International and Afghan troops have begun a major offensive to retake a strategic town in southern Afghanistan from the Taleban, Nato sources said. Nato says Afghan and British ground troops used heavy gunfire against the Taleban on the outskirts of Musa Qala. It says the main assault will be carried out overnight by US soldiers who have been dropped in by helicopter.
The Taleban say they have 2,000 troops defending the town in Helmand province, which they seized in February. Musa Qala is the only substantial town the Taleban hold in Afghanistan. For now, they say they are holding their ground.
Excerpted
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7132405.stm
Defense officials concerned as Hamas upgrades Qassam arsenal
Fri., December 07, 2007 Kislev 27, 5768
Hamas has recently upgraded its Qassam rocket capability in the Gaza Strip, raising grave concern in the Israeli defense establishment.
Senior defense officials say that Hamas is now able to store the rockets for a relatively long period, which would allow the organization to launch a large number of Qassams at one time. Over the past year, the IDF and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) have said that two developments could prompt a major Israeli operation in the Gaza Strip. One was an improvement in the range of the Qassam rockets, which would place Ashkelon within range. The other was an ability to store the rockets for a longer period of time. It seems that Hamas has already achieved the latter, and is close to achieving the other.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/932106.html
Two BLA ‘terrorists’ arrested in London
Friday, December 07, 2007
LONDON: British police arrested two alleged supporters of the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), a human rights campaigner said here on Thursday.
Scotland Yard said the two men, aged 25 and 39, were detained in raids on Tuesday in London on suspicion of “commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism”.
Excerpted
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007/12/07/story_7-12-2007_pg7_6
Baghdad - Former al-Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (photo) was approached by Syrian intelligence services to collaborate with them before he was killed in Iraq, according to a former al-Qaeda operative. "The late al-Qaeda leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, rejected a collaboration offer advanced by Syrian secret services," said Shahada Jawhar, former head of terrorist training for al-Qaeda.
Jawhar revealed the collaboration offer and other details of the internal operations of al-Qaeda in Iraq, in an interview with TV network, al-Arabiya, to be telecast on Friday night. "The secret services sent a mediator who met Zarqawi in 2006 outlining the possibility of obtaining any kind of help, but Zarqawi rejected the offer because he didn't want to fight the Americans for the political interests of Syria," he said.
Jawhar said Zarqawi wanted only to defend Jihad, while the Syrians wanted to put pressure on the Americans and avoid opening a new front in the war in their country. During the broadcast, the former terrorist who goes by the nickname, Abu Omar, talks about how he left the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared in Lebanon to join Zarqawi's men in Iraq with the intention of training guerillas.
Excerpted
http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Security/?id=1.0.1643479610
NEFA Report: "The Influence of the Muslim Brotherhood in the Netherlands"
12/07/07
A new report is available for download authored by NEFA Director of Analysis and Research Ronald Sandee, titled "The Influence of the Muslim Brotherhood in the Netherlands."
A former senior analyst in the Dutch Defense Intelligence Service, Mr. Sandee attempts to "paint as complete a picture as possible of the Muslim Brotherhood's operations in the Netherlands" and its fairly "sophisticated infrastructure"--even at a local level. The report includes various sub-sections, including on the "Al-Aqsa Network in the Netherlands", "International Muslim Brotherhood Activity in the Netherlands", and "Independent Brotherhood-Linked Activities in the Netherlands."