Stryker Intelligence Group: August 2010

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.

Full Story

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.

Full Story

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.

Full Story

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

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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.

Full Story

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."

Full Story

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

Link

Venezuela Defence and Security Report 2010 - new market report released
August 19, 2010

(live-PR.com) - In 2009 Venezuela was officially in recession. Its valuable oil exports are on a downward trend and the constraints on production capacity are of concern. Despite this, its military spending on arms imports is increasing. South America is in the process of armed forces modernisation and upgrades, but recent Venezuelan purchases, most notably Russian Sukhoi fighter jets, are sophisticated systems that go beyond building for defense against external threats and could further enhance a regional arms race that is already under way. This trend is likely to intensify due to ‘copycat’ weapons buying, which has been triggered by recent increased military spending in some countries and reactions of their neighbors.

Full Story

Mexican drug cartel hiring "pretty young hit women" to surprise rivals

London, Aug 18 (ANI)

A Mexican drug gang is reportedly hiring "pretty young women" to carry out killings to surprise its enemies.
Rogelio Amaya, a suspected member of the vicious gang, has revealed that around 30 women aged between 18 and 30 years have carried out killings in recent months accompanied by hit men.

"They're pretty, good-looking, to help mislead opponents," The Telegraph quoted a suspected Juarez cartel member, as saying.hese disguised women carry out dangerous operations just like their male counterparts, and routinely use both light and heavy weapons, the report added

Full Article

Army in the streets, until the end of the mandate of Felipe Calderón
Jueves 19 de Agosto de 2010

The President said it would use the armed forces until the last day in office if the circumstances so require and there is a ready and effective police

El presidente Felipe Calderón mantendrá al Ejército en las calles hasta el último día de su mandato si así lo obligan las circunstancias y no hay una policía preparada y eficaz para combatir a la delincuencia. President Felipe Calderon will keep the army on the streets until the last day in office if the circumstances so require and there is a ready and effective police to fight crime.

Blog del Narco

http://www.blogdelnarco.com/2010/08/ejercito-en-calles-hasta-fin-de-mandato.html

Some Muslims question mosque near ground zero
August 18, 2010

NEW YORK – American Muslims who support the proposed mosque and Islamic center near ground zero are facing skeptics within their own faith — those who argue that the project is insensitive to Sept. 11 victims and needlessly provocative at a time when Muslims are pressing for wider acceptance in the U.S.

By RACHEL ZOLL, AP
Read more at:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100818/ap_on_re_us/us_ground_zero_mosque_us_muslims

Russia Pushes to Increase Afghanistan Business Ties

August 18, 2010

By: Andrew E. Kramer

MOSCOW — Twenty years after the last Russian soldier walked out of Afghanistan, Moscow is gingerly pushing its way back into the country with business deals and diplomacy, and promises of closer ties to come.

Russia is eager to cooperate on economic matters in part by reviving Soviet-era public works, its president, Dmitri A. Medvedev, said Wednesday during a summit meeting with the leaders of Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Pakistan, the second such four-way meeting organized by Russia in the past year.