ANALYSIS-Ship clash leaves Israel in diplomatic hot water

Turkey Prime Minister Regeb Tayyab Erdogan have finally realised that it is better to be the leader (Head) of the Arab and Muslim Worlds than a tail to America, the West and Israel. It seems that democracy helps to strengthen the position of governments facing challenges. That is why America, its European allies and Israel don’t like democratically elected Hamas, Ahmedinejad and now Erdogan. The Americans and their allies love to support and deal with weak prostrated autocrats, like Hosni Mubarak and King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. Mubarak Egypt and Jewish Israel have been strangling Gaza since Hamas won the election on January 2006.

But following the Israeli massacres of Turks on the freedom flotilla, Mubarak temporarily lifted the sanctions afraid that the Egyptians may cut his arm that has been choking Gaza. The West wanted Turkey, a member of NATO, to be a barrier between Europe and the Arab and Muslim Worlds. But Erdogan didn’t want to play this role and preferred a return to the days when the Ottoman Empire was the dominant power. Following the collapse of Saddam Iraq, Iran and Turkey are filling the vacuum to the disadvantage of the US-supported Israeli Nazi-Style hegemony and atrocities. The Americans have to do a serious re-thinking about their interests in the area before they lose Saudi Arabia and Jordan to the anti-Israeli camp. Right now, Israel is desperate so are her supporters in Washington. An attack on Iran may help to divert attention but not necessarily from Israeli violations and crimes and not without the deadly consequences.
May be because the US kills democratically while Israeli killings and violations are carried out in self defence. The Israelis and the American zombies should open their eyes as only a fool thinks others are fools. Things have changed for everyone.

After over fifty years working as a White House correspondent, 89-year old Thomas decided that enough is enough with the Jewish control of US foreign policy and that it is about time for the Israleis to get the hell out of Palestine and return to Germany, Poland and the USA. It seems that people got tired defending Shlomos cimes and atrocities.
This is for Helen Thomas

Enough is Enough
The Jewish Nazi crimes developed a loud cough
Terrorist Netanyahu cooks Obama
A kosher plan, stinking and tough,
Fried in the oily water of the mexican gulf
Helen Thomas reached her limit
With Goldman Sachs preparing the trough
To place gallons of American blood in it.

The Pharoah must have obtained the Israeli approval before opening the Rafah gate.
There is a mounting pressure on all pro-American Arab governments.

FACTBOX-Details of activists aboard flotilla
01 Jun 2010 12:23:25 GMT
Source: Reuters
June 1 (Reuters) - Israel detained or deported on Tuesday hundreds of activists who were aboard Turkish-backed aid ships it seized en route to Gaza, and faced a U.N. call for an impartial investigation into the deaths of nine people in the takeover.

Some 700 activists were processed in and around Israel's port of Ashdod, where the six ships of the blockade-running convoy had been escorted. úAmong the activists were many Turks but they also included Israelis and Palestinians as well as Americans and many Europeans.

Here are details about some of the activists:

TURKEY:

-- Bulent Yildirim, president of the Istanbul-based Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief (IHH), was aboard the Mavi Marmara, a Turkish cruise ship which carried 581 people and was part of the convoy. At least nine activists on the Mavi Marmara were killed when Israeli marines boarded the ship.

SWEDEN:

-- Bestselling Swedish author Henning Mankell was among the Swedes who joined the international flotilla attempting to break the blockade, but he was not aboard the Turkish aid ship raided by Israeli commandos and is the only Swedish activist named so far. There was no information on whether he was being deported or detained. Sofia, the ship which Mankell was aboard, docked at the Israeli port of Ashdod.

-- There were eleven Swedes with the flotilla. Four are at Tel Aviv airport and will be deported during the day. Six Swedes are being detained, two of whom were onboard the Turkish ship. There was no confirmation on whether the final person is being deported or detained.

-- Sweden summoned Israel's ambassador on Monday to explain the deaths of nine activists during the raid on a Turkish aid ship, describing the incident as unacceptable.

GERMANY:

-- Annette Groth and Inge Hoeger, two female German members of parliament from the opposition Left Party who were on board the Marmara ship, have now returned to Germany, according to their parliamentary group.

-- Germany's foreign ministry said five of 11 Germans on the flotilla had returned home. All five were well, but the ministry could not comment on the remaining six for now.

IRELAND:

-- There are seven Irish nationals in Israel, two of whom agreed to leave the country voluntarily. Three Irish campaigners were named as Fintan Lane, Fiachra O'Luain and Shane Dillon.

-- There are several activists aboard the MV Rachel Corrie, a converted merchant ship that is to reach Gaza waters by Wednesday. They include Northern Irish Mairead Corrigan Maguire, Nobel Peace Laureate and founder of the Community of the Peace People in 1976, Denis Halliday, former U.N. assistant secretary-general; Derek and Jenny Graham, members of the Free Gaza Movement; and Caoimhe Butterly, a Dublin-born human rights activist who was shot by a soldier during an Israeli attack on Palestinian militants in Jenin in the West Bank in 2002.

BRITAIN:

-- The Palestine Solidarity Campaign NGO confirmed that their director of campaigns and operations, Sarah Colborne, was one of those on board the flotilla.

-- A spokesman for the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign said that Hassan Ghani, a reporter for Press TV, an Iranian state-run English language television network, was on board, as was Ali El-Awaisi.

Sources: Reuters bureaux





Pakistan TV anchor, producer go missing

Israeli attack on aid flotilla sets off protests

By Mahtab Bashir

ISLAMABAD: Hundreds of demonstrators on Monday took to streets in the federal capital against a deadly Israeli raid on a flotilla of aid-carrying ships bound for Gaza, among them Turkish vessels.

Israeli forces on Sunday stormed Freedom Flotilla carrying pro-Palestinian activists bound for Gaza.

A private TV channel anchor, Talat Hussain, and producer Raza Agha have gone missing after the attack by the Israeli forces on an international flotilla carrying aid to besieged Gazans, killing at least 20 people and injuring several others.

About 1000 protesters took to the streets in Pakistani capital Islamabad to protest the Israeli action and demanded international community to break diplomatic relations with the Zionist state. The protesters termed Israel’s raid international terrorism and called upon the government to condemn the incident in strongest terms. “Israel, make no mistake, do not test our patience,” chanted the crowd.

The activists of various religious parties, traders, parliamentarians, journalists, members of civil society organizations, and people from all walks of life participated in the protest demonstration. They condemned the killing of up to 20 people after Israeli commandos intercepted a flotilla of ships taking aid to the Gaza strip.

PPP’s MNA Faranaz Ispahani, Senator Mushahid Hussain and MNA Marvi Memom of PML-Q, Senator Enwar Baig, Akhunzada Chattan, JI Leader Liaqat Baloch, Traders’ leader Ajmal Baloch, President Rawalpindi-Islamabad Union of Journalist Ashfaq Sajid, and representatives of civil society led the protest.

Carrying anti-Israel banners and placards, the angry protesters chanted slogans against the barbarism committed by Jewish state. They called upon the international community and United Nation to take every possible step to prevent Israeli’s inhuman activities.

The protesters made it clear to Israel to stop its aggression against Muslim world and Palestine otherwise warned for similar response.

Stringent security measures were adopted to maintain law and order situation.

Pro-Palestinian activists,, pray Turkish ship ...

Pro-Palestinian activists, wearing life jackets, pray on board the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara as they sail in the international waters of the Mediterranean Sea as part of a humanitarian convoy late May 30, 2010. Picture taken May 30, 2010. Israeli commandos stormed Gaza-bound aid ships on Monday and at least 10 pro-Palestinian activists on board were killed, unleashing a diplomatic crisis and charges of a "massacre" from the Palestinian president.

31 May 2010 14:51:43 GMT
Source: Reuters
(Recasts following new details)

By Dan Williams

JERUSALEM, May 31 (Reuters) - Israel could pay a heavy price -- including damage to peace efforts with the Palestinians -- over the killing of 10 international activists on a Turkish ship trying to break a blockade of Gaza.

Foreign anger at the boarding of the pro-Palestinian flotilla was loud even among Israel's allies and may drown out its argument that such action was needed to keep Gaza's Hamas rulers isolated and peacemaking efforts afloat.

Islamist Hamas's rival for Palestinian loyalties, secular president Mahmoud Abbas, was quick to condemn the naval attack as a "massacre" -- an ill omen for the U.S.-mediated negotiations with Israel on which he embarked three weeks ago.

And while Washington has yet to join in the censure from Europe and across the Middle East, President Barack Obama will have to balance relations with Turkey and other Muslim allies of the United States against Washington's ties with Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on a visit to Canada when the Israeli raid took place, cancelled a planned White House meeting with Obama on Tuesday and would leave later on Monday for home, Israeli officials said.

The relationship between the two leaders has already been strained by Israel's settlement policy in the West Bank -- where Palestinians also seek statehood -- and Obama has urged Netanyahu to ease access to Gaza's 1.5 million residents. Netanyahu's White House invitation was widely seen in Israel as an attempt by Obama to mend fences -- and shore up U.S. Jewish support for Democratic candidates in a November mid-term election -- after a frosty Oval office meeting in March.

But Oussama Safa of the Lebanese Centre for Policy Studies predicted Obama might "ante up the pressure against the Israelis" to accommodate Palestinian demands -- though the Netanyahu government has said the Gaza blockade will remain.

Another delay in negotiations that have been stop-start for almost two decades would hold little real impact. Abbas, with his truncated West Bank mandate, is too beholden to Israel and the United States to close the door on rapprochement.

But the possibility of a fallout with Turkey, whose flag was flown on the flotilla and which recalled its Tel Aviv envoy in protest at the naval raid, could deepen Israel's own isolation even as it tries to present Iran as the main regional threat.

FOR HAMAS, HEROES

Turkey, a non-permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, said it would seek a resolution against Israel -- a poke in the eye for Israel and the United States, which would prefer to see the Council sanction Iran for its nuclear programme.

Rising Iranian power has stirred concern among many Arabs, to Israel's advantage. But the Palestinian crisis makes such sympathies fickle, as Israeli Trade Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer discovered while on a official visit to Qatar.

"I see all the looks that I'm getting," Ben-Eliezer told Israel's Army Radio by telephone.

Hamas, which has largely fallen from world headlines since its war with Israel some 18 months ago, welcomed what it described as a win-win situation from the violence at sea.

Hamas government head Ismail Haniyeh said of the activists: "You were heroes, whether you reached (Gaza) or not."

Israel insisted its commandos opened fire when they were attacked by gun- and knife-wielding activists aboard one of the flotilla's six vessels. At least seven marines were wounded.

But, as with its crackdowns against a Palestinian uprising in the early years of the past decade, Israel will face tough questions abroad about the wisdom of using military force for what are essentially policing missions -- especially when the nationalities of the dead are made public. Nahman Shai, a former Israeli military spokesman turned opposition lawmaker, likened the confrontation to the police killing of a dozen Arab citizens of Israel who demonstrated in solidarity with the Palestinians in late 2000.

"The difference is that this time foreigners are involved, which means a much wider impact," Shai told Israel Radio. (Additional reporting by Mohammed Assadi in Ramallah, Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza and Yara Bayoumy in Beirut; Editing by Alastair Macdonald)


---


Gaza blockade illegal, must be lifted-UN's Pillay
05 Jun 2010 11:51:58 GMT
Source: Reuters
* International law bans starvation of civilians - Pillay

* Investigation needed into Israel's Monday raid - Pillay

(Adds Pillay comment, background)

KAMPALA, June 5 (Reuters) - UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said on Saturday Israel's blockade of Gaza was illegal and should be lifted, and reiterated calls for an investigation into Israel's raid on aid supply ships this week.

"International humanitarian law prohibits starvation of civilians as a method of warfare and...it is also prohibited to impose collective punishment on civilians," Pillay said.

"I have consistently reported to member states that the blockade is illegal and must be lifted."

She said that even if the blockade were proven legal under international law, Israel's military operation against the flotilla on Monday had to be analysed alongside its obligation to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Israeli forces again seized a ship bound for Gaza on Saturday, boarding the an Irish-owned Rachel Corrie five days after Israeli commandos shot dead nine Turkish activists in a raid on a Turkish aid ship headed for Gaza.

Asked if the UN Security Council should refer the situation in Gaza to the International Criminal Court (ICC), Pillay said the Council had in the past imposed sanctions and referred the situation in Sudan's Darfur region to the ICC.

Pillay, a former ICC judge, was in Kampala to jointly attend a review conference of the court, the world's first permanent war crimes court, and conduct a fact-finding human rights mission in Uganda, one of five 'situations' the ICC is investigating. (Reporting by Aaron Gray-Block; Editing by Jon Boyle)

Arch Rainbow

Rays of a rainbow bend twice. As they enter the drops, the rays are bent, then they reflect off the back of the drops and bend again as they exit out the front of the drops.
The rainbow is circular because when a raindrop bends light, the light exits the raindrop at a 40-42 degree angle away from the angle it entered the raindrop.
The violets and blues bend at a 40 degree angle, and the oranges and reds bend at a 42 degree angle.
Light can also enter droplet, be reflected off the back of the droplet, only to be reflected of the front, and then off the back again before leaving. It is bent at each phase in this process, and a second rainbow can appear above the first one. In a double rainbow, the second rainbow will appear where it does because the light will be cumulatively bent some 50 to 53 degrees. This gives it its position "outside" the primary rainbow. Also, the colors will be inverted in this bow.
Rainbows don't have "ends" but are full circled, but we can't see this because the horizon of the earth is in the way.
Source(s):
WikiHow


A rainbow is curved due to angle requirements. Light from the sun that
bounces through a drop of water, comes into your eye, and appears red must
bounce at a specific angle. Join two sticks together at a set angle. Place
one end at a dot to represent the sun. Place the other toward your eye.
The place where the sticks join, where the water drop is, can be rotated
around in a circle. A rainbow is shaped like a circle.

You never see the entire rainbow because of the horizon. When you look at a
rainbow, the Earth gets in the way of most of the circle. The portion you
see is just the top portion. Draw a circle and cover a little more than
half of it. What is left is the shape of a rainbow.
Source(s):
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_is_the_rainbow_curved



---

When we see rainbows we see them as arcs when in truth they are formed as circles. There is a point called the antisolar point that the rainbow seems to form around. From the picture we see the antisolar point formed as a line from the observers head by the sun shining from behind.--We don't see the full circle of the rainbow because the horizon gets in the way. As the sun goes down we are able to see more of the rainbow, and the higher the sun is in the sky the smaller the arc seems.--Sometimes people at high elevations, like in planes, see rainbows as full circles because they do not have the horizon to block their view.


---

There are always two rainbows; the top (secondary bow), and usually fainter one has the order of the colours inverted with respect to the primary bow (the one in the picture).

'Punjabi Taliban': A growing threat for Pakistan

30 May 2010 10:16:44 GMT
Source: Reuters







(For a Factbox on militant groups in Punjab, click on [ID:nSGE64R05G])

* Punjabi groups broaden ties with Taliban

* Links may enable Taliban to work outside strongholds

* Minister suggests there may be further attacks

By Faisal Aziz

DERA GHAZI KHAN, Pakistan, May 30 (Reuters) - The Pakistan Taliban is not the sole militant group threatening Pakistan and the region.

Punjabi groups are deepening their ties with the Taliban, representing a growing threat for a country already hit hard by militant violence.

This was highlighted by the twin attacks in Lahore on Friday - the capital of Punjab - which killed between 80 and 95 members of the Ahmadi sect. Initial investigations suggested a possible link to the Taliban operating from Waziristan. [ID:nSGE64O0AU]

Security officials in the region say while there are no "militant strongholds" in the province for them to enable them to operate independently - as is the case in lawless northwest Pakistan - their presence in the area, especially in southern Punjab, cannot be denied.

These militants are overwhelmingly members of banned organisations like the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Sipah-e-Sahaba, long tolerated or even sponsored by Pakistan's powerful military and intelligence establishment. But now they are starting to turn on Pakistan, thanks to the growing influence of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and its ally al Qaeda.

"Those militants who were hiding in southern Punjab are now surfacing," Interior Minister Rehman Malik said on Sunday in Lahore as he visited one of the attacked mosques. "We have information they could attack the Shi'ite community." There are more than 20,000 madrassas, or schools, in Pakistan, he said, and 44 percent are in Punjab. The government has also banned 29 organisations and put 1,764 people on its wanted lists. Of them, 729 are from southern Punjab.

All these outfits traditionally have roots in Punjab and underscore the risk militants pose to Pakistan's economically most important province and its traditional seat of power.

"These are the people who took part in the Afghan war and got training there," said Mohsin Leghari, an opposition member of the provincial Punjab assembly.

"This is the only thing they know, so it is no surprise if they develop links with the Taliban in the northwest," said Leghari, whose constituency includes the tribal belt of Dera Ghazi Khan in southern Punjab.

<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

For full coverage of Pakistan, click on [ID:nAFPAK] ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>

However, Leghari as well as security officials in the region denied that southern Punjab is a hub of militant activities.

"This is all rumour-based information. It's exaggerated," said Ahmad Mubarik, the police chief of Dera Ghazi Khan. "This is not the hub of militants. I don't think that is true."

But the recent surrender by Hanif Gabol, an alleged commander of the Taliban hailing from Dera Ghazi Khan, has once again highlighted the militants' operational network in the region.

Gabol has reportedly told police that he trained in Waziristan and led a group of about 25 men associated with the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, and was involved in dozens of terrorist activities.

OMINOUS TIES

More ominous for Pakistan, these attacks in Lahore on Friday show that ties between Punjabi organizations and the TTP are not just increasing the southern groups' capabilities, but also providing cover for the Pakistan Taliban to operate outside their traditional tribal strongholds on the border with Afghanistan.

A security official in Bahawalpur, another town in southern Punjab and considered the headquarters of JeM, said there was no doubt that some of the dozens of madrassas there were involved in recruiting volunteers for the Taliban in the northwest.

Analysts and officials said Punjab's extreme poverty, as well as lack of education, makes people in the region more vulnerable to the lure of militancy.

But they also say that the presence of Islamist militants is not new, and not directly linked to the rise of the Taliban.

"There is a presence of militants in that area for sure. But it is a long-standing presence, and they were there even before the Taliban became Taliban," said security analyst Ikram Sehgal.

Sehgal said the militants in Punjab had a good infrastructure on the ground, with many organisations involved in various feuds, including sectarian violence.

"The problem is that with the collapse of the Taliban in South Waziristan and Swat, and with them being pushed on the back foot in North Waziristan and Orakzai, there are chances they will try to reactivate these cells and make them effective," he said.

(Additional reporting by Asim Tanveer; Editing by Chris Allbritton and Ron Popeski) (For more Reuters coverage of Afghanistan and Pakistan, see: http://www.reuters.com/news/globalcoverage/afghanistanpakistan)



----




FACTBOX-Major militant groups in Pakistan
30 May 2010 10:30:07 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Faisal Aziz and Zeeshan Haider

May 30 (Reuters) - Militants from outlawed groups in Pakistan's Punjab province are developing closer ties with the Taliban in the northwest, representing a growing threat for a country already hit hard by militancy. [ID:nSGE64Q056])

Here are facts about some of the major militant groups in Punjab and in the tribal regions.

LASHKAR-E-JHANGVI

Sunni Muslim Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) is one of the most notorious al Qaeda-linked groups with roots in Punjab. It also has forged strong ties with the Pakistani Taliban groups operating in the tribal areas on the Afghan border.

LeJ emerged as a sectarian group in the 1990s, targeting minority Shi'ite Muslims, but graduated to more audacious attacks, like the truck bombing of Islamabad's Marriott Hotel in 2008 in which 55 people were killed. It is also blamed for an assault on Sri Lanka's cricket team in which seven Pakistanis were killed. Six team members and a British coach were wounded.

LeJ was outlawed in Pakistan in August 2001. Members are also involved in violence in Afghanistan.

It is believed to be behind last year's attack on the army headquarters in Rawalpindi, in which more than 20 people were killed.

SIPAH-E-SAHABA PAKISTAN (SSP)

SSP is a pro-Taliban, anti-Shi'ite militant group based in central Punjab. The group was banned in 2002, but officials say its members were suspected of involvement in attacks in the province, including the burning to death of eight Christians on suspicions of blasphemy last year.

JAISH-E-MOHAMMAD

Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), or Army of the Prophet Mohammad, is a major militant group with links to the Taliban and al Qaeda and based in Punjab. It was banned in Pakistan in 2002 after it was blamed for an attack on the Indian parliament in December 2001.

The group initially focused its fighting on the Indian part of divided Kashmir, but later forged links with al Qaeda and the Taliban and is suspected of involvement in high profile attacks, including the murder of U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002.

Faisal Shahzad, the main suspect behind the failed New York bombing this month, reportedly had links with the JeM.

According to reports, Shahzad also visited South Waziristan, highlighting the JeM's links with the Taliban in the northwest as well as its capacity to carry out attacks on foreign soil.

JeM fighters are also involved in violence in northwest Pakistan and across the border in Afghanistan.

LASHKAR-E-TAIBA

Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), or the Army of Taiba. Taiba is the old name for the Muslim holy city of Medina in Saudi Arabia, the second-holiest city for Muslims. The group, founded in 1990 to fight Indian rule in Kashmir, is based in Punjab.

It was blamed for the coordinated attacks on the Indian financial capital, Mumbai, in November in 2008 that killed 166 people. LeT was also blamed for the late 2001 Indian parliament attack and was banned in Pakistan in 2002.

Pakistan's Supreme Court this week upheld a lower court's decision to release LeT leader Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, accused by India of masterminding the 2008 assault in Mumbai, dismissing a government appeal.

A U.N. Security Council committee last year added Jamaat-ud-Dawa, a charity headed by Saeed, to a list of people and organisations linked to al Qaeda and the Taliban.

TEHRIK-E-TALIBAN PAKISTAN (TTP)

TTP, or Taliban Movement of Pakistan, is the main Pakistani militant alliance which operates from Pakistan's northwest. It has links with al Qaeda as well as the Punjabi groups and is suspected of being behind most bomb and suicide attacks across Pakistan. Led by Hakimullah Mehsud, a brutal militant commander, Pakistani Taliban insurgents are also fighting the Pakistan army in the northwest. TTP also claimed responsibility for being behind the botched New York bomb plot.

Most recently, the TTP claimed responsibility for the attacks in Lahore than killed between 80 and 95 members of a minority Muslim sect. A spokesman said they worked with agents in eastern Punjab, illustrating the group's growing links, influence and reach.

AL QAEDA-LINKED MILITANTS

A large number of non-Afghan foreign militants, including Arabs, Chechens, Uzbeks and Chinese, as well as Muslim militants from the West, are also based in Pakistan's northwest, mainly in North Waziristan. [ID:nSGE64O0AU] (Editing by Chris Allbritton and Ron Popeski) (E-mail: chris.allbritton@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging: chris.allbritton.reuters.com@reuters.net; Islamabad newsroom: +92-51 2810 014) (If you have a query or comment about this story, send an e-mail to news.feedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com)

The Saudis sponsor Al-Qaeda in Iraq!!!!

During the Russian occupation of Afghanistan, the Saudi Intelligence, the CIA and the MI-6 made regular visits and rendered support to Osama Bin Laden and his men. Prince Turki bin Faisal, the Saudi Intelligence Chief at the time, met several times with Bin Laden. Later on, the Taliban budget was shared equally by the US and Saudi Arabia. In order to limit the Iranian influence in Iraq, the CIA and the Saudi intelligence have been very busy recruiting, arming and financing Sunni elements in US-occupied Iraq. It was not surprising to read that Prince Bandar Bin Sultan, the Saudi National Security Advisor, has already nominated Major Abu-Suleiman to lead Al-Qaeda in Iraq following the death of Al-Masri and Al-Baghdad. Prince Bandar Bin Sulatan is the third son of Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz who remained the Saudi Minister of defence for over 25 years. His son, Bandar was known as Prince 15% charging companies selling weapons and defence systems to Saudi Arabia. While Ambassador to Washington, he developed a close working relations with the Bush family and to their partners, the Binladens. It was reported that G.W. Bush told Bandar about the date of the invasion of Iraq before informing his secretary of State Colin Powell. Besides Saudi Arabia, Al-Qaeda is known to be financed mainly by US-friendly oil producing countries in the Gulf According to a report by Iraq's Buratha news agency on Friday, (http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=127334§ionid=351020205) "King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz ordered a special committee to investigate the intelligence leak and inform him about those liable in the case.
Some 37 members of Saudi's intelligence service, accused of being behind the leakage of the confidential document, were also reported to have been arrested.
The condemnation by the Saudi monarch comes as the Iraqi news agency disclosed the amount of money transferred by Saudi government officials to al-Qaeda in Iraq.
Saudi officials are also reported to send explosives and weapons to the terrorist groups.
Meanwhile, Secretary General of the Saudi National Security Council Prince Bandar Bin Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz is said to be the main guilty behind the case.
The report came as earlier last week, Saudi army officer Abdullah al-Qahtani was arrested in Iraq over charges of planning a terrorist attack during the upcoming FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
The Saudi national entered Iraq in 2004 and was involved in militant operations carried out by al-Qaeda."
One doesn’t expect the Americans to react negatively to these facts as they love to blame other Arabs and Muslims and work to launch military operations or to impose economic sanctions against countries like Iran, Syria, Lebanon Yemen or Pakistan. On 9/11, 15 of the 19 attackers were Saudi Nationals. But Saudi Arabia wasn’t blamed let alone attacked but Iraq was invaded and destroyed on behalf of Israel. The American conspiracies, covert operations and dirty works made them the most hated in the Arab and Muslim worlds.
Adnan Darwash, Iraq Occupation Times

Toll from Pakistan mosque attacks hits +100 -150 Graves are excavated

Volunteers carry a Pakistani injured in an attack, outside a mosque in Lahore, Pakistan, Friday, May 28, 2010. Suspected Islamist militants attacked two mosques packed with hundreds of people from a minority sect in eastern Pakistan on Friday,
laying siege to one center in a standoff with police, killing scores of people.28



Ahmedis targeted in Lahore carnage

* 80 killed, 92 injured as gunmen wearing suicide vests storm two Ahmedi worship places in Model Town and Garhi Shahu
* Two of seven attackers arrested, one seriously injured after three-hour-gunbattle with security personnel
* Rana Sanaullah says one arrested attacker is teenaged Pashtun

By Shahnawaz Khan and Hammad Yassar

LAHORE: Terrorists wearing suicide vests stormed two places of worship of the Ahmedi community on Friday, initiating an over three-hour-long standoff that resulted in the killing of 80 worshippers.

At least 92 people were injured in the attacks and were moved to various hospitals across the city. The dead included children and elderly people. The grenade-and-gun attack began when the assailants stormed the worship places in Lahore’s Model Town and Garhi Shahu areas, a few minutes before special Friday worship began at the two facilities.

Both the attacks were assisted by suicide bombers and began with a difference of a few minutes. Squads of terrorists stormed into the facilities’ halls firing guns, throwing grenades and taking hostages in one of the deadliest targeting of Ahmedis in Pakistan.

“At least 70 people have been killed in both the attacks,” Lahore District Coordination Officer Sajjad Bhutta told reporters.

Doctor Rizwan Naseer, head of the Rescue 1122 service in Lahore, said 108 people were injured as police continued to search for any remaining attackers. District civil defence official Mazhar Ahmed earlier put the death toll at 64.

“We have taken as many as 42 dead bodies from Garhi Shahu so far and more are coming,” he said. Another 22 died in Model Town, he added.

Arrests: After battling the terrorists for hours at the two under-siege worship places, city police claimed to have arrested two of the attackers from Model Town and one suspect from the Garhi Shahu facility for Ahmedis’ worship.

Police said the suspected terrorist apprehended in the Garhi Shahu attack was arrested when he tried to escape the facility under the garb of a worshipper.

The terrorists resorted to the same method of attack they applied in the attack at the Rescue 15 office on May 27, 2009.

TV channels ran footage of the cross-firing between the terrorists hiding inside the Garhi Shahu facility and police all day, with announcements being repeated from loudspeakers in nearby mosques asking people to stay away from the worship facility and take refuge at safe places.

In Garhi Shahu, witnesses said two bikers reached the main gate of the worship place, both armed and carrying bags in their hand.

They opened indiscriminate fire at the security personnel, killing 14 people instantly. The attackers then hurled hand grenades in and around the facility, raising clouds of blinding smoke in the area.

Meanwhile, five others joined the attackers and rushed inside the facility.

One of the attackers took position atop the facility’s minaret, launching sporadic firing from his refuge. The rest held worshippers hostage, killing them at will with gunfire and grenades.

Police contingents at the Ahmedi worship facility in Model Town said there were three attackers.

“They came into the mosque from the back and started firing. They were armed with hand grenades and suicide vests and other weapons,” senior police official Rana Ayaz told reporters.

According to the details, the three terrorists who attacked the Model Town facility first killed people deputed at the main gate for security and then entered the facility, hurdling hand grenades all around.

Security personnel deployed inside the facility retaliated with firing, but the attackers hurled more grenades and entered the main praying hall, taking the people present hostage.

They retorted to indiscriminate firing at the people busy in prayers, killing several on the spot. Police arrived shortly after and launched a rescue operation.

One of the attackers blew himself up as police made headway into the facility, while the rescue party arrested the other two after they were injured in the gunbattle.

Law minister: Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said the terrorist arrested in Model Town had been identified as Muhammad, while the other was unconscious. He added that that one hailed from Rahim Yar Khan, while the other was a teenaged Pashtun.


---------



May 2010 13:06:18 GMT
Source: Reuters
LAHORE, Pakistan, May 28 (Reuters) - At least 53 people were killed in attacks on two mosques in the northeastern Pakistani city of Lahore, hospital officials said.

The officials said more than 100 were wounded in the twin attacks. At one location, Garhi Shahu, 34 people were killed and at the other, Model Town, 19 people died.

The gunmen opened fire shortly after Friday prayers and loud explosions were heard at two Ahmadi mosques in residential neighbourhoods in Pakistan's cultural capital. (Editing by Chris Allbritton and Ron Popeski)


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Gunmen attack mosques, kill at least 80 in Pakistan
28 May 2010 15:44:36 GMT
Source: Reuters
* Attacks lasted three hours

* Suicide vests packed with explosives recovered

* Security officials suspect Pakistani Taliban (Adds details of attack, context)

By Mubasher Bukhari

LAHORE, Pakistan, May 28 (Reuters) - Gunmen attacked worshippers from a minority Muslim sect in two mosques of the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore on Friday, taking hostages and killing at least 70 people, officials said.

The gunmen opened fire shortly after Friday prayers and threw grenades at two Ahmadi mosques in residential neighbourhoods in Pakistan's cultural capital.

Sajjad Bhutta, deputy commissioner of Lahore, said at least 70 people had been killed in the twin attacks in Garhi Shahu and Model Town. A total of 78 were injured.

The death toll at Garhi Shahu was higher, Bhutta said, because three attackers blew themselves up with suicide vests packed with explosives when police tried to enter the building.

Police are still searching the area as two attackers were still at large.

Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said the incidents would generate greater resolve to combat extremism.

"It's a reminder to the nation that Pakistan will achieve its destiny only after we get rid of the worst type of extremism and fundamentalism," he told a news conference. "The entire nation will fight this evil."

He said one attacker had been arrested. Police in Model Town confirmed one gunmen had been arrested and another killed.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but suspicion quickly fell on the Pakistani Taliban.

"It's too early to say who is behind these attacks," said a Lahore-based security official. "But my guess is that like most other attacks, there would be some link to the Taliban or their associated militants."

Punjab's Law Minister, Rana Sanaullah, said the arrested attacker was a teenage Pashtun, an ethnic group making up the majority in parts of western Pakistan and Afghanistan. This, he said, indicated a link to the Pakistani tribal area of Waziristan and strongly hinted at a Taliban link.

The attacks were precise.

In Model Town in the early afternoon, three gunmen rode up on motorcycles, Sanaullah said. Two of them wore suicide vests.

"They first threw hand grenades towards the gathering and then opened fire," he said. "To keep police away from the building they hurled some hand grenades outside, which damaged vehicles and wounded some policemen."

One attacker was killed in the attack, and another critically wounded, Sanaullah said.

"The prayer leader was giving a sermon when we heard firing and blasts. Everybody stood up and then two gunmen barged into the mosque and sprayed bullets," Fateh Sharif, a 19-year-old student, told Reuters from Model Town.

"They had long beards. They were carrying rucksacks."

Bhutta said a suicide vest laden with explosives was recovered from the Model Town mosque, where some attackers escaped. One fired at a television van before the area was made safe.

"He was young, clean-shaven. He sprayed bullets at our van while fleeing the scene," Rabia Mehmood, a reporter for Express Television, told Reuters.

ATTACKS LAUNCHED AFTER PRAYERS

Witnesses said the assaults were launched shortly after prayers.

"I saw some gunmen run towards the Ahmadis' place of worship and then I heard blasts and gunfire," Mohammad Nawaz, a resident, told Reuters.

Stock market investors shrugged off the latest violence.

"Initially we saw some selling after the attack but investors started accumulating shares at lower levels," said Asad Iqbal, chief executive at Faysal Asset Management Ltd adding that there was foreign buying which boosted local confidence.

The Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) benchmark 100-share index <.KSE> was up 0.75 percent at 9,511.75 points at 4:05 p.m. (1105 GMT).

Friday's attack was the worst in Lahore since March 12, when twin suicide blasts killed 45 people, and the most deadly in Pakistan since Dec. 31, 2009, when a suicide car bomb driven by a Taliban militant killed more than 100 civilians at a volleyball game in the tribal areas.

Ahmadis are a minority Muslim sect founded in the late 19th century. They hold unorthodox beliefs among Muslims, including that Jesus Christ survived the crucifixion and died in Kashmir. Some also believe that prophets have come after Mohammad, the founder of Islam, but that he retains his primacy.

Pakistan is the only Muslim state to have declared Ahmadis non-Muslims. Its 4 million-odd members have seen their religious rights in overwhelmingly Muslim Pakistan curtailed by law.

Pakistan, a key U.S. ally in the fight against militancy, is often the scene of sectarian violence, with militants from Sunni Muslim groups attacking Shi'ite Muslim and Christian communities.

Separately, security forces battled Taliban militants in the Orakzai region near the Afghan border in the northwest and about 40 militants were killed and 30 wounded in attacks by government aircraft in three places, a paramilitary force officer said.

There was no independent confirmation of the toll. Militants often dispute government accounts.

Government forces have stepped up attacks in Orakzai in recent weeks after winding up offensives in several other areas. (Additional reporting by Kamran Haider in Islamabad and Faisal Aziz in Karachi; Editing by Chris Allbritton and Ron Popeski)


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City runs red yet again

Hospitals on red alert after twin attacks
* Terrorists kill 80, injure 92
* Survivors allege police response was not ‘quick enough’

By Umair Aziz

LAHORE: Emergency was declared in all adjoining hospitals to treat scores of injured people and receive dead bodies after the twin terrorist attacks on worship places of Ahmedis in Model Town and Garhi Shahu on Friday.

According to the hospitals’ administration, the death toll in the twin attacks had reached 80 until the filing of this report. As per the official record, a maximum of 39 dead bodies were brought to the Mayo Hospital, followed by 22 at the Jinnah Hospital. The Services Hospital received 13 bodies, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital four and the Lahore General Hospital and Sheikh Zayed Hospital received two bodies each. As per the spokespersons of these hospitals, 35 injured were brought to the Services Hospital, 20 to Jinnah Hospital, 15 to Mayo Hospital, seven to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, six each to the Lahore General Hospital and Sheikh Zayed Hospital and three to Iteffaq Hospital. The injured included Civil Lines Assistant Superintendent of Police Maroof Wahla and Civil Lines SP Haider Ashraf.

Talking to Daily Times, Rashid Ahmed, who received a bullet during the attack in Garhi Shahu, said, “The Friday sermon was ongoing when we heard gunshots and immediately afterwards armed assailants entered the building…they threw hand grenades and fired on the worshipers…panic spread immediately and everyone rushed to take refuge wherever they could. A few people even lied down on the floor pretending to be dead.”

Not fast enough: Admitted in the Mayo Hospital, 50-year-old Mansoor Ahmad, who was present in Garhi Shahu, said the police response was not “quick enough”, adding, “A lot of precious lives could have been saved if police had reached the area on time…the Garhi Shahu police station is at a stone’s throw away from the place of worship.” He said that the assailants threw several hand grenades and fired at worshipers, with some even taking positions on the building’s minaret.

Amir, a youth in his 20’s who was deployed at the main gate for security, told Daily Times that “very young looking” assailants started firing from a distance, as worshipers attended the sermon. He said that security personnel carrying weapons were the first targets. “We tried to shut the gate right after the attack, but we failed because a few worshipers were still standing outside…in desperation, I pushed a terrorist and as I tried to escape, he shot me in the arm and the leg,” he added.

Eyewitnesses and victims of the Model Town attack narrated the same plight. Talking to Daily Times, an elderly Shamshad Ali who received a bullet said, “Initially we heard gunshots and thought they were coming from nearby…soon afterwards the assailants entered the building and opened fire…panic spread among worshipers and everyone rushed inside the main hall to take refuge. The whole incident took just half-an-hour, in which I heard more than 20 explosions…those worshipers who remained in the centre suffered maximum casualties.”

Another victim of the Model Town attack said, “Hand grenade shrapnel hit me in the head while I rushed towards the security guard’s room…I took refuge in the room while the assailants kept firing and throwing more grenades. I cannot identify any of the terrorists as it all happened to fast.”


LAHORE: The terrorist attacks on two separate worship places of Ahmedis on Friday exposed to below-par security arrangements drawn up by the Punjab government in the provincial metropolis. A senior police officer, requesting anonymity, told Daily Times, “The city police department have not had their personnel properly trained, especially to deal with such incidents.” Citing both attacks, the officer said such incidents were an example of how poor the arrangements made by the government to protect places of importance for minorities actually were. “The authorities had deployed constables at both places of worship, but both constables failed to react quick enough to such an attack,” the officer said, adding that due to the prevalent wave of terrorism in the country, training commandos specifically to deal with such situations is must. Following the attacks, city police issued direction to beef up security at sensitive areas and a large number of security personnel were deployed across the city. Separately, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Tariq Saleem Dogar said that police had recovered a several hand grenades and explosive-laden jackets from Model Town.
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EDITORIAL: Brutal assault on the Ahmedis

May 28th, 2010, will be etched in history as ‘Black Friday’ for Pakistan. On the day that the country was celebrating ‘Yaum-e-Takbeer’ to commemorate the 12th anniversary of Pakistan going nuclear, Lahore witnessed two deadly terror attacks against the Ahmediyya community. Terrorists carried out simultaneous attacks on the Ahmedis’ places of worship — Baitul Noor in Model Town and Darul Zikr in Garhi Shahu — during Friday prayers when thousands of Ahmedis had gathered there. It was surreal to see the images unfolding on our television screens when the terrorists went inside the two houses of prayer and unleashed their terror on the innocent worshippers. More than 90 people died while more than a hundred others were injured. The Punjab wing of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has claimed responsibility for the attacks. Wielding guns, wearing suicide vests and with hand grenades at their disposal, the terrorists launched well coordinated attacks subsequently leading to a standoff for hours at Garhi Shahu while the Model Town assault was relatively brief. The effort of the security volunteers of the Ahmediyya community during the operations must be lauded.

The dead were buried separately on Saturday after the Ahmediyya community cancelled a mass funeral because they were not “satisfied with the security arrangements”. This is the height of injustice since the Ahmedis are the most persecuted community in Pakistan but every government, past or present, has failed to provide adequate security to them. In an act of supreme opportunism under pressure from the religious extremists, the Ahmedis were declared non-Muslims by Zulfikar Bhutto in 1974. This opened the door for religious zealots to wreak further havoc when it came to the Ahmedis. General Ziaul Haq, a bigot, persecuted the Ahmedi sect by promulgating discriminatory laws specific to this community. Since then we have seen a constant rise in intolerance towards the Ahmedis. Instead of giving protection to our minorities as per the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we have castigated them.

Another worrying aspect of Friday’s brutal massacre was that apparently the Punjab government had been forewarned of possible terrorist attacks against the minorities. Interior Minister Rehman Malik said that two security alerts were sent to the provincial government on May 13 and May 26 warning them of such an attack. It is shocking to know that instead of doing anything about it, the Punjab government adopted a ‘devil may care’ attitude. We are already in a life and death struggle with terrorism, thus the Punjab government’s apathetic treatment of an intelligence report of such sensitivity is nothing short of criminal negligence. On top of that we have seen the provincial government’s top minister hobnobbing with the leaders of banned terrorist groups, case in point being Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah mollycoddling a Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) leader in Jhang for electoral purposes. Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif begging mercy from the Taliban to spare Punjab is another grim reminder that our leaders are playing a very dangerous game. It seems the PML-N is playing the role of a fifth column in this war against terrorism. Instead of owning up to the fact that there are terrorists in Punjab, the provincial government has shifted the blame to an obscure ‘foreign hand’. The government should not try to fool the public with red herrings. The people of this country want answers and not flimsy excuses. The Friday attacks were not just an assault on the Ahmedis but an assault on every citizen of Pakistan. *

Body found in missing student's car in Belmont Harbor

Body found in missing student's car in Belmont Harbor
May 24, 2010 5:48 PM | 40 Comments | UPDATED STORY
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http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/05/body-found-in-lake-michigan-off-north-lake-shore-drive.html


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Officials recover a car from Belmont Harbor this afternoon. A body was found in the vehicle earlier. (Photo courtesy of Stacey Scanlon)

syednaqi100caption.jpg

An autopsy performed today on a body found in a green Honda Civic in Belmont Harbor Sunday afternoon showed the individual drowned, but the manner of the person's death remains a mystery, according to a spokeswoman for the Cook County medical examiner's office.

Authorities, meanwhile, were still trying to determine if the body was that of Roosevelt University student Syed Naqi, who went missing May 1.

The unidentified body was found about noon Sunday in the lake harbor just east of North Lake Shore Drive at about Roscoe Street.

The body was found in a green Honda Civic, the same color, make and model that was driven by Naqi, a student at Roosevelt who is from Elk Grove Village.

Naqi's cousin, Mazhar Tabrezi, said Elk Grove Village police confirmed to the family that the car belonged to Naqi, but the body found in the car has not been identified. Tabrezi declined further comment.

Naqi, who authorities have said goes by the nickname "Zain," was last seen May 1 at Rebel Bar and Grill, 3462 N. Clark St., about a mile west of Belmont Harbor. Naqi was wearing blue jeans and a red T-shirt when he was last seen. He owns a dark green 2000 Honda Civic four-door with Illinois license plate No. A195471, police said.

A person on a boat saw the Honda submerged in the water and alerted the harbormaster, authorities said. The harbormaster then notified the Chicago Fire Department, who sent out divers to check out the Honda, with the body inside.

Authorities said a section of black fencing was also found next to the Honda. CTA-issued equipment then removed the Honda, containing the body, from the water.

On May 5, a Chicago Park District employee noticed that fencing near where the vehicle was eventually found had been broken, said Park District spokeswoman Jessica Maxey-Faulkner.

The worker "did not see any evidence of a vehicle in the water," she said, adding that the water where the vehicle was found is roughly eight feet deep. An area near where the vehicle was recovered is used as a service drive for Park District and other city vehicles.

The fencing was repaired May 6, Maxey-Faulkner said. She said the Park District had not launched an investigation into how the fencing broke.

Detectives from the Elk Grove Village Police Department -- who released the information about Naqi when he disappeared -- were at the harbor Sunday in light of the discovery.

Police from the northwest suburb said they were looking into the connection between Sunday's discovery and Naqi's disappearance.

The medical examiner's office said they will be trying to identify the body found in the vehicle through dental records.

-- Jeremy Gorner

May 24, 2010
SUN-TIMES MEDIA WIRE

Police are investigating if a badly decomposed body found Sunday in a car in Belmont Harbor is that of a Roosevelt University student reported missing three weeks ago, police said.

Police responded at 12:07 p.m. to Belmont Harbor and found a car with a body inside, police News Affairs Officer Anne Dwyer said. A person boating in the area initially reported seeing a car, police said.
» Click to enlarge image
Police are investigating if a badly decomposed body found Sunday in a car in Belmont Harbor is that of Syed "Zain" Naqi, a Roosevelt University student reported missing three weeks ago.



The age and gender of the badly decomposed body was not immediately known, police said. The Cook County Medical Examiner’s office confirmed the death, but the person’s identity was not available as of Sunday night.

The police Marine Unit were at the scene for about four hours, spending about two hours removing the green sedan from the water, police said.

The sedan was in the water for at least a full day, but likely much longer because the car was found extremely murky and covered in weeds, police said.

The cousin of Syed “Zain” Naqi, 22, said Sunday evening police have confirmed with the family that the car belonged to Naqi, but the body has not been identified.

“The family’s upset,” Mazhar Tabrezi, Naqi’s older cousin, said.

Naqi was last seen May 1 at Rebel Bar and Grill at 3462 N. Clark St. until about midnight and he drives a dark-green four-door 2000 Honda Civic with an Illinois license plate of A195471, according to a missing person alert from Elk Grove Village police.

A vigil was held for Naqi May 13 at Roosevelt University, where he is a student.

An Elk Grove Village police detective confirmed they are investigating the body found Sunday, but could not immediately provide information.

It was not immediately clear how the car entered the water. A fence around the area where emergency crews worked was intact until workers removed part of it for the recovery effort. But onlookers said about two weeks ago, they noticed part of the fence was badly bent and tire tracks could be seen leading to the water.

“For a good week it just sat there, without being touched and then just one day it was fixed,” 16-year-old Amanda Nordloh said of the fence.

She said she regularly walks her dog in the area with her mother Michelle Kalfas.

“There were tire tracks across here pointed right to the fence,” Kalfas said.

Cheryl Cerkoske and Kaylie Schier said they were sitting on the grass enjoying the sun Sunday, when suddenly a helicopter appeared over the water, soon followed by other police and fire department crews appearing on the scene.
“The helicopter came down, and two jumpers [from the helicopter] jumped in, and then a couple more divers came and jumped in,” said Schier.

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UPDATE: A body was found in a green Honda Civic, the identical color, make and model associated with Syed Naqi, 22, a student at Roosevelt from Elk Grove Village. The car has been matched to Naqi, but the identity of the body has not been confirmed.

Syed ‘Zain’ Naqi reported missing Monday. Syed ‘Zain’ Naqi was last seen leaving the Rebel Bar and Grill at 3462 North Clark Street in Chicago late Saturday night. Syed ‘Zain’ Naqi is described as wearing a red T-shirt and blue jeans. His vehicle is described as a green Honda Civic 4-door, which has not been located.

The campus at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa has also been the subject of a search because Naqi was also a student at Drake.

Citizens with any information about Syed “Zain” Naqi’s whereabouts are asked to call the Elk Grove Village Police Department at (847) 357-4100.


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Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Medical Examiner Confirms Identity Of Missing Student

Naqi

A spokesman for the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office confirmed today (Wednesday) that a body found in a car submerged in Lake Michigan Saturday was that of 22-year-old Syed “Zain” Naqi of Elk Grove Village.

The missing Naqi was last seen on Saturday, May 1 at around midnight at a bar on Clark Street near Wrigley Field in Chicago.

An autopsy conducted Monday found drowning as the cause of death but it was not until yesterday (Tuesday) evening that Naqi’s identity could be confirmed using dental records, according to a medical examiner’s spokesman.

Elk Grove police had been the lead agency working Naqi’s missing persons case with Chicago police detectives.

That case has now become a death investigation. Records from the missing persons case will be given to Area 3 Chicago detectives who will head a death investigation.

Saturday, a boater discovered Naqi’s green 2000 Honda Civic in the waters of Belmont Harbor with his then unidentified body inside.

Suicide is suspected in the death but a medical examiner’s spokesman today said that was still undetermined.

The last known message left by Naqi was a text message to his father Syed Naqi, Sr., on Sunday, May 2 at 12:17 a.m. simply saying, “Goodbye dad.”

Naqi was last seen at Rebel Bar and Grill near Wrigley Field at about midnight on May 1.

At about 10:30 p.m. that night Naqi, Sr. said he contacted his son and asked him to come back to the suburbs for a late night family gathering. Naqi, Jr. said he would return to the suburbs as requested.

At about midnight, Naqi, Sr. sent a text message to his son asking him where he was and at 12:17 a.m., Naqi, Sr. received the cryptic reply.

Naqi, Jr. lived at home in Elk Grove Village with his parents and younger sister. He was in his senior year at Roosevelt University attending classes at their downtown Chicago campus.

The school held several vigils since May 2 in hopes of finding Naqi.

Elk Grove police were aware that the family was making funeral arrangements but did not have details.


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ELK GROVE VILLAGE, Ill. (CBS) — An Elk Grove Village college senior has disappeared without a trace, and police and his family are asking for help in finding him.

CBS 2’s Mike Puccinelli reports.

Zain Naqi is a Roosevelt University senior studying political science. He had been looking forward to graduating in December so that he could pursue a career in politics. Now, his parents are desperate and just hoping to see him alive.

“I just want a phone call from you, Zain,” Ruqia Naqi, Zain’s mother, said. “Just call me and tell me you’re OK.”

It’s a simple request. But so far, that phone call hasn’t come. Mother’s Day was shaping up to be the worst of Ruqia Naqi’s life. Her 22-year-old son, Zain, has been missing now for more than a week.

According to his father, Syed, Zain had been looking forward to Mother’s Day before he disappeared earlier this month.

“We love you so much, Zain,” the elder Naqi, addressing his comments to his son, said. “Please come back. You know what to do. You were planning for it last week, you were talking to your sister as to what you were going to do on Mother’s Day.”

The Naqis aren’t sure if Zain can come back — and that’s what makes it so difficult.

“I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy,” Syed Naqi said.

What they do know is Zain was last seen on the evening of May 1. That’s when the Roosevelt University senior went to visit friends at the Rebel Bar and Grill on North Clark Street in Chicago. At around 11 p.m., he texted his father to say that he was leaving to meet him at a family party.

When he didn’t show up, his dad texted Zain only to get this disturbing response: “Good-bye dad.”

“Can you imagine what my heart went through? That’s my son,”

he said.

Now the Naqis are pleading with anyone who might have information about their missing son.

“If they know any whereabouts of Zain, please come forward,” Ruqia Naqi said. “Please come forward.”

Naqi’s 2000 Honda Civic is also missing. It has Illinois plates A 195 471.

If you have any information please call the Elk Grove Village Police Department.

Read the original article from WBBM News Radio.


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CHICAGO (CBS) A 22-year-old Roosevelt University student, Syed Naqi, disappeared Saturday night from a Chicago bar.

Naqi, who goes by the name Zain, was last seen by a female friend who worked at the bar, reports CBS affiliate WBBM. His mother,

Rugia Naqi said, "she said I saw him, you know, going out the door. I really don't know if he left alone or with some of the girls he was talking to outside."

Naqi's mother is worried because she says her son takes medication for depression and sees a counselor about it, too. The college student has never disappeared before, said his mother.

Police told his mother that Naqi's credit cards and cell phone have not been used.

Naqi has a dark complexion, with black hair and brown eyes. He is 5-feet 4-inches tall and 140 pounds.

Anyone with information about this case should call police at the Elk Grove Village Police Department:

847- 357-4100.


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His mother Ruqia says Zain was last seen by a female friend who worked at the bar, “she said I saw him you know going out the door I really don't know if he left alone or some of the girls he was talking too outside.”

Distressed family members reported him missing on Monday, May 3. Elk Grove police investigators took over the search, but as the days and weeks went by, they were increasingly concerned that Zain had not turned up, his car was missing, and neither his credit card, gas card or bank account had been touched.

Friends and family held a vigil for him at Roosevelt University on May 13. The Council on American-Islamic Relations canvassed the North side of Chicago last Saturday, putting up fliers.

Naqi's father, Syed Naqi, said in previous interviews that his son was social, but did not go out more than once or twice a month. His son was thoughtful on those occasions, he said, waking his father up when he came in to let him known he was home safe.

Naqi attended Drake University in Des Moines his freshman year, but had to leave after he was accused of an incident of plagiarism. His father said after that Zain he began taking a small dose of Wellbutrin, a prescription antidepressant.

Syed Naqi said his son wanted to go back to Drake, and was unhappy that he could no longer attend. But he was reportedly doing well at Roosevelt.

He said his son's friends told him Naqi was sober when he left the bar in Chicago that night, presumably to go home.

U.S. Is Said to Expand Secret Military Acts in Mideast Region

U.S. Is Said to Expand Secret Military Acts in Mideast Region
By MARK MAZZETTI
Published: May 24, 2010
WASHINGTON — The top American commander in the Middle East has ordered a broad expansion of clandestine military activity in an effort to disrupt militant groups or counter threats in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and other countries in the region, according to defense officials and military documents.

The secret directive, signed in September by Gen. David H. Petraeus, authorizes the sending of American Special Operations troops to both friendly and hostile nations in the Middle East, Central Asia and the Horn of Africa to gather intelligence and build ties with local forces. Officials said the order also permits reconnaissance that could pave the way for possible military strikes in Iran if tensions over its nuclear ambitions escalate.

While the Bush administration had approved some clandestine military activities far from designated war zones, the new order is intended to make such efforts more systematic and long term, officials said. Its goals are to build networks that could “penetrate, disrupt, defeat or destroy” Al Qaeda and other militant groups, as well as to “prepare the environment” for future attacks by American or local military forces, the document said. The order, however, does not appear to authorize offensive strikes in any specific countries.

In broadening its secret activities, the United States military has also sought in recent years to break its dependence on the Central Intelligence Agency and other spy agencies for information in countries without a significant American troop presence.

General Petraeus’s order is meant for small teams of American troops to fill intelligence gaps about terror organizations and other threats in the Middle East and beyond, especially emerging groups plotting attacks against the United States.

But some Pentagon officials worry that the expanded role carries risks. The authorized activities could strain relationships with friendly governments like Saudi Arabia or Yemen — which might allow the operations but be loath to acknowledge their cooperation — or incite the anger of hostile nations like Iran and Syria. Many in the military are also concerned that as American troops assume roles far from traditional combat, they would be at risk of being treated as spies if captured and denied the Geneva Convention protections afforded military detainees.

The precise operations that the directive authorizes are unclear, and what the military has done to follow through on the order is uncertain. The document, a copy of which was viewed by The New York Times, provides few details about continuing missions or intelligence-gathering operations.

Several government officials who described the impetus for the order would speak only on condition of anonymity because the document is classified. Spokesmen for the White House and the Pentagon declined to comment for this article. The Times, responding to concerns about troop safety raised by an official at United States Central Command, the military headquarters run by General Petraeus, withheld some details about how troops could be deployed in certain countries.

The seven-page directive appears to authorize specific operations in Iran, most likely to gather intelligence about the country’s nuclear program or identify dissident groups that might be useful for a future military offensive. The Obama administration insists that for the moment, it is committed to penalizing Iran for its nuclear activities only with diplomatic and economic sanctions. Nevertheless, the Pentagon has to draw up detailed war plans to be prepared in advance, in the event that President Obama ever authorizes a strike.

“The Defense Department can’t be caught flat-footed,” said one Pentagon official with knowledge of General Petraeus’s order.

The directive, the Joint Unconventional Warfare Task Force Execute Order, signed Sept. 30, may also have helped lay a foundation for the surge of American military activity in Yemen that began three months later.

Special Operations troops began working with Yemen’s military to try to dismantle Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, an affiliate of Osama bin Laden’s terror network based in Yemen. The Pentagon has also carried out missile strikes from Navy ships into suspected militant hideouts and plans to spend more than $155 million equipping Yemeni troops with armored vehicles, helicopters and small arms.

Officials said that many top commanders, General Petraeus among them, have advocated an expansive interpretation of the military’s role around the world, arguing that troops need to operate beyond Iraq and Afghanistan to better fight militant groups.

The order, which an official said was drafted in close coordination with Adm. Eric T. Olson, the officer in charge of the United States Special Operations Command, calls for clandestine activities that “cannot or will not be accomplished” by conventional military operations or “interagency activities,” a reference to American spy agencies.

While the C.I.A. and the Pentagon have often been at odds over expansion of clandestine military activity, most recently over intelligence gathering by Pentagon contractors in Pakistan and Afghanistan, there does not appear to have been a significant dispute over the September order.

A spokesman for the C.I.A. declined to confirm the existence of General Petraeus’s order, but said that the spy agency and the Pentagon had a “close relationship” and generally coordinate operations in the field.

“There’s more than enough work to go around,” said the spokesman, Paul Gimigliano. “The real key is coordination. That typically works well, and if problems arise, they get settled.”

During the Bush administration, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld endorsed clandestine military operations, arguing that Special Operations troops could be as effective as traditional spies, if not more so.

Unlike covert actions undertaken by the C.I.A., such clandestine activity does not require the president’s approval or regular reports to Congress, although Pentagon officials have said that any significant ventures are cleared through the National Security Council. Special Operations troops have already been sent into a number of countries to carry out reconnaissance missions, including operations to gather intelligence about airstrips and bridges.

Some of Mr. Rumsfeld’s initiatives were controversial, and met with resistance by some at the State Department and C.I.A. who saw the troops as a backdoor attempt by the Pentagon to assert influence outside of war zones. In 2004, one of the first groups sent overseas was pulled out of Paraguay after killing a pistol-waving robber who had attacked them as they stepped out of a taxi.

A Pentagon order that year gave the military authority for offensive strikes in more than a dozen countries, and Special Operations troops carried them out in Syria, Pakistan and Somalia.

In contrast, General Petraeus’s September order is focused on intelligence gathering — by American troops, foreign businesspeople, academics or others — to identify militants and provide “persistent situational awareness,” while forging ties to local indigenous groups.

Thom Shanker and Eric Schmitt contributed reporting.