Terrorist Round-Up for Nov. 26, 2005 (700 terrorists killed, 1500 captured last 2 months)

[Straight Vermonter]

 Be Thankful

More info below

Our Japanese Allies	Our British Allies	Our South Korean Allies	Our Italian Allies
Our Polish Allies		Our Aussie Allies

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Al-Qaida Devastated by U.S. Offensive

The U.S. military's recent offensive in western Iraq has had a devastating impact on the al-Qaida-backed insurgency, with coalition forces killing over 700 terrorists and capturing 1,500 in the last two months alone.

"It's been very successful," Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch told a briefing in Baghdad on Wednesday, referring to a series of security offensives conducted by U.S. and Iraq forces in Anbar province since September 28.

Though media reports suggest recent U.S. casualties are due to deteriorating security conditions in Iraq as a whole, most were incurred during the new offensive - dubbed "Operation Steel Curtain."

In quotes picked up by Reuters, Gen. Lynch noted that despite the heavy combat, U.S. troop casualties had fallen more than 30 percent in November compared with last month. During the November 2004 assault on Fallujah, the monthly casualty rate was nearly twice what it is now.

The Anbar operations, and others in the northern Iraq city of Mosul, have been focused on foreign fighters and militants linked to al-Qaida's chief of operations in Iraq, Abu Musab al Zarqawi, Gen. Lynch said.

Noting that Zarqawi was nearly captured last week, Gen. Lynch said the close call was a result of the terror group's deteriorating position in the country.

"We come close to Zarqawi continuously," the top military man explained, adding, "At one point in time in the not too distant future, we will capture or kill him."

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More than 20 arrested as Operation Lions wraps up
By Joseph Giordono

Nearly 500 Iraqi and U.S. soldiers wrapped up Operation Lions on Thanksgiving, finishing the latest in a series of operations on the edges of Ramadi.

More than 20 suspected insurgents were arrested during the two-day sweep through the capital of Anbar province, military officials said late Thursday. The U.S. soldiers are part of a contingent attached to the 2nd Marine Division west of Baghdad.

Lions, or Asad in Arabic, targeted the Tamim area of Ramadi, which has long been an insurgent stronghold. U.S. officials have said that attacks in the city of 400,000 have decreased by 60 percent in the past several weeks, which they attribute to a series of clearing operations in anticipation of the Dec. 15 elections.

The operation is the third “disruption operation” targeting al-Qaida in Iraq fighters and seeking to “deny them the ability to influence the Iraqi people” there. “Operation Panthers and Bruins denied AQI terrorists the ability to operate in northern Ramadi,” read a Marine Corps press release.

Voter turnout in Ramadi was sparse in both the January and October votes. That was in part due to security concerns and in part due to a Sunni-led boycott of the vote. But, with a constitution approved by Iraqi voters and a government to be elected on Dec. 15, many Sunni leaders have urged their people to vote this time.

U.S. officials say the recent operations are designed to encourage Ramadi residents to go to the polls next month.

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Jaysh al-Mujahideen terrorist lieutenant and propaganda chief captured

Acting on multiple intelligence sources and tips from concerned citizens, Coalition forces raided a suspected Jaysh al-Mujahideen terrorist safe house in Abu Ghurayb, west of Baghdad, Oct. 23.

Captured during the raid was Ahmad Ni’mah Khudayyir Abbas (aka. Abu Shihab), a recently identified Jaysh al-Mujahideen lieutenant who oversaw the propaganda cell and who commanded several mortar and improvised explosive device cells.

Abu Shihab, as the propaganda chief for the Jaysh al-Mujahideen media cell operating in the Baghdad area, initially recorded videos and digitized them to compact disc for distribution to various Jaysh al-Mujahideen and al Qaeda in Iraq terrorist groups. These videos would then be downloaded to various Jihadist web sites as propaganda against Iraqi security and coalition forces.

Additionally, the videos would be used to recruit terrorists and foreign fighters, as well as to provide information on potential targets for other terrorists. As his skills and terrorist connections developed, he began directing and coordinating media operations throughout the Baghdad area for Jaysh al-Mujahideen.

Abu Shihab’s multi-media and organizational skills propelled him to the highest tier within Jaysh al-Mujahideen. Once he became a lieutenant to the Emir of Jaysh al-Mujahideen, he assumed responsibility for a myriad of terrorist duties. Besides overseeing Jaysh al-Mujahideen media operations, Abu Shihab was responsible for the coordination of weapons, explosive purchases and the distribution of money to different terrorist cells, as well as the official record keeping of the organization’s terrorist activities.

Abu Shihab was also in command of several terrorist cells in the Baghdad area, specifically mortar and IED cells. He admitted to conducting numerous bombings and mortar attacks against Iraqi security and coalition forces.

Abu Shihab admitted to being involved in the swindling of money from Iraqi citizens. He, as well as other Jaysh al-Mujahideen terrorists, would represent a local Baghdad charity they set up specifically to funnel donations to Jaysh al-Mujahideen.

One method of garnering donations from local citizens, according to Abu Shihab, was to stage pictures with children and young adults highlighting the "charity’s" name and logo in the background. The pictures would be shown to the Iraqis to solicit money supposedly in support of youth education and religious study; these donations would then be used to support terrorist operations in the Baghdad area.

The Jaysh al-Mujahideen terrorist organization, which is centrally controlled in Baghdad, also has terrorist cells in major cities in Iraq, to include Mosul, Fallujah, Ramadi; Jaysh al-Mujahideen is associated with al Qaeda in Iraq.

Source : MULTI-NATIONAL FORCE-IRAQ  COMBINED PRESS INFORMATION CENTER BAGHDAD, Iraq
 

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Russia claims top Chechen rebel has surrendered days before Chechnya vote

Russian media has reported the surrender of a Chechen rebel commander described as prominent, days before Kremlin-organized local parliamentary elections are held in Chechnya, but sources in the rebel republic said the commander had long stopped fighting.

'One of the most influential among rebel leaders, Khizir Khachukayev, today in the Chechen republic voluntarily surrendered himself to the authorities to benefit from an amnesty,' state-controled Channel One television said.

It then proceeded to show Khachukayev, in front of Moscow's television tower, laboriously reading a prepared statement announcing the dismemberment of his combat unit.

However, sources in Chechnya told Agence France-Presse that while Khachukayev had been active on the rebel side in the first, 1994-1996 Chechen war, he had taken no part in the second conflict, which has been going on since October 1999.

The Russian authorities are organizing local parliamentary elections in Chechnya Sunday, in a bid to show that the war-torn republic is returning to a normal life.

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Government cheers conviction in al-Qaida aid trial
By LARRY NEUMEISTER

The government Friday praised the conviction of a young Pakistani man on charges that he wanted to help an al-Qaida operative sneak into the United States and carry out a terrorist attack.

Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales called the conviction of Uzair Paracha, 25, "an important step as we seek to cut off the lifeline of support to al-Qaida and other terrorist organizations, here and abroad."
Gonzales added in a statement that the administration of President Bush "will continue to use all available tools, including the criminal justice system, to deter terrorists from drawing their support from within our nation's borders."

U.S. Attorney Michael Garcia said in the same statement that the conviction was "another victory in the global fight against terrorism."

<snip>

Paracha was convicted Wednesday of trying to help al-Qaida member Majid Khan, a former Baltimore resident, sneak back into the United States to carry out a chemical attack.

His confession to FBI agents was the centerpiece of the government's evidence in the two-week-long trial in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.

(More..)

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Iraqi aide: Some insurgents want to talk

An aide to Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said insurgent groups have asked to become involved in the political process.

Lt. Gen. Wafiq al-Samarraie told the New York Times the people he has talked to are former Baathists but appear to have no continuing loyalty to Saddam Hussein. Samarraie refused to say which groups are involved, how many there are or what they want in return.

(More..)

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INSURGENT DEATH TOLL (Killed by Brits)

SOME 261 insurgents have been killed by British forces in Iraq since June 2003.

Adam Ingram, replying to a parliamentary question, also revealed that a further 141 had been wounded.

But the Armed Forces Minister said the figures were "not an accurate estimate".

Ingram added: "There is no way of checking since UK forces do not risk their own lives to ascertain how many casualties they have caused hostile forces."

It also emerged that 10 soldiers are under investigation over incidents where Iraqis have allegedly been killed or injured, but there have been no charges as yet.

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al-Qaida conviction in Belfast
By Lisa Smyth

The documents that helped to convict Northern Ireland's first terrorist with al-Qaida links were discovered accidentally during a combined police and immigration operation.

Abbas Boutrab, not his real name, was yesterday found guilty of downloading information on how to blow up a passenger jet and possession of a number of stolen passports. He will be sentenced next month.

The man who headed up the investigation, Detective Superintendent Esmond Adair, revealed that police are still unaware of the true identity of Boutrab, but added that they are aware of at least 10 identities under which he has operated.

Outlining Boutrab's movements before he came to Northern Ireland, where he was finally arrested in Newtownabbey over suspected immigration offences, DS Adair revealed that Boutrab had lived in France and the Netherlands, where he unsuccessfully applied for asylum twice, before arriving in the Republic.

During this time, Boutrab came to the attention of Gardai, who wanted to speak to him in connection with an attempted murder in the Dublin area in 2002 in which a man was seriously injured in a knife attack.

Welcoming the conviction, DS Adair said it was the result of a "long and complicated intelligence-led investigation" by the PSNI, security service, FBI and other police forces throughout the world.

(More..)

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Saudis hold Afghans for al-Qaida ties

Saudi authorities arrested several Afghans for distributing leaflets promoting Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network.

Daily al-Watan quoted security sources as saying Friday that police in the city of Taif, in western Saudi Arabia, arrested several Afghans for possessing leaflets, compact discs and cellular phones containing messages that praise and promote al-Qaida leader.

(More..)

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US soldiers join anti-Abu Sayyaf operation in Philippines: report
 

OV-10 "Bronco"

Four US soldiers have joined the anti-Abu Sayyaf operation in Indanan, Sulu, the local newspaper Philippine Daily Inquirer reported on its website Friday.

The report quoted a Jolo official, Councilor Cocoy Tulawie, as saying that the four US servicemen were seen in a village in Indanan town by one of his staff on Thursday.

Philippine military aircraft Thursday pounded on a suspected camp of Abu Sayyaf rebels who had been fighting government forces in Indanan for two weeks, killing an unspecified number of rebels.

Brigadier General Alexander Aleo, commander of the Task Force Comet, said in a telephone interview with Xinhua that two OV-10 planes dropped at least four bombs Thursday evening on the suspected camp located in Mt. Tumatangis in Indanan.

At least four government soldiers and 20 to 25 rebels have been killed in the two weeks' fighting in Sulu.

US embassy spokesman Matthew Lussenhop on Thursday dismissed as "absolutely not true" reports that American soldiers are taking part in combat operations in Mindanaos.

He said the more than 100 US soldiers are in the southern Philippines merely "to advise, assist, train, and share information with" Philippine troops.

The Visiting Forces Agreement, a military accord signed by the United States and the Philippines, does not allow for direct participation of US troops in field combat.

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Al Qaeda finance and forgery gang broken up
By ALFONSO TORRES
 
An Islamic gang linked to Al Qaeda was broken up by Civil Guards in a simultaneous operation in three Spanish provinces on Wednesday. The group allegedly supplied funds and false documents to terrorist cells belonging to the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), close associates of Osama bin Laden in North Africa and Europe, said the Minister of the Interior, José Antonio Alonso.

The operation, carried out during the night and on Wednesday morning, resulted in eight arrests in the province of Alicante (in Torrevieja), two in Granada and one in Murcia. Searches were made in ten private homes and businesses - at least two telephone call centres and a mechanical workshop - belonging to suspects in the three provinces.

The Ministry of the Interior said that Civil Guards had seized, among other things, a kilo of cocaine and 35,000 euros in cash, the profits, according to sources involved in the investigation, from drug trafficking operations, robbery and the forgery of bank cards. This was how, said the sources, some of those under arrest obtained funds that were then handed over to terrorist cells. A large amount of documentation was also discovered during the searches, as well as bank cards and the material for forging them.

The investigators consider that the cell was in charge of financing and logistics for GSPC, a radical branch of the Algerian Armed Islamic Group (GIA), and sent documents to the latter in Algeria to facilitate the entry of members into Europe and their movement from one country to another within the continent. GSPC is the Al Qaeda associate with the greatest presence in Europe, along with the GIA, the alleged instigator of the March 11th attacks in Madrid last year.

Five other countries

Civil Guards suspect that the gang arrested forms part of a group that exists further afield, at an international level. Data have, therefore, been passed on to five other countries - Germany, Holland, the U.K., Belgium and Denmark - about links between the people under arrest and North Africans living in these countries so that it can be established whether they form part of the same Islamic network.

The Minister of the Interior said that nothing made the forces of law and order suspect that the group arrested were “planning a terrorist attack in the short or medium term in Spain”. He explained that the arrests constituted a preventative measure against the real threat of Islamic terrorism, in order to “cut off” these infrastructure groups “at the root” and thus to prevent them from maturing and developing into operative terrorist cells.

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Jemaah Islamiyah planned to bomb Bali memorial service: report

Southeast Asian extremist network Jemaah Islamiyah planned to bomb a memorial service in Indonesia for those killed in the 2002 Bali attacks but was deterred by high security, a report said.

The Islamic militants instead chose to attack tourist spots on the Indonesian resort island two weeks ahead of the anniversary, carrying out three suicide bombings on restaurants popular with westerners on October 1 and killing 23 people, the Australian newspaper said.

Citing intelligence sources in Indonesia, the paper said that master bomb-maker Azahari Husin had planned on placing a suicide bomber at the October 12 Bali memorial in Kuta.

But the attack was cancelled because of the high level of security at the event attended by Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, Justice Minister Chris Ellison, Bali police chief Chief I Made Mangku Pastika and relatives and friends of those killed in the blasts.

Indonesian police have worked closely with their Australian counterparts since the 2002 bombings of a Bali nightclub strip in which 202 people were killed, including 88 Australians.

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American terrorism expert denied entry into Indonesia

An American terrorism expert has been denied entry into Indonesia for a second time, for undisclosed reasons, officials said Friday.

Sidney Jones, director for the Brussels-based International Crisis Group in Jakarta, was denied entry Thursday when she arrived at Jakarta airport, the officials said. Immigration officials showed her an official letter that bars her from entering the country, the officials said. In June 2004, Jones was expelled from Indonesia following her report about Jemaah Islamiyah.

(These last two articles make an interesting juxtaposistion. Indonesia seems to be trying to both fight and appease the terrorists as the Saudis did in the 90s.  It failed for the Saudis and it will fail for the Indonesians.)

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Two killed, Jaish militant among four arrested in J and K
 
Two people, including a girl, were killed while security forces arrested four militants, including a Pakistan based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) activist in the Jammu and Kashmir overnight, an official spokesman said.

He said militant shot at and wounded one Mohammad Rafiq at Handwara in the frontier district of Kupwara last night. He was admitted to the hospital where he died.

A girl, who was injured in a grenade blast in the house of one Abdul Hameed on November 23 night at Phagla, died in the hospital this morning. With this, the toll in the incident has risen to two.

He said security forces arrested a JeM militant at Pulwama while three other militants were nabbed at Ganderbal and Handwara alongwith some arms and ammunition.

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Alleged Jaish conduit arrested
By Devesh K. Pandey

An alleged conduit of extremist outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad has been arrested by the Special Cell of Delhi Police.

He was part of the network that provided support to those involved in the Ayodhya attack in July.

He has been identified as Amir Ali, a resident of Chaubees Pargana in West Bengal. He was arrested from his West Bengal hideout at the instance of Abdul Baqi, another alleged JeM conduit arrested in November.

During interrogation, Amir allegedly said he had arranged the Mehrauli hideout for Mehmood, the Pakistani JeM militant who masterminded the Ayodhya attack. Mehmood and his accomplice, Yunus, had stayed in the hideout for several months planning the attack.

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Countries Supporting Ops in Iraq
	Country	In Iraq	In Theater	Total	Future
1	United Kingdom	~8500	3,500	~12,000	~10,500 (?)
2	South Korea	~3,300		~3,300
3	Italy	3,000 (includes 55 Italian Red Cross personel)	30	3030	~2,700 [Sept. 2005]
4	Poland	1,500		1,500	0 [by end of 2005?]
5	Ukraine	~950		~950	0 [By mid-Oct. 2005]
6	Georgia	~850 (Some in support of UNAMI)		850 (Some in support of UNAMI)
7	Romania	~730 (+ ~120-130 in support of UNAMI)		~863 (Includes UNAMI contingent)
8	Japan	~600	~200	~800
9	Australia	~570 (+ ~100 assigned to embassy protection)	~800 (includes ~100 for embassy)	~1370 (includes naval component)
10	Denmark	540		540
11	Bulgaria	~400-450		~400-450
12	El Salvador	380		380
13	Azerbaijan	151		151
14	Latvia	136		136
15	Mongolia	~130		~130
16	Lithuania	~120		~120
17	Albania	120		120
18	Slovakia	~100		~100
19	Czech Republic	~90		~90
20	Armenia	~45		~45
21	Bosnia & Herzegovina	36		36
22	Macedonia	35		35
23	Estonia	~34-35		34-35
24	Kazakhstan	27		27
25	Norway	~10		~10	0
26	Netherlands	4

Source

[Valin]

Would it be a two word answer composed of 7 letters?

[Coop]

No. :-) I'm a bit more creative than that.

[StarCMC]

ROFLMBO!! I actually had to *think* to figure that out! Whew - I'm scaring me!!

[Valin]

12 letter word?
Living in Mpls I run into these types alot, talk about shooting fish in a barrel.

[RetiredArmy]

MSM snore, MSM ignore. None of this happened because the MSM did not report it. Military propaganda, all made up. Cindy crys on cue and says so. /sarcasm ALWAYS ON AND BURNING HOT!!!

[Just A Nobody]

Thank you, as always, for this wonderful thread.
Glad to see you back!

[Just A Nobody]

That was you we heard last night?? Those of us at the opposite end were trying to figure out who it was. Buford was mentioned, but we knew he wasn't there. GREAT JOB!!

We're not just fighting this war overseas, unfortunately.

When asked by the cretins, "why aren't you in Iraq?" I reply that I have been deployed to fight the WOT at the Home Front!!!

Thanks for all YOU do Coop!

[Coop]

When asked by the cretins, "why aren't you in Iraq?" I reply that I have been deployed to fight the WOT at the Home Front!!!

Another way to piss 'em off is ask them why they haven't signed up yet to support the jihad. Suicide bombers wanted - no experience necessary!

Or like Kristinn and Raoul were doing - asking them when they were going to deploy themselves as human shields for the Iraqi children, just like they did for Saddam.

[The Spirit Of Allegiance]

When asked by the cretins, "why aren't you in Iraq?" I reply that I have been deployed to fight the WOT at the Home Front!!!



BUMP

[Calpernia]

The U.S. military's recent offensive in western Iraq has had a devastating impact on the al-Qaida-backed insurgency, with coalition forces killing over 700 terrorists and capturing 1,500 in the last two months alone.

"It's been very successful," Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch told a briefing in Baghdad on Wednesday, referring to a series of security offensives conducted by U.S. and Iraq forces in Anbar province since September 28.

Though media reports suggest recent U.S. casualties are due to deteriorating security conditions in Iraq as a whole, most were incurred during the new offensive - dubbed "Operation Steel Curtain."

[Coop]

BTTT

[blackie]

Killing and capturing bad guys ~ Bump!

[blackie]

Good Stuff ~ BookMarked!

[Coop]

And another bump

[blackie]

This kind of news is not very pleasant for the liberal, jerk-weed, moonbat, American haters in our country!

To them I say:

[American in Singapore]

I was going to say "that's unbelievable" but then I know it's not... The past 5 years, I have been battling these types of leftist scum from all over the world when they descend on or pass through Singapore. Thankfully, my wife got over being afraid that the arguments would turn into a fistfight, but I never back down. Of course, the American leftist scum are the worst, thinking that their coolness at hating Bush and America will win them instant friends when they are abroad - not when they engage me!

[Coop]

Not that I wish you any physical harm, but thank you for not backing down with these vermin. One FReeper's friend/relative recently said, the only time in his adult life he'd been in physical altercations/fights was when he was around "peace marches."

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[FreeAtlanta]

indeed.