Free Republic

Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas was rushed to a Ramallah hospital Sunday, after he complained of chest pains and a high fever. Abbas, 82, was hospitalized last week for a “minor surgery”, the PA’s mouthpiece WAFA reported last week. On Sunday, Abbas was rushed to a Ramallah hospital for treatment of “pneumonia and fever” a source close to the PA chief said, Yediot Ahronot reported. According to a source which spoke with AFP, the PA leader also suffered from chest pains. .....

President Mahmoud Abbas was hospitalized with fever Sunday just days after undergoing surgery on his ear, an official said. The 83-year-old Abbas has endured a series of recent health scares which have revived anxiety over who will succeed him. A senior Abbas aide, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with protocol, said the Palestinian leader was diagnosed with a fever on Sunday. Abbas had an ear operation last week, and returned to the hospital late Saturday for a follow-up. Saed Sarahneh, of Istishari Arab hospital, said late Sunday that “all tests are normal and his condition is reassuring.” He...

Photographs of Saddam Hussein's feared sons laid out in plastic body bags were released by the US today in a bid to convince sceptical Iraqis that neither would follow their father into power. The pictures, taken after Uday and Qusay Saddm Hussein's bodies were removed from a house in Mosul on Tuesday, show the heads and torsos of the two. Uday was clearly recognisable, despite having a thick beard and a wound that had destroyed part of his nose and upper lip. He appeared to have been killed by a bullet in the head, but it was not known whether...

WARPLANES raided a militant hideout in northwestern Afghanistan overnight, killing two rebel commanders and several fighters, the US-led military and a police official said. A rebel compound was targeted in the province of Badghis, a troubled region on the Turkmenistan border, the US-led force said in a statement. Mullah Dastagir, a key militant leader and several of his associates were killed in the "precision air strike", the statement said. Dastagir was responsible for several attacks on Afghan and international forces, including a deadly ambush last November, the statement added. "Dastagir was responsible for an increase in violence in Badghis over...

<p>LONDON (AP) - The British Broadcasting Corp. is reporting that six gunmen have been shot and killed by Indian security forces at New Delhi's main international airport. The report on the BBC Web site Thursday was attributed to airport officials.</p>

BAGHDAD, March 23 (KUNA) -- Up to 15 Al-Qaeda operatives were killed Sunday in an air raid by US fighter jets over Diyala district, northeast of the capital, Baghdad. Iraqi security sources told KUNA that the American planes shelled Al-Qaeda hideouts in the village of Baladros, southeast of Baqouba, Diyala's largest city, killing 15 members of Al-Qaeda. Meanwhile, official spokesman for the law implementation plan Major General Qassem Atta said no military attire would be on sale at markets to prevent suicide bombers from impersonating security personnel.

One of the highest-placed leaders of al-Qaeda in Iraq, the man responsible for kidnapping and killing American soldiers, has been killed by American-led forces. Abu Usama al-Tunisi had become the "emir" of Yusufiyah and led foreign terrorists in their campaign against US and Iraqi forces: U.S.-led forces have killed one of the most important leaders of Al Qaeda in Iraq, a Tunisian believed connected to the kidnapping and killings last summer of American soldiers, a top commander said Friday. Brig. Gen. Joseph Anderson said the death of the terrorist in a U.S. airstrike Tuesday south of Baghdad, and recent similar...

RELEASE NUMBER: 070817-03 DATE POSTED: AUGUST 17, 2007 Gunfight ends with release of hostages, two insurgents dead By Tech. Sgt. Eric M. Grill CJSOTF-AP Public Affairs TAJI, Iraq (Courtesy of CJSOTF-AP PAO, Aug. 17, 2007) – After returning from a family member’s funeral, four women and six small children were kidnapped by armed men wearing ski masks on a Baghdad street on May 1. The women and children were taken after having to witness the execution of their male family members. They were held for more than a month’s time, during which the women endured daily rapings and beatings and...

AT least 10 militants have been killed and another 15 injured in a commando raid today on a radical mosque in the Pakistani capital, the military said. “We have reports of ten militants dead and 15 injured,” Major General Waheed Arshad told a private television channel.

BAGHDAD (AFP) - Around 10,000 US and Iraqi troops launched a major air and ground assault on Al-Qaeda networks in and around the restive city of Baquba, northeast of Baghdad, on Tuesday, the US military said. "Task Force Lightning commenced Operation Arrowhead Ripper today in a large-scale effort to eliminate Al-Qaeda in Iraq terrorists operating in Baquba and its surrounding areas," the military said. "Approximately 10,000 soldiers, with a full complement of attack helicopters, close air support, Strykers and Bradley Fighting Vehicles, are taking part in Arrowhead Ripper, which is still in its opening stages."

NEARLY 70 Taliban militants were killed in an ambush by US-led forces and Afghan soldiers in eastern Afghanistan, a military commander said today. The rebels were killed late yesterday in Paktia province near the border with Pakistan, Afghan army general Sami-Ul Haq Badar said. "We set an ambush, attacked them and killed 67 Taliban. Their bodies were lying on the ground," he said. The general said the soldiers had been tipped off that there were Taliban in the area. No Afghan or foreign soldiers were hurt in the gunfight, which lasted several hours. Paktia is one of the most violent...

SOMALI officials today accused the US of launching new air strikes on suspected al-Qaeda sites in southern Somalia, but Washington denied carrying out any further strikes amid doubt over the results. As concern grew about the impact of the first overt US military intervention into the lawless country since the early 1990s, officials said it was unclear if strikes that began on Monday had hit their targets. In the capital Mogadishu, senior Somali officials said US aircraft staged new raids, a day after Washington confirmed Monday's air strike aimed at senior al-Qaeda operatives believed hiding there. "There were more air...

FORCES from the US-led coalition in Iraq killed 20 alleged "al-Qaeda terrorists", including two women, in a ground assault and air strike on a target northwest of Baghdad today, the military said. Troops raiding a cluster of buildings in the Thar Thar area, in Salaheddin province 80km north of Baghdad, came under attack from a machine gun and returned fire, killing two suspects, the statement said. "Despite efforts to subdue the remaining armed terrorists, Coalition Forces continued to be threatened by enemy fire, causing forces to call in close air support... resulting in 18 more armed terrorists killed," it said....

US forces killed nine members of al-Qaeda in Iraq group today during a raid near the town of Yusifiyah, south of Baghdad, the military said. Another nine suspected members of the group were arrested, it said. The raid was carried out by US ground and air troops, the military said, adding that several of those killed were wearing suicide vests.

US and Iraqi troops killed 30 militants early today in fierce fighting in the southern Shi'ite city of Diwaniya, the US military said. It said an M1A2 Abrams tank was severely damaged in the battle, which began when militants opened fire with rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) on US and Iraqi forces, who were on a mission to detain a "high-value" target. Diwaniya's southern districts are a stronghold for the Mehdi Army militia of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, whose movement is a key player in Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government of national unity. A Mehdi Army official, who declined to be named,...

AUSTRALIAN troops have told how they killed at least five Iraqi insurgents while fighting off an attack aimed at wiping out the 60-strong force of Diggers. In the first action specifically targeting Australian troops in Iraq, the Townsville-based Diggers fought an hour-long battle in the strife-torn city of al-Rumaythah. The insurgents' aim, commanders on the spot said, was brutal: surround and kill the Australian force. At least 30 balaclava-clad insurgents dressed in black, carrying AK-47s and grenade launchers – but shielded at times by civilians – attacked the Australian column as it visited a police barracks in the city on...

IAF aircraft bombed a vehicle carrying Islamic Jihad operatives in the Gaza town of Beit Hanoun on Tuesday evening. After the initial explosion, several additional blasts were heard due to the number of weapons and explosives carried in the car. The IDF said the terrorists were on their way to launch rockets at Israeli communities in the western Negev. No casualties were reported.

Blackanthem Military News, BAGHDAD, Iraq - Combined operations by both the Iraqi Security Force and Coalition Force troops this week continued to target terrorist operations and resulted in the capture of numerous terrorists. Al ANBAR On Sept. 18 and 19, combined forces discovered several weapons caches and improvised explosive devices (IED), and rounded up multiple suspects during counterinsurgency operations in western Al Anbar. The forces discovered five weapons and munitions caches, and multiple IEDs throughout the region as a result of routine and planned counterinsurgency operations. They discovered the largest cache Sept. 18 in the Euphrates River town of Dulab....

AUSTRALIAN special force soldiers have killed more than 150 Taliban and al-Qaida fighters in the fiercest battle involving Diggers since Vietnam. Six commandos were wounded when they were hit by a rocket-propelled grenade during nine days of brutal fighting in southern Afghanistan. A sergeant-major sustained serious leg injuries in the July battle. Several soldiers will be awarded gallantry medals for their actions. The Special Forces Task Group used superior weapons and overwhelming airborne fire support from US Spectre gunships to annihilate enemy forces. The battle was part of Operation Perth, a year-long special forces deployment in Afghanistan. It happened during...

SEVENTY-one Taliban rebels have been confirmed killed in a major clash in southern Afghanistan, a district governor said today. "We have 35 Taliban bodies in Panjwayi town and 11 out of the town," district governor Niaz Mohammad Sarhadi said to AFP after the clash that erupted when scores of Taliban attacked the area in Kandahar province around midnight. Another 25 bodies were found in nearby Sperwan village, he said.