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Today: 78 articles and 228 comments as of 9:37.
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Area: WoT Background    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix   
US Air Force kills high ranking Al-Qaeda leader in Syria
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 1: WoT Operations
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Page 4: Opinion
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Page 6: Politix
16 22:17 Seeking cure for ignorance [1]
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-Lurid Crime Tales-
O’Keefe Drops 2nd Undercover Video Exposing Leftist Groups Plan To Stop D.C. Metro Using Chains!
[THEGATEWAYPUNDIT]
Posted by: Fred || 01/18/2017 12:58 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Terrorist act. Actors need ordinance expended multiple times into their bodies.
Posted by: DarthVader || 01/18/2017 13:16 Comments || Top||

#2  You get your chain into the 600 v DC third-rail, and there's going to be fireworks!
Posted by: Bobby || 01/18/2017 13:18 Comments || Top||

#3  PJ Media has the response. Their links are worth following as well -- this was a major Veritas operation.

DisruptJ20 Dramatically Scales Back Plans to Sabotage Inauguration After Project Veritas Sting
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/18/2017 13:58 Comments || Top||

#4  Nothing to see here. Move along, move along.
Posted by: Glenmore || 01/18/2017 14:54 Comments || Top||

#5  Conspiracy charges will still stick
Posted by: Frank G || 01/18/2017 15:34 Comments || Top||

#6  Conspiracy charges will still stick
Against O'Keefe...
Posted by: Glenmore || 01/18/2017 16:07 Comments || Top||

#7  Conspiracy charges will still stick
Against O'Keefe...
Posted by Glenmore


Everyone knows whistle blowers like O'Keefe and Assange are the real problem.
Posted by: Besoeker || 01/18/2017 16:10 Comments || Top||

#8  Anarchists are the problem. They started World War 1 - the War to End All Wars, which lead directly (in one generation) into the Next Big War.
Posted by: Bobby || 01/18/2017 16:27 Comments || Top||

#9  Actually leftists have killed more people than anyone with their buddy marx and engles.
They replaced critical thinking with critical theory in the idiot democrat schools. Now everyone wants to be a little Mao or Che butt nugget.

It's soooo corrupt.
so corrupt.

Hitler was a Leftist. So are they all.
The scum of the earth.
I'm talking to you, democrats. You are the scum of the earth.
Posted by: newc || 01/18/2017 18:00 Comments || Top||

#10  Dang, #9 newc - don't hold back. Tell us how you really feel.
Posted by: Barbara || 01/18/2017 18:48 Comments || Top||

#11  Dang, #9 newc - don't hold back. Tell us how you really feel.
Posted by: Barbara || 01/18/2017 18:48 Comments || Top||

#12  Sorry about the double post - don't know how that happened. :-(
Posted by: Barbara || 01/18/2017 18:49 Comments || Top||

#13  Modern "anarchists" are Marxists. Marx said the end state of his fantasy was anarchy, as the dictatorship of the proletariat would lead us to believe there's no need for a state, so...

If they truly were "anarchists" in the sense of no state, would they always side with the folks who push for more regulation, more government power, more totalitarianism?
Posted by: Rob Crawford || 01/18/2017 20:09 Comments || Top||

#14  Quote taken from Ace of Spades:

Good intentions will always be pleaded for every assumption of authority. It is hardly too strong to say that the Constitution was made to guard the people against the dangers of good intentions. There are men in all ages who mean to govern well, but they mean to govern. They promise to be good masters, but they mean to be masters.

-- Daniel Webster
Posted by: Crusader || 01/18/2017 21:40 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan
20 more residences destroyed by ISIS in Nangarhar
Daesh militants struck again on Sunday night and set fire to at least 20 houses in the Kot district, local officials said.

This comes after members of the group burned down at least 65 houses in the same district last week.

On Monday, Nangarhar provincial officials said Daesh militants once again caused huge losses to locals after setting at least 20 homes alight.

Kot district governor Sayed Rahman confirmed the incident and said that Daesh militants torched houses in Khorgi area of Kot district.
Rahman said that the houses were empty at the time and no one was harmed in the incident.

Rahman has however raised concern over the security of the Kot district and said if security is not dealt with the situation will deteriorate and Daesh activity will increase.
Posted by: badanov || 01/18/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Taliban’s explosives factory discovered in Balkh province
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Afghan cops discovered an explosives factory of the Taliban group in northern Balkh province of Afghanistan.

The Afghan Intelligence, National Directorate of Security
...the Afghan national intel agency...
(NDS), said the factory was used to produce Improvised Explosive Device, suicide kaboom vests, magnetic bombs, and remotely controlled bombs.

NDS further added that the intelligence operatives confiscated 395 remote controls used in mines, 15 time bombs, 800 electric capsules, and some other equipment and explosives used in Improvised Explosive Device.

Posted by: Fred || 01/18/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Africa Horn
LNA airstrikes hit Derna
After a lull of several months, aircraft belonging to the Libyan National Army (LNA) once again attacked Derna this evening. Several sites belonging to the powerful local Abu Sleem brigade are said to have been hit, mainly weapons depots. Casualties are unknown although the LNA claims to have killed two members of the brigade and wounded another.

The attack follows the appointment announced earlier in the day of Brigadier Salim Al-Rafadi as the new head of the Omar Mukhtar Operations Room. It is in charge of LNA moves to capture Derna from local Islamists.

Yesterday, in what may have been a related incident, at least one boat that was reportedly attempting to deliver supplies to Derna was hit outside the port by a navy craft manned by the LNA. Video footage has been published on social media showing a man firing a rocket-propelled grenade at another vessel although there is no independent confirmation that it is of the incident. There are some reports claiming that, in fact, four vessels were involved, that they came from Misrata, that two were hit and two escaped.

It is not known if Rafadi’s appointment and then today’s airstrikes were in response to the boat story or were planned in advance.

He is the fourth head of the operations room is just over a year. He replaces Brigadier Yousef Al-Mabrouk Al-Mansuri, appointed by Hafter in the last attempt to make the operations room more effective. That was just last August.

The Abu Sleem brigade is the main force in the strongly Islamist Derna Shura Council of Mujahideen (DSCM) which has held the town since it ejected forces of the so-called Islamic State (IS) in June 2015. Derna remains the last key centre in eastern Libya the LNA has been unable to take. This is despite last year’s deluge of air strikes (which the head of the UN special envoy Martin Kobler condemned as possible war crimes) and a blockade of the area.
Posted by: badanov || 01/18/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Africa North
Militants kill 8 Egyptian policemen in attack on New Valley checkpoint
[AlAhram] Eight coppers were killed and three others injured after forces of Evil attacked a security checkpoint in Egypt’s New Valley governorate, near the Western Desert, the interior ministry said late on Monday.

The attack on the Naqb checkpoint took place some 80 kilometers away from the placid provincial capital of al-Kharga, and more than 600 kilometres southwest of Cairo.

State TV said earlier that the attack took place at 8:15pm Cairo Local Time.

Two of the assailants were killed as security forces responded to the assault, the ministry added.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

This is not the first time New Valley (Al-Wadi al-Gaded) governorate has been targeted by militancy.

In July 2014, forces of Evil firing machineguns and rocket-propelled grenades killed 21 soldiers in an attack on a border checkpoint in the Farafra Oasis.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/18/2017 01:29 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (IS)


Africa Subsaharan
Airstrike kills dozens of refugees in Nigeria
[al-Manar] Dozens of people were killed on Tuesday when an air force jet bombarded a camp for those made homeless by Boko Haram in northeast Nigeria, medical charity MSF and a local resident said.

“A military jet mistakenly bombarded Rann,” in Borno state, Abba Abiso told AFP, adding that “at least 25 people were killed and many more injured”. MSF said its teams “have seen 120 wounded and 50 dead”.
Posted by: badanov || 01/18/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Arabia
Saudi naval boat massacres 10 Yemeni civilians with rocket barrage
[ALMASDARNEWS] A Saudi naval vessel has fired a barrage of rockets at a village in Madbanah district in Ta'izz province, resulting in the deaths of at least 10 people, Saba News Agency reported.

The indiscriminate attack also resulted in dozens of people being injured.

Meanwhile,
...back at the barn, Bossy was furiously chewing her cud and thinking...
in the province of Hudaydah, a Saudi jet conducted an Arclight airstrike against a truck traveling along a road in the al-Khawkhah district, killing a civilian.

Additionally, five people were killed and two others injured when Saudi fighter jets pounded a market in the Haydan district of the northwestern province of Sa’ada, PressTV reported.
Posted by: Fred || 01/18/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Houthis

#1  Am I the only person who does not care?
Posted by: chris || 01/18/2017 6:22 Comments || Top||

#2  I may even care less than you do.
Posted by: Fred || 01/18/2017 12:44 Comments || Top||


The Grand Turk
Rudaw video shows the home of suspect in Istanbul nightclub massacre
[RUDAW.NET] Rudaw Media Network video documents the house of the suspected New Year’s Eve Istanbul nightclub shooter which left 39 people dead and 69 maimed, after the suspect was caught Monday night by the Turkish police.

From inside the suspect’s house, Rudaw’s Rawin Sterk said, "The Turkish police had rented an apartment next to the attacker’s apartment before he was placed in durance vile
Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try!
last night.

"The police were watching him for several days and they wanted to arrest all those who were with him."

The Turkish police declared they had arrested the suspect, identified as Abdulkadir Masharipov, in Istanbul's Esenyurt district during a massive police operation late Monday. Additionally, police detained four other people, including a man of Kyrgyz origin and three women from Egypt, Senegal
... a nation of about 14 million on the west coast of Africa bordering Mauretania to the north, Mali to the east, and a pair of Guineas to the south, one of them Bissau. It is 90 percent Mohammedan and has more than 80 political parties. Its primary purpose seems to be absorbing refugees...
and Somalia.

Masharipov is an Uzbek national, who Turkish officials have linked to ISIS and claimed he received training in Afghanistan.

Rudaw cameras captured Masharipov’s house that consists of two rooms and a hall.

"The apartment is so dirty and it is said that it was rented by an Iraqi person," a downstairs neighbor told Rudaw. "The attacker had rented the apartment three months ago."

Three Kurdish youth were among the dozens of people who were killed in the armed attack which ISIS grabbed credit for on Istanbul’s Reina nightclub.

As many as 700 people were inside the nightclub when the attack began.
Posted by: Fred || 01/18/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte


Home Front: WoT
Obama commutes sentence of FALN Terrorist Lopez Rivera
I think we all saw things like this coming...
Lopez was a leader of FALN, the Spanish acronym for the Armed Forces of National Liberation. He was found guilty in U.S. District Court in Chicago in 1981 of weapons, explosives and seditious conspiracy charges, and sentenced to 55 years in prison. He received an additional 15 years in 1988 after he was convicted of plotting to escape from federal prison.

FALN's goal was a free and socialist Puerto Rico. The group was primarily active in New York and Chicago and claimed responsibility for more than 140 bombings since 1974. Authorities connected five deaths to the bomb blasts. Another 100 people were maimed by the bombings, authorities said.
Clinton offered Lopez a conditional pardon (he had to renounce terrorism and say he was sorry) but Lopez refused.
Reaction to Tuesday's action by Obama, one of more than 200 commutations granted by the president on Tuesday, went well beyond Chicago. "Hamilton" creator Lin-Manuel Miranda in a tweet from London said he was "sobbing with gratitude" after learning that Obama had commuted Lopez's sentence. Miranda said he would reprise his role as Alexander Hamilton at a Chicago performance for Lopez.
This puts a capstone on Obama's presidency. Yes to helping terrorists. No to defending America.
Posted by: lord garth || 01/18/2017 09:03 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  He's 74. I hope he qualifies for Medicare. Or maybe he deserves Medicare.
Posted by: Bobby || 01/18/2017 13:31 Comments || Top||

#2  Is Nidal Hasan on tomorrow's list?
Posted by: james || 01/18/2017 17:03 Comments || Top||

#3  He's 74. He should be dead. Make it so
Posted by: Frank G || 01/18/2017 20:24 Comments || Top||


Iraq
Mosul Offensive News


Iraqi forces capture 3 districts

Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi joint forces recaptured on Tuesday three more neighborhoods in eastern Mosul as operations to retake that region from Islamic State militants approach an end.

Abdul-Amir Yarallah, commander of the Join Operations Command’s operations in Nineveh, said in a statement that army forces recaptured Bab al-Shams, Ninawa al-Sharqiya and Souq al-Aghnam (cattle market) area in eastern Mosul.

Meanwhile, All Iraq News website quoted Sami al-Aredi, a senior commander of the army’s Counter-Terrorism Forces, as saying that the force invaded al-Mohandessin district, expecting to take full control of it within hours.

Iraqi forces, backed by US-led advisers and fighter jets, as well as popular militias, launched operations to retake Mosul last October. The conflict has forced nearly 178.000 civilians to flee homes.

Iraqi generals said recently they became in control over 90 percent of the city’s eastern section and hope to move later to recapture the IS-held west. The forces recently recaptured IS’s most outstanding bastion in the east of the city, the Mosul University campus, and had reached the eastern bank of the Tigris River, which cuts the city into two halves. Only a few districts remain in IS militants hold.

The victories come amid increasing reports of crumbling in the Islamic State ranks, with divisions, infighting and accusations of treason traded among militants.

Conflict in Mosul has forced 178.000 civilians to flee homes in the city to refugee camps, but many of those are targeted by militants upon their escape.

Iraqi forces penetrate ISIS held district in Mosul

(Reuters) Iraqi special forces pushed into a pocket of Islamic State-held territory in eastern Mosul on Tuesday, the military said, seeking to recapture the remaining districts under the group’s control east of the Tigris river.

The militants have been driven out of most eastern districts in their Iraqi stronghold in a 3-month-old U.S.-backed campaign. Iraqi troops have seized large areas along the river, which bisects Mosul from north to south.

Capture of the entire east bank, which military officials say is imminent, will allow the army, special forces and elite police units to begin attacks on the city’s west, still fully held by Islamic State.

A military statement said Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) forces had pushed into the Eastern Nineveh and Souq al-Ghanam districts, which are flanked by areas held by Iraqi troops.

A second statement said the CTS had also seized al-Muhandiseen district, nearly 3 miles further northwest, which lies a short distance from the river.

CTS spokesman Sabah al-Numan told state television that more than 60 neighborhoods in eastern Mosul – out of a total of around 80 – had been recaptured since the start of the offensive in October.

Advances have gathered pace in the new year thanks to improved battle tactics and better coordination between different military branches, U.S. and Iraqi military officials say.

Further south, elite rapid response units of the Iraqi federal police have secured much of the eastern bank of the Tigris.

A spokesman for the rapid response forces, Lieutenant-Colonel Abdel Amir al-Mohammedawi, said some Islamic State fighters had fled by boat across the river during the military’s recent advances, taking civilians as human shields so forces could not fire at them.

“They fled the eastern bank for the west, and took women and children,” he told Reuters.

Islamic State has fought from among crowded residential areas and Reuters witnesses have seen its fighters shoot at civilians in areas they have been driven out of, in apparent efforts to slow the advance of Iraqi forces.

Several thousand civilians have been killed or wounded in fighting since October.

Advances slowed towards the end of last year as the military sought to avoid hitting civilians, Iraqi military officials say.

Iraqi spec op capture 2 more districts in Mosul

Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) We Are Coming Nineveh Operations Command announced on Tuesday liberating the areas of al-Numaniyah and al-Atshana, as well as storming al-Jazair neighborhood in eastern Mosul.

Commander of Operations, Lt. Gen. Abdel Amir Yarallah, said in a press statement, “Forces from the Counter-Terrorism Service liberated, today, the areas of al-Numaniyah and al-Atshana in eastern Mosul, as well as raising Iraqi flag over their buildings, after inflicting heavy losses on the enemy.”

“The security forces are advancing to storm al-Jazair neighborhood,” Yarallah added.

Earlier today, We Are Coming Nineveh Operations Command announced liberating the neighborhood of Ninewa al-Sharkiyah, Souq al-Aghnam (Cattles market), Bab al-Shams area and al-Mohandessein neighborhood in eastern Mosul.

Iraqi security forces capture 3 districts, Grand Mosque

Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) Nineveh Operations Command announced on Tuesday liberating three districts in eastern Mosul, as well as recapturing the Great Mosque in central the city.

Commander of Operations, Lt. Gen. Abdel Amir Yarallah, said in a press statement, “Iraqi Counter-Terrorism forces managed, at noon today, to liberate the neighborhoods of al-Jazair, al-Darkezliyah and al-Zera’I in eastern Mosul, and raised Iraqi flag over their buildings.”

“The Counter-Terrorism forces also recaptured the Great Mosque in central Mosul, after inflicting heavy human and material losses on the terrorists,” Yarallah added.

Nineveh Province is witnessing extensive military operations since October 2016, to retake the city of Mosul that was captured by the Islamic State in June 2014.

Iraqi spec ops forces capture districts near Choser River

Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) We Are Coming Nineveh Operations Command announced on Tuesday liberating the areas of al-Suez and Sanharib in eastern Mosul, while permanently stationed near Choser River.

Commander of Operations Lt. Gen. Abdel Amir Yarallah said, “Forces from the Counter-Terrorism Service managed, at noon today, to liberate the areas of al-Suez and Sanharib,” pointing out that, “The security forces permanently stationed near Choser River in eastern Mosul.”

“The security forces liberated all targeted areas and neighborhoods in the axis,” Yarallah added.

Nineveh Province is witnessing extensive military operations since October 2016, to retake the city of Mosul that was captured by the Islamic State in June 2014.
Posted by: badanov || 01/18/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  I speed scan the headlines and this one I always misread as "Mostly Offensive News" and I have to stop to slowly re-read it.
Maybe one day Fred will stick that in there.
Posted by: AlmostAnonymous5839 || 01/18/2017 0:27 Comments || Top||

#2  I'm trying to figure out how many Districts Mosul has.
Posted by: Shipman || 01/18/2017 21:34 Comments || Top||


Anbar Antics


Iraqi militia capture 3 ISIS Bad Guys near Ramadi
"Trying to stay at a Ramadi Inn"
Anbar (IraqiNews.com) Forces from al-Hashd’s tribal fighters captured three members of the Islamic State while trying to sneak into the city of Ramadi, an official source told Alsumaria on Tuesday.

The source said, “Forces from the 9th regiment of al-Hashd al-Ashaeri in Anbar managed, today, to capture three members of the Islamic State, while trying to sneak into the city of Ramadi.”

“The captured members were coming from the city of Qaim, and they were arrested in one of al-Hashd al-Ashaeri’s checkpoints in al-Ta’mim area, in western Ramadi,” the source added.

Noteworthy, security forces and tribal fighters are completely controlling Ramadi, after liberating it from the Islamic State’s grip.
Posted by: badanov || 01/18/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Baghdad Bomb and Bullet Bulletin: 1 dead


1 dead in roadside bomb attack in Nahrawan

Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi joint forces recaptured on Tuesday three more neighborhoods in eastern Mosul as operations to retake that region from Islamic State militants approach an end.

Abdul-Amir Yarallah, commander of the Join Operations Command’s operations in Nineveh, said in a statement that army forces recaptured Bab al-Shams, Ninawa al-Sharqiya and Souq al-Aghnam (cattle market) area in eastern Mosul.

Meanwhile, All Iraq News website quoted Sami al-Aredi, a senior commander of the army’s Counter-Terrorism Forces, as saying that the force invaded al-Mohandessin district, expecting to take full control of it within hours.

Iraqi forces, backed by US-led advisers and fighter jets, as well as popular militias, launched operations to retake Mosul last October. The conflict has forced nearly 178.000 civilians to flee homes.

Iraqi generals said recently they became in control over 90 percent of the city’s eastern section and hope to move later to recapture the IS-held west. The forces recently recaptured IS’s most outstanding bastion in the east of the city, the Mosul University campus, and had reached the eastern bank of the Tigris River, which cuts the city into two halves. Only a few districts remain in IS militants hold.

The victories come amid increasing reports of crumbling in the Islamic State ranks, with divisions, infighting and accusations of treason traded among militants.

Conflict in Mosul has forced 178.000 civilians to flee homes in the city to refugee camps, but many of those are targeted by militants upon their escape.

Imam survives small arms attack in Baghdad

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) A police source revealed that the preacher of al-Imam al-A’zam Mosque survived an assassination attempt, north of Baghdad, Alsumaria News reported on Tuesday.

The source said, “The preacher of al-Imam al-A’zam Mosque, Sheikh Abdel Sattar Abdel Jabbar, survived an assassination attempt by unidentified gunmen driving a SUV near al-Muthanna Bridge, north of Baghdad.”

“The Imam was not hurt, but the gunmen succeeded to flee to an unknown destination,” the source added on condition of anonymity.

Earlier today, a bomb blast in al-Nahrawan area, southeast of Baghdad, left four casualties, while another blast in al-Rashidiyah area, in northern Baghdad, left five casualties.
Posted by: badanov || 01/18/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Iraqi forces control all five bridges in Mosul, ISIS 'nearly defeated’ in east
[RUDAW.NET] Iraqi forces have taken control of all the five bridges on the eastern bank of Tigris river Tuesday evening, Rudaw’s correspondent near the fifth bridge reported.

They have also controlled Zaraei district, on the edge of Tigris river, Lt. Gen. Abdulwahab al-Saadi from Iraq’s Golden Brigade told Rudaw TV Tuesday evening.

Advancing Iraqi forces have raised the country's flag over the third bridge in northeast djinn-infested Mosul
... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn...
earlier in the day, while liberating the nearby Muhandiseen district, which was under siege for two days.

The elite Counter Terrorism Forces (ICTS) liberated Nineveh Sharqiyah, Niemanyah, and Atshaniyah districts in eastern Mosul on Tuesday morning, close to the now-ruined Jonah's Tomb which was retaken on Monday following fierce fighting with tens of ISIS forces of Evil putting up strong resistance.

Muhandiseen district, where ICTS forces launched a two-day assault on ISIS in the area, was one of the few remaining districts still held by the bully boy group on the east side of Tigris river, which bisects the city in two the east and west, the latter still under full ISIS control.

Maan Saad, an ICTS commander, earlier on Tuesday told Rudaw TV in Mosul that ISIS is defeated in nearly all of the eastern half of the city, with only about six districts remaining under the bad boys’ control. That was before the liberation of Niemaniyah, Atshaniya, and Zaraei.

"On the eastern bank not much is left," Saad said. "Within the scope of the Counter-Terrorism Forces, there are three districts out of control, and the forces are heading towards the liberation and cleaning of these areas. But from the northern front, there are also no more than three districts out of control, and the forces there too are heading towards the liberation and cleaning of these districts. Following this, there will be full control of the eastern bank."

In northern Mosul, the Iraqi army has taken control of Kanadi installation and the former military base of the second division of the Iraqi army, Iraq’s Joint Operations command announced Tuesday afternoon.

Iraqi forces have already announced the full liberation of the city’s southeastern and eastern districts that number more than 60 neighbourhoods since the launch of the Mosul operation more than three months ago.

On Monday, with the support of global coalition forces, the Iraqi army liberated Kanadi ‐ different from Kanadi installation ‐ and Qairawan, in the north of the city. While the ICTS, advancing from the northeast and southeast, took control of Shurta and Jammasa district, the Cultural Compound, and Nabi Yunis ‐ the tomb of Prophet Jonah.

Rudaw’s Sidad Lashkri in Mosul reported that the few remaining buildings within Mosul University were cleared of ISIS on Tuesday, including the colleges of art, law, and primary education, after Iraqi forces announced the campus’ liberation on the weekend.

Fighting is ongoing in the parkland area of Ghabat district on the Tigris River, Ghabat meaning forest. It is a large wooded area where it is believed forces of Evil are hiding out.

Rudaw’s cameras captured plumes of smoke rising from burned-out buildings in the Ghabat area
Posted by: Fred || 01/18/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
IDF: Palestinian tries to stab soldier in West Bank, is shot dead; another wannabe stabber arrested in Jerusalem
[IsraelTimes] A Paleostinian man was rubbed out Tuesday as he tried to stab soldiers manning a checkpoint outside the West Bank city of Tulkarem, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.

There were no reports of injures among the security forces.

"An assailant armed with a knife attempted to stab an IDF soldier at a crossing adjacent to Tulkarem," the IDF said. "Responding to the imminent threat forces fired towards the attacker, resulting in his death."

The incident came shortly after Israel Police revealed they thwarted a planned stabbing attack in Jerusalem on Monday. A Paleostinian who did not have a permit to be in Israel was incarcerated
Book 'im, Mahmoud!
as he rode a bus in East Jerusalem. He admitted during questioning that he intended to reach the Damascus Gate entrance to the Old City of Jerusalem where he planned to stab security forces at the site.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/18/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Sucks to be you, Palestinian Man!
Posted by: Raj || 01/18/2017 0:20 Comments || Top||

#2  Never bring a knife to a gun fight.
Posted by: JFM || 01/18/2017 8:15 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
Abu Sayyaf bomb kills 12-year-old girl
[Gulf Today] A 12-year-old girl was killed and her mother seriously injured when a roadside bomb believed to have been planted by the Abu Sayyaf exploded in Mindanao. Police said the victims were gathering root crops in a village along the road in Lamitan City, Basilan when the bomb exploded on Sunday afternoon.

Police blamed the Abu Sayyaf for the blast, saying it was intended to divert the intensified search and destroy operation launched against them in the mountains in Lamitan's neighboring town of Sumisip.

Meanwhile, President Rodrigo Duterte confirmed the arrest in Malaysia of the son of a Maguindanao lawmaker for his alleged involvement in the bombing of a popular night market in Davao City, Duterte's hometown last September. He identified the suspect as Datu Mohammad Abduljabbar Sema, who has been detained by Malaysian authorities since last November for his alleged link to the Davao City bombing that killed 15 people and injured more than 60 others.

Sema is the son of Muslimin Sema, the head of a faction of the divided Moro National Liberation Front as well as the former mayor of Cotabato City, and Congresswoman Bi Sandra Sema of Maguindanao.

With Sema's arrest, Duterte said all suspects have been accounted for in the bombing blamed on members of the Matute Group which has pledged allegiance to the Daesh.

Secretary Delfin Lorenzana of the Department of National Defense said the government has requested Malaysia to extradite Sema back to the Philippines so he could face trial.
Posted by: ryuge || 01/18/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Abu Sayyaf


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Kurdish-led SDF repel aggressive ISIS attack
[RUDAW.NET] Intensive festivities between the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and ISIS Lions of Islam took place early Tuesday morning west of Raqqa, the SDF and a Syria watchdog reported.

The festivities took place in al-Suwaydiyat al-Kabirah, west of Raqqa, close to the strategic Tabqa Dam, the primary target for the current phase of the Kurdish-led operation to isolate Raqqa, the self-proclaimed capital of the Lions of Islam in northern Syria.

The SDF reported that ISIS Lions of Islam launched an aggressive pre-dawn attack on their forces and the fighting continued until 10 o’clock this morning, local time, when the Lions of Islam were defeated. The SDF claimed that they killed 15 ISIS Lions of Islam in the festivities.

The SDF did not provide any figures for casualties among their own ranks.

The coalition forces carried out Arclight airstrikes against the ISIS krazed killers, the SDF and the monitoring group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.

The Observatory reported that the SDF initially attacked ISIS positions around midnight on Monday as they attempted to advance in the area. The conflict monitor reported casualties but did not give details.

The festivities come a day after the SDF announced that in the ongoing second phase of the military offensive to isolate Raqqa, they have liberated an area of 2480 square kilometers; that includes 196 villages and Jaabar citadel.

"With this, an area of 3200 square kilometers has been fully liberated since the beginning of the operation," Cihan Sheikh Ahmed, spokesperson for the operation, said at a presser on Monday. "It includes 236 villages, and tens of hamlets. This means that Raqqa has been encircled from both north and west."

The SDF have imposed a crescent-shaped siege on Raqqa Province as they continue to push south and east.
Posted by: Fred || 01/18/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


US: Airdrops increase for anti-ISIS forces near Raqqa
[RUDAW.NET] The US air force is increasing airdrops of weapons, ammunition and other equipment to opposition forces who are closing in on ISIS’s self-proclaimed capital of Raqqa in Syria, a US official announced.

"Our expanded precision airdrop capability is helping ground forces take the offensive to (ISIS) and efforts to retake Raqqa," said Gen. Carlton Everhart, commander of the Air Mobility Command, which is headquartered from Scott Air Force Base in Illinois, US.

Carlton’s statements were made to USA Today and reported on Tuesday. The US air force reported 16 air drops in Syria in 2016 with six coming in December.

It was not immediately clear if the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) was the only group receiving the supplies, which USA today reported as ranging "from small ammunition to vehicles."

The US has utilized airdrops to supply its allies on the ground since the 2014 battle for Kobane, when it was criticized for some drops missing their intended marks and finding their way into the hands of ISIS fighters.

Everhart explained that GPS technology allows his airmen to guide their payloads "within 10 or 15 meters of the mark."

Intensive fighting between the SDF and ISIS in al-Suwaydiyat al-Kabirah, west of Raqqa, and coalition Arclight airstrikes against ISIS early Tuesday morning were reported by the SDF and Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The Kurdish-led SDF have imposed a partial, crescent-shaped siege on Raqqa Province, as they have pushed south and east, in the fifth week of the second phase of the Wrath of Euphrates campaign.

Nuhran Abdi, a SDF commander urged the coalition on Monday to increase support for ground forces.

"We are suffering indeed with regard to weapons. Especially armored vehicles... The global coalition support is not enough, and remains short in supply," he said.

The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
, Iran, and Russia are set to broker peace talks in Astana on Jan. 23 between the Syrian government and opposition factions, although previous ceasefire deals have excluded ISIS. Russia and Russia have expressed interest in the US participating in the discussions, but Iran has not.
Posted by: Fred || 01/18/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Rebel fighters surrender to Syrian Army in Qalamoun Mountains
[ALMASDARNEWS] A group of rebels from the towns of al-Rahaybeh and Mo'adhamiyah al-Qalamoun surrendered themselves and their weapons to the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) on Monday as part of a reconciliation agreement.

According to an al-Masdar correspondent in Damascus, the rebels that surrendered on Monday will be eligible for amnesty, per the amnesty decree set forth by the Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
The Scourge of Hama...
These two towns in the eastern Qalamoun have not been fully reconciled, as a number of jihadist rebels from Jabhat Fateh al-Sham
...formerly al-Nusra, the current false nose and mustache of al-Qaeda in the Levant...
(formerly al-Nusra
...formally Jabhat an-Nusrah li-Ahli al-Sham (Support Front for the People of the Levant), also known as al-Qaeda in the Levant. They aim to establish a pan-Arab caliphate. Not the same one as the Islamic State, though .. ...
Front) remain inside.
Posted by: Fred || 01/18/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Russian jets nonstop bombing ISIS in Deir Ezzor
[ALMASDARNEWS] The Russian Air Force has conducted nonstop Arclight airstrikes over the Deir Ezzor Governorate today, hitting several Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
targets around this desert province in eastern Syria.

Russian jets began launching Arclight airstrikes immediately over Deir Ezzor after the Islamic State snuffies seized the provincial cemetery and Jirayah village yesterday afternoon.

With the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) pinned down at the military airport, the Russian Air Force has been providing them with necessary air cover to drive back the Islamic State snuffies and recover lost points.

According to a military source in Damascus, the Russian Air Force has conducted over 85 Arclight airstrikes today, with most of the attacks taking place in the western countryside of the province.

The Russian Air Force is still conducting Arclight airstrikes at this moment, destroying a number of Islamic State vehicles, while also forestalling the terrorist group's progress near the quiet provincial capital.

Syrian Army attempts to lift the siege on Deir Ezzor Airport

[ALMASDARNEWS] The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) has launched a powerful attack this evening to recapture the Deir Ezzor Cemetery, Jirayah village, and Harabish District from the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
terrorists.

Backed by Syrian and Russian Arclight airstrikes, the Qassem Group of the Elite Republican Guard forces stormed the Deir Ezzor Cemetery's eastern perimeter, where they were met with strong resistance from the Islamic State snuffies entrenched around this site.

If the Syrian Arab Army is successful in recapturing the Deir Ezzor Cemetery from the Islamic State terrorists, then the air force will once again be able to land helicopters at the military airport.
Posted by: Fred || 01/18/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


US Air Force kills high ranking Al-Qaeda leader in Syria
A US coalition drone Arclight airstrike has exterminated a Fateh al-Sham
...formerly al-Nusra, the current false nose and mustache of al-Qaeda in the Levant...
(formerly the al-Nusra
...formally Jabhat an-Nusrah li-Ahli al-Sham (Support Front for the People of the Levant), also known as al-Qaeda in the Levant. They aim to establish a pan-Arab caliphate. Not the same one as the Islamic State, though .. ...
Front) commander.

The targeted commander was identified as Abou Ibrahim al-Tunisi and was pulverized around Aqirybat town, in northern Idlib countryside.

Before waging his jihad in Syria, he was the assistant of the current leader of the al-Qaeda terrorist group, Ayman al-Zawahri.

In recent times, the US-led coalition has been targeting Fateh al-Sham leaders in Idlib province.

The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights has claimed that over 50 jihadists in Idlib province have been wiped out by dronezaps or IED's in the month of January alone.
Posted by: Fred || 01/18/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda

#1  A US coalition drone Arclight airstrike Our Mostest Dearest Leader, Barak Hussain Obama, has exterminated a Fateh al-Sham

fify - order up another sprocket for the outgoing CiC. /sarc
Posted by: Vast Right Wing Conspiracy || 01/18/2017 9:10 Comments || Top||


Palmyra Front: Pro-Government Counter-Offensive
[ALMASDARNEWS] A large scale pro-government counter-offensive on the Palmyra Front appears to be taking place. The end-goal of this offensive is undoubtedly the re-capture of the ancient city of Palmyra and its surrounding oil and gas fields by the Syrian government from ISIS terrorists.

Some of the most high-quality formations of the Syrian Arab Army's order of battle have been identified as taking part in the offensive.

Other pro-government combatant parties such as Hezbollah are also taking part in the offensive.
Posted by: Fred || 01/18/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


20 ISIL militants killed in northern Syria: Turkish military
[Hurriyet Daily News] At least 20 Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) Death Eaters have been killed in northern Syria over the last 24 hours as part of the ongoing Euphrates Shield operation, according to a Turkish General Staff statement early on Jan. 17.

The military stated that Turkish jets conducted air operations against 10 ISIS targets, including sniper positions and a mortar factory in al-Bab.

Free Syrian Army
... the more palatable version of the Syrian insurgency, heavily influenced by the Moslem Brüderbund...
(FSA) special task forces also hit 106 ISIS targets over the past 24 hours with Turkish army support, it added.

The Turkish army is supporting FSA fighters in their fight to liberate al-Bab from the jihadist group. Jan. 17 marks the 147th day since the city was surrounded in order to liberate it.

The operation is part of the Turkish-led Euphrates Shield operation, which began in late August 2016 to improve security, support coalition forces, and eliminate the terror threat along The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
’s border using FSA fighters backed by Turkish artillery and jets.

In total, 43 landmines and 2,941 improvised explosives have been defused since the start of the operation on Aug. 24, 2016.
Posted by: Fred || 01/18/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Terror Networks
The Beatings Will Continue: Iraqi Edition


ISIS kills mom, child escaping Mosul

Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) Islamic State militants have killed a mother and her child early Tuesday upon their attempt to escape group-held territory to others controlled by security forces in Mosul.

Hussein Hajem, Mosul’s mayor, told Sputnik News that a large number of civilians started to flee IS-held areas in eastern Mosul, hoisting white flags and heading towards Iraqi government troops, but were met with shooting by militants using light weapons.

The shooting, Hajem said, killed one woman, her child and an elderly man.

In western Mosul, a local source told Shafaaq news website that IS militants began to forcibly recruit civilians to fight on the extremist group’s side, taking their family members as hostages to ensure abidance.

“The group has taken children hostages aged between 5 and 8 to unknown destinations,” according to the source. “They invaded the residences of seven families who had declined to fight on IS’s side and arrested some family members”.

Islamic State has been reportedly receding in personnel and influence in Mosul over the past two weeks as Iraqi government troops, backed by U.S.-led international air forces and popular militias, continue daily successful advances to retake Iraq’s second largest city from the militant group.

Iraqi generals say they became in control over the eastern section of the city since operations launched in October, and plan to move to recapture IS western bastions after liberating that region.

The conflict in Mosul has forced 178.000 civilians to flee to refugee camps, but many were occasionally targeted by militants upon escaping.

2 die in ISIS bomb attack in Kirkuk

Kirkuk (IraqiNews.com) Two civilians died and seven others were wounded on Tuesday when an explosive device planted by Islamic State militants exploded in families escaping areas held by the group in Kirkuk.

The device exploded at families escaping Hawija, an IS stronghold in Kirkuk that has been in the group’s grip since it emerged in 2014 to proclaim the establishment of a self-styled “Islamic Caliphate”.

Three-months old battles between Islamic State militants and Iraqi security forces seeking to retake areas occupied by the group have forced at least 178.000 civilians to flee homes in Mosul and Kirkuk. Aid groups and human rights organizations have decried the death of many of the refugees who were deliberately targeted 9by the extremist group. The United Nations had predicted one million people to be displaced as result of operations in Mosul, where government forces had only recapture a half of the city and hope to liberate the remaining densely-populated parts.

Earlier on Tuesday, Hussein al-Deleimi, a security adviser to the governor of Anbar, told Anadolu Agency that 33 families arrived in the province from Mosul after fleeing Islamic State-held regions. He said security forces screened the arrivals thoroughly to ensure that no militant elements were included.

2 journalists wounded in ISIS drone attack in Mosul

[ARA News] Erbil – Two journalists on assignment for the U.S.-funded Arabic TV station Al-Hurra Iraq have been injured by an ISIS drone attack in eastern Mosul, showing the increased risks involved in covering Mosul.

Al Hurra reporter Abdul Hamid Zebari, a Kurd, and assistant cameraman Yasir Salim were injured in the attack on Monday and transported to a hospital for surgery in Erbil.

ISIS is using small drones with small munitions, similar to grenades, in Mosul that indiscriminately kill and injure civilians on the ground, the US-led coalition said.

“The ISIS drones have evolved over time,” the US commander Colonel Brett Sylvia previously said in a press conference. “It is a capability that they have had for pretty much the duration of the time that we’ve been here. It’s, you know, commercial off-the-shelf, you know, just UAVs that — that they purchase.”

“As we’ve made our way into Mosul now, what we’ve seen is that they [ISIS] use the smaller drones, the quad copters things, with a much shorter ability to project them out,” he added.

According to a research by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), at least on journalist has been killed and more than a dozen injured since the Mosul offensive began in October 2016.

“In addition to physical dangers, organizations, managers and independent journalists covering Mosul should now be considering the possible effects of psychological injury, including acute traumatic stress and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD),” the CPJ advised in a Safety Advisory for journalists covering the Mosul offensive.

“This could be affecting journalists who have been exposed to near-death situations and who have witnessed traumatic incidents on the job, particularly if they have been covering the Mosul offensive for a protracted period,” the CPJ added.
Posted by: badanov || 01/18/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Jabhat Fateh Al-Sham launches surprise offensive in northern Aleppo
[ALMASDARNEWS] The jihadist rebels of Jabhat Fateh al-Sham
...formerly al-Nusra, the current false nose and mustache of al-Qaeda in the Levant...
(formerly al-Nusra
...formally Jabhat an-Nusrah li-Ahli al-Sham (Support Front for the People of the Levant), also known as al-Qaeda in the Levant. They aim to establish a pan-Arab caliphate. Not the same one as the Islamic State, though .. ...
Front) launched a surprise offensive in the northern outskits of Aleppo City on Monday, targeting the Syrian Arab Army's positions near the al-Malaah Farms.

Jabhat Fateh al-Sham began the attack by storming the Syrian Arab Army's checkpoints near the western part of the al-Malaah Farms; this resulted in a series of festivities that lasted for only two hours on Monday.

According to a military source in Aleppo, the Syrian Arab Army foiled the jihadist offensive, killing a dozen enemy combatants that tried to infiltrate their points in the al-Malaah area.

The military source added that the Lions of Islam used the current ceasefire in the Aleppo Governorate to build-up their forces around Haritan's eastern perimeter; this is where they attacked from.
Posted by: Fred || 01/18/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Nusra



Who's in the News
35[untagged]
15Islamic State
8Govt of Pakistan
4Sublime Porte
2al-Nusra
2Govt of Iran
2Govt of Syria
1Houthis
1Palestinian Authority
1Taliban
1Thai Insurgency
1Abu Sayyaf
1al-Qaeda
1al-Qaeda in North Africa
1Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (IS)
1Arab Spring
1Govt of Pakistain Proxies

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Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.

Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has dominated Mexico for six years.
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Two weeks of WOT
Wed 2017-01-18
  US Air Force kills high ranking Al-Qaeda leader in Syria
Tue 2017-01-17
  Obama Releases 10 More GITMO Detainees Just Before Leaving Office
Mon 2017-01-16
  Noor Salman, wife of Orlando bomber, now jugged by FBI
Sun 2017-01-15
  Three arrested during Belgian police raid on Molenbeek street where Paris attacks mastermind Salah Abdeslam lived
Sat 2017-01-14
  Islamic State supporters face jail after infiltrated in undercover police sting
Fri 2017-01-13
  Belgium charges pair over fake papers for jihadist in Paris, Brussels attacks
Thu 2017-01-12
  36 Afghan parliament staff killed in Kabul attack
Wed 2017-01-11
  Airport Shooter Converted to Islam, Identified as Aashiq Hammad Years Before Joining Army
Tue 2017-01-10
  Mosul Left Coast Fully Liberated
Mon 2017-01-09
  U.S. Navy ship fires warning shots at Iranian vessels
Sun 2017-01-08
  German Vice Chancellor calls for ban of Salafist mosques
Sat 2017-01-07
  ISIS propaganda king killed
Fri 2017-01-06
  Gunman Opens Fire at Fort Lauderdale Airport; UPDATE 3 5 dead
Thu 2017-01-05
  3 girl suicide bombers gunned down in northeastern Nigeria
Wed 2017-01-04
  Turkey Nabs 2 Foreigners at Istanbul Airport over Nightclub Attack

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