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(IsraelNN.com) An IDF investigation has found that Hamas fired mortars from the UNRWA school which was hit by an IDF bomb Tuesday. After the terrorists fired mortar shells from the school in Jebaliya , the IDF retaliated, killing Hamas terrorists as well as civilian adults and children who were used as human shields. At least 30 were killed by the IDF bombing. Proof has also emerged that the school was being used to store weapons. Secondary explosions were witnessed following the primary explosion from IDF fire. UNRWA is the United Nations' Relief Works Agency.

Note: The following text is a quote: http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/About+the+Ministry/Behind+the+Headlines/Ttragedy_school_Jebaliya_6-Jan-2009.htm Behind the Headlines: The tragedy at the school in Jebaliya 6 Jan 2009 An initial inquiry by forces on operating in the area of the incident indicates that a number of mortar shells were fired at IDF forces from within the Jebaliya school. In response to the incoming enemy fire, the forces returned mortar fire to the source. Preliminary Background Briefing Today, a reported 30 Palestinians were killed in a heartrending tragedy at a school in Jebaliya. Initial investigations indicate that Hamas terrorists fired mortar bombs from the area of the school...

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3644086,00.html After day which saw some 60 rockets, mortar shells land in Gaza vicinity communities, rocket causes light damage to kibbutz fence Thursday morning. Foreign Minister Livni meets with Egyptian President Mubarak in Cairo, in bid to prevent escalation

One report said the bombs were packed with nails Two people have died in twin explosions at shops in the city of Iligan in the southern Philippines. At least 47 people were injured - two critically - in the blasts, which went off minutes apart in two shops packed with Christmas shoppers. Police have blamed "terrorists" for the bombs, and Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice. Iligan is on the island of Mindanao, which has an active Muslim insurgency. There have been sporadic clashes between government troops and rebels fighting for self rule...

Iraqi Soldiers emplace a mortar during a class on Forward Operating Base Delta. Photo by Sgt. Daniel West. FORWARD OPERATING BASE DELTA — Iraqi Army Soldiers participated in a five-day mortar training course with the 1st Georgian Brigade. Iraqi Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 32nd Iraqi army brigade’s first and second companies trained on mortar procedures and crew drills, culminating in a live fire exercise north of al Kut July sixth to tenth.The tone for the training program arose after IA Soldiers found two 60mm mortars in a weapons cache. The battalion brought a request to their U.S. Military Transition...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON, Iraq – Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers unearthed a significant cache of mortar rounds at approximately 8:30 p.m. May 16 while on patrol in the Rashid district of southern Baghdad. Soldiers from the 1st Squadron, 33rd Cavalry Regiment, assigned to the 4th Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, attached to the1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, found 21 82 mm mortar rounds and 17 60 mm rounds while on patrol in the Furat community of Rashid. "Significant finds like these hamper enemy activity by pressuring the enemy and keeping the munitions off the streets,” said Maj. Dave...

WASHINGTON, April 7, 2008 – Coalition forces are increasingly focused on destroying enemy rocket and mortar teams following attacks on two Baghdad sites yesterday that killed three U.S. servicemembers and wounded 26 others. Rockets rained on Baghdad’s heavily fortified International Zone around 3:30 p.m. yesterday, killing two and wounding 17, military officials said. Several hours later, mortars struck a forward operating base in the eastern section of the Iraqi capital, killing one and injuring nine. “We’re definitely going after the mortar and rocket teams. They don’t just hit us, they kill innocent civilians and governmental employees, and it’s basically one...

A military correspondent for Israel's Channel Two News reported on Tuesday night that many of the mortar shells fired at southern Israel by Gaza-based Palestinian forces earlier in the day were Iranian-made 120mm shells. The heavy mortar shells have far more destructive power than the locally-produced Kassam rockets, and have a range of up to 5 miles. The speed at which the shells travel also renders useless an early warning system installed in several southern Israel communities to give residents an opportunity to reach safety in the event of an attack. The report also noted that structural reinforcements on public...

BAGHDAD, July 10 (Reuters) - A major mortar and rocket attack on Baghdad's Green Zone compound on Tuesday killed at least three people, including one U.S. military service member, and wounded around 18 other people, the U.S. embassy said. The embassy said in a statement that five of the injured were U.S. citizens, including two service members and three contract employees. It was one of the biggest barrages against the heavily fortified zone.

Terrorists 'use Google maps to hit UK troops' By Thomas Harding in Basra Last Updated: 2:06am GMT 13/01/2007 Terrorists attacking British bases in Basra are using aerial footage displayed by the Google Earth internet tool to pinpoint their attacks, say Army intelligence sources. Documents seized during raids on the homes of insurgents last week uncovered print-outs from photographs taken from Google. The satellite photographs show in detail the buildings inside the bases and vulnerable areas such as tented accommodation, lavatory blocks and where lightly armoured Land Rovers are parked. Written on the back of one set of photographs taken of...

Excerpt - BAGHDAD, Iraq - The U.S. government's office in central Iraq came under mortar fire early Saturday, an attack that touched off a blaze in part of the complex, Iraqi police said. There was no immediate word on damage or casualties. ~ snip ~ The mortar attack was at least the second reported in recent weeks against the U.S. office in Hillah, which oversees government and diplomatic interests in the central Euphrates region, about 60 miles south of Baghdad. Nine of the 10 mortar bombs fired landed inside the complex, police Capt. Muthanna Khalid Ali said. He said U.S....

A federal grand jury has indicted three Ohio men on terrorism charges alleging they plotted to kill U.S. and coalition military personnel in Iraq and other countries. The three men were arrested over the weekend and were to be arraigned in federal courts in Cleveland and Toledo on Tuesday afternoon, said Assistant U.S. Attorney David Bauer. According to the indictment unsealed Monday, the three suspects recruited others to train for a violent holy war against the United States and its allies in Iraq. The indictment says they traveled together to a shooting range to practice shooting guns and studied how...

MOSUL, Iraq (Army News Service, Nov. 14, 2005) – Two insurgent mortar teams were captured near Baqubah and 76 other suspected terrorists were detained in northern Iraq this past week. Iraqi Security Forces and Multi-National Forces from Task Force Freedom detained 76 suspected terrorists and seized a number of weapons during operations in northern Iraq Nov. 9-14. Iraqi Police along with Soldiers from 2nd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment detained 24 individuals suspected of terrorist activity and seized AK-47s during separate operations in Tal Afar Nov. 10-11. Iraqi Army Soldiers from 3rd Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division detained 15 individuals...

BALAD, Iraq - They sit for hours inside a dusty cargo container cooled by a noisy air conditioner. They read novels and Maxim magazines and try to shave strokes off their scores in computer golf. They examine bugs that squeeze under the door and talk in great detail about the meals they'll eat when they go home. On a good day, they'll get to spend, at most, about four minutes doing what they love. Welcome to the life of a Washington Army National Guard mortar man at Logistical Support Area Anaconda. "This is the high life," said Pfc. Shane Zeigler,...

In Iraq, the anti-government forces favor the use of mortars or 122mm rockets to hit large targets, like coalition bases. But Iraqis quickly discovered that the Americans and British had counterbattery radars that could spot, and plot, mortar shells in the air, and instantly identify where they were coming from. The information was transferred to a nearby artillery unit, and within a minute or two, 155mm artillery shells were landing where the mortar was set up. After losing a few mortar crews, it was realized that if the mortars were fired from a residential neighborhood, the American shells would not...

BAGHDAD (AFP) - Multinational forces in Iraq (news - web sites) said that more than a dozen missile warheads said to contain mustard gas or sarin have tested negative for chemical agents. Washington had announced the find by Polish troops on Thursday, which was later confirmed by Warsaw. The head of Poland's military intelligence service also said on Friday that "terrorist" groups were seeking to acquire the weapons. But the 122mm warheads, found in late June, have been found not to contain the deadly chemicals, a statement from multinational forces here said. "Those 16 rounds were all empty and tested...

(It appears the Japanese TV crew were able to get in to film activity that may have been difficult for US TV crews to do, thus perhaps the potential, open-source intelligence value.)

Palestinian terror groups are constantly thinking up new ways to carry out “quality” operations against Israeli citizens and soldiers. The latest invention is a mortar launcher on wheels. The new technique works as follows: The terrorists weld mortar launchers to the back of fast pick-up trucks. “Once the mortar is fired, the driver quickly flees so IDF helicopters would not be able to spot him”, an IDF official explained. According to intelligence sources, the terrorists’ new “weapon system” makes them harder to spot. However, IDF officials say that the army has enough means to quickly identify the mortar launchers. Gaza...

MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - Guerrillas launched at least five mortar rounds on a police station and mosque in the northern Iraq city of Mosul on Thursday, injuring three people including a police officer, police said. Officers at the station in central Mosul said the attackers fired a volley of rounds, hitting the station, the street in front and an adjacent mosque, before fleeing by car. Police cordoned off the area and began searching vehicles, witnesses said. One of the injured was in serious condition, a police officer said. The attack was the latest in a string on Iraqi police and...

A fourth round of tests conducted on mortar shells found in Iraq 10 days ago by Danish troops has determined that they did not contain chemical weapons, contradicting field tests by British and Danish experts last week. The results of the latest evaluation by the U.S. Department of Energy's National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory in Idaho were announced Sunday by the Danish Army Operational Command. The results mirrored findings late last week by a U.S.-led Iraq Survey Group, which was dispatched to the site in Basra after the British and Danish tests indicated that the shells contained a form of...