News:Coalition Forces Establish Presence West of the Euphrates

Source: BlackFive.net

Operation Marne Courageous kicked off in the early morning of Nov. 16 with more than 600 coalition forces and Iraqi army soldiers moving into two villages near the border of Anbar province to drive out al-Qaida in Iraq.

Soldiers of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), were joined by about 150 Iraqi army soldiers in the air assault on the Sunni villages of Owesat and al Betra, west of the Euphrates River and approximately 15 miles southwest of Baghdad.

Troops were transported in four helicopter lifts across the Euphrates, utilizing two CH-47 Chinook helicopters and eight UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters. A Marine reconnaissance platoon, as well as Soldiers of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, stationed in neighboring Anbar province, secured the landing zone.

Troops were transported in four helicopter lifts across the Euphrates, utilizing two CH-47 Chinook helicopters and eight UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters. A Marine reconnaissance platoon, as well as Soldiers of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, stationed in neighboring Anbar province, secured the landing zone.

Once on the ground, the U.S.-Iraqi force was supported by an air weapons team of Apache and Kiowa helicopters, while approximately 70 Iraqi Concerned Local Citizens assisted in securing the outlying perimeter.

While U.S. and Iraqi forces moved through the villages, other troops set to work constructing a bridge across the Euphrates to allow for the transport of materials and supplies to build a patrol base in the area. The base will allow for a sustained coalition presence in the area of Owesat, part of Baghdad’s southwestern “belts.”

Marne Courageous’ main strategic thrust is to clear AQI extremists from the area of Owesat, establish a coalition presence, and develop a concerned citizens program in the area as a bulwark against further enemy activity.

News:Director General Speaks of a Need For Continued Perseverance

Source: MI5 Website

Jonathan Evans, the Director General of the Security Service, gave a speech at the Society of Editors' conference in Manchester on 5 November 2007 in which he provided an update on the terrorist threat and spoke about the need for perseverance and strategic thinking in the continuing fight against international terrorism.

Mr. Evans highlighted the need to protect young people from radicalisation and indoctrination by violent extremists.

Mr Evans said "The violence directed against us is the product of a much wider extremist ideology, whose basic tenets are inimical to the tolerance and liberty which form the basis of our democracy. So although the most visible manifestations of this problem are the attacks and attempted attacks we have suffered in recent years, the root of the problem is ideological."

He expanded further his view by saying "Because the ideology underlying Al Qaida and other violent groups is extreme. It does not accept the legitimacy of other viewpoints. It is intolerant, and it believes in a form of government which is explicitly anti-democratic. And the more that this ideology spreads in our communities, the harder it will be to maintain the kind of society that the vast majority of us wish to live in."

Following his predecessor, Eliza Manningham-Buller comments regarding about the increased threats by Al Qaida inspired terrorists in which she identified around 1,600 individuals who MI5 believed posed a direct threat to national security and public safety, Mr Evans now said that figure today would be at least 2,000.

He focused his speech on the growth of the 'Al Qaida franchise' including Somalia and a new grouping called 'Al Qaida in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb' based in North Africa.

He also remarked on the unfortunate diversion of key resources away from vital counter-terrorist work by ongoing Russian espionage activity in the UK.

For further information on his key note speech you can read more on Address to the Society of Editors by the Director General of the Security Service, Jonathan Evans

NEWS- Islamist militants blamed for Bhutto attack

Source:Reuters

KARACHI - The Pakistan government blamed Islamist militants for twin blasts early on Friday that killed 133 people as opposition leader Benazir Bhutto drove through masses of supporters in Karachi.

Bhutto, travelling in a truck reinforced to withstand bomb attacks, was unhurt by the deadliest bomb attack in her country's violent history.
Army Chief General Musharraf condoled with his potential ally by telephone from Islamabad and they both "expressed their unflinching resolve to fight the scourge of extremism and terrorism", the president's spokesman Rashid Quereshi said. The grenade and suicide attack struck Bhutto's motorcade as it edged through hundreds of thousands of well-wishers who had stayed up late into the night to welcome the two-time prime minister back to Pakistan after years of self-imposed exile.

There was no claim of responsibility. But police were investigating whether the attack had links to tribal regions bordering Afghanistan which have become hotbeds of support for al Qaeda and the Taliban. Militants linked to al Qaeda, angered by Bhutto's support for the U.S. war on terrorism, had this week threatened to assassinate her, and officials said there were intelligence reports of plots by three separate groups.

"The first blast was caused by a hand grenade. The second was the suicide attack," said Manzoor Mughal, a senior police official. "The attacker ran into the crowd and blew himself up."Mughal said the head of the suspected bomber had been found, and it was estimated he had 15 to 20 kg of explosives strapped to his body. Typically, the upward force from a blast blows off the head an attacker.

Bhutto's husband, Asif Ali Zardari, accused Pakistani intelligence agencies of involvement in the attack on his wife, a suspicion shared by many Pakistanis.