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BBC News reports on increasing political instability and al Qaeda influence in Yemen.]]>
Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar says a leaked US military report claiming Pakistan supports the Taliban in Afghanistan should be ignored.]]>
Over the past five years, coalition forces have operated with Afghan National Security Forces to defeat insurgent activity in the central Helmand River valley. Driven from the populated green zones of districts in southern Helmand, enemy fighters have sought refuge in bed-down locations west of the Helmand River. Marines with 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment crossed this river into Kajaki Sofia, Afghanistan and made enemy contact Dec. 3 as part of Operation Western Storm.]]>
"Twelve of our comrades were besieged and mercilessly martyred in the Khyber Agency (area)," said the militant. "Our pious women were also targeted. To avenge those comrades, we will kill these men. We warn the government of Pakistan that if the killing of our friends is not halted, this will be the fate of you all." Before death, one of the men described how dozens of Taliban fighters stormed their fort in the northwestern Tank district and kidnapped the soldiers. "They attacked us with rockets, killed a sentry. One ran away. The Taliban entered the fort and captured us with our weapons," he said, sitting in rows with other soldiers with their arms folded and legs crossed in front of Taliban banners. "They tied our hands, put us in a Datsun and took us away." The video then shows the men standing quietly. Taliban chanting can be heard. "We will cross all limits to avenge your blood," it said, referring to fighters killed by Pakistani security forces. One of the men shoves a clip into his assault rifle and fires a few rounds into the back of the heads of a few of the soldiers. "God is greatest," the Taliban yell.]]>
"Twelve of our comrades were besieged and mercilessly martyred in the Khyber Agency (area)," said the militant. "Our pious women were also targeted. To avenge those comrades, we will kill these men. We warn the government of Pakistan that if the killing of our friends is not halted, this will be the fate of you all." Before death, one of the men described how dozens of Taliban fighters stormed their fort in the northwestern Tank district and kidnapped the soldiers. "They attacked us with rockets, killed a sentry. One ran away. The Taliban entered the fort and captured us with our weapons," he said, sitting in rows with other soldiers with their arms folded and legs crossed in front of Taliban banners. "They tied our hands, put us in a Datsun and took us away." The video then shows the men standing quietly. Taliban chanting can be heard. "We will cross all limits to avenge your blood," it said, referring to fighters killed by Pakistani security forces. One of the men shoves a clip into his assault rifle and fires a few rounds into the back of the heads of a few of the soldiers. "God is greatest," the Taliban yell.]]>
The government of Thailand says its capital Bangkok is safe, after a bomb threat caused several foreign embassies to issue travel warnings. The police say they have seized a large quantity of bomb-making material, with the help of a suspect linked to Hezbollah.]]>
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Thursday condemned as "utterly deplorable" a video that purports to depict four U.S. Marines urinating on the corpses of Taliban fighters. He said such behavior is "entirely inappropriate for members of the United States military" and those responsible will be held accountable. Panetta said he had ordered the Marine Corps and Marine Gen. John Allen, the top commander of the NATO-led forces in Afghanistan, to fully investigate.The Commandant of the US Marines Corp also released a statement announcing an investigation:
I want to be clear and unambiguous, the behavior depicted in the video is wholly inconsistent with the high standards of conduct and warrior ethos that we have demonstrated throughout our history. Accordingly, late yesterday I requested that the Naval Criminal Investigative Service pull together a team of their very best agents and immediately assign them responsibility to thoroughly investigate every aspect of the filmed event. Additionally, I am assigning a Marine General Officer and senior attorney, both with extensive combat experience, to head up an internal Preliminary Inquiry into the matter. Once the investigation and Preliminary Inquiry are complete and the facts have been determined, then the Marine Corps will take the appropriate next steps. Rest assured that the institution of the Marine Corps will not rest until the allegations and the events surrounding them have been resolved. We remain fully committed to upholding the Geneva Convention, the Laws of War, and our own core values."]]>
AP reporter, photographer and videographer Ishtiaq Mahsud spent six days with fighters from the Pakistani Taliban close to the Afghan border. His account of their travels through South Waziristan offers a look at an area that the Pakistani military claimed had been brought under control after an army offensive two years ago.A report by Mahsud can be found here.]]>