SPIN BOLDAK, Afghanistan - Thousands of Taliban suicide bombers have been deployed across Afghanistan to attack Western troops and the government, the group's military chief said on Monday. Following last year's violence, the worst since the Taliban's ouster in 2001, this year is regarded as the crunch period both for the Taliban and U.S.-led Western troops.
Speaking to Reuters by satellite phone from an undisclosed location, Mullah Dadullah, the Taliban's military head, said the Islamic guerrillas had the ability and the weapons to fight foreign troops for a long time. "We have sent thousands of Taliban suicide bombers to all Afghan cities for attacks on foreign troops and their Afghan puppets," Dadullah said. "And we will turn our motherland into the graveyard of the U.S forces and their families should wait for their dead bodies. The Taliban's war is only for the freedom of Afghanistan from the enemies of Muslims."
Excerpted
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070402/ts_nm/afghan_taliban_dc_3;_ylt=AsqMeEg0G5oRjtZYvUTxCRHOVooA
New leadership is seen on rise within Al Qaeda
April 2, 2007
WASHINGTON: As Al Qaeda rebuilds in Pakistan's tribal areas, a new generation of leaders has emerged under Osama bin Laden to cement control over the network's operations, according to American intelligence and counterterrorism officials.
The new leaders rose from within the organization after the death or capture of the operatives that built Al Qaeda before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, leading to surprise and dismay within United States intelligence agencies about the group's ability to rebound from an American-led offensive. It has been known that American officials were focusing on a band of Al Qaeda training camps in Pakistan's remote mountains, but a clearer picture is emerging about those who are running the camps and thought to be involved in plotting attacks.
Excerpted
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/02/asia/web-0402qaeda.php
Loud Explosion at Turbat in SW Pakistan
April 2, 2007
TURBAT: A loud explosion was heard near Turbat airport late pn Sunday night. No casualties were reported till the going of Pakistan’s first ISSN-certified daily E-newspaper, ‘Pakistan Times’ onto the web – beyond midnight.
Meanwhile, a report from Peshawar, the metropolis of NWFP says that a video shop has been reportedly set ablaze by some unknown men in Kohat. Details of both the episodes are awaited.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=bus
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=ltte
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=tamiltigers
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http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article1602539.ece
From Times Online
April 2, 2007
“Tamil Tigers blamed as blast on Sri Lankan bus kills 15”
Louisa McLennan and Agencies
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “A bomb has exploded on a bus at a military checkpoint in eastern Sri Lanka, killing at least 16 civilians, including women and children, and wounding 26 others.
The attack took place near the town of Ampara, about 130 miles east of the capital, Colombo. No one has claimed responsibility, but the military have blamed the separatist Tamil rebels.
Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe, a spokesman, said: “There is no doubt that this was carried out by the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelan), targeting civilians.”
Among the dead were 10 women and two children. According to Mr Samarasinghe, the bus stopped at a checkpoint and the bomb exploded as passengers started to get off to allow troops to search the vehicle. It is not known if it was detonated by a suicide bomber.
Last week a Tamil rebel suicide bomber killed eight people when he drove a tractor laden with explosives into a military base in the east.”