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Rebel attacks and land mines killed at least 11 Russian servicemen and pro-Moscow Chechen police officers in Chechnya over a 24-hour period, an official in the region's Kremlin-backed administration said Monday. Four of the Russian soldiers were killed and five others were wounded in rebel attacks on Russian outposts across Chechnya, the official said on condition of anonymity. Three servicemen died in separate skirmishes with rebels in Chechnya's southern mountains, and two were killed Sunday when their fuel-laden truck hit a land mine and exploded in a giant fireball outside the village of Samashki, the official said. On Monday, the...

It should have been a routine departure from Moi International Airport in Mombasa, Kenya. But on November 28, 2002, an Israeli airliner came close to disaster. As the aircraft took off, passengers and crew heard a boom and saw two white vapor trails to the left of the plane. The Arkia Airlines Boeing 757–300 narrowly escaped being shot down by two SA-7 (a.k.a. “Grail”) shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles. These missile systems—Man-Portable Air Defense Systems, or Manpads—fire missiles designed to hit low-flying aircraft. Responsibility for the Mombasa attack was claimed by the shadowy “Government of Universal Palestine in Exile: The Army of...

Chechen rebels - who fought their way into the neighboring Dagestan region, killing nine border guards - released a group of hostages, left a village they had occupied, and slipped away in the dark, authorities said Tuesday. At least six of the rebels were tracked down and killed by Russian forces, the Interfax news agency reported. Dagestani police officials initially said most of the dozens of rebels were surrounded in the tiny village of Galatli. But Dagestani Interior Ministry spokeswoman Anzhela Martirosova later said the gunmen left the village before dawn, leaving behind their 11 hostages - seven from Galatli...

Gunmen from breakaway Chechnya raided a remote mountain village in neighboring Dagestan on Monday, killing at least nine border guards and escaping with four hostages, officials said. At least 25 gunmen ambushed an outpost near the border between war-ravaged Chechnya and Dagestan and Russia's frontier with Georgia. The gunmen opened fire at the checkpoint from a car and then quickly turned back, said Anzhela Martirosova, spokeswoman for the Dagestani branch of Russia's Interior Ministry. When the border guards rushed to pursue the car, militants fired from the roadside, killing an officer and eight troops, Martirosova said. Initial reports said 10...

A remote mine allegedly triggered by Chechen rebels killed five Russian soldiers Friday while troops were conducting a search operation in the breakaway republic, the Interior Ministry said Friday. The radio-controlled mine was detonated in the Vedeno region of southern Chechnya when an armored personnel carrier full of Interior Minister troops rolled over the explosive device. The soldiers were killed immediately by the force of the blast, the ministry said. Five others were wounded. The Interior Ministry said it had stepped up control of its operations in Chechnya. Meanwhile in the Chechen capital Grozny, local police said that a small...

Police in London have been put on their highest state of alert after warnings were received that an al-Qa'ida suicide attack may be imminent. Frontline officers in the capital are being given fresh instruction on spotting and tackling suicide bombers. Similar guidance is to be issued to officers in other large urban forces next month. The moves come after the FBI uncovered and passed on new intelligence that the threat was growing of an al-Qa'ida outrage in the capital. Senior officers were briefed on the threat a fortnight ago in a presentation at Scotland Yard's firearms unit. They are understood...

After leading Chechen rebels in two wars, mounting one of Russia's bloodiest terrorist attacks and claiming credit for many others, Shamil Basayev continues to elude Russian forces and even losing a leg to a land mine didn't take him out of action for long. The warlord's grim, decade-long record of killing both civilians and soldiers speaks of a fanatical determination and Russia has long alleged that this ferocity is bolstered by aid from international terrorist networks including al-Qaida. Washington joined in on Friday, declaring Basayev a global terrorist and a threat to the United States and moved to freeze any...

While most war crimes committed by Serb forces during the Balkan wars are being investigated and made public knowledge, the role played by Russian mercenaries kontraktniki [contract soldiers] deserves more attention. Many Russian citizens voluntarily fought in the Balkans for the government of Serbian President Slobodan Miloševiæ, committing a range of crimes along the way including mass murder, assault and battery, rape, robbery, and theft. Most, if not all, of these Russian kontraktniki war criminals have gone unidentified by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague – hence, so far, unpunished. As the Miloševiæ trial...

There is one important military principle of almost eternal validity: if, at the beginning of a war, absolute numerical superiority is not obtainable, one should try to be superior at least in one important weapon. It would not be reasonable to expect great differences between the armaments of the major powers. Yet special progress in technical inventions is always possible. A new weapon must be put to use suddenly and in great quantity, nay, in maximum quantity. Otherwise the surprise of the opponent is neither complete nor decisive. Consequently, one must wait until the new weapon is available in large...

Efforts by the U.S. to drum up support for a war in Iraq could lead to lay-offs in the textile industry here at home. That is according to industy insiders who say a deal the U.S. wants to make with Turkey would favor their industry over ours. Thousands of North Carolina textile workers could be hurt without ever going to war. The deal could lead to the loss of hundreds of textile industry jobs. "I know a lot of deals have to be made for the security of the country," said David Hankins of R.L. Stowe Mills Inc. "I really...

With the United States soon to attack Iraq, citizens should begin to prepare themselves for the likely ramifications. Barring a sudden coup versus Saddam, America will launch the attack within the next five or six weeks. The president has made this decision and the countdown has begun. The threat from Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction program is a clear and present danger to the security of the United States and is the primary reason for this war. By disarming Saddam and effecting regime change the United States is able to neutralize the catastrophic possibility of nuclear and chemical attacks within...

Between late December 1999 and mid-February 2000, Russian soldiers summarily executed 41 Chechen civilians in 8 incidents in the Staropromyslovsky district, which is situated 5 kilometers on the northwest side of the Chechen capital, Grozny. Most of the victims were women and elderly men, deliberately shot by Russians at close range. Russian soldiers also committed many other abuses in the district, including looting and destroying civilian property and forcing residents of the town to risk sniper fire to recover the bodies of fallen Russian soldiers. Six Chechen men from the district who were last seen in Russian custody "disappeared" during...

National defense has not held a higher priority in the lives of average Americans since the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. Then, as now, the enemies of the United States had the capacity to strike the American mainland with weapon systems capable of killing thousands of civilians in the blink of an eye. President Kennedy had the courage then to decisively challenge Soviet aggression -- I see today's American scenario in similar terms. Few politicians will claim to be "against" National Defense -- especially in the post-9/11 environment. However beyond this generic acclamation there is often little of substance offered...

European intelligence officers believe Albanian insurgents are preparing to renew their war with the Skopje government in an attempt to solidify their hold on the newly liberated zone of Northwestern Macedonia. Some two hundred former members of the Kosovo Liberation Army infiltrated Macedonia from Albania during the last week and are establishing positions above the insurgent capital of Tetovo. These shadowy fighters, operating under the Albanian National Army (ANA) banner, claim they will not permit the central government to reclaim this territory without a fight -- however their appearance may also signal increased political tension and maneuvering in Albania. David ...

Osama bin Laden has escaped the encroaching American dragnet in Eastern Afghanistan and is headed west, possibly helped by Iraq -- with an ultimate destination believed to be Africa or the Balkans according to US diplomatic officials. Bin Laden and a group of some twenty lieutenants and bodyguards departed his Afghan lair early this week, crossing into Pakistan via caravan along ancient mountain tracks at high altitudes. "We missed him," says Mike Scanlan of the US Embassy in Banja Luka. While the western media trumpets the impending elimination of Osama bin Laden and the apparent collapse of Taliban forces, Washington ...

Western intelligence analysts believe there is strong probability al Qaeda will seek to exploit a vulnerability in the American airline industry's security grid to mount a multiple prong attack against US domestic airline flights in the coming weeks. With the United States preparing to enter its heaviest air traffic period of the year, and Congress gridlocked over the current airline security bill, reports indicate that Osama bin Laden may be capable of destroying as many as twenty airliners simultaneously in one spectacular assault wave. Philip Watkins, a former intelligence officer and MP candidate from Britain speaks candidly on this subject. ...

With the United States and the Taliban now locked in a strategic stalemate in Afghanistan, Western intelligence analysts believe Osama bin Laden will seek to engage American and British targets in the Balkans with a series of hit and run commando strikes. These attacks will serve to provide cross-theater responses to the current escalation of US bombing runs by killing allied personnel and demonstrating to the Muslim world the ability of al Qaeda to control tempo and initiative as the World War continues. In recent days US embassies in Sarajevo and Tirana have been the subject of increasingly overt surveillance ...

There is one important military principle of almost eternal validity: if, at the beginning of a war, absolute numericial superiority is not obtainable, one should try to be superior at least in one important weapon. The immense importance of superiority in modern equipment, aircraft, tanks and, in particular, artillery has been demonstrated by all recent hostilities. It would not be reasonable to expect great differences between the armaments of the major powers. Yet special progress in technical inventions is always possible. During the last war, science offered many assets to the German High Command. Still, the mere existence of new ...

The stunning attack by Islamic entente forces on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon has shocked the United States and the entire world. The initial aftermath of the spectacular suicide assault -- that devastated the financial district of lower Manhattan and leveled portions of the American military command center -- has been one of national paralysis and grief. Now, as the world's Heavyweight Champion rises from the canvass, it becomes increasingly clear that America is at war for the first time since 1991 -- and will settle for nothing short of a comprehensive knockout victory. This piece will attempt ...

The "Congressman" OSCE Headquarters Prishtina Kosovo province September 12, 2001 Hello _______ As you know by now, the Manhattan Financial District and the Pentagon were struck by a stunning airborne assault Tuesday morning. This postmodern Kamikaze raid has shocked the American people and temporarily paralyzed the nation's Transportation and Financial sectors. Thousands are dead, the economy has been staggered, and a populace unprepared for war has seen the battle brought to their doorstep. I'm writing to update you on the situation, and to advise some additional bad news -- some of your outfit have been Killed in Action (KIA). I ...