Top al-Qaeda leader 'killed'

Abu Laith al-Libi, a leading al-Qaeda member in Afghanistan, has been killed, a website often used Islamist groups said. The Ekhlaas.org site said on Thursday that al-Libi had "fallen as a martyr", without giving further details.

It was not immediately clear if al-Libi's death was linked to a suspected US missile strike that killed up to 13 foreign fighters in Pakistan's North Waziristan region this week.

The attack had targeted second or third tier al Qaeda leaders, according to residents in the tribal area. A western official said on Thursday that there are "strong indications" that al-Libi, has been killed. "Indications are at this point that Abu Laith al-Libi is dead," the official said. "They are very strong indications." The official, who asked not to be identified, would provide no details on where or how al-Libi was killed. Tribesmen in in Pakistan's North Waziristan region had said a deputy of al-Libi had been staying there and was among the dead, according to an intelligence official. Al-Libi, a Libyan, appeared with Ayman al-Zawahri, al Qaeda second-in-command, in a video issued in November to announce that a Libyan Islamist group had joined the organisation. Islamist websites have carried messages from al-Libi, including one in May in which he said al Qaeda in Afghanistan was willing to exchange prisoners with Britain and other Western countries.

Via Al Jazeera.


Comment:

This is good news. Al-Libi is thought to have been the person who organized last February's attack on a base Dick Cheney happened to be in. I would wax eloquent about the precise nature of his role within the al-Qaeda organization, but unfortunately all of my notes on that subject are on my laptop, which is still in the repair shop.

Iraq troops prepare for Mosul push

Iraqi troop reinforcements are being sent to the northern city of Mosul for an operation against al-Qaeda fighters, security officials have said. Major-General Riyadh Jalal Tawfiq, commander of military operations in Ninawa province, said on Sunday that the extra Iraqi troops would arrive from Baghdad within hours, without giving figures.

The reinforcements come two days after Nuri al-Maliki, Iraq's prime minister, said that Iraqi forces were preparing for a final offensive against al-Qaeda in Iraq to dislodge them from their last urban stronghold.

US military commanders say the al-Qaeda group has regained power in northern Iraq after being forced out of the western province of Anbar and from around Baghdad last year. The US military does not have a large presence in Ninawa, of which Mosul is the capital. It was unclear what role US forces would play in the offensive, which appears to be an Iraqi-led operation.

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Comment:

Let us pray for their success.

France to get military base in UAE

Nicolas Sarkozy has signed a deal with the United Arab Emirates for France to establish its first permanent military base in the Gulf. The agreement reached on Tuesday will make France one of the first Western countries other than the United States to have a permanent base in the region. The planned facility will be able to house up to 500 personnel. During his visit to Abu Dhabi, the latest stop on his tour of the Gulf, Sarkozy was also expected to conclude a deal with his Emirati counterpart, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan, on nuclear co-operation that could be worth up to $6 billion. France already has long-standing military co-operation accords with countries in the Gulf, including the Emirates and Qatar.

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Comment:

Osama bin Laden must be apoplectic. He rails and rails away at the presence of foreign infidel Crusader-Zionist forces in the Arabian Peninsula, and not only are they still there, the evil unbelieving French kafirs, who had participated in most if not all of the original Crusades, are setting up shop. Poor Sammy.

Closer to home, my laptop is still in the shop, and is now expected to be there until the 23rd, which means I'll probably be getting it back sometime in July. Until then, my ability to post will remain very limited.

I'm still here...

...but my laptop is not. It should be back from the shop within a week or so, when normal posting will resume.

P.S. Windows Vista is evil.