Friday, August 20, 2010

Security force targets Taliban commander in Logar 
 ISAF

An Afghan and coalition security force conducted operations in Logar province Wednesday while in pursuit of a Taliban commander associated with the Kabul Attack Network.

The commander, Qari Muir, formerly held several Taliban positions including deputy shadow governor, military commander and intelligence chief for Logar province.

During the operation, 12 Taliban insurgents, including Muir, were killed.

Intelligence sources observed a large gathering of Taliban insurgents in Qal‟eh-ye Jom-eh in Pul-e Alam district preparing to conduct an attack against coalition forces.

After ensuring no civilians were present, an air weapons team engaged the group, killing nine insurgents. Coalition forces then conducted a precision air strike, and air assault on the objective location killing three more insurgents and destroying a very large weapons cache which included rockets, mines, improvised explosive device material and various types of ammunition.

“The Taliban currently operating in Logar province are inflicting violence, instability and fear on the Afghan people,” said U.S. Army Col. Rafael Torres, International Security Assistance Force Joint Command Combined Joint Operations Center director. “These operations help rid these areas of these terrorists along with their weapons and backward ideology.”
U.K. ENLISTS BANS TO STOP NARCOTICS
20 Aug 2010
Author: Jeanne Whalen

The U.K. is giving its law-enforcement authorities extra powers to fight a wave of new narcotics known as "legal highs." The drugs are often legal when they hit the market because authorities haven't yet seen and banned them. With names such as Meow Meow and NRG-1, the drugs have been popular in Europe. New synthetic cannabinoids that are similar to marijuana also have appeared widely in the U.S.

It can take authorities months to catch wind of a new drug and ban it. The U.K. says it is trying to shrink that interval by allowing law-enforcement agencies to issue immediate bans of up to 12 months on new substances, until full reviews can be carried out.


Aid Ship Mariam to Sail on Sunday 
August 20, 2010
By Ali Yenidunya

Will Mariam Sail to Gaza?: As Palestine Today reported Thursday that an aid ship bound for the Gaza Strip had departed from Algeria, the organizers of the Lebanese ship Mariam said that they plan to set sail from Lebanon on Sunday.

Full Story
New additions to Abū Muḥmmad al-Maqdisī’s English language jihādī library

Today Abū Muḥmmad al-Maqdisī’s English language jihādī library (tawhed.net) added new articles and interviews to its archives. According to the Combating Terrorism Center’s Militant Atlas, al-Maqdisī is considered “the most influential living Jihadi Theorist.” The following documents were added:
France unfazed by Russian tender, Mistral talks ongoing
PARIS, August 20, 2010 (RIA Novosti)

Paris is continuing negotiations with Moscow on the purchase of a Mistral-class warship and is not concerned about Russia's decision to call a tender for the construction of two helicopter carriers, a spokeswoman for the French presidential administration said on Friday.

"France has no cause for concern over the current developments and negotiations are ongoing," she said.
Russia is holding talks with France on the purchase of Mistral-class warships on a 2+2 scheme whereby Russia will buy one or two French-built Mistrals and build another two under license at home.

 

Russia, Armenia committed to stable Caucasus region
GYUMRI (Armenia), August 20,2010 (RIA Novosti)

Russia and Armenia will continue to work to maintain stability in the Caucasus, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Friday.

Medvedev, on an official visit to Armenia, lauded Yerevan's commitment to the work of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and CIS Anti-Terrorist Center.

"We will use the potential of these structures to strengthen peace and stability across the entire territory of the Caucasus," Medvedev said in the north Armenian city of Gyumri near the Turkish border.

"This is essential for all of the countries in the region. It is essential for Russia," he said at an opening ceremony of the Hill of Honor memorial, which commemorates Russian soldiers who died fighting the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century.

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said Yerevan views friendly ties between Russia and Armenia as a key component in maintaining stability in the Caucasus.


 

NDLEA arrests 4 suspects for trafficking 4.58kg of narcotics
August 20, 2010

A drug trafficking suspect who said he needed money to bury his late father, ran into trouble as he was arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, with 62 wraps of 750 grammes of narcotics, which he swallowed in Benin City.
The suspect, Tony Ubebe, based in Italy, travelled from Benin to catch a flight to Europe when he was caught.

By Kenneth Ehigiator

 

Thailand to extradite suspected Russian arms dealer
By Ambika Ahuja Ambika Ahuja

BANGKOK (Reuters) – A Thai appeals court ruled on Friday that suspected Russian arms smuggler Viktor Bout can be extradited to the United States to face terrorism charges following two years of diplomatic pressure from Washington.

Nicknamed the "Merchant of Death" and the inspiration for Hollywood movie "Lord of War" starring Nicholas Cage, the 43-year-old Bout faces U.S. accusations of trafficking arms since the 1990s to dictators and conflict zones in Africa, South America and the Middle East.


 

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Iran Air 744
August 18, 2010

WASHINGTON - Iran Air 744 is a bimonthly flight that originates in Tehran and flies directly to Caracas with periodic stops in Beirut and Damascus. The maiden flight was Feb. 2, 2007.

The mere existence of the flight was a significant concern for U.S. intelligence officials, but now a broader concern is who and what are aboard the flights.

"If you [a member of the public] tried to book yourself a seat on this flight and it doesn't matter whether it's a week before, a month before, six months before -- you'll never find a place to sit there," says Offer Baruch, a former Israeli Shin Bet agent.

Baruch, now vice president of operations for International Shield, a security firm in Texas, says the plane is reserved for Iranian agents, including "Hezbollah, the Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) and other intelligence personnel." 


Kalashnikov rifles seized in Nigeria
August 19, 2010

Maiduguri, Nigeria - Officials with Nigeria's security services say they have intercepted 52 Kalashnikov rifles and more than 1 700 rounds of ammunition heading for an area that has been the scene of religious violence.
The Borno state director of the Nigeria State Security Service says five men were arrested for trying to bring the weapons from neighboring Chad.

Director Abdullahi Ahmed told reporters on Wednesday that the men hid the rifles, ammunition and about $32 000 underneath vegetables and dried fish in two cars. Ahmed says the weapons were heading for Jos, the epicenter of religious violence in Nigeria's "middle belt", where dozens of ethnic groups vie for control of fertile lands.Hundreds of Christians and Muslims have died in fighting there this year alone. - Sapa-AP