Thursday, June 19, 2008

NATO, Afghan troops begin 'clean-up' near tense Kandahar
By Ismail Sameem, Kandahar

NATO and Afghan forces have launched an offensive against Taliban militants near the troubled southern city of Kandahar.

A NATO-led air strike killed 20 Taliban insurgents, the Defence Ministry said. The ministry said three Taliban group leaders were killed further south.

Two Afghan army officers were also killed during the operation as helicopter gunships and troops with small and heavy arms blasted a valley in the district of Arghandab, on the northern outskirts of Kandahar.

"Today at eight in the morning the clean-up operation started in Arghandab district of Kandahar province," Afghan Defence Ministry spokesman General Mohammad Zahir Azimi said in a statement.

The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said an operation conducted by Afghan troops and backed by Canadian soldiers was "under way" in the district. NATO spokesman Mark Laity said a "substantial" number of troops was involved.

"Because operations are ongoing, we can only give limited details," he said, adding that initial patrols had not shown large numbers of militants.

"We've not seen evidence of large numbers of Taliban despite patrols to the district centre yesterday. This doesn't mean that there are no insurgents, but we've not seen a large number, as claimed by Taliban."

The Afghan army operation aimed to drive Taliban insurgents from occupied villages on the outskirts of Kandahar city, the Defence Ministry said.

NATO and Afghan forces had massed troops and beefed up air power in Kandahar this week, readying for a showdown with the hundreds of militants dug in on the city's northern outskirts.

Some 600 Taliban insurgents took over the villages in Arghandab district on Monday, days after freeing hundreds of inmates in a bold attack on the main jail in Kandahar city.

On Tuesday, Taliban spokesman Qari Mohammad Yousuf said militants had set their sights on Kandahar itself, the movement's birthplace, which lies about 20 kilometres from Arghandab.

Thousands of families have fled Arghandab since Monday, when NATO warned that an operation would be staged to flush out the Taliban, said Agha Lalai, a member of Kandahar's provincial council and a tribal chief of Arghandab.

Colonel Jamie Cade, deputy commander of Task Force Kandahar, was quoted in a NATO statement as saying there were no obvious signs of insurgent activity in Kandahar city. "It is clear that Kandahar city remains firmly under the control of the Afghan Government and its people," he said.

Witnesses said checkpoints had been set up on many key roads leading into the city. Reconnaissance flights headed for Arghandab could be heard for much of Tuesday night.

Several key roads leading to major government installations were blocked and a group of NATO soldiers was stationed in Kandahar's sports stadium, they said.

The Defence Ministry has flown in a battalion from Kabul to join Afghan troops and ISAF units, Afghan officials say.

ISAF'S chief public affairs officer in Kabul, Captain Mike Finney, said Canadian soldiers were backing the offensive.

¦ Four British soldiers were killed and two were wounded by a bomb during a patrol on Tuesday in Afghanistan's Helmand province, ISAF said yesterday.

Source: REUTERS, AFP



Kept In Archive For Reference........
Release Monday, July 25, 2005

Egypt hunts Pakistanis over bombs
Monday, July 25, 2005

 Grainy photos have been released of the Pakistani suspects
Egyptian police are searching for six Pakistani nationals in connection with the triple bombing at Sharm al-Sheikh.

They have distributed photographs of the six, who disappeared from a hotel in Cairo earlier this month.

The confirmed death toll stands at 64, although hospital officials say the figure could be as high as 88.

Police have arrested scores of Bedouin for questioning, as investigators pursued links with an attack on tourists in eastern Sinai last year.

Unnamed Egyptian security sources say police have surrounded two Bedouin villages near Sharm al-Sheikh - Ruweisat and Khurum - where they believe two of the Pakistani men may be hiding.

Police have clarified that the six missing Pakistanis disappeared before the bombings, and were not staying at a hotel in Sharm al-Sheikh, as previously reported.

Click Here! to see a map of the attacks

Arabic TV networks have shown grainy pictures of two of the missing men and named them as Muhammad Akhtar, 30, and Tasadduq Husayn, 18.

No precedent

Correspondents say the involvement of Pakistanis would be unprecedented. Foreign nationals have rarely been linked to a series of attacks on tourists in Egypt since 1992.

A Pakistani foreign ministry spokesman said Egypt had not officially contacted Islamabad about the incident.

Investigators have been picking over the debris from the bombings

 Ministry spokesman Naeem Khan said Pakistan does not know the Egyptian government's position on the possible involvement of Pakistanis in the bombings.

Investigators have been trying to determine whether the bombers had helped stage the attacks in the nearby Red Sea resort of Taba last October.

DNA samples are being compared with those of detained suspects to establish any possible connections.

Investigators have said there were two car bombs in Saturday's attack - the one outside the Ghazala Gardens and another in the Old Market area. A third bomb, set off in a parking area near the hotel, had been placed inside a suitcase.

Security officials told the Associated Press news agency that three attackers escaped before the blasts - one man who planted the suitcase bomb and two others who left the car bomb in the Old Market.

Most of those who died were Egyptian, although at least eight foreigners were killed.

Various reports say they include people of Turkish, Czech, Netherlands, Russian and Ukrainian nationality. One Israeli Arab is also thought to be among the dead.

The British Embassy in Cairo said one Briton was known to have died in the bombings.

The attack in the Old Market killed 17 Egyptians who were at a street cafe, officials said.

Peace march

In Sharm al-Sheikh, known in Egypt as the "City of Peace", hundreds of people marched through the Naama Bay area on Sunday evening in protest against the attacks.

They marched past the wreckage of the four-star Ghazala Gardens hotel, which is concealed behind a high, white tarpaulin.

Hotel workers, diving instructors and other local employees joined the march, lighting candles as night fell. They chanted slogans in support of peace and held banners which read "No to terrorism".

The BBC's Heba Saleh in Sharm al-Sheikh says the event was intended to send the message that the resort remains a welcoming place, but there was no mistaking the strength of the feelings expressed.

Two Islamist groups, one asserting links to al-Qaeda, have made unverified claims of responsibility for the attacks.

October's bombings killed 34 people, including many Israelis. It was seen as an offshoot of the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, and blamed by Egypt on disaffected Palestinians and local Bedouins.

The previous worst attack in Egypt was in 1997, when Islamic militants killed 58 foreign tourists and four Egyptians near the southern city of Luxor.

The tourism industry - Egypt's most lucrative - has slowly recovered since that attack, but there are widespread fears that these latest bombings will deal it a fresh blow.

Source: BBC



Kept In Archive For Reference........
Release Wednesday, March 19, 2003

Timeline: The road to war in Iraq
Compiled by Seth Stern Christian Science Monitor

1990 Aug. 2 - Iraq invades Kuwait. The UN Security Council calls for a full withdrawal.

1990 Aug. 6 - UN imposes economic sanctions on Iraq.

1990 Nov. 29 - UN orders Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait by Jan. 15, 1991.

1991 Jan. 17 - The Gulf War starts as coalition forces begin bombing Iraq.

1991 Feb. 24 - Ground invasion of Iraq and Kuwait commences. Kuwait is liberated three days later.

1991 Mar. 3 - Iraq accepts the cease-fire. The primary cease-fire resolution requires Iraq to end its programs for weapons-of-mass-destruction (WMD), recognize Kuwait, account for missing Kuwaitis, return Kuwaiti property, and end support for international terrorism.

1991 Mid-March/early April - Iraq suppresses Shiite uprisings in the south and Kurdish uprisings in the north, creating a humanitarian disaster on the borders with Turkey and Iran.

1991 April 7 - The US and coalition partners establish the no-fly zone over northern Iraq.

1991 April 8 - A plan for the establishment of a UN haven in northern Iraq for Kurds is approved by the European Union. The US orders Iraq to end military action in this area.

1991 April - Working with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN Special Commission (UNSCOM) is established to ensure Iraq is free of WMD.

1992 August 26 - A no-fly zone is established in southern Iraq and patrolled by British, French and US aircraft.

1993 June 27 - US forces fire Cruise missiles at an Iraqi intelligence building in Baghdad, in response to the attempted assassination of former President George Bush in Kuwait in April.

1995 April 14 - The UN allows the partial resumption of Iraq's oil exports to buy food and medicine as part of an "oil for food" program.

1996 March-June - UN inspection teams are denied access to militarily sensitive areas.

1996 June - A CIA-backed coup attempt against Saddam Hussein is foiled. Participants are executed.

1997 Oct. 29 - Iraq demands that Americans on the UN inspection team leave; they go but return on Nov. 20.

1998 Jan 13-22 - Iraq withdraws cooperation with UN inspectors, claiming some are British and American spies.

Feb. 23 - Iraq promises UN inspectors unrestricted access.

Oct. 31 - Iraq ends cooperation with UNSCOM.

Nov. 14 - Iraq allows inspections to resume.

Dec. 16 - UN inspection teams are withdrawn, after concluding that Iraq is not cooperating fully.

Dec. 16-19 - US and Britain launch a bombing campaign "Operation Desert Fox," to destroy suspected WMD.

Dec. 17 - UN creates the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) to replace UNSCOM. Iraq rejects the new body.

2000 August - Baghdad Airport reopened, resulting in a stream of flights by countries and organizations to campaign against sanctions.

October - Commercial air links reestablished between Iraq and Russia, Ireland, and the Middle East.

November - Iraq rejects new weapons-inspections proposals.

2001 Free-trade zone agreements set up with neighboring countries. Rail link with Turkey reopened in May.

February - Britain and US planes launch raids to try and disable Iraq's air defense network.

2002 Jan. 30 - President Bush says Iraq is part of an "axis of evil" during his State of the Union address.

May - UN overhauls the prohibited-goods list, creating "smart sanctions" which focus on military and dual-use equipment.

Aug. 2 - In a letter to the UN secretary-general, Iraq invites Hans Blix to Iraq for talks on remaining disarmament issues.

Sept. 12 - President Bush, addressing the UN General Assembly, challenges the UN to confront the "grave and gathering danger" of Iraq - or stand aside as the United States and likeminded nations act.

Sept. 16 - Iraq says it will allow international weapons inspectors to return "without conditions."

Sept. 30 - UN and Iraq discuss terms for weapons inspections. But talks leave eight presidential compounds off limits, and US seeks authorization for a use of force if Iraq fails to comply with inspections.

Oct. 10 - Congress adopts joint resolution authorizing use of force against Iraq.

Oct. 16 - Iraq renews offer to UN weapons inspectors after "referendum" gives Saddam Hussein another seven-year term as president with 100 percent of the vote.

Nov. 8 - UN Security Council unanimously adopts Resolution 1441, which outlines an enhanced inspection regime for Iraq's disarmament to be conducted by the IAEA.

Nov. 18 - UN weapons inspectors return to Baghdad.

Dec. 7 - Iraq provides UN weapons inspectors with 12,000 pages of information comprising a "complete declaration" of the regime's chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons programs. Iraq states in the declaration that there are no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

Dec. 19 - UNMOVIC Chairman Hans Blix tells UNSC members that the declaration "is essentially a reorganized version" of information Iraq provided UNSCOM in 1997.

2003 Jan. 12 - The Turkish government gives US military planners permission to examine ports and airstrips to see what upgrades are needed for a war against Iraq.

Jan. 16 - In their first significant discovery, UN weapons inspectors find 12 warheads designed to carry chemical weapons. The inspectors suggest the warheads were not accounted for in Iraq's 12,000-page report.

Jan. 16 - Weapons-inspections chiefs report to the Security Council that, while Iraq has provided access to facilities, concerns remain regarding undeclared material, inability to interview Iraqi scientists, inability to deploy aerial surveillance during inspections, and harassment of inspectors.

Jan. 28 - Bush says Saddam Hussein "is not disarming. To the contrary, he is deceiving," during his State of the Union address to Congress. "He has shown utter contempt for the United Nations and the opinion of the world," Bush says.

Feb 5 - Colin Powell uses satellite photos and audiotapes of intercepts in a bid to win over international opinion during a UN security council presentation.

Mar. 1 - UNMOVIC orders Iraq to destroy all its illegally imported Al Samoud 2 missiles and 380 rocket engines.

Mar. 1 -The Turkish parliament denies US military forces access to bases in that country.

Mar. 5 - France, Germany, and Russia release a joint declaration stating they will "not allow" a resolution authorizing military action to pass the UN Security Council.

Mar. 7 - The US, Britain, and Spain introduce a revised UN resolution that gives Iraq a Mar. 17 deadline to rid itself of WMD.

Mar. 16 - The leaders of the US, Britain, Spain, and Portugal meet on the Azores, issuing a one-day deadline for diplomacy. They warn war could start immediately

Mar. 17 - The US and Britain withdraw their draft Security Council resolution and advise weapons inspectors to evacuate Iraq. During a televised address, President Bush issues an ultimatum to Saddam Hussein to leave Iraq within 48 hours during a televised address

Sources: US State Department, GlobalSecurity.org, The Guardian, and the BBC

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