memeorandum: Islamists Abandon Final Stronghold in Somalia (Jeffrey Gettleman/New York Times)

Sahra Abdi / Reuters:

Somali Islamists flee stronghold — KISMAYU, Somalia (Reuters) - Defeated Somali Islamists fled their last stronghold and headed toward the Kenyan border on Monday in what looked like the end of nearly two weeks of war with the Ethiopian-backed government. — Several thousand Islamist troops …

Nasteex Dahir Farah / Associated Press:

Somali troops capture Islamic stronghold — KISMAYO, Somalia - Somali government troops backed by Ethiopian tanks and fighter jets captured the last major stronghold of a militant Islamic movement Monday, while hundreds of Islamic fighters — many of them Arabs and South Asians — fled the town.

Discussion: Power Line

Jeffrey Gettleman / New York Times:

Islamists Abandon Final Stronghold in Somalia — The Islamist forces in Somalia abandoned their final stronghold this morning, fleeing the port city of Kismayo much like they had fled Mogadishu, the capital, last week. — In the face of an intense artillery barrage by Ethiopian-backed forces …

Discussion: Hot Air

Nasteex Dahir Farah / Associated Press:

Islamists quit last bastion in Somalia — KISMAYU, Somalia - Islamist fighters abandoned the last major town they held early today and were seen heading south toward the Kenyan border while government forces approached slowly because of land mines, residents and a government spokesman said.

Discussion: PrairiePundit

Associated Press:

SOMALI TROOPS CLOSE IN ON 3 WANTED FOR U.S. EMBASSY BOMBINGS — KISMAYO, Somalia — Fighting erupted Sunday on the outskirts of the last remaining stronghold of Somalia's militant Islamic movement, as thousands of residents streamed from the area ahead of the feared battle with Ethiopian-backed government troops.

Discussion: Op For

Jeffrey Gettleman / New York Times:
Islamists, Cornered in Somalia, Lose Local Support

Discussion: PrairiePundit, Riehl World View, Hot Air and Times of London

Observer:
Not a shot was fired yet the Somali jihad was suddenly over...

Discussion: Blue Crab Boulevard and Crooks and Liars

New York Times:

Rush to Hang Hussein Was Questioned — BAGHDAD, Dec. 31 — With his plain pine coffin strapped into an American military helicopter for a predawn journey across the desert, Saddam Hussein, the executed dictator who built a legend with his defiance of America, completed a turbulent passage into history on Sunday.

Discussion: Blinq, Don Surber, Unclaimed Territory, Empire Burlesque, Rook's Rant, Bark Bark Woof Woof and Prairie Weather

Reuters:

Saddam Hanged but No Let - Up in Iraq Violence — BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Saddam Hussein was hanged at dawn on Saturday for crimes against humanity after Iraq's prime minister rushed through an execution few believed would help stem the sectarian violence tearing the country apart.

Michael Abramowitz / Washington Post:

GOP Lawmakers Divided About 'Surge' in Troops — Republican lawmakers appear uneasy about — and in some cases outright dismissive of — the idea of sending many more troops to Iraq, as President Bush contemplates such a "surge" as part of his new strategy for stabilizing the country.

Discussion: Firedoglake, AMERICAblog, DownWithTyranny! and Think Progress

Robert D. Novak / Washington Post:

A 'Surge' Faces Trouble In the Senate — Sen. John McCain, leading a blue-ribbon congressional delegation to Baghdad before Christmas, collected evidence that a "surge" of more U.S. troops is needed in Iraq. But not all his colleagues who accompanied him were convinced.

Discussion: The Belgravia Dispatch and skippy the bush kangaroo

Bill Roggio / The Fourth Rail:

The State of the Jihad — A look at the state of the major theaters, and some under the radar, in the Long War — Waziristan. — The year of 2006 has seen some interesting developments in the fight against al-Qaeda and its allies across the globe. While the war against al-Qaeda …

Discussion: The Belmont Club, PrairiePundit and INDCJournal

Nancy Trejos / Washington Post:

U.S. Toll In Iraq Reaches 3,000 — The number of U.S. service members killed in Iraq since the war began in 2003 reached 3,000 on Sunday, a symbolic milestone at a time when the Bush administration is rethinking its strategy for the increasingly violent conflict.

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report and Rox Populi

David Millward / Telegraph:

US 'licence to snoop' on British air travellers — Britons flying to America could have their credit card and email accounts inspected by the United States authorities following a deal struck by Brussels and Washington. — By using a credit card to book a flight, passengers face having …

Discussion: PoliPundit.com

River / Baghdad Burning:

A Lynching... It's official. Maliki and his people are psychopaths. This really is a new low. It's outrageous- an execution during Eid. Muslims all over the world (with the exception of Iran) are outraged. Eid is a time of peace, of putting aside quarrels and anger- at least for the duration of Eid.

Discussion: CorrenteWire and Sentencing Law and Policy

Souhail Karam / Reuters:

Muslim haj pilgrims perform devil-stoning ritual — Source: Reuters — MENA, Saudi Arabia, Dec 31 (Reuters) - More than 2.5 million Muslim haj pilgrims performed devil-stoning rites on Sunday, amid tight security to prevent overcrowding and protests following the execution of Saddam Hussein.

Discussion: Jihad Watch