Free Republic

Iraqi nationalists in recent days have gone after the US led coalition aircrafts that can be harmed with Russian made Surface to Air Missiles (SAM) and man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS). On Jan. 27, a U.S. Marine Corps CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter went down near the Iraqi-Jordanian border, and the next day a U.S. Army OH-58 observation helicopter crashed in Baghdad. On Jan. 30, a British Royal Air Force C-130 went down near the town of Taki while on its way to Balad Air Base from Baghdad International Airport (BIA). Additionally, in a news story, which U.S. Central Command denies,...

An Islamic website on Sunday carried a statement attributed to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terror network claiming responsibility for a plane crash in Kenya that left 12 Americans and two South Africans dead. The statement, the authenticity of which could not be verified, said the plane was hit "head on" with a ground-to-air SAM-7 missile. It was apparently fired by followers of Mohammed Atef, the Egyptian national suspected of being Bin Laden's number two. The statement said three CIA agents were on board the plane searching for Mujahedeen positions on the Kenyan border. It also promised the Iraqi people the...