The Terrorist Round-up for 5/15/06 (40 "insurgents" killed in Iraq, 100 pursued in Afghanistan)

	U.S. soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division patrol near Rushdie Mula in Iraq in this photo taken May 8, 2006 and released May 14, 2006. REUTERS/Sgt. 1st Class David D. Isakson/Handout
U.S. soldiers from the 1st Armored Division search for weapon caches in the Al Jazeera Desert area of Iraq in this photo taken May 8, 2006 and released May 14, 2006. REUTERS/SSgt. Aaron Allmon II/Handout
	Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan. (AFP/File/John D McHugh)
British soldiers take their positions while doing a routine patrol in Basra, 550 Km (341miles) south of Baghdad, May 15, 2006. REUTERS/Atef Hassan

American forces killed more than 40 insurgents, including a known al-Qaida operative, in five raids south of Baghdad, and militants downed a U.S. helicopter during the fighting, killing the two soldiers aboard, the U.S. command said Monday. The raids took place over the weekend in an area commonly known as the "Triangle of Death" because of the large number of insurgent attacks.

A new al-Qaida group had claimed responsibility for downing that Apache and posted a gruesome video on the Web showing men dragging the burning body of what appeared to be an American soldier across a field as they shouted "Allahu Akbar," or "God is great!"

During the Latifiyah raids, U.S. forces killed al-Qaida member Abu Mustafa and 15 other suspected al-Qaida associates, the U.S. command said. Abu Mustafa was wanted for "his leadership role" in the shooting down of an Apache helicopter on April 1, the U.S. command said.

The weekend raids also wounded four Iraqi civilians and two suspected militants, and detained eight suspected insurgents, the military said. The wounded included two women, one of whom was pregnant, and two children, the U.S. military said. All of them were treated or were evacuated to an American military hospital.

In a separate raid Sunday, U.S. forces and American planes and helicopters attacked an insurgent haven in Youssifiyah, killing 25 insurgents, detaining four and destroying three "safe houses" and a vehicle loaded with weapons and ammunition, the U.S. command said.

More..

An Iraqi militant group affiliated to al Qaeda posted an Internet video of two men they said were fighters wanted by Saudi Arabia who were killed while attacking U.S.-led forces in Iraq.

The video, posted by the Mujahideen Council late on Saturday, showed a group of masked militants with rifles, sitting in a room and asking the two men why they had fled Saudi Arabia for Iraq.

"One must engage in jihad in the peninsula (Saudi Arabia) or in Iraq or anywhere there is jihad," said one of the men, who wore a blue ski cap.

The Mujahideen Council identified the two men in the video by the aliases of Abu Hassan al-Mekki and Abu Nasser al-Chadi and said they were wanted by Saudi Arabia, which has been battling al Qaeda attacks aimed at toppling the pro-U.S. monarchy and expelling Westerners.

Al Arabiya television said the two men were Chadian nationals Manour Youssef Mohammed and Othman Mohammed Hassan -- who are among 21 suspects believed to be outside the country from a list of 36 most wanted militants issued by Saudi Arabia last year.

Security analysts believe many of the 21 fugitives have joined insurgents fighting in Iraq. Almost all of 15 wanted men from the list believed to be in Saudi Arabia have been killed or arrested.

Four Taliban prisoners who escaped from Afghanistan's most notorious prison earlier this year have been recaptured in Bulgaria and Uzbekistan, an Interpol official said Monday. In January, seven Taliban inmates disguised themselves as visitors to escape the high-security Policharki Prison on the outskirts of the capital, Kabul. Four were captured last month, said Gen. Ali Shah Paktiawal, director of Interpol police in Afghanistan.

Two were captured in Bulgaria and two in Uzbekistan, and they will be sent back to Afghanistan when identification procedures have been completed, he said. There was no immediate confirmation of the arrests from authorities in those countries.

Four police officers on duty at the prison when the seven escaped were tried and found guilty of not fulfilling their official duty and have been sentenced to four- and five-year prison terms, Sayed Fazel Karim Sadat, the chief of police for the attorney general, told The Associated Press. Eleven officers were arrested initially, but seven were later released.

Sadat said he received a phone call about a week after the escape from a man claiming to be one of the seven escapees. The man claimed that the Taliban had paid $200,000 to bribe officials to help them escape. "The person told me ... 'We paid $200,000 for the escape opportunity, then you arrested innocent people,'" Sadat said.

Despite the convictions of the four prison police officers, Sadat said officials never uncovered specific evidence that any police officials helped the prisoners escape. "We never learned who received this money, if anyone. It is still an open question," he said.

At the time of the escape, officials said the seven militants tricked their guards into letting them walk out of the overcrowded prison by marking their hands with a fake ink stamp similar to one used to identify jail visitors. At the time, prisoners did not wear uniforms and the stamp was the main method used to differentiate detainees from visitors. After the escapes, officials in February forced prisoners to wear uniforms, sparking a four-day riot that left six inmates dead and 40 injured.

The seven escapees had all been caught in the last 18 months fighting for the Taliban in the volatile southern provinces of Helmand and Kandahar. They had been sentenced to prison terms of about 16 years.

Policharki is Afghanistan's main prison, notorious for its harsh and overcrowded conditions. It was a scene of summary executions under a series of former regimes, most recently the hard-line Taliban. The prison is being renovated ahead of the expected arrival of some 110 Afghan terrorist suspects later this year from the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Recent riots and jailbreaks have cast doubts over its readiness.

Associated Press reporter Rahim Faiez in Kabul contributed to this report

Security forces on Monday hunted for up to 100 suspected Taliban rebels after a fierce battle in southern Afghanistan, while officials said two of 11 rebels killed in the fighting were insurgent commanders.

The number of police killed in the clash Sunday in Panjwayi district of Kandahar province rose to five as a wounded officer died in hospital, said provincial spokesman Dawood Ahmadi.

One of the two dead Taliban commanders was identified as Mullah Abdul Manan, who Ahmadi claimed led a Taliban suicide squad responsible for numerous bombings. This could not be immediately confirmed.

An unknown number of civilians were also wounded in the fighting, which erupted after security forces surrounded a village where the insurgents were hiding, the spokesman said. "Up to 100 rebels are believed to have fled after the battle," he said.

Violence has been on the increase in Afghanistan in the past year, raising fears for this country's nascent democracy and leaving swaths of southern and eastern regions off-limits to aid workers.

A Taliban commander and his deputy were among 11 rebel fighters killed in a clash in southern Afghanistan which also left five policemen dead, a provincial official said today.

Eight policemen and five Taliban were wounded in the hours-long clash in Kandahar province yesterday and three rebels were arrested, a provincial government spokesman, Mohammad Daud Ahmadi, said to AFP.

Among the Taliban dead were a provincial-level commander, Mullah Abdul Baqi, and his deputy Mullah Abdul Manan, Ahmadi said.

The fighting started in Kandahar's Panjwayi district after police had gone to the area after tip-offs that Taliban were there.

Panjwayi, about 35km west of Kandahar city, is known to be a hideout for Taliban militants who have been waging a guerrilla-like insurgency against President Hamid Karzai's government for more than four years.

The district borders Helmand province which also sees regular attacks blamed on Taliban insurgents said to be allied with the Al-Qaeda network and opium traders.

22 Held Over Training School Blasts

Twenty-two people have been arrested over the landmine blasts that killed six at a police training school in southwestern Pakistan this week, a senior officer said yesterday.

He said the blasts were set off by booby-traps laid by “highly trained terrorists”, denying that local people were involved.

“We have arrested 22 people in raids over the past 24 hours,” provincial police chief Chaudhry Mohamed Yaqub said. “We are interrogating them.”

Six policemen were killed and dozens were wounded on Thursday when five landmines blew up in quick succession during target practice on a firing range at the school in the provincial capital Quetta.

“It was the work of highly trained terrorists. They cannot be local people,” the police chief said. “I cannot give details at this moment.”

Officials earlier blamed the blasts on anti-government tribesmen who have been waging a two-year insurgency in the province to press their demands for a greater share of local natural resources.

Responsibility for the attack was claimed by a group called the Baluchistan Liberation Army (BLA), which was outlawed by Pakistan last month and branded a terrorist organisation.

Yaqub said the latest arrests followed interrogation of two suspects arrested from the area soon after the blasts.

Police have said they were investigating the pair for possible links with an Afghan family who lived near the site and were killed in an explosion at their home last month.

An Islamic Jihad leader wanted as the alleged mastermind of a string of suicide bombings and five other Palestinians were killed by Israeli troops in an eruption of violence in the West Bank.

Elias al-Ashkar was killed along with fellow Jihad leader Moatessem Shaar in the village of Qabitiya on Sunday during an Israeli arrest operation on a house where they were holed up.

Military sources said that the operation was aimed at capturing Ashkar, who was seen by the Israeli army as "responsible for the last eight anti-Israeli suicide attacks".

The bodies of the pair, both aged 28 and leaders of Jihad's military wing the Al-Quds Brigades, were found in the rubble of the building which had been the focus of the fighting as Israeli bulldozers began razing the structure.

Security sources said that at least one other victim was a member of Islamic Jihad. Another casualty was a 21-year-old resident who was killed after he threw stones at the forces.

Meanwhile, a guard outside the Palestinian Authority's local intelligence headquarters in Jenin was shot dead by Israeli troops, bringing the total of Palestinians killed in the north of the West Bank to six.

A statement from the office of Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas described the Israeli army operation as a "crime".

"This dangerous escalation will lead the region to more violence and instability," it said.

Palestinian security sources also said Israeli special forces had tried to kill Mahmoud Saadi, the overall leader of Jihad in the Jenin area, by shooting at his vehicle in the village of Birqin. Saadi was hit in the chest and legs but his injuries were not thought to be life-threatening, the sources said.

Four suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists, who were arrested in connection with arms seizure from Malegaon in Nashik district on Saturday were remanded in police custody till May 24 by a local holiday court in Mumbai on Sunday.

The Anti-terrorist squad (ATS) officials said the accused were produced before the 37th Magistrate esplande court in south Mumbai, which remanded them in police custody till May 24.

However, names of the accused have not been disclosed as the investigation was in progress, he added.

They were arrested on charges of assisting four LeT suspects, who were arrested on Tuesday last from Aurangabad in transporting arms and explosives, taking total number of arrest in the case to Nine.

The ATS along with local police has recovered two boxes containing 50 hand grenades, one AK-47 rifle along with 206 bullets and two Magazines from the Ankai Fort in Manmad Taluka of Nashik district.

Afghan police captured six suspected Taliban operatives in southeast Paktika province Saturday night, a state-run newspaper reported Sunday.

"Acting on a tape off policemen laid siege in Warmamami district last night arresting six Taliban militias fighters," daily Annis said.

A quantity of arms and ammunition as well as two uniform of Afghan National Army were also recovered from their possessions, the newspaper added.

Like the southern region, Paktika, Paktia and Khost provinces in the southeast Afghanistan close to Pakistan's tribal area have been the scene of Taliban-linked insurgency over the past four years.

A U.S. air strike last week left four suspected militants dead in the southeast region where Afghan authorities described them Chechen fighters while Islamabad identified them Pakistani nationals and called on U.S. not to operate inside Pakistan.

Taliban-led militancy has claimed the lives of more than 300 people including 25 Americans since the beginning of this year.

In a crackdown on terrorism in Bangladesh ten militants were sentenced to life in prison for their involvement in coordinated bomb attacks last August.

The ten were sentenced Sunday in Dhaka, after being convicted of organizing a series of blasts on Aug. 17, 2005. More than 400 bombs exploded all across the country on that date, taking three lives.

For a separate attack in the northern town of Joypurhat another three militants were given sentences of 20 years.

All the militants were members of the banned Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen group, which is calling for an Islamic state to be established in Bangladesh.

The group is accused of numerous attacks last year which left 28 people dead. The group's leader, Sheikh Abdur Rahman, and his assistant Siddiqul Islam, also known as Bangla Bhai, were both arrested in March. They will stand trial for over 100 incidents related to the August violence.

Police have found a bunker full of ammunition in the troubled republic of Chechnya in Russia's North Caucasus, the local interior ministry said Sunday.

According to the ministry, the bunker belonged to a militant killed on January 27, 2006 in the village of Karabulak in the neighboring province of Ingushetia.

The bunker was located in the house of the militant's sister living in the village of Assinovskaya in southwestern Chechnya. The police seized two hand-held anti-tank grenade launchers, a Kalashnikov machine gun, three Kalashnikov assault rifles and a large amount of ammunition and explosives.

The police have launched measures to find other persons who could be involved in keeping the arms and explosives in the bunker, the ministry said.

Two Militants Arrested in Chechnya

Police have arrested two suspected militants in a search operation in the village of Samashki in Chechnya's Achkhoi-Martan district, a source in Chechen law enforcement told Interfax.

Acting on intelligence, policemen have tracked down and arrested two brothers, Ilyas and Ismail Khamzatov, suspected of fighting at different times in criminal armed groups, led by destroyed field commanders Baisangurov and Musostov.

An operation to find the militants' associates is underway.

2 posted on 05/15/2006 2:30:16 PM PDT by Straight Vermonter (The Stations of the Cross in Poetry ---> http://www.wayoftears.com)

Didn't I read somewhere this weekend where 80% of insurgents are from Iran? Seems like we are already at war with Iran.

3 posted on 05/15/2006 2:33:41 PM PDT by Ben Mugged (If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you are reading it in English, thank a soldier.)

Good reason to put a couple of carriers in the Persian Gulf right about now.

Even a carrier task force is vulnerable in the restricted maneuvering offered by the Persian Gulf. Best to remove the Iranians long range missiles and Air Force before we move our carriers in harms way. The aircraft on the carriers and our B2s can then systematically destroy Iran's ability to prosecute. The stupid Buck Rogers weapons the Iranians are so proud of will make an interesting museum piece after cessation of hostilities.

First step, formal declaration of war.

7 posted on 05/15/2006 2:51:17 PM PDT by Ben Mugged (If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you are reading it in English, thank a soldier.)

I love the smell of burning terrorist in the morning...it smells like...victory.

8 posted on 05/15/2006 2:55:38 PM PDT by MikeA (Not voting in November because you're pouting is a vote for Nancy Pelosi for Speaker of the House)

9 posted on 05/15/2006 3:16:18 PM PDT by do the dhue (I hope y'all will help bail me out of jail after I dot Moussaoui's eyes.)

11 posted on 05/15/2006 3:43:35 PM PDT by Straight Vermonter (The Stations of the Cross in Poetry ---> http://www.wayoftears.com)

14 posted on 05/15/2006 7:10:15 PM PDT by do the dhue (I hope y'all will help bail me out of jail after I dot Moussaoui's eyes.)

Afghan forces hunt around 100 Taliban

Happy hunting, warriors! Sounds like they just about bagged their limit. Although I'd be willing to look the other way should they go overboard. ;-)

Fantastic news that Israel whacked the evil coward suspected in the last eight bombings in Israel.

16 posted on 05/16/2006 4:18:56 AM PDT by poobear (The most critical job that Americans will not do (just illegals): Vote for Democrats!)

When day after day we look at these articles side by side, it's amazing how extensive the global Islamofascist terrorism problem really is. But it's also equally apparent that there is a tremendous amount of progress being made against these swine.

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Sheikh Abdur Rahman	Bangla Bhai