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The CENTCOM

24 MAY 2012

AFG-PAK-CAS
5 Aid Workers Abducted in Badakhshan: Pajhwok Five employees, including two foreign women, of the Switzerland-based emergency relief and rehabilitation organization, Medair, were abducted in the northeastern province of Badakhshan, officials said. The five people, including three Afghan men, were kidnapped by armed men in the Shalkhazar village of Yaftal district, Public Health Director Dr. Noor Mohammad Khawri told Pajhwok Afghan News. (Source: Kabul, Afghanistan; Independent; Neutral) NATO Airstrike Kills Taliban Leaders in Nuristan: Tolo News Two Taliban leaders, including the Talibans shadow deputy provincial governor, were killed in a NATO airstrike in Afghanistans eastern Nuristan province Wednesday. Sheikh Jamil, Talibans Nuristan shadow deputy provincial governor, and Abdul Hakim, a Taliban commander, were killed in the NATO airstrike in the Wigal district of the province, Nuristan police chief Ghulamullah Khan said today. (Source: Kabul, Independent, Undetermined) Afghan, Pak Terror Threat Down: Cameron: The News Half of the major terrorist plots threatening Britain emerge from Afghanistan and Pakistan nearly 11 years after UK troops joined a US-led coalition to oust the Taliban, David Cameron said Wednesday. But the Prime Minister added the number of terror plans hatched in the two countries had dropped in recent years. Cameron said: Britain has played a leading role in this alliance for reasons of our own national security. Three years ago some three quarters of the most serious terrorist plots against Britain had links to Afghanistan and Pakistan. I am now advised that figure has fallen to around a half. (Source:
Rawalpindi, Pakistan; Moderate; Politically Neutral)

(U) Egyptian presidential candidate, Ahmed Shafiq (Naharnet; 23 May 2012)

OTHER TOPICS
Iran Demands World Powers Swift, Explicit Response to Proposals Iran, China Hold Talks As P5+1 Studies Tehrans Proposal Package Iraq Attacks Kill Eight Saudi Arabia Will Give $3.25b Aid To Yemen 22 Al-Qaeda Militants Killed In Yemen Fighting Saudi Arabia Signs $3 Billion Deal with Britain To Buy Trainer Jets Kuwait Cabinet Boycotts Parliament in New Impasse Kidnapping of Lebanese Pilgrims in Syria Heightens Tension Russia Offers to Host Syria Peace Talks Saudi King Voices Fear of Targeting Lebanons Sunnis Egypt Frontrunner Shafiq Warns Against Islamist Victory

Kyrgyzstan, NATO Sign Agreement on Transit of Land Cargoes: Trend The Kyrgyz government and NATO during the NATO Summit in Chicago signed the agreement on transit of International Security Assistance Forces land (road and rail) cargoes through the territory of Kyrgyzstan, Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry reported on Wednesday. The agreement will support the international efforts aimed to ensure security, stability and restoration of Afghanistan. Moreover, the agreement is important for further development of bilateral relations between Kyrgyzstan and NATO for stabilization of the situation in Afghanistan and security of Kyrgyzstan and the whole Central Asia. (Source:
Baku, Azerbaijan, Daily, Privately Owned)

TAPI: Pakistan-Turkmen GSPA Inked: The News Pakistan and Turkmenistan on Wednesday signed Gas Sales Purchase Agreement (GSPA) for Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) Pipeline project at the Caspian Resort of Avaza, Turkmenistan. (Source:
Rawalpindi, Pakistan; Moderate; Politically Neutral)

(U) Saudi Arabias King Abdullah (Al Arabiya; 23 May 2012)

This OSINT publication contains foreign media derived entirely from open sources in and around the CENTCOM AOR.

OSINT Phone #: 813.827.1441 Email: CCJ2-OSINT@CENTCOM.SMIL.MIL

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IRAN
Iran Demands World Powers Swift, Explicit Response to Proposals: FARS News Iran on Wednesday asked the six world powers to provide a swift and explicit response to its offer of step-by-step cooperation. The demand was raised during a meeting Wednesday afternoon between Irans number two negotiator Ali Baqeri and Helga Schmid, the deputy of EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton who presides over the delegations of the Group 5+1 in negotiations with Iran.
(Source: Iran; Private; Anti-West)

Iran, China Hold Talks as P5+1 Studies Tehrans Proposal Package: Press TV Iran is holding bilateral talks with Chinas representative in Baghdad talks as the P5+1 -- China, Russia, Britain, France, and the US plus Germany -- starts considering Tehrans package of proposals which was offered to the group during early negotiations on Wednesday. Sources close to the Iranian delegation say more talks have also been slated for Thursday. (Source: Iran, Govt. Funded, Anti-West)

IRAQ-ARABIAN PENINSULA
Iraq Attacks Kill Eight: NOW Lebanon Attacks in Iraq killed eight people and wounded 33 on Wednesday, as Baghdad hosted key nuclear talks in its latest effort to emerge from decades of isolation. Three people were killed and 14 wounded in a shooting and three roadside bombings in Baquba, capital of Diyala province north of the capital. And a roadside bomb exploded near a bus carrying Lebanese Shia pilgrims near Ramadi, capital of Anbar, a Sunni Arab province west of Baghdad, killing three and wounding 10 others, police and medical sources said. (Source: Beirut, Lebanon; Privately Funded / Independent; Liberal) Saudi Arabia will Give $3.25b Aid to Yemen: Gulf News Saudi Arabia will give its impoverished neighbor Yemen aid worth $3.25 billion (Dh11 billion), Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal told a meeting in Riyadh on Wednesday, urging other nations to take similar steps. To ensure Yemens security and stability, the kingdom will provide $3.25 billion to support development projects there which will be agreed upon with the Yemeni side, he said at the opening of the Friends of Yemen meeting. (Source: UAE; Independent; Pro-West) 22 Al-Qaeda Militants Killed in Yemen Fighting: The Daily Star Yemeni military officials say fresh clashes between government troops and Al-Qaeda fighters in the south have killed 22 militants and seven soldiers. The officials say the fighting around the town of Bajidar in Abyan province lasted until Wednesday morning. The town was captured more than a year ago by the militants who exploited the political turmoil during Yemens popular uprising. The officials say government jets and heavy artillery pounded militant positions around the provincial capital Zinjibar and Jaar, also under Al-Qaedas control. (Source: Beirut, Lebanon; Independent; Daily; Neutral) Saudi Arabia Signs $3 Billion Deal with Britain to Buy Trainer Jets: Al Arabiya Saudi Arabia has signed a $3-billion deal with Britain to buy trainer jets for the Gulf kingdoms air force, SPA state news agency said on Wednesday. The agreement includes the provision of simulators, ground and training equipment and spare parts, SPA reported, quoting a Saudi defense ministry official. The official said the new jets would help qualify Saudi pilots to use fourth-generation jet fighters in full professionalism and efficiency. (Source: Dubai, UAE; Owned by MBC Group, Intl (Large Iraqi
following); Neutral; Daily)
This OSINT publication contains foreign media derived entirely from open sources in and around the CENTCOM AOR.

OSINT Phone #: 813.827.1441 Email: CCJ2-OSINT@CENTCOM.SMIL.MIL

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Kuwait Cabinet Boycotts Parliament in New Impasse: Naharnet Kuwait's cabinet on Wednesday boycotted parliament for a second day as MPs accused the government of plotting to dissolve the opposition-controlled house. The government and opposition are at loggerheads over two requests to question Finance Minister Mustafa al-Shamali over alleged financial and administrative irregularities. The government insisted on Tuesday that the two grillings must be debated separately while the opposition, which has a majority in parliament, wants to merge the two and have a single debate. When the opposition insisted on a vote to resolve the dispute, all government ministers led by Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak al-Sabah, in power for the past six months, walked out of the session. (Source: Beirut, Lebanon; English Edition of An Nahar; Liberal; Daily)

PAN-AOR
Kidnapping of Lebanese Pilgrims in Syria Heightens Tension: Al Arabiya The Syrian conflict took a broader turn in the region on Tuesday after Syrian rebels reportedly kidnapped 13 Lebanese Shiite Muslims as they were headed home by bus from a pilgrimage in Iran. Lebanons state news agency said the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA), which is fighting to overthrow the regime of Bashar al-Assad, had abducted 13 pilgrims in northern Aleppo province. Syrian media put the number of abductees at 12. The news of the kidnappings prompted their families and thousands of supporters to pour out into the streets in Beiruts mainly Shiite southern suburbs to demand their release. Protesters blocked several roads, including the old airport road, with burning tires and garbage bins. The roads were reopened later in the evening. (Source: Dubai, UAE; Owned by MBC Group,
Intl (Large Iraqi following); Neutral; Daily)

Russia Offers to Host Syria Peace Talks: Naharnet Russia is ready to host direct talks between the Syrian regime and rebel representatives, a top official said Wednesday, in a bid to end 14 months of bloodshed that has claimed over 10,000 lives. Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said peace mediator Kofi Annans deputy was trying to secure agreement with the fractured foreign-based Syrian opposition on who could meet Bashar Assad's Vice President Farouq al-Sharaa. (Source: Beirut, Lebanon; English Edition of An Nahar; Liberal; Daily) Saudi King Voices Fear of Targeting Lebanons Sunnis: Dawn Saudi King Abdullah voiced fear over targeting the Sunni community in Lebanon and urged action to avert a sectarian strife resulting from a spillover of the conflict in neighboring Syria. The kingdom follows with deep concerns the developments in Tripoli (in north Lebanon), especially the targeting of one of the main sects of Lebanon, he said in reference to co-religionist Sunnis, in a phone call with Lebanese President Michel Sleiman, SPA state news agency reported late Tuesday. He called on Sleiman to act due to the gravity of the crisis and its potential to escalate into a sectarian conflict in Lebanon, dragging it back into the specter of civil war. (Source: Karachi, Pakistan; Anti-Military Rule) Egypt Frontrunner Shafiq Warns against Islamist Victory: Naharnet A front runner in Egypts presidential election, former premier Ahmed Shafiq, told Agence France Presse Wednesday the country would face huge problems if his Islamist rivals won as Egyptians flocked to the polls on the first day of voting. Shafiq added that voters had made a mistake by allowing the Muslim Brotherhood to win in earlier parliamentary elections. Shafiq, who also held a news conference to disprove last minute rumors suggesting he was ill, said he was gaining support because voters believed he could stop the powerful Muslim Brotherhood. (Source: Beirut, Lebanon;
English Edition of An Nahar; Liberal; Daily)
This OSINT publication contains foreign media derived entirely from open sources in and around the CENTCOM AOR.

OSINT Phone #: 813.827.1441 Email: CCJ2-OSINT@CENTCOM.SMIL.MIL

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