September 29, 2005

U.S. Forces Catch Over a Hundred Terror Suspects in Iraq: Dumb Terrorist Leaves RPG Thank You Note on Cell Phone

U.S. forces have captured over a hundred suspected terrorists in Iraq in the past week. Coalition Forces, often teaming up with Iraqi Army Soldiers, conducted 69 cordon and search operations and raids against anti-Iraqi forces over the past week, seizing 135 terror suspects and many weapons caches in and around the capital city.

In one incident, Soldiers were approached by an Iraqi citizen who told them that a suspicious car was parked in his neighborhood. The Soldiers searched four men near the car identified by the citizen and found bomb-making materials.

While the U.S. troops questioned the car owners, they stopped and searched a fifth man who was acting suspiciously. The man's cell-phone history contained a message from another terrorist that roughly translated into "Thanks for the use of the rocket-propelled grenades."

Can terrorists really be that stupid? Yes they can. I wonder if this is one of the guys 'Abu Musab al-Zarqawi' was referring too here?

For more news from Iraq, read Centcom news briefs daily.

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September 27, 2005

Move Over CBS, al Qaeda Moves Into the News Business


On September 23rd the Islamic Media Front released a 16 minute news video on the internet called 'Sout al-Khalifa' or 'Voice of the Caliphate'. In recent months, al Qaeda in Iraq has accused al Jazeera of being too pro-Western. The Jawa Report has obtained a copy of the video. Images from it are posted below. Clips from the video can be seen at MEMRI TV (about 4 minutes). If you need a copy of the entire video, please e-mail.

WAPO:

An Internet video newscast called the Voice of the Caliphate was broadcast for the first time on Monday, purporting to be a production of al Qaeda and featuring an anchorman who wore a black ski mask and an ammunition belt.

The anchorman, who said the report would appear once a week, presented news about the Gaza Strip and Iraq and expressed happiness about recent hurricanes in the United States. A copy of the Koran, the Muslim holy book, was placed by his right hand and a rifle affixed to a tripod was pointed at the camera....

The lead segment recounted Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, which the narrator proclaimed as a "great victory," while showing Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia walking and talking among celebrating compatriots.

That was followed by a repeat of a pledge on Sept. 14 by Abu Musab Zarqawi, the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, to wage all-out war on Iraq's Shiite Muslims. An image of Zarqawi, a Jordanian-born Sunni Muslim, remained on the screen for about half the broadcast.

The masked announcer also reported that a group called the Islamic Army in Iraq claimed to have launched chemical-armed rockets at American forces in Baghdad. A video clip showed five rockets fired in succession from behind a sand berm as an off-screen voice yelled "God is great" in Arabic. The Islamic Army asserted responsibility last year for the killing of Enzo Baldoni, an Italian journalist who had been kidnapped in Iraq.

A commercial break of sorts followed, which previewed a movie, "Total Jihad," directed by Mousslim Mouwaheed. The ad was in English, suggesting that the target audience might be Muslims living in Britain and the United States.

The final segment was about Hurricane Katrina. "The whole Muslim world was filled with joy" at the disaster, the anchorman said. He went on to say that President Bush was "completely humiliated by his obvious incapacity to face the wrath of God, who battered New Orleans, city of homosexuals." Hurricane Ophelia's brush with North Carolina was also mentioned.

More on the Global Islamic Media Front from our archives.

Others: Captain Ed, James Joyner.


Images from the video below. more...

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September 26, 2005

Pfc. Lynndie England Convicted for Abu Ghraib Abuse

File this story under crimes that are blown way out of proportion by a left-leaning mainstream media.

From LATimes.com:

WASHINGTON -- Lynndie R. England, the Army private who became a grinning icon of Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse as she held a dog leash attached to a naked Iraqi detainee, was convicted today on six of seven charges at a military court martial.

She faces up to 10 years in a military prison. A sentencing hearing was scheduled for Tuesday at Ft. Hood, Texas, where her court martial trial was held.

[ ... ]

England, 22, was found guilty on one of two conspiracy charges, four counts of maltreating detainees, and one count of committing an indecent act. Conviction on all counts would have exposed her to at least 11 years imprisonment.

Military prosecutors considered her the so-called poster girl of the Abu Ghraib abuse, seen smiling and flashing her thumbs upward in numerous photos in which she posed in front of naked and bound male detainees.

England's defense attorneys contend that she was easily manipulated. Well, duh! I think it's fairly obvious that she is also not too bright.

Unfortunately though, by being stupid she became the pivot point for an international scandal. Consequently, she'll probably get hammered for something that's criminal but hardly the level of major crimes. Hell, there are female child abusers, arguably more serious criminals, that get off with probation. England will surely get significant cell time.

Companion post at Interested-Participant.

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September 22, 2005

Iraqi Journalist Murdered

(Mosul, Iraq) Another Iraqi journalist has been killed, bringing the total number of murdered journalists to over 40 since counting began in March 2003.

From AlertNet.org:

A journalist from Radio Nineveh was gunned down on Wednesday night in Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad. Hospital and police sources said Ahlam Younnis was driving in a car with her husband, who was also killed, and her son, who was wounded in the attack.
In the past week, two other journalists were also killed in Mosul. Firas Maadidi, Mosul bureau chief for As-Saffir newspaper and chief editor of the daily Al-Masar was gunned down, and Hind Ismail, As-Saffir reporter, was found with a single gun shot to her head.

These were brave people murdered by criminals. Yet the mainstream media (MSM) continue to characterize these heinous crimes as valueless deaths by sanitized 'insurgents.' Where's the outrage? These people were journalists! Civilians doing their jobs! And, all along, the MSM ignore the horrible crimes and avoid attaching responsibility to any group other than the nebulous ill-defined 'insurgency.' more...

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September 15, 2005

Terrorists Shoot Down U.S. Plane in Iraq

A terror organization in Iraq, Jaish al-Rashideen, has posted a video in which it claims to have shot down a U.S. airplane. Images from the video below. more...

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September 14, 2005

Al Qaeda on the Run in Northern Iraq

Are things really all that bad in Iraq? Not according to those that are actually there. In a Pentagon press briefing today, a commander from Mosul, Iraq, described a much weakened al Qaeda presence in that region. At least 80% of al Qaeda fighters are dead or captured, and those fighting today are much less organized with far poorer training.

But how can things be getting better in Iraq when so much news--today's news--always seems so bad?

Flipping through the news this morning as I got ready for work, I noticed that CNN and Fox were reporting some very bad news from people who should know how things are going, reporters in Baghdad. However, one thing seemed rather odd to me--both reporters had the same background shot.

In fact, both reporters were at the same Baghdad hotel well inside the Green Zone. So, how are they getting their news? They are getting their news from the DOD just like I am, only they can broadcast their original news from Iraq and thus you get the feeling that they are more authoritative because they are, you know, there, even though there isn't really anywhere near where the stories are happening.

Journalists such as Michael Yon are the exception to the rule. He's embedded with military forces in Mosul, so when Yon reports that things are much better in Mosul today than last year, you better believe him. Yon is actually there where there is.

So, when Army Col. Robert B. Brown, commander of the 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division's Stryker Brigade Combat Team, reported from Mosul, Iraq, about conditions there you better listen, too. Remember, Yon is embedded with these guys. Stryker Brigade News has a great gallery of the men of the 1/25 here.

Here are some highlights from a DOD press release about Brown's conference. And by 'highlights', I mean pretty much the whole press release. But, as you read it, imagine that I am reporting from inside the Green Zone. I'm sure that will make it much more believable. Here's a visual, to help put you in the mood.

Brown notes that eighty percent of al Qaeda's network in northern Iraq "has been devastated" since January due to the capture or killing of key leaders and the outrage of Iraqi citizens.

The situation in Mosul is "improving on a daily basis," Brown said. "Normalcy has come back into the city." more...

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Terrorists Murder Over 100 Civilians in Iraq

al_qaeda_murders_hundreds_car_bombings.jpg
Terrorists in Iraq has claimed responsibility for a series of bombings that killed over 100 civilians in Iraq today. Reports from the scene conflict as to the actual total of people killed in today's mass murder spree, but a single car bomb is said to have killed at least 88 and wounded 227 in a mostly Shi'ite neighborhood of Baghdad.

Media reports indicate that al Jazeera is reporting that al Qaeda has claimed responsibility for the mass murders. No specific claim, though has been made, but al Qaeda may have alluded to the deadly attacks:

The conquest of revenge for the Sunni people of Tal Afar has started," Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's al-Qaida Organisation in the Land of Two Rivers said in the statement, whose authenticity could not be verified.

It said its "brigades" had launched a series of attacks, led by its elite "martyrdom-seeking" brigade.

The statement did not claim responsibility for any of the suicide bombings, only promising to "release more (details), God willing, as soon as news comes in of the operations in Baghdad and other cities".

Such statements are an almost daily occurence from the terror organization. It would not be beneath al Jazeera, though, to report in their Arab language broadcast that al Qaeda had claimed the attack and then changed the story for their English versionn.

Reports are mixed, but between five and ten more bombs targetting civilians were heard around Baghdad this morning.

Elsewhere, gunmen entered a village, rounded up those suspected of 'collaboration' and murdered them.

Gunmen wearing military uniforms, meanwhile, surrounded a village north of Baghdad early Wednesday and killed 17 men, police said.

Police Lt. Waleed al-Hayali, in Taji, 10 miles north of Baghdad, said the gunmen detained the victims after searching the village. They were handcuffed, blindfolded and shot. The dead included one policeman and others who worked as drivers and construction workers for the U.S. military, said al-Hayali. [source]

These reports come as Iraqi troops, with U.S. backing, take control of al Qaeda safe havens along the Syrian border.

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September 13, 2005

Chemical Attack in Iraq?

There is no confirmation of the report, only a claim made by a group. If they actually used chemical weapons, they were ineffective as no injuries were reported from the attack on the Green Zone. The same group had threatened to use chemical weapons on Sept. 11th.

SITE:

In a statement issued today, September 13, 2005, The Victorious Army Group, [Jeish al-Ta'eifa al-Mansoura], claims to have fired chemical rockets today at several targets in Baghdad, including the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Green Zone, and the Security Academy. According to the message, the explosions “shook the whole capital Baghdad,” and ambulances were seen carrying away the dead of the “converters.” The group indicates: “Here are the mujahideen rockets hitting the converters’ dens as a response to the evil thing done by them in Tal Afar.”
What bodies?

AKI:

For the first time, terrorists linked to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi are claiming to have struck the Iraqi capital Baghdad with chemical weapons. The claim was made in a statement published on the Internet by Islamic group al-Taifa Mansura (The Victorious Side) which is part of the al-Qaeda network and close to its Iraqi representative, al-Zarqawi.
As we reported earlier, the group responsible is not related to al Qaeda, even though various media reports make the claim. See this from al Qaeda.

The same group last Sunday threatened to attack the Green Zone in Baghdad with missiles containing chemical warheads unless the Americans halted the ongoing offensive against the city of Telafar.

A short while ago, in a second statement the group claimed responibility for missile attacks on central Baghdad from 8.30am till 10am local time on Tuesday morning. The message alleged that chemical weapons hit the interior ministry, the foreign ministry and the American training school which is also located in the heavily fortified Green Zone....

The firing of five rockets was confirmed by an Islamic site close to the Baathist-inspired guerrillas - islammemo - which referred to at least four rockets with chemical warheads. The site, which tends to publish unreliable biased news reports, celebrates it as the first chemical attack in Iraq."

With recent news that the US might respond to the use of WMD with a nuclear strike, now would be a good time for Syria and Iran to rethink their present course of supporting the terrorists.

Others: In The Bullpen

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September 12, 2005

Staying the Course in Iraq

Dean Esmay has an excellent post on the moral argument for staying the course in Iraq:

With some moral arguments, there really is no middle ground. I'd like to think there is but there isn't. So my suggestion--as "black and white" as it may sound--is simple: take a stand. Do you want to abandon those people in Iraq or do you not? Do we turn them over to the "freedom fighters" who bomb women and children and mosques and cops and elected politicians as well as our soldiers? Or do we protect the victims of those "freedom fighters," recognizing the "freedom fighters" as vicious fascist thugs and theocratic nutjobs, and try to help the real people, the overwhelming majority of the Iraqi people, establish a democratic, human rights respecting, and free nation?
I fully support Dean's argument. The time for debating a war, any war, is before it begins. Once it begins the only debate ought to be how to win it in the quickest manner. That is the duty of a patriot.

Further, I believe the war must be won for pragmatic and Realist (I mean this in the foreign policy school of thought sense) reasons. If we do not set up a government that will be allied with the U.S. in Iraq then we will be sending a signal to jihadi forces that terrorism works. Remember, Osama bin Laden first began to believe that America was weak and could be defeated after our retreat from Somalia.

The Left's freedom fighters who we are fighting in Iraq are intent on setting up a Taliban-like state. If they succeed, then not only has the cause of freedom been set back, but the cause of America as well.

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Zarqawi on the Run, Accuses US of Using Chemical Weapons

In a new audio tape from al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al Zarqawi accuses US forces of using 'poison gas' in its offensive on Tel Afar. The audio of the tape is available here (scroll to Sept. 12th, second link).

Some Arab and hardcore Leftist presses have often repeated the claim that the U.S. is using chemical, biological, and even nuclear weapons in Iraq. [related story here]

Zaraqawi's audio speeches have often come at times when it appeared that al Qaeda was on the run. This tape comes as US forces have launched an all out offensive against al Qaeda in Iraq, with a large measure of success. A similar audio tape emerged after reports that Zarqawi had been shot and after the fall of Fallujah to U.S. forces. Both tapes promised the immenent defeat of the U.S. at a time when al Qaeda was on the run.

On the audiotape, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is heard to say:

The Crusaders mobilised their big armies and used the most destructive and lethal weapons and the most deadly and hurtful poison gas together with their stooges. But God made them drink at the hands of the mujahedeen the different kinds of death and made them face horrible things that they will never forget. [source]
Zarqawi is also heard urging his fighters to be prepared for 'a final battle' with the Americans who he calls 'cowards'. Even though it is al Qaeda that uses the tactics of hit and run attacks, IEDs, murdering hostages, beheading, and hiding among the civilian population, Zarqawi is heard calling US forces 'cowards who always seek to run away."

Tel Afar is now controlled by the Coalition troops and al Qaeda forces are reported to have fled the city. Who was it that ran away Zarqawi?

SITE has a partial translation here, in which Zarqawi claims that hurricane Katrina was an act of Allah brought about by the prayers of the faithful:

I believe that the destructive hurricane which hit America, within its own house, was nothing but the result of a prayer of a father or a mother whose son was killed, or of boy who became an orphan, or of a woman whose honor was violated on the lands of Afghanistan, Iraq or others”.
According to Centcom, the Tel Afar offensive continues. 41 suspected terrorists were captured in that city on Sep. 10th as a result of 'Operation Restoring Rights'. Other media reports indicate that as many as 157 al Qaeda linked insurgents were killed in the Tel Afar offensive.

Abu_Zayd_killed.jpgThis morning, another operation was launched to root out al Qaeda linked terrorists in Iraq's al Anbar province. The new offensive, Operation 'Cyclone', targetted the terrorist safe haven of Rutbah.

For the past several months, terrorists within Rutbah have escalated their intimidation and murder campaign against the local populace and city government officials. The resulting effect was an increased ability to move freely within the area and a base for them to launch attacks against innocent civilians, Iraqi Security Forces and Coalition Forces.

In recent days, Coalition Forces have also captured Ammar ‘Abd-Al-Hafiz ‘Abd Muhummad (aka Ammar Amam Wakhtif or Sheik Ammar), an admitted terrorist and leader of the lnu’man Brigade, in a raid earlier in September in the Ramadi area. Sayf-al-Din Yahya 'Anad (aka Sheik Sayf or Abu Hamza), a Nu’man Brigade cell leader, was also captured during the raid. He was responsible for organizing and directing attacks against Iraqi Security and Coalition Forces.

Abu Zayd, (above right) identified as the current Al Qaeda in Iraq military emir of Mosul, was also killed in a raid.

Others: In the Bullpen

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September 09, 2005

Report of al Qaeda Takeover of al Qaim: "A Crock"

Reports that al Qaim, an Iraqi city near the Syrian border, have fallen into the hands of al Qaeda forces are "a crock of crap", The Marine Corps Times reports today.

The Washington Post had earlier reported that eye witnesses were claiming that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's al Qaeda in Iraq flag was flying over the city, that a sign reading "Welcome to The Islamic Kingdom of Qaim" hung over a mosque, and that an accused prostitute had been murdered in the city under harsh new Islamic law.

The Marine Corps, deployed in the area, is now denying those reports.

Maj. Neil Murphy, a spokesman for II Marine Expeditionary Force, told The Marine Corps Times that reports detailing an all-out al-Qaida takeover in Qaim were a “crock of crap.”

“Sure, anyone can hang up a poster. That does not mean anything,” Murphy wrote in an e-mail response to questions. “We have a battalion there. [The insurgents] are continually moving to try and find safety, but we are rooting them out and we’ll root them out of Qaim, too.”

Centcom has made no official statement about the developing situation in al Qaim. However, off-the-record, an official at Centcom was wary of denying these reports to The Jawa Report.

The area in and around al Qaim is a well known route used by al Qaeda terrorists between Syria and Iraq. In recent weeks, Iraqis loyal to the government have been fighting tribes loyal to al Qaeda. The US military has been supporting our allies on the ground in the area through an intense aerial campaign.

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September 08, 2005

Hundreds of Terrorists Captured in Iraq, al Qaeda Leader Killed

The Iraqi Interior Ministry is reporting that hundreds of terrorists have been rounded up in the Tal Afar region near the Syrian border. Of the 200 terrorists captured, 150 of them were foreign fighters from Syria, Sudan, Yemen and Jordan.

Centcom is also reporting that between Sept. 4th and 5th combined Iraqi and Coalition teams captured over 50 terrorist suspects in the Baghdad area. One of the captured terrorists was found with a note indicating he was about to become a suicide bomber.

In addition, US forces bombed a known al Qaeda safehouse in near the Syrian border. The target was a known bomb-making cell leader, Abu Mohammad, who has been linked extensively to other al Qaida terrorists and foreign fighters in Husaybah and throughout the Western Euphrates Valley. Additionally, he is known to have worked directly for Abu Islam, the al Qaida 'Emir' of Husaybah, who was killed by a Coalition air strike last week.

Husaybah is located near the city of al Qaim, said to now be controlled by forces loyal to Abu Musab al Zarqawi's al Qaeda in Iraq. Sources within the U.S. military have not denied these reports to The Jawa Report. Tribes loyal to Zarqawi and those aligned with the Iraqi government have been engaged in severe fighting in the past several weeks. I expect (or hope) that many more bombs will fall on these locations in the next few days.

Way to go Team America, f*ck yeah!!

Others: Dred Pundit Bluto

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Capt. Michael "Scott" Speicher Still Alive?

This CNN article implies that the Navy still believes Speicher is alive after 14 years. That would be a miracle indeed. But isn't it more logical to conclude, after all this time, that if any former Hussein regime officials 'know of his location' that they are now talking about the location of his body? I pray that he is still alive, but it would be shocking to find out that he still was. more...

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September 05, 2005

Al Qaeda Siezes Town in Iraq

While this is not good news, it is important to realize that the U.S. had been pounding the town off and on for over a week. The town has been the center of fighting between a pro-government Sunni tribe and a tribe that has aligned itself with al Qaeda. No government forces are in the city. With no one apparently in control, al Qaeda has instituted harsh sharia law and is murdering citizens and closing down any business that sells anything that smack of Western culture.

Washington Post:

Abu Musab Zarqawi's foreign-led Al Qaeda in Iraq took open control of a key western town at the Syrian border, deploying its guerrilla fighters in the streets and flying Zarqawi's black banner from rooftops, tribal leaders and other residents in the city and surrounding villages said.

A sign newly posted at the entrance of Qaim declared, "Welcome to the Islamic Kingdom of Qaim." A statement posted in mosques described Qaim as an "Islamic kingdom liberated from the occupation."...

Armed insurgent fighters loyal to the Jordanian-born Zarqawi openly traveled Qaim's streets. The fighters included both Iraqis and foreigners, including Afghans The foreign-led fighters hung rooftops with Zarqawi's al-Qaeda banner of black backgrounds with a yellow sun.

Shops selling CDs, a movie theater and a women's beauty parlor were newly burned, apparently targeted by Zarqawi's group under its strict interpretation of Islamic law.

This is what is at stake in Iraq now.

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