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UPDATE: I knew it! 1920 Revolution Brigade claims downing of British Plane on Video. This is the same group responsible for the kidnapping of American Dean Sadek. (ht: Michelle Malkin)

10 are believed dead in the crash. Via Jeff Quinton this Times article:

The Ansar al-Islam group said in a statement on an Islamic website that its fighters tracked the Hercules aircraft, "which was flying at a low altitude, and fired an anti-tank missile at it".

The statement said: "Thanks be to God, the plane was downed and a huge fire and black clouds of smoke were seen rising from the location of the crash."

Established after the 9/11 attacks, Ansar al-Islam is one of IraqÂ’s older extremist groups and has been linked to al-Qaida.

First, Ansar al Islam has not been active in over a year. Unless the report is wrong and they mean Ansar al Sunna, which happens from time to time. The fighting remnants of Ansar al Islam seemed to have joined Ansar al Sunna. The only Ansar al Islam related activities in the past year have been fundraising and planning by a cell in Germany.

Second, wrong area. Ansar al Islam's base of operation was in Kurdistan. Ansar al Sunna has been operating in areas that were formerly Kurdish but which were 'Arabized' under the Saddam Hussein regime. The plane was apparantly shot down only 20 miles north-west of Baghdad which is in the Sunni triange but nowhere near al Sunna's normal base of operations.

Unless of course the terrorists were referring to this.... more...

Posted by: Rusty at 08:44 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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1 Two readings on this: 1. The Lockheed C-130 can be equiped with CM technology (Chafe, Flares), and most of the times is for heat, and radar guided ground-to-air munitions. The lack of any countermeasures "signatures" on the video recording could be: A. The weapon was not a autonomous ground-to-air weapon, but an non-autonomous weapon used in an un-orthodox fashion (anti-personal, or anti-tank wepaon). B. Lack of countermeasures onboard C. Crew / CM system failure to acknowledge launch of an autonomous munitions. 2. Footage shot of mutitions being expended, then footage of crashed aircraft being added on to get required PR. If a munition of that size would hit a C-130 in mid-flight there would be smoke and fire in the air as well as noticable debres falling ... even if it was a 1-1,000,000 chance hit on a fuel cell.

Posted by: Salamander at January 31, 2005 12:04 PM (V40IZ)

2 As a former C-130 pilot, I would say the options A + C above would be the root causes as to why the plane was shot down. If it was an optically guided anti-tank missile, then reactive flares would be ineffective. But such an anti-tank missile would have a short range only useful against low-flying aircraft, which unfortunately the Brits were this day. If the crew didn't see the launch, then any reactive maneuvering wouldn't have been performed, thus the absence of any flares. The damage an anti-tank missile would do to the C-130 would be devastating, probably many times more than the standard MANPAD. Remember, an anti-tank missile is normally used against heavily armored vehicles, which the C-130 is not. Hitting a fuel cell isn't the only way to take the Herc out, a lucky strike at the wing root could structurally weaken the airframe and take off the wing or a lucky shot into the cockpit, and that is all she wrote. Either way, these terrorist bastards got lucky.

Posted by: Craig D. at January 31, 2005 09:47 PM (f3XV4)

3 12,657 Ansar Al-Islam militants killed so far, and only 1,598 American Forces killed - haha!!! AMERICAN FORCES KILLS THE PRIMITIVES SUNNI's LIKE SMOOSHING LITTLE ANTS !!

Posted by: Brian Moreno at May 30, 2005 06:37 AM (RATdR)

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Via Matt Cardens this WaPo report:

"A handicapped child was used to carry out a suicide attack on a polling site," al-Naqib said. "This is an indication of what horrific actions they are carrying out."

He gave no other details about the attack, but police at the scene of one the Baghdad blasts said the bomber appeared to have Down's Syndrome.

Posted by: Rusty at 08:31 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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The 'spiritual leader' of an al Qaeda linked jihadi group in Kuwait, Amer Khlaif al-Enezi, was captured in a 9 hour running gunbattle between the terror suspects and Kuwaiti security forces. Four suspected terrorists were killed in the battle. One of those killed was a Saudi national. The former imam's brother was taken into custody yesterday.

One civilian was also killed in the clashes.

Thousands of rounds were said to have been exchanged in the shootout.

This is the fourth clash in the past month between suspected terrorists and Kuwaiti security forces this month. Many of the suspected terrorists are believed to have been in transit from other Arab states to Iraq. Hundreds of foreign terrorists have been reported fighting the U.S. in Iraq.

More: AFP, The Scotsman.

Posted by: Rusty at 08:21 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Two must reads: Professor Chaos and James Joyner.

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This MEMRI translation of the taped confession of Jaish Muhammed leader Muayed Al-Nasseri, who was captured last month.

Highlights:

The Army of Muhammad was founded by Saddam Hussein after the fall of the regime

We got aid primarily from Iran. The truth is that Iran has played a significant role in supporting the Army of Muhammad and many factions of the resistance. I have some units, especially in southern Iraq, which receive Iranian aid in the form of arms and equipment." more...

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Catholic World News:

Archbishop Basile Georges Casmoussa of Mosul, Iraq, was released on Tuesday morning, January 18, less than a day after being kidnapped.

Details of the archbishop's abduction and release were incomplete, as of Tuesday morning. But the Vatican was notified promptly that Archbishop Casmoussa had been freed, and papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls expressed "great satisfaction" with the news.

"The Pope was informed immediately, and thanked God" for the Iraqi prelate's release, Navarro-Valls added. He said that no ransom had been paid.

Earlier, Church officials in Iraq had been quoted as saying that they had received a ransom demand. Father Tetrus Mosei, the vicar general of the Mosul diocese, reportedly received a phone call on Tuesday morning demanding payment of $200,000 for the archbishop's release. Catholics in Mosul were collecting funds for the ransom payment when they heard that Archbishop Casmoussa was already free.

In Rome, Navarro-Valls said that the archbishop's abduction came as a surprise, in part because he is "very well liked by both Christians and Muslims."

Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho, who heads the Chaldean Catholic diocese of Mosul (Archbishop Casmoussa is the Syrian-rite leader), suggested that the kidnapping was probably not motivated by religious issues. He told reporters that criminals in Mosul, taking advantage of the unrest in the city, have begun kidnapping prominent people to generate quick profits from ransoms.

I may be going out on a limb here, but it remains a distinct possibility that whoever took Casmoussa might not have realized what kind of press this would receive--even in the Arab world. After all, the Catholic church opposed the war making itself the darling of terrorist media such as al Jazeera. An ignoble ally for such a great institution.

Having said that it does remain a distinct possibility that simple extortion was the only motive. Wherever we go human greed seems to remain the same. However, in my own experience I find that one is rarely motivated by a single factor. It is then also possible that extortion and religion played motivating factors.

Hat tip Digger and Interested Participant

Expect an update later.....

Let's not forget that at least four (possibly five) Americans are still being held hostage in Iraq. Roy Hallums, Dean Sadek, Tim Bell, and Bill Bradley.

Posted by: Rusty at 08:23 AM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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Mosul is a base of operation for The Army of Ansar al Sunnah, and I suspect that this is their handiwork. Right: Archbishop Basile Georges Casmoussa at the UCIP World Congress 2004.

Critical update 1/18/05: Archbishop Basile Georges Casmoussa freed! No ransom paid. Details at this post.

Reuters:

The Catholic archbishop of the Iraqi city of Mosul was kidnapped Monday in what the Vatican called an "act of terrorism."

Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls told Reuters the Holy See had received news of the kidnapping of Archbishop Basile Georges Casmoussa in Mosul. The spokesman demanded his immediate release but gave no details of the abduction.

A Catholic archbishop in the northern Iraq city of Mosul has been kidnapped by insurgents, the Vatican says. Archbishop Basile Georges Casmoussa, 66, was abducted from outside his church in the east of the city.

The Vatican said in a statement that it deplored "in the firmest way such a terrorist act", and asked that the archbishop be freed immediately.

There have been a number of attacks on Iraq's Christian minority. Two churches were bombed in Mosul in December.

More on Archbishop Basile Georges Casmoussa,a Syrian by birth, he was Archbishop of the Catholic Syrian Church--which is affilated with the Roman Catholic Church.

Recently quoted as saying, "The terrorist groups that carry out the attacks “hope that many, many more Christians will go. Their strategy is to create fear among the Christians and push them out of Iraq,”

UPDATE I: No claims of responsibility aired yet on al Jazeera, but only this story:

Casmusa, 66, leader of the city's Syrian Catholic community, was seized at around 5pm local time (1400 GMT) as he was about to enter his car, Father Faraj told AFP.

The armed men tossed him into the trunk of their vehicle before speeding away, according to the priest, who follows the rival Chaldean rite.

The Chaldean patriarch in Baghdad, Emmanuel Delly, said Casmusa "was abducted outside his home as he was returning from a pastoral visit in the diocese of Mosul".

"He was abducted and taken off in a car. We don't know who took him, nor the reason why," Delly told the missionary news agency Misna by telephone.

However, one need look no farther than a recent communique from Abu Musab al Zarqawi to see why Christians in general have a great deal to fear in the Middle East. Al Qaeda in Iraq justified the recent murder of Amer Nayef saying he was "the deputy police chief of the Jews and Christians" and that Nayef's son was murdered because he "serves the pagan guard."

The terrorists really believe that the liberation of Iraq was a reenactment of the Crusades. Iraq is just another chapter in the Crusades and who better to symbolize Christianity's victory than Archbishop Casmoussa?

The deep paranoia of Muslims in the Middle East plays out in such a way that all Christians should now consider themselves targets. Jews who once lived in Arab countries can tell you what I am talking about. All Jews in Muslim lands are considered potential spies for the "Zionist entity."

I suspect the same suspicions and paranoia will now scapegoat Christians as responsible for the ills of Iraqi society and as possible collaborators with the "Crusader forces."

Posted by: Rusty at 01:25 PM | Comments (17) | Add Comment
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Evan Kohlman is now blogging over at The Counterterrorism Blog and links a number of his original translations of recent al Qaeda in Iraq communiques. His analysis?

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi--has dramatically increased its targeting of influential Iraqi government officials, potential candidates in the election, and anyone else associated with the electoral process.

Posted by: Rusty at 01:56 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Via Chad at In the Bullpen the news that 15 Iraqi National Guardsman have been captured by the terrorists. Sadly, their fate is already sealed.

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....al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade claims responsibility.

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AP via Globe and Mail:

Gunmen killed a representative of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's most senior Shiite Muslim cleric, along with the aide's son and four bodyguards in a town south of Baghdad, an official in the cleric's office said Thursday...

Sheik Mahmoud Finjan, Mr. al-Sistani's representative in the town of Salman Pak, 20 kilometres southeast of Baghdad, was shot dead Wednesday night as he was returning home from a mosque where he performed the evening prayers, the official said on condition of anonymity. His son and four bodyguards were also killed, the official at Mr. al-Sistani's office in this Shiite holy city said.

Posted by: Rusty at 08:33 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Speaking of Ansar al-Sunnah, this is surely their work.....Turkish Press:

Twin car bombs killed at least two Iraqi soldiers in Mosul...

In the troubled city of Mosul, a white van tried to swerve inside a joint convoy of US and Iraqi military vehicles, but exploded prematurely, killing an unknown number of civilians, US army Sergeant Chris Schaeffer told AFP.

A second car parked on a street, not far away from the first blast, exploded and killed two Iraqi soldiers, Schaeffer said.

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I wasn't around when the governor was killed, but Chad guest posted on it here. Via Chad at In the Bullpen this Reuters story:

U.S. troops have arrested six suspects in the assassination of Baghdad's provincial governor, the highest-ranking official hit so far in attacks to sabotage Iraq's Jan. 30 election, the military said on Wednesday.

Acting on a tip from residents, soldiers seized the suspected insurgents on Tuesday in a house in western Baghdad, U.S. officials said....

"We were able to act on this intelligence and detain these guys without firing a shot," said Major Web Wright, an army spokesman. The military said the men were being held for questioning.

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The Commissar, who I hear has gone into semi-retirement, republishes this SPI article on Ansar al-Islam.

Because large portions of this site have been devoted to exposing the Ansar al Sunnah, I thought I'd republish it also below. I would correct the SPI article only in stating that Ansar al-Islam is now defunct. Ansar al-Islam bases of operation were heavily bombed during the Iraq invasion and Kurdish forces have completely suppressed the groups activities in the area. All terrorist activity in Northern Iraq has been by Ansar al-Sunnah, an offshoot and now replacement of Ansar al-Islam. Further, it was the Army of Ansar al-Sunnah themselves that have claimed allegiance to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's al Qaeda in Iraq group. The article makes it sound as if there is some question about the relationship. There is none. more...

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UPDATE 9/07/05: Roy Hallums is FREE!!!! Information and updates here.

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UPDATE 1/25/05: Terrorists Release Video of Roy Hallums, click here for update.

A page dedicated to American hostage Roy Hallums by his daughter Carrie. Right: Roy Hallums pictured with Carrie as a child

As close followers of this site know, a minor controversy was started when we published the name of an American civillian being held hostage in Iraq. His name first appeared as 'Roy Hallun' in a Fillipino newspaper and we republished that account here. In response to that initial post a friend of Roy contacted us and clarified that Roy's last name was actually 'Hallums'.

We published several posts about Roy Hallums, shocked that not a single mainstream media outlet had picked up on the story. Roy had been kidnapped with six other foreigners on November 1st. For weeks the State Department would only confirm that an American had been kidnapped but would not release his name. This seemed odd to us and we felt that the word should get out.

Members of Roy's family soon contacted us with words of encouragement. They too were perplexed that an American citizen could be held hostage in Iraq and yet no media would cover the story.

However, as some of you know, we took down several posts dedicated to Roy Hallums. A person close to Roy Hallums' contacted me with the concern that publicizing his account might jeopardize ongoing negotiations for his release. I was conflicted. On the one hand I felt a great deal of sympathy for this person. If I were in their shoes I would do everything possible, including paying a ransom to terrorists, for the release of my loved one. On the other hand, I wanted the whole world to know the depths of Islamofascist perfidy. As a matter of fact, my entire site is dedicated to that very goal.

In the end, the personal nature of the request won me over and I removed the posts as requested.

In the past few weeks, Roy's immediate family has been trying to get the word out about his plight and it seems the media is catching on. Just prior to my vacation I was contacted by a producer at CBS news who was trying to reach the Hallums family--I assume they ran the story although I've been out of the loop. Carrie and her mother Susan Hallums have also appeared on Good Morning America trying to get the word out about their loved one.

Carrie e-mailed me over my holiday letting me know that she had set up a web page dedicated to her father. If you have a minute I'd encourage you to go over there and look around. You can leave words of encouragement at this guest page. Also, please include Roy Hallums and his family in your prayers.

Posted by: Rusty at 03:20 PM | Comments (17) | Add Comment
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Charles Johnson, of Little Green Footballs, the man who inspired me to start My Pet Jawa had been blogging over at Discarded Lies, another LGF inspired site. Evariste cannot be happy about the drop in hits.

Another piece of good news: Allah is back! He's using his backup site here. Bookmark it.

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You know how the followers of the Religion of Peace like to say things like "beheading is un-Islamic" or "beheading is a recent phenomenon in Islamic countries" and what not? A man convicted of drug smuggling was just beheaded in Saudi Arabia and two more necks are scheduled to meet with a noose in Kuwait later today. I guess it was Saudi Arabia's radical secularism that caused this particular form of punishment. Pak Tribune:

Khan Wali Majid Khan, a Pakistani national, was beheaded here Monday after being convicted for smuggling heroin into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, said a statement released by the Interior Ministry.
He was convicted by the Shariah court, and the verdict was approved by the Cassation court and the Supreme Judicial Council...

Moreover, Two arrested Pakistan drug smugglers would be executed here early Tuesday after Kuwaiti courts and Amir of the state found them guilty of smuggling heroin to Kuwait.

Ayub Shah 30 and Usman Khan 40 were rounded up by Kuwait Custom officials for smuggling heroin in 2002 and both the accused later confessed their guilt when they were produced before the court, according to Kuwait police....

After the rejection of their mercy appeals by the Amir of Kuwait, the Kuwait Attorney General has issued order to conduct execution of both of the Pakistanis at Naif Palace. They would be hanged publicly.

Posted by: Rusty at 08:27 AM | Comments (19) | Add Comment
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In a somewhat funny twist of fate, I have received unconfirmed reports that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi may have been captured in a raid in the Baghdad area.

(Simultaneously launched by Bravo Romeo Delta from Demosophia, The Jawa Daily News, & Anticipatory Retaliation)

Posted by: Bravo Romeo Delta at 11:37 AM | Comments (12) | Add Comment
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1 Let us hope this is true!

Posted by: Cindy at January 04, 2005 12:05 PM (O1SIn)

2 Captured? You mean he did not die fighting? What a coward! The Army should plut him before a firing squad! I volunteer but I want an old M14. Rod Stanton

Posted by: Rod Stanton at January 04, 2005 12:29 PM (tHUgl)

3 Rod - if you kill him, we can't milk him or remand him to the gentle caresses of the Iraqi government who, I am sure, have plenty of things they wish to talk about with him. Then shoot him. Then, I am sure there are a multidue of relatives who have died due to his actions, who would like nothing more than to talk and express their grief with pliers, power drills, carpet knifes and broken bottles. Then shoot him. With a rock salt gun.

Posted by: Bravo Romeo Delta at January 04, 2005 01:16 PM (kiA+F)

4 If they did capture him, we would deny it first. Then I would imagine we would torture the living piss out of him for info. (no pics this time please) Then, Perhaps he should be given a boob job and put in a prison for some quality ass raping. THen perhaps after a week of that, give him the Louima treatment with a dirty plunger. Then torture him some more for the hell of it. Make him eat a pork chop, cut his nuts off, boil them in pigs blood and make him eat it. then kill him.

Posted by: Obdiah Snooks at January 04, 2005 02:14 PM (yBHNA)

5 I read that too, over at http://haganah.us/haganah/index.html. Is it true??? *fingers crossed* OMG, it's another Christmas miracle!

Posted by: Princess Kimberley at January 04, 2005 02:44 PM (ZcUkT)

6 If he was in the control of the Iraqis I doubt if they would do anymore to him than they have to Saddam. Most still don't understand those people. They will forgive and forget anything if the Islamofacist clerics say his crimes were done for the good of Islam. I don't trust their politicians any more than I trust their soldiers. His immediate execution would be the only option. Holding him for trial would only result in more hostages. This man should not be taken alive. Nor should osama or any of the terrorist leaders. Saddams sons are no longer a threat because they are dead. As they should be.

Posted by: greyrooster at January 04, 2005 03:11 PM (xRptl)

7 I hear Osama snitched on Zarqawi because he was getting all the attention lately. MSM needs to carry this story.

Posted by: greyrooster at January 04, 2005 03:18 PM (xRptl)

8 That's right, let's kill them and turn them into the martyrs they want to become. I'd be surprised if we ever hear that bin Laden or Zarqawi are captured or killed. If you kill them, you turn them into myths whose deaths would inspire millions more. If you publicly capture them, you risk having endless hostage takings, killings, bombings as their followers demand their release. If you capture them in secret and don't publicize it, you could do anything you want to them and none of their followers would ever know.

Posted by: Venom at January 04, 2005 03:22 PM (dbxVM)

9 BRD that may be why you got a commission and I was a noncom. I stand corrected. Rod

Posted by: Rod Stanton at January 04, 2005 05:37 PM (tHUgl)

10 Rod, I'm flattered and humbled. But I am not commissioned. Just a pointy-headed fellow with a mean streak than can be cultivated from time to time.

Posted by: Bravo Romeo Delta at January 05, 2005 09:21 AM (kiA+F)

11 You guys are funny. Zarqawi should be tortured in every possible way, as you've all stated for what he has done to so many people. We'd be sinking to his level but I think for once we could handle doing that - get the plastic suits out - don't want to get all bloody now, do we? :-) Cindy

Posted by: firstbrokenangel at January 05, 2005 04:34 PM (D39Vm)

12 i like all these ideas but shuldnt we do this to all muslems that do not make an efort to help catch the bad ones.and if there are any good ones lets just take them out so they dont make any more of these little demons we call muslim.

Posted by: lou at January 14, 2005 09:36 AM (44dn9)

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