Chicago Bulls forward Luol Deng is asking British Prime Minister David Cameron to pump government money into the country’s basketball program to ensure the legacy from the London Olympics isn’t “completely demolished.”
Source: FULL ARTICLE at NBA
Tag Archives: British Prime Minister David Cameron
Desert siege toll passes 80; bomb squads search
Algerian bomb squads searched a gas refinery laced with mines on Monday, looking for more explosive traps a day after the discovery of more bodies throughout the site raised the toll from the terrorist siege well past 80.
Special forces from the Algerian military stormed the plant on Saturday to end the four-day siege, then the government began the painstaking work of finding and defusing the explosives planted in what government officials said was a plot by the Islamic extremists to blow up the complex and kill all their captives.
In a statement, the Masked Brigade, the group that claimed to have masterminded the takeover, warned of more such attacks against any country backing France‘s military intervention in neighboring Mali, where the French are trying to stop an advance by Islamic extremists.
“We stress to our Muslim brothers the necessity to stay away from all the Western companies and complexes for their own safety, and especially the French ones,” the statement said.
Algeria said after Saturday’s assault by government forces that at least 32 extremists and 23 hostages were killed. On Sunday, the Algerian bomb squads found 25 more bodies, said a security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.
“These bodies are difficult to identify. They could be the bodies of foreign hostages or Algerians or terrorists,” the official said.
In addition, a wounded Romanian who had been evacuated died, raising the overall death toll to at least 81.
Two private Algerian TV stations and an online news site said security forces scouring the plant found five militants hiding out on Sunday and learned that three others had fled. That information could not be immediately confirmed by security officials.
“Now, of course, people will ask questions about the Algerian response to these events, but I would just say that the responsibility for these deaths lies squarely with the terrorists who launched a vicious and cowardly attack,” British Prime Minister David Cameron said. Three Britons were killed and another three were feared dead.
On Monday, Philippine Foreign Affairs officials said six Filipinos were among the hostages killed. Spokesman Raul Hernandez told reporters that 16 Filipinos have been accounted for and four others are still missing.
The dead hostages were also known to include at least one American and a French worker. Nearly two dozen foreigners by some estimates were unaccounted for.
It was unclear whether anyone was rescued in the final assault on the complex, which is run by the Algerian state oil company along with BP and Norway’s Statoil.
Authorities said the bloody takeover was carried out Wednesday by 32 men from six countries, under the command from afar of the one-eyed Algerian bandit Moktar Belmoktar, founder of the Masked Brigade, based in Mali. The attacking force called itself “Those Who Sign in Blood” and has claimed to have Canadians in the cell as well.
The Masked Brigade said Sunday the attack was payback against Algeria for allowing over-flights of French aircraft headed to Mali and for closing its long border with Mali. In an earlier communication, the Brigade claimed to have carried out the attack in the name of al-Qaida.
Armed with heavy machine guns, rocket launchers, missiles and grenades, the militants singled out foreign workers at the plant, killing some of them on the spot and attaching explosive belts to others.
Algeria‘s tough and uncompromising response to the crisis was typical of its take-no-prisoners approach in confronting terrorists, favoring military action over negotiation. Algerian military forces, backed by attack helicopters, launched two assaults on the plant, the first one on Thursday.
The militants had “decided to succeed in the operation as planned, to blow up the gas complex and kill all the hostages,” Algerian Communications Minister Mohamed Said told state radio.
Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said the terrorists had tried to blow up the plant on Saturday but managed only to start a small fire. “That’s when they started to execute hostages, and the special forces intervened,” Eide said. Norway’s Statoil said five Norwegians were still missing.
An audio recording of Algerian security forces speaking with the head of the kidnappers, Abdel Rahman al-Nigiri, on the second day of the drama indicated the hostage-takers were trying to organize a prisoner swap.
“You see our demands are so easy, so easy if you want to negotiate with us,” al-Nigiri said in the recording broadcast by Algerian television. “We want the prisoners you have, the comrades who were arrested and imprisoned 15 years ago. We want 100 of them.”
The Algerians’ use of forced raised an international outcry from some countries worried about their citizens.
But French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Sunday on French television: “The terrorists … they’re the ones to blame.”
David Plouffe, a senior adviser to President Barack Obama, said that al-Qaida and al-Qaida-affiliated groups remain a threat in North Africa and other parts of the world, and that the U.S. is determined to help other countries destroy those networks.
Speaking on “Fox News Sunday,” Plouffe said the tragedy in Algeria shows once again “that all across the globe countries are threatened by terrorists who will use civilians to try and advance their twisted and sick agenda.”
___
Ganley reported from Paris. Associated Press writers Paul Schemm in Rabat, Morocco, and Lori Hinnant in Paris also contributed to this report.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News
Death toll in Algeria hostage crisis continues to rise as more countries identify dead
The death toll from the terrorist siege at a natural gas plant in the Sahara climbed past 80 on Sunday as Algerian forces searching the refinery for explosives found dozens more bodies, many so badly disfigured it was unclear whether they were hostages or militants, a security official said.
Algerian special forces stormed the plant on Saturday to end the four-day siege, moving in to thwart what government officials said was a plot by the Islamic extremists to blow up the complex and kill all their captives with mines sown throughout the site.
In a statement, the Masked Brigade, the group that claimed to have masterminded the takeover, warned of more such attacks against any country backing France‘s military intervention in neighboring Mali, where the French are trying to stop an advance by Islamic extremists.
“We stress to our Muslim brothers the necessity to stay away from all the Western companies and complexes for their own safety, and especially the French ones,” the statement said.
Algeria said after Saturday’s assault by government forces that at least 32 extremists and 23 hostages were killed. On Sunday, Algerian bomb squads sent in to blow up or defuse the explosives found 25 more bodies, said the security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.
“These bodies are difficult to identify. They could be the bodies of foreign hostages or Algerians or terrorists,” the official said.
In addition, a wounded Romanian who had been evacuated died, raising the overall death toll to at least 81.
“Now, of course, people will ask questions about the Algerian response to these events, but I would just say that the responsibility for these deaths lies squarely with the terrorists who launched a vicious and cowardly attack,” British Prime Minister David Cameron said. Three Britons were killed and another three were feared dead.
On Monday, Philippine Foreign Affairs officials said six Filipinos were among the hostages killed. Spokesman Raul Hernandez told reporters that 16 Filipinos have been accounted for and four others are still missing.
The dead hostages were also known to include at least one American and French workers. Nearly two dozen foreigners by some estimates were unaccounted for.
It was unclear whether anyone was rescued in the final assault on the complex, which is run by the Algerian state oil company along with BP and Norway’s Statoil.
Two private Algerian TV stations and an online news site said security forces scouring the plant found five militants hiding out and learned that three others had fled. That information could not be immediately confirmed by security officials.
Authorities said the bloody takeover was carried out Wednesday by 32 men from six countries, under the command from afar of the one-eyed Algerian bandit Moktar Belmoktar, founder of the Masked Brigade, based in Mali. The attacking force called itself “Those Who Sign in Blood.”
The Masked Brigade said Sunday the attack was payback against Algeria for allowing over-flights of French aircraft headed to Mali and for closing its long border with Mali. In an earlier communication, the Brigade claimed to have carried out the attack in the name of al-Qaida.
Armed with heavy machine guns, rocket launchers, missiles and grenades, the militants singled out foreign workers at the plant, killing some of them on the spot and attaching explosive belts to others.
Algeria‘s tough and uncompromising response to the crisis was typical of its take-no-prisoners approach in confronting terrorists, favoring military action over negotiation. Algerian military forces, backed by attack helicopters, launched two assaults on the plant, the first one on Thursday.
The militants had “decided to succeed in the operation as planned, to blow up the gas complex and kill all the hostages,” Algerian Communications Minister Mohamed Said told state radio.
Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said the terrorists had tried to blow up the plant on Saturday but managed only to start a small fire. “That’s when they started to execute hostages, and the special forces intervened,” Eide said. Norway’s Statoil said five Norwegians were still missing.
An audio recording of Algerian security forces speaking with the head of the kidnappers, Abdel Rahman al-Nigiri, on the second day of the drama indicated the hostage-takers were trying to organize a prisoner swap.
“You see our demands are so easy, so easy if you want to negotiate with us,” al-Nigiri said in the recording broadcast by Algerian television. “We want the prisoners you have, the comrades who were arrested and imprisoned 15 years ago. We want 100 of them.”
In another phone call, al-Nigiri said that half the militants had been killed by the Algerian army on Thursday and that he was ready to blow up the remaining hostages if security forces attacked again. An organization that monitors videos from radicals posted one showing al-Nigiri with what appeared to be an explosive belt around his waist.
The Algerians’ use of forced raised an international outcry from some countries worried about their citizens.
But French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Sunday on French television: “The terrorists … they’re the ones to blame.”
David Plouffe, a senior adviser to President Barack Obama, said that al-Qaida and al-Qaida-affiliated groups remain a threat in North Africa and other parts of the world, and that the U.S. is determined to help other countries destroy those networks.
Speaking on “Fox News Sunday,” Plouffe said the tragedy in Algeria shows once again “that all across the globe countries are threatened by terrorists who will use civilians to try and advance their twisted and sick agenda.”
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News
Death toll climbs past 80 in siege in the Sahara
The death toll from the terrorist siege at a natural gas plant in the Sahara climbed to at least 81 on Sunday as Algerian forces searching the refinery for explosives found dozens more bodies, many so badly disfigured it was unclear whether they were hostages or militants, a security official said.
Algerian special forces stormed the plant on Saturday to end the four-day siege, moving in to thwart what government officials said was a plot by the Islamist militants to blow up the complex and kill all their hostages with mines sown throughout the site.
The government said after the assault that at least 32 extremists and 23 hostages were killed. Then, on Sunday, Algerian bomb squads sent in to blow up or defuse the explosives found 25 bodies, said the security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.
“These bodies are difficult to identify. They could be the bodies of foreign hostages or Algerians or terrorists,” the official said.
In addition, a wounded Romanian who had been evacuated died, raising the overall death toll to at least 81.
“Now, of course, people will ask questions about the Algerian response to these events, but I would just say that the responsibility for these deaths lies squarely with the terrorists who launched a vicious and cowardly attack,” British Prime Minister David Cameron said. Three Britons were killed and another three were feared dead.
The dead were also known to include American, Filipino and French workers. Algerian authorities said 685 of their citizens, the backbone of the workforce, escaped without saying how many may have died. More than two dozen foreigners were unaccounted for.
It was unclear whether anyone was rescued in the final assault on the complex, which is run by the Algerian state oil company along with BP and Norway’s Statoil.
Authorities said the bloody takeover was carried out Wednesday by 32 men from six countries, under the command from afar of the one-eyed Algerian bandit Moktar Belmoktar, founder of the Masked Brigade, based in neighboring Mali. The attacking force called itself “Those Who Sign in Blood.”
The militants initially said the operation was payback for French military intervention in neighboring Mali, where al-Qaida-linked rebels are on the march, but later they said it was two months in the planning, long before France sent in troops.
Armed with heavy machine guns, rocket launchers, missiles and grenades, the militants singled out foreign workers at the plant, killing some of them on the spot and attaching explosive belts to others.
Algeria‘s tough and uncompromising response to the crisis was typical of its take-no-prisoners approach in confronting terrorists, favoring military action over negotiation. Algerian military forces, backed by attack helicopters, launched two assaults on the plant, the first one on Thursday.
The militants had “decided to succeed in the operation as planned, to blow up the gas complex and kill all the hostages,” Algerian Communications Minister Mohamed Said said in a state radio interview.
The Masked Brigade claimed responsibility for the attack in the name of al-Qaida, according to a video obtained by a Mauritania-based website that sometimes carries messages of jihadists.
An audio recording of Algerian security forces speaking with the head of the kidnappers, Abdel Rahman al-Nigiri, on the second day of the drama indicated the hostage-takers were trying to organize a prisoner swap.
“You see our demands are so easy, so easy if you want to negotiate with us,” al-Nigiri said in the recording broadcast by Algerian television. “We want the prisoners you have, the comrades who were arrested and imprisoned 15 years ago. We want 100 of them.”
In another phone call, al-Nigiri said that half the militants had been killed by the Algerian army on Thursday and that he was ready to blow up the remaining hostages if security forces attacked again.
SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors videos from radicals, posted one showing al-Nigiri with what appeared to be an explosive belt around his waist.
The Algerians’ use of forced raised an international outcry from some countries worried about their citizens.
But French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Sunday on French television: “The terrorists … they’re the ones to blame.”
David Plouffe, a senior adviser to President Barack Obama, said that al-Qaida and al-Qaida-affiliated groups remain a threat in North Africa and other parts of the world, and that the U.S. is determined to help other countries destroy those networks.
Speaking on “Fox News Sunday,” Plouffe said the tragedy in Algeria shows once again “that all across the globe countries are threatened by terrorists who will use civilians to try and advance their twisted and sick agenda.”
___
Elaine Ganley and Lori Hinnant in Paris contributed to this report.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News
One American dead in hostage siege in Algeria
An American worker at a natural gas complex in Algeria has been found dead, U.S. officials said Friday, as the U.S. sought to secure the release of Americans still being held by Al Qaeda-linked terrorists on the third day of a hostage standoff.
Frederick Buttaccio, a Texas resident, died of a heart attach during a raid by the Algerian military to end the standoff, Fox News confirms. The general manager of the complex, Mark Cobb, also of Texas, was able to escape with members of his Algerian staff and is safe.
A spokesman for the Buttaccio family in the Houston suburb of Katy, Texas, declined to comment.
“We can confirm the death of U.S. citizen Frederick Buttaccio in the hostage situation in Algeria,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said. “We express our deepest condolences to his family and friends. Out of respect for the family’s privacy, we have no further comment.”
It was not immediately clear whether Buttaccio was the only American killed in the hostage standoff.
U.S. officials told The Associated Press that Buttaccio’s remains were recovered Friday. Officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said she spoke by telephone with Algerian Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal to get an update on Americans and others in danger at the sprawling Ain Amenas refinery 800 miles south of Algiers. She said the “utmost care must be taken to preserve innocent life.”
Clinton talked to reporters after the Obama administration confirmed that Americans were still being held hostage, even as some U.S. citizens were being flown out of the country for recovery in Europe. The Algerian state news agency reported that 12 hostages had been killed since Wednesday’s start of an Algerian rescue operation, and world leaders steadily increased their criticism of the North African country’s handling of the attack.
Clinton, however, defended Algeria‘s action. “Let’s not forget: This is an act of terror,” she told reporters in Washington. “The perpetrators are the terrorists. They are the ones who have assaulted this facility, have taken hostage Algerians and others from around the world as they were going about their daily business.”
Earlier Friday, Algeria‘s state news service reported that nearly 100 of the 132 foreign workers kidnapped by Islamic militants were free. That number of hostages at the remote desert facility was significantly higher than any previous report, but questions remained about the fate of more than 30 other foreign energy workers.
BP evacuated one American, along with other foreign workers, to Mallorca, Spain, and then to London. And an American official said a U.S. military C-130 flew a group of people, including some lightly wounded or injured, from Algiers to a U.S. facility in Europe on Friday. The official wasn’t authorized to speak publicly on the matter and requested anonymity.
In London, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta met with British Prime Minister David Cameron at No. 10 Downing St. to assess their governments’ understandings of the situation. At King’s College, Panetta said the U.S. is “working around the clock to ensure the safe return of our citizens” and that terrorists should be on notice they will find no sanctuary in Algeria or North Africa.
The White House said President Barack Obama was being briefed Friday by his national security team. His top aides were in touch with Algerian officials as well as BP‘s security office in London. BP jointly operates the natural gas plant.
U.S. officials have refused to confirm the number of Americans still captive or unaccounted for because they say that might compromise their safety.
Still, the U.S. flatly rejected an offer by the militants — led by a Mali-based al-Qaida offshoot known as the Masked Brigade — to free two American hostages in exchange for the release of Omar Abdel Rahman, a blind sheikh convicted of plotting to blow up New York City landmarks and considered the spiritual leader of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, and Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani scientist convicted of shooting at two U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan. Both are jailed in the United States.
“The United States does not negotiate with terrorists,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.
The desert siege began Wednesday when the militants attempted to hijack two buses at the plant, were repelled, and then seized the gas refinery. They said the attack was retaliation for France’s recent military intervention against Islamist rebels in neighboring Mali, but security experts argue it must have taken weeks of planning to hit the remote site.
Since then, Algeria‘s government has kept a tight grip on information about the siege.
Clinton stressed that American officials would stay in close contact with their Algerian counterparts. Sellal, she said, made clear that the Algerian operation against the militants “was still ongoing, that the situation remained fluid, that the hostages remain in danger in a number of instances.”
Speaking beside Japan’s new foreign minister, Fumio Kishida, Clinton said the crisis underscored the threat posed by extremists in North Africa, where al-Qaida-linked militants have seized control of half of Mali and plunged the country into civil war. She vowed to enhance U.S. work with Algeria and other countries in the region to combat terrorists even after the hostage situation ends.
“It is absolutely essential that as we work to resolve this particular terrible situation, we continue to broaden and deepen our counterterrorism cooperation,” Clinton said. “We will not rest until we do as much as we can … to restore security to this vital region, and to bring those who would terrorize and kill innocent people to justice.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News
Clinton calls hostage siege 'act of terror,' after American dies in Algerian raid
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for an improved counterterrorism relationship with Algeria and ‘all countries in the region’ after an American from Texas was identified as one of the hostages who died at a natural-gas site during a raid by the Algerian military.
The American was identified as Frederick Buttaccio. He reportedly suffered a heart attack. The general manager of the complex, Mark Cobb, also from Texas, was able to escape with members of his Algerian staff and is safe.
The desert siege began Wednesday when the militants attempted to hijack two buses at the plant, were repelled, and then seized the gas refinery. They said the attack was retaliation for France‘s recent military intervention against Islamist rebels in neighboring Mali, but security experts argue it must have taken weeks of planning to hit the remote site.
Since then, Algeria‘s government has kept a tight grip on information about the siege. Algerian officials have asked Western governments to stand on the sidelines during the military operations, and some U.S. officials were reportedly concerned about the previous raid.
Clinton, for her part. talked to reporters after the Obama administration confirmed that Americans were still being held hostage, even as some U.S. citizens were being flown out of the country for recovery in Europe. The Algerian state news agency reported that 12 hostages had been killed since Wednesday’s start of an Algerian rescue operation, and world leaders steadily increased their criticism of the North African country’s handling of the attack.
Clinton, however, defended Algeria‘s action. “Let’s not forget: This is an act of terror,” she told reporters in Washington.
“The perpetrators are the terrorists. They are the ones who have assaulted this facility, have taken hostage Algerians and others from around the world as they were going about their daily businessl,” she said.
Earlier Friday, Algeria‘s state news service reported that nearly 100 of the 132 foreign workers kidnapped by Islamic militants were free. That number of hostages at the remote desert facility was significantly higher than any previous report, but questions remained about the fate of more than 30 other foreign energy workers Saturday.
BP evacuated one American, along with other foreign workers, to Mallorca, Spain, and then to London. And an American official said a U.S. military C-130 flew a group of people, including some lightly wounded or injured, from Algiers to a U.S. facility in Europe on Friday. The official wasn’t authorized to speak publicly on the matter and requested anonymity.
In London, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta met with British Prime Minister David Cameron at No. 10 Downing St. to assess their governments’ understandings of the situation. At King’s College, Panetta said the U.S. is “working around the clock to ensure the safe return of our citizens” and that terrorists should be on notice they will find no sanctuary in Algeria or North Africa.
The White House said President Obama was being briefed Friday by his national security team. His top aides were in touch with Algerian officials as well as BP‘s security office in London. BP jointly operates the natural gas plant.
U.S. officials have refused to confirm the number of Americans still captive or unaccounted for because they say that might compromise their safety. Local news reports indicate that there are still six hostages. Their nationalities are unknown.
Still, the U.S. flatly rejected an offer by the militants — led by a Mali-based Al Qaeda offshoot known as the Masked Brigade — to free two American hostages in exchange for the release of Omar Abdel Rahman, a blind sheikh convicted of plotting to blow up New York City landmarks and considered the spiritual leader of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, and Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani scientist convicted of shooting at two U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan. Both are jailed in the United States.
“The United States does not negotiate with terrorists,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.
The desert siege began Wednesday when the militants attempted to hijack two buses at the plant, were repelled, and then seized the gas refinery. They said the attack was retaliation for France‘s recent military intervention against Islamist rebels in neighboring Mali, but security experts argue it must have taken weeks of planning to hit the remote site.
Clinton stressed that American officials would stay in close contact with their Algerian counterparts.
Speaking beside Japan’s new foreign minister, Fumio Kishida, Clinton said the crisis underscored the threat posed by extremists in North Africa, where Al-Qaeda-linked militants have seized control of half of Mali and plunged the country into civil war. She vowed to enhance U.S. work with Algeria and other countries in the region to combat terrorists even after the hostage situation ends.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News
Search for WWII Spitfire planes may come to an end in Burma
By David Piper
A team searching for scores of lost Spitfire planes that were packed in crates and buried in Burma during the last days of World War II believes it may have hit paydirt.
David Cundall, whose 17-year quest to unearth the long-lost planes has cost him his life savings, told a news conference today that searchers have found a crate buried in muck in the northern Kachin state capital Myitkyina. Images transmitted by a camera lowered into the wet ground were inconclusive, but Cundall called the discovery “very encouraging.”
“We’ve gone into a box, but we have hit this water problem. It’s murky water and we can’t really see very far,” Cundall told reporters in Rangoon, Burma‘s main city. “It will take some time to pump the water out… but I do expect all aircraft to be in very good condition.”
If the crate does indeed contain one of the historic aircraft, Cundall, an elderly British farmer who has been vying with potential rivals to find the planes and win from the secretive Burmese government the right to unearth them, will have been finally vindicated.
The search team is being helped by its local partner and Burmese scientists. One, geologist U Soe Thein, showed an image produced using a technique called differential magnetic technology which he said confirmed a Spitfire was inside the crate.
Cundall’s team is confident they’re digging in the right place because of information provided by 91-year-old war veteran Stanley Coombe, who witnessed American and British engineers bury the Spitfires, which were in their crates and greased and wrapped, on the orders of the British military. The location may be one of several where crates containing unassembled planes are buried.
“I never thought I would be allowed to come back and see where Spitfires have been buried,” he said. “It’s been a long time since anybody believed what I said until David Cundall came along.”
Cundall says it was common practice at the end of the war to bury military machines such as planes, tanks and jeeps.
“Basically nobody had got any orders to take these airplanes back to (the) UK. They were just surplus … (and) one way of disposing them was to bury them,” Cundall said. “The war was over, everybody wanted to go home, nobody wanted anything, so you just buried it and went home. That was it.”
The Spitfire was also about to become obsolete with the Jet Age approaching, so it was likely the people involved also thought they had no real value. But now, only about 35 working Spitfires remain out of the 21,000 originally built.
Finding the Spitfires buried in what is now known as Myanmar has been no easy task. Dealing with the military-dominated government has been particularly difficult, because of its long-standing suspicions about foreigners and, in particular, its former colonial masters, Britain. It took the intervention of British Prime Minister David Cameron, on a visit last April aimed at improving relations between the West and the southeast Asian country, to finally get the digging approved.
The British Embassy in Yangon described Cameron’s agreement with President Thein Sein to recover the missing aircraft as a chance to work with the new Burmese government “in uncovering, restoring, displaying these fighter planes.”
Under the deal, Burma‘s government will get half of any number of planes recovered, one of which would be displayed at a museum. A company headed by Cundall will get 30 percent of the planes and its local partner 20 percent.
The interest in Spitfires, which helped win the Battle of Britain, has increased through the years because of the planes’ history and scarcity and they remain in high demand for aircraft shows and military flyovers.
The reason the Burma search is so exciting to aviation and military enthusiasts is that a huge number of Spitfires could eventually be discovered.
The search team hopes to find about 18 planes in Myitkyina and nearly 40 buried at Yangon’s international airport. They believe that more than 120 unused Spitfires could be buried in sites across the country, and hope to assemble and perhaps even fly one or more of them eventually.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News