Former Islamic Courts leader Sheikh Sharif Ahmed was elected president by the newly expanded parliament. Sharif led the Islamic Courts conquest of southern Somalia in 2006. The United States welcomed victory and “looks forward to cooperating with President Sharif.”
Nine Taliban fighters and eight civilians were killed during fighting in Swat. Police detained 15 Taliban fighters in Peshawar. Six civilians were wounded after the military shelled Taliban positions in Bajaur.
The Afghan “Awakening” program has begun. The US may add a fifth brigade to serve as Afghan Army trainers. A Canadian and a British soldier were killed in fighting in the South. The Bagram Air Base is shut down after a C-17 cargo plane crashed during landing.
Iraq successfully held provincial elections with few reports of violence. Five men were arrested for plotting to attack a polling center in Mandali. US troops killed two policemen after taking fire during a mission in Mosul. Iraqi forces detained a Shia “extremist” in Baghdad.
The Taliban said it would increase its forces if the US surged troops into Afghanistan. “Just as they are bringing more troops, so too the Taliban will have more troops,” said the former Taliban governor of Nimruz province. “Every year our military power gets stronger and stronger and our forces are getting bigger and bigger.”
Hamas fired a rocket that landed near the southern city of Ashkelon. The Hamas leadership in the Gaza Strip is angry with Hamas’ overall leader Khaled Meshal for his decision to end the truce in December 2008. Egypt installed tunnel-detection devices along Philadelphi Corridor; two smugglers have been captured.
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Sheikh Sharif Ahmed is elected president by the newly expanded parliament. Sharif led the conquest of southern Somalia in 2006.
Islamist leader elected Somali president
Pakistan’s ambassador to Britain said his country’s investigations into the Mumbai attack show no evidences of a link to Pakistan and India may have “fabricated” its dossier. Four soldiers were killed in an ED attack in Malakand. In North Waziristan, the Taliban warned the military to stop aid projects.
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Former Islamic Courts leader Sheikh Sharif Ahmed is leading in the presidential election. Somali pirates hijacked a German-owned tanker in the Gulf of Aden. Ten people were killed as Shabaab and Sufi forces clashed in Galgadud.
The governor of Kandahar province claimed bad weather and not the violence is responsible for the delay in the election. Four Taliban fighters were killed and eight more surrendered during a Coalition operation in Kandahar’s Arghandab district. A Taliban “armorer” and several other fighters were detained during raids in Uruzgan province.
Iraqi security forces are on full alert for tomorrow’s provincial elections. An explosion inside a police station in Diwaniyah killed three Iraqis and wounded 20 more. Iraqi security forces detained four “criminals” in Baghdad and four wanted men in Diyala.
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An Egyptian official said Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s attack against Egypt is proof he “takes orders from Tehran.” The leader of the Lebanese Forces hit back at Nasrallah for his inquiry on four kidnapped Iranian diplomats. Samir Geagea said Nasrallah is the legitimate representative of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Lebanon.
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Gilani made the claim despite Taliban control of North and South Waziristan, Arakazi, Khyber, Mohmand, Bajaur, and most of Kurram, as well as much of the Northwest Frontier Province. His chief adviser claimed government is in control of 98 percent of Bajaur.
Four civilians were killed and 31 Taliban were detained in Swat. The Taliban murdered a “US spy” in North Waziristan. Police claimed to have detained three Indian agents in Lahore and nine terrorists in Rawalpindi.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said Israel’s Mossad was behind the 2008 assassination of Imad Mugniyah, Hezbollah’s military leader. Cyprus reportedly detained an Iranian ship carrying arms believed to be destined for Hezbollah or Hamas. The ship was en route to Syria.
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