When Your Puppets are Criminals and Druglords…

When your puppets are criminals and druglords, and you don’t know the people you are trying to subjugate, you fail miserably.

The majority of the Afghan puppet government ministers are either opium traders or corrupt, and the armed forces and police are run by former looters and criminals. As pointed out by Taliban leader Mullah Omar.

“The Kabul puppet regime has failed to establish peace and stability as well as to control narcotics. The regime has also not succeeded in maintaining unity. The government cannot maintain peace as Hamid Karzai has recruited thieves and looters in his armed militias.”

“The puppet regime has failed to control narcotics because most of Karzai government members are drug smugglers. The country’s unity is in danger because the rulers are themselves trying to divide the country. The Kabul administration is composed of elements that are trying to convince the people for division of the country. Alien culture and faiths are being imposed on Kabul. Those who are ruling Afghans, in fact, are aliens as they have returned to Afghanistan with foreign culture and ideas and they feel ashamed to adopt their own culture.”

The Sunday Telegraph report states, the ”corrupt police and tribal leaders are stealing vast quantities of reconstruction aid that is intended to improve the lives of ordinary Afghans and turn them away from the Taliban.

In some cases, all the aid earmarked for an area has ended up in the wrong hands. Defence officials in the United States and Britain estimate that up to half of all aid in Afghanistan is failing to reach the right people.

Nato forces in the south of the country say some Afghan police are guilty of corruption and will steal aid if it is handed out. Tribal and mosque elders have also been accused of seizing goods, including building materials and fuel, and selling them in markets. A Pentagon official said thousands of cars and trucks intended for use by the Afghan police had been sold instead.”

Another factor that allows the criminal puppet leaders to easily steal the aid is that the people don’t want it. They consider the money comming from Western countries to be unlawful Islamically, mostly because of the interest based banking system which is not allowed in Islam.

“U.S. troops in the southern province of Ghazni probably thought they were winning hearts and minds last month when they handed out thousands of dollars to village elders to finance reconstruction projects.

Instead, it appears that all of the money went directly to the Taliban, helping to pay for the very insurgency U.S. and NATO forces are desperately trying to put down.

“American money is haram (unlawful in Islam),” said Abdul Jalil, an elder in one village visited by U.S. troops. At a gathering in the local mosque, the village’s religious leaders urged the faithful to reject such payments and contribute it instead to the insurgency, he said.

“We could not use it to improve our lives,” Jalil said. “So we decided to give it to the Taliban. The most important thing we could do with this money was help the Taliban to pursue the jihad.”

An old cliche comes to mind: “pissing in the wind”.

Were U.S. Troops Killed and Captured in Somalia?

A couple of weeks ago the Islamic affiliated website qaadisiya.com reported that American troops where killed and captured once they landed in the Jubba region of Somalia following the air strikes by the Americans. The pentagon and the puppet government immediately rejected the Muslims claims. But the claims has once again re-emerged this morning when one of the Arab league diplomats who was mediating between sheikh Shariif and the American ambassador in Nairobi spoke to the Al-sharq news paper from Qatar. Revealing in details the conversation in the meeting, he noted that the ambassador was demanding information on the missing troops. He claimed that the Islamic forces had taken them prisoner or some possibly might have also fallen into the hands of tribal militias in the wooded regions.

He also noted that the ambassador was asking sheikh Shariif to return to Somalia and end the insurgency promising him that a new government will be formed free from the warlords.

How ever further fighting was under way throughout the week, on Thursday heavy explosion caused by mortars was heard around the whole Madina district of Mogadishu causing the people to flee, Islamic sources reported that a puppet police station was attacked after they heard that several mosque clerics where being held there. In Kismayo 2 Ethiopian troops were killed and several wounded when gunmen armed with pistols started firing on them, the gunmen then went forth to take the klashnakovs from the dead soldiers and the wounded.

[...]

Source: KC

The Downing of A Blackhawk Helicopter in Iraq Kills 13

Reports from different sources.

Deadly U.S. helicopter crash caused by missile-CNN

WASHINGTON, Jan 22

Reuters

The U.S. military helicopter that crashed outside Baghdad, killing all 12 on board, was shot down by a shoulder-fired missile, CNN reported on Monday.

The Black Hawk was most likely brought down on Saturday by hostile fire, according to unidentified U.S. officials cited by CNN. The crash was still under investigation but debris recovered on the ground indicate a missile was involved, CNN said.

“We have not released anything from here on the cause of the crash … The cause of the crash is still under investigation,” said Lt. Col. Josslyn Aberle in Baghdad.

The Islamic State of Iraq, an Iraqi militant group linked to al Qaeda, said in a statement on a Web site used by Islamist militants that its anti-aircraft units shot down the helicopter.

The authenticity of the statement could not be verified.

Twenty-five U.S. troops were killed on Saturday in one of the deadliest days for the American military in Iraq, according to the latest U.S. tally.

Resistance shoots down US helicopter near Buhriz; US admits 13 troops dead

Al Basrah.net

In a dispatch posted at 7:55pm Makkah time Saturday night, Mafkarat al-Islam reported that the Iraqi Resistance organization the Jaysh al-Mujahideen [“Army of the Holy Warriors”] had announced that it had shot down a US helicopter near the city of Buhriz, about 60km northeast of Baghdad.

The Buhriz correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported that the helicopter was carrying more than 15 US Marines. In an exclusive statement to Mafkarat al-Islam, a commander in the Jaysh al-Mujahideen said that the Resistance group in Buhriz had shot down the American helicopter with ground-based anti-aircraft fire.

Quds Press, in a dispatch posted Saturday evening, reported that Jaysh al-Mujahideen fighters opened fire with machine guns in the at-Tamayimah gardens area of Buhriz, scoring direct hits and bringing down the American helicopter. A Jaysh al-Mujahideen source told Quds Press that 15 Americans were aboard the helicopter, not 13 as the US admitted, and that one of those was a high-ranking American officer.

In a dispatch posted at 7:47pm Makkah time Saturday night, Mafkarat al-Islam reported that the US military had admitted Saturday evening that an American military helicopter had crashed northeast of Baghdad.

Mafkarat al-Islam reported a news bulletin broadcast by al-Jazeera satellite TV as saying that the 13 military passengers and crew aboard the helicopter had all been killed. Al-Jazeera offered no further details on the crash.

Quds Press reported that large numbers of US troops had surrounded the area where the helicopter crashed. American helicopters fired bright flares that “turned the Buhriz night into day” Quds Press reported, as they hunted for the remains of the soldiers killed in the crash.

The Americans locked down the entire city of Buhriz, sealing it off from the outside world and imposing a curfew there. Large numbers of US troops were being brought into the farm fields and gardens that extend around the area where the helicopter went down, Quds Press reported. Local residents said that the Americans were searching the fields and farms and also the river that runs through the town, as it was expected that a number of the Americans could have fallen into its waters.

Downing a Black Hawk aircraft and destroying two Hummer vehicles including passengers in Deyala

The Islamic State Of Iraq:

All Praise and thanks are Allah’s, the Lord of all that exists. And peace be upon our prophet Muhammad, his family and companions in entirety.

Two battalions from the air defense units in Bahraz area subsequent of Deyala province, ambushed aircrafts, at 3:00 pm on Saturday January 21st, 2007, the lions of The Islamic State of Iraq were able to shoot down a Black Hawk aircraft, then followed by a clash with the Crusaders resulted in the complete destruction of two Hummer vehicles and the death of all those who were on board, all praise and gratitude be to Allah.

O Allah , defeat the spiteful Rawafed (Shiites) and the Zionist Crusaders and their allies..
O Allah , make them with their equipments a booty for the Muslims..
O Allah destroy them ..
O Allah , the sky is yours, the earth is yours, the sea is yours, O Allah , drop all their forces in sky, destroy all their forces in earth and sink all their forces in sea..
O Allah, retaliate upon them, afflict them like you did to Pharaoh and his nation , O Allah afflict their country with flood , make them in need of money and food and persons ..
O Allah defeat them , destroy them O the All-Strong, the All-Mighty .

Allah is great.

“Honor, power and glory belong to Allah, to his messenger, and to the believers, but the hypocrites know not.”

The Islamic State In Iraq has produced video of an Apache helicopter and a Chinook that they have shot down after this one. The 4th and 5th to be shot down in fifteen days.

Torture and Fox’s “24″

The writer below has brought up a prime example of how the Media is being used by the Nazis of our times to push their hate driven agendas. Never mind how inaccurate it may be. The goal is to make the viewer believe its truth. More here (scroll down to see video).

Letter to the writers of Fox’s “24″

Thanks. Thanks for feeding one of the most barbarous myths in human history. During virtually every episode of “24,” viewers are treated to scenes in which suspects are tortured and, as a result, valuable and accurate information about terrorist activities is extracted by law enforcement officials.

Clearly, whatever research you have conducted into the history of counterterrorism operations was insufficient to reveal the realities of political or judicial torture.

A good starting point would be the European witch-hunting craze of the 16th and 17th centuries. Witches, it was assumed, would not confess their crimes except under torture. So, as suspects were brought in, their fingers were smashed, their eyes gouged out, and their limbs torn from their sockets. And they confessed.

Further application of unbearable pain brought out the names of others who had flown on broomsticks and placed hexes on the neighbor’s cow. Such information, of course, was false. Put someone under sufficient duress and they are likely to tell you whatever they think you want to hear.

Torture, therefore, might reveal valuable and accurate information. But it is even more likely to bring out false confessions and false accusations, from both the innocent and the guilty.

Torture does serve one political purpose, though: It is an excellent way to terrorize people. This is the effect it had in Latin America, Northern Ireland, apartheid South Africa and countless other conflict zones.

In this sense, the torturer and the suicide bomber are very much alike. Both believe that creating fear and terror will lead to positive political change.

I believe this is very much mistaken. But whether you agree or not, feeding the myth that torture keeps us safe by providing us with accurate information about terrorists and terrorism does harm to our country and our world.

Torture is itself a form of terrorism. If you believe that terror can only be fought with terror, by all means say so clearly. If, however, you are simply trying to entertain the public by feeding mistaken beliefs, at least understand the horrible nature of the hysteria you are stoking.

J. C. MYERS

Associate professor,

department of politics

and public administration

California State University, Stanislaus

The Issue of Music in Islam

I was recently involved in a discussion on another blog regarding the Somali Islamic Courts Union’s ban on some forms of music. My stance on the issue is that they are right to ban certain types of music because the scholars of Islam consider it to be haram (prohibited), as well as anything else that can lead to sinful and prohibited acts.

I grew up listening to many forms of rock & roll and pop music, which celebrates sex, exploitation of women, drugs, and violence. I know quite well the effects music can have on a persons psychy and that most of the lyrics are contrary to the teachings of Islam. I am also aware of the overwelming influence music can have on youth in their development within the society. I have always believed the prohibition to make very good sense. Thats not to say that I walk around in public with my fingers in my ears, but I do listen to talk radio as opposed to music stations.

While most of the scholars agree that listening to music, besides that of the duff, to be haram, there are those that hold a different view and say that the evidences of the former are weak or fabricated.

Since there are other forms of music besides that I once listened to, I decided to research both sides and list their evidences here for the pleasure of Allah the most high, and with intentions of helping other Muslims that might be confused on the subject.

I ask Allah (ta aala) to forgive us and I Ask him to guide us to the way that will earn his pleasure. Ameen.

Evidences Prohibiting listening to Music:

1. “And of mankind he who purchases idle talks to mislead (people) from the Path of Allaah without knowledge, and takes it (the Path of Allaah) by way of mockery, For such there will be a humiliating torment.” quran 31:6

Al-Wahidi, along with other scholars of Tafsir (explaining the Quran), said that “Idle Talk” in this Ayah is singing. The following companions gave this Tafsir: Ibn Abbas, Ibn Masud, Mujahid and Ikrimah said, “By Allah, whom there is no God except Him, “idle talk is singing.”

2. Allah the most high says about the disbelievers: “Their prayer at the House (Kabah) was nothing but Muka’an and Tasdiyah.” quran 8:35

The companions Ibn Abbas, Ibn Umar, Atiyyah, Muj ahid, Ad-Dhahh’ak, AlHasan and Qatadah (radi allahu anhum) said, that Muka’an means whistling, and that Tasdiyah means clapping of hands.

3. Narrated Abu ‘Amir or Abu Malik Al-Ash’ari: that he heard the Prophet(SAWS) saying, “From among my followers there will be some people who will consider illegal sexual intercourse, the wearing of silk, the drinking of alcoholic drinks and the use of musical instruments, as lawful. And there will be some people who will stay near the side of a mountain and in the evening their shepherd will come to them with their sheep and ask them for something, but they will say to him, ‘Return to us tomorrow.’ Allah will destroy them during the night and will let the mountain fall on them, and He will transform the rest of them into monkeys and pigs and they will remain so till the Day of Resurrection.”

4. Imam Ibn Taymiyyah said, “Listening to music and sinful fun are among what strengthens the satanic ways the most. This is exactly what the disbeliever’s used to do. Allah (SWT) said “And their prayer at the House (of Allaah) was nothing but Muka ‘an and Tasdiyah.” 8:35 This was the Mushrikeen’s way of worship.

Imam Ibn Taymiyyah also said, also said regarding the person, whose habit is to listen to music, “His state of emotions becomes less passionate when he hears the Quran. On the contrary, when he listens to instruments of the devil (music), he dances a lot. If the prayer is established, he either prays while sitting down or performs it as fast as when the roaster picks seeds. He dislikes listening to the Quran and does not find beauty in it while reciting it. He has no taste for the Quran and feels no love for it or pleasure when it is read. Rather, he finds pleasure if he listens to Mukaa’ or Tasdiyah. These are satanic pleasures and he is among those whom Allah mentioned in the Ayah, “And whosoever turns away from the remembrance of the Most Beneficent (Allah), We appoint for him Satan to be a companion for him.” quran 43:36

Imam Ibn Al-Qayyim said,”Of the tricks of the enemy of Allah, Satan, that he uses to trap those who do not enjoy much intelligence, knowledge or sincerity in religion, are M ukaa’ and Tasdiyah. These people of ignorance listen to and use musical instruments that are prohibited and which lead the hearts to abandoning the Quran. These hearts are indulging in sin and disobedience of Allah. Music, then, is Satan’s Quran and the barrier between one and Allah. It is the way to sodomy and adultery. With it, the lover finds what he seeks and dreams of sinful love. Satan has trapped the weak hearts in the love of singing and made it beautiful to them. Satan reveals to his agents’ fake proofs that they use as evidence to the beauty of singing. These people accept Satan’s revelation and, as a consequence, abandon the Quran. When you witness them while listening, you will find them silent in humbleness, sitting idle and their hearts are concentrating and totally enjoying music and singing. Their hearts will feel closer to music, as if they were drunk. They dance and move in a suggestive manner, like faggots and whores. And why not? They are drunk with the pleasure of listening to music and singing and act accordingly. For other than Allah, and for Satan, there are hearts that are being broken by sin, and fortunes that are being spent for other than Allah’s Pleasure. They spend their lives in joyful fun and make a mockery of their religion. Instruments of the devil are sweeter to their ears than the Quran. If one of them listens to the Quran from beginning to end, it will have little effect or excitement on him. If Satan’s Quran is being performed and heard, they feel joy in their hearts and one can see it in their eyes. Their feet dance, their hands clap, their breathing intensifies and the rest of their bodies feel joy. O you who are trapped in this sin, you who have sold your share of Allah to Satan, what a losing deal! Why not feel this joy when you listen to the Quran? Why not feel pleasure and comfort when the Glorious Quran is recited? But, everyone seeks what he feels is suitable for him, and ends up with what is really suitable for him.” [Ighathat Al-Lahfan].

Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Baz was asked about listening to music and songs, “Is it Haram? I only listen to it for pleasure. What about playing the Rababah (a kind of guitar) and old songs? What about using drums in weddings?”

Sheikh Ibn Baz said, “Listening to music is Haram and a sin. It is a matter that leads to weakening the hearts and abandoning the Dhikr of Allah and the prayer. The scholars said about the Ayah, “And of mankind he who purchases idle talks” 31:6 that idle talks means singing. Abdullaah ibn Masud the Prophet’s (SAWS) companion, used to swear by Allaah that it is singing. If singing is accompanied by the Rababah, ‘Ud (Arabic guitar), fiddles or drums, it is even more Haram. Any singing with any instrument is Haram and the scholars are unanimous on this. Therefore, Muslims must be aware of it. The Prophet (SAWS) said, “From among my nation there will be those who render as lawful adultery, silk (for men), AI-Khamr (alcohol) and musical instruments.” [Bukhari], I advise you and others to read the Qur’aan and keep remembering Allaah. I advise you to listen to Qur’aanic programs on the radio. This way, one will find pleasure and will keep busy so he can stay away from music and songs. As for weddings, the Daff (tambourine) can be used along with innocent singing that does not call to sin. This can be done at night, only in weddings and only by and for women. These songs are a way of announcing an Islaamic marriage. The Sunnah of the Prophet(SAWS) supports the above. As for the drums, they are Haram all the time. The Daff is permitted in weddings and only for and by women.”

Evidences which Allow listening to Music:

Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi said, The whole issue of singing is controversial, whether it is with musical accompaniment or not. Some issues succeeded to gain the Muslim scholars’ agreement, while others failed. All scholars have unanimous view on the prohibition of all forms of singing and music that incites debauchery, indecency, or sin. As for musical instruments, given the weakness of the evidence indicating that they are forbidden, the rule to be applied here is the one states that all things are originally deemed permissible as long as there is no Shari`ah text that prohibits them.

Among the entertainments which may comfort the soul, please the
heart, and refresh the ear is singing. Islam permits singing
under the condition that it not be in any way obscene or harmful
to Islamic morals. There is no harm in it being accompanied by
music which is not exciting. (Y. al-Qaradawi, “The Lawful and the
Prohibited in Islam,” p. 300)

In this book, he gives the support of hadiths regarding his view on
singing and music. An example is the following hadith:

`Aishah narrated that when a woman was married to an Ansari man,
the Prophet (s.a.w.) said,

“`Aishah, did they have any entertainment? The Ansar are fond of
entertainment.”
[Reported by al-Bukhari.]

Another hadith which supports the permissability of singing is the
following:

Ibn `Abbas said: `Aishah gave a girl relative of hers in marriage
to a man of the Ansar. The Prophet (peace be on him) came and
asked, “Did you send a singer along with her?”

“No,” said `Aishah.

The Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.) then said, “The Ansar are a people
who love poetry. You should have sent along someone who would
sing, `Here we come, to you we come, greet us as we greet you.’”
[Reported by Ibn Majah.]

In addition, the following hadith supports singing and playing of
drums during the celebration of `Eid:

`Aishah narrated that during the days of Mina, on the day of `Eid
al-Adha, two girls were with her, singing and playing on a hand
drum. The Prophet (s.a.w.) was present, listening to them with
his head under a shawl. Abu Bakr then entered and scolded the
girls. The Prophet (s.a.w.), uncovering his face, told him,

“Let them be, Abu Bakr. These are the days of `Eid.”
[Reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim.]\par

Furthermore, Yusuf al-Qaradawi reports that

[M]any of the Companions of the Prophet (may Allah be pleased with
them) as well as second generation Muslim scholars used to listen
to singing and did not see anything wrong with it. As for the
ahadith, which have been reported against singing, they are all
weak and have been shown by researchers to be unsound. The jurist
Abu Bakr al-`Arabi says, “No sound hadith is available concerning
the prohibition of singing,” while Ibn Hazm says, “All that is
reported on this subject is false and fabricated.”
[From al-Qaradawi, p. 302.]

As for those who argue that singing is haram, some of them claim that
the following verse of the Qur’an to be against singing:

And among the people is the one who buys idle talk (at the expense
of his soul) in order to lead (people) astray from the path of
Allah without knowledge, holding it in mockery; for such there
will be a humiliating punishment.
[Qur'an 31:6]

This, however, is not the correct understanding of this ayat (notice
that it does not even mention singing or music at all). The correct
understanding of this ayat, according to Ibn Hazm, is this:

This verse condemns a particular behavior, that of doing something
to mock the path of Allah. Anyone who does this is an unbeliever;
if he even should buy a copy of the Qur’an, doing so in order to
make it the object of his mockery and thereby leading people
astray, he would be an unbeliever. It is this type of behavior
which is condemned by Allah and not the idle talk in which one
may indulge for mere relaxation, without intending to lead people
astray from the path of Allah.
[Ibn Hazm, quoted in al-Qaradawi, p. 302.]

Some of those who condemn singing and music claim that this
condemnation is the meaning of the following verse of the Qur’an:

And what is beyond the truth except error?
[Qur'an 10:32]

However, commenting on this, Ibn Hazm reminds us of the hadith:

The Messenger of Allah (peace be on him) said, “Deeds will be
judged according to intentions, and everyone will get what he
intended.”
[Reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim.]

Following this hadith, Ibn Hazm (as quoted by al-Qaradawi, pp. 302-3)
goes on to say that one who listens to singing and music with the
intention of sinning or supporting sinning is himself a sinner, and
this holds true of anything other than singing as well. On the other
hand, if someone listens to singing and music with the intention of
increasing his spiritual state, strengthening his soul, and increasing
his duty to Allah, such a person’s actions are of the truth. As for
those who listen to singing neither with the intention of disobedience
or obedience, Ibn Hazm says this is neutral and harmless. Ibn Hazm
says listening to singing or music with a neutral intention is like
going to the park and walking around, or looking at the sky, or
wearing blue or green clothes, etc.

Yusuf al-Qaradawi then gives some limitations regarding listening to
music. In summary, they are:

1. The subject matter of the songs must be in accordance with the
teachings of Islam.

2. Although the subject matter of the song may not be against Islam,
if the singing or music is accompanied with something haram, then it
is haram. An example is music accompanied by suggestive sexual
movement, which is therefore haram.

3. Listening to singing or music should not be done to excess or
extravagance, in accordance with the general teachings of Islam
against taking things to extremes.

4. Each individual is the best judge of himself. So if a person finds
that, for him or her, listening to certain singing or music arouses
one’s passions and leads him or her towards sin, and dulls
spirituality, then he or she should avoid it.

5. If the singing or music is done in conjunction with haram
activities, then it is haram. An example of this would be singing or
music at a party where people are drinking alcohol.

[Summarized from al-Qaradawi, p. 303.]

Point no. 5 is what is highlighted by the following hadith, in which
the Prophet (s.a.w.) said,

“Some people of my ummah will drink wine, calling it by another
name, while they listen to singers accompanied by musical
instruments. Allah will cause the earth to swallow them and will
turn some of them into monkeys and swine.”
[Reported by Ibn Majah.]

More Than 100 Somali Civilians Murdered By U.S. Strikes

The U.S.A. under the control of the murderous neo-con wackos has become a rogue state.

They are running amuck all over the world, abscribing the name Al-Qaida to anyone or any group they wish to eliminate, and murdering many innocents along the way.

How is it that the international community doesn’t condemn the criminal acts of this rogue nation? Not a word.

They were supposed to be targeting three Al-Qaida figures suspected of bombing the embassies in East Africa. Keep in mind they are suspects not convicts being sought out for execution.

The one thing that is abundantly clear is the fact that the Islamic Courts Union or anyone else in Somalia never posed any threat to the U.S. or its interest.

 

Somali elders say about 100 killed in US, Ethiopian air strikes

11/01/2007 11h43

MOGADISHU (AFP) - Clan elders and residents in southern Somalia have said that about 100 civilians were killed this week in US and Ethiopian air strikes on suspected Al-Qaeda targets in the region.

There was no way to independently confirm the toll, and it was unclear if it referred to the same areas hit by at least one US air raid on Monday, and by other attacks believed to have been launched by Ethiopian helicopters.

Sheikh Abdullahi Ali Malabon, an elder in the Afmadow area, said Thursday 100 bodies had been counted.

“We have sent a team to assess the casualties there and they have confirmed more than 100 people killed,” he told AFP by phone from the remote area. “Many others were wounded but we don’t have an exact number.”

Closer to the Kenyan border, between the villages of Afmadow and Dhobley, residents and elders also spoke of at least 100 civilian deaths but stressed they had only yet accounted for 29 bodies, some burned beyond recognition.

“I was with a team sent to the bombardment areas near Dhobley to bury the dead, what I have seen was really terrible,” Absuge Mohamed Weli, a Dhobley resident told AFP.

“I counted 29 dead people, some of them burned so they could not be identified, and we have buried them,” he said. “A lot of people were also wounded.”

“I have seen more dead bodies in the forest, I recognized some of them and they were local civilians,” Weli said. “They were killed while keeping their animals. I have also seen animals, most of them cows, dead in villages.”

It was not immediately clear if the Dhobley and Afmadow estimates included the same reported deaths.

“We estimate about 100 innocent civilians have been killed,” said Dhobley elder Moalim Adan Osman. “Some are still missing and I think their bodies are somewhere in the forest.”

“The airplanes have bombed large areas and the whole zone is jungle and no one can classify what is inside,” he said. “They have bombed the nomads in the area indiscriminately.”

Ethiopia, which has troops in Somalia backing the country’s transitional government, said Wednesday that Monday’s US strike had not caused any civilian casualties but did not mention raids conducted by Ethiopian forces.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said the US bombardments instead killed only eight “terrorists” and wounded five, who were then captured by his troops, while another seven of the 20 extremists targeted may have escaped.

But Mohamed Ibrahim Guled, an Afmadow resident, said “a lot” of civilians had been killed by the US raid.

“We havent seen any Al-Qaeda members killed but what we can confirm is that a lot of innocent civilians have been killed by the American warplanes,” he told AFP. “They hit civilian sites and forests where nomads keep animals.”

Dirir Moalim Hussein, a herder, said his wife and two other members of his family were killed as they tried to flee the attacks on their village of Bulo Haji between Dhobley and Afmadow.

“We are really scared,” he said. “We heard bombing and heavy explosions over our village, it was dark and no one could see well. I ran with two children, I don’t know in what direction, but three of my family were killed, including my wife.”

“I have nothing right now,” Hussein said. “I have lost everything, they have bombed my cows and goats, we dont know what crime we committed and we have been punished for no reason,” Hussein said.

The United States has confirmed hitting at least one suspected Al-Qaeda position in southern Somalia on Monday but declined to comment on reports of airborne attacks on Tuesday and Wednesday reported by locals.

Iraqi MP Accuses Iran of Massing Troops on Saudi Border

Tuesday, 9 January 2007

Agence France Presse 

RIYADH
AN Iraqi MP accused Iran of deploying thousands of fighters near Iraq’s borders with Saudi Arabia to “transmit disorder” into the Kingdom, reported the Arabic language daily Al-Watan on Monday.

“Iran has started recently forming a 10,000 military brigade, dubbed ‘Brigade of Makkah, with bases in Al-Samawah and Al-Nakhib Desert (in Iraq), near the Iraq-Saudi border, in order to transmit disorder across borders,” the newspaper quoted MP Mohammad Al-Daeni as saying.

Daeni also claimed that Iranian intelligence “controls all of Iraq’s governmental institutions, mainly the ministries of defense, interior, transport, health, and oil.”

He charged that thousands of Iran’s radical revolutionary guards are “operating in Baghdad, killing on a daily basis” Sunni Arab residents.

“Iran controls (also) the oil fields of Majnoon,” in Iraq, near the borders between the two countries who fought a fierce war in the 1980s.

Daeni described the “Iranian occupation” of Iraq as being “more dangerous than the American occupation because it aims to establish a Persian empire starting with control over Iraq and the Gulf.”

Source: Saudigazette