The Terrorist Round-up for 6/2/06

6/2/06

[Straight Vermonter]

	U.S. Army soldiers patrol the streets of the Islah Zeral neighborhood of Mosul, Iraq, in a Stryker vehicle. The soldiers are attached to Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, from Fort Wainwright, Alaska. (DoD photo by Tech. Sgt. Jeremy T. Lock, U.S. Air Force.) (Released)
	A truck full of U.S. Army soldiers fords the Pech River in Pech Valley, Afghanistan, during operations on April 9, 2006. The soldiers are attached to Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment. DoD photo by Spc. Joshua Balog, U.S. Army. (Released)
	Soldiers from Bravo Company, 117th Infantry Division, 172nd Stryker Brigade return to base camp after patrolling the streets and conducting cordon searches in Mosul, Iraq. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech Sgt. Jeremy T. Lock)
	U.S. Army Spc. Brian Stubbs of Apache Troop, 1st Squadron, 33rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, searches a home during a downpour in Sadr City, Iraq, April 30, 2006. The troop was on a routine presence patrol in the city. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Russell Lee Klika)
	U.S. soldiers assigned to Apache Troop, 1st Squadron, 33rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, conduct a patrol in Sadr City, Iraq. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Russell Lee Klika)

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Afghanistan & Pakistan - Large Map

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SAS in Taliban Cave Fight
By Chris Hughes

British Special Forces and Paras were called into a firefight with Taliban diehards in an Afghan cave complex. Parachute Regiment Pathfinders backed crack troops from the SAS and SBS in an operation to oust the rebels from a deep underground bunker.

They came to the rescue after elite French troops attacked the terror base which extends up to two miles into a mountain in northern Helmand, close to where British forces are now based. Members of the British 16th Air Assault Brigade responded after three French soldiers were killed deep within the complex.

Dutch, US, Czech, Romanian and Estonian forces have also been involved in the cave fighting, which has raged for more than a week. A military source said: "This place is a real rabbit warren.

"A large number of Taliban have been killed or are now on the run - and operations to track them down are ongoing."

Coalition forces were last night still involved in a mopping-up operation.

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Police claim killing eight Taliban in Ghazni
Aziz Zahid

Police in the southern Ghazni province claimed killing eight Taliban following an overnight clash in the Aab Band district of the province.

Provincial police chief Abdul Rahman Sarjang told Pajhwok Afghan News police clashed with the Taliban last night and the firefight continued for more than three hours.

As a result, eight Taliban were killed and several others wounded, said Sarjang. He added the clash erupted when Taliban fighters attack a police post.

In retaliatory fire, eight Taliban were killed and many others wounded. He said the police suffered no losses in the fighting. He said some 250 fighters had attacked the police post.

Earlier, in a chat with this news agency, Sarjang had expressed ignorance about losses to Taliban in the clash.

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Coalition Forces Discover Weapoms Cache in Kandahar Province
COMBINED FORCES COMMAND – AFGHANISTAN, COALITION PRESS INFORMATION CENTER, KABUL, AFGHANISTAN

Coalition forces confiscated a sizeable weapons cache May 26 while conducting a combat patrol in the Spin Boldak District of Kandahar Province.

The patrol discovered 1,000 .50-caliber rounds, more than 100 mortar rounds, 100 RPG rounds and more than 20 fuses. An explosive ordnance disposal team was called to handle the disposition of the weapons.

“Recovering and disposing of these weapons increases the safety and security of Afghans, and reduces the danger in the area posed by criminals and insurgents who might use those munitions indiscriminately to cause harm on the Afghan people, Afghan security forces or Coalition forces,” said Lt. Col. Paul Fitzpatrick, Combined Joint Task Force – 76 spokesman

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Bomb makers captured in Paktika Province

Two men suspected of involvement with improvised explosive devices were captured by Coalition forces May 31 in Sharan District in Paktika Province.

Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry stopped two suspicious men near an Afghan National Police station and found land mines and timing devices in their possession. The two men were turned over to Afghan Police for questioning.

“Improvised explosive devices are indiscriminate weapons of the criminals and insurgents who want to prevent Afghanistan from achieving a brighter future,” said Lt. Col. Paul Fitzpatrick, Combined Joint Task Force – 76 spokesman. “This is one more IED cell taken off the street making life safer for all Afghans.”

People should report road-side bombs, weapons caches and other suspicious activity to Afghan or Coalition authorities.

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Afghan govt. claims arresting 20 Taliban

The Afghan military Thursday said they had arrested 20 Taliban militants during a crackdown in southern parts of Afghanistan over the past 24 hours. The operation was launched in the volatile Zabul province after the insurgents attacked a police convoy and killed deputy police chief of the province.

Spokesman for the governor of the Zabul province Gulab Shah Alikhel told journalists hundreds of soldiers backed by the US-led coalition forces were taking part in the operation started two days back in the province. He said police and military personnel had been fanned out in Qalat, Shojoy and Shahri Safa districts and they were also searching buildings where they believed Taliban had taken refuge. Deputy police chief of Afghanistan's Zabul province was killed in a rocket attack by Taliban on Tuesday.

The spokesman said rocket-propelled grenades (RPG), some heavy machineguns and motorbikes have also been recovered during raids on the hideouts of the insurgents. But Taliban spokesman rejected the claim as baseless and said none of their fighters were arrested by the police or Afghan army. Meanwhile, the coalition forces said they had arrested a Taliban fighter following a shoot-out in the Arghandab district of the southern Kandahar province. Spokesman for the US-led coalition forces in Kandahar Major Innis said their forces were attacked while patrolling in Karto village. The forces chased the attackers and arrested one of them.

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Police arrest militants wanted in 28 terrorists cases in Pakistan

Police in two different raids in Southwestern Baluchistan province arrested a militant, wanted in 28 terrorist cases and recovered huge cache of arms and ammunition, said an official Thursday.

Chauhdary Muhammad Yaqoob, the Inspector General (IG) Quetta city, at a press conference said that police has arrested a militant of outlawed Lashkar-i-Jhangvi (LJ) terrorist outfit in a raid.

Without giving details about the militant, the IG said that he was wanted in 28 terrorist activities in the insurgency-hit province of Baluchistan.

Meanwhile, in a different raid, police force seized huge cache of arms and ammunition.

Also, police sources told KUNA, a vehicle hit a landmine, being planted by suspected nationalist militants, in Sui district, wounding two and damaging the vehicle badly.

In Dera Bugti tribe, the heart of nationalist insurgency, Frontier Core (FC) troops and militants exchanged fire for about 30 minuets. But there was no human or property loss.

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Failed suicide attack kills bomber in Afghanistan

Only a bomber was killed in a bungled suicide attack in western Afghanistan on Thursday.

Izatullah Wasifi, Governor of the Afghanistan's western Farah province, where the blast took place, said the explosion took place near a base of NATO forces. He said the car, in which the explosives were packet, went off prematurely killing the driver.

The governor said the car was proceeding towards the base of US forces, working as part of the NATO mission, when it exploded. No other casualties were reported from the attack.

Meanwhile, security officials and residents said the blast took place no sooner did an ISAF and Afghan military convoy passed through the area. A senior police officer, on condition of anonymity, told KUNA the explosives were packed in a white Corolla car in which only one man was sitting. He said the blast took place around 7am this morning.

Witnesses said body parts of the bomber were scattered in the area and his identity was difficult.

Suicide attacks are common in Afghanistan's southern parts but in the past one month, more than five suicide attacks have been registered in the western parts, which are considered as comparatively calm.

On Monday, 14 Afghan civilians were killed in riots touched off by a deadly collision of US military vehicle with some civilians' in the northern parts of Kabul.

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Four Taliban captured in Zabul: Defence Ministry
Aziz Zahid

The Afghan National Army (ANA) has arrested four Taliban fighters, including two foreigners, during an operation in the southern Zabul province on Wednesday.

Spokesman for the Defence Ministry General Zahir Azimi told Pajhwok Afghan News two local and two foreign fighters were arrested by ANA with four motorcycles in the Gurgak village of the Atghar district.

Asked about identity of the arrested people, Azimi said they were presently under investigations and further details about them would be released later. He informed one ANA soldier was wounded in a clash with insurgents in the Deh Rawod district of the southern Uruzgan province.

Earlier, deputy police chief of the province Ghulam Rasul was killed when his car was attacked by Taliban near Qalat, capital of Zabul province last night. The provincial authorities said they had launched a massive operation in the area to arrest the perpetrators of the attack.

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Iraq - Large Map

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Terrorist Leaders Captured in Iraq; Detainees Released

Iraqi and coalition forces captured eight terrorist leaders in recent operations in Baghdad neighborhoods. Also, the Iraqi-led Combined Review and Release Board released more than 200 detainees. Yesterday, Iraqi forces raided two targets in the Karada area of Baghdad and detained seven individuals responsible for homemade bomb attacks against Iraqi security forces.

The first target was a dormitory on Baghdad Technical University's campus where two student cells, operating out of dormitory rooms, built bombs and later initiated attacks against Iraqi army and police forces. Four students were detained during this operation.

At the second target, an apartment building near the campus, Iraqi forces detained three cell leaders responsible for emplacing bombs made by their student cells. All three cell leaders are believed to be Palestinians, and they were financed by a local business.

This cell is responsible for at least two attacks against Iraqi security and police forces in the Karada area. The first attack, in December 2005, resulted in no casualties. The second attack, in January of this year, killed several Iraqi police officers riding in a vehicle.

No Iraqi forces were killed or wounded during this operation. On May 29, Iraqi and coalition forces captured a key insurgent leader in Iraq, in the Ameriya neighborhood of Baghdad's Mansour district.

Sheikh Ahmed Hussein Dabash Samir al-Batawi, also known as Ahmed al-Dabash, was a major financier and facilitator of terrorism in Iraq, most notably the bomb attack in the Shiite holy city of Karbala on March 2, 2004. In that attack, several pre-set explosives were detonated near one of the most important Shiite shrines in Iraq - the Golden Dome Mosque.

The Ashura attacks killed more than 180 people.

More than 140 Iraqis were murdered and hundreds were wounded in the attack that occurred during the Shiite observance of Ashoura, a time when thousands of pilgrims gathered in Karbala. It is believed that Dabash also was responsible for the attack on the Shiite al-Tawhid Mosque in Baghdad and for facilitating other terror attacks around Baghdad.

Coalition forces consider Dabash's capture significant for the critical information they believe he will provide on al Qaeda and Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's network. They said he is known to have close ties to these organizations.

The Iraqi Central Investigating Court in Baghdad issued an arrest warrant for Dabash on Jan. 9, 2005, citing his violation of Iraqi Penal Code 194 - committing terrorist acts.

Iraqi and coalition intelligence officials and security forces tracked Dabash in a determined manhunt, and over the last two years have arrested several of his enablers and underlings who followed Dabash's command to commit terrorist crimes, officials said.

In other news, Multinational Force Iraq released 204 male detainees from coalition-run theater internment facilities May 30. The Iraqi-led Combined Review and Release Board reviewed their files and recommended release.

The board was established in August 2004 and consists of members from the ministries of Human Rights, Justice and Interior, as well as officers from the multinational forces.

To date, the board has reviewed the cases of more than 39,000 detainees, recommending the release of more than 19,600 individuals.

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Two top terrorists arrested

Iraq's Interior Ministry announced Thursday it had arrested its second "high-ranking terrorist" in a week.

Hamza Khair al-Aini, accused of killing dozens of Iraqi civilians and security forces, was hiding in the town of Abu Saydah north of Baghdad, where police said they caught him. They found a bloody saw and clothes in his hideout, the ministry said.

The ministry's statement did not say when the arrest took place.

The statement came a day after Iraq announced its forces had arrested Ahmed Hussein Dabash Samir al-Batawi, another "key terrorist," on Monday

Al-Batawi was involved in the March 2004 bombing of Karbala that killed more than 140 Iraqis, most of them Shiite pilgrims, according to Iraqi and U.S. military officials.

During his arrest, Iraqi forces from the Terrorist Combat Unit seized documents that listed potential attack targets.

U.S. military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said the arrest "is very, very significant to us."

More..

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US troops focus on al Qaeda in Ramadi
By Michael Georgy

Al Qaeda militants have gained ground in Ramadi and the 1,500 extra U.S. troops brought to Iraq to help fight them will be used to try to break their grip on the town, the U.S. military said on Thursday.

A U.S. Marine stands guard outside a house while the rest of his squad searches for weapons during an operation in the town of Ramadi, in this military handout photo. (USMC/Cpl. Shane Suzuki/Handout/Reuters)

"We are very concerned about Ramadi. The situation in Ramadi is very serious," chief U.S. military spokesman Major General William Caldwell told a news conference.

The U.S. military has not suggested publicly that a big offensive is expected in Ramadi, 110 km (70 miles) west of Baghdad. But U.S. military officials appear to be focusing more on the town, capital of Anbar province, the insurgent heartland in western Iraq.

Two extra battalions have moved to Iraq from Kuwait to step up the fight against al Qaeda militants and insurgents in Anbar.

"Al Qaeda militants have increased their presence. The extra troops have been brought in to facilitate the movement of other troops and deal with al Qaeda," said military spokesman Colonel Nelson McCouch.

He said the troops would be based in Ramadi, which has emerged as the biggest hotspot in Iraq after a major U.S. military offensive crushed al Qaeda militants and insurgents in 2004 in nearby Falluja, a former rebel bastion.

Asked if the situation in Ramadi was similar to that in Falluja before the assault, when residents said al Qaeda militants ruled the streets, McCouch said:

"They are different. We have a presence and positions in Ramadi. In Falluja, we were trying to establish positions."

VULNERABLE TO INSURGENTS

U.S. commanders, the White House and the Iraqi government have spoken of hopes that some American troops will go home this year but say that will happen only when Iraqi forces are ready.

Caldwell said the performance of Iraqi forces had improved and they conducted 40 percent of the 389 military operations last week on their own.

But Anbar remains the area most vulnerable to insurgent forces. Ramadi residents say they have noticed increased U.S. and Iraqi checkpoint and patrol activity in the city.

Al Qaeda-allied militants, led among others by Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and nationalists loyal to Saddam Hussein's banned Baath party have found refuge in the desert wastes of Anbar since the U.S. invasion three years ago.

They often conduct bold operations in Ramadi, frequently attacking the building housing the governorate.

U.S. Marines have launched a series of offensives against rebel strongholds, notably in towns along the Euphrates River from the Syrian border to Falluja.

U.S. commanders' hopes have been raised over the past year by signs of growing disillusionment among the local Sunni Arab population with the rebels, especially with Islamists who have bloodily imposed Taliban-style rule on some towns at times.

Local people also voted in substantial numbers for the first time in December's parliamentary election and Sunni leaders are in the national unity government formed last week.

But the insurgents remain strong in places, despite repeated raids by some 20,000 Marines stretched across the region.

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Saudi Al-Qaeda Member Captured in Iraq in US Custody
By Mohammed Al Shafey

Photo exclusive to Asharq Al-Awsat.

A Saudi member of al Qaeda, captured in northern Iraq, was handed over to the U.S Army, according to a minister in the Kurdistan regional government.

Said Saad Said al Qarni, also known as Abu Qatiba, a former student of Imam Mohammed bin Saud in Riyadh, was detained by the Kurdish police last summer in Mosul, after failing to blow up the Kurdish Democratic Party headquarters in the city.

Abdul Karim Sinjari, minister of state for the interior in the regional government, told Asharq al Awsat that the 24-year’s journey began in Jeddah where he met a man known as Abu Abada, before boarding a flight together to Damascus, with $2000 in his possession.

In Syria, al Qarni stayed at a number of safe houses before illegally crossing the border into Iraq and traveling to al Qaim. According to the investigation, al Qarni met an Iraqi called Abu Mohammed and stayed at his home with four other terrorists, including a Saudi called Abu Azzam.

In Falluja, the former student asked to take part in a suicide attack against the coalition forces. However, he was chosen to carry out an attack in Iraqi Kurdistan and entered northern Iraq with forged documents. He was later arrested in Mosul.

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Al-Qaeda in Iraq Members Killed Recently

Abu Dujanah al-Qahtani (Saudi Arabia): A former Saudi National Guard soldier who participated in various assaults in far western Iraq organized by senior Afghan-trained Al-Qaida commanders.

Abu Hummam al-Urdani (Jordan): A black belt Tae Kwon Do instructor who "assumed responsibility for training at the desert-based Rawa military camp" in 2003. The now-defunct Rawa camp is widely hailed in mujahideen circles as Al-Qaida's first training camp for foreign fighters in Iraq. Al-Urdani later joined Al-Qaida's notorious Omar Corps, dedicated to murdering Shiite militiamen and their families.

Abu Radwan al-Urdani (Jordan): Better known as Raed al-Banna, a law student from Salt, Jordan who spent time working in the United States, including during the period of September 11, 2001 "when the men of Islam finally struck and wrought destruction in the heartland of America in broad daylight." According to the mujahideen, the weight of 9/11 "moved Abu Radwan and so he embraced blessed Allah once again." Abu Radwan, a.k.a. Raed al-Banna, later volunteered as an Al-Qaida suicide bomber in Iraq targeting Shiites in the town of Hilla. The devastating attack that he carried out "claimed the lives of 150 cursed enemies, and wounded more than 300--we ask Allah that they do not recover from their injuries."

Abu Usama al-Ansari (Iraq): A former illegal arms smuggler during the regime of Saddam Hussein who reformed himself and became a mujahid after the U.S. invasion in 2003. According to the mujahideen, Abu Usama "was inspired by the Shaykh and mujahid, Abu Anas al-Shami [a.k.a. Omar Yousef Jumah]... who spent a period of time residing at Abu Usama's house, urging people to join the fight. Abu Usama used to teach his brothers many of the lessons and sayings of Abu Anas."

Abu Asil al-Jazairi (Algeria): A former senior official in the comparatively moderate Muslim Brotherhood movement who was "eventually guided toward the righteous path" and used his "administrative and organizational experience" to help Al-Qaida instead. According to the mujahideen, Abu Asil "was assigned the responsibility of overseeing the borders [of Iraq]. In other words, he was responsible for all the Arab brothers that came to fight in the jihad... He loved to quote from Shaykh Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's statements... and did this so frequently that he practically knew all of his speeches verbatim by heart."

Abu Ibrahim al-Tunisi (Tunisia): A veteran Tunisian mujahideen commander who "spent most of his life fighting on the frontlines and practicing jihad in Afghanistan, Europe [presumably Bosnia-Herzegovina], and Iraq. He was responsible for Shaykh Usama Bin Laden's guesthouses in Afghanistan... [and later] arrived in Rawa [Iraq], the city of martyrs, where he spent some time and assumed the role of commander of [Al-Qaida's] security branch."

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Israel & Palestinian Territories  - Large Map

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Border Guards Arrest Three Jihad Terrorists

Border guard special forces captured three wanted Islamic Jihad terrorists this evening. The three were caught in Kabatiyeh, south of the city of Jenin, in northern Samaria.

There were no injuries in the operation. The terrorists were transferred to General Security Services custody for interrogation.

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Palestinian gunmen clash in Gaza, 3 hurt

A gunbattle between militants from the rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah erupted in the southern Gaza Strip on Thursday, lightly wounding three Fatah members, witnesses and medics said.

The clash in the town of Khan Younis disrupted a tenuous peace that had been in place since President Mahmoud Abbas, Fatah's leader, and Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh's Hamas-led government began talks last week to try to end violence in Gaza.

Fatah and Hamas traded blame over who began the gunbattle. Fatah sources said its gunmen were ambushed by Hamas militants. Hamas said one of its gunmen opened fire after his home came under attack.

More..

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India & Kashmir  - Large Map

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Three 'militants' killed in India

The car used by the suspects was riddled with bullets

Police in India say they have killed three suspected militants who were planning an attack on the headquarters of a Hindu right-wing organisation. Officials said the militants were targeting the headquarters of the Rashtriya Shyamsevak Sangh (RSS) in western Nagpur city early on Thursday.

Police said the attackers belonged to an unspecified Islamic group.

The RSS is the ideological fountainhead of various Hindu groups including the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party.

Police officials told the BBC that the police intercepted the militants, who were armed with hand grenades and assault rifles, near the RSS headquarters in Maharashtra state at 0400 on Thursday.

Two policemen were also injured in the five-minute-long gun battle.

Potential target

Officials said the men, who were dressed in police uniform, came in a car and fired upon the policemen who stopped them for questioning outside the organisation's headquarters.

Nagpur police chief SDS Yadav said that security was tight at the RSS headquarters as it had always been a potential target for militants. Security at all RSS offices in the country has been tightened after the incident, the BBC's Zubair Ahmed reports from Mumbai.

"We will be cautious. We have asked RSS offices all over the country to be on guard," RSS spokesman Ram Madhav said.

The 81-year-old RSS is India's oldest Hindu nationalist organisation with an estimated 1.3 million members. The organisation came into existence in 1925 in Nagpur with an avowed objective to make India a Hindu nation. Some RSS members take part in military drills and exercises - a guiding principle of the organisation is that India should be Hinduised and militarised.

Critics of the organisation say that its hardline ideology is based on intolerance towards religious minorities.

Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated in 1948 by a militant Hindu who was said to have been influenced by an RSS member.

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Hizb commander among three gunned down by army
A self-styled commander of the banned Hizbul Mujahideen, who is believed to have been involved in a number of car bomb and IED attacks on security personnel, was among three militants killed in a four-day-long operation in Tral area of Jammu and Kashmir.

A BSF trooper was also killed and three persons - two BSF jawans and a woman - were injured during the operation which ended today.

Mohammad Ayub Naik who went by the code name Wasim was killed yesterday in an hour-long encounter at his Amirabad village of Pulwama district, a day after two of his other associates (Muhammad Ashraf and Hafiz Muhammad Irfan alias Janbaz Hizbi) were gunned down in the village, a defence spokesman said. The army operation had started on May 29.

More..

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Russia - Large Map (Caucasus)

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Two militants killed in Daghestan special operation

Two militants were killed during a special operation in the town of Buinaksk in central Daghestan, the local Interior Ministry said Wednesday.

The police have not disclosed the details of the operation in the region in the south of Russia.

A source in a local hospital said a passer-by was wounded in the course of the operation in the center of the town, and that he was in a serious condition with spinal injuries.

The militants have been identified as Timur Kusiyev and Zaur Muzhaidov, both born in 1985, who had been preparing an attack on a high-ranking police officer, a spokesman for the local interior ministry said.

A Kalashnikov assault rifle, grenades and cartridges were seized at the scene of the operation.

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3 militants killed, hostage freed in Ingushetia operation

Three suspected militants have been killed and one hostage has been freed in an operation in the troubled North Caucasus republic of Ingushetia, a police source said Wednesday.

The source also said that one policeman had been killed and three wounded after law enforcers surrounded a house in which militants had taken a man hostage. The militants later blew up the basement in which they were holed up.

The hostage has been taken to the hospital with a gunshot wound, the source added.

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Europe - Large Map

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Germany: Women May Have Planned Suicide Mission to Iraq

German intelligence services in recent weeks have prevented three German women - at least one of whom is reportedly a convert to Islam - from travelling to Iraq on suspicion that they could be involved in suicide bombing missions, the German weekly magazine Der Spiegel's online edition has revealed. The women - one of whom is a Muslim convert - apparently have close contacts with Islamist organisations in Germany, the report said, adding that one of them announced on an Internet site that she intended to blow herself and her child up in Iraq.

According to Online Spiegel the Web posting triggered an intensive search for the three women by Germany's domestic and foreign intelligence agencies. One of them was located in Berlin, the other two are believed to come from southern Germany.

The Berlin woman's child was taken away from her and she has been put in a psychiatric clinic. The two other women were also prevented from leaving Germany. One of them is also believed to have a child.

It's not clear yet how serious the women were about their claims and how far their plans for an attack had progressed. There has been no official confirmation.

Well-informed sources cited by Online Spiegel said the women have had contacts with sympathisers of Ansar al Islam, a militant group linked to al-Qaeda and suspected of smuggling suicide bombers from Germany to Iraq. The group is also suspected of raising money for the resistance to the US-led forces in Iraq.

There have been several such cases in the past, and German security officials have long been worried that Islamic militants are increasingly recruiting young Muslims with German passports for suicide attacks.

There have been numerous reports of foreign suicide bombers active in in Iraq, but these are mostly believed to be militants from Arab countries. Last November a female Belgian convert blew herself up near Baghdad.

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Southeast Asia - Large Map

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U.S. forces find model for beating terror (Philippines)
AUDREY McAVOY

When the commander of U.S. Special Forces in the Philippines talks about battles won in the war on terror, he does not list enemies killed and targets destroyed. Instead, U.S. Army Col. James Linder recounts jobs created and schools built.

"We just changed the dynamics of a very small community from one in which only a few years ago, Abu Sayyaf was coming down from the hilltop with weapons on their back and recruiting the schoolchildren, to one in which they can't come there anymore," Linder said.

U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Kristie A. Kenney, right, speaks to Philippine Army Commander Brig. Gen. Raymundo Ferrer, left, as U.S. Special Forces Commander Col. James Linder listens during her visit to Basilan island in southern Philippines. (AP Photo)

Since 2002, U.S. Army Rangers and Navy SEALs have been training and equipping Philippine troops to oust al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf terrorists from Mindanao, a predominantly Muslim and largely poor part of the Southeast Asian nation. The militaries have used a combination of combat offensives and development projects - with a heavy emphasis on the latter - to isolate the terrorists and win over local populations.

Their successes in villages like the one Linder described contrast sharply with the U.S.-led effort in Iraq or Afghanistan, where terror attacks only seem to increase. Now, senior U.S. military leaders say their work in the Philippines may offer lessons for how the U.S. operates in the Middle East.

On Basilan island, where U.S. troops first started operating four years ago, improved security has allowed the Philippine military to shrink its presence from 15 battalions to two, said Maj. Gen. David Fridovich, the commander of U.S. Special Forces in the Pacific.

Fridovich said military operations are only 15 percent of what needs to be done. The rest is humanitarian, like Army engineers helping rebuild schools and military doctors giving residents shots. U.S. aid workers have helped build bridges and roads.

"We think there is a model here that's worth showcasing. There's another way of doing business," Fridovich told reporters at the Pacific Area Special Operations Conference in Honolulu recently.

Of course, circumstances in the Philippines are far different from the Middle East. Disparate cultures, history and geography would prevent any Philippine solution from being applied directly to either Iraq or Afghanistan.

Also, the U.S. and Philippine militaries can't take credit for all of Abu Sayyaf's failures. The group has marginalized itself by offending local populations with the use of tactics like beheadings, rape and torture.

But Linder, speaking on the sidelines of an anti-terror conference in Hawaii, said his interactions with people on the island of Jolo showed the troops are making a difference.

He recalled a visibly emotional woman who ran up to him because she wanted to show her gratitude for the sewing machine that has allowed her to earn a living. And the village leader who vowed to quit fighting for Abu Sayyaf and instead take up arms alongside Filipino soldiers against his former allies.

Rohan Gunaratna, head of terrorism research at the Singapore-based Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies, said the U.S. has had "tremendous success" on Basilan.

"The Americans did not take the shortcut in Basilan. They took the long road - that's working with civilians. Their priority was to build bridges with the Muslim public rather than hunt the terrorists," Gunaratna said.

Iraq only became so violent because U.S. commanders focused too much energy on killing enemies when they should have done more to meet the basic needs of Iraqis, he said.

"The terrorists are also competing for the hearts and the minds of the people," Gunaratna said. "If you are able to do a better job, the terrorists are marginalized. No one will support the terrorists."

The U.S. military effort in the Philippines has not been easy.

U.S. troops - now numbering a few hundred, down from a peak of 1,200 - do not participate in combat there. The U.S. military initially wanted to fight but President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's shaky administration refused to gamble with the politically explosive prospect of foreign troops fighting domestic insurgents on Philippine soil.

Still, nearly a dozen American troops died in a helicopter crash and a bomb attack in 2002. Muslim activists and residents have protested the U.S. presence, calling it a magnet for violence and a violation of Philippine sovereignty.

A few hundred mountain-based guerrillas continue to threaten Jolo. In March, suspected Abu Sayyaf members bombed a grocery store on the southern island, killing nine people.

Washington and Manila, meanwhile, are deepening their partnership. Last week, the two nations announced a new security arrangement expanding the grounds for American forces to stage exercises in the Philippines.

When asked if the Basilan experience was applicable to Iraq and Afghanistan, Gen. Bryan D. Brown, head of U.S. Special Operations Command, said every culture and situation was different, but many lessons could be learned.

"It's about working with the people, it's about building the infrastructure, it's about demonstrating good governance," Brown told reporters at the Hawaii conference. "It's about good medical care, it's about eliminating human suffering."

(I don't agree with all of the points made but whatever cuts of the pipeline of recruits is a good thing)

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Inquiry into Abu Sayyaf's link with Darul Islam
By Al Jacinto, Correspondent

Philippine forces are investigating the reported link between the Abu Sayyaf Group and Darul Islam, a new terror group in the Association of Southeast Asian nations (Asean), identified by 12 suspected terrorists who were arrested in Malaysia, authorities told Gulf News.

Army Brigadier General Alexander Aleo, Jolo island military commander, said that authorities are looking into the reported link between the Darul Islam and the Abu Sayyaf Group.

The Abu Sayyaf has established links with various terror groups that have mushroomed in Asean, Aleo said, adding that police and military men in Asean are studying the inter-linkages of all other terrorists in Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Singapore.

In the past, suspected terrorists from other countries have used the southern region to illegally cross into the Sulu archipelago and Mindanao.

Military operations against the Abu Sayyaf are going on in Jolo, Basilan, and Tawi-Tawi, the group's stronghold, said Aleo.

The Philippine military is prepared to combat terrorists based in Malaysia and Indonesia who are reportedly ready to launch bomb attacks in the southern Philippines, said a source who requested for anonymity. Darul Islam, with reported Indonesian and Malaysian members, has been planning attacks on several neighbouring countries with Malaysia as its transit point, said the same source.

The Philippines is one of the targets, said the source.

The identity of Darul Islam emerged when 10 Indonesians and two Malaysians were arrested off the coasts of Sandakan and Tawau in Sabah, Malaysia, the source said.

They were arrested near Tawi-Tawi island in the southern Philippines, a known stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), which is known for its hostage-taking and bombing activities, the source said.

One of the 12 arrested terror suspects admitted having trained terrorists in one of the islands of Mindanao in the southern Philippines, the source said.

The same Indonesian suspect had trained other terrorists in Indonesia before he went to the southern Philippines, said the source.

The Al Qaida in Afghanistan had trained him in the past. "He is quite dangerous," said the same source. "He has a strong influence on other terror groups in the region," the source added.

One of the arrested Malaysian is a religious teacher who graduated from Syria, while the other was a graduate of Universiti Sains Malaysia in Penang, the source said. All of them are now detained.

Seized from the suspected terrorists were several weapons and documents, including bomb-making instructions downloaded from the internet.

Malaysian authorities said the arrest of the suspects was the biggest success against terrorism.

Five years ago, Malaysian authorities had arrested members of the Kumpulan Militan Malaysia, which was alleged to have links with the Jemaah Islamiah terror network.

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Terrorists arrested

Two Filipinos and 10 other suspected foreign terrorists were arrested in Malaysia on Wednesday, Philippine and Malaysian authorities said.

Seven Malaysians and three Indonesians were also arrested in the northern Malaysian province of Sabah, Philippine Armed Forces spokesman Maj Gen Jose Angel Honrado quoted Malaysian police chief Bakri Omar as saying.

Identities of the suspected terrorists who are reportedly operating in three countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) will soon be released, said Honrado, adding that an inter-regional link of terrorists in Asean are also being investigated.

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Africa - Large Map

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Why Gaddafi is so Afraid of Charles Taylor
By Douglas Farah

It is interesting to see that Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi is slamming Nigeria for turning Charles Taylor over to face justice. News reports quote Gadaffi as saying such a move sets a dangerous precedent for the rest of Africa.

"This also means that every (African) head of state could meet a similar fate -- this sets a serious precedent," he said. Indeed it does. If one butcher goes down, others may follow. For Gaddafi, that must be a terrifying prospect.

Gadaffi, more than any other leader except perhaps Blaise Campoare in Burkina Faso, has good reason to fear Taylor's testimony. It was Gaddafi who trained not only Taylor and his thugs for Liberia, but also Foday Sankoh and other leaders of the Revolutionary United Front in Sierra Leone, Laurent Kabila in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Campaore's troops who assassinated president Thomas Sankara in Burkina Faso, and on and on. Douglas Farah's entire blog is here.

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Four Algerian Militants Arrested in Mauritania

Police in Mauritania arrested four militants suspected of being members of the al-Qaeda linked Algerian Salafite Group for Preaching and Combat, Radio Sawa reported on Thursday. The militants, all citizens of Mauritania, were allegedly among the organisers of terrorist attacks against Mauritanian military bases in the southern part of the country and of the 1998 attack on the US embassy in Nairobi.

Mauritanian authorities have reportedly arrested 21 alleged members of the Algerian terrorist group since the beginning of April this year.

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Ralph Peters has a piece about Somalia in the NY Post that is worth checking out.

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USA

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Father in Lodi terror trial agrees to plea deal
He admits lying to customs agents, rather than more serious charge of lying to FBI
Mark Martin, Demian Bulwa

A Lodi ice cream truck driver whose son was convicted last month of providing support to terrorists agreed Wednesday to plead guilty to unrelated charges of lying to customs agents.

The plea deal struck in U.S. District Court means Umer Hayat, a 48-year-old father of four, will avoid a retrial that had been scheduled for next week on more serious charges -- that he lied to the FBI about his son's terrorist training in Pakistan. He faced up to 16 years in prison if convicted.

Just before 5 p.m. Wednesday, Hayat stood next to his attorney, Johnny Griffin, before U.S. District Judge William Shubb. With his hands in his pockets and his head bowed as he listened to an Urdu interpreter, he pleaded guilty to lying during an April 2003 incident at Washington's Dulles International Airport.

Hayat, who was on his way to his native Pakistan, said he had nothing to declare and then told a series of lies about the $28,000 in cash that he and his family members were found to be carrying, prosecutors said.

Griffin said some of the money was for marriages for two of Hayat's children, and the rest was being passed from friends in California to their relatives in Pakistan. The government later returned almost all of the money.

"Umer's happy," Griffin said after the court hearing. "We've been going back and forth all day (on whether to plead guilty). The sticking point was that the government wanted a plea related to a terrorist activity, and we said no."

McGregor Scott, the U.S. attorney for California's Eastern District, said the plea agreement was not "the one most desired by the government," but noted that a jury of eight women and four men had, last month, split nearly evenly on two counts of lying to FBI agents.

"I have been a prosecutor for many years and I'm well acquainted with the challenges of retrying a case with those sorts of juror splits," Scott said.

Hayat, a naturalized citizen who came to the United States 30 years ago, is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 18 to time served and three years of probation. He spent 330 days behind bars before he was recently placed on home detention.

His 23-year-old son, Hamid Hayat, faces 30 to 39 years in prison after a separate jury convicted him on three counts of lying and, more significantly, providing material support to terrorists. Prosecutors said he trained at a terrorist camp in Pakistan and returned to the United States to await orders to kill Americans. His attorneys are asking for a new trial on grounds that include juror misconduct.

The dual trials in Sacramento centered on the FBI's videotaped interrogations of the father and son at the FBI's office in the capital. The younger Hayat, already on the FBI's radar because of comments he made to an informant, had just returned from a two-year trip to Pakistan.

Prosecutors said Umer Hayat lied about his son's training before admitting at length that he knew about it. Prosecutors described both men's confessions as clear proof of guilt, but defense attorneys said the men had no experience with camps and were manipulated into telling agents whatever they wanted to hear.

The elder Hayat was arrested even though he spoke voluntarily with FBI agents and, later, agreed to wear a hidden microphone in an effort to elicit incriminating statements from a pair of Pakistani clerics who were in Lodi on religious-worker visas. The clerics were arrested in the Lodi probe and later agreed to be deported rather than fight immigration charges.

"We may never know for certain their long-range plans," Scott said Wednesday of the Hayats and the Pakistani clerics. "However, what is for certain is that our region is safer today than it was one year ago."

Griffin said the elder Hayat will press for his son's release and may go back to selling ice cream, but acknowledged that the community is split on the eye-opening allegations against him.

"It's going to be tough," Griffin said. "But at least he doesn't have to move on with the big 'T' hanging over his head -- terrorism."

[Straight Vermonter]

Let me know if you want on/off the terrorist roundup ping list

Proud member of the:

[Straight Vermonter]

ping

[Nateman]

Ping

[csvset]

He said the car, in which the explosives were packet, went off prematurely killing the driver.

Ha-ha.

Dutch, US, Czech, Romanian and Estonian forces have also been involved in the cave fighting, which has raged for more than a week. A military source said: "This place is a real rabbit warren rat nest.

[Straight Vermonter]

Here is a neat collection of photos that Michael Fumento took while embedded in Fallujah and Ramadi.

[Coop]

SAS! Good stuff! And I bet there will be a ton of good intel from this extensive cave complex. But talk about dangerous work! God bless the Brits, the French and of course all other members of the good guys in Afghanistan. May they be safe and deadly!

[Coop]

Al-Qaeda in Iraq Members Killed Recently:

Abu Dujanah al-Qahtani (Saudi Arabia)
Abu Hummam al-Urdani (Jordan)
Abu Radwan al-Urdani (Jordan)
Abu Usama al-Ansari (Iraq)
Abu Asil al-Jazairi (Algeria)
Abu Ibrahim al-Tunisi (Tunisia)

Note to mothers and fathers of prospective jihadists -- don't name your boys "Abu!" :-p

[Valin]

There was a young man named Abu,
Who knew just what he should do.
He build him a bomb,
But the wiring was wrong.
Now say goodbye to Abu

[GOPJ]

Thanks for the ping, Coop.

[Coop]

You're welcome

[Smartass]

A P-51 Mustang, flown by Jim Beasley; an F-16 Fighting Falcon, flown by Maj. Dax Cornelius from Hill Air Force Base, Utah; an F-15 Eagle, flown by Capt. Tony Bierenkoven from Eglin AFB, Fla.; and an A-10 Thunderbolt II, flown by Capt. Jeff Yost of Pope AFB, N.C., fly over the Statue of Liberty on Thursday, May 25, 2006. The "Heritage Flight" pilots flew in the Jones Beach Air Show on Long Island. Heritage Flight formations are designed to show generations of fighter aircraft. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Ben Bloker)

[Dog]

The fight in the cave complex has piqued my interest..anyone seen any updates on it?

[Coop]

Not yet

[Straight Vermonter]

I looked last night and it seems no one is covering it.

[Dog]

Odd. BTW check out the new Zarqawi audiotape...he even whines about Iran not helping matters....something is going on with the nutjob for him to be attacking TERROR CENTRAL.

[Dinah Lord]

Thanks for the ping, Straight Vermonter.

Excellent piece of work. I always feel like I haven't really gotten my news until I get my Terrorist Round-up. Thank you.

Prayers go out to our troops being sent to Ramadi. God bless them and walk with them as they enter the rat's nest there.

Dinah

[Dinah Lord]

bttt just because people need to see this