Camp Chapman attack

The Camp Chapman attack was a suicide attack by Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi against the Central Intelligence Agency facility inside Forward Operating Base Chapman on December 30, 2009. One of the main tasks of the CIA personnel stationed at the base was to provide intelligence supporting drone attacks in Pakistan. Seven American CIA officers and contractors, an officer of Jordan's intelligence service, and an Afghan working for the CIA were killed when al-Balawi detonated a bomb sewn into a vest he was wearing. Six other American CIA officers were wounded. The bombing was the most lethal attack against the CIA in more than 25 years.
Al-Balawi was a Jordanian doctor and jihadist website writer who was detained and interrogated over three days by the Jordanian intelligence service, the General Intelligence Directorate (GID). The GID and the CIA thought they had turned al-Balawi to penetrate al-Qaeda in the Pakistani tribal areas to provide intelligence for high-level targets. Instead, al-Balawi used this trust to gain access to the CIA base in Afghanistan unsearched and perpetrate the attack. Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan and al-Qaeda claimed responsibility, saying they helped al-Balawi with the attack.
Attack.
On December 30, 2009, Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi was picked up by Arghawan, an Afghan who was the chief of external security at Camp Chapman, at the border between Miranshah, Pakistan, and Khost, Afghanistan. Arghawan drove al-Balawi to Camp Chapman, arriving around 4:30 pm.
The car was waved through three security checkpoints without stopping before arriving at its destination well within the base. Sixteen people were waiting for the car near a building set up to debrief al-Balawi. Al-Balawi got out of the vehicle and detonated the explosives hidden in his suicide vest.
Al-Balawi and nine other people were killed by the blast. Seven were CIA personnel: five officers, including the chief of the base, and two contractors. One was a Jordanian intelligence officer and another was the Afghan driver. Six other CIA personnel were seriously wounded in the attack, including the deputy chief of Kabul station. Some of those killed had already approached the bomber to search him, whereas others killed were standing some distance away. At least 13 intelligence officers were within of al-Balawi when the bomb went off.
After the attack, the base was secured and 150 mostly Afghan workers were detained and held incommunicado for three days. The attack was a major setback for the intelligence agency's operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan. It was the second largest single-day loss in the CIA's history, after the 1983 United States Embassy bombing in Beirut, Lebanon, which killed eight CIA officers. The incident suggested that al-Qaeda might not be as weakened as previously thought.
Attacker.
Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi.
Al-Balawi, 32, was a Jordanian doctor who worked at a clinic for Palestinian refugee women and children in the Marka refugee camp near Amman, Jordan. He was an al-Qaeda sympathizer from the town of Zarqa, the home town of Jordanian militant Islamist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. He was married and had two daughters. Islamist websites, as well as some newspapers, characterized the attacker as a triple agent, someone who is believed to be a double agent by the intelligence organization he infiltrates.
Al-Balawi had a history of supporting violent Islamist causes online under the pseudonym Abu Dujana al-Khurasani. Al-Balawi became an administrator and a well-known contributor for al-Hesbah, an online jihadist forum. He had tried to rehabilitate the image of al-Zarqawi in Jordan after the 2005 Amman bombings. Jarrett Brachman, the former director of research at West Point's Combating Terrorism Center, said "since at least 2007, [Abu Dujana had] become one of the most prominent al-Qaida jihadist pundits."
Al-Balawi was arrested by Jordanian intelligence in January 2009 and held for three days. During al-Balawi's questioning, Jordanian intelligence officials threatened to have him jailed and end his medical career, and they hinted they could cause problems for his family. Al-Balawi was told that if he cooperated, his slate would be wiped clean and his family left alone. After this episode, the GID and CIA believed they had turned al-Balawi into a double agent. A plan was developed for al-Bawali to infiltrate al-Qaeda in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas in Pakistan, along the Afghan border. In March 2009, al-Balawi left Jordan and arrived in Peshawar, Pakistan, and made his way into the tribal areas. The CIA took over the management of al-Balawi from the Jordanians sometime in the second half of 2009, dictating how and when the informant would meet his handlers, according to current and former U.S. intelligence officers.
Meeting at Camp Chapman.
Al-Balawi had been invited to Camp Chapman after claiming to have information related to senior al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri. Al-Balawi was not searched as a sign of respect because of his perceived value as someone who could infiltrate the ranks of senior al-Qaeda leaders. A former U.S. counter-terrorism officer, as well as Jordanian government officials, said that he had already provided useful and actionable intelligence to the CIA over several weeks of undercover work in the region. A former intelligence official stated that al-Balawi was "feeding us low-level operatives and we were whacking them." He was seen by the CIA and the U.S. administration as the best hope of tracking down the al-Qaeda leadership. The CIA had come to trust al-Balawi and the Jordanian spy agency vouched for him, according to officials.
The deputy chief of Kabul station was present for the meeting, more evidence that al-Balawi was highly valued. The CIA was "expecting the meeting to be of such substance that following the meeting their next directive was to call President Obama," a security official in Kabul said.
Statements from relatives.
Al-Balawi's wife, Defne Bayrak, a journalist who lives in Istanbul, Turkey, has translated several Arabic books into Turkish, including "Osama bin Laden: Che Guevara of the East". She said the radicalization of al-Bawali started in 2003 because of the Iraq War. She doubted that al-Balawi worked as a double agent for the CIA and Jordan's intelligence agency or that he was an al-Qaeda member. Bayrak said that al-Balawi would have acted of his own volition because he regarded the United States as an adversary. She also said that she was proud of her husband. In her view, al-Balawi had carried out a "very important mission in such a war." Turkish police questioned and released Bayrak on January 7, 2010.
Al-Balawi's family is of Palestinian origin, from a tribe in the Beersheba region. His brother said al-Balawi had been "changed" by the 2008–09 Israeli offensive in Gaza, and that he had been arrested by Jordanian authorities after volunteering with medical organizations to treat wounded Palestinians in Gaza. Other family members said that al-Balawi had been pressured to become an informant after Jordanian authorities arrested him in January 2009.
Al-Balawi's father said he was called by an Afghan after the attack who told him his son died as a hero in an operation to kill CIA agents. He also said his son "sacrificed his body and soul for the oppressed." He blamed the intelligence agencies for turning his son "from a human, a doctor, to a person with a heart full of negative and hostile emotions towards others."
Jordanian authorities cautioned the relatives of al-Balawi against speaking with anyone about the incident. Members of the family said that Jordan security forces had sealed off the area in which they live, blocking journalists from entering and preventing any family gathering after they heard the news of al-Balawi's death.
Casualties.
Not including the attacker, nine people were killed and six others were seriously wounded in the attack. Seven of the dead were Americans working for the CIA. One was al-Balawi's Jordanian case officer and another was the Afghan in charge of external security for the base who had driven al-Balawi to the base from the Pakistan border. The CIA initially did not release the names of those killed in the attack. All officers on the base worked undercover.
Jennifer Lynne Matthews, the station chief, 45, was tracking al-Qaeda before the September 11 attacks. She joined the CIA in 1989 and was involved with the agency's Bin Laden Issue Station. A U.S. official said Matthews was "one of the US government's top experts on al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups." Matthews had been chief of the base since September 2009.
Besides Matthews, the CIA personnel killed included:
Wise and Paresi were security contractors working for Xe Services (formerly Blackwater), a private security company.
The bodies of the CIA operatives were transferred to the U.S., and a private ceremony was held at Dover Air Force Base, which was attended by CIA director Leon Panetta.
CIA officers who had traveled from Kabul to the base for the meeting, including the Deputy Chief of Kabul Station, were among those injured. The deputy chief was in grave condition and was taken to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, a U.S. military hospital in Germany.
Captain Sharif Ali bin Zeid, 34, a Jordanian military intelligence officer, was killed in the attack. He was the Jordanian handler of al-Balawi and the liaison between him and the CIA. Bin Zeid was a cousin to King Abdullah II of Jordan. Bin Zeid's wake was held in the Royal Palace. King Abdullah II and Queen Rania attended his funeral. Official Jordanian news reports said that he died while performing humanitarian service in Afghanistan. His death shed light on the U.S.-Jordanian intelligence partnership, which is rarely acknowledged publicly, yet seen by U.S. officials as highly important for their counter-terrorism strategy.
Arghawan, 30, the base's Afghan external security chief, had picked up al-Balawi at the Pakistan border and drove him to Camp Chapman. He was also killed in the attack.
Responsibility.
Al-Qaeda.
Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for the attack. Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, the al-Qaeda leader in Afghanistan, stated that the attack was intended to avenge the deaths of three al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders who were killed in U.S. drone attacks. "He avenged our prime martyrs, and as he wrote in his final testament, may God have mercy on him: Taking revenge for the leader the Amir Beitullah Mehsud and the leaders Abu Saleh al-Somali and Abdallah Said al-Libi and their brothers, may God have mercy on them," al-Yazid wrote. Baitullah Mehsud was the former head of the Pakistani Taliban, Saleh al-Somali was in charge of al-Qaeda operations outside of Pakistan and Afghanistan, and Said al-Libi was a senior Libyan member of the group, and the leader of al-Qaeda's military organization in the region, the Lashkar al-Zil.
Pakistani Taliban.
Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan also claimed responsibility for the attack and said that they used a turncoat CIA informant to carry it out. Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud claimed responsibility for the attack, and stated that the attack would avenge the killings of Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud in a U.S. drone strike in August 2009 and of "al Qaeda's Abdullah." He stated, "the suicide bomber was a Jordanian national. This will be admitted by the CIA and the Jordanian government."
On January 9, 2010, the Pakistani television network AAJ TV showed a video that had been released by the Tehrik-i-Taliban. The video showed al-Balawi, sitting beside Hakimullah Mehsud, vowing to avenge the death of the Pakistan Taliban leadership: "We will never forget the blood of our emir, Baitullah Mehsud. We will always demand revenge for him inside America and outside." Hakimullah Mehsud replaced his cousin Baitullah Mehsud as the chief of the Tehrik-i-Taliban after Baitullah was killed by a U.S. drone attack. Al-Balawi's father confirmed that the video showed his son.
Analysts said that, in return for organizational support, al-Balawi probably agreed to appear in the video, and to connect the attack he was planning to the death of Baitullah Mehsud, thus raising the profile of the Tehrik-i-Taliban. Most analysts believe, however, that al Qaeda chose the CIA as the target and ran the operation.
Afghan Taliban.
Afghan Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said that the attack was carried out by a Taliban sympathizer in the Afghan National Army. Mujahid said that the "well dressed" official would have been of sufficiently high rank to walk past security at the base. However, this claim was proven false.
Background.
The attack took place as the CIA expanded its role in the Afghanistan War, increasing paramilitary operations, including drone attacks in Pakistan. To accomplish this, the CIA had built a number of bases in the southern and eastern provinces of Afghanistan.
The drone attacks carried out by the CIA in Pakistan rely on local informants, who can cross the border into Pakistan in a way CIA officers cannot. CIA officers at the base were involved in the coordination, targeting and surveillance of drone strikes aimed at the Afghan Taliban, the Haqqani network, the Pakistani Taliban and al-Qaeda. At the time of the attack, they were conducting an aggressive campaign against the Haqqani network, a radical group run by Jalaluddin Haqqani and his son, Sirajuddin Haqqani.
The attack came at a time when disputes over civilian casualties between the U.S. and Pakistan, and over counter-terrorism strategies between the U.S. and Pakistan, were increasing. Pakistan's security officials had warned against an escalation of the U.S. drone attacks in the country. A senior Pakistani security official urged the United States to coordinate its response to the suicide attack with the Pakistani government, in order to avoid "unnecessary and further friction" to the alliance of both countries, while a U.S. State Department official said that the U.S. counter-terrorism efforts "are coordinated with foreign governments, including with Pakistan, as needed."
Forward Operating Base Chapman.
Forward Operating Base Chapman is located at the site of a former Afghan army installation with an airstrip. The base is named for Sergeant First Class Nathan Chapman, the first U.S. soldier killed by enemy fire during the Afghanistan war. Chapman was killed while fighting alongside the CIA in 2002. FOB Chapman is located near Forward Operating Base Salerno, a military base used by U.S. special operations forces.
The CIA's base at Camp Chapman was set up at the beginning of the U.S.-led offensive against al-Qaeda and the Afghan Taliban in 2001. It began as an improvised center for operations. A military base at the beginning, it was later transformed into a CIA base. Camp Chapman was also used as a base for the Khost Provincial Reconstruction Team, a military-led development group. In recent years, the base evolved into a major counter-terrorism hub of the CIA's paramilitary Special Activities Division, used for joint operation with U.S. special operations forces and Afghan allies. It also had a housing compound for U.S. intelligence officers.
U.S. reaction.
Drone attacks in North Waziristan.
The United States responded to the attack by increasing its drone attacks against militants in Pakistan. Nearly every day after the CIA facility was attacked, the U.S. military conducted drone strikes aimed at leaders of the Haqqani network in North Waziristan. In the week after the attack, the U.S. military conducted five drone strikes, an unusually high number. However, U.S. counter-terrorism officials cautioned against linking these attacks to the bombing. After reports of drone strikes, Pakistan said it would not support the attacks in its territory, as they were counterproductive.
In March 2010, the death of Hussein al-Yemeni in a drone strike was announced. Al-Yemeni was called a planner involved in the suicide bomb attack.
On November 1, 2013, the CIA killed Hakimullah Mehsud in a drone strike in Danday Darpa Khel.
Investigations and security measures.
U.S. officials said that the CIA conducted a review of intelligence supplied by al-Balawi, examining whether he supplied false information about U.S. successes amid valid data used to establish his credibility. The investigation included a review of a list of senior al Qaeda and Taliban operatives reported killed in U.S. drone strikes since January 2009. The National Counterterrorism Center conducted its own review of the intelligence al-Balawi provided, two officials said.
Following the attack, the U.S. issued new security guidance to its bases in Afghanistan, according to U.S. military officials. One U.S. military official said the guidance would adjust procedures as quickly as possible on a large scale.
Political reactions and commentary.
U.S. President Barack Obama praised the CIA officers who died in the bombing, and Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned the attack. All seven of the operatives killed in the attack were memorialized with a star on the agency's Memorial Wall at its headquarters.
United States.
President Barack Obama wrote in a letter to CIA employees: "In recent years, the CIA has been tested as never before. Since our country was attacked on September 11, 2001, you have served on the frontlines in directly confronting the dangers of the 21st century. Because of your service, plots have been disrupted, American lives have been saved, and our Allies and partners have been more secure. Your triumphs and even your names may be unknown to your fellow Americans, but your service is deeply appreciated."
The leaders of the House and Senate intelligence committees issued statements of condolence.
Flags at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, flew at half-staff. In a message to CIA employees, CIA Director Leon Panetta said: "Those who fell yesterday were far from home and close to the enemy, doing the hard work that must be done to protect our country from terrorism. We owe them our deepest gratitude." In an article published by the "Washington Post", Panetta strongly defended the CIA officers against criticism, and disputed that lax security measures or blind trust in the informant enabled the attacker to succeed.
Islamist militants.
The attack was praised by Islamist militants after it became known that al-Balawi was the author, under the pen name Abu Dujana, of some of the anti-Western commentaries that they admired. One militant wrote, referring to al-Balawi's pseudonym: "Our James Bond, who is he? / He is Abu Dujana! / His motto: Let me die or live free! / Our James Bond, what did he seek? / Not power or money, / But justice for the weak."
Jordan.
Jordanian intelligence officials were embarrassed by the incident due to the fact that they had vouched for al-Balawi. Jordan's government was embarrassed as well, as it did not want the extent of its cooperation with the CIA to be known. Jordan's General Intelligence Department (GID), known as the Mukhabarat, works very closely with the CIA. At the same time, the U.S., and the CIA in particular, are viewed very negatively by the people in Jordan, about half of which have Palestinian origins, as al-Balawi did.
Jordan's Prime Minister Samir Rifai defended the country's overseas deployment in support of the United States' war on terror, but the Islamist-led opposition called on the government to stop working with the CIA. King Abdullah II, Queen Rania, and Crown Prince Hussein attended GID Captain Sharif Ali bin Zeid's funeral, as he was a cousin of the King. Official media only reported that bin Zeid was killed on a "humanitarian mission" in Afghanistan, with no mention of the CIA cooperation.
Several media analysts were called by Jordanian officials and told not to make inflammatory statements. At least one local journalist working with the foreign media was detained and questioned.
Expert and media commentary.
Impact.
Several former intelligence officials described the attack as emotionally distressing for the spy agency. Former CIA deputy director John E. McLaughlin said: "It is the nightmare we've been anticipating since we went into Afghanistan and Iraq." Bruce Hoffman, a professor at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service, characterized the assault as a serious reversal in NATO's war efforts. Former CIA Counterterrorism Chief Robert Grenier described the attack as the Taliban equivalent of a precision guided weapon. "This attack is something that will never be forgotten in Langley, Virginia," said Jack Rice, who formerly worked as a CIA officer in Afghanistan.
Henry A. Crumpton, a former Coordinator for Counterterrorism who directed the CIA operations in Afghanistan in 2001 and 2002, said that the CIA employees were "experienced frontline officers and their knowledge and expertise will be sorely missed." A NATO official in Afghanistan underscored the significance of the attack, and noted that it had shut down a key station of the CIA in Afghanistan. "These were not people who wrote things down in the computer or in notebooks. It was all in their heads," he said, adding that much of the knowledge would not be recoverable. Several current and former intelligence officials, however, said that the CIA had numerous operatives with experience in Afghanistan, as the country was considered strategic during the Cold War, and because the U.S. has been involved in active warfare there for the last eight years.
Security procedures.
A U.S. intelligence official said the danger of using informants was inherent but unavoidable. Intelligence agencies have to rely on unsavory individuals to penetrate terrorist groups because no one else has the access. Those hazards would be neither denied nor ignored by the CIA officers. Former intelligence officials said they were deeply troubled about al-Balawi's ability to get close to so many CIA officers. A former agency case officer expressed surprise that "a potential hostile" was able to be in immediate proximity to a large number of CIA operatives. "Why the officers would show a source all their faces, that alone was a terrible decision," said one former senior CIA paramilitary operative who served in Afghanistan. Larry C. Johnson, a former CIA officer and counter-terrorism agent, said that a source supposedly as significant as al-Balawi should never have been brought inside the base, because it risked exposing him.
Robert Baer, a former CIA officer, said that the agency would be outsourcing intelligence and would have to go to the Jordanians "because we simply cannot, as blond haired blue eyed Americans, cannot get into these camps." He said the attack would make the CIA more reluctant to engage with informants. He added that the attack would have been a huge setback for the CIA's intelligence collection in Afghanistan. "You're talking about an institutional nightmare," said Tim Weiner, author of the book "". Former 9/11 Commission chairman Lee H. Hamilton predicted that the attack would forever change how the CIA handles informants. "They will never forget this lesson," he said.
Media reports and commentary.
Media reports said the attack struck at the heart of American covert operations in the region, with some characterizing it as the CIA's Pearl Harbor. It raised doubts about the reliability of the Afghan forces that are being trained by the United States and its allies, and on the practicality of Western exit strategies that involve training the Afghan army and policy with the aim of enabling them to fight the Taliban on their own.
David Ignatius, a columnist for the "Washington Post" and the author of the book "Body of Lies", opined that the CIA had become careless out of desperation. According to Ignatius, it would be obvious that the CIA would have been so eager to acquire knowledge about the location of Osama bin Laden that it would take every available opportunity to get information. Shoshana Bryen, a U.S. security expert, said that the bombing would make Israel and the U.S. wary in their future dealings with Jordan.
William Saletan noted the mischaracterization of the attack as "an act of terrorism" in many media reports. As terrorism targets civilians, and the CIA employees were conducting a war, he states that the bombing was clearly "an act of war. It was also espionage. But it wasn't terrorism."
In popular culture.
The Camp Chapman attack was dramatized in the 2012 film "Zero Dark Thirty". The "Jessica" character, modeled on Jennifer Lynne Matthews, is killed in the attack. Several people who knew Matthews complained that the portrayal was not very accurate.
External links.
Memorials.
Harold E. Brown, Jr.
Elizabeth Curry Marie Hanson
Darren James LaBonte
Jennifer Lynne Matthews
Dane Clark Paresi
Scott Michael Roberson
Jeremy Jason Wise
Further reading.
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[[Category:CIA activities in Asia]]
[[Category:Al-Qaeda attacks]]
[[Category:Suicide bombings in Afghanistan]]
[[Category:Afghanistan–United States relations]]
[[Category:Afghanistan–Jordan relations]]
[[Category:Jordan–United States relations]]
[[Category:Mass murder in 2009]]
[[Category:December 2009 events in Asia]]
[[Category:History of Khost Province]]
[[Category:Attacks on buildings and structures in Afghanistan]]
[[Category:Building bombings in Afghanistan]]


Arjen Rudd


Talysh Khanate

Talysh Khanate or Talish Khanate (,  – تالیش خانلیغی, ) was a khanate of Iranian origin that was established in Persia and existed from the middle of the 18th century till the beginning of the 19th century, located in the south-west coast of the Caspian Sea.
It comprised the southeastern part of the modern day Republic of Azerbaijan and the eastern tip of north-western Iran. The capital of the khanate was its chief city, Lenkaran. As a result of the Persian defeat in the Russo-Persian War of 1826–28, the khanate was dissolved and absorbed by the Russian Empire.
The uncertainty surrounding the history of Talysh Khanate is not due only to the paucity of sources, a further problem is the rarity of studies about it. Several studies and short surveys appeared in Russian, Azerbaijani, Turkish, and Persian. Regrettably, some of these studies are tenuous and contain erroneous and biased interpretations.
Historiography.
Because of the paucity of primary sources, the study of the Talysh Khanate faces serious obstacles. The primary sources for the study of the Khanate roughly divided into three groups: chronicles, documentary material, and travel accounts. Many facts related to the history of the Khanate are scattered throughout various chronicles produced by local and Qajar historians.
The first Persian chronicle about the Talysh Khanate is "Javāher Nāmeh-ye Lankarān" (1869) (i.e., "The Jewel Book of Lankaran"), written by Saeid-Ali ibn Kazem Beg Borādigāhi (1800–1872). There are two copies of "The Jewel Book of Lankaran", and both are retained at the Institute of Manuscripts of Azerbaijan. The second Persian chronicle is "Akhbār Nāmeh" (1882) (i.e., "The Chronicle"), written by Mirza Ahmad ibn Mirza Khodāverdi, whose father served as the "vizier" for the second and the third Khans of Talysh.
Another primary source that may be added to the chronicle-type sources is the Russian survey entitled "The History of the Talysh Khanate" (1885) written by Teymur Bayramalibeyov (1863–1937), one of the most brilliant Azerbaijani educators.
A nonspecific but relevant chronicle which written in Persian is "" (1845) (i.e., "The Heavenly Rose-Garden") from Abbas-Qoli Aqa Bakikhanov (1794–1847). Although not dealing directly with the Talysh Khanate, it contains useful information on the region up to the year in which it was completed.
The major body of correspondence of the Khans of Talysh is preserved in Russian archives and has been published in various collections of documents. The most important of these collections is the "" (1866–1886).
Travelogues and reports by merchants, agents, and informers, are another type of primary sources that is potentially useful for the study of the Talysh Khanate. Among this type of source, one may mention accounts written by two Poles in Russian service: Jan Potocki (1761–1815), and Aleksander Chodźko (1804–1891). Another account relating to Talysh, is a report made by Camille Alphonse Trézel (1780–1860), a French officer who served under Claude-Matthieu Gardane (1766–1818), Napoleon's envoy to the Persian court.
In 1966, Firudin Asadov (1936–2018), who first studied the pre-establishment of Talysh Khanate, gave a brief description of the roots of the establishment of the Khanate in the 1703–1747 period. Irada Mammadova (born 1967), an academician of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, studied Russian archives especially the and published several books and articles.
Background.
In Safavid era, the population of Safavid Talish was a mixture of Iranian and Turkic elements. Generally, the Talyshis, an ethnic group speaking the Iranian language of Talysh, were Indigenous people of the region. At the end of the 15th century, many Talysh leaders provided solid support to the Safavids, who rewarded them with honors and land. Theoretically, the local rulers were not hereditary lords.
Seyyed Abbas was the founder of the . He had had a kinship with the Safavid dynasty. The genealogy of Seyyed Abbas goes back to the Prophet Muhammad. His father was from the former Hir village of Khalkhal district. According to Saeid-Ali's book, Seyyed Abbas appointed on Rabi' al-Thani 1064 AH (February 1654) as "khalifa" (i.e., spiritual deputy) of the Lankaran by the decree of Shah Abbas II (). There are conflicting and inaccurate opinions between "The Jewel Book of Lankaran" and "The Chronicle", about the years of Seyyed Abbas' rule and when the future Talysh Khanate was founded.
According to "The Chronicle", Seyyed Abbas ruled the Talysh province for 20 years, consisting of Ulūf, Dashtevand, and Ujarud districts. Asadov wrote in his book, "Talysh Khanate" (1998), that Seyyed Mir Abbas Beg not only supports Nader's kingship but even asked to be accepted his son, Jamal al-Din, to serve in the Persian army. Also, he wrote that Seyyed Abbas' rule of the Talysh Khanate did not last long, he died in 1749. He attributed the coming to power of the Seyyed Abbas in Lankaran, after the proclamation of Nader Afshar () as Shah. The Turkish academic, Mustafa Aydın (born 1967), also wrote the above narrative in the "İslâm Ansiklopedisi".
Mammadova didn't think that Seyyed Abbas could have lived that long. If Seyyed Abbas died in 1749 (according to "The Chronicle", his reign lasted 20 years), then he should have come to power in 1729. At that time, Nader was not the Shah of Persia. On the other hand, Russian archival documents show that Mir Abbas Beg was captured and beheaded by the Ottomans during the 1726 invasion. Asadov wrote that Nader Shah ordered Seyyed Abbas to come to power in Talysh. However, he does not say where he got it from. This would not be possible. Because, first of all, the archival documents say that he had killed. The second is that in the Saeid-Ali's book when Nader proclaimed himself as Shah, he wrote that Mir Abbas was no longer alive.
The decree for Seyyed Abbas was issued in 1654 and seems that Asadov confused the "Seyyed Abbas" with the "Mir Abbas". Seyyed Abbas could not attend the Mughan kurultai or die in 1747. "The Chronicle" stated that Seyyed Abbas had only one sister. However, Saeid-Ali wrote that Qara Khan took control of Talysh in a short time and always tried to extinguish it when enmity broke out between his cousins and his sons. Thus, they were brothers of Mir Abbas, not Seyyed Abbas.
The contradictions between "The Chronicle" and "The Jewel Book of Lankaran" are obvious and far from reality. Mammadova believed that it would be right to prefer Saeid-Ali, because he approached the events from Mirza Ahmad's historical point of view, used the historical sources of his time and in some cases expressed a critical attitude. The author indicates the exact date of the 1654 decree, thus it can be assumed that he saw the decree. "The Chronicle" attributed this event to the period of Nader's rule and described that he turned from a poor man to the level of Lankaran's ruler. According to Mammadova, This is not convincing because it is incompatible with historical events. Seyyed Abbas is not mentioned in the works of Russian and foreign travelers who visited these areas, only Musa Khan of Astara is mentioned a lot.
It should be concluded that there were two people with the name of "Abbas". The first was Seyyed Abbas, who founded the dynasty of Khans of Lankaran. The second was Mir Abbas or Abbas-Qoli Khan, who became a Khan in the early 18th century and was killed by the Ottomans in 1726. This is confirmed by other facts. An archival document mentions Mir Aziz Khan as the brother of Mir Abbas Beg. Elsewhere, Mir Abbas Beg offers to entrust either his brother or his son to Russia to show his allegiance. Mammadova named Mir Abbas as the son of Seyyed Abbas, but Khansuvarov believed that Mir Abbas was the grandson of Seyyed Abbas. His father's name was Seyyed Yūsef, who succeeded his grandfather in religious affairs. Seyyed Yūsef was buried at Yuxarı Nüvədi village of Lankaran.
Mir Abbas married the sister of Asad beg ibn Hossein beg Boradigāhi, "beg" of Kharkhatān village, and from this marriage, Jamal al-Din was born. Jamal al-Din's father died when he was 18 years old (Mir Abbas was killed by the Ottomans in 1726) and his maternal uncle Asad Beg took care of him.
Administration.
The Talysh region comprised lands in the southwestern part of the current Republic of Azerbaijan, as well as some territories in modern Iran. The exact definition of Talysh boundaries has varied over time. Present days, Talysh is a mountainous region located between Gilan Province and the Caspian Sea in the east and Ardabil Province in the west. It is a narrow strip of land extending from Rudbar in the south to Astara in Iranian territory and on to the north of Lankaran District, located in the Republic of Azerbaijan. The northern half of Talysh is one of the seventeen provinces that were cut from Iranian territory as a result of the treaties of Gulistan (1813) and Turkmenchay (1828).
The Talysh Khanate was bordered by the from the south, Ardabil Khanate from the southwest, Karadagh Khanate in the northwest, Javad Khanate from the north, and Salyan Sultanate from the north-east. Most of the eastern borders of the Khanate were bound to the Caspian Sea.
Talysh Khanate was divided into administrative districts. According to the Saeid-Ali's book, there were eleven s () in the territory of the Khanate: Asalem (), Karganrud (), Astara (), Vilkij (), Zuvand (), Chayichi-Lankaran (), (), Uluf (), Dashtevand (), Sefiddasht (), ().
However, the territory of the Khanate did not always remain stable, but underwent significant changes under the influence of various events.
The largest territorial transformation in the Khanate took place during the Russo-Persian Wars. According to the treaties concluded between these states, all of Asalem, Karganrud and Vilkij districts and some parts of the Ujarud, Safidasht, Astara and Zuvand districts were given to Qajar Iran.
The administration institutions of the Khanate was not that big. Management was generally given to "beg"s and devout landlords. The "beg"s always worked in the whole of the Khanate and the Khan's saray. The closest assistant to the Khan was the Chief Vizier. Apart from this, the "sarkar-i ali" was responsible in the financial affairs, and the "eshik-aqasi" was responsible in the business affairs. Taxes were collected by lieutenants (), Kadkhodās (village chief) and ""s. The "sandouqdar-aqası" (Treasurer) supervised their affairs.
At the head of the districts were the lieutenants and the "beg"s. They were to deal with taxes, organize local finance affairs, and solving minor problems. The landlords were responsible to the lieutenants and were lead by the "beg"s. They were chosen by the rural community and were confirmed by the Khan. None of them were inherited, but if the Khan agreed, it could be hereditary. Cities were run by tax officials and castellans (). They had to protect the city from external influences and maintain internal security. Cities were divided into separate neighbourhoods. The defense of borders and strategic locations were given to landlords whose estates were in the frontier and on trade routes.
History.
According to Mirza Ahmad Mirza oglu Khudaverdi, the founder of the Talysh Khanate, Seyyid Abbas, his ancestors were members of the Safavid dynasty, who had moved into the Talish region during the 1720s during a turbulent period in Iranian history. When Seyyid Abbas died in 1747 he was succeeded by his son Jamaladdin, often remembered as "Gara Khan" (the 'Black King'), because of his dark skin. Because of his good service to Nader Shah, Nader officially awarded him the hereditary title of "khan". Gara Khan was pro-Russian in his foreign policy which upset the rulers of neighboring khanates notably Hidayat Khan of Gilan. In 1768 Hidayat Khan attacked the Talysh khanate. Seeking aid against the superior enemy, Gara Khan sent his brother Karbalayi Sultan to Fath Ali Khan, ruler of the Quba Khanate resulting in an alliance between Quba and Lankaran. By 1785 the territory of the Talysh khanate had formally become a dependency of that much stronger Quba Khanate together with certain other Azerbaijani khanates. However, in 1789 following Fath Ali Khan's death, the Talysh Khanate regained its independence under Mir Mustafa, the son of Gara Khan who had himself died in 1786.
In 1794-5 the Persian Shah Agha Muhammad Khan Qajar called on the various khanates of the South Caucasus to form an alliance against the Russian Empire and mounted a military expedition against those who refused to join him. The Talysh khanate refused to do and was attacked in 1795. Mir Mustafa Khan's disparate army was not strong enough to resist and he sent his representatives to General Gudovich asking for Russian protection. However, the Russians took a long time to respond, only finally arriving in 1802 when the Talysh Khanate became a protectorate of the Russian Empire.
The khanate was to remain a pawn between the Persian and Russian empires over the subsequent two decades. In 1809 as a part of the Russo-Persian War (1804-1813), Iranian troops took the city of Lenkaran and expelled the Russian-leaning khan. In 1812, with Napoleon was attacking Moscow, the Russians were also battling again in the Caucasus. After a brief siege led by Pyotr Kotlyarevsky on January 1, 1813, 2,000 Russian troops managed to decisively take the citadel of Lenkaran from the Persian army. There were heavy losses on both sides, but this strategic capture of Lankaran led inexorably to September 12, 1813 Treaty of Gulistan. This forced defeated Persia to cede many of the formerly independent khanates to Russia. In 1814 Mir Mustafa khan died and his son Mir Hassan Khan succeeded him but only in name.
With Russia busy in European wars, Persia attempted to reassert its hegemony in the area and to revert the Treaty of Gulistan and thus invaded the south Caucasus, starting the 1826-28 Russo-Persian war. In the campaign of 1826, Persia managed to regain all lost territories, but after the numerous defeats in the campaign of 1827, the war ended up with the even more humiliating Treaty of Turkmenchay which permanently ceded the Talysh Khanate to Russia.
Yermolov took over the khanates of eastern Transcaucasia one by one and deposed their khans: Shaki in 1819, Shirvan in 1820, and Qara-Bagh in 1822. Only Mir Hassan Khan of Talesh was allowed autonomy, Ermolov understanding him and his family to be implacably hostile to Iran. In fact Mir Hassan threw the Russians out in the year that hostilities reopened, and a strong Iranian force came to help him. He retained control of the khanate, in the name of the Shah, until he was forced to abandon it in 1828 by the Treaty of Turkmenchay.
After Mir Hasan Khan's death, his children came under Abbas Mirza's patronage, with Mir Kazem Khan becoming the governor of Vilkij, Astara, Ujarud, and Namin, forming the Namin Khanate. His rule, and that of his children, over those areas, lasted a century, ending with the fall of the Qajars.
In popular culture.
The Talysh Khans proved a stimulating subject for famed Azeri poet-playwright Mirza Fath-Ali Akhundzadeh (1812–1878). A 1938 production of his "" (1851), starred the future president of Republic of Azerbaijan, Heydar Aliyev, then just a teenager.


Southern Yan

The Southern Yan (; 398-410) was a state of Xianbei rulers during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China. Its territory roughly coincided with modern Shandong. Its founder Murong De was a son of Murong Huang and brother of Murong Jun and Murong Chui and therefore was an imperial prince during both Former Yan and Later Yan.
All rulers of the Southern Yan declared themselves "emperors".
History.
In the years after the Battle of Canhe Slope in 395, the Later Yan began to quickly collapse, losing most territory to the Northern Wei. Murong De, uncle of Later Yan emperor Murong Bao, successfully defended some cities in the southern part of the state, including Yecheng and Huatai, and eventually claimed the imperial title in 398, forming Southern Yan. Murong De nearly captured and killed Murong Bao when the latter came Huatai, unaware that his uncle had declared independence. Murong Bao managed to flee back north when he heard, and would continue to defend the remaining territory of Later Yan. Just a year later when Murong De was on campaign a traitor opened the gates of Huatai to Northern Wei forces, leaving Murong De stranded without any territory. He decided to attack Qing Province of the Jin Dynasty, which corresponds to modern central and eastern Shandong. He took the province with ease and successfully reestablished Southern Yan. Murong De would rule for 6 more years after this, in which Southern Yan was peaceful and prosperous to live in. However Murong De was getting older and sicker and was without any living sons. However in 405 a nephew of his called Murong Chao arrived in Guanggu (the capital of Southern Yan) having previously been a beggar in Later Qin, and was almost immediately made heir. Murong De died that same fall and was succeeded by Murong Chao. Murong Chao’s mother and wife were still in Later Qin and Murong Chao agreed to become a vassal and give up his court musicians in return for their safe passage to Southern Yan. In 409 Murong Chao attacked the Jin for prisoners to be trained as new musicians. This prompted an invasion of Southern Yan by the Jin general Liu Yu. Liu Yu defeated the Southern Yan army at the Battle of Linqu and then besieged Guanggu, eventually taking the city. Murong Chao was captured and executed and Southern Yan was annexed by Jin


44th G7 summit

The 44th G7 summit was held on 8–9 June 2018, in La Malbaie in the Charlevoix region of Quebec, Canada. This was the sixth time since 1981 that Canada has hosted the meetings.
In March 2014, the Group of Seven (G7)—comprising leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States—declared that a meaningful discussion was currently not possible with Russia in the context of the G8. Since then, meetings have continued within the G7 process. On the first day of the summit, the United States announced that it would push for the reinstatement of Russia. Italy also requested a restoration of the G8 shortly after. President Trump also pushed for other countries to recognize Crimea as part of Russia, and stated that Ukraine was “one of the most corrupt countries in the world” to G7 leaders.
The summit received much attention due to a significant decline of relations of members with the United States. As a result, the summit was dubbed the “G6+1" by France and some members of the media, signifying the "isolation of the United States” in light of recent events.
Host.
The Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu in La Malbaie, Quebec, Canada, was chosen as the host of the G7 summit, in part due to its natural beauty and security. It is the first G7 summit to be hosted by Quebec since 1981. La Malbaie, once a resort town that hosted American presidents, required US$465 million in preparations, including new high-speed internet service, new cellphone towers, and security fences. Kelowna, British Columbia, was also considered as a potential host.
Agenda and preparation.
In May 2017, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated that he intended to “showcase both its domestic and international priorities: to strengthen the middle class, advance gender equality, fight climate change, and promote respect for diversity and inclusion”.
In June 2017, Peter Boehm was appointed as Deputy Minister for the G7 Summit and Personal Representative of the Prime Minister after serving as the Canadian G7 Sherpa since 2012.
In December 2017, Trudeau unveiled the summit logo and announced five key themes that Canada would advance once it assumed the Presidency of the G7 on 1 January 2018.
Economic growth.
The notion of ”economic growth that works for everyone” or “equitable growth”, known as 'Croissance Équitable' in French, is rooted in the papal encyclical Rerum Novarum which has had a profound influence on the economic thought of French and Quebecois policy makers—including Pierre Elliott Trudeau and other alumni of the Université de Montréal.
It holds that governments and institutional investors must always have in mind the best interests of employees when making investment decisions—including decent wages and pension benefits. Engaged employee-nominated pension board members are expected to contribute to the development of the equitable investment ethos that will drive this economic approach.
Gender equality.
Canadian and French thought leaders have stressed the need to achieve gender equality across all economic sectors by using modern, quantitative managerial tools that can help more precisely measure gender pay gaps and thus inform corrective policy measures at both the corporate and government level. Meeting in Paris, Montreal and Toronto in the weeks leading up to the Charlevoix summit, Canadian and European asset owners and policy makers agreed on the need to step up and assume more responsibility for the advancement of women's rights and other “related social parameters” across all assets classes.
In that perspective, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to announce a distinct G7 sustainability initiative focusing specifically on gender diversity across global capital markets—for which "the Canada Pension Plan, OMERS, the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan are each expected to pitch in [initially] $1 million apiece, with another $5 million from the federal government."
Melinda Gates and Isabelle Hudon served as co-chairs of the Gender Equality Advisory Council created by the Trudeau government for the G7 summit.
Climate change, oceans and clean energy.
World Pensions Council (WPC) economist Nicolas J. Firzli has argued that, in spite of the United States withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, the G7-driven process of international consensus-building could still be tilted in favor of renewed cooperation towards the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals—thanks notably to Justin Trudeau's multilateralist approach and the rapid shift towards ESG-informed investment policies amongst US and Canadian institutional investors.
Declarations issued.
The "Charlevoix Commitment on Defending Democracy from Foreign Threats" was one of eight declarations—also known as statements of commitment—issued by the G7 leaders on June 9, 2018. Charlevoix Commitment states that "foreign actors seek to undermine our democratic societies and institutions, our electoral processes, our sovereignty and our security. These malicious, multi-faceted and ever-evolving tactics constitute a serious strategic threat which we commit to confront together, working together with other governments that share our democratic values." The Charlevoix Summit resolved to establish a G7 Rapid Response Mechanism "to strengthen our coordination to identify and respond to diverse and evolving threats to our democracies, including through sharing information and analysis, and identifying opportunities for coordinated response."
Leaders at the summit.
The attendees included the leaders of the seven G7 member states as well as representatives of the European Union. The President of the European Commission has been a permanently welcome participant at all meetings and decision-making since 1981.
The 44th G7 summit was the first summit for Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte. It was also the last summit for British Prime Minister Theresa May and Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.
Gallery of participating leaders.
Invited guests.
Heads of government.
The following leaders were invited to the Outreach Session of the G7 Summit.
Heads of international organizations.
The following heads of international organizations were invited to the Outreach Session of the G7 Summit.
Dispute with Donald Trump.
Background.
The summit was dubbed the “G6+1” by the Government of France and political commentators. This resulted from the United States withdrawing from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and from the Paris Agreement, American tariffs, and trade-related disputes between Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Comments by Donald Trump to Shinzo Abe.
President Trump insulted Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. He stated he would send 25 million ethnic Mexicans to Japan, saying that “you don't have this problem, but I can send you 25 million Mexicans and you'll be out of office very soon”.
Comments by Donald Trump on Justin Trudeau.
Trump left the summit early in order to travel to Singapore for the United States' first summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. On 9 June 2018, he tweeted that he had instructed the representatives of the United States not to endorse the communique and criticized Justin Trudeau's statements at a news conference following the meeting, calling him “meek and mild” and “dishonest and weak”.
Comments by Peter Navarro.
Trump Advisor Peter Navarro spoke harshly negative words about Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, saying that there is "a special place in Hell" for Justin Trudeau. He later apologized for the language, but stood behind his statement.
Analysis.
The response of the United States at the G7 received condemnation from foreign policy experts, political scientists, and former diplomats.
Foreign policy expert Ian Bremmer called the summit the “geopolitical equivalent of the Comey firing” and that it will “really damage...important long-term relationship[s]”.
Political scientist Brian Klaas stated that “By attacking allies while championing Russia, Trump made the G-7 summit a disaster—but he fulfilled Vladimir Putin's biggest fantasy. An absolute disgrace”.
Former United States Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott wrote that Donald Trump is “the democratic world's worst nightmare. He has crippled NATO, the North Atlantic community, the European Union and now the G-7. In Putin's zero-sum worldview, that is a dream come true”.


Greysteel massacre

The Greysteel massacre was a mass shooting that took place on the evening of 30 October 1993 in Greysteel, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Members of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), a loyalist paramilitary group, opened fire on civilians in a crowded pub during a Halloween party, killing eight and wounding nineteen. The pub was targeted because it was frequented by Catholics, though two of the victims were Protestant. The group claimed responsibility using their cover name "Ulster Freedom Fighters", saying the attack was revenge for the Shankill Road bombing by the Provisional IRA a week earlier. Four men were sentenced to life imprisonment for the massacre, but were released in 2000 under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement.
Background.
On 23 October 1993, an IRA bomb prematurely exploded as the bombers carried it into a fishmongers on the Shankill Road, Belfast. The IRA's intended target was a meeting of UDA leaders, including brigadier Johnny Adair, which was to take place in a room above the shop. Unknown to the IRA, the meeting had been rescheduled. Eight Protestant civilians, a UDA member and one of the IRA bombers were killed in the blast. This became known as the Shankill Road bombing.
The UDA launched a number of "revenge attacks" for the bombing. Later that day, they fatally shot a Catholic delivery driver after luring him to a bogus call at Vernon Court, Belfast. On 26 October, the UDA shot dead another two Catholic civilians and wounded five in an attack at the Council Depot at Kennedy Way, Belfast.
Planning.
The massacre was carefully planned. The order for the attack came from the UDA leadership and it is believed Greysteel was chosen partly because it was well away from Belfast, where security force activity was intense after the Shankill bombing. Those involved in planning and organising it included Billy McFarland, 'Brigadier' of the UDA's North Antrim & Londonderry Brigade. Stephen Irwin, Geoffrey Deeney and Torrens Knight, all members of the brigade, were to carry out the shooting. The gunmen were first briefed on the plans for the massacre on 27 October in an office owned by the Ulster Democratic Party at Bond's Place, Derry. Before the massacre, the gunmen went to the pub to familiarise themselves with the layout and choose the best positions to shoot from. Knight made Irwin and Deeney rehearse the shooting in the office at Bond's Place. The gunmen would drive to the pub in an Opel Kadett, with UDA member Brian McNeill driving a 'scout car' in front. After the shooting the gunmen would drive the Kadett to a pick-up point near Eglinton, where they would meet McNeill and burn the car.
Massacre.
Just before 10pm on Saturday 30 October, the three gunmen, wearing blue boiler suits and balaclavas, entered the "Rising Sun Bar" in Greysteel. There were at least 70 people inside attending a Halloween party and at first some believed the men were playing a Halloween prank. Stephen Irwin yelled "trick or treat" as he opened fire with a VZ58 assault rifle on the packed crowd in the lounge. He kept shooting until the magazine emptied, quickly reloaded and continued shooting. Geoffrey Deeney opened fire with a 9mm handgun at a fleeing woman, but it jammed after one shot. Torrens Knight, armed with a shotgun, guarded the entrance while the shooting was taking place. There was panic and screaming as people scrambled for cover and women pleaded for mercy. The scene in the Rising Sun was described as "hell-like"; bodies lay everywhere and the lounge and dancefloor were covered with blood and broken glass. The gunmen, laughing, then made their escape in the Opel Kadett driven by Knight. While driving away from Greysteel, the getaway car's wing mirror was hit by a police car speeding towards the scene.
Seven people were killed outright and nineteen were wounded, with another later dying of his wounds. The dead were Karen Thompson (19), Steven Mullan (20), Moira Duddy (59), Joseph McDermott (60), James Moore (81), John Moyne (50), John Burns (54) and Victor Montgomery (76). Six of those killed were Catholic civilians and two were Protestant civilians.
The following day, the UDA claimed responsibility for the attack using the cover name "Ulster Freedom Fighters" (UFF). Its statement said that the "Greysteel raid" was "the continuation of our threats against the nationalist electorate that they would pay a heavy price for last Saturday's slaughter of nine Protestants". A West Belfast UDA member claimed that his organisation "had information that senior IRA men drank in the Rising Sun... Unfortunately they were not there on Halloween but our boys acted on the briefing they had been given". Afterwards, the gunmen were said to have boasted about the killings.
The pub is still open in Greysteel. There is a memorial to the victims outside the building that says: "May their sacrifice be our path to peace".
Convictions.
The UDA members involved were arrested shortly after the massacre. During their first court appearance, Knight was filmed laughing, taunting and shouting abuse at the victims' relatives as he was led from the building. In February 1995, Irwin, Deeney, Knight and McNeill were sentenced to life imprisonment for their involvement in the attack. Knight was also convicted for the Castlerock killings. In 2000, they were released early, along with other paramilitary prisoners, under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement. Irwin called the massacre "payback" and said he had "no remorse". After their release, both Irwin and Knight are believed to have joined the Neo-Nazi militant group Combat 18.
In 2005, Irwin received a four-year prison sentence for slashing a man with a knife. This meant that he also now had to serve the eight life sentences he received for the Greysteel massacre. In 2006, he abandoned an appeal against the sentences. In September 2013, Irwin was released from prison a second time after submitting an application to the Sentence Review Commissioners for early release. The commissioners ruled his application should be granted and he was released immediately.
There have been claims in the media that Knight was a paid informer for the MI5. Knight denied the claims. In October 2007, a Police Ombudsman investigation concluded that police did not have any prior knowledge that could have helped them prevent the Greysteel attack. The investigators did not find any evidence that Knight was protected from the law.


Gaius Marcius Rutilus

Gaius Marcius Rutilus (also seen as "Rutulus") was the first plebeian dictator and censor of ancient Rome, and was consul four times.
He was first elected consul in 357 BC, then appointed as dictator the following year in order to deal with an invasion by the Etruscans which had reached as far as the ancient salt-works on the coast. He surprised the enemy's camp, captured 8,000 of the enemy and drove the rest out of Roman territory, for which he was granted a triumph by the people, against the Senate's wishes.
Rutilus was again elected consul in 352 BC. At the end of his term, he ran for censor and won, despite patrician opposition. He was also consul in 344 BC and 342 BC, when he led the army in the Samnite Wars.
His son of the same name was tribune of the plebs in 311 BC and consul in 310 BC. According to Fergus Millar, this son was one of the first plebeian augurs under the Lex Ogulnia and also held the position of censor twice, the first time in 294 BC and the second time in 265 BC.


Michael Tierney (politician)

Michael Tierney (30 September 1894 – 10 May 1975) was Professor of Greek at University College Dublin (UCD) from 1923 to 1947 and President of UCD between 1947 and 1964, and was also a Cumann na nGaedheal politician.
Biography.
Tierney was born in 1894 in the townland of Esker, near Castleblakeney, County Galway, the son of Michael Tierney, a farmer, and Bridget Finn. He attended St Joseph's College, Ballinasloe, and entered UCD in October 1911. He graduated in 1914 with a first-class honours degree in Ancient Classics. Two years later he was awarded his MA degree, and he worked as an assistant lecturer in Greek from 1918 to 1919 and 1920 to 1922. In 1917 he won a National University of Ireland (NUI) travelling studentship in Classics and used it to study in the Sorbonne, British School at Athens and Berlin from 1919 to 1921. He was appointed to the Chair of Greek in 1922.
Tierney was elected a Cumann na nGaedheal Teachta Dála (TD) for Mayo North in a by-election in 1925 and for the NUI constituency in 1927, a seat he held until 1932.
Tierney came to corporatism through a study of Catholic social thought, and through an analysis of continental systems of corporatism, particularly those of Portugal and Austria. He was an early member of the Army Comrades Association (later known as the Blueshirts) and, along with Ernest Blythe, encouraged Eoin O'Duffy to become the leader. Tierney suggested the name "Fine Gael" for the new coalition between his party, the Centre Party and the Blueshirts.
He was a member of Seanad Éireann from 1938 to 1944.
He was the prime mover behind the transfer of UCD to its present site at Belfield. On 28 June 1923, he married Eibhlín MacNeill, daughter of Eoin MacNeill. He wrote a biography of his father-in-law, "Eoin MacNeill: scholar and man of action" (1980).


Earl of Lemongrab


Ahmed al-Nami

Ahmed bin Abdullah al-Nami (Arabic: أحمد بن عبد الله النعمي, ; also transliterated as Alnami; August 17, 1977 – September 11, 2001) was one of four hijackers of United Airlines Flight 93 as part of the September 11 attacks.
Born in Saudi Arabia, al-Nami had served as a muezzin and was a college student. He left his family in 2000 to complete the Hajj, but later went to Afghanistan bound for an al-Qaeda training camp where he befriended other future hijackers and would soon be chosen to participate in the attacks.
He arrived in the United States in May 2001, on a tourist visa, where he would settle in Florida up until the attacks. On September 11, 2001, al-Nami boarded United 93 and assisted in the hijacking of the plane, which crashed into a field in rural Shanksville, Pennsylvania after a failed attempt to crash it into either the U.S. Capitol or the White House following a passenger uprising, due to the passengers receiving information from their families of the three other hijacked planes that hit the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
History.
Al-Nami, much like Abdulaziz al-Omari, Wail al-Shehri, Waleed al-Shehri and Mohand al-Shehri, was born in the 'Asir Province in Saudi Arabia. Born to the Quraish tribe of Saudi Arabia, Al-Nami served as a muezzin at the Seqeley mosque after having reportedly become very religious sometime in early 1999. That autumn he left his family home in Abha in the summer of 2000 to complete the Hajj, but never returned – instead travelling to the Al Farouq training camp in Afghanistan where he met and befriended Waleed and Wail al-Shehri, two brothers from Khamis Mushayt in the same province, and Saeed al-Ghamdi. The four reportedly pledged themselves to Jihad in the Spring of 2000, in a ceremony presided over by Wail al-Shehri – who had dubbed himself "Abu Mossaeb al-Janubi" after one of Muhammad's companions. Dubbed "Abu Hashim", al-Nami was considered "gentle in manner" by his colleagues, and reported that he had a dream in which he rode a mare along with Muhammad, and that the prophet told him to dismount and fight his enemies to liberate his land.
During his time at al-Farooq, there is a curious mention under Mushabib al-Hamlan's details that al-Nami had recently had laser eye surgery, an uncited fact that does not reappear.
By October he had taken a prospective hijacker Mushabib al-Hamlan from Afghanistan to Saudi Arabia where they both procured B-1/B-2 tourist/business visas on October 28 – but al-Hamlan then decided not to proceed and is thought to have returned to his family. Al-Nami's visa application has since been reviewed, and while he mentioned that al-Hamlan will be travelling with him, he listed his occupation as "student" but failed to provide an address for his school, and listed his intended address in the United States merely as Los Angeles – in the end he never used this visa to enter the United States, and reported his passport (C115007, which showed evidence of travel to Afghanistan) as "lost", and procured a new one from Jeddah (C505363). He used the new passport to acquire a new B-1/B-2 visa in Jeddah on April 23, again recopying his answers from previously although crossing out the lines regarding al-Hamlan and previous attempts to acquire a visa. He was interviewed by a consular officer, who again approved his application. Records at the time only recorded past failures to procure a visa, so the officer had no way of realising that Nami had successfully received an earlier visa.
In mid-November 2000, the 9/11 Commission believes that al-Nami, Wail and Waleed al-Shehri, all of whom had obtained their U.S. visas in late October, traveled in a group from Saudi Arabia to Beirut and then onward to Iran where they could travel through to Afghanistan without getting their passports stamped. This probably followed their return to Saudi Arabia to get "clean" passports. An associate of a senior Hezbollah operative is thought to have been on the same flight, although this may have been a coincidence.
While in the United Arab Emirates, al-Nami purchased traveler's cheques presumed to have been paid for by Mustafa al-Hawsawi. Five other hijackers also passed through the UAE and purchased travellers cheques, including Majed Moqed, Saeed al-Ghamdi, Hamza al-Ghamdi, Ahmed al-Haznawi and Wail al-Shehri.
2001.
In March 2001, Ahmed al-Nami appeared in an al-Qaeda farewell video showing 13 of the "muscle hijackers" before they left their training centre in Kandahar; while he does not speak, he is seen studying maps and flight manuals.
On April 23, al-Nami was recorded obtaining a new US visa.
On May 28, al-Nami arrived in the United States from Dubai with fellow-hijackers Mohand al-Shehri and Hamza al-Ghamdi. By early June, al-Nami was living in apartment 1504 at the Delray Racquet Club condominiums with Saeed al-Ghamdi in Delray Beach, Florida. He telephoned his family in 'Asir shortly after arriving in the country.
In June, he phoned his family for the last time.
He was one of 9 hijackers to open a SunTrust bank account with a cash deposit around June 2001, and on June 29 received either a Florida State Identification Card or Drivers License.
He may have been one of three hijackers that listed the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida as their permanent address on drivers' licenses, though other sources claim he listed the Delray condominium.
On August 28, al-Nami and Ahmed al-Haznawi reportedly bothered a Delray Beach resident, Maria Siscar Simpson, to let them through her apartment to retrieve a towel that had fallen off their balcony onto hers.
On September 5, al-Nami and Saeed al-Ghamdi purchased tickets for a September 7 flight to Newark at Mile High Travel on Commercial Boulevard—paying cash for their tickets. Ziad Jarrah and Ahmed al-Haznawi also purchased tickets for the same flight from Passage Tours.
On September 7, all four Flight 93 hijackers flew from Fort Lauderdale to Newark International Airport aboard Spirit Airlines.
Attacks.
On September 11, 2001, Nami arrived in Newark to board United Airlines Flight 93 along with Saeed al-Ghamdi, Ahmed al-Haznawi and Ziad Jarrah. Some reports suggest Haznawi was pulled aside for screening while others claim there is no record of whether any of the four were screened; the lack of CCTV cameras at the time has compounded the problem. Nami boarded the plane between 7:39 am and 7:48 am; seated in First Class 3C, next to Saeed al-Ghamdi.
Due to the flight's routine delay, the pilot and crew were notified of the previous hijackings and were told to be on the alert, though within two minutes Jarrah had stormed the cockpit leaving the pilots dead or injured.
At least two of the cellphone calls made by passengers indicate that all the hijackers they saw were wearing red bandanas, which some have questioned may have signified an allegiance to the Egyptian Islamic Jihad. The calls also indicated that one of the men had tied a box around his torso, and claimed there was a bomb inside; it is not known which hijacker this was.
Passengers on the plane heard through phone calls the fates of the other hijacked planes, and organized a brief assault to retake the cockpit. Three times in a period of five seconds there were shouts of pain or distress from a hijacker outside the cockpit, suggesting that Nami was being attacked by the passengers. The hijackers crashed the plane into the Pennsylvanian countryside rather than cede control of the plane. All aboard died.
Aftermath.
After the attacks, an employee of Saudi Arabian Airlines named Ahmed al-Nami came forward to say that he feared his identity had been stolen, although he had never lost his passport.
He has been portrayed by British actor Jamie Harding in the 2006 film "United 93" and Asim Wali in the film "Flight 93".


IRA Army Council

The IRA Army Council was the decision-making body of the Provisional Irish Republican Army, a paramilitary group dedicated to bringing about independence to the whole island of Ireland and the end of the Union between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. The Council had seven members, said by the British and Irish governments to have included Gerry Adams, the former president of Sinn Féin. The Independent Monitoring Commission declared in 2008 that the council was "no longer operational or functional," but also states that the Army Council still exists and has not dissolved.
Background.
Origins.
The Army Council of the IRA split in December 1969 and a "Provisional" Army Council emerged as the head of the newly formed Provisional Irish Republican Army.
Legal status.
The IRA was a proscribed organization under the terms of the Offences Against the State Acts passed between 1939 and 1998 in the Republic of Ireland and under equivalent anti-terrorist legislation in the United Kingdom, making membership of it a criminal offence. In the Republic, trials for membership take place in the Special Criminal Court (where three judges hear cases without a jury, on the evidence of a Garda superintendent or higher rank) and carries a maximum penalty of five years' imprisonment.
Relationship with Sinn Féin.
Senior members of Sinn Féin, some of whom, according to both the British and Irish governments, have sat on the Army Council, together with IRA members not known to be involved in illegal activities, have been effectively immune from prosecution in recent years in order to enable progress in the peace process.
On 14 January 2005, Martin Ferris, a Sinn Féin TD for North Kerry, was accused of being a member of the IRA Army Council in an article in "The Irish Times" written by journalist Kevin Myers. In the same article, Myers also accused members of Sinn Féin who had visited Downing Street in December 2004, a delegation that had included Gerry Adams, of sitting on the Army Council.
On 20 February 2005, Irish Justice Minister Michael McDowell publicly named Ferris, Gerry Adams, and Martin McGuinness, Sinn Féin's chief negotiator, as members of the Army Council during a radio interview. The three men issued a statement the next day denying the charge.
On 27 July 2005, McDowell expressed his belief that Adams, McGuinness, and Ferris had recently (within the previous few days) left the IRA Army Council. However he also claimed that it was his opinion that this by itself did not necessarily amount to a permanent split between the two organisations.
On 20 October 2015, the Assessment on Paramilitary Groups in Northern Ireland, commissioned by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on the structure, role and purpose of paramilitary organisations reported the structures of the IRA remain in existence "in a much reduced form", including "a senior leadership, the 'Provisional Army Council' and some 'departments'", but that they are not recruiting members. It concluded that the IRA still has access to some weapons, but have not sought to procure more since at least 2011. It also said that IRA members believe the Army Council oversees both the IRA and Sinn Féin.
Membership.
In May 2005, "The Sunday Times" reported that the following changes were made to the IRA Army Council:
"The Sunday Times" reported in July 2005 that security sources believed that the current Army Council consisted of:


Attack on Abu Bakr Mosque of Baku

The Attack on Abu Bakr Mosque of Baku took place on August 17, 2008 when a grenade was thrown through a window of the Abu Bakr (Abu-Bekir) mosque in central Baku, Azerbaijan, during the evening prayer. Three people were killed and eleven more were injured. The Azerbaijani security forces accused the Russia-based Islamist Jihadist group, the Derbent Jamaat for the attack and launched the Operation Eagle.
Background.
According to the annual Country Report on Terrorism in 2008 of the US Department of State, "Azerbaijan is a logical route for extremists with ties to terrorist organizations".
According to Reuters, the mosque is used both by Sunni and Wahhabi Muslims. And while Azerbaijan has launched several investigations into Wahhabism in the last few months, law enforcement agencies determined that Wahhabists convicted of an attempted terrorist act in the town of Sumgait had links to al-Qaeda. Whilst the activities of Wahabbists in Azerbaijan are considered controversial, the government has declared Wahabbi groups would not be banned.
The U.S. and Israeli embassies in Azerbaijan expressed concern about the incident.
Investigation.
A special committee was created to handle the investigation. The mosque remained closed during the investigation.
The Ministry of National Security of Azerbaijan accused the Russia-based Derbent Jamaat leaders Ilgar Mollachiyev from Zagatala, and Samir Mehdiyev (Suleiman) and a group of others of organizing the attack on Abu Bakr Mosque in Baku. In 2007, 17 members of the group were arrested in Sumgayit. As the Ministry reported, "According to their plan, a Sumgayit Jamaat (a secret extremist group) had to be created. They planned a number of robberies in Baku in order to collect funds for a holy war (Jihad)." The attack was followed by the Operation Eagle, launched by the Azerbaijani security services.


Ziad Jarrah

Ziad Samir Jarrah (, ""; May 11, 1975 – September 11, 2001) was a member of al-Qaeda and one of the perpetrators of the September 11 attacks. Jarrah was the hijacker-pilot of United Airlines Flight 93, crashing the plane into a field in a rural area near Shanksville, Pennsylvania—after a passenger uprising—as part of the coordinated attacks.
After a wealthy and secularist upbringing, Jarrah moved to Germany in 1996. He became involved in the planning of the September 11 attacks while attending Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (HAW) in the late 1990s, meeting Mohamed Atta, Marwan al-Shehhi and Ramzi bin al-Shibh, forming what is now known as the Hamburg cell. Jarrah was recruited by Osama bin Laden for the attacks in 1999. Unique among the hijackers, he was close to his family and girlfriend. He was reportedly the only hijacker who had any significant apprehensions about carrying out the attacks.
Jarrah arrived in the United States in June 2000. He trained at Huffman Aviation together with Atta and Al-Shehhi with their flight instructor Rudi Dekkers from June 2000 to January 2001, after relocating to Florida from New Jersey.
On September 7, 2001, Jarrah flew from Fort Lauderdale to Newark. Four days later, he boarded United Airlines Flight 93, and was believed to have taken over as the pilot of the aircraft along with his team of hijackers, which included Saeed al-Ghamdi, Ahmed al-Nami and Ahmed al-Haznawi, who together made an attempt to crash the plane into either the U.S. Capitol or the White House, which was thwarted when the passengers started a revolt against the hijackers.
Early life and education.
Jarrah was born in Beirut, Lebanon, to a wealthy family. He was brought up in the Muslim quarter of the city, Tarik Jdideh, and received his primary and secondary education from schools in that area. His parents were nominally Sunni Muslim, although they lived a secular lifestyle. In his childhood, he had always wanted to fly planes, but his family discouraged this. "I stopped him from being a pilot," his father told the "Wall Street Journal" a week after the attacks. "I only have one son and I was afraid that he would crash."
From 1995 to 1996, while Jarrah was still living in Yemen, according to his family, somebody of the same name rented an apartment in Brooklyn, New York. The landlords claimed it was the same Ziad Jarrah as in the FBI photographs.
In the spring of 1996, Jarrah moved to Germany with his cousin, Salim. They were there to take a certificate course in German at the University of Greifswald required of foreigners studying in Germany who do not speak the language. While sharing an apartment with his cousin, he reportedly attended discos and beach parties, and his attendance at the mosque fell off. He met Aysel Şengün, a German-born woman of Turkish ancestry studying dentistry, and the two became good friends. They dated on and off for the remainder of his life and lived together briefly, which vexed his more religious friends.
In September 1997, Jarrah left Greifswald and instead began studying aerospace engineering at the Fachhochschule (University of Applied Sciences) in Hamburg, while working at a Volkswagen paint shop in nearby Wolfsburg. While in Hamburg, he rented an apartment from Rosemarie Canel, who would paint a portrait of him that he would bring back as a gift for his mother that December.
The 9/11 Commission Report states that Jarrah was a member of the Hamburg cell, along with Mohamed Atta and the others. He did not live with any of the others, however, and can be confirmed to only have met with any of them in Hamburg on a single occasion: that of Said Bahaji's wedding at the al-Quds Mosque in October 1999.
Training in Afghanistan.
In late 1999, Jarrah, Mohamed Atta, Marwan al-Shehhi, Said Bahaji, and Ramzi bin al-Shibh decided to travel to Chechnya to fight Russian soldiers in the Second Chechen War. Khalid al-Masri and Mohamedou Ould Slahi convinced them at the last minute to travel instead to Afghanistan to meet with Osama bin Laden and train for terrorist attacks. They were told they were on a highly secret mission and were instructed to return to Germany after the operation and enroll in flight school. In October 1999, Ziad Jarrah was filmed at Said Bahaji’s wedding with other 9/11 hijackers, including Marwan al-Shehhi.
In 2006, a video surfaced showing Jarrah, still bearded, reading his will in January 2000 along with Mohamed Atta. Not long after this, Jarrah shaved his beard and began to act in a more secular way, according to Şengün. Many of the future hijackers attempted to hide their radicalism and blend in with the population. To hide his travels to Afghanistan (which may have concerned security officials at international airports) Jarrah reported his passport stolen in February 2000 and received a blank duplicate, just as hijackers Atta and Shehhi had done the previous month.
Jarrah dropped out of the Fachhochschule and began looking at flight schools. He claimed that this was to fulfill his childhood dream of being a pilot. After looking in several countries, he decided that none of the flight schools in Europe were adequate. On the advice of a childhood friend, he prepared to move to the United States.
In the United States.
Jarrah apparently entered the United States on seven separate occasions, more than any other hijacker. On May 25, 2000, he applied for and received a five-year US B-1/B-2
(tourist/business) visa in Berlin. On June 27, 2000, he went to the U.S. for the first time, arriving at Newark International Airport. He then traveled to Florida together with al-Shehhi and Atta, where the three men enrolled full-time at Huffman Aviation, in Venice. Jarrah did not apply for a change in his status, from a tourist visa to a student visa, thus violating his immigration status.
Jarrah was enrolled in flight school for six months, from June 2000 to January 15, 2001. At the flight school, many of his classmates remember him fondly, describing him as kind and trustworthy, and remember him drinking beer occasionally. Jarrah was unique among the hijackers in that he did not live with any other hijackers, but rather lived with a German student named Thorsten Biermann. Biermann did not observe Jarrah acting particularly religiously or overtly politically. Jarrah occasionally flew back to Germany to visit Aysel Şengün, his Turkish-German girlfriend, and called or e-mailed her nearly every day.
Rudi Dekkers, a Dutchman and the flight instructor of Huffman Aviation (which is now out of business), was interviewed after the attacks in 2001 by authorities. According to Dekkers, both Jarrah and Al-Shehhi were good students, unlike Atta, who misbehaved and refused to follow instructions. Dekkers told Atta that he was going to kick him out of the school if his behavior didn't change, and as a response, Atta's behavior began to improve. Dekkers also said that he went with Al-Shehhi and Jarrah to a bar in Sarasota, Florida named Shamrock Pub after one of their flight lessons. At the bar, they talked to Dekkers about their plans after getting their pilot licenses, and Jarrah said to Dekkers "I got a job lined up and we are planning to become pilots."
Jarrah had obtained his license to fly small aircraft in August 2000, and began training to fly large jets later that year. He flew to Sana'a to visit his family, and then to Germany to visit his girlfriend, Şengün. He brought her back to the United States for a ten-day visit, and she even attended a flight school session with him. In late January 2001, he again flew to Sana'a to visit his father, who was ill, and then to Germany to visit his girlfriend. He returned to the United States once again in late February. His behavior was markedly different from the other hijackers, who broke off all familial and romantic relations.
On his way back to the U.S., he passed through the UAE, according to that country's officials, where he was initially reported as having been interviewed by authorities on January 30, 2001, at the request of the CIA.
He allegedly admitted to having been to Afghanistan and Pakistan, although the CIA has since denied the claim and the 9/11 Commission Report does not mention it. The Florida flight school where Jarrah had been studying also said he was in school there until January 15, 2001.
On May 6, Jarrah registered for a two-month membership at the US1 Fitness Center, a gym in Dania Beach, Florida—he would later renew his membership for two more months, and eventually had lessons in close-quarters combat with Bert Rodriguez. It is believed that sometime in that month Ahmed al-Haznawi, who arrived on June 8, moved in with Jarrah. Jarrah rented a new apartment in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea after both men gave the landlord photocopies of their German passports, which he later turned over to the FBI.
On June 25, Jarrah took Haznawi to Holy Cross Hospital in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on the advice of his landlord, Charles Lisa. Haznawi was treated by Dr. Christos Tsonas, who gave him antibiotics for a small gash on his left calf. While he told staff that he had bumped into a suitcase, the media briefly reported it as a sign of cutaneous anthrax, hoping to show a link to the 2001 anthrax attacks, although the FBI later addressed the rumors, stating that "exhaustive testing did not support that anthrax was present anywhere the hijackers had been."
In mid-July 2001, some of the hijackers and members of the Hamburg cell gathered near Salou, Spain, for a period of a few days up to a couple of weeks. There seemed to be tension between Jarrah and Atta about the plot in its late stages. Atta had complained to Ramzi bin al-Shibh about his difficulty in getting through to Jarrah and his fear that Jarrah might withdraw from the plot completely. On July 25, Jarrah flew to Germany on a one-way ticket and again met with his girlfriend, the last time she saw him (though they would talk by telephone at least once more). Later, he met with bin al-Shibh who convinced Jarrah to go through with the operation. Jarrah arrived back in the United States on August 5, though other sources indicate that he took his pilot's test on August 2, having missed his sister's wedding to do so. On August 27, he checked into a Laurel, Maryland, motel, only a mile away from the Valencia where four other hijackers were staying. On September 7, 2001, all four of the Flight 93 hijackers flew from Fort Lauderdale to Newark International Airport aboard Spirit Airlines.
In the early morning hours of September 9, 2001, Jarrah was pulled over for speeding in Maryland and received a ticket. Jarrah phoned his parents later that day, mentioning that he had received the money order they had sent five days earlier. He told them he intended to see them on September 22 for his cousin's wedding.
On September 10, Jarrah spent his final evening writing a letter to Şengün, with whom he had made marriage plans. This letter is widely interpreted as a suicide note. The letter did not reach Şengün; she had entered witness protection shortly after the attacks and her apartment was unattended. The letter was returned to the United States by the postal services, where it was discovered and delivered to the FBI. The note contained the phrases "I did what I had to" and "It is a great honour and you will see the result, and everyone will be celebrating."
According to one source, Jarrah had set up a large mock cockpit made of cardboard boxes in his apartment just before the attacks.
Attacks.
On the morning of September 11, 2001, Jarrah, Saeed al-Ghamdi, Ahmed al-Nami and Ahmed al-Haznawi boarded United Airlines Flight 93 from Newark International Airport at gate A17 without incident, and sat in first-class seats near the cockpit. Before boarding, Ziad Jarrah called his girlfriend Aysel Şengün from a public telephone at the airport, repeating the words "I love you" over and over. Due to a delay, the plane took off at 8:41a.m., five minutes before American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the World Trade Center. The pilot and crew were notified of the first two hijackings that day, and were told to be on alert. Within minutes, around 9:28a.m., Flight 93 was hijacked as well. The 9/11 Commission stated that Jarrah was the pilot.
The pilot's voice was heard by air traffic control telling passengers to remain seated. Jarrah announcing, "Ladies and gentlemen: here the captain. Please sit down, keep remaining seating. We have a bomb on board. So sit." At 9:39 a.m., the pilot announced over the radio, "This is the captain. Would like you all to remain seated. There is a bomb on board and are going back to the airport, and to have our demands, so please remain quiet."
At least two of the cellphone calls made by passengers indicate that all the hijackers they saw were wearing red bandannas, and indicated that one of the men, believed to be either Ahmed al-Haznawi or Ahmed al-Nami, had a box tied around his torso, and claimed there was a bomb inside. Passengers on the plane had learned the fates of the other hijacked planes through telephone calls; some decided to act, fearing their plane, too, would be used as a missile. A passenger uprising foiled the terrorists' plans, but failed to save the plane. According to the August 8, 2003, analysis of the plane's cockpit recording by the United States investigators, a group of passengers tried to break into the cockpit. To knock them off balance, Jarrah rolled the plane to the left and right. When this failed, he then pitched the nose forward and back. Jarrah stabilized the plane at 10:00:03. Five seconds later, he asked, "Is that it? Shall we finish it off?" Another hijacker responded, "No. Not yet. When they all come, we finish it off." The voice recorder recorded the sound of the passengers using the food cart as a battering ram against the cockpit door. Jarrah ceased the violent maneuvers at 10:01:00 and recited the takbir (an Islamic prayer) several times. He then asked another hijacker, "Is that it? I mean, shall we put it down?" The other hijacker responded, "Yes, put it in it, and pull it down." The passengers continued their assault and at 10:02:17, a male passenger said, "Turn it up!" A second later, a hijacker said, "Pull it down! Pull it down!" At 10:02:33, Jarrah made a desperate plea in Arabic, screaming "Hey! Hey! Give it to me! Give it to me! Give it to me! Give it to me! Give it to me! Give it to me! Give it to me! Give it to me!", possibly referring to the plane's yoke. The plane crashed just outside of Shanksville, Pennsylvania, at 10:03:11, 125 miles (200 km) from Washington, D.C. All aboard died. The National Transportation Safety Board reported that the flight impacted at 563mph (906km/h, 252m/s, or 489 knots).
After September 11, Jarrah's girlfriend, Şengün, filed a missing person report in Bochum. Jarrah became a suspect as FBI agents found a "Ziad Jarrahi" in the flight manifest (the additional "i" at the end a possible misspelling).
Mistaken identity claims.
There have been claims that Jarrah was not a hijacker or that he was not present on the plane and his identity was stolen. It has been pointed out that his behavior deviated from the profile presented by the other hijackers and that the passengers reported three and not four hijackers. However, the October 2006 emergence of a video shot on January 18, 2000, showing Jarrah recording his will alongside Mohamed Atta has cast heavy doubt on such claims.
Shortly after the September 11 attacks, family and friends claimed that Jarrah did not exhibit the same "smoldering political resentments" or "cultural conservatism" as Mohamed Atta. He was not raised with a background of religious conviction and did not hold to an obviously conservative lifestyle. Personnel at the flight school Jarrah attended described him as "a normal person". Jarrah called his family two days, and his girlfriend Aysel Sengün three hours, before boarding United Airlines Flight 93; Sengün described the conversation as "pleasant" and "normal". She also claimed that he never mentioned any names of the other hijackers. In his call two days before the attack, Jarrah told his family he would be coming home for a cousin's wedding. "It makes no sense," his uncle Jamal claimed. "He said he had even bought a new suit for the occasion." Jarrah's family in Lebanon claimed in September 2001 that he was an innocent passenger on the plane. His uncle, Jamal Jarrah, is currently a deputy in the Lebanese parliament and was appointed minister on December 18, 2016, and a member of the Future Movement, a pro-Saudi Arabian political party led by Saad Hariri. On January 2, 2012, on a televised interview on Future TV, MP Jarrah denied his nephew's involvement in the 9-11 attacks, alluding to a conspiracy.
On October 23, 2001, John Ashcroft claimed that Jarrah had shared a Hamburg apartment with Mohamed Atta and Marwan al-Shehhi, though German authorities that same day told the "Los Angeles Times" that they had no evidence that any of Jarrah's three apartments in Hamburg had been connected with the other hijackers. One high-ranking German police official stated, "The only information we have connecting the three Hamburg suspects is the FBI's assertion that there is a connection." In October 2006, however, a video surfaced showing Atta and Jarrah together in Afghanistan, clearly connecting Jarrah to the members of the Hamburg cell.
The 9/11 Commission concluded without qualification that Jarrah was a hijacker on the plane when it crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
In October 2006, an al-Qaeda video was released showing Jarrah and Mohamed Atta recording their wills in January 2000 in Osama Bin Laden's Tarnak Farms base near Kandahar, Afghanistan.


Shamakhy Khanate

Shamakhy khanate was a feudal state on the modern territory of Azerbaijan in the 18th century. Diarchy existed in Shamakhy khanate. Part of the khanate was governed by Mahammad Hasan khan, other parts was governed by Mahammad Said and Agasi brothers. Mahammad Said khan unified Shamakhy khanate in 1763 and Shamakhy city became the centre of khanate. In 1767, Guba and Shaki khanates attacked the Shamakhy and territory of the khanate was divided between them. In 1790, Shirvan khans restored their authorities.