The Terrorist Round-up for 6/16/06 (104 Killed in Iraq, 40 in Afghanistan - The Quagmire Continues)

[Straight Vermonter]

	U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Richard M. Mason II, an assaultman for 2nd Platoon, K Company, 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, sights down range with his rocket launcher. Nicknamed the "Rocket Man," he has effectively fired 24 rockets using the Shoulder-Launched Multi-Purpose Assault Weapon or SMAW during combat ops in Ramadi. (U.S.M.C. photo by Cpl. Joseph DiGirolamo)
	An assault team from B Company, 1st Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 5, prepare to enter a possible suicide vehicle bomb workshop in Fallujah, Iraq. The Marines are searching the vacant garage after receiving intelligence that the owner might be supporting insurgents. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Brain Reimers)
	Japanese troops patrol a street in the Iraqi southern city of Samawa. (AFP/File/Ahmad Abdel Razak)
	British soldiers conducts a vehicle patrol near Goreskh, Helmand province, Afghanistan. (Copyright/Cpl Rob Knight, RLC/Handout) (AFGHANISTAN)
	US soldier in Afghanistan.
	An Iraqi woman gives fruits to Iraqi soldiers securing an empty street in central Baghdad. (AFP/Wisam Sami)

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Iraq - Large Map

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Al Qaeda in Iraq Disrupted; Iraqi Operation in High Gear
By Jim Garamone

Al Qaeda in Iraq is in disarray and confusion following the death of its terrorist boss, and the Iraqi government is moving forward quickly to provide security for its capital city, coalition officials said today at a news conference.

Major General Bill Caldwell

Army Maj. Gen. Bill Caldwell, a coalition spokesman, said Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's death June 7 helped set the conditions for a huge step forward in the security picture of Iraq.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki announced the beginning of Operation Together Forward yesterday. Iraqi forces are leading this operation and it is designed to cripple or shut down the terrorist network in and around Baghdad, officials said. Iraqi soldiers and police are operating traffic-control points, rolling roadblocks, cordon-and-knock missions, and many other tactics to find and capture or kill insurgents who target innocent Iraqis.

Coalition forces are participating in some operations, but are mostly acting as a quick-reaction force to be called on if needed.

Coalition officials are pleased with the speed Maliki is demonstrating in his effort against terrorists. "The people of Baghdad are sick of the terrorist strikes in the neighborhoods and streets," said a Multinational Force Iraq official. "The Iraqis are getting results."

Since Zarqawi's death June 7, there have been 452 Iraqi and coalition operations, Caldwell said. The vast majority of the operations, though, were Iraqi-only (143) or coalition-Iraqi combined operations (255). The operations netted 759 anti-Iraqi forces and killed 104 terrorists. The patrols also uncovered 28 arms caches.

An official with Multinational Division Baghdad said it amazes him that officials are still finding so many weapons caches more than three years after the operation that toppled Saddam Hussein. "Of course, the entire country was one large arms cache," he said. "And we're not finding new weapons. But there is enough of the old to keep everyone busy."

Zarqawi's death allows Operation Together Forward to be even more effective than planned. The operation's intent is to disrupt terrorists in Baghdad, Caldwell said.

"Removing the personal threat of Zarqawi disrupted the Al Qaeda network," he said. "This forced the terrorists to reshuffle their leadership, dislodging them from their quarters leading in to the capital. These factors alone have set the conditions for Iraqi security forces to establish the foundation for unity, security and prosperity for the people of Iraq."

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Hundreds of Raids Net Hundreds of Insurgents in Iraq
Scott Lawrence

U.S. and Iraqi forces killed 104 insurgents in hundreds of raids since terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was slain last week, and the American death toll in the war in Iraq hit 2,500, the U.S. military said Thursday.

raqi soldiers escort suspected insurgents after they were arrested during a raid in a village near Baquba. REUTERS/Str (IRAQ)

Even as the Iraqi government released a document found in al-Zarqawi's hideout that appeared to show the insurgency was weakening, new violence erupted. Gunmen shot and killed 10 Shiites in Baqouba, northeast of Baghdad.

U.S. officials also identified the man claiming to have succeeded al-Zarqawi as head of the al-Qaida in Iraq terrorist group as Abu Ayyub al-Masri, an Egyptian with ties to al-Qaida.

American and Iraqi forces have carried out 452 raids since the June 7 airstrike on al-Zarqawi, and 104 insurgents were killed in those actions, said U.S. military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell.

The nationwide raids led to the discovery of 28 significant arms caches, Caldwell said.

He said 255 of the raids were joint operations, while 143 were carried out by Iraqi forces alone. The raids also resulted in the captures of 759 "anti-Iraqi elements."

< snip >

Caldwell said al-Zarqawi's successor apparently is the same person as a man identified by the nom de guerre Abu Hamza al-Muhajer who has claimed to have succeeded al-Zarqawi and vowed to avenge him in threatening Web statements in recent days.

The Afghanistan-trained Al-Masri, an explosives expert, was a key figure in the al-Qaida in Iraq network and was long responsible for facilitating the movement of foreign fighters from Syria into Baghdad, Caldwell said at a news conference.

Al-Masri has been a terrorist since 1982, "beginning with his involvement in the Egyptian Islamic Jihad," which was led by Osama bin Laden's deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, Caldwell said.

Authorities said a document found in al-Zarqawi's hideout that includes a blueprint for trying to foment a war between the United States and Iran and also appears to show that the insurgency in Iraq is weakening.

The document said the insurgency was being hurt by the U.S. military's program to train Iraqi security forces, by massive arrests and seizures of weapons, by tightening the militants' financial outlets, and by creating divisions within its ranks.

"Generally speaking and despite the gloomy present situation, we find that the best solution in order to get out of this crisis is to involve the U.S. forces in waging a war against another country or any hostile groups," the document said.

"We mean specifically attempting to escalate the tension between America and Iran, and American and the Shiite in Iraq," it quoted the documents as saying, especially among moderate followers of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the most influential Shiite cleric in Iraq.

The document's authenticity could not be independently verified.

Iraqi National Security Adviser Mouwafak al-Rubaie holds up a copy of a document purported to have come from a computer found at the scene after the U.S. airstrike on Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

National Security Adviser Mouwafak al-Rubaie called it "the beginning of the end of al-Qaida in Iraq."

"Now we have the upper hand," he said at a news conference in Baghdad. "We feel that we know their locations, the names of their leaders, their whereabouts, their movements, through the documents we found during the last few days."

Baghdad was in the second day of a huge security crackdown involving 75,000 Iraqi army and police forces backed by U.S. forces. It includes a curfew extended by 4½ hours _ from 8:30 p.m. until dawn _ a weapons ban, and the frisking of motorists at checkpoints around the capital. The government did not say how long the crackdown would last.

Operation Forward Together began Wednesday _ one day after Bush visited Baghdad to reassure Iraqis of Washington's continued support and exactly a week after al-Zarqawi's death in a U.S. airstrike.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has promised the crackdown would not target any ethnic or sectarian group.

< snip >

Al-Maliki opened the door Wednesday for talks with insurgents opposed to the country's political process as part of a national reconciliation initiative, but he said any negotiations would exclude terrorist groups. The plan could include a pardon for some prisoners.

Deputy Justice Minister Busho Ibrahim said 421 Iraqi prisoners were released from U.S. detetntion centers in Iraq on Thursday, the latest batch of a total of 2,500 to be freed this month as part of al-Maliki's national reconciliation efforts.

Associated Press writers Sameer N. Yacoub and Qais al-Bashir contributed to this report.

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Coalition Forces foil kidnapping
By Multi-National Division - Baghdad PAO

Coalition Forces in east Baghdad stopped two vehicles Tuesday night and seven Iraqi citizens jumped out claiming to have been kidnapped.

Soldiers from Multi-National Division - Baghdad’s Company E, 3rd Battalion, 67th Armor Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, were conducting curfew enforcement at approximately 11 p.m. when they spotted two vehicles carrying the suspected kidnappers and their victims.

Following the search and questioning, the Soldiers detained four suspected kidnappers and took the seven victims to a nearby forward operating base to collect sworn statements. The kidnapping victims were later released.

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Reports Zarqawi successor in Kirkuk suburbs

News is spreading locally that the new Qaeda leader in Iraq Abu Hamza Al-Muhajer might be seeking hiding in Kirkuk suburbs in Northern Iraq as violence had recently escalated in the city.

Air Vice Marshal Anwar Hama Ameen of the Iraqi Army told reporters that "Based on intelligence and security information, the new Qaeda leader might be in Southern or Western Kirkuk and probable areas for his current whereabouts include Al-Huweijah, Al-Zab, Al-Rashad, Al-Abbasi and Southwest Kirkuk." The official noted there was constant unrest in the area since the fall of the Saddam regime that killed hundreds of people, civilians and security personnel, and intelligence authorities also indicate presence of a large number of terrorist groups and remnants of the former regime.

He stressed "The increase in violence in the city, which witnessed more than nine explosions including seven car bomb explosions in just two days, justifies such suspicion." The Vice Marshal also said "Such development was expected and we have taken measures to counter terrorists' infiltration into the local population and two groups of terrorists were arrested. The first group included seven Mujahideen Shura members and the second four known Qaeda members, the official pointed out.

Four Iraqi police personnel were killed among an overall 14 people Tuesday and 41 people were injured in the Kirkuk explosions.

The US army had meanwhile released a photo believed to be that of Zarqawi's successor Al-Muhajer.

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First handover to Iraqi forces "imminent"

The first handover of security responsibility for Al-Muthanna province to Iraqi forces is set to go ahead next week, in the first concrete step towards the withdrawal of coalition troops, it was announced here Friday. But any move would not mean British troops immediately leaving the relatively-peaceful Al-Muthanna province in the south of the country, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) indicated.

During a search of the suspected kidnappers, Soldiers discovered three pistols.

The MoD would not confirm reports that a date had been set for a transfer of the area, insisting it was a decision for the new Iraqi government. However, Britain's Defence Secretary Des Browne indicated last month that the conditions for such a move were "close to being met" and that it was imminent.

Al-Muthanna is presently controlled by a coalition force from the UK, Australia and Japan, with around 150 British service personnel stationed there.

A report in Japan today said British officials had told their counterparts that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki would announce the transfer this Tuesday. It would be followed by an immediate announcement on coalition forces, it suggested.

Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Salam Zikam Ali Al-Zubaie confirmed only that there was an agreement to take over security responsibility this month.

A senior British official has said that two provinces in the British-controlled southern region could be handed over this summer. As well as Al-Muthanna, Maysan province was "not far away" from being ready, he suggested.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair agreed a deal over handovers when he visited Maliki in Baghdad last month, shortly after the inauguration of the new democratically-elected government.

In a statement, the two Premiers said they expected homegrown forces to take on responsibility for "territorial security" in much of Iraq by the end of this year. But the British government has been at pains to stress that it was dependent on conditions on the ground and would not immediately lead to significant numbers of British troops coming home.

The province, which borders Saudi Arabia, has seen very little of the violence that has affected other parts of the British-controlled zone, such as Basra.

The large Australian contingent in Al-Muthanna has been responsible for training more than 240,000 Iraqi soldiers there, ready for them to take over.

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Afghanistan & Pakistan - Large Map

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Forty insurgents killed in Afghanistan: coalition

US-led and Afghan troops continued their push against the Taleban on Friday after killing 40 insurgents in an air and ground strike, while NATO warned it would deal ”robustly” with rebels.

The “enemy fighters” were killed in a strike in a remote, mountainous rebel stronghold in southeastern Paktika province, on the border with Pakistan, the US-led coalition force said late on Thursday.

The strike -- which lasted throughout Wednesday and Thursday -- was part of Operation Mountain Thrust, the biggest push against militants since the fall of the Taleban government nearly five years ago, the coalition said in a statement.

Involving more than 10,000 Afghan and coalition troops, who have been deployed in the south over the past few months, the operation was launched in mid-May.

It is intended to “set the conditions” for NATO’s takeover in the coming weeks of command of the volatile south, which is the birthplace of the Taleban movement and sees the most insurgency-linked violence.

More..

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Afghanistan: U.S. forces attack in Paktika

Coalition forces Thursday concluded an attack in the southeastern Afghanistan province of Paktika reportedly killing some 40 insurgents.

U.S. military officials said in a statement said operations "Mountain Thrust" began with an air strike on a secluded mountain redoubt followed by a ground force attack that included Afghan soldiers.

The mission of the operation, which began Wednesday, was to "pursue extremists, and ... remove their negative influence" from the region, said a military spokesman Thursday.

Insurgent and Taliban numbers and strength have increased in recent months in southern Afghanistan and along the country's eastern border with Pakistan.

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Taliban fighter killed, another injured in S. Afghanistan

Firefight between Afghan police and Taliban militants claimed the life of one anti-government militia and injured another in the southern Ghazni province Wednesday night, provincial police chief Tafsil Khan said Thursday.

"A group of the enemies of peace was busy in preaching anti- government propaganda in a village of Qarabagh district last night when police attacked and killed one of them on the spot," Tafsil Khan told Xinhua.

A number of arms and ammunition including a rocket-propelled grenade were also seized from the fleeing militants, he added.

Another insurgent, he added was injured in a similar skirmish occurred in Gilan district on the same night.

Taliban-led insurgency has been on rise especially in the southern region where the U.S.-led coalition is going to launch a big offensive to wipe out militants soon.

More than 800 people, mostly militants, according to officials, have lost their lives in Taliban-led insurgency over the past six months.

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Troops 'making inroads' against Afghan insurgents

American-led coalition troops and Afghan forces say they have been making good progress in a major new offensive in southern Afghanistan.

Since mid-May, more than 10,000 troops from the United States, Canada, Britain and Afghanistan have been involved in the biggest counter-insurgency operation since the fall of the Taliban in 2001.

Military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Paul Fitzpatrick says several planned rebel attacks have been thwarted.

He predicts continued successes until operations are handed over to NATO.

"In the past month we have made significant inroads in disrupting the Taliban insurgents' ability to command and control and to organise," he said.

"We have interdicted several planned attacks and we have been able to strike them before they've been able to form an attack because of our ability to gain intelligence and act on that intelligence."

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Israel & Palestinian Territories  - Large Map

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Israel Spoke Hamas’ Language to Halt Attacks
Peretz Warned Hamas Brass: 'You Are Next If Rocket Attacks Did Not Stop'
By Steve Schippert

It did not seem to get the attention deserved when Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh’s top political aide, Ahmed Yusef, said that attacks on Israel do not serve Hamas, a radical change in tone from just days ago. His words were an attention getter as he said of a planned renewal of the informal ceasefire with Israel, “Renewing the suicide bombings does not serve the interests of the Palestinian government. The government is against harming civilians on both sides, and Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh has acted decisively to stop civilians from being harmed, and even to stop rocket fire.”

Suddenly Hamas has taken on a conciliatory tone, including conceding authority to Mahmoud Abbas to negotiate with Israel on a two-state settlement. There are two developments in play, both of them external to Hamas with one from the international community via an Egyptian delegation and the other from Israel in the form of frank and stark warnings to the Hamas leadership.

More..

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India & Kashmir  - Large Map

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Army averts major tragedy in the Valley
Ishfaq-ul-Hassan

The army on Tuesday averted a major tragedy when they killed two Lashkar-e-Toiba militants including its district commander who was planning to carryout a fidayeen (suicidal) attack on the Amarnath yatra on the national highway at Pampore in south Kashmir district of Pulwama.

Brigadier NS Jamwal said based on the information they had received, the troops cordoned off Gousia colony in Pampore and engaged the militants in the gun battle.

"An encounter ensued in the nearby fields in which both militants, Saqib and Amir, of Lashkar-Toiba were killed. One of our jawans suffered injuries in the incident. The militants were planning to carry out a suicidal attack on the national highway and also disrupt the Amarnath Yatra,” he said.

The incident took place a day after militants killed nine labourers in Kulgam in Anantang district.

Superintendent of police, Awantipora, Sardar Khan said the militant duo were active in Pampore area for sometime and were the biggest threat to the ongoing Amarnath yatra.

In a separate incident, the army foiled an infiltration bid in Uri sector and killed two militants this morning.

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What was slain Al-Qaeda leader Zarqawi doing in Lucknow? (This is weird)

A probe has been ordered into how al-Qaeda terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi who was killed in a US air strike in Iraq last week was allegedly certified as a resident of the state capital.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary N C Bajpai ordered an inquiry into how the al-Qaeda Iraq unit chief was reportedly issued a domicile certificate by the Lucknow district administration.

He took serious note of reports that the terrorist was registered in the name of "Ama Zarqawi" and made eligible for unemployment doles.

The reports alleged that the certificate, which is issued after due verification, was given without following the set process.

Bajpai directed the principal secretary concerned and district administration to initiate necessary "disciplinary action" against those found responsible for the lapse.

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Four LeT terrorists held in J&K

Four men, suspected to be linked to the outlawed Lashkar-e-Toiba, have been arrested for attacking a police post in Jammu and Kashmir's Doda district on May 29, officials said.

Acting on a tip-off, security forces raided a house in Chokiya village of the district last night and arrested Javed Ahmed, Parvez, Javed Rasheed and Mohmmad Ashraf, they said.

While being interrogated, the men admitted they had attacked the police post at Panchal in Doda on May 29 in which two jawans were injured, the officials said, adding the attack was carried out on the directions of LeT commander Saifullah.

According to the police, the men told them that they used to work as over-ground workers of LeT, ferrying messages, rations and explosives to other operatives of the terror group, they said.

The men were handed over to the police for further interrogation, they added.

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Russia - Large Map (Caucasus)

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Operation against gunmen in Ingushetia continues

Three militants were killed in a special operation in a wooded area outside the Ingush community of Ali- Yurt in the Nazran district, which was launched on Wednesday,

One of these gunmen has been identified as a man who was involved in the attack on Ingushetia in June 2004 and was a close aide to a separatist leader calling himself the emir of Ingushetia, the Federal Security Service (FSB)'s Ingush department told Interfax Thursday.

The special operation in Ingushetia, the North Caucasus republic bordering on Chechnya, in which special task forces from the Defense Ministry and other special services are engaged, is continuing now.

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Europe - Large Map

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France Convicts 25 Militants Of Attempting To Attack The Effiel Tower
Matthew Borghese

France has convicted 25 Islamic militants of planning an attack on cultural landmarks, including the Eiffel Tower.

According to prosecutors, the men were attempting to raise support for Chechen rebels in 2001-02 by striking the Eiffel Tower, the Halles shopping centre, police stations and Israeli interests.

The militants allegedly received training in Afghanistan, or Chechnya itself before they reached France, and when police conducted anti-terror raids, they found the men in possession of "gas canisters, fuses and a chemical protection suit in the northern Paris suburbs of La Corneuve and Romainville."

The court found 24 men guilty of "criminal association in relation with a terrorist enterprise," while the last man was convicted of using false papers. Most defendants received prison sentences of between 8 and 10 years, while some only received a few months.

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Africa - Large Map

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U.S. can't afford to ignore young militant, Somali leaders say

BY HANNAH ALLAM

Even in the violent, anarchic landscape of Mogadishu, Adan Hashi Ayro stands out.

Some describe him as a ruthless holy warrior, a student of the Taliban and a relentless fighter who can scale walls and jump from moving trucks without dropping his weapon. Others offer a more sympathetic portrait of a misguided young militant who is at odds with his own clan, bitter over foreign meddling in Somalia and the scapegoat of U.S. agents who needed to put a face on their enemy.

Somali community leaders agree, however, that the United States can't afford to ignore Ayro, who they say was crucial to the recent victory of the militant Islamic Courts Union over U.S.-backed warlords. If Ayro splits with the Islamic Courts' relatively moderate leadership, he could form an army of extremists prepared to attack American interests in the Horn of Africa, they fear.

"The Courts have a very extremist wing, and maybe Adan is leading this wing. He is said to be the real commander of the fighting, the mastermind," said Abdullahi M. Shirwa, a secular peace activist who supported the Islamic Courts as an antidote to Mogadishu's violence and disorder. "This is a critical time. The United States should not threaten the Islamic Courts with bombings or military action. They should show a deep and committed plan for Somali reconstruction."

U.S. officials are meeting with Somali counterparts in New York this week to help craft a new policy toward the impoverished, battle-scarred country, which has had no real government for 15 years. Many here urge the Bush administration to try to begin a dialogue.

More..

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Southeast Asia - Large Map

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Sayyaf man tagged in Malaysia kidnapping captured
By Al Jacinto

Government agents captured in the island province of Basilan an alleged Abu Sayyaf member implicated in the 2000 kidnapping of 21 mostly Asian and European holiday-goers in Malaysia's resort island of Sipadan, officials said Thursday. Security agents swooped down on a seaside village in Isabela City and captured Gudairi Mohamad, alias Garing Mohamad, on Wednesday, officials said.

An official said the man, a follower of Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khadaffy Janjalani, is being investigated if he was also connected to the kidnapping of Californian Guillermo Sobero and Kansas missionary couple Martin and Gracia Burnham, along with 17 Filipinos, from the posh Dos Palmas resort in the central Philippine island of Palawan in 2001.

Mohamad is currently under interrogation at a military base in Zamboanga City, and that up to three witnesses were willing to confront him to prove his involvement in the Sipadan kidnapping.

More..

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Arabia - Large Map

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Britain Warns of Al-Qaeda Strike in Saudi

Britain has warned of an impending Al Qaida strike in Saudi Arabia.

The British embassy warned nationals that Al Qaida-aligned insurgents were targeting Westerners in the Saudi kingdom. The embassy said Al Qaida could also commandeer an airliner as part of a suicide crash plot.

"There is a continuing high threat of terrorism in Saudi Arabia," the embassy said on June 12. "We continue to believe that terrorists are planning further attacks in Saudi Arabia, including against Westerners and places associated with Westerners."

The embassy's warning was the latest in a series of Western alerts of Al Qaida plots in Saudi Arabia. Britain has also advised its nationals to avoid excursions in the vast Saudi desert.

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USA

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Queens Man Arrested On Terrorism Charges
By LIZ GOFF

The homegrown Queens terrorist nabbed last week in London for allegedly supplying military gear and cash to al Qaeda operatives in Afghanistan was described by his Flushing neighbors this week as a “good boy with strong family ties.” Syed “Fahad” Hashmi, 26, was arrested June 6 carrying “an enormous amount of cash” – as he was trying to board a plane at Heathrow Airport heading for Pakistan, federal authorities said.

A four-count indictment filed by the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan last month charges Hashmi allegedly conspired with Queens computer programmer Muhammad Junaid Babar, who was arrested in 2004 after he was nabbed delivering night-vision goggles, sleeping bags, ponchos and waterproof socks to training camps in Pakistan – in the same area as Hashmi’s intended destination.

Babar, who also lived in Queens, pleaded guilty to supplying military equipment and working to aid a 2004 failed bomb plot in London. He became a star witness for the U.S. and British authorities – testifying against would-be London bombers. He testified he had met with high-ranking al Qaeda leaders and had supplied members of a training camp with aluminum powder – and that he attempted to purchase ammonium nitrate for training camp operatives.

Although Hashmi and Babar grew up in the same borough, they only began working closely when they met in London in 2003, authorities said.

Hashmi, who had been living in England for the past two and a half years, was indicted in the United States because he is an American citizen, federal authorities said. He was born in Pakistan and came to the U.S. as a child.

Hashmi lived with his family in an apartment at 140-11 Ash Ave. in Flushing until about three years ago. Neighbors expressed shock at his arrest, describing him as a moderately religious teenager “with a good heart.”

Hashmi was booted from Robert F. Wagner High School in 1989 for “undisclosed reasons,” school officials said. He graduated from Brooklyn College in 2003, where he earned a degree with a major in political science.

U.S. counter terrorism sources said Hashmi’s exposure to Islamic extremists in the late 1990s changed him, making him anti-American and an outcast among longtime friends.

“His friends tried to tell him his obsession with extremists would lead to no-good, but he ignored the advice and took a path that led him to his current situation,” the sources said.

Law enforcement officials said Hashmi was a member of the New York chapter of Al Muhajiroun, “The Emigrants,” a group that lauded the September 11th attacks.

He was considered one of the chapter’s best recruiters and was a leading force behind efforts to recruit students at Brooklyn College into the group, the officials said. Just prior to his leaving the U.S. for London in 2003, Hashmi brought Babar into Al Muhajiroun, officials said.

Azeem Khan, assistant secretary general of the Islamic Center of North America in Jamaica, said Hashmi “cared about people – until he got involved with Al Muhajiroun.”

Khan said after Hashmi became active with the group, “every meeting would be a confrontation. It got so bad that I just couldn’t talk to him anymore,” Khan said.

The group’s founder, radical cleric Omar Bakri, called for the organization to disband in October 2004. At that point, many members reorganized into a fringe group called the “Islamic Thinkers,” the officials said.

Members of a Queens chapter of the international jihadist group founded by Hashmi is well-known to residents and merchants along 37th Avenue in Jackson Heights, law enforcement officials said.

Kana Chauhan, president of the Jackson Heights Merchants Association said members of the Islamic Thinkers are “filled with hatred.”

Members of the Islamic Thinkers, when contacted by e-mail, denied any affiliation with terrorism.

[Straight Vermonter]

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

Proud member of the:

[Straight Vermonter]

ping

[Coop]

Hey! A compromise on my title request. I like it! ;-D

[Straight Vermonter]

I had you in mind when I did it!

[Coop]

SV, Dog, have you seen any reports either following up on or refuting Jordan's claim that al-Masri was killed along with Zarqawi? I would think if there were any speculation at all that this could have occurred, then Caldwell would have held off naming al-Masri like this.

[Straight Vermonter]

I have been looking for this confirmation and I would think that by now CENTCOM would have identified the bodies in the house.

I think we have to assume that he lived.

[Coop]

I agree on the assumption. Just wonder why such a powerful claim was left hangin' in the wind.

[PRePublic]

ping

[maine-iac7]

WE need to keep in mind and remind people that the new terrorist leader, Al-Muhajer, is Egyptian, not Iraqi, and started his "career" in 1989...nothing to do with Bush attacking Iraq...but all to do with the muzzies longterm goal of "Killing the infidels" and reinstating the Caliphate...

It IS a Holy War - and we did not start it. But we finish it - or be finished.

We need to scrap the PC crap - one of the most effective weapons of the enemy. No one dare say one word that might 'offend'...no matter how much WE are offended.

IT IS HOLY WAR...

[do the dhue]

ping

[Louis Foxwell]

sign me up

[Valin]

The Marines are searching the vacant garage after receiving intelligence that the owner might be supporting insurgents.

I guess this person doesen't understand that all Muslims want to kill infidals, maybe he needs to spend more time reading about what Islam is really all about.

[Valin]

but all to do with the muzzies longterm goal of "Killing the infidels" and reinstating the Caliphate...

Not all, or even most foor that matter.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Very nice layout....

[bayouranger]

Nice Sitrep.

[bayouranger]

Nice Sitrep.

[Smartass]

God Bless America and Our Great Military

060615-N-2383B-063 Pentagon, Arlington, Va. (June 15, 2006) - Ceremony participants stand in prayer during the benediction and conclusion of a Pentagon groundbreaking ceremony for the 9/11 memorial monument. From left are Pentagon family members James J. Laycheck, President of the Pentagon Memorial Fund and their Vice President Ms. Rosemary Dillard, opposite end is Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld and one of the memorial architects Julie Beckman. The memorial on the west lawn of the Pentagon will have 184 cantilevered benches, one in memory of each victim of the terrorist attack on the Pentagon. Construction is expected to be completed in September 2008. U.S. Navy photo by Chief Photographer's Mate Johnny Bivera (RELEASED)



The 10th Mountain Division Band performs at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, during a ceremony marking the Army's 231st birthday on Wednesday.
Musadeq Sadeq / AP Photo



The Sousaphone and piccolo players from the 10th Mountain Division Band perform at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, during a ceremony marking the Army's 231st birthday on Wednesday.
Musadeq Sadeq / AP Photo



A 10th Mountain Division soldier carries an M16 rifle beside a color guard during a ceremony marking the Army's 231st birthday at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, on Wednesday.
Musadeq Sadeq / AP Photo



Vermont National Guard soldiers from Task Force Saber arrive in Gulfport, Miss., on their way to nearby Camp Shelby to begin processing, on Tuesday. The unit just finished a tour of Iraq. Vermont Guard officials want to get the soldiers home as soon as possible, but the return schedule will depend on how long it takes to get the entire 400-member unit processed.
Nicole LaCour Young / AP Photo



Vermont Army National Guardsmen from Task Force Saber disassemble and label their weapons after arriving in Gulfport, Miss., on Tuesday, after a tour of Iraq.
Nicole LaCour Young / AP Photo

Thank You for Serving

 

[BeHoldAPaleHorse]

Rage Against the Machine: Rage 0, Machine 146