Watches this sincere Army tanks enter Syrian flashpoint city Banias, say activists

Army tanks enter Syrian flashpoint city Banias, say activists



SYRIAN troops backed by tanks swept today into Banias, a hub of anti-regime protests, as residents formed human chains in a bid to halt the military operation.

Electricity and communications were cut as the tanks entered along three axes heading towards the southern sector of the city on the Mediterranean coast, the bastion of the protesters.

An army boat patrolled offshore, the activists said, reached by telephone from Nicosia.

The violence followed an agreement by the European Union to impose sanctions on 13 Syrian officials involved in the regime's brutal crackdown on protests. The EU will meet Monday to discuss whether to target Syrian President Bashar al Assad as well, diplomats said.

The US has also warned it would take "additional steps" against Syria if it continues its crackdown on protests, a week afhttp://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/army-tanks-enter-syrian-flash-point-city-banias-say-activists/story-fn3dxity-1226051661323ter imposing tough sanctions on the Arab nation.
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Watches this sincere Army tanks enter Syrian flashpoint city Banias, say activists

Army tanks enter Syrian flashpoint city Banias, say activists

Watch Drone killed 'British Taliban' plotter, reports say

Drone killed 'British Taliban' plotter, reports say
Abdul Jabbar, a UK citizen who lived in Pakistan, had links to Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad, according to analysts


In this file photograph, a Pakistani soldier patrols the border with Afghanistan in North Waziristan, where Abdul Jabbar is said to have met with Taliban and al-Qaida militants Photograph: Declan Walsh for the Guardian
A British militant killed in a recent American drone strike had ties to the failed Times Square bomber and was planning to set up a British chapter of the Taliban, according to reports.

Abdul Jabbar, a British citizen living in Pakistan, had "some links" to Faisal Shahzad, who has been jailed for life, but the nature of those ties was not clear, a Pakistani intelligence official told Reuters.

Jabbar was planning to lead a new group calling itself the Islamic Army of Great Britain, the BBC said, quoting a senior security sources overseas.

Three months ago Jabbar reportedly attended a meeting of 300 Taliban and al-Qaida militants in North Waziristan, the main hub of militant activity in Pakistan. At the meeting he was allegedly tasked with organising Mumbai-style attacks on targets in Britain, France and the UK. Jabbar received militant training in North Waziristan and survived a US drone strike targeting the network of Hafiz Gul Bahadur, a major militant leader. Jabbar was killed in a second drone attack in September.

The emergence of Jabbar adds to a flurry of reports linking European militants based in Pakistan's tribal belt, and particularly North Waziristan, with plots against European cities.

After a drone strike that killed five German nationals in North Waziristan, German media carried details of alleged plots against prominent Berlin landmarks including a television tower. The US, UK, Japan and Sweden have warned their citizens to be vigilant against possible attacks while travelling in Europe. France has warned its citizens that a terror attack in the UK is "highly likely."

Jabbar reportedly arrived in Pakistan in May 2009. He was not a previously well-known jihadist leader but western intelligence agencies are worried about European militant wannabes streaming into the tribal belt.
Coppied by http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/06/british-taliban-linked-faisal-shahzad