including several bombings in Zamboanga City. Its chief, Khadafy Janjalani and some followers, were hiding in the hinterlands of Talayan, Maguindanao and were being pursued by troops from the Army’s 6th Infantry Division.

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 Three militants killed in Indian Kashmir

Three suspected militants were killed in a clash with soldiers in Indian Kashmir on Wednesday when they tried to sneak across from the Pakistani part of the troubled region, an army spokesman said. "A large group of militants were trying to sneak in and so far three have been shot. The encounter began early morning and is still on," Lieutenant-Colonel R.K. Chibber told Reuters.

The infiltration bid came hours before Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was to meet Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf in New York on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly session. Both leaders will try to push forward a peace process that centres on a decades-old dispute over Kashmir, which both claim in full.  In particular, India wants Pakistan to do more to stop militants slipping across the ceasefire line into India's portion of Kashmir.

Before his meeting with Musharraf, Singh reiterated New Delhi's concerns when he told U.S. President George W. Bush Pakistan still controls rebel incursions in Kashmir, the Press Trust of India said.  "This must stop for any real progress to be made in the peace process," Singh said.

In a separate statement, Pakistani Foreign Minister Khursheed Mehmood Kasuri said the New York meeting would set the tone for the peace process.  "The time has come for this issue (Kashmir) to be solved," Kasuri told Indian television channel Aaj Tak. "This moment should not be allowed to go. It's a very good occasion, a very unusual moment ... The success of the third round (of dialogue) depends on this meeting."

The two countries have held two rounds of peace talks since January 2004 and the third is expected in a few months. The nuclear-armed neighbours have fought two of their three wars over the northern Himalayan region where a revolt against Indian rule has killed tens of thousands of people since 1989.

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Coalition Forces detain known terrorist in Haditha

Baghdad , Iraq -- Coalition Forces captured a known terrorist during a raid in Haditha Sept. 13 at approximately 2:30 a.m.  The terrorist, known to have connections with senior leaders of al-Qaida in Iraq, was captured at a safe house without incident.

During the operation, terrorists associated with the detainee converged on the safe house. Coalition Forces engaged the terrorists and called in close air support. Coalition aircraft destroyed one of the vehicles being used by one of the terrorists.   Four Terrorists were killed during the engagements.

There were no Coalition Forces casualties.

Source: Multi-National Force-Iraq

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Five held with explosive-laden cameras
Aziz Zahid

Security officials claimed arresting five people, including three foreigners along with explosives hidden in their cameras.

Speaking to Pajhwok Afghan News, press officer of the Defence Ministry said the arrest was made in the Khogiani district of the eastern Nangarhar province on Wednesday.  Declining to divulge identities of the arrested people, the official said some remote-controlled bombs had also been recovered from their possession. He said they were under investigations.

The incident came at a time when a number of foreign journalists are crossing into Afghanistan to cover the landmark parliamentary elections scheduled for September 18.

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Two terrorists killed emplacing IED

Task Force Liberty Soldiers killed two terrorists who were trying to emplace an improvised explosive device in Samarra at about 2:30 p.m. Sept. 12.

One terrorist was engaged and killed emplacing the IED, and the second was killed trying to approach the IED.

Task Force Liberty Soldiers secured the site and destroyed the IED.

Source : CPIC - Iraq

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Iraqi, U.S. Soldiers take down possible terrorist cell

By  Staff Sgt. Kevin Bromley 3/1 AD PAO
 

Soldiers of the 1st Brigade, 9th Mechanized Iraqi Army Division were returning from a patrol in the pre-dawn hours of Sept. 11 when they were attacked by terrorists using a roadside bomb.

The Iraqi Soldiers noticed suspicious visual signals coming from a nearby house. Soldiers of 1st Battalion, 13th Armored Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 1st Armored Division were dispatched to help cordon the area and search the house.

The Iraqi and U.S. Soldiers questioned several military-aged men in the home and found three AK-47 rifles, 200 rounds of ammunition, Anti-Iraqi Forces propaganda and a possible bomb-triggering device.

The 13 suspected terrorists were detained for further questioning..

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U.S. Soldiers find weapons cache, nab 3 terrorists

Soldiers from D Company, 3rd Battalion, 172nd Infantry Regiment, Rhode Island National Guard found bomb-making materials and mortar aiming stakes in a house northwest of Baghdad on Sept. 8. The troops detained three male suspects at the house and confiscated terrorist propaganda, two expended rocket casings, two timers and the aiming stakes. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Adam Durocher, 3rd Bn., 172nd Infantry Regiment)

By Spc. Matthew Wester 3/1 AD PAO

Task Force Baghdad Soldiers found bomb-making materials and mortar aiming stakes in a house they searched northwest of Baghdad on Sept. 8.

The Soldiers from the Rhode Island National Guard’s D Company, 3rd Battalion, 172nd Infantry Regiment, detained three male suspects at the house and confiscated terrorist propaganda, two expended rocket casings, two timers and the aiming stakes.

"We did a three-patrol raid on a suspected Anti-Iraqi Forces meeting location and it was a complete success," said Capt. William H. Tuttle IV, D Company commander from Warwick, R.I. "Speed and surprise were our best attributes."

Tuttle said the building was secured in just a few minutes and all his men worked together well to get the mission accomplished.

D Co. performs similar missions on a daily basis in their area of operations, Tuttle said, adding that his men are becoming very proficient at achieving their objectives.

"I'm very proud of my Soldiers and the work they do. They put themselves in harm's way every time they go outside the wire," he said. "Their competence on battle drills is tied in with their confidence, and allows them to be successful to during multi-faceted operations."

 

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Two suspected militants arrested in Lahore

Police raided a house in Lahore early on Monday, seizing explosives and literature about jihad and arresting two members of outlawed Islamic militant groups, an official said.

The men were arrested in the early morning raid on a Walton Road neighbourhood, senior police investigator Chaudhry Shafqaat Ahmed said. In a search of the house, police seized 2 kilogrammes of explosives, detonators, compact discs and audio cassettes about jihad, Ahmed said, adding that the raid was carried out on information from the interrogation of three militants arrested in raids last week in Lahore.

Ahmed did not name the group to which the men — identified as Mubashir Ishaq and Rana Javed — are suspected of having links. Another police official said on condition of anonymity that the two men belong to Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and Jaish-e-Muhammad.

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6 Hizb miltants held in J&K

Security forces arrested six Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists from Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir in two separate raids, officials sources said on Tuesday.

Acting on a tip-off, the troops arrested five Hizbul militants who used to ferry arms and gather information for the outfit from the Gandoh area of Doda district�on Monday�night.

They were identified as Majid Hussain, Mukhtar Ahmed Dulla, Gulam Hassan and Mohammad Rafiq from Shatru area. Troops also arrested a Hizbul Mujahideen militant identified as Makhan Din from Palmar area of Kishtwar tehsil in Doda district early�on Tuesday�and recovered from him a wireless set and a pistol, they said.

On the information provided by the arrested Makhan Din, police recovered an assortment of ammunition from Billawar area of Kathua district, sources said.

[Straight Vermonter]

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The Round-up Blog

A million thanks to all of you who ping me to the great articles so that I can post them here.

[Straight Vermonter]

Ping

[endthematrix]

"Security officials claimed arresting five people, including three foreigners along with explosives hidden in their cameras."

SMILE! Just the MSM networks up to tricks again...move along!

[Cap Huff]

Thanks, as always, for the ping.

Regarding the first item, it is worth going to the press conference transcript here:

http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/2005/tr20050914-3903.html

There is a lot of additional information there, like the information that we've got sources inside al-Qaeda Iraq feeding information to our guys! Evidently AQ knows it, so the colonel had no problem discussing it. Catch this quote:

"But the interesting thing is that it gives us a great feel for what the insurgents are doing, what their plans are. They also know that we have sources, and it causes them to be very disruptive. They don't trust anybody within their organization, and they shouldn't because some of these sources have moved up to pretty high-level positions, and it helps us quite a bit."


Also, many of the foreign fighters today are inexperienced, and estimated to be about 15-17 years old. The colonel makes it clear that in his opinion, AQ in the north of Iraq is unravelling.

[Straight Vermonter]

It is worth remembering that the Afghan hero Ahmed Shah Masood was killed by suicide bombers posing as journalists. They too had explosives hidden in their cameras.

[Straight Vermonter]

many of the foreign fighters today are inexperienced

The MSM loves to talk about how easy it is to replace people in AQ. They always talk about the new generation and how Iraq is a better training ground than Afghanistan was.

Bull.

These guys are getting rudimentary training at best. Those with know how are being captured/killed far faster than they are able to pass this knowledge on.

A secondary item to consider is that we have recently killed a couple of "envoys" and financiers. These are the guys how go to the money men in Saudi etc and ask for money for the "holy warriors". This is a very personal business. People don't give large sums to people they don't know. By killing the contacts the pipeline between money men and the terrorists can be kinked if not cut.

[wildcatf4f3]

2 words---no prisoners

[Khurkris]

Thank you SV.

[Cap Huff]

RE: AQ Leadership

From the Col. Brown conference:

"The leadership is severely disrupted. We captured Abu Talha, the number-two al Qaeda leader in the north of Iraq. And right after that we got Abu Bara, Madhi Musa (sp), Abu Zab (sp), the next six leaders that would step up and take over. Nobody's taken over now. It's not a very popular position because if they step up, they get captured or killed."

I think one or two of the guys mentioned may have been what has recently been called a "facilitator" or "terror consultant."

I think also about all the jokes and cynical comments we've waded through in the last year or so about "another Zarqawi lieutenant" being eliminated, but this man's on the scene comments show that real progress has been made. Not a joking matter, but something to be happy about.

[PGalt]

He said 115 rocket-propelled-grenade rounds, as well as myriad machine-gun bullets, have failed to penetrate the Stryker's tough skin during his brigade's tour in Iraq.

Yeah!

Thanks

[Coop]

Quagmire ping.

Many key al Qaeda leaders in Iraq have been captured or killed in recent months, Brown said, affecting terrorist operations. Brown said enemy mortar attacks in his area have decreased to about six a month, compared to around 300 monthly prior to the January elections. And "we have not seen well-trained foreign fighters" since the elections, Brown said. Foreign terrorists captured these days are poorly trained and "very young," he noted, ranging in age from 15 to 17 years old.

Stuff you likely won't see on tonight's evening news...

A crisp salute to all our coalition forces, as well as Iraqi citizens risking their lives, making the world a safer place.

[Coop]

Geez, the level of success in this conglomeration of reports is nothing short of stunning! Good work putting it all together and posting.

Should have added this portion to my earlier post on Mosul:

Zayd also was the author of a scathing letter to Zarqawi, where he lamented the morale and living conditions of the terrorists in Mosul, and the notable decrease in the effectiveness of attacks... His most telling and prophetic quote... “the fall of Mosul in the hands of the mujahedeen is possible, and because it relieves the pressure off the other cities such as al-Qaim, Tal Afar.”

Success in Mosul has certainly led to the fall of Tal Afar. We’ll wait to see if he is correct about Qaim; we suspect he is.

[Cap Huff]

If you haven't read the transcript of Col. Brown's remarks it is well, well worth it. I linked it here:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1484861/posts?page=4#4

That's where he openly comments about having sources in AQ, and how AQ knows that fact and has to constantly guard their backsides. An incredibly candid press conference.

[Coop]

Fantastic transcript, thank you. I've bookmarked it for future reference. It really deserves a thread of its own, or at least more exposure. Maybe we can convince the mods to bump this one up.

[StarCMC]

Salutes, Oorahs and Hooahs up indeed! Out troops ROCK!

[Coop]

Folks, for a superb update on Mosul operations today and compared to last year, take a few minutes and read this transcript. It's well worth your time.

http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/2005/tr20050914-3903.html

Also take a few moments to browse the collection of articles making up StraightVermonter's thread. The level of success in the GWOT reflected in these articles is simply stunning!

God bless our troops!

[csvset]

The commander in charge of the operation said sophisticated equipment had been seized, including a small, Chinese-made remote controlled drone, which he said had been used by the militants to spy on army movements and positions in the area. The drone is thought the first of its kind found in Pakistan

Interesting that they're using drones.

[Coop]

Bump for some wonderful news!

[Grampa Dave]

Pinging the good news on the WOT that the mediots never tell us about.

[ohioWfan]

WOW! Just WOW!

Would you please add me to your ping list, SV?

I heard the report about 80% percent destruction of alQaeda yesterday, but this collection of fact-laden articles is phenomenal! THANK you!

Our troops are nothing short of AMAZING!!