Pakistan: Abduction of Iranian diplomat sign of new regional war, claims analyst

The old saying that "you can't tell the players without a scorecard" sure applies here. Since no one wears uniforms and every man wears baggy pants and a turban, they "all look alike". All this is just 6th century tribalism with automatic weapons and cell phones. Hopefully, our CIA guys are there encouraging them to slit each others throats. I've said before that one of the best defenses against global jihad is the vicious, murderous infighting among the various muslim sects. This still looks to me like a barrel full of rats going for each other's throats, which is a good thing. It'll be interesting to see how Iran reacts to the abduction of it's diplomat. I'm sure there will be no appeal to the UN or the EU or NATO to intervene, rather a contingent of Quds will be dispatched to snatch high level Taliban or al-Qaeda and cut off heads till the diplomat is released. Like I said, rats in a barrel, shoiuld be interesting to watch.

FROM ADNKRONOS.COM:

Pakistan: Abduction of Iranian diplomat sign of new regional war, claims analyst

Peshawar, 14 Nov. (AKI) - By Syed Saleem Shahzad - The kidnapping of senior Iranian diplomat Hashmatullah Atharzadehon Thursday could signal the start of a regional war between alleged al-Qaeda militants and the Iranian government, a senior militant said. "This is payback time for Iran and for its active involvement in destabilising the Taliban government in Afghanistan and for facilitating the US-led invasion on Afghanistan through pro-Iranian Afghan groups," a senior militant told Adnkronos International (AKI), speaking on condition of anonimity.

The militant said Atharzadeh's abduction was due to "the arrest of top Al-Qaeda leaders in Iran, for facilitating the US invasion on Iraq through pro-Iran militias and last but not the least for waging the war on the Taliban in Pakistani Khurram agency where Iran provided arms and ammunition to the Shia tribal groups to fight against the Taliban,"

Atharzadeh, who is based at the Iranian Consulate in the northern Pakistani city of Peshawar was abducted by gunmen on Thursday.

Atharzadeh is the commercial attache at the consulate and was reported to have been kidnapped by four armed men on his way home in Hayatabad district where the consulate is located.

"More attacks and actions will be carried out against Iranian interests in coming days and we shall settle each and every dispute through negotiations," concluded the militant.

The kidnapping of the diplomat is the second such incident to have occurred recently. Taliban militants are suspected of having kidnapped Afghan Consul General Abdul Khaliq Farahi nearly two months ago and are believed to be still holding him hostage.

Two weeks ago the brother of an Afghan minister was also kidnapped.

On Friday, militants tried to abduct a Japanese journalist and his Afghan colleague in Peshawar as they were on their way to Khyber Agency.

The militants opened fire and wounded the journalist in the failed kidnapping attempt.

The Afghan journalist is currently in hospital in Peshawar and the Japanese journalist was taken to the city of Islamabad for treatment.

This week, a female Canadian journalist was abducted while travelling in the Bannu district of Pakistan's North West Frontier Province.

Beverly Giesbrecht also known as Khadija Abdul Qahaar was seized at gunpoint as she was gathering material for a documentary. Her whereabouts are unknown.

An unnamed militant source told AKI they are investigating Giesbrecht. It they are convinced that she is a morally upright person and has converted to Islam, as she claims, they will release her, the militant said.

Decapitation in Afghanistan

More evidence that the Taliban and al-Qaeda are on the run and being ground down.

FROM STRATEGYPAGE.COM:

Decapitation in Afghanistan

August 25, 2008: Afghanistan is once more becoming a gathering place for special operations (commando) operators from dozens of countries. This has led to the development of a new strategy, of trying to destroy the Taliban and al Qaeda leadership. Several years worth of experience and information collected by the thousands of commandos has provided a way to do this. Commandos could track the terrorist leaders, and also use a network of informants they had developed along the border, on both sides, over the years. In addition, the U.S. had developed electronic and visual surveillance capabilities that provide the commandos with additional eyes, and weapons. The commandos are particularly fond of Predator and Reaper UAVs, which come operators describe as having a full time spy satellite overhead. Commandos, as well as smart bombs and Hellfire missiles.
READ IT ALL:

Germany: Security services warn of possible Hezbollah attacks

More on the infiltration of islamists into Western society. It is a global phenomenon and growing daily.

FROM ADNKRONOS.COM:

Germany: Security services warn of possible Hezbollah attacks

Berlin, 11 August (AKI) - Militant Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah could launch damaging terrorist attacks in Germany and elsewhere in Europe, according to a report by the country's security services.

Around 900 Hezbollah militants have moved to Europe and have formed in 'sleeper cells'. Such Hezbollah-linked cells could be present in Italy, France and The Netherlands as well as in Germany, said the report.

Unlike European countries such as Spain or Britain, Germany has not suffered a major recent attack on its own soil.

But Germany's Federal Criminal Police (BKA) chief Joerg Ziercke said on Sunday that investigators had foiled seven plots, including attacks planned by three men arrested in the western Sauerland region last year who authorities believe were targeting US installations in Germany.

Ziercke made the remarks in an interview German daily newspaper Der Tagesspiegel on Sunday.

Altogether, there are currently 200 investigations linked to Islamic terrorism being conducted by the BKA, Ziercke told the Tagesspiegel, saying that the danger has therefore in no way diminished.

He said a "a single-digit number of militants" had returned to Germany from training camps in Pakistan and Afghanistan and were among around 100 suspects considered a threat," he said.

More than 50 militants had travelled from Germany to training camps in Pakistan and Afghanistan run by the Taliban, Al-Qaeda and the Uzbek splinter group the Islamic Jihad Union (IJU), Ziercke stated.

Afghanistan: 5 year olds being recruited for jihad and "martyrdom"

How low can they go? Part of the reason they use such young children is that Westerners typically will not open fire on them, no matter what. The shock and confusion created by being attacked by children also gives the scum sucking, cowardly POS adults a bit more time to open their own attack.

Go HERE to view a Taliban video showing the training of children for combat.

FROM JIHADWATCH.ORG:

Afghanistan: 5 year olds being recruited for jihad and "martyrdom"

Just when one thought al-Qaeda's jihadi recruiting prerequisites were set at age 15, now comes this. Wonder if suicidal bunnies, bees, or rats were used to recruit these children for the "great jihad"? "Child soldiers trained by the Taliban to kill British soldiers,"

by Nick Owens, for the Mirror,
August 2:
CLUTCHING AK-47 rifles and marching to war... these chilling images (see the video player) show child soldiers on their way to fight British troops in Afghanistan.
The pictures come from a video filmed at an al-Qaeda training camp in Pakistan, where Taliban warlords are turning boys as young as FIVE into trained killers. Recorded only weeks ago, it captures a dozen nervous-looking boys in camouflage uniforms with headbands which say: There is no God but Allah.
The boy soldiers stand in line before being handed rifles and taught to fire rocket-propelled grenades.
They spend their day being brainwashed to kill their Jihad training caught on film as part of an al-Qaeda recruitment drive.
The bewildered children, barely old enough to go to school, are forced to stand in circles stretching and exercising to try to give them strength to carry heavy ammunition.
They live in tents and say prayers before sleeping with weapons lying next to them. When their training is complete the children are filmed walking over the Pakistan-Afghanistan border right into a warzone.
The film shows one boy nodding nervously after he is asked: Are you prepared to die for Allah?
If he is killed, he will not be the first. In one section, the face of an 11-year-old soldier, named as Abdullah al-Rahim, is circled on the screen as he marches away.
Seconds later, images of his body wrapped in a white sheet appear, making him a martyr for al-Qaeda leaders determined to recruit thousands more children.
The footage was obtained by Sunday Mirror investigators after it was posted on an underground al-Qaeda website, which routinely trumpets the death of British soldiers killed by the Taliban.
The seven-minute video was issued by the Islamic Jihad Union, which has training camps in the north Waziristan province in Pakistan.
British commanders in Afghanistan say Taliban fighters increasingly use children as suicide bombers. They are also used as human shields during firefights.
Author and terror expert Neil Doyle said it was one of the most disturbing videos he had seen. He said:It is child abuse of the worst kind and shows the kind of sick tactics al-Qaeda use.

Al-Qa'eda style terrorists planning UK attacks with ambulances bought on eBay

Terrorists using ambulances in Britain is certainly al possibility, but the Brit response to halt sales of used equipment on e-bay is misguided and a waste of time. As usual the authorities focus on restricting something rather than attack the root cause, in this case muslims on Jihad. If they halt the sale of used equipment, will they next ban the sale of paint colors used to paint equipment, or the lights and other emergency equipment used on ambulances? Where will it end and how much resources will be wasted in the mean time?

FROM THE TELERGAPH.CO.UK:

Al-Qa'eda style terrorists planning UK attacks with ambulances bought on eBay

By Richard Edwards, Crime Correspondent
Last updated: 3:24 PM BST 29/06/2008

Terrorists may be planning to launch suicide bomb attacks in Britain using former NHS ambulances and police cars bought on auction website eBay, police chiefs have warned.
The Association of Chief Police Officers said ministers must legislate to stop the sale of such vehicles amid fears that al-Qa'eda inspired extremists may import a tactic already used in Iraq and Israel.

Every year dozens of police cars, ambulances and fire engines are sold. Some are fully marked and can be bought for as little as £1,500.
Counter-terrorism officials at the Home Office have now written to eBay, the internet auctioneer, asking it to stop selling emergency service vehicles, equipment and uniforms. However, eBay has said it will only self-regulate if a new law is passed.
A report from the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, sent to chief constables, highlights recent attacks by Al-Qa'eda in Iraq and Israel, including one in February in which a suicide bomber drove a stolen ambulance packed with explosives into an Iraqi police station.
The bomber tried to break through a checkpoint but the vehicle exploded when police opened fire.

The report says terrorists have been using ambulances to transport bombs in Israel since at least 2002. It cites a report by the Israeli Defence Forces that Palestinian terrorists have used ambulances to ferry recruits and equipment around the West Bank.
Security sources said that while there was evidence that al-Qa'eda had adopted the terrorist tactic in the Middle East, there was no specific intelligence of such a plot in Britain.
Steve Watts, Assistant Chief Constable of Hampshire Police, is chairing a national security committee which is drawing up plans to tackle the terrorist threat. He said: "What concerns me is the lack of legislation available for the police service to adequately address the threat of pseudo-emergency service vehicles used in such an environment."