Afghanistan.....
Blackmail latest ploy for BSA signing......
Afghanistan regularly lands at the top of lists of most corrupt nations on the planet, usually followed by admonishments from the US. Sopko warned that the lack of any specific US plan to tackle the corruption meant a lot of reconstruction efforts were wasted, and may wreck what reconstruction projects managed to get done.
Reports say the attackers, four teenagers, managed to sneak pistols into the hotel hidden in their socks, and got past several layers of security at the hotel before launching their attack at the buffet.
The Krak des Chevaliers was built by a Kurdish faction in the early 11th century, and seized during the First Crusade by Raymond of Toulouse. It remained a crusader fortress off and on for nearly two centuries, after which time the occupying Knights Hospitaller relocated to the Island of Rhodes.
Blackmail latest ploy for BSA signing......
Inspector General: Afghanistan Faces Blacklisting for Rampant Corruption
Faults US Lack of Planning to Tackle Corruption
by Jason Ditz, March 21, 2014
Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) John Sopko has issued another statement warning that Afghanistan faces near global blacklisting in the future because of its rampant corruption.
Afghanistan regularly lands at the top of lists of most corrupt nations on the planet, usually followed by admonishments from the US. Sopko warned that the lack of any specific US plan to tackle the corruption meant a lot of reconstruction efforts were wasted, and may wreck what reconstruction projects managed to get done.
While everyone seemingly shrugs off the corruption now, Sopko warned that may not be the case after the end of the year, when NATO will hype the drawdown as the “end” of the war. Afghanistan will at least nominally be standing on its own.
And it’s at that point that its ridiculous levels of corruption are going to start to cost it mightily, as a haven for money laundering where bribery is an expected part of government deals will inevitably start facing blacklistings.
Latest terror attack in Kabul ahead of the Election......
Two Children, Reporter Among Nine Killed in Kabul Hotel Attack
Attackers Hid Pistols in Their Socks
by Jason Ditz, March 21, 2014
AFP reporter Sardar Ahmad, his wife and two of his children were among nine people killed in an attack on the Serena hotel in Kabul, a luxury hotel popular with foreign diplomats.
Reports say the attackers, four teenagers, managed to sneak pistols into the hotel hidden in their socks, and got past several layers of security at the hotel before launching their attack at the buffet.
Though the attackers had only tiny pistols they managed to keep shooting for two solid hours until security forces managed to kill the last attacker.
The interior ministry said they believe the attack is “threatening the security of the election” in April, and that the believe the target was an Afghan Senator, who was injured but alive. Three other MPs were also there, and threw their drinks at the attackers, escaping unharmed.
Iraq - terror attacks on the rise as Iraq nears its Elections......
Iraq Police Targeted Across Iraq: 113 Killed, 148 Wounded
by Margaret Griffis, March 21, 2014
Several attacks on police stations left a bloody trail across Iraq today. Civilians were also targeted. At least 113 people were killed and 148 more were wounded in these attacks.
Anbar:
Thirteen people were killed in Ramadi when a suicide bomber attacked a mosque that was holding a funeral for an officer killed earlier in the week; at least 37 people were wounded. A sniper killed a soccer player.
In Falluja, hundreds of militants held a military parade. Ten militants were killed. Shelling killed three civilians and wounded 11 more.
Four suicide bombers were killed in al-Annaz.
Elsewhere:
Militants took over a federal police station in Anjana, near Suleiman Pek, before detonating a truck bomb in the building. At least 14 people were killed and 18 more were wounded. Militants took over Suleiman Pak last month and this attack is thought to be revenge for being driven out. A police commando was killed in a clash.
An attack on a police station in Adhaim left 11 dead and five wounded.
A pair of bombs killed two people and wounded 28 more celebrating the Persian New Year in Dibs.
Shelling in Samarra killed six people and wounded 11 more. Eight people were killed and 13 more were wounded in a attack on a police station.
Several people were killed or wounded in Tikrit when an explosion lured victims to a second bomb. One policeman was killed and six more were wounded in an armed attack; seven policemen were kidnapped. The bodies of 13 militants were discovered bearing gunshot wounds to their heads.
In Mosul, a bomb wounded a councilman from the Hammam al-Alil district. Four people were killed and nine more were wounded when a suicide bomber attacked a police station.
An old landmine in al-Teeb killed a child and wounded another.
A blast wounded 16 people in Tuz Khormato.
Eight militants were killed in a clash in Buhriz.
In Qara Tapa, four militants were killed.
Violent clashes took place in the Hamrim Mountains.
In Muqdadiya, two policemen were killed in a bombing. The body of a Sahwa member was found in a river.
Two militants were killed in Baghdad.
A roadside bombing in Baiji killed three officers, including a commander, andwounded another.
A bomb near Jalawla wounded two people.
Syria .......
Syrian Army Kills 93 Rebels at Crusader Fort
Rebels' Hasty Flight From Castle Foiled by Army Offensive
by Jason Ditz, March 21, 2014
The Syrian military has ousted rebels from the ancient Krak des Chevaliers today, chasing the rebels therein across the border into neighboring Lebanon. The army claims “at least 93″ rebels killed in the fighting.
The Krak des Chevaliers was built by a Kurdish faction in the early 11th century, and seized during the First Crusade by Raymond of Toulouse. It remained a crusader fortress off and on for nearly two centuries, after which time the occupying Knights Hospitaller relocated to the Island of Rhodes.
Near 1,000 years old, the fortress obviously wasn’t a very secure site for the current Syrian Civil War, but the rebels had set up a base inside as symbolic of their influence in the region. After the ouster from Yabroud, it was only a matter of time before the Krak was targeted.
Signs from inside the Krak suggest the rebels were taken by surprise at how quickly the offensive reached them, and a government tour of the interior of the site reported rebels had left food cooking on makeshift stoves inside, a hasty retreat that further secures military control of the area around Lebanon.
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