Battle In Tripoli, Lebanon - Update Ten

Battle In Tripoli, Lebanon
Update Ten
Sunday, September 02, 2007
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Islamist Militants Killed In Lebanon
As They Tried To Flee Camp

At least 20 Islamist militants and two Lebanese soldiers were killed on Sunday in a battle near a Palestinian refugee camp in north Lebanon, a security source said... The Fatah al-Islam militants had been attempting to flee the Nahr al-Bared camp... It was not clear if any militants remained in the camp or what had happened to Shaker al-Abssi, the Palestinian leader of a group...
Read this story in full at YNetNews.com

>>> JPost.com has this take on the story and it goes in part like this... Dozens of residents took to the streets of Mohammara, waving Lebanese flags and honking their horns as troop convoys poured into the area with soldiers flashing victory signs...
Read the story at link below...
Resistance by militants in Nahr el-Bared collapses

>>> Aljazeera.net has this report this morning...
Fighting 'over' at Lebanon camp

>>> Africasia.com reports this...
[In this article one will find...] Key events in the three-month battle between the Lebanese army and Islamist fighters in Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp, where the military said it crushed the last militants on Sunday...
Read more at link below...
Timeline of Lebanon battle against Islamists

* Sounds to me like the fighting, which erupted on May 20th, might have finally come to an OLD WEST... escape/shootout ending.

Nothing left now but the mop up and then the cleanup/rebuilding anew of this completely destroyed Refugee Camp that before the fighting... held 31,000 residents.
AubreyJ.........

File photo by YaLibnan.Com website

* BREAKING NEWS *
Al-Absi, Leader of Fatah al-Islam
Is Dead...

Yalibnan.com is reporting... Shaker Youssef Al-Absi, the fugitive leader of the Fatah al-Islam militants was killed today as he was trying to flee the Nahr el Bared Palestinian refugee camp in north Lebanon. This information was confirmed by a hospital in Tripoli and by Lebanese army sources... According to army sources, Al-Absi was killed in the morning and his body was found near the eastern section of the camp...
Read the rest of this good news at link below...
Al-Absi, leader of Fatah al-Islam is dead

Post Update - Monday, September 03, 2007
Yalibnan.com has this story out today and it goes in part like this... Lebanese soldiers are searching the north coast for remnants of an Islamist militant group a day after it was routed from a Palestinian refugee camp. The army crushed Fatah al-Islam resistance in Nahr al-Bared camp after a 106-day siege costing 250 lives...
Read the rest at link below...
The victory: Lebanon's army hunts rebel remnants

Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: Iran Has Reached Key Nuclear Goal and now has 3,000 Centrifuges Enriching Uranium

BBC News website brings us this news story and it goes in part like this... "We have more than 3,000 centrifuges working and every week a new set is installed," Mr. Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying by Iranian news agencies... "[The world powers] were thinking that with each resolution the Iranian nation would retreat. But after each resolution the Iranian nation presented another nuclear achievement."
Read story in full HERE

Talks, Resolutions, Sanctions and more have done Zero to turn back Iran.
Times running out..........
AubreyJ.........

Photo by the President.ir website

Tropical Storm FELIX Forms In Atlantic

Tropical Storm FELIX Forms In Atlantic
Could Become Hurricane Tonight
Saturday, September 01, 2007
5:00pm AST

Tropical Storm Felix has formed in the Atlantic.

As of 5:00pm AST, Tropical Storm Felix had Maximum Sustained Winds near 70 MPH with higher gust. Felix could become a Hurricane later tonight or Sunday.

Tropical Storm Force Winds extend outward up to 140 miles. Primarily to the North of the center.

The Estimated Minimum Central Pressure is 999 MB... 29.50 Inches.

Read more up to date info on FELIX HERE
* View 30 minute updates of Tropical Satellite Floater Imagery HERE

* View 30 minute updates of Western Atlantic-Infrared Satellite Loop HERE
Info/Map & Satellite Imagery by NWS TPC/National Hurricane Center, Miami FL

UPDATE: 8pm AST
FELIX is now a Category One Hurricane with winds near 75 mph with higher gust.
Check above link for up to date info on this storm...

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UPDATE: SUNDAY
8:00pm AST

FELIX is now a Category FIVE Hurricane with winds near 165 mph with higher gust.

Check above link for up to date info on this storm...
I’ll have a new post up on Felix Monday morning

Idaho Senator Larry Craig (R) Announces Resignation Over Restroom Incident

Senator Craig announced today that he will resign from the U.S. Senate effective September 30th.

My last thought on all of this is... Senator -- don’t let the bathroom door hit you on the way out...
AubreyJ.........

Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport Police Department Photo

IAEA Chief, Mohamed ElBaradei, Warns of Last Chance for Iran

If Iran fails to resolve its nuclear dispute by the end of the year, it may be passing by its last chance to do so, the UN atomic energy agency head said in an interview due out Monday...
Read this story in full at AFG.Google.com

IAEA File Photo

DoD Identifies Army Casualty

No. 1071-07 September 01, 2007
DoD Identifies Army Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Sgt. 1st Class Daniel E. Scheibner, 40, of Muskegon, Mich., died August 30th in Al Noor, Iraq, of wounds sustained when his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 2d Battalion, 12th Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Striker Brigade Combat Team, 2d Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.
For more information related to this release, the media may contact the Fort Lewis public affairs office at (253) 967-0152 or (253) 967-0147. After duty hours, call (253) 967-0015.

DoD Identifies Army Casualty

No. 1070-07 September 01, 2007
DoD Identifies Army Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Staff Sgt. Andrew P. Nelson, 22, of Moorhead, Minn., died August 29th in Muqdadiyah, Iraq, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit. He was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.
The circumstances surrounding the death are under investigation.For more information related to this release, the media may contact the 82nd Airborne Division public affairs office at (910) 432-0661.

MNF-I Welcomes Statement by Muqtada al-Sadr

Statement from MNF-I Welcoming

Statement by Muqtada al-Sadr
Saturday, September 01, 2007

The recent declaration by Muqtada al-Sadr calling on all members of Jaysh al-Mahdi to end their violence is encouraging. It is particularly notable that Sadr gave his word of honor that Jaysh al-Mahdi will stop attacks.

The Multi-National Force-Iraq joins the Government of Iraq in welcoming Sadr's commitment to peace.

If implemented, Sadr's order holds the prospect of allowing Coalition and Iraqi Security Forces to intensify their focus on al-Qaeda-Iraq and on protecting the Iraqi population, as well as on helping Iraq rebuild its damaged infrastructure and improve basic services, all without distraction from Jaysh al-Mahdi attacks.

An end to Jaysh al-Mahdi violence would also be an important step in helping Iraqi authorities focus greater attention on achieving the political and economic solutions necessary for progress and less on dealing with criminal activity, sectarian violence, kidnappings, assassinations, and attacks on Iraqi and Coalition Forces. We call on all parties and all elements to support and enforce this new initiative.

To build on the additional security that Sadr's order could bring, the Coalition will continue to support Iraqi Security Forces in their enforcement of the law against those individuals who commit acts of violence.

Muqtada al-Sadr's declaration holds the potential to reduce criminal activity and help re-unite Iraqis separated by ethno-sectarian violence and fear. We look forward to confirming the reduction of violence that will result if those involved fulfill their commitment to following Sadr's direction.

(From press release #A070901a by MNF-I – Press Desk, Baghdad, Iraq)

>>> CNN.com had this take...

Mehdi Army hiatus a relief for U.S. military