http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/taliban/ en-us Sun, 3 Jan 2010 22:23:59 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2420220/posts SNIPPET: "From today’s Times Online: “Suicide bomber kills 70 at Pakistan sports event” A suicide bomber drove a vehicle packed with explosives on to a field during a volleyball tournament in northwest Pakistan today, killing at least 70 people. Police said that at least 65 people were wounded and some 20 houses destroyed in the attack." SNIPPET: "Now how does Adam Gadahn’s video earlier this month in, “The Mujahideen Do Not Target Muslims” at all fit with attacks on people watching volleyball games? Seems to me that al-Qaida is either suffering from “acute disconnected from reality syndrome” (a la Stalin... JARRET BRACHMAN.net http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2420220/posts#comment Sun, 3 Jan 2010 22:23:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420051/posts PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AFP) – US missiles flattened an extremist hideout in Pakistan's lawless tribal belt Sunday, killing two militants in the latest strike in a recent spike in drone attacks, Pakistani officials said. The attack targeted a house in Mosakki village, about 25 kilometres (16 miles) east of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan, and was the third suspected US missile attack in the tribal district in less than a week. "There may have been an important figure hiding in the house," one Pakistani security official in Miranshah told AFP on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised... AFP on Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2420051/posts#comment Sun, 3 Jan 2010 17:30:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419980/posts NEWS RELEASE ISAF Joint Command - Afghanistan 2010-01-CA–008 For Immediate Release KABUL, Afghanistan (Jan. 3) – During a joint operation earlier this week to clear and control strategic positions in Bala Murghab, Afghan and ISAF troops were attacked by an estimated 60 insurgents. The multiple engagements extended to an ISAF forward operating base which received repeated small arms and anti-tank rocket attacks over a three-day period. One of the reasons the joint force gained the upper hand and eventually cleared the area of insurgents was air support. The other reason was the involvement of Afghan civilian leaders from the start.... ISAF Joint Command - Afghanistan http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419980/posts#comment Sun, 3 Jan 2010 15:16:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2419823/posts Here is a video report on the suicide bomber attack that killed seven CIA agents in Afghanistan earlier this week. The report reveals that the bomber was a well-known informant for the CIA in Afghanistan who apparently was a double-agent. The Taliban in Pakistan claim he was a double-agent for them. He reportedly came from the Pakistan side of the border. He was driven onto the base in Afghanistan and was reportedly not subjected to a search because he was known to people there. He blew himself up in the gymnasium of the base, killing the agents. The CIA is... Freedom's Lighthouse http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2419823/posts#comment Sun, 3 Jan 2010 04:07:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419772/posts The suicide bomber who killed at least six Central Intelligence Agency officers in a base along the Afghan-Pakistan border on Wednesday was a regular CIA informant who had visited the same base multiple times in the past, according to someone close to the base's security director. The informant was a Pakistani and a member of the Wazir tribe from the Pakistani tribal area North Waziristan, according to the same source. The base security director, an Afghan named Arghawan, would pick up the informant at the Ghulam Khan border crossing and drive him about two hours into Forward Operating Base Chapman,... ABC News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419772/posts#comment Sun, 3 Jan 2010 01:33:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419755/posts KANDAHAR AIR FIELD, Afghanistan – The Deh Afghan District, Zabul province, has historically been a hotbed of insurgent activity. Nestled between three mountain ranges and bordering Oruzgan province, Deh Afghan was once frequented by a high level Taliban command enroute to Pakistan and Kandahar province. But years of attention from the Afghan national army and U.S. Special Forces has finally begun to pay off. The early morning sun brought more than one kind of light as Special Forces and ANA soldiers were approached by a local villager. A man wasted no time with pleasantries, informing the ANA of the location... ISAF Joint Command - Afghanistan http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419755/posts#comment Sun, 3 Jan 2010 00:47:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419728/posts KABUL -- A senior commander connected to the Afghan Taliban and involved with the attack against the CIA that left eight people dead said Saturday that the bombing was retaliation for U.S. drone strikes in the Afghan-Pakistan border region. "We attacked this base because the team there was organizing drone strikes in Loya Paktia and surrounding area," the commander said, referring to the area around Khost, the city where the U.S. facility was attacked. The commander, a prominent member of the Afghan insurgency, spoke on the condition of anonymity. The suicide attack, which dealt the biggest loss to the agency... The Wall Street Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2419728/posts#comment Sat, 2 Jan 2010 23:51:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2419651/posts I have no grand insights to offer but this is too awful and too … astounding, really, to be relegated to Headlines. These people were the tip of the American spear against jihadist kingpins in the Afghan/Pakistani border region, the innermost circle in a big Venn diagram that starts with the CIA, proceeds to the units tasked with finding intel on AQ, and ends with the elite charged with building the target list for drone operators. In one split second, that last circle was practically erased. If you thought the biggest security breach of the past week was Flight 253,... Hotair http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2419651/posts#comment Sat, 2 Jan 2010 20:09:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2419550/posts The coming year: 2010, will see a growing clash of conflicting mega-trends in the Afghanistan-Pakistan theater; trends which will ultimately have long-term impact not only on the region, but on all of Eurasia and global energy and political arenas. These main mega-trends are: 1. Obama’s Needs: The desperate efforts of the US White House of Pres. Barack Obama to appease and negotiate with any element of the “Taliban” — and the label “Taliban” is used with great looseness by most observers of the Afghanistan and Pakistan scene — willing to in order to expedite a US withdrawal and legitimize a... Oilprice.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2419550/posts#comment Sat, 2 Jan 2010 16:59:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2419220/posts Here is a video report on a suicide terrorist bombing in Pakistan that has killed at least 75 people. The attack occurred in the Northwest of the country, where a terrorist drove a car onto a field where a Volleyball game was taking place. The blast killed at least 75 and wounded more than 60 people. The Taliban are suspected, and it may have been revenge against the community for organizing a local militia to keep the radical Islamists from controlling the area. . . . (VIDEO) Freedom's Lighthouse http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2419220/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 23:28:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418943/posts PESHAWAR, Pakistan – A suicide bomber set off an explosives-laden vehicle on a field during a volleyball tournament Friday in northwest Pakistan, killing at least 25 people, police said. yahoo/AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418943/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 14:50:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418872/posts In Pakistan, police have engaged the population to identify Islamic terrorist cells and prevent more bombing attacks (which are killing mostly civilians). As a result, police have recently seized 2.5 tons of explosives and interrupted at least six terrorist bombings. In the tribal territories, 700 retired members of the Frontier Corps (the border police) were called up to help deal with the terrorist threat. For over a decade, the Pakistani government has been split over how to deal with Islamic radical groups. Until the last few years, those officials and institutions who sought to protect Islamic radical groups, were able... The Strategy Page http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418872/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 10:21:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418869/posts MIR ALI, Pakistan – A suspected U.S. missile struck a car carrying alleged militants in a northwestern Pakistan tribal region Friday, killing three men in the second such attack in less than a day, intelligence officials said. The strikes are part of the U.S. campaign to rid Pakistan of a creeping militant movement Washington believes is threatening the war effort in neighboring Afghanistan. The rising insecurity inside Pakistan, meanwhile, is prompting the United Nations to relocate about a quarter of its international staff in the country, officials confirmed Thursday. Both missile strikes occurred in North Waziristan, a lawless tribal region... AP on Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418869/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 10:16:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2418831/posts The bombing, just as President Barack Obama's surge is gathering pace, represented the biggest loss of life suffered by the US intelligence agency since an attack in Beirut in 1983. The CIA said on Thursday a further six agents had been injured in the attack. Claiming credit for the attack, a Taliban spokesman said the bomber was "an Afghan national army officer wearing a suicide vest". UK Telegraph http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2418831/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 06:05:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418695/posts KABUL, Dec. 31, 2009 – Afghan and international security forces captured suspected militants and seized weapons in Afghanistan yesterday, military officials reported. A combined force captured suspected militants in Kandahar province while pursuing a Taliban district commander. Also in Kandahar, a combined force detained a suspected militant while searching for a Taliban commander. Meanwhile, a combined force found two 20-pound jugs of explosives in Helmand province’s Garm Ser district. The explosives were destroyed and no one was injured. In Kandahar province’s Panjwa district, a combined force discovered five artillery rounds tied together with wires in a sack. Also in the... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2418695/posts#comment Fri, 1 Jan 2010 00:11:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417981/posts WASHINGTON, Dec. 30, 2009 – Several militants were killed as coalition forces responded to an insurgent attack against Afghan soldiers and police in Afghanistan’s Baghlan Jadid district yesterday, military officials reported. Two Afghan National Service members were killed during the initial insurgent attack. No civilians or international forces were injured or killed. In other news, International Security Assistance Force members patrolling the Reg-e-Khan-Neshin district of Helmand province yesterday detained several suspected insurgents and confiscated weaponry. Seized items included 15 rocket-propelled grenades, three hand grenades, a machine gun with 500 rounds, six handheld radios, a satellite phone and five insurgent manuals.... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417981/posts#comment Wed, 30 Dec 2009 23:33:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417614/posts Corruption and incompetence in President Karzai’s Government — particularly at local level — have forced a growing number of people to seek the services of the Taliban. The shadow government is not limited to justice. In Helmand, in August, Taliban commanders issued printed travel permits on headed notepaper from the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan” to let people through checkpoints on the roads in and out of Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital. A senior NATO intelligence official admitted this week that the Taliban “has a government-in-waiting, with ministers chosen,” ready to take over the moment the current administration failed. He warned,... The New Media Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417614/posts#comment Wed, 30 Dec 2009 14:43:03 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417290/posts KABUL, Dec. 29, 2009 – Afghan and international security forces captured some Taliban commanders and other suspected militants and seized weapons yesterday in Kandahar and Khowst, Afghanistan, military officials reported. The forces captured a Taliban commander believed to be responsible for homemade bomb attacks during a series of raids in Kandahar. They also detained three other suspects. Also in Kandahar, a combined force captured another Taliban commander and a small group of militants believed to be responsible for supplying weapons to insurgents. In Khowst, a combined force detained suspected militants while searching for a Haqqani terrorist network commander. No Afghan... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417290/posts#comment Wed, 30 Dec 2009 00:22:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417008/posts Dec. 29 (UPI) -- The National Guard is part of the military reserve forces and operates under the authority of the governor and attorney general of each of the 50 U.S. states and may offer an idea for security forces in Afghanistan. Each U.S. state's National Guard may be called to active duty by that state's governor during natural disasters or civil unrest. With the governor's consent, state National Guard units may become part of the National Guard of the United States and serve with active military components during national emergencies. State National Guard units have a long history of... United Press International http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417008/posts#comment Tue, 29 Dec 2009 16:48:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416606/posts WASHINGTON, Dec. 28, 2009 – Afghan and international security forces detained several suspected militants, including a Taliban commander, in Afghanistan in recent days, military officials reported. A combined force captured a Taliban commander and other suspected militants in Wardak yesterday. The force went to a small compound in Sayad Abad district after intelligence confirmed militant activities there. The force entered the compound and captured the Taliban commander, who identified himself and the other militants. Meanwhile, a combined force captured a Taliban facilitator and several other suspected militants in Kandahar yesterday. Elsewhere, a combined force captured a Haqqani terrorist network suicide... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416606/posts#comment Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:17:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416185/posts Armed with a weapon that might be the trump card in the war here, the Taliban are confident they can drive out coalition troops from Afghanistan and have appointed dozens of “shadow governors” in anticipation of final victory, a top military official said Sunday. Offering a grim picture of skyrocketing Taliban violence, a senior intelligence official with the International Security Assistance Force told reporters that time is running out for the coalition to show it can turn the tide. “I think a year from now we have to be able to say that we are showing, that we have to... San Antonio Express News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416185/posts#comment Mon, 28 Dec 2009 13:01:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416023/posts  EXCLUSIVE Taliban Think They'll Explode As I Roar Over  Ready ... John with jet From DAVID WILLETTS in Afghanistan   Published: Today   AN RAF hero told yesterday how his squadron strikes terror into the Taliban - with fearsome Tornados. Flight Lieutenant John Pingree and his fellow aces roar low across the ground at 600mph, creating a noise so thunderous "it feels like your ribcage is going to explode". The manoeuvre - seen as "an aggressive show of force" - is so threatening they say it makes fanatics scurry into the hills. John, a navigator and weapons system officer known... The Sun (U.K.) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416023/posts#comment Mon, 28 Dec 2009 02:35:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415605/posts KABUL – A heavily armed Taliban commander was killed during an pre-dawn shootout at a mosque in eastern Afghanistan, NATO said as it reported an American service member died in a separate attack. Yahoo/AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415605/posts#comment Sun, 27 Dec 2009 04:28:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415550/posts ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Taliban insurgents had planned to use five Americans, now detained in Pakistan, who had contacted the militants via the Internet, to carry out attacks in the U.S.-allied country, a police official said on Saturday. Usman Anwar, police chief in Sargodha, where the men were arrested this month, said emails had revealed plans for the young men from Virginia to travel to a Pakistani nuclear power plant. "We believe that they were supposed to be used inside Pakistan," Anwar told Reuters by telephone. "In their last email to the Taliban, we found they mentioned the Chashma Nuclear Plant... Reuters on Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415550/posts#comment Sun, 27 Dec 2009 01:26:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415422/posts A Michigan man who was aboard Northwest Airlines Flight 253 says he witnessed Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab trying to board the plane in Amsterdam without a passport, and believes at least one other person from the flight was arrested on Friday at Detroit Metro Airport. Kurt Haskell of Newport, Mich., who posted an earlier comment about his experience, talked exclusively with MLive.com and confirmed he was on the flight by sending a picture of his boarding pass. He and his wife, Lori, were returning from a safari in Uganda when they boarded the NWA flight on Friday. Kurt HaskellLori and... mlive.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415422/posts#comment Sat, 26 Dec 2009 19:55:38 GMT