The Daily Terrorist Round-Up 8/31/05

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U.S. bombs Safehouses in Western Iraq
By Sebastian Alison

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. forces said they had killed a known al Qaeda militant in western Iraq on Tuesday in air strikes which a hospital official said had killed 47 people.

U.S. warplanes launched three waves of strikes near the town of Qaim, on the Syrian border, in a remote area Washington has long said is a route into Iraq for foreign Islamist fighters allied to the insurgency among Iraq's Sunni Arab minority.

"Intelligence leads Coalition forces to believe that Abu Islam and several of his associates were killed in the air strike," a U.S. military spokeswoman said in Baghdad.

A hospital official in Qaim, Mohammed al-Aani, told Reuters 35 people had died in a strike on one house and 12 in a second house. It was not immediately clear how many of the 47 might have been militants.

The U.S. military said in a statement it had carried out three separate strikes, initially dropping four bombs on a house in Qusayba, near Qaim, referred to by the military as Husayba.

"At approximately 6:20 a.m. (3:20 a.m. British time), two bombs were dropped on a second house in Husayba, occupied by Abu Islam, a known terrorist," the statement said. "Islam and several other suspected terrorists were killed in that attack."

Some of his associates then drove around six km (four miles) to a house in Karabila, a military spokeswoman said.

"Around 8:30 a.m., a strike was conducted on the house in Karabila using two precision-guided bombs. Several terrorists were killed in the strike but exact numbers are not known."

Abu Islam is an alias used by several Islamist militants. U.S. spokesmen had no further information on his identity.

U.S. Marines have launched several ground offensives against insurgents in the area in the past four months, but residents and local officials say Islamist insurgents remain a significant force in several towns along the Euphrates river.

The region is home to two Sunni Arab tribes, one loyal to al Qaeda and one to the Iraqi government. They clashed on Saturday, killing at least 20 people and wounding scores, clerics and hospital officials in the town said.

U.S., Afghan forces kill suspected Taliban leader

KABUL, Afghanistan – The U.S.-led coalition and Afghan forces have killed a suspected Taliban commander and three of his fighters in the country's south, while six other rebels died in a clash with Afghan police, officials said Monday. Payenda Mohammed, who was thought to have led about 150 rebels, was killed in a fierce battle in Kandahar province Wednesday, said U.S. military spokesman Col. James Yonts. He was believed to be responsible for numerous rocket attacks, ambushes and other guerrilla-style assaults.

At least three other militants were killed and 15 wounded in the fighting, in which A-10 warplanes and attack helicopters bombed caves along a ridge where the militants had sought shelter and had stashed weapons, Col. Yonts said Monday. No Afghan or coalition troops were wounded.

Afghan and coalition forces have stepped up attacks in recent months in an attempt to prevent the Taliban from subverting landmark legislative elections Sept. 18. Hundreds of suspected rebels have been killed.

Elsewhere, Afghan police fought a two-hour gunbattle with about 30 Taliban rebels, believed responsible for an ambush on a civilian vehicle earlier in the day in Shahjoy district of the southern province of Zabul. Ali Khail, spokesman for the provincial governor, said Monday that six of the rebels were killed, while the others, including their leader, Mullah Lutfullah, fled. He said the police suffered no casualties in the fighting Sunday.

Col. Yonts said that U.S. forces are doing all they can in Afghanistan to locate Osama bin Laden. "When will he be captured? ... I can't give you a date, but I can tell you this: Everyone remembers 9-11," Col. James Yonts told reporters in Kabul. Mr. bin Laden has long been suspected to be hiding in remote mountains between Afghanistan and Pakistan, but no hard evidence has emerged on his exact whereabouts. About 20,000 U.S. forces are deployed in Afghanistan, hunting fugitive al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders.

Despite the recent attacks, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Sunday that he was confident the Sept. 18 elections will be peaceful.

YEMEN: 50 ISLAMIC MILITANTS ARRESTED OVER AL-QAEDA LINKS

Sanaa, 31 August (AKI) - A group of fifty Islamic militants have been arrested by the Yemeni authorities, accused of being part of the Al-Qaeda terror network. The Emirates newspaper Al-Bayane reported on Wednesday that those arrested are close to the Islamic extremist movement in the country and have been arrested in the past but released after several months under the rehabilitation programme led by Judge Hamud al-Hitar.

The Yemeni police raided the homes of 15 Islamists in the Abin area and 30 in the Taiz area, both in the far south of the country, and another five in the cities of Aden and Sanaa. All were arrested on charges of restoring their links with people close to al-Qaeda and the Islamic extremist movement being investigated by magistrates in Yemen.

Yemen has been trying to rid itself of its reputation as a haven for Islamic extremists. One of its measures is closing down some 4,000 unlicensed religious schools, where ministers said extremism was being preached. In the last few days some 80 overseas students at these schools have been deported.

IRAQ: THREE MEN INVOLVED IN AMBASSADOR KILLING ARRESTED

Baghdad, 30 August (AKI) - Iraqi police say they have captured three men involved in the kidnapping and killing of Ihab al-Sharif, the Egyptian ambassador to Iraq, at the beginning of July. "The arrests were carried out in the Iskan area, close to the Mansour neighbourhood, where the Egyptian embassy is located," police sources told the Kuwaiti news agency KUNA.

The group of Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of the Egyptian diplomat, the first ambassador sent by an Arab country since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003. The group said he was captured in condemnation of Cairo's support for the Iraqi government, which it claims was installed by the Americans.

A man suspected of involvement in last week's bombing in the Indonesian city of Ambon has died from gunshot wounds after he tried to evade arrest. Police say he died after being shot in the leg.

They say the suspect was among five men arrested a day after two bombs exploded at Ambon's main market last Thursday, wounding seven people. Police believe some of those detained could be linked to a local hardline Muslim group called the Mujahideen.

Political authorities backed by around 200 armed Khassadars raided a village in North Waziristan to search a Madrassa and two homes following reports about the presence of foreign militants there on Saturday. However, the search did not yield anyone and the Khassadars (armed tribal force) returned to Miranshah, headquarters of North Waziristan.

Tribal sources said the political authorities, accompanied by about a dozen local tribal elders, suddenly turned up at Khatti village inhabited by the Humzoni tribe. They said the Khassadars laid siege to the village and blocked escape routes. They searched the homes of local cleric Maulvi Sadiq Noor and his relation Saday Khan as well as the seminary named Neras ul Uloom. No suspect was found and nobody was arrested.

(It looks like some of the tribes are on the side of the anti-terror forces. Very similar to what we are seeing in Anbar, Iraq. Coincidence or tactic?)

SAUDI ARABIA: POLICE CLASH WITH SUSPECTED IRAQI INSURGENTS

Riyadh, 30 August (AKI) - Saudi security forces have clashed with gunmen they suspect of being Iraqi insurgents, in the north-east industrial city of Jubail, the Emirates newspaper Gulf News reports. An interior ministry spokesman described it as the first incident of its kind, and said the men "infiltrated the kingdom to steal cars and smuggle them [to Iraq]."

Explaining what happened, the spokesman said, "A security patrol detected four Iraqis in Jubail province, and when it approached them, they opened fire on the patrol and tried to flee." The security services responded by returning fire, injuring one of the Iraqis, who was then transferred to hospital while the others were arrested, he said. Four men are now being interrogated.

Saudi Arabia has been fighting its own insurgency since May 2003, when extremists blew up three residential compounds in the capital Riyadh, killing 35, mostly foreigners. However, there are also many Saudis fighting in Iraq, with reports of hundreds of young men travelling there to join the jihad, some of whom were interviewed by Saudi newspapers in May after turning back on discovering that their only role would be as suicide car bombers.

The al-Qaeda leader in Iraq who was killed in a police raid earlier in August, Saleh al-Oufi, was also reported to have been planning to travel to Iraq to join the Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

GERMANY: POLICE ISSUE PHOTOS OF THREE TERROR SUSPECTS

Hamburg, 26 August (AKI) - German police on the alert for possible terrorist attacks in the northern port city of Hamburg have issued photos of three suspects. An Arabic-speaking witness, who police described as a credible source, said he overheard on Wednesday the three men at a city bus stop saying: "We'll stand before Allah as heroes tomorrow." The men then got on to a bus heading away from the city centre. The images released by police were captured on surveillance cameras.

On Thursday evening, police deployed more than 1,000 officers in a large-scale search for the three, searching houses and carrying out checks on the city's public transport system.

Hamburg was the home of a group of radical Muslim students lead by Mohamed Atta, the pilot of the first of two planes that rammed into the World Trade Centre in New York on 11 September, 2001. The attacks killed 3,000 people and triggered US president George W.Bush's 'war on terror'.

At a re-trial in the city last week, Mounir El-Motassadeq, a 31-year-old Moroccan, who was linked to the radical group living in Hamburg, was sentenced to 7 seven years in jail after the court found him guilty of belonging to a terrorist group. A third trial of El-Motassadeq is likely, as both the prosecution and defence intend to appeal his sentence, according to media reports this week.

IRAQ: ITALIAN JOURNALIST KIDNAP SUSPECTS ARRESTED

Baghdad, 31 August (AKI) - Police in Baghdad have arrested four men suspected of being involved in the kidnapping of Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena earlier this year. "They are young Iraqis, between thirty and forty years old, resident in Baghdad," Italian newspaper La Repubblica quoted what it calls a "qualified Italian investigative source" as saying. The four were arrested over other crimes, and only later were they accused of being directly involved in Sgrena's kidnapping, the source said.

Despite their identities being known to prosecutors in Rome, no other details have been given about them. The source said this is because "the photos received from the Iraqis still have to be shown to Sgrena herself," in order to identify them if possible. Italian investigators have been given permission to interrogate the men in Baghdad.

More..

India, Pak swap lists of wanted fugitives

Welcoming Pak move to grant consular access to Sarabjit Singh, India said the issue would now be pursued at diplomatic level.

India and Pakistan on Monday exchanged lists of terrorists and criminals wanted in each other’s country with underworld gangsters Dawood Ibrahim and Chota Shakeel, terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammed’s chief Maulana Masood Azhar and Ulfa head Paresh Barua figuring in New Delhi’s list.

It is learnt that the Indian side submitted a list of 30 wanted terrorists and criminals with Islamabad also presenting its list of “wanted” in India.

The lists were exchanged during the two-day Home Secretary level talks between the two countries that began here with New Delhi stressing that the dialogue would revolve around terrorism and drug trafficking.

Second suspect in Chechen village attack detained - ministry

Interior Ministry troops have apprehended another suspect wanted in connection with a bloody attack on a village in central Chechnya, a ministry spokesman said Monday.

Ruslan Atsayev said that Rustam Ustayev was suspected of being involved in an August 14 attack on the mayor's house in the village of Roshni-Chu, the central Urus-Martan district. Five soldiers, including the commandant of the Urus-Martan district, Colonel Alexander Kayak, were killed and one was seriously wounded.

Atsayev is the second man to be arrested, and is currently giving evidence in a pre-trial detention center.

Atsayev said that five of the militants, including gang leader Kazbek Batalov, had been killed during the shoot-out that ensued after the militants surrounded the mayor's house.

According to local police, more than 80 militants were involved in the attack and efforts to identify and apprehend them are continuing. Interior Ministry troops have raided several militant hideouts in mountainous forests, Atsayev said.

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Aug. 30, 2005 — This time, things went down differently than planned. As arranged, the men prepped and fired a mortar at coalition forces. They shuttled into their vehicle, certain of a smooth exit.

What the terrorists did not count on was what happened afterward: An American fighter aircraft zoomed overhead, investigating the mortar point of origin. The pilot tracked the terrorist team in their getaway truck, simultaneously communicating with an Army quick-reaction force on the ground.

Within minutes, the ground forces nabbed one of the terrorists.

“He squealed on his teammates, and coalition forces rounded them up,” said Capt. Sev Olinger, a fighter duty officer with the Multinational Corps-Iraq Air Support Operations Center here.

Captain Olinger, an air liaison officer deployed from the 682nd Air Support Operations Squadron at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., spends most of his time on these “pop-up” close-air support requests. He keeps an eye on strategic air support issues while also supporting the fighter duty technician, Senior Airman Andy Moore, a tactical air control party member.

Both airmen are part of the 18th Expeditionary Air Support Operations Group that provides direct support to TACPs, a unique class of airmen who embed directly with Army units to coordinate close-air support missions.

Airman Moore and Captain Olinger are the primary liaisons between the soldiers and TACPs on the ground, and coalition aircraft flying close-air support missions for Operation Iraqi Freedom.

While the Air Support Operations Center airmen exhort the most effort on immediate requests from these ground units, many of the close-air support missions are preplanned. The center works closely with the Combined Air Operations Center at a forward-deployed location, which controls the majority of air assets supporting operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.

“In essence, we are the eyes, ears, and voice of the CAOC when it comes to close-air support,” said Lt. Col. Rob Davis, ASOC and 682d EASOS commander. “We’re the command and control link between the CAOC and the TACP on the ground.”

The compact unit, which supports more than 250 TACP members in country, is also a crucial peg in the intelligence puzzle here.

“We’re the first folks who find out how successful the task requests work that are being called in by the (joint tactical air controllers),” said Staff Sgt. Eldonous Allen, noncommissioned officer in charge of the ASOC’s intelligence.

Sergeant Allen ensures that any new intelligence, such as troops engaged in a firefight or the discovery of antiaircraft artillery is shared with the CAOC and Army counterparts.

He also directly supports the TACPs by providing critical information to them, including satellite imagery that helps them plan future missions.

Whether the close-air support missions in Iraq are part of premission planning or as a result of emergencies on the battlefield, the ASOC is always focused on the primary mission of defeating terrorism, one foiled plan at a time.

Two major caches with arms found in Chechnya

Two major caches with arms and ammunition have been found in Chechnya over the past weekend.

As Itar-Tass learnt at the press service of the Main Department of the Russian Interior Ministry for the Southern Federal District, the cache found in the area of the village of Novy Benoi contained a “Shmel” flame thrower, four hand grenade launchers, 63 under-barrel grenade launcher projectiles, 10 mines of different modification, 44 hand grenades, an artillery shell, nine 200-gram TNT blocks, detonators, fuses and rounds.

The arms and ammunition were destroyed.

It was established that the cache belonged to local resident Yusup Taisumanov, 23, a participant in illegal armed groups.

Another cache, belonging to gunman Ruslan Vakhyev, who was killed during a special operation seven days ago, was found in a garage in Grozny’s Leninsky district.

The cache contained two sub-machine-guns, a TT pistol, a hand antitank grenade launcher, a “shakhid” belt, a lot of rounds, two 152-mm-calibre artillery shells and electric detonators.

As representatives of the press service said, “they receive information on the whereabouts of caches both from local residents and gunmen who give themselves up.”

One Terrorist Dies, Four Detained in Samarra (Plus more good stories)

WASHINGTON, Aug. 30, 2005 – A terrorist was killed when an improvised explosive device he was removing from his vehicle detonated Aug. 29 in Samarra, Iraq, military coalition officials in Iraq reported today.

Task Force Liberty soldiers detained four other individuals caught removing the body from the vehicle and placing it in their truck. Soldiers took them to a coalition base for questioning.

In the air war, coalition aircraft flew 55 close-air-support and armed-reconnaissance sorties Aug. 29 for Operation Iraqi Freedom, officials said today.

U.S. Air Force F-16 fighter jets struck an insurgent forces meeting place in the vicinity of Qaim. The planes destroyed the building with two 500-pound GBU-38 bombs.

Other F-16s provided close-air support to coalition ground troops in contact with insurgents in the same vicinity. The F-16s performed a strike against an insurgent building, using one 500-pound GBU-12 bomb. U.S. Navy F/A-18 fighter jets provided close-air support to coalition troops near Tall Afar.

In western Iraq, multinational forces reported netting five terrorists in the city of Hit over a two-week period this month. Intelligence gathering and tips from concerned citizens led coalition forces to various locations in and around Hit and Baghdad. The following individuals were captured:

* On Aug. 13, Multinational forces raided a suspected terrorist location in Baghdad and captured Uhayb Hamud Farhan Aber -- aka Abu Ahmad. Ahmad was second in command of the terrorist Al-Ahwal Brigade in Hit. He was responsible for running all operations in that unit, to include the planning of targets and resourcing of homemade and car-bomb attacks against Iraqi security and coalition forces.

* Coalition forces raided a suspected terrorist location in the vicinity of Hit Aug. 24 and captured Luay Hadi Hamid Mahhlif -- aka Abu Yamana. Yamana was a homemade- and car-bomb cell leader responsible for conducting attacks against Iraqi and coalition forces in and around Hit and the central corridor.

* On Aug. 25, multinational forces raided a suspected terrorist location near Hit and captured Ali Abd-Al-Wahid Thabit Bani -- aka Abu Husayn. Husayn was also in the Al-Ahwal Brigade there, where he led a media cell that filmed and photographed attacks. He created fliers, posters and other extremist propaganda and distributed them to local citizens in Hit and other cities in the region.

* Multinational forces raided a suspected terrorist location in Baghdad Aug. 26 and captured Sinan Mut'ib 'Abd-Al-Karim Jasim -- aka Abu Jafar or Abu Zaynab, the leader and primary financier of the Al-Ahwal Brigade in Hit.

* Also on Aug. 26 Mahmud Saynt, Jafar's military commander and closest friend and adviser, was killed when coalition forces attempted to capture him.

* On Aug. 27, forces raided a suspected terrorist location in Hit and captured Sami Saud Hamad al-Ma'azizi -- aka Aby Sayf. Sayf, who had been Mahmud Saynt's deputy, had just succeeded the slain Al-Ahwal Brigade military commander.

(Based on news releases from Multinational Force Iraq and U.S. Central Command Air Forces Forward.)

Task Force Freedom Forces Detain 17 Terror Suspects

WASHINGTON, Aug. 29, 2005 – Multinational forces from Task Force Freedom detained 17 suspected terrorists in Iraq on Aug. 28, U.S. military officials reported today.

Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, detained six individuals suspected of terrorist activity and seized weapons from a vehicle during separate operations in southern Mosul.

Soldiers from 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, detained four individuals suspected of terrorist activity during a cordon-and-search operation in northern Mosul.

Soldiers from the same unit seized another weapons cache in western Mosul consisting of a one 60 mm mortar, several rifles including AK-47s assault rifled, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, RPGs, RPG fuel rods, a box of grenades and ammunition.

Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, detained two individuals suspected of terrorist activity and seized a cache of homemade bomb-making materials during a raid in northern Mosul.

Troops confiscated the caches for future destruction.

Soldiers from 2nd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, detained five individuals suspected of terrorist activity during separate operations, four of them in Tal Afar.

Suspects were in custody, with no MNF injuries reported.

Also, coalition aircraft flew 48 close-air support and armed reconnaissance sorties Aug. 28 for Operation Iraqi Freedom.

U.S. Air Force F-16s and a Predator and Royal Air Force GR-4s provided close-air support to coalition troops in the vicinities of Al Qaim and Baghdad.

(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq and U.S. Central Command Air Forces Forward Public Affairs news releases.)

OUTSTANDING NEWS! Our forces are cleaning up and we're getting help from other countries. Victory is within reach!

"Abu Islam is an alias used by several Islamist militants. U.S. spokesmen had no further information on his identity."

Whoever he was, it will be awfully hot where he's going.

US airstrike kills eight Taliban
Reuters ^ | 8/31/05

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1474067/posts

US aircraft bombed a Taliban position in central Afghanistan killing eight militants in the latest violence in the run-up to a September 18 election, a provincial official said today. US and Afghan troops, acting on intelligence reports that Taliban had set up a base in the mountains of Uruzgan province, were met with a hail of bullets when they went to investigate on Tuesday, provincial governor Jan Mohammad Khan said, adding an air strike was called later. "The Taliban showed resistance...the US aircraft bombed the base," Mr Khan told Reuters.

A US military spokeswoman said she had no information about the fighting. A Taliban spokesman confirmed the latest fighting but, speaking by telephone from an undisclosed location, said 12 Afghan government troops and US soldiers had been killed. US forces killed a senior Taliban commander in Uruzgan province last week. The man, Payenda Mohammed, had been responsible for a spate of attacks, the US military said.

US and Afghan government forces have mounted a series of operations in the south and east in recent months to root out pockets of militants and ensure security for the parliament elections. Afghan and US officials say the insurgents will not be allowed to disrupt the vote. Election organisers are cautiously optimistic that polling in most areas will be smooth. About 20,000 US troops and 10,000 NATO peacekeepers are focussing on security for the election.

-Reuters

It is learnt that the Indian side submitted a list of 30 wanted terrorists and criminals with Islamabad also presenting its list of “wanted” in India.

The lists were exchanged during the two-day Home Secretary level talks between the two countries that began here with New Delhi stressing that the dialogue would revolve around terrorism and drug trafficking.

One more step in ending one of the most vexing problem of the last 50 years. Don't know why this sort of thing doesn't get more coverage.

“He squealed on his teammates, and coalition forces rounded them up,” said Capt. Sev Olinger, a fighter duty officer with the Multinational Corps-Iraq Air Support Operations Center here.

Like the Pigs they are, not that I would want to offend their Muslim sensibilities...

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