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http://www.centcom.mil/CENTCOMNews/News_Release.asp?NewsRelease=20050605.txt
NEWS RELEASE
HEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND
7115 South Boundary Boulevard
MacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101
Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894
June 16, 2005
Release Number: 05-06-05
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MOSUL'S MOST-WANTED CAPTURED
BAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition and Iraqi Security Forces captured the leader of Al-Qaida in the Mosul region June 14.
Muhammad Khalaf Shakar, also known as Abu Talha, is Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’s most trusted operations agent in all of Iraq. He was captured without incident.
Multiple intelligence sources led Coalition forces to Abu Talha’s location in a quiet neighborhood in Mosul. According to former Talha associates, Talha never stayed more than one night at any one residence, and always wore a suicide vest, saying he would never surrender.
Talha gave up peacefully to Coalition forces and supporting Iraqi Security Forces, and is fully cooperating with Coalition and Iraqi officials.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONCERNING THIS RELEASE, CONTACT Cmdr. Dave Wray at 703-343-8240.
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PERSECUTION.ORG
http://www.persecution.org
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June 16, 2005
Jeremy Reynalds
P O Box 27693
Alb., NM 87125-7693
Tel: (505) 400-7145
www.joyjunction.org
UZBEKISTAN CHURCH RAIDED AND 2 PASTORS AND 4 OTHERS ARRESTED
Plain clothes police officers raided a Uzbekistan church last Sunday.
The raid occurred during the worship service at Bethany Church in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. (Central Asia, north of Afghanistan). According to a news release from the Barnabas Fund, the police said there were to be no church services held in the building. They then arrested six people.
"The police searched the church building for a collection box and literature," the Barnabas Fund reported, "while continuing to threaten and intimidate the church members, taking the names and addresses of all present. The police were also looking for children, as they claimed that it was illegal for children to be present at church services. Thankfully the children were in a separate group meeting at the time, apparently disappointing the police and making them increasingly angry with the church members."
Pastors Nikolai Shevchenko and Sergei Khripunov were taken for interrogation, along with four church members. According to the Barnabas Fund, police officers demanded that the pastors write "explanatory notes" about the church meetings, but Shevchenko and Khripunov refused and asked for their lawyer.
The police continued to threaten the pastors, telling them that they faced prison and the closure of their church.
Police also told the pastors, the Barnabas Fund reported, "that they would be beaten up so hard that they would forget where they live." The police said they would detain the men until they signed papers, but when they refused all six were eventually released that evening.
According to the Barnabas Fund, the next day the police demanded that the pastors return to the police station "to sign papers."
However, according to the Barnabas Fund, "the fear is that if they (return to the police) station, they will once again be detained. The pastors have now gone into hiding until the court hearing which has been scheduled for Fri. June 17, to avoid being arrested again."
The country's law states that being arrested for the same offense three times results in a prison sentence, not just a fine.
Bethany Church, the Barnabas Fund reported, is "linked to the Baptist denomination but has been prevented by the Uzbek authorities from registering officially."
The Barnabas Fund exists to assist persecuted Christian minorities by prayer and practical support. More information is available at www.barnabasfund.org.