Quickhits - Oddities that didn't warrant a full post

(Reuters) Turkey asks U.S. not to violate its airspace again

(AP) The bizarre story of Jack Idema continues. Idema is the American who was captured in Kabul running a private prison and torture facility. He claimed he was working as a US contractor, but that has always been denied. Now he remains in a prison cell in Afghanistan where he's being treated like a prince. Just very weird.

(Newsweek) Isikoff has an odd little blurb naming Department 9000 which is supposedly the cut out organization between Iran's Quds force and the armed factions in Iraq.

(CSMonitor) An article outlining a failed Pakistani raid in the tribal regions that was foiled by thousands of local supporters rallying to their cleric's defense.

And, from Iraqslogger, definitely treat this as rumor,

In other news, Sadrist leaders denied yesterday’s rumors claiming that a former Sadrist minister “defected” to the US and received asylum in the United States, after briefing the American Army on the “secrets” of the Sadr movement.

Salih al-'Aqili, a Sadrist depute, told Az-Zaman that the allegations regarding the defection of 'Ali al-Shammari (ex-minister of health) are “fabricated” and “spread to defame the Sadrist Current.”

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