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Iran to hold military exercises next to US manoeuvres
Nov 1, 2006
Tehran - Iran is to hold renewed military exercises throughout the country, including in the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman where naval manoeuvres led by the United States currently take place, the Fars news agency reported Wednesday.
The commander of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), General Yahya Rahim Safavi, said that the exercises would begin Thursday November 2. Code-named 'Grand Prophet (Mohammed) 2,' the operations are to run for nine consecutive days in 10 provinces, mainly focused on the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman, the general told reporters.
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I know, I know; the following is from DEBKA
November 1, 2006, 2:20 PM (GMT+02:00)
The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Eisenhower, and its accompanying carrier strike group, passed through the Suez Canal on Monday, Oct. 30, and arrived in the Red Sea on Tuesday, Oct. 31.
DEBKAfile’s military sources report that the USS Eisenhower is at sea off the Saudi Arabian coast, together with another aircraft carrier, the USS Enterprise. The presence of the two US aircraft carriers, and their accompanying strike groups, in a body of water as small as the Red Sea is an extraordinary development.
So far there have been no indications that the USS Eisenhower arrived to replace the USS Enterprise.
US Intelligence director John Negroponte also is in the region. He was in Saudi Arabia over the weekend and in Cairo on Tuesday, and is due to arrive in Israel on Wednesday, Nov. 1.
With the arrival of the USS Eisenhower in the region, there are now three US aircraft carriers in the Persion Gulf and surrounding waters, including the USS Iwo Jima. Accompanying the USS Eisenhower are the guided-missile cruiser USS Anzio, the guided-missile destroyers USS Ramage and USS Mason and the nuclear-powered fast-attack submarine USS Newport.
DEBKAfile’s military sources report that a fourth US aircraft carrier, the USS Boxer, will arrive on the scene by the beginning of next week, together with its carrier strike group. The USS Boxer is currently taking part in joint US-Indian naval maneuvers, dubbed Malabar ’06, which include the landing of marines on beaches.
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http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200611/02/eng20061102_317524.html
Somali Islamists warn Kenya against supporting Ethiopia
Thursday 2 November 2006 03:00.
Nov 1, 2006 (MOGADISHU) — The Islamic Courts Council (ICC) today claimed that Ethiopian troops dressed in Kenyan army uniform had been deployed in large numbers along the Somali-Kenya border. They warned the Kenyan government that this move could lead to devastating results.
Sheikh Yusuf Siyad Indha Adhe, the security chief of the Islamic Courts, said at a news conference at Mogadishu’s former Banaadir Regional security HQ, that a large number of Ethiopian troops were now stationed along the border. "Those are Ethiopian troops dressed in the Kenyan army uniform," said Sheikh Indha Adhe, adding that the courts were not at war with Kenya and urged it to keep off the Somali affairs.
He accused the Ethiopian government of fuelling war in the Horn of Africa region, and whose Ethiopia troops were now deployed against Islamic forces outside Baidoa, HQ of Somalia’s interim government. "Today, Ethiopia is not at peace. Kenya is. If Kenya supports Ethiopia in the war against Somalia, it will not continue to enjoy its current peace," warned Indha Adhe.
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