DTN News (Archive) - DEFENSE NEWS: Iranian Officer Captured In Afghanistan: NATO

DTN News (Archive) - DEFENSE NEWS: Iranian Officer Captured In Afghanistan: NATO

**SPECIAL NOTE: This article was originally posted on December 24, 2010 and reposted today July 21, 2012

**'Iran arms smuggler' held by Nato BBC News

 Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Katherine Haddon (AFP)

(NSI News Source Info) KABUL, Afghanistan - December 24, 2010: A member of the elite al-Quds force of Iran's Revolutionary Guard has been captured in southern Afghanistan accused of cross-border weapons smuggling, international forces said Friday.

The man, described as a "key Taliban weapons facilitator", was captured Saturday in Zhari district, Kandahar province, southern Afghanistan, a volatile district targeted in recent coalition offensives.

He was targeted "for facilitating the movement of weapons between Iran and Kandahar through Nimroz province," a spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said.

It is thought he was connected to smuggling small arms between the countries.

"The now-detained man was considered a Kandahar-based weapons facilitator with direct ties to other Taliban leaders in the province," the ISAF spokesman added in a statement.

The news again spotlights the complex relationship between Afghanistan, Iran and the United States, whose troops make up roughly two-thirds of the coalition force.

Kabul has insisted that Iran, as a neighbouring country, has a legitimate concern in helping the reconstruction and development of Afghanistan.

But some in Iran's arch foe the US are concerned that Tehran could be funding insurgents or trying to play on anti-Western sentiment in Karzai's government.

(Read complete story on Defense-Technology News - Click on link undermentioned)

http://defense-technologynews.blogspot.ca/2012/07/dtn-news-archive-defense-news-iranian.html

DTN News - AFGHAN WAR NEWS: Afghan-Led Combined Force Captures Taliban Leader

DTN News - AFGHAN WAR NEWS: Afghan-Led Combined Force Captures Taliban Leader

 (NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - January 26, 2012: An Afghan-led and coalition-supported security force captured a Taliban leader during an operation in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Afghanistan’s Helmand province today, military officials reported.

The leader coordinated roadside bomb and ambush attacks against Afghan forces along Route 1 in Helmand province, officials said.

The security force also seized 15 pounds of opium and detained an additional suspected insurgent.

In other Afghanistan operations today:

-- A combined patrol seized about 500 pounds of marijuana and about 45 pounds of marijuana seeds in the Panjwai district of Kandahar province.

-- In the Zharay district of Kandahar province, a combined force seized 300 pounds of marijuana and detained several suspects while searching for a Taliban facilitator who plans attacks against coalition forces and moves weapons and ammunition throughout Kandahar.

-- A combined force captured a Taliban leader and detained another suspect in the Sayyidabad district of Wardak province. The leader planned assassinations and direct-fire attacks against Afghan government officials.

In Afghanistan operations yesterday:

-- A coalition airstrike killed an insurgent after he attacked coalition forces with small-arms fire in the Alishing district of Laghman province.

-- Coalition forces arrested six people found with Afghan army uniforms and weapons in the Alingar district of Laghman province.

-- Coalition troops detained three people suspected of being bomb makers in the Terezaki district of Khost province.

-- Afghan police detained a man who had two assault rifles and ammunition in the Zurmat district of Paktia province.

-- Coalition troops detained a man for having bomb-making materials Khost’s Khost district.

-- Afghan border police detained a man as a person of interest in Paktia’s Jaji district.

-- A combined patrol found about 550 pounds of hashish and multiple 82 mm mortar rounds in Kandahar’s Panjwai district.

-- A combined patrol found and destroyed about 1,000 pounds of hashish in Kandahar’s Zharay district.

-- A combined force found and destroyed about 660 pounds of hashish in Helmand’s Musa Qalah district.

In other Afghanistan news, Marine Corps Gen. John R. Allen, International Security Assistance Force commander, joined Afghan President Hamid Karzai in condemning a recent insurgent rocket attack on a home in the Allasai district of Kapisa province that killed a woman and a child and injured seven other people.

"Continued deliberate attacks on the people of Afghanistan that result in the brutal murder of defenseless women and children clearly show that this heartless insurgency has no moral compass whatsoever," Allen said. "I join President Karzai in extending my deepest sympathies to the families of those who were killed, and in praying for the fastest recovery of those who were injured in this needless tragedy.”

Allen added that Taliban leader Mohammed Omar's “deafening silence and inaction in stopping these ongoing attacks against innocent Afghan civilians shows that his foot soldiers are now giving the orders while he and his inner circle reside in comfort, allowing the killing of their own brothers and sisters."

http://defense-technologynews.blogspot.com/2012/01/dtn-news-afghan-war-news-afghan-led.html

DTN News - ISLAMIC MILITANTS: A Hezbollah Threat In Thailand?

DTN News - ISLAMIC MILITANTS: A Hezbollah Threat In Thailand?

 (NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - January 19, 2012:  On Jan. 12, Thai authorities arrested a man they say was a member of the Lebanon-based Shiite militant group Hezbollah who was plotting an attack in Bangkok. In uncovering the plot, Thai police cite cooperation with the United States and Israel going back to December 2011. Bangkok is indeed a target-rich environment with a history of terrorist attacks, but today Hezbollah and other militant and criminal groups rely on the city as more of a business hub than anything else. If Hezbollah or some other transnational militant group were to carry out an attack in the city, it would have to be for a compelling reason that outweighed the costs.

The suspect was identified as Atris Hussein, who was born in Lebanon but acquired Swedish citizenship and a passport after marrying a Swedish woman in 1996. Hussein was arrested on immigration charges as he was trying to board a plane at Suvarnabhumi airport, Bangkok's main international airport. Police said another suspect is still at large and possibly already out of the country. Hussein's arrest on Jan. 12 was followed by a statement the next day from the U.S. Embassy warning U.S. citizens in Bangkok of the potential foreign terrorist threat in the country and encouraging them to avoid tourist areas. Other countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and Israel, issued similar warnings. Thai police have responded by increasing security in tourist areas like Bangkok's Khao San Road and the island of Phuket.

Then, on Jan. 16, some 200 Thai police officers searched a three-story commercial building in a town along the coast 32 kilometers (about 20 miles) southwest of Bangkok. Information on the location and contents of the building was said to have been provided by Hussein after two days in custody. On the second floor of the building, officers found 4,380 kilograms (about 10,000 pounds) of urea-based fertilizer and 38 liters (about 10 gallons) of liquid ammonium nitrate -- enough materials to construct several truck bombs comparable to the one detonated at the Marriott hotel in Islamabad in 2008. Urea fertilizer can be used to manufacture the improvised explosive mixture urea nitrate, which was the main charge used in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. The compound is also frequently used in improvised explosive devices in Iraq and to some extent in Afghanistan. On the ground floor of the same building, police found reams of printing paper and 400 electric table fans in cardboard boxes.

The following day, a Bangkok court charged Hussein with illegal possession of explosive materials. As in many other countries, a permit is required for handling such large amounts of fertilizer in Thailand.

http://defense-technologynews.blogspot.com/2012/01/dtn-news-islamic-militants-hezbollah.html

DTN News - ISLAMIC MILITANTS: A Hezbollah Threat In Thailand?

DTN News - ISLAMIC MILITANTS: A Hezbollah Threat In Thailand?

 (NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - January 19, 2012:  On Jan. 12, Thai authorities arrested a man they say was a member of the Lebanon-based Shiite militant group Hezbollah who was plotting an attack in Bangkok. In uncovering the plot, Thai police cite cooperation with the United States and Israel going back to December 2011. Bangkok is indeed a target-rich environment with a history of terrorist attacks, but today Hezbollah and other militant and criminal groups rely on the city as more of a business hub than anything else. If Hezbollah or some other transnational militant group were to carry out an attack in the city, it would have to be for a compelling reason that outweighed the costs.

The suspect was identified as Atris Hussein, who was born in Lebanon but acquired Swedish citizenship and a passport after marrying a Swedish woman in 1996. Hussein was arrested on immigration charges as he was trying to board a plane at Suvarnabhumi airport, Bangkok's main international airport. Police said another suspect is still at large and possibly already out of the country. Hussein's arrest on Jan. 12 was followed by a statement the next day from the U.S. Embassy warning U.S. citizens in Bangkok of the potential foreign terrorist threat in the country and encouraging them to avoid tourist areas. Other countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and Israel, issued similar warnings. Thai police have responded by increasing security in tourist areas like Bangkok's Khao San Road and the island of Phuket.

Then, on Jan. 16, some 200 Thai police officers searched a three-story commercial building in a town along the coast 32 kilometers (about 20 miles) southwest of Bangkok. Information on the location and contents of the building was said to have been provided by Hussein after two days in custody. On the second floor of the building, officers found 4,380 kilograms (about 10,000 pounds) of urea-based fertilizer and 38 liters (about 10 gallons) of liquid ammonium nitrate -- enough materials to construct several truck bombs comparable to the one detonated at the Marriott hotel in Islamabad in 2008. Urea fertilizer can be used to manufacture the improvised explosive mixture urea nitrate, which was the main charge used in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. The compound is also frequently used in improvised explosive devices in Iraq and to some extent in Afghanistan. On the ground floor of the same building, police found reams of printing paper and 400 electric table fans in cardboard boxes.

The following day, a Bangkok court charged Hussein with illegal possession of explosive materials. As in many other countries, a permit is required for handling such large amounts of fertilizer in Thailand.

http://defense-technologynews.blogspot.com/2012/01/dtn-news-islamic-militants-hezbollah.html

DTN News - END OF GADDAFI ERA IN LIBYA: Captured Gaddafi's Son Saif al-Islam May Face Death Penalty

DTN News - END OF GADDAFI ERA IN LIBYA: Captured Gaddafi's Son Saif al-Islam May Face Death Penalty

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - November 22, 2011: Yussef Saleh al-Hotmani gestures while wearing a Kingdom of Libya flag in Zintan November 22, 2011. The Libyan desert guide said he was hired by Saif al-Islam to take him to Niger, but handed him over to fighters loyal to Libya's interim government. (Photo - Reuters)

http://defense-technologynews.blogspot.com/

DTN News - END OF GADDAFI ERA IN LIBYA: Captured Gaddafi's Son Saif al-Islam May Face Death Penalty

DTN News - END OF GADDAFI ERA IN LIBYA: Captured Gaddafi's Son Saif al-Islam May Face Death Penalty

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - November 22, 2011: Yussef Saleh al-Hotmani speaks at a news conference in Zintan November 22, 2011. The Libyan desert guide said he was hired by Saif al-Islam to take him to Niger, but handed him over to fighters loyal to Libya's interim government. (Photo - Reuters)

http://defense-technologynews.blogspot.com/

DTN News - END OF GADDAFI ERA IN LIBYA: Captured Gaddafi's Son Saif al-Islam May Face Death Penalty

DTN News - END OF GADDAFI ERA IN LIBYA: Captured Gaddafi's Son Saif al-Islam May Face Death Penalty

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - November 22, 2011: In this image taken from new video which has become available Tuesday Nov. 22, 2011, showing of Moammar Gadhafi's son Seif al-Islam, sitting at centre, wincing in pain from his injured fingers, in video taken shortly after his capture on Saturday Nov. 19, 2011, at a safe house in the town of Zintan, Libya.

The video shows Seif al-Islam arguing with his captors and admonishing them, saying that Libya's regions that were united in revolution will turn against each other in the near future and rip the country apart. (Photo - AP)

http://defense-technologynews.blogspot.com/

DTN News - END OF GADDAFI ERA IN LIBYA: The Capture Of Gaddafi's Son Saif al-Islam

DTN News - END OF GADDAFI ERA IN LIBYA: The Capture Of Gaddafi's Son Saif al-Islam

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - November 21, 2011: The chic black sweater and jeans were gone. So too the combat khaki T-shirt of his televised last stand in Tripoli. Designer stubble had become bushy black beard after months on the run.

But the rimless glasses, framing those piercing eyes above that straight fine nose, gave him away despite the flowing nomad robes held close across his face.

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, doctor of the London School of Economics, one-time reformer turned scourge of the rebels against his dictator father, was now a prisoner, bundled aboard an old Libyan air force transport plane near the oil-drilling outpost of Obari, deep in the Sahara desert.

The interim government's spokesman billed it as the "final act of the Libyan drama." But there would be no closing soliloquy from the lead player, scion of the dynasty that Muammar Gaddafi, self-styled "king of kings," had once hoped might rule Africa.

A Reuters reporter aboard the flight approached the 39-year-old prisoner as he huddled on a bench at the rear of the growling, Soviet-era Antonov. The man who held court to the world's media in the early months of the Arab Spring was now on a 90-minute flight bound for the town of Zintan near Tripoli.

He sat frowning, silent and seemingly lost in thought for part of the way, nursing his right hand, bandaged around the thumb and two fingers. At other times he chatted calmly with his captors and even posed for a picture.

IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT

Gaddafi's run had come to an end just a few hours earlier, at dead of night on a desert track, as he and a handful of trusted companions tried to thread their way through patrols of former rebel fighters intent on blocking their escape over the border.

"At the beginning he was very scared. He thought we would kill him," said Ahmed Ammar, one of the 15 fighters who captured Gaddafi. The fighters, from Zintan's Khaled bin al-Waleed Brigade, intercepted the fugitives' two 4x4 vehicles 40 miles out in the desert.

"But we talked to him in a friendly way and made him more relaxed and we said, 'We won't hurt you'."

The capture of Saif al-Islam is the latest dramatic chapter in the series of revolts that have swept the Arab world. The first uprising toppled the Ben Ali government in Tunisia early this year.

The upheaval spread to Egypt, forcing out long-time ruler Hosni Mubarak in February; swept Libya, where the capital Tripoli fell to rebels this summer and Muammar Gaddafi died after being beaten and abused by captors last month; and is now threatening the Assad family's four-decade grip on Syria.

Saif al-Islam was the smiling face of Muammar Gaddafi's power structure. He won personal credibility at the highest echelons of international society, especially in London, where he helped tidy up the reputation of Libya via a personal charitable foundation. He threw that reputation away in the uprising, emerging as one of the hardest of hard-liners against the rebels.

This account of his capture and his final month on the run is based on interviews with the younger Gaddafi's captors and the prisoner himself. The scenes of his flight into captivity were witnessed by the Reuters reporter and a Reuters cameraman and photographer who were also aboard the plane.

http://defense-technologynews.blogspot.com/2011/11/dtn-news-end-of-gaddafi-era-in-libya.html