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ISLAMABAD – Helicopter gunships destroyed a training camp for suicide bombers in Pakistan's northwestern Swat Valley, killing six Taliban fighters in an area the government had already declared clear of militants, an official said Saturday. The camp's trainees — including teenagers — were responsible for at least three attacks in recent weeks, an army spokesman said. Pakistan's army says it is restoring security in Swat and surrounding areas after a three-month offensive wrested the valley back from Taliban control, but suicide attacks and skirmishes continue, with reports Saturday of scattered violence killing at least 12 more suspected militants.

Nine-day operation nets weapons cache and suspected insurgents with ties to Al Qaeda. By Sgt. Armando Monroig 5th Mobile Public Affairs BALAD RUZ, Iraq, Jan. 31, 2007 — The U.S. Army concluded a massive, nine-day assault Jan. 13, centered on a series of small villages in the Diyala province that for the past 18 months had been used as a safe haven for insurgents. During the operation, soldiers from the 5th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment Reconnaissance, 82nd Airborne Division, killed more than 100 insurgents and detained 54 suspected of involvement with terrorism activities in the area, which is located just...

China successfully carried out its first test of an antisatellite weapon last week, signaling its resolve to play a major role in military space activities and bringing expressions of concern from Washington and other capitals, the Bush administration said yesterday.

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - A bomb dropped by an Israeli warplane destroyed the Palestinian Foreign Ministry building early Thursday, witnesses said. The bomb collapsed the building and caused widespread destruction in the area. The foreign ministry is controlled by the Islamic militant group Hamas.

Fruity headache for cafe ownersBy Samantha Williams and Karina Dunger 03jul06 Cafe workers ... Julie Hanssens and Jodie Lee / Troy Bendeich BAD weather is set to affect the price of oranges after already crippling Australia's banana industry. The worst frost in 24 years has destroyed 40,000 tonnes - about 25 per cent - of the citrus fruit produced in southern Australia. "They won't hit skyrocketing prices of bananas but there will be some price hike due to the reduction of fruit on the market," Riverina Citrus CEO Peter Morrish said. Oranges currently sell for $2.50kg, with experts predicting rises...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE GHAZNI, Afghanistan, June 25, 2006 – An extremist-engineered explosion in eastern Afghanistan destroyed a mosque while killing three people and wounding eight, including three children, officials here announced today. The attack occurred on June 6 near the southeastern provincial capital city of Ghazni. Terrorists triggered the explosion that destroyed the Haji Adam Khan Mosque in Oal a-I Oadzi. Gov. Elhaj Sheer Alam, the Ghazni provincial governor, told reporters Taliban members attempting to construct a motorcycle-born improvised explosive device were responsible for the blast. Ghazni District Afghan National Policemen and Afghan National Army soldiers from 2nd Kandak, 1st...

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan, May 8, 2006 – A coalition air strike killed four enemy extremists and destroyed a truck and a cave complex today in the Bermel district of Afghanistan's Paktika province, military officials reported. Other insurgents may be buried in the rubble, officials said. Prior to the strike, a joint combat team of Afghan National Army and U.S. ground forces saw people loading a truck near the cave and determined they were moving rockets from a cave complex and that the activity was linked to recent rocket attacks on a nearby coalition base. Close-air support was used to...

WASHINGTON, April 19, 2006 – Terrorists blew up a new Iraqi police station under construction south of Baghdad yesterday, military officials reported. The explosion caused half of the building to collapse. Iraqi soldiers from 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, secured the site after the blast to prevent further damage. "Terrorists are attempting to prevent the rebuilding of the essential infrastructure," said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Jonathan Withington, a Multinational Division Baghdad spokesman. "The police station is a sign of progress for the Iraqi people." Iraqi authorities are investigating the blast. In other news, a citizen's tip led Multinational Division...

4/5/2006 - BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan (AFPN) -- Airmen destroyed a large Russian bomb here March 30. A 1,100-pound Russian penetrating bomb containing 167 pounds of explosives was recently found 200 feet from the runway by workers clearing mines around the airfield. “We blow UXOs in place when it is the safest option for the explosive ordnance disposal team,” said Staff Sgt. Kenneth Roads, a 755th Expeditionary Mission Support Group explosive ordnance disposal craftsman. “Due to the location of the Russian UXO, we took protective measures like … trenching and dirt-mounding to safeguard the runway from being damaged,” said Senior...

CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq (ARMY NEWS SERVICE, March 23, 2006) – Soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, discovered four caches in Abu Ghraib during a five-day period beginning March 11. The caches contained 32,000 pounds of explosives. Officials believe the sites were possible cells of operation for improvised explosive devices due to their seemingly hasty placement. “Since we began exploiting these caches, the number of IEDs in our own area of operation has dropped to almost zero,” said Lt. Col. Kevin Brown, commander, 2-22 Inf. He added that finding the caches has...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 15, 2006 – Coalition forces destroyed a terrorist facility today, and in an operation yesterday, U.S. soldiers detained a suspected terrorist, Multinational Force Iraq officials reported today. In a joint effort, coalition forces conducted a precision air strike against a known terrorist facility in southern Baghdad today, using four U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles, officials said. Terrorists were using a former Iraqi regime munitions storage bunker in a large, uninhabited weapons-storage complex in the Babil province to acquire and transport bomb-making munitions to be used in attacks. The aircraft conducted a clearing pass while Multinational Division Baghdad...

Iraqi Army Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 4th Iraqi Army Division pull security while the rest of their company conducts a cordon and search for a suspected insurgent as part of a Brigade-size raid in their area of operations. The battalion was responsible for the city of Kirkuk. Spc. Barbara Ospina • Printer-friendly version • E-mail this article • Iraqi brigade destroys terrorist hideouts near Kirkuk February 3, 2006 TIKRIT, Iraq (Army News Service, Feb. 3, 2006) – Soldiers of 2nd Brigade, 4th Iraqi Army Division took another step toward independent operations Wednesday, as they conducted a brigade-level...

IDF Destroys House in Gush Etzion ´Settlement Bloc´ 22:20 Jan 11, '06 / 11 Tevet 5766 By Ezra HaLevi and Hillel Fendel Police used severe violence in Gush Etzion, firing tear-gas grenades into a house sought to destroy, pepper-spraying protestors, and dragging and hitting those who interfered, injuring 12 youths. At the end of the day, the mixed secular/religious community of Sde Boaz saw a small house and stable destroyed, while thwarting the demolition of a large foundation for a future home was saved. Rubble of the home demolished in Sde Boaz, with the cities of Betar Illit and Tzur...

U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Neil Morrison, explosive ordnance disposal technician with the 710th Ordnance Company, packs a 1,000 pound bomb with plastic explosives, Dec. 16, 2005. Nearly 20,000 tons of munitions were destroyed in Area Echo, north of Baghdad, Iraq. The ammunition dump housed tons of ordnance stockpiled by former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's military. U.S Army photo by Staff Sgt. Kevin Bromley More Photos Task Force Baghdad Destroys Tons of Weapons The ammunition dump north of Baghdad housed tons of ordnance stockpiled by former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's military. By U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Kevin Bromley 3rd...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 6, 2005 – A Task Force Band of Brothers patrol near Forward Operating Base Anaconda in Iraq found two weapons caches containing timers, watches and other items commonly used in constructing roadside bombs Nov. 5, officials said today. The seizure also yielded nearly 30 large-caliber artillery shells, more than a dozen rockets, five rocket-propelled grenade launchers, a mortar tube, a machine gun and small-arms ammunition, officials noted. An explosive ordnance disposal team collected the weapons and conducted a controlled detonation of the shells and rockets. In the air war over Iraq, coalition aircraft flew 56 close-air-support and armed-reconnaissance...

NAPA, Calif. (AP) - California wine country was reeling after a huge warehouse fire wiped out millions worth of rare vintages. No one was seriously injured in the fire, the cause of which was still under investigation, and the losses weren't expected to put a big dent in the state's multibillion-dollar wine industry. But for some, the potential loss of years of effort and hope spelled big trouble. "It is a terrible thing," said Gary Lipp, who suspects that most of his 2003 cabernet sauvignon and all of his 2004 pinot noir are gone. Lipp and Brooks Painter, both wine...

KELSO, Calif. - A 65,200-acre wildfire in a southeastern California wilderness preserve destroyed five homes and two cabins built in the late 1800s, but firefighters had most of the blaze surrounded, officials said Saturday. Six trailers or other structures also were destroyed in the Mojave National Preserve blaze, which was 65 percent contained late Saturday night, Ranger Linda Slater said. Firefighters made good progress Saturday after a cold front moved in with winds that were not as strong as expected, Slater said. The large fire formed after lightning sparked five separate blazes Wednesday afternoon near the Nevada state line. Those...

ADELANTO - An early Friday morning blaze that destroyed a mosque in a cemetery has prompted the FBI to investigate whether the fire was started by someone motivated by hate. Laura Bosley, an FBI spokeswoman, said the agency has not determined whether the fire that leveled the mosque at the United Islamic Youth Organization and Cemetery is a hate crime. She said an investigation into the blaze, which caused $225,000 in damage, is ongoing. The cemetery's caretakers, Ali and Michelle Khawaja, are hesitant to label the incident a hate crime. Michelle Khawaja said she doesn't want to believe anyone in...

<p>May 10 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. military in Iraq destroyed the headquarters of anti-U.S. Shiite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's militia in a Baghdad slum and killed 35 of his supporters, U.S. Army Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt said.</p> <p>The building -- which about 50 insurgents tried to retake two nights ago -- was destroyed by fire from tanks, Bradley fighting vehicles and helicopters, Kimmitt said during a briefing televised from Baghdad. Sadr militia tried to use civilians as human shields and fired indiscriminately as U.S. soldiers raided the area, Kimmitt said.</p>