al-Qaida Has Too Many Irons in Fire

al-Qaida's signature suicide car bomb made another appearance today, this time in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. That makes three al-Qaida bombings in three countries in the last two weeks. One might think they were spreading themselves too thin if one didn't already know they were the disposable pawn of Iran's great mastermind.

Syria, Iran, al-Qaida cuckolding Iraq

Iran and al-Qaida influences resurfaced in Iraq today as a suicide bomber in a truck killed 16 people in Sinjar, a town near the Syrian border. We learned last week that the truck bomb is the hallmark of al-Qaida. It had not been used with any regularity in Iraq, however, since August of last year when a series of truck bombs killed 500 people in Sinjar.

Coincidentally, this attack occurred during the month in which the fewest Ally fatalities had occurred. The pot needed stirring. Emphasizing the further coincidentalness of this event, AP says:

Meanwhile, Iraq's Shiite vice president discussed security cooperation with Iranian officials during a previously unannounced visit to Iran, the government said Thursday.

Although both governments are dominated by Shiites, relations have been strained since al-Maliki launched a crackdown on Shiite militias and opened talks with the United States on a long-term security pact.

U.S. officials have frequently accused Iran of jeopardizing peace in Iraq by supplying weapons to anti-U.S. Shiite militias. Iran denies the allegation.

So basically, this truck bomb blew up and Iraq marched over to Iran, knocked on their door, and said, "What the hell?! Knock it off!"

One time when I was a kid, my friend took my toy away and I said, "Stop that or I won't be your friend anymore!"

Also, in reference to my last post musing over who might be in bed with Iran, Syria has announced its candidacy.

al-Qaida Presence Felt in Gaza

Photo by Switch_1010

The Egyptian-engineered cease fire between Israel and Hamas is even further from becoming a reality as a Palestinian suicide bomber detonated four tons of explosives in a truck at one of the Gaza-Israel crossings today. The Erez pedestrian crossing was destroyed but the driver of the truck was the only one killed. He was unable to cross the border to reach the Israeli military base on the other side, his primary target.

Israel says:

The Erez crossing will be closed until the damage can be repaired, Israeli military spokesman Peter Lerner said. He said "the main victims of this attack are the Palestinians themselves."

The larger concern for the international community at large is the type of bomb and the type of carrier used. Palestinian militants rarely use car bombs. Guess who does.

Truck bombs are not commonly used by Islamic Jihad and the other group participating in Thursday's attack, the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades. Extremist groups linked to al-Qaida have often used them.

Boaz Ganor, a leading terrorism expert in Israel, said Thursday's attack shows the "infiltration" of the Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah and their Iranian sponsors into the Gaza Strip.

The situation is getting desperater and desperater over there as Gaza pushes for their freedom and Israel pushes not to be bombed on a daily basis. It's kind of a catch-22.