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Palestinian Territories
Death of a student stirs revolt in Gaza
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India
Indian police hunt stolen uranium
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United Kingdom
Report: Channel Tunnel A Terror Target
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Somalia
Ethiopia intervenes in Somali civil war
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Afghanistan
NATO has has confirmed Mullah Akhtar Usmani was killed in an airstrike in Helmand. A NATO airstrike killed 5 Taliban in Helmand, including a mid-level Taliban commander, while two more were killed when a bomb they built exploded prematurely. More signs point to Pakistan’s support for the Taliban.
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Palestinian Territories
Members of Hamas are considering attacking United States if the US continues to support Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ call for new elections. The Israeli Cabinet supports the release of Palestinian prisoners as a gesture of goodwill towards Abbas, without calling for the releaseof its own captured soldier. An IDF platoon commander was dismissed over killing a 14 year old girl in the West Bank.
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Iraq
Islamists arrested in Iraqi Kurdistan
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Iraq
Suicide bomber kills 7 police in Iraq
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Iran
Iran ordered to pay US terror victims™ families, must pay $254 million for 1996 attack in Saudi Arabia, judge rules
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Iran
Iran Condemns UN Sanctions, Vows to Install 3000 Centrifuges
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Lebanon
Lebanon’s Slow Slide From Hope To Deadlock
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The Battle of Somalia
Islamic Courts controlled cities and towns marked in red. Click map to view. The ICU attacks in Puntland and claims to have advanced to 7 miles from Baidoa, the Ethiopians strike in Beletweyn The Battle for town Baidoa, the seat of government of the beleaguered Transitional Federal Government of Somalia, and greater Somalia has entered its sixth day. Both the Ethiopian backed TFG and the al Qaeda supported Islamic Courts Union are claiming military victories during the battles on multiple fronts in central Somalia. The fog of war is making it difficult to determine the veracity of these claims.
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(Russia) Security forces cleared over Beslan school siege inquiry
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Indonesia
Bali bombers’ appeals postponed
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Iraq
US commanders back Iraq troop surge
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Palestinian Territories
Israel Will Release $100M To Palestinians
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Sudan
Sudan: Rebels claim they shot down helicopters
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Iran
The UNSC has placed sanctions on Iran, ordering “all countries to stop supplying Iran with materials and technology that could contribute to its nuclear and missile programs,” as well as freezing assets. Iran has vowed to defy the sanctions, saying it “has not delegated its destiny to the invalid decisions of the U.N. Security Council.”
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Pakistan
The Taliban attacked a government official in North Waziristan, yet again violating the “peace deal.” A policeman was killed and five wounded. Dawn asks if it’s time to review the Waziristan Accord. The trial of Rashid Rauf, the London airlines bombing plotter, has been delayed; and the terrorism charges dropped.
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Washington Post Radio, and Merry Christmas
I’m scheduled to be on Washington Post Radio to discuss the situation in Iraq and my embed. The time is 12:30 Eastern on Christmas Eve, December 24th. You can listen online by going to the Washington Post Radio website. I am back in the States from Iraq, and am happy to be with my family. Best Wishes & Merry Christmas to you & yours!
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Iraq
Sistani backs off of supporting a coalition without Sadr, citing Shia unity as the deciding factor. A deal to get Sadr to return to the government is still being negotiated. The ISF and Sadr’s forces battled in Samawa, leaving 5 dead and 17 wounded. Coalition and the ISF detained 48 terrorists over the past two days.
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Somalia
The ICU claims to have captured Idale and to have killed dozens of Ethiopians. Independent journalists are supporting the claim. Artillery and mortar fire is still being reported near Idale, as ICU leader Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys joins the call for foreign fighters. The ICU is also complaining the Ethiopians are using “excessive force,” indicating it may be taking heavy casualties as well.
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Taliban Commander Mullah Akhtar Usmani Killed in Airstrike
Mullah Akhtar Usmani. Click image to view. Usami was a member of the Taliban Shura Majlis, Omar’s former deputy, former foreign minister, and operational commander in Uruzgan, Nimroz, Kandahar, Farah, Herat and Helmand; Taliban “boxed in” near Kandahar City Coalition forces have killed a senior Taliban military and political leader in southern Afghanistan. Mullah Akhtar Usmani, along with two deputies, were killed in a Coalition airstrike in the restive province of Helmand on December 19th. Usami was killed on the Pakistani border while driving in a vehicle with his deputies. The Taliban have denied Usami was killed.
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Palestinian Territories
Fatah security forces opened fire on “about 200 Hamas activists and armed men” in Nablus. A gunfight broke out near the home of Hamas’ Foreign Minister. Two rockets were fired from Gaza into Sderot and the western Negev. The Quartet is reviewing aide to Palestinians, and will again bypass Hamas. President Bush signed a law that prohibits aide to Hamas, but not Fatah.
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The Battle of Baidoa
The final showdown is taking place in Somalia between the Islamic Courts Union, backed by al Qaeda, and the Transitional Federal Government, backed by Ethiopia Islamic Courts controlled cities and towns marked in red. Click map to view. For months, the al Qaeda backed Islamic Courts Union has been preparing the battlefield for the final push on Baidoa, the seat of power of the internationally recognized Transitional Federal Government. In a well planned operations to militarily isolate the TFG in Baidoa, the ICU has strategically maneuvered its forces around the city, and pushed its militias into surrounding towns and along…
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Iraq
Iraqi Army still has a long road ahead, but troops are taking more responsibility for missions
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Saudi Arabia
Lawyer works to expose Saudi legal system, takes on powerful enforcers of sharia law
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North Korea
Nuclear Talks With N. Korea End in Failure
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United Kingdom
Police hunt for ‘English brothers’ who spent year in al Qaeda camp
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Palestinian Territories
Gunbattle near Hamas-led government’s Foreign Minister
