100 TALIBAN LEARN THE HARD WAY WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU MESS WITH SASQUATCH

Right on my pasty white brothers:

About 100 militants were killed in Afghanistan’s Helmand province, half in air strikes that thwarted a major attack on a key town overnight, Afghan and British forces said on Sunday.

The attempt to enter Lashkar Gah from three directions was “virtually unprecedented” in the area in the scale of the attacking force and their degree of coordination, British military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Woody Page said.

Between 50 and 60 militants, part of a group of 150 that had been seen massing outside of the town for several days, were killed in air strikes that stopped them from entering Lashkar Gah, the Afghan and British forces said. Around 40 more were killed in a three-day operation in the nearby Nad Ali district that wound up on Saturday, they said.

SOMALI PIRATES SHOOT ONE ANOTHER

Worst pirates ever!

THREE Somali pirates were shot dead in an apparent argument with their mates aboard a hijacked Ukrainian cargo ship carrying military tanks.

None of the 20 crew being held hostage on the freighter Faina were injured in the exchange of fire stemming from an alleged dispute between the pirates, the Itar-Tass news agency reported yesterday.

The cargo ship remained anchored near the island of Hobyo off the Somali coast. There was no damage reported to the vessel’s cargo, including depleted uranium anti-tank shells, armoured personnel carriers, and 33 T-72 tanks.

Three US Navy warships and helicopters are monitoring the operation.

The pirates have demanded a ransom of R164.7 million (20m) to release the cargo ship and its crew.

Seventeen Ukrainians, two Russians, and one Latvian national were known to be held hostage aboard the Faina.

RUSSIA: OWNER OF OPPOSITION WEBSITE KILLED

Where's your God now Keith Olberman?

An opposition Internet news site owner in Russia's troubled Ingushetia region was fatally shot on Sunday soon after being detained by police, and his colleagues called for a rally to protest his death.

Magomed Yevloyev is one of the most high-profile journalists to be killed in Russia since investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya was shot dead near her Moscow apartment in 2006, provoking condemnation of Russia's record on media freedom.

Yevloyev, owner of the www.Ingushetiya.ru website, was a vocal critic of the region's Kremlin-backed administration, accused by opponents of crushing dissent and free speech.

ISLAMIC CLERICS KILLED WHILE ASSEMBLING BOMB IN MOSQUE

Religion of peace working its wonders in Afghanistan:

In Paktika province, which adjoins Ghazni, two men were killed when a waistcoat they were packing with bombs for use in a suicide attack exploded, the government said.

"Two mullahs (prayer leaders) were killed when a suicide vest they were building went off prematurely," said Zemarai Bashary, spokesman for the interior ministry, which handles police matters.

The pair was in a mosque near the border with Pakistan, he said.

ATTACK MAY HAVE KILLED AL-ZAWAHIRI

Breaking news:

An online report says U.S. government sources are trying to confirm that an airstrike in northwestern Pakistan has killed al-Qaida's deputy leader, Ayman Zawahiri.

According to the subscription report at Stratfor, the airstrike was on July 28, and sources were reporting that an announcement from the U.S. government is expected soon.

The report said the attack was carried out by a U.S. Predator attack plane.

According to the blog Jawa Report, officials had said earlier "the hunt was on" in Pakistan for a "big fish."

UPDATE: From Fox News:

Al Qaeda’s second in command, Ayman al-Zawahiri, may be injured or even dead, according to a CBS News report based on an intercepted letter that urgently requests a doctor to treat Zawahiri.

CBS News says it obtained a copy of the letter from sources in Pakistan, where Zawahiri, second only to Usama bin Laden, is thought to be hiding.

The letter, reportedly written by a local Taliban leader and dated Tuesday, says Zawahiri is in "severe pain" and his "injuries are infected," according to the report.

A missile strike Monday in Pakistan’s tribal areas reportedly killed Al Qaeda operative Abu Khabab al-Masri, considered a "Top Ten" target as the terrorist organization’s top expert on chemical and biological weapons.

That strike also killed five others, though it isn’t clear whether Zawahiri was at the scene or in the area.

WAR PORN: HEY JOE!...WHERE YOU GOING WITH THAT IED IN YOUR HAND?

Yeah...it's graphic...This ain't no sipping tea.

IAF STRIKE IN SYRIA KILLED 10 KOREANS

Breaking news from international.jpost.com.

Ten North Koreans were killed in an IAF air strike on a Syria installation September, Bloomberg reported Monday, quoting an NHK report that cited unidentified South Korean intelligence officials.

According to the report, the Koreans' remains were returned to North Korea after being cremated.

The report quoted a Japanese broadcaster who said that they had been assisting the Syrians in the construction of a nuclear reactor. Several North Korean workers survived the air strike, the report said.

Yielding to months of pressure from the US Congress, the Bush administration gave members briefings on Thursday indicating that on September 6, Israel destroyed an alleged Syrian nuclear reactor built with North Korean help.

The CIA released footage of the alleged reactor showing several North Koreans, including the head of the country's nuclear negotiating team.

The Syrian facility was almost complete when it was attacked, and was far enough along to demonstrate a resemblance to the North Korean reactor at Yongbyon, which in the past has produced small amounts of plutonium and is supposedly now being dismantled, a US official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the information.