Daily Summary - Thursday, December 15, 2005

[Airbornelawyer]

Middle East and South & Central Asia:

Middle East and South & Central Asia: Ongoing operations (http://www.mnf-iraq.com/releases.htm) – Miscellaneous releases from U.S. Central Command (http://www.centcom.mil/CENTCOMNews/release_list.asp).
Iraq: Ongoing operations (http://www.mnf-iraq.com/releases.htm) – Miscellaneous releases from Multi-National Force Iraq (http://www.mnf-iraq.com/).
Iraq: Incidents in Iraq on Election Day (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LON516330.htm) (Reuters Alertnet (http://www.alertnet.org))
Iraq/Italy: Italy to cut its Iraq forces by 10 pct in Jan -Min (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L15732525.htm) "Italy will reduce its troop force in Iraq by 10 percent in January as part of its phased withdrawal from the country, Defence Minister Antonio Martino said on Thursday. Martino told reporters Italy would cut its military contingent to 2,600 soldiers by the end of January from 2,900. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said last month that all the troops would be withdrawn from Iraq by the end of 2006 in coordination with the Iraqi government. Italy, which has the fourth-largest foreign contingent in Iraq, faces a general election next April where the unpopular Iraq war might become an issue. Most Italians and all opposition parties were opposed to the troop deployment. The Italian government started withdrawing its forces in September, pulling an initial 300 soldiers from Iraq." (Reuters Alertnet (http://www.alertnet.org))
Iraq/Czech Republic: Do Iráku odlétne 9. kontingent Vojenské policie (http://www.army.cz/scripts/detail.php?id=6968) – 9th Contingent of Military Police Depart for Iraq (Czech Armed Forces (http://www.army.cz/))

Israel: Gaza rocket hits edge of Israeli city, no injuries (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L15652161.htm) "Palestinian militants in Gaza fired a makeshift rocket on Thursday that hit an industrial zone on the outskirts of the Israeli coastal city of Ashkelon, causing no damage or casualties, the army said. The army said the rocket flew eight km (five miles) before falling harmlessly in an open, sandy area. Militants have targeted Ashkelon before, but this was the first time a rocket was known to have hit the area since August 2003.…" (Reuters Alertnet (http://www.alertnet.org))
Saudi Arabia: Explosives Seized at Riyadh Villa (http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1&section=0&article=74706&d=15&m=12&y=2005&pix=kingdom.jpg&category=Kingdom) "Saudi security forces have seized large quantities of explosives and chemicals at a villa in Riyadh, newspapers reported yesterday. Home-made bombs, weapons, chemical products, computers and leaflets inciting violence were among the items seized, Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper reported, citing an unnamed security source.…" (Arab News (http://www.arabnews.com))


Afghanistan/UK: Army chiefs warn: 'We're not ready for Afghanistan' (http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=2402732005&format=print) "BRITAIN is set for a U-turn on its commitment to send thousands of troops to fight in Afghanistan next year, with some in the army now questioning whether the mission should be abandoned altogether. …" (The Scotsman (http://news.scotsman.com))
Afghanistan: U.S. soldier killed in Afghan clash, prisoners freed (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/ISL18037.htm) "An American soldier was killed in a firefight with suspected Taliban guerrillas in Afghanistan on Thursday, the U.S. military said. The clash occured in the restive southern province of Kandahar as Afghan and U.S. troops were conducting a joint combat patrol, the U.S. military said in a statement. One militant was killed, while one U.S. soldier and an Afghan soldier were wounded. Other militants fled after American aircraft pounded their positions, the U.S. military said.…" (Reuters Alertnet (http://www.alertnet.org))
Pakistan: Pakistani commander wounded in attack on helicopter (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/ISL15194.htm) "The commander of Pakistan's paramilitary Frontier Corps was wounded on Thursday when gunfire hit his helicopter as it flew over a troubled southwestern province, officials said. Major-General Shujaat Zamir Dar was inspecting an area in Baluchistan province where suspected separatist rebels fired eight rockets at a security force base on Wednesday as President Pervez Musharraf was visiting a nearby town, one said.…" (Reuters Alertnet (http://www.alertnet.org))
India: Indian Maoists threaten foreign companies (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/DEL25556.htm) "India's increasingly active Maoist guerrillas said they would attack multinational and large Indian companies, accusing them of colluding with governments to oppress the poor, The Hindustan Times reported on Thursday. Thousands of rebels, who operate across a large swathe of India, have stepped up attacks in the past few months, killing dozens and sparking concern over their growing power.…" (Reuters Alertnet (http://www.alertnet.org))
Sri Lanka: Suspected rebel fronts threaten Sri Lankan army (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/COL43002.htm) "Soldiers forced people in Sri Lanka's war-ravaged north to cut back their garden hedges on Thursday as a security precaution against deadly ambushes with suspected rebel fronts threatening to mount attacks.…" (Reuters Alertnet (http://www.alertnet.org))
Nepal: Nepalese soldier shoots many dead (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4530456.stm) "A Nepalese soldier has opened fire on a crowd near Kathmandu, killing at least 11 civilians, police say. Another 19 were wounded in the carnage during a religious festival at a temple in Nagarkot late on Wednesday. The army said the soldier, in civilian dress, also died, but it is not clear how. Witnesses said he sprayed locals with bullets after arguing with them.…" (BBC (http://news.bbc.co.uk/))
South Asia: South Asia Terrorism Update (http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/detailed_news.asp?date1=12/15/2005) (South Asia Terrorism Portal (http://www.satp.org))
Sri Lanka: Security Situation Report (http://www.army.lk/news/index.html). (Sri Lanka Army (http://www.army.lk))

[Airbornelawyer]

East Asia and the Pacific

Indonesia: Final Round of Aceh Disarmament (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4526972.stm) "Rebels in the Indonesian province of Aceh have begun handing in the remainder of their weapons. The fourth and final round of decommissioning is expected to last around four days. After this, the last of the Indonesian troops and police reinforcements sent to the province will be withdrawn. The moves are part of a peace deal between rebels of the Free Aceh Movement (Gam) and the government which ended 26 years of bitter conflict.…" (BBC (http://news.bbc.co.uk/))
Australia: Australia’s National Security: Defence Update 2005 (http://www.minister.defence.gov.au/Hilltpl.cfm?CurrentId=5319) "A major review of Australia’s National security has been released today outlining current threats and challenges facing Australia and the measures the Howard Government is taking to keep Australia secure. Prime Minister John Howard today joined Defence Minister Robert Hill and Chief of the Defence Force Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston to launch the report, Australia’s National Security: Defence Update 2005, at Victoria Barracks in Sydney.…" (Australian Ministry for Defence (http://www.minister.defence.gov.au/))
Australia: Army Battalion to Relocate to Adelaide (http://www.minister.defence.gov.au/Hilltpl.cfm?CurrentId=5320) "Army’s 3rd Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR), will relocate from Sydney to Adelaide as part of the Hardened and Networked Army strategy, Defence Minister Robert Hill announced today.Army’s 3rd Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR), will relocate from Sydney to Adelaide as part of the Hardened and Networked Army strategy, Defence Minister Robert Hill announced today.…" (Australian Ministry for Defence (http://www.minister.defence.gov.au/))

Europe


France: Police Arrest More in Zarqawi-Linked Probe (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L15749674.htm) "French police seized weapons and arrested two people as part of a probe into an Islamic militant group said to have indirect links to al Qaeda's leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, officials said on Thursday. The two arrests, on Wednesday, followed a string of dawn raids in the Paris region on Monday, when police arrested 25 people suspected of financing Islamic militancy by staging armed robberies. Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, who has said the group has indirect links to key al Qaeda leaders and al-Zarqawi, told reporters explosives and weapons had been found in a car park in Clichy-sous-Bois, a northern suburb of Paris, on Wednesday.…" (Reuters Alertnet (http://www.alertnet.org))
United Kingdom: Britain drops plans to close "extremist" mosques (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L15711028.htm) "Britain announced on Thursday that it had dropped plans to close mosques deemed to be breeding grounds for extremism after opposition from police and the Muslim community. The controversial measure was proposed in the aftermath of suicide bomb attacks on London in July when four British Islamists killed themselves and 52 others on underground trains and a bus.…" (Reuters Alertnet (http://www.alertnet.org))
Sweden: Fire bombs thrown at Iraq voting station in Sweden (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L15449700.htm) "Fire bombs were thrown at a polling station for the Iraqi parliamentary election in northern Stockholm overnight but did not ignite, a police spokesman said on Thursday.…" (Reuters Alertnet (http://www.alertnet.org))

Africa

Ethiopia/Eritrea: Horn of Africa 'crisis', UN warns (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4530642.stm) "The head of United Nations peacekeepers has warned of a "crisis" in the Horn of Africa, as UN troops started to leave Eritrea after being ordered out. Almost 90 western troops are leaving Eritrea. Jean-Marie Guehenno said he had never experienced a similar situation in 10 years in the job. …" (BBC (http://news.bbc.co.uk/))
Rwanda: Rwandan rebels back from DR Congo (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4531768.stm) "Fighters from the largest Rwandan rebel group based in Democratic Republic of the Congo have left their bases and returned home in order to disarm. Seraphin Bizimungu, known as General Amani, and 185 of his fighters crossed the border and were met by Rwandan army officers and demobilisation officials. The rebels were formed from ethnic Hutu extremists, who fled to DR Congo after the Rwandan genocide of 1994. …" (BBC (http://news.bbc.co.uk/))
Sudan: Scores killed in ongoing clashes in West Darfur - ICRC (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/1eecebc4615cf0e7bb9286517b356941.htm) "Continuing clashes between two communities of Arab nomads near the town of Zalingei in West Darfur have left around 60 people dead and hundreds of families displaced, aid workers said on Thursday.…" (Reuters Alertnet (http://www.alertnet.org))
Burundi: Burundi army says kills 120 rebels since October (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L15436990.htm) "Burundi's army has killed 120 fighters from the only remaining Hutu rebel group and captured more than 600 others since October in a major offensive in the rebels' stronghold.…" (Reuters Alertnet (http://www.alertnet.org))


The Americas

The Americas: USSOUTHCOM Headline News (http://www.southcom.mil/pa/News/AOR%20News/Today's%20News.doc) (Microsoft Word format)
The Americas: NOTIMIL: Prensa al Día (http://www.portal.fuerzasarmadasecuador.org/espanol/mostrarweb.php?id=151), defense and military news related to Ecuador and the Americas, provided by the Fuerzas Armadas Ecuatoriana (http://www.fuerzasarmadasecuador.org/). In Spanish.
The Americas: Destaques da Imprensa (https://www.defesa.gov.br/enternet/sitios/internet/clipping/index.php), defense and military news related to Brazil and the Americas, provided by the Ministério da Defesa (http://www.defesa.gov.br/). In Portuguese.
Colombia: Nueva brigada móvil se pone en marcha (http://www.ejercito.mil.co/?idcategoria=89732&PHPSESSID=ad891204240c02f8a61161accc9c48e4) – New Mobile Brigade Starts Up - "Con la misión de fortalecer la capacidad ofensiva del Ejército Nacional en el área del Catatumbo (Norte de Santander) fue activada la Brigada Móvil 15 en la Escuela de Soldados Profesionales en Nilo (Cundinamarca)...." – With the mission of strengthening the offensive capacity of the Army in the area of the Catatumbo (Norte de Santander Department), the 15th Mobile Brigade was activated art the School of Professional Soldiers in Nilo (Cundinamarca Department). (Ejército Nacional de Colombia (http://www.ejercito.mil.co))

[Airbornelawyer]

From the RFE/RL Newsline (http://www.rferl.org/newsline/):

Russia
DEFENSE MINISTER DENIES REPORTS OF MILITARY OVERHAUL
Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said in Moscow on 14 December that there are no plans to radically reform the command of the armed forces, Russian news agencies reported. The previous day, "Nezavisimaya gazeta" daily quoted unidentified Defense Ministry officials as saying the top military leadership is planning a radical reorganization of the army command. The newspaper report claimed that the reform envisioned replacing the current four fleets and six military districts with three large regional command centers -- Far Eastern, Central Asian, and West European. It said the changes are planned to start in 2006 and are expected to take several years to implement. Ivanov, while denying plans to scrap military districts, said he is not against setting up regional command centers, but only after careful evaluation. In other remarks, Ivanov denied reports that Ukraine has demanded an increase in rent payments for the presence of Russia's Black Sea Fleet on Ukrainian territory.
CHECHEN STRONGMAN ARGUES AGAINST RENAMING GROZNY
Dukvakha Abdurakhmanov, who is speaker of the lower chamber of the new Chechen parliament, proposed on 14 December renaming Grozny Akhmed-Kala in memory of pro-Moscow Chechen administration head Akhmed-Hadji Kadyrov, who was killed in a terrorist bombing last year, Interfax reported. Abdurakhmanov said the current toponym (which means "dread" or "terror-inducing" in Russian) reflects "the darkest pages of Chechen history." But Kadyrov's son Ramzan, who is Chechen first deputy prime minister, told lenta.ru on 14 December he sees no reason to rename the capital, and that the most appropriate way to honor his father's memory would be to rebuild the ruined city. Russian human rights activists, too, rejected Abdurakhmanov's suggestion as inappropriate, Interfax reported. Abdul-Khakim Sultygov, a Chechen who coordinates ethnic policy for the pro-Kremlin Unified Russia party, suggested to Interfax on 14 December that once Grozny has been rebuilt a referendum could be held among the population of Chechnya on whether it should be renamed.

Transcaucasia And Central Asia
KARABAKH LEADER QUESTIONS PROSPECTS FOR CONFLICT SETTLEMENT...
Arkadii Ghukasian, president of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, questioned on 14 December suggestions that recent progress in Armenian-Azerbaijani peace talks offered a new opportunity for a resolution of the Karabakh conflict, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reported. The Karabakh leader added that "we are pretty far from a settlement today" and dismissed the contention that next year will be "an optimal time for settling" the conflict as "a mere desire." He also indicated that representatives from Karabakh should be included in the negotiations, warning that "we do not believe any success is possible without our participation," Yerkir reported. The statement followed a meeting with the French, Russian and U.S. OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen in Yerevan. The visiting OSCE mediators also met on 14 December with Armenian President Robert Kocharian and are expected to arrive in Baku on 15 December.
...BUT ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER EXPRESSES OPTIMISM
Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian expressed "optimism" on 14 December for the Karabakh peace process in a Yerevan press conference, according to RFE/RL's Armenian Service. The foreign minister added that "2005 was a productive year" and noted the recent statement by EU Foreign and Security Policy Commissioner Javier Solana defining the coming year as a new opportunity for a solution to the Karabakh conflict. Oskanian added that further progress in the peace process now rests on the outcome of next month's planned meeting between the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents. Peace talks are reportedly now centering on a phased settlement that would address the status of Karabakh through a referendum that would follow the return of liberation of six of the seven Armenian-held districts of Azerbaijani districts beyond the borders of Nagorno Karabakh.
ABKHAZ OFFICIAL DENIES REPORTS OF FORCED INDUCTION INTO ARMED FORCES...
Abkhaz Deputy Defense Minister Lieutenant General Anatolii Zaitsev has rejected as untrue Georgian media reports that young Georgian men have been taken by force from their homes in Abkhazia's southernmost Gali district and inducted into the armed forces of the unrecognized Republic of Abkhazia, apsny.ru reported on 14 December. Caucasus Press reported on 14 December that Abkhaz police took 15 young Georgians by force from their homes in Gali's Okumi village; on 14 December, Caucasus Press gave the number of young men involved first as 17, and then as 19, but said later three of them have been released. The young men's parents staged a protest on 14 December outside the Gali district police headquarters but failed to secure their sons' release, Caucasus Press reported.
TAJIK MINE CENTER CANNOT CONFIRM UZBEK STATEMENTS ON MINE-CLEARING
Jonmuhammad Rajabov, the head of Tajikistan's mine-clearing center, has said that he cannot confirm the recent statement by Uzbek Ambassador Shoqosim Shoislomov that Uzbekistan has begun clearing mines along the Tajik-Uzbek border, RFE/RL's Tajik Service reported on 14 December. While Uzbekistan may have begun mine-clearing operations in locations deep within Uzbekistan, Rajabov said that his center has received no notification of mine-clearing operations on the border itself. Specialists from the center noted that most of the mines are located in remote, mountainous regions where mine-clearing operations would be especially difficult now that ice and snow have covered the ground. Nevertheless, Rajabov described Shoislomov's statement as encouraging. Uzbekistan mined the border several years ago to prevent incursions by Islamist militants. In Tajikistan, seven people have been killed by mines and 12 wounded since the beginning of 2005.

[Airbornelawyer]

Southwestern Asia And The Middle East
PRO-GOVERNMENT CLERIC KILLED IN SOUTHERN AFGHANISTAN
Mullah Ahmad Shah, a member of the Council of Ulema of Kandahar Province, was killed in Kandahar city on 15 December, AFP reported. Security commander of Kandahar Colonel Abdul Malik Wadedi identified Ahmad Shah as the deputy chief of the province's Council of Ulema in "charge of a public awareness campaign," Peshawar-based Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) reported on 14 December. According to AIP, Ahmad Shah was stabbed on his way back home from a mosque. AFP reported that he was shot by gunmen on a motorcycle. No one has claimed responsibility for the killing. In May, the neo-Taliban claimed responsibility for killing Mawlawi Abdullah Fayyaz, the head of the Council of Ulema of Kandahar who was also pro-government.
SUICIDE BOMBER KILLS HIMSELF IN NORTHERN AFGHANISTAN [AL: that's why they call them "suicide bombers"]
A suspected suicide bomber blew himself up in Mazar-e Sharif, the provincial capital of Balkh on 14 December, AFP reported. Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Yusof Stanizai told AFP that the man who was killed in the explosion "was either carrying explosives or had them strapped to his body." The blast, which took place in the courtyard of Afghanistan's most venerated shrine attributed to Ali, the fourth caliph of Islam, did not cause any additional casualties. Balkh police spokesman Sher Jan Durrani said that the blast occurred ahead of a planned visit to the shrine by Amena Afzali, the Afghan minister of youth affairs, Pajhwak News Agency reported on 14 December. Afzali's visit was canceled as a result, Durrani added. A senior police official speculated that since usually a large number of visitors attend the shrine on Wednesdays, the bomber was aiming for large casualties, but detonated his explosives prematurely.
DONKEY USED IN EXPLOSION IN NORTHEASTERN AFGHANISTAN [AL: I don't think he was a suicide bomber]
A remote-controlled explosive device strapped to a donkey detonated in Fayzabad, the provincial capital of Badakhshan, on 14 December, Hindukosh News Agency reported. An eyewitness said the explosion occurred as a vehicle belonging to the German Society for Technical Cooperation passed by. Badakhshan Governor Monshi Abdul Majid said that one person is under investigation in relation to the explosion. Mohammad Hanif, purporting to speak on behalf of the neo-Taliban, claimed responsibility for the Fayzabad blast, AIP reported on 14 December. In a telephone interview with AIP, Hanif claimed that the "Taliban blew up a vehicle belonging to the Provincial Reconstruction Team," killing at least two people. There were no reports of any human casualties in the blast. This marks the first reported case of the neo-Taliban using an animal to carry an explosive device.
PAKISTANI GENERAL IN KABUL
Pakistan's deputy chief of army staff, General Ahsan Salim Hayat, is leading the Pakistan delegation to the 14th meeting of the Afghanistan-Pakistan-United States Tripartite Commission on Border Security, the Islamabad daily "The News" reported on 14 December. Hayat will stay in Kabul until 15 December. General Besmellah Khan, the chief of general staff of the Afghan National Army, will lead Afghanistan's delegation and Lieutenant General Karl Eikenberry will represent the United States in ongoing talks to coordinate security efforts and prevent any misunderstanding over the conduct of military operations along the restive Afghan-Pakistani border area.
NAVAL EXERCISES IN SOUTHEAST IRAN CONCLUDE
The six-day Devotees of Velayat naval exercises in the Sea of Oman concluded on 14 December, ISNA reported. President Ahmadinejad attended the final phase aboard the flagship "Kharg." Afterwards, Ahmadinejad said: "The armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran are the guarantor of security and peace in the region and their power poses no threat to any country." The exercises involved surface warfare units, submarines, and fixed and rotary wing aircraft from the conventional naval forces. The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, the Basij, and the police also took part.
STATEMENT ATTRIBUTED TO AL-QAEDA IN IRAQ ANNOUNCES NEW CONQUEST
A 14 December Internet statement attributed to Tanzim Qa'idat Al-Jihad fi Bilad Al-Rafidayn (Al-Qaeda Organization of Jihad in the Land of the Two Rivers) claimed the group has launched a new conquest in Iraq aimed at shaking "the bastions of the infidels and the apostates and to ruin for them the 'democratic' wedding of heresy and immorality." The statement claimed the "brigades of the mujahedin" had begun launching attacks against U.S. and Iraqi forces in "the caliphate of" Baghdad and in the Al-Anbar, Diyala, Mosul, and Salah Al-Din governorates. The statement listed several sites that the group claims to have targeted. Those purported attacks have not been confirmed, however.
IRAQI INTERIOR MINISTRY OFFICIAL SAYS AL-ZARQAWI ARRESTED, RELEASED ONE YEAR AGO
Major General Husayn Ali Kamal, deputy undersecretary for intelligence affairs at the Interior Ministry, told Beirut-based LBC satellite channel in an interview aired on 15 December that fugitive Jordanian terrorist Abu Mus'ab al-Zarqawi was arrested one year ago and "mistakenly released because Iraqi police interrogators did not identify him." Kamal claimed that the arrest was made in Al-Fallujah, adding that al-Zarqawi was not armed at the time of his arrest. A Saudi terrorist in custody apparently later told police of al-Zarqawi's identity during an interrogation. Kamal claimed that Iraqi security forces are better prepared now and "are lying in wait" for al-Zarqawi's fighters, adding: "We are aware of their mindset. We are waiting for them and we will deal with them in a tough way."