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Locked on 08/01/2007 10:40:04 PM PDT by Religion Moderator, reason:
New Thread: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1875105/posts |
Posted on 07/01/2007 2:42:24 PM PDT by nwctwx
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6898680.stm
Last Updated: Saturday, 14 July 2007, 16:43 GMT 17:43 UK
Deadly attack on Pakistani troops (excerpt)
The number of soldiers killed in a suicide attack on a military convoy in north-western Pakistan has risen to 24, a Pakistan army spokesman has said.
Twenty-nine others were also hurt when the convoy was hit in the remote tribal region of North Waziristan. Major General Waheed Arshad admitted the attack could be linked to the storming of the Red Mosque this week. Troops have been sent close to the area amid fears militants may be planning a “holy war” in response to the siege. . .
Thousands of troops have been moved into the province as President Pervez Musharraf vows to pursue his campaign of rooting out extremists. Although there is no new deployment to Waziristan, militants there say the government has broken peace agreements by setting up checkpoints. Militant commander Abdullah Farhad told the Agence France-Presse news agency there could be “guerrilla war” if all checkpoints were not removed by Sunday.
Protests against the Red Mosque attack were held across the country on Friday. Demonstrators in Peshawar were told it was a “genocide” in which “hundreds of innocent women and children died”. In Islamabad, hundreds of demonstrators attended a rally organised by Pakistan’s main alliance of radical parties, the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal. “This carnage will prove to be the last nail in the coffin of Musharraf’s dictatorial rule in Pakistan,” the group’s deputy leader Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Hydri told the gathering.
“Now there will be Red Mosques everywhere in Pakistan.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/07/14/wpakistan114.xml
Suicide attack kills 24 in Pakistan
By Rob Davies and agencies
Last Updated: 5:50pm BST 14/07/2007 (excerpt)
A suicide bomber has attacked a military convoy killing at least 24 soldiers in northern Pakistan, as thousands of troops were deployed to thwart a call for holy war against the government.
The driver ploughed his explosives-laden vehicle into the convoy on a road near the village of Daznary in the North Waziristan region, detonating the device upon impact. Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Waheed Arshad said the dead and 29 others who were wounded had been transported by helicopters to hospitals, where some were in critical condition. The incident was one of the most lethal suicide attacks in recent months. . .
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/07/14/world/main3058110.shtml
Suicide Attack Kills 24 Troops In Pakistan
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, July 14, 2007 (CBS) (excerpt)
This story was written by Farhan Bokhari, reporting for CBS News in Pakistan.
Pakistan’s security officials on Saturday warned against the danger of more al Qaeda-backed suicide attacks across the country, as the death toll mounted from a suicide attack in the country’s tribal regions along the Afghan border. The attack on a paramilitary convoy in the north Waziristan region killed 24 soldiers while more than two dozen were injured, when a car packed with explosives rammed into a truck. “This attack indicates the danger of more attacks being planned” said a senior Pakistani official in Islamabad who spoke to CBS News on the condition of anonymity. The attack was linked by Pakistani officials to al Qaeda.
Earlier in the week, Ayman Al Zawahiri, the second-highest-ranking al Qaeda leader in his latest video message release, condemned Pakistan’s pro-U.S. military ruler General Pervez Musharraf for his decision to send troops to storm a “Taliban”-styled mosque in the centre of Islamabad, the Pakistani capital.
The lal (red) mosque and its adjoining women’s seminary known as jamia-e-hifza were at the center of months of standoff with the government after they threatened to enforce Taliban-type Islamic laws. . .
http://www.itv.com/news/index_3664faa84fb44b186b6d1eb952da8e4f.html
British cops close 11 supermarkets as precaution after security “incidents”
At least 11 Tesco supermarkets across the country have been closed by police in a safety alert.
hey said the closures affected stores in Lancashire, Suffolk, Dyfed Powys in Wales, Fife in Scotland, Leicestershire, Humberside, West Mercia, West Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Strathclyde and London.
A Hertfordshire police spokeswoman said: “Police are investigating a series of incidents in a number of locations across the country involving Tesco stores.
“These stores have been temporarily closed as a precaution for public safety.”
Osama bin Laden stresses the importance of martyrdom for Muslim causes in a videotape that purportedly contains a 50-second message from the al Qaeda leader.
The 40-minute videotape, whose audio was being translated from Arabic by CNN, was intercepted before it was to appear on several Islamist Web sites known for carrying statements from al Qaeda and other radical groups.
The videotape was made in the last four weeks, but the clips appear to be old, said Octavia Nasr, CNN's senior editor for Arab affairs. There is no indication of where it was shot, and CNN cannot verify its authenticity.
Bin Laden, with a body guard standing directly behind him, is looking down slightly in the video, appearing to address an audience below, which is unseen.
He says that the Prophet Mohammed wanted to be a martyr, and that is a worthy goal for every Muslim. "So be alert, be wise and think. What is this status that the best of mankind wished for himself? He wished to be a martyr. He himself said, 'By him in whose hands my life is! I would love to attack and be martyred, then attack again and be martyred, then attack again and be martyred.'
"So this whole broad life is summarized by him who was inspired by God, the Lord of the heavens and earth, praised and exalted is he. This glorious prophet who was inspired by God summarized this entire life by these words. He wished upon himself this status. Happy is the one who was chosen by God as a martyr."
Bin Laden was one of several men appearing and speaking on the tape. They include Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq who was killed in a U.S. airstrike June 7, 2006. How big is al-Qaeda? »
The video was branded by As-Sahab Media, the company that traditionally handles al Qaeda communications to the public. The environment shown is similar to that on releases made before the September 11, 2001, terror attacks, in which bin Laden is seen in the company of some of the hijackers, Nasr said. Some of the backdrops also resemble those shown in videos when the U.S. attacks against the Taliban in Afghanistan began not long after the 9/11 attacks, she added.
The last time a recording of bin Laden was made public it was an audiotape, with an Arabic transcript, released on June 30, 2006.
http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/07/14/bin.laden.video/index.html
The thrice repetition rears its head again. Is it a cultural thing, or are we looking at a code?
I meant to ping you to the post following yours - Bin Laden has released a new video.
The Thai army has arrested and detained 342 Muslims, including seven women, in raids in the rebellious far south. It was one of the largest series of arrests in more than three years of separatist violence.
Excerpted
http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/hundreds-of-thai-muslims-arrested/2007/07/13/1183833781964.html
Thanks for the article Oorang.
I didn’t know that UBL message was so short...it’s probably going to be an (old) cut and paste in in my opinion (sight unseen).
Finally, whether UBL is dead or alive; he is the icon for jihad and that in itself is a powerful motivator to jihadis, jihadi wannabes and jihadi supporters.
But I guess he just couldn't quite pull it off.
Pity.
Re: Tesco
Per Wikipedia, Tesco is a UK-based international grocery and general merchandising retail chain. It is the largest British retailer by both global sales and domestic market share, is the world’s third-largest grocery retailer, and is the fourth-largest retailer behind Wal-Mart of the United States, Carrefour of France, and The Home Depot of the United States.
They also have a robust online sales presence.
“The thrice repetition rears its head again. Is it a cultural thing, or are we looking at a code?”
Three time repetition of the word “shahid” (meaning both “martyr” and “witness”) in both UBL and Zawahiri tapes is not a coincidence.
UBL:
“So be alert, be wise and think. What is this status that the best of mankind wished for himself? He wished to be a martyr. He himself said, ‘By him in whose hands my life is! I would love to attack and be martyred, then attack again and be martyred, then attack again and be martyred.’
Zawahiri:
“If you help him not, Allah helped him when those who disbelieve drove him out, the second of two; when they both were in the cave, when he said to his companion, ‘Don’t worry. Allah is with us.’ . . . Have I not conveyed? O Allah, be my witness. Have I not conveyed? O Allah, be my witness. Have I not conveyed? O Allah, be my witness. . .”
Key Words:
“Abu Bakr” (he was the “second of the two” in the cave, Mohammed being the first). . . .”cave” (nature of the attack) . . . “witness/martyr” (Mohammed’s final invocation repeated three times as possible required triple warning (?) and/or implying the number of attacks) . . . .
This professor was on Fox News about an hour ago.
http://www.kcl.ac.uk/schools/sspp/ws/staff/pn.html
He said that the word that is repeated three times in the concluding sentences is “shahid”, which not only means “witness”, but also means “martyr”. So he said that he believes that Zawahiri may be referring to three martyrs/attacks. Also said that high concentrations of tapes/messages like what we are seeing are often associated with subsequent attacks or increased activity.
He did not say anything about a requirement under Islamic law to warn three times, but Fox was reporting that several times earlier today. Found no other source on that.
So there may be three “martyrdom operations” underway (2003: NYC-DC-LA /2004:NYC-DC-NJ)
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21683379-2703,00.html
CIA boss tells more than he knows
The new book by former spy chief and Iraq war opponent George Tenet unwittingly strengthens the Bush case for taking the war on terror to Iraq, writes William Kristol
May 07, 2007
(excerpt)
. . .Tenet also discloses new intelligence about the activities of the al-Qa’ida leadership living under what he calls “loose house arrest” in Iran.
“From the end of 2002 to the spring of 2003, we received a stream of reliable reporting that the senior al-Qa’ida leadership in Saudi Arabia was negotiating for the purchase of three Russian nuclear devices. Saudi al-Qa’ida chief Abu Bakr related the offer directly to the al-Qa’ida leadership in Iran, where Sayf al-Adl and Abdel al-Aziz al-Masri (described as al-Qa’ida’s ‘nuclear chief’ by Khalid Shaikh Mohammed) were reportedly being held under a loose form of house arrest by the Iranian regime.
“The al-Qa’ida leadership had obviously learned much from their ventures into the nuclear market in the early 1990s. Sayf al-Adl told Abu Bakr no price was too high to pay if they could get their hands on such weapons. However, he cautioned Abu Bakr that al-Qa’ida had been stung by scams in the past and that Pakistani specialists should be brought to Saudi Arabia to inspect the merchandise prior to purchase.”
Sayf al Adl, who helped plan the 1998 bombings of US embassies in East Africa, has reportedly ordered attacks around the globe from his house arrest/safe haven in Iran. . .
Yep.
Frankly, at this point I am assuming that AQ has aquired some nuclear capability. The reason being that some of their leadership, including the “nuclear chief” has been sojourning in Iran, where there is enrichment going on at present, and the fact that there has been not much buzz about intelligence indicating that they are still attempting to purchase nuclear materials.
If the nuclear aquisition chatter dropped off at some point after Spring 2003, and I certainly hope that we have been attempting stings offering to sell such material, I have to think that they already have that supply line established.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=hamas
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=cair
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1860178/posts?page=95#95
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http://counterterrorismblog.org/2007/07/cair_hamas_implications_and_an_1.php
COUNTERTERRORISM BLOG.org: “CAIR & HAMAS: IMPLICATIONS AND AN ILLUSTRATION” by Aaron Mannes
Thank you, I had no idea they were so large.
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0%2C21985%2C22072764-5005961%2C00.html
“Mexican drug lords threaten foreign journos”
Article from: AAP
July 14, 2007 10:35am
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “A DRUG gang has threatened to kill foreign journalists who report on the violence between rival cartels and security forces along the US-Mexico border, media and US officials have said.
Mexico’s cocaine smuggling Gulf Cartel has allegedly planned to hire gunmen to kill foreign journalists working in the crime-torn Mexican city of Nuevo Laredo, on the border with Texas.
In response, two Texas-based newspapers have pulled their reporters from the city.”
Note: The following post is a quote:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1866016/posts
Border agent reportedly fires at group
UNION-TRIBUNE ^ | July 14, 2007
Posted on 07/14/2007 1:36:15 PM PDT by Ladycalif
At least one U.S. Border Patrol agent fired at a group of people in Mexico reportedly throwing rocks across the border last night, San Diego police said. It wasn’t known if anyone was wounded.
Police said they were called to assist agents along the border in the Tijuana River Valley area south of Monument Road and Hollister Street about 8 p.m.
An initial report was that a group of people in Mexico were throwing rocks at agents and that one or more agents had shot someone. No victim was found on the U.S. side, police said. No information was released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection last night.
(Excerpt) Read more at signonsandiego.com ...
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_3028.html
PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
This information is current as of today, Sat Jul 14 2007 13:58:43 GMT-0700.
Mexico
April 19, 2007
This Public Announcement advises U.S. citizens on security situations in Mexico that may affect their activities while in that country. This Public Announcement supersedes previous Public Announcements for Mexico dated January 18, 2007 and September 15, 2006. This Public Announcement expires on October 16, 2007.
Narcotics-Related Violence - U.S. citizens residing and traveling in Mexico should exercise caution when in unfamiliar areas and be aware of their surroundings at all times. Violence by criminal elements affects many parts of the country, urban and rural, including border areas. In recent months there have been execution-style murders of Mexican officials in Tamaulipas (particularly Nuevo Laredo), Michoacan, Baja California, Guerrero (particularly Acapulco), Nuevo Leon (especially in and around Monterrey) and other states. Though there is no evidence that U.S. citizens are specifically targeted, Mexican and foreign bystanders have been injured or killed in some violent attacks demonstrating the heightened risk in public places. In its effort to combat violence, the Government of Mexico has deployed military troops in various parts of the country. U.S. citizens are advised to cooperate with official checkpoints when traveling on Mexican highways.
In recent years dozens of U.S. citizens have been kidnapped in Nuevo Laredo with more than two dozen cases still unresolved and new cases of kidnap for ransom continue to be reported. No one can be considered immune from kidnapping on the basis of occupation, nationality, or other factors. Drug cartel members have been known to follow and harass U.S. citizens traveling in their vehicles, particularly in border areas including Nuevo Laredo and Matamoros. U.S. citizens who believe they are being followed should notify officials as soon as possible. U.S. citizens should make every attempt to travel on main roads during daylight hours, particularly the toll (“cuota”) roads, which are generally more secure. It is preferable for U.S. citizens to stay in well-known tourist destinations and tourist areas of the cities with more adequate security, and provide an itinerary to a friend or family member not traveling with them. U.S. citizens should avoid traveling alone as a means to better ensure their safety. U.S. citizens should refrain from displaying expensive-looking jewelry, large amounts of money, or other valuable items.
Oaxaca City - U.S. citizens traveling to Oaxaca City should be aware that from May to November 2006, protests in Oaxaca City became increasingly violent resulting in at least nine deaths. On October 27, 2006, a U.S. citizen was shot and killed in Oaxaca City as a result of the violence and disorder caused by ongoing civil unrest in the city. Many of the issues that were the basis for the protests remain unresolved. U.S. Citizens planning to travel to Oaxaca City should check on current conditions before beginning their travel.
Demonstrations - Demonstrations occur frequently throughout Mexico and are usually peaceful. However, even demonstrations intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and escalate into violence unexpectedly. During violent demonstrations or law enforcement operations, U.S. citizens are reminded to remain in their homes or hotels, avoid large crowds, and avoid the downtown and surrounding areas. Since the timing and routes of scheduled marches and demonstrations are always subject to change, U.S. citizens should monitor local media sources for new developments and exercise extreme caution while within the vicinity of any protests. The State Department reminds U.S. citizens to avoid participating in demonstrations and other activities that might be deemed political by Mexican authorities. The Mexican Constitution prohibits political activities by foreigners, and such actions may result in detention and/or deportation.
For more detailed information on staying safe in Mexico, please see the Mexico Consular Information Sheet at: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_970.html . For the latest security information, U.S. citizens traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department’s Internet web site at http://travel.state.gov where the current Worldwide Caution Public Announcement, Travel Warnings and Public Announcements can be found. Up-to-date information on security can also be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the United States, or, for callers from Mexico, a regular toll line at 001-202-501-4444. These numbers are available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays). American citizens traveling or residing overseas are encouraged to register with the appropriate U.S. Embassy or Consulate on the State Department’s travel registration website at https://travelregistration.state.gov .
For any emergencies involving U.S. citizens in Mexico, please contact the closest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. The U.S. Embassy is located in Mexico City at Paseo de la Reforma 305, Colonia Cuauhtemoc, telephone from the United States: 011-52-55-5080-2000; telephone within Mexico City: 5080-2000; telephone long distance within Mexico 01-55-5080-2000. You may also contact the Embassy by e-mail at: ccs@usembassy.net.mx. The Embassy’s Internet address is http://www.usembassy-mexico.gov/ .
Consulates:
Ciudad Juarez: Avenida Lopez Mateos 924-N, telephone (52)(656) 611-3000.
Guadalajara: Progreso 175, telephone (52)(333) 268-2100.
Hermosillo: Avenida Monterrey 141, telephone (52)(662) 289-3500.
Matamoros: Avenida Primera 2002, telephone (52)(868) 812-4402.
Merida: Calle 60 No. 338 K, telephone (52)(999) 942-5700
Monterrey: Avenida Constitucion 411 Poniente, telephone (52)(818) 345-2120.
Nogales: Calle San Jose, Nogales, Sonora, telephone (52)(631) 311-8150.
Nuevo Laredo: Calle Allende 3330, Col. Jardin, telephone (52)(867) 714-0512.
Tijuana: Tapachula 96, telephone (52)(664) 622-7400.
Yep, it’s been rumored and whispered for a very long time that Arafat died of AIDS.
Thanks to a Special Freepmailer for pointing to these two links:
#
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BP2VtQFvU6o
“Abu Mazen’s Team: Arafat Died of AIDS”
(Added July 12, 2007)
http://powerlineblog.com/archives/018217.php
“Ahmad Jibril: “I was told that Arafat died of AIDS””
(July 13, 2007)
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