Memorial Day originated as Decoration Day in 1868 when the Grand Army of the Republic established it as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of Union war dead with flowers. There were similar days designated in the South to honor Confederate war dead. In total, North and South, 600,000 had died, more than any conflict in American history.
By the beginning of the 20th century the competing days had merged. It didn't become an official holiday until 1971. In 1966 the federal government declared Waterloo, New York, the official birthplace of Memorial Day. Waterloo—which had first celebrated the day on May 5, 1866—was chosen because it hosted an annual, community-wide event, during which businesses closed and residents decorated the graves of soldiers with flowers and flags. Boalsburg, Pennsylvania, lays a rival claim to the title.
The Memorial Day weekend is traditionally regarded as the beginning of summer, the time the flowers bloom. It has come to be an occasion for family barbecues and picnics. There is the Indianapolis 500. Maybe there's a parade. Maybe you can go to the beach. It's a three-day weekend.
But it is still a day to honor those who gave their lives for the country. They still lie there, in national cemeteries row upon row, in other places here and there, mixed in with their neighbors, friends and acquaintances. In still others their last resting places are unknown. There are about 1.1 million of them, counting all U.S. wars. There were 26,000 deaths in the Argonne Forest alone in World War I, the deadliest battle in U.S. history. It was fought from September 26, 1918, until the Armistice of 11 November 1918, a total of 47 days.
Just think about that for a moment. 26,000 letters to families. 26,000 visits by officers who were unlucky enough to draw what is probably the most difficult duty -- facing the anguished eyes of mothers, fathers, wives, and children, telling them the worst possible news. 26,000 lives, most of them young, that would never achieve their potential.
There were 116,000 dead in World War I, 405,000 in World War II, 36,500 in Korea, almost 60,000 in Vietnam, about 6,500 in Iraq and Afghanistan combined. Those are just the big numbers. There were 266 killed in Beirut in 1983, 258 in the Gulf War, a few dozen lost in places like Somalia or El Salvador.
This is their day. When you fire up the grill think of them and the lives they never got to live. Think of over a million could-have-beens.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/30/2016 00:00 ||
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#2
And those who died even before they could reach the end of bayonet. Died in training accidents (with aircraft that garnered nick names like widow maker), succumbed to environments rife with disease and pestilence, and just everyday accidents but in the line of duty.
Posted by: Bill Elmeanter5627 ||
05/30/2016 9:32 Comments ||
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Thanks and prayers to them and their loved ones for their sacrifice. Amen, Fred
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/30/2016 10:18 Comments ||
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Powerful words indeed:
It is for us, the living, rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they have, thus far, so nobly carried on. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us - that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devotion - that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation shall have a new birth of freedom; and that this government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. - A. Lincoln
The price has been paid for us. Our work is unfinished.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] At least ten Taliban capos were killed in an Arclight airstrike in northern Baghlan province of Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defense (MoD) said Sunday.
The Arclight airstrike was carried out in Baghlan-e-Markazi district where the Taliban bully boyz are actively operating.
According to MoD, the Arclight airstrike targeted a gathering of the Taliban bully boyz in the vicinity of the district, leaving ten of their commanders dead and another one seriously maimed.
The Talibs group has not commented regarding the report so far.
The security situation in Baghlan province has been sharply deteriorating during the past few months as a result of the Taliban-led insurgency.
The Afghan National Security and Defense Forces (ANSDF) managed to end siege of at least three military bases in this province recently which resulted into the rescue of over 100 trapped security personnel.
The security situation in Baghlan started to deteriorate earlier this year following the launch of a military operation in Dand-e-Ghor and Dand-e-Shahabuddin areas near the placid provincial capital.
The operations were launched amid concerns that the Taliban bully boyz are creating safe havens and preparing for their spring offensive.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/30/2016 00:00 ||
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#1
"Bring up the number Twos!"
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/30/2016 10:21 Comments ||
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[Khaama (Afghanistan)] At least eleven civilians including children were maimed in an kaboom in Pul-e-Alam city, the picturesque provincial capital of central Pashtun-infested Logar province.
According to the local government officials, the incident took place on Saturday evening in a populated area of the city.
Provincial governor’s front man Salim Saleh confirmed that three children and a woman were among those maimed.
He said the blast took place in Shahidan area of the city after an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) exploded on a roadside.
No group including the Taliban gunnies have grabbed credit behind the incident.
The Taliban gunnies and murderous Moslems belonging to the other holy warrior groups are frequently using Improvised Explosive Device (IED) as the weapon of their choice to target the security forces.
The IEDs are the main contributors to the casualties of the Afghan cops but are also considered as a key factor in growing civilian casualties.
At least 600 non-combatants were killed and 1,343 others were maimed in the first quarter of 2016, the United Nations ...an organization conceived in the belief that we're just one big happy world, with the sort of results you'd expect from such nonsense... Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said in its latest report.
UNAMA further added that consistent with 2015 trends, ground engagements caused the highest number of total civilian casualties, followed by improvised bombs (IEDs), complex and suicide kabooms, as well as assassination'>assassinations.
According to UNAMA, actions by Anti-Government Elements caused at least 60 per cent of casualties while Pro-Government Forces caused at least 19 per cent.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/30/2016 00:00 ||
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[Khaama (Afghanistan)] A commander of the loyalists of 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 Syria (ISIS) terrorist group has been killed along with his 5 murderous Moslems in an Arclight airstrike in eastern Nangarhar The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country.. province.
According to the local government officials, the Arclight airstrike was carried out in Haska Mina district, apparently by the US forces as an unmanned aerial vehicle was involved.
Provincial governor’s front man Ataullah Khogyani confirmed that a commander of the ISIS terrorist group was killed with five others in a drone strike.
This comes as the local officials in eastern Nangarhar province earlier said drone strikes have played a role in suppressing the activities of the loyalists of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group in Achin district.
The district administrative chief of Achin Ghalib Mujahid said the group has received major blows in this district during the recent months and their activities have become limited by a large extent.
He said the loyalists are the terror group are targeted on daily basis both the Afghan forces and the US forces.
Achin was once a stronghold of the loyalists of ISIS terrorist group from where they started their operations in the country.
The US forces stepped up Arclight airstrikes against the terror group after the B.O. regime granted more authorities to the US forces in the country.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/30/2016 00:00 ||
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[Khaama (Afghanistan)] At least 20 Lions of Islam were killed and 55 others were maimed during the clearance operations conducted by the Afghan National Security and Defense Forces (ANSDF) in north of Afgahnistan.
The 209th Shaheen Corps of the Afghan National Army said the operations were conducted in the past 24 hours in northern Sar-e-Pul and Baghlan provinces.
A statement 209th Shaheen Corps said the Afghan forces were receiving close-air support as well as artillery support during the raids against the turbans.
The Afghan forces also seized and defused 2 Improvised Explosive Device (IED) duringt the operations, the statement added.
At least 11 of the Lions of Islam were killed in Suzma Qala district of Sar-e-Pul province and at lest 44 other were maimed, 209th Shaheen Corps said.
The remaining Lions of Islam were killed during the air and ground raids in Baghlan-e-Markazi district of Baghlan province.
According to 209th Shaheen Corps, a commander of the Taliban group identified as Qari Noorudin was also among those killed during the operations.
The anti-government armed turban groups including the Taliban Death Eaters have not commented regarding the report so far.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/30/2016 00:00 ||
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[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Afghan police forces have suffered casualties in a coordinated attack by the Talibs in southern Helmand ...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan... province of Afghanistan.
According to the local security officials, the attack by the Talibs sparked heavy festivities in Nad-e-Ali and Nahr-e-Saraj districts.
A security official speaking on the condition of anonymity confirmed that eleven coppersbit the dust together with a commander of the public uprising forces.
Provincial governor’s front man Omar Zwak confirmed that heavy festivities between the Talibs and Afghan police started late on Saturday night and sporadic festivities still continue between the two sides.
According to Zwak, at least four coppers serving with the Afghan Local Police (ALP) forces sustained injuries and a commander of them is missing.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/30/2016 00:00 ||
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[Khaama (Afghanistan)] At least 9 Talibs including the group’s two top leaders were killed during separate festivities with the Afghan cops in southern Uruzgan province.
The 205th Atal Corps of the Afghan National Army said the group’s shadow governor Mawlavi Jan Agha and military commission chief Asadullah were among those killed.
At least 5 hard boyz were also maimed during the operations and 5 Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) were seized and defused, a statement by 205th Atal Corps said.
The statement further added that the operations were conducted in Chora, and Khas Uruzgan districts.
The Talibs group has not commented regarding the report so far.
The Afghan cops have stepped up counter-terrorism operations to suppress the insurgency activities of the terror groups.
The security officials are saying the Afghan forces will continue to maintain pressures against the terror groups as they continue to step up attacks against the Afghan forces and civilians.
The operations by the Afghan cops are being conducted as part of the Shafaq annual offensive which was launched late in March in response to the growing insurgency activities led by the Taliban group.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/30/2016 00:00 ||
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[Libya Herald] Benghazi Medical Centre was again under mortar attack today, the fifth time this week. A small shell went kaboom! near the hospital kitchen area, reportedly causing some material damage but no injuries.
The attack came as the UN Special Envoy Martin Kobler described attacks on the hospital as a war crime.
"Disturbing reports that benghazi medical center was shelled. Civilian objects like hospitals must be protected. Attacking them is a war crime," he tweeted today.
The BMC was also shelled yesterday, although again there were fortunately no injuries.
All the shellings are believed to be carried out either by the Benghazi Revolutionaries Shoura Council which includes Ansar al-Sharia ...a Salafist militia which claims it is not part of al-Qaeda, even though it works about the same and for the same ends. There are groups of the same name in Libyaand Yemen, with the Libyan versions currently most active. Tunisia's Shabaab al-Tawhid started out an Ansar al-Sharia and changed its name in early 2014. It still uses the old name now and then, probably because the stationery's not all used up and the web site hasn't expired yet... or by the so-called 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.... . However, ars longa, vita brevis... the Libyan National Army (LNA), and increasingly the bulk of people in Benghazi, lump both together and label them all as IS.
Today also saw mortars hitting sites in Hay Salam, Salmani, Sidi Younis, and Ard Zwawa. Again there were no injuries. The shells that hit Salmani were reported to have been fired from Sabri district, with the result that LNA jets this afternoon bombed locations there and in Suq Al-Hout.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/30/2016 00:00 ||
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At least five U.N. peacekeepers were killed in an ambush in central Mali by suspected turbans on Sunday, the U.N. and police sources said.
The attack is the first time the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Mali, MINUSMA, has recorded fatalities in the center of a country long beset by violence in its vast and desolate north.
"According to preliminary information, five peacekeepers were killed. Another was seriously hurt and is being evacuated," MINUSMA said in a statement.
The U.N. did not immediately confirm the nationality of the dead soldiers but a Bamako police source indicated a group of Togolese peacekeepers "came across a mine and a terrorist attack some 50 kilometers out of Mopti."
First reports had indicated four Togolese peacekeepers were killed in the mid-morning attack on a MINUSMA convoy some 30 kilometers (20 miles) west of the town of Sevare in Mopti region.
MINUSMA mission head Mahamat Saleh Annadif condemned the attack as an "odious" act of terror.
"I most strongly condemn this abject crime which adds to other terrorist acts targeting our peacekeepers and which constitute crimes against humanity under international law," said Annadif.
Sunday's attack came just two days after authorities reported five Malian soldiers killed and four maimed Friday when their vehicles hit a mine in the north and then came under sustained fire.
Last week also saw five peacekeepers from Chad killed and three others maimed in an ambush in the northeast by Ansar Dine jihadist fighters.
Formally Harakat Ansar al-Dine, "movement of defenders of the faith", Ansar Dine is a Salafist jihadi group established by longtime Tuareg rebel leader Iyad Ag Ghaly in early 2012. It is associated with Al Qaeda in North Africa through Ghaly's cousin Hamada Ag Hama, and has trained Boko Haram cadres. Ansar Dine has received support from Saudi Arabia and Qatar. It first came to our attention when it conquered Timbuktu alongside the secular MNLA (National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad) in 2012, requiring French military intervention to drive them out. Several groups have joined and split off from Ansar Dine and each other before and after, associated with various leaders and tribal groups: AQIM-affiliated Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MOJWA or Mujao), anti-AQIM Islamic Movement for Azawad (MIA), Signed-in-Blood Battalion (Mourabitounes) -- the AQIM-affiliated part led by Algerian Mokhtar Belmokhtar, the ISIS-affiliated part led by someone else -- and others too short-lived to mention. All engage in the usual kidnapping for ransom, drug running, and other traditional jihadi activities, and have appeared with boring regularity in our archives.
The Mali mission is the most dangerous active deployment for U.N. peacekeepers and it has been hit by sharp internal tensions since its launch in July 2013.
With Sunday's attack, at least 64 MINUSMA peacekeepers have been killed while on active service, while another four have died in friendly fire incidents, U.N. figures show.
The north has seen repeated violence since it fell under the control of Tuareg-led rebels who allied with jihadist groups linked to al-Qaeda in 2012.
The Islamists were largely ousted by an ongoing French-led military operation launched in January 2013, but they have since carried out sporadic attacks on security forces from desert hideouts.
Rival armed factions and smuggling networks mean the region has struggled for stability since Mali gained independence from former colonial power La Belle France in 1960.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
05/30/2016 00:00 ||
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[IsraelTimes] Egypt’s state news agency says a roadside kaboom has killed two police and maimed three conscripts in the northern part of the Sinai Peninsula.
MENA quoted an Interior Ministry statement saying that the kaboom happened Sunday.
[AlAhram] The military says a tricycle taxi has triggered a homemade explosive buried near a military checkpoint that killed four civilians and a soldier in Nigeria's northeastern town of Biu.
Army front man Col. Sani Kukasheka Usman blamed Boko Haram ... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality... Islamic holy warriors and said victims include a mother and her baby. He said Sunday's blast was caused by an IED buried long ago.
It's only the third kaboom in the past three months in Nigeria, signaling the success of a military campaign that has forced the holy warriors out of towns and villages and has taken the battle to their Sambisa Forest strongholds. There, the air force has been bombing camps and the army reports near-daily victories including freeing thousands of captives. The nearly seven-year-old insurgency has killed about 20,000 people.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
05/30/2016 00:00 ||
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[Ynet] Security forces in Niger killed around 12 fighters of the Islamist bully boy group Boko Haram ... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality... who launched an attack in the southeastern region of Bosso close to the border with Nigeria, according to an army statement on Saturday.
Three members of the security forces were lightly maimed during Friday's battle and government forces captured machine guns, rocket propelled grenade launchers and mobile telephones from the enemy, said army front man Colonel Moustapha Ledru.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
05/30/2016 00:00 ||
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[AnNahar] Fierce fighting between government forces and Iranian catspaws in south Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic... on Sunday claimed the lives of 25 murderous Moslems and 14 soldiers, a military official said.
The festivities erupted when Houthis and allied forces loyal to former president President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it... attacked government positions in Bayhan district on the border between Shabwa and Marib provinces, said General Misfer al-Harithi, who commands the 19th infantry battalion.
Troops counter-attacked and pushed the rebels back, he said.
"Our forces managed to recapture several positions. The fighting resulted in the death of 25 Huthis and Saleh loyalists and 14 from our forces," Harithi said.
Forces loyal to President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, backed by the firepower of the Saudi-led coalition, managed to drive rebels out of Shabwa and four other southern provinces in the summer.
Sunday's fighting flared despite an early April ceasefire that paved the way for ongoing peace talks in Kuwait.
More than 6,400 people have been killed in Yemen since the coalition began a campaign in March 2015 against the rebels who had occupied the capital and advanced on Hadi's refuge in the south, forcing him to flee to Riyadh.
[Dhaka Tribune] Seven members of a gang of bandidos who operate in the Sundarbans surrendered to RAB yesterday, expressing a wish to give their life a fresh start.
They are Md Mostafa Sheikh alias Kader Master, son of Abdul Latif Sheikh of Mithakhali area in Bagerhat’s Mongla upazila, Md Sultan Khan, son of Ismail Khan of the same area, Sohag Akon, son of Yusuf Akon of Boro Katakhali area in Rampal, Md Fazlu Sheikh, son of Ahad Ali Sheikh of the same area, Solaiyam Sheikh, son of Safrul Sheikh of Sreefaltala village, Shahin Sheikh, son of Md Motleb Sheikh of Khulna’s Dacope area, and Sumon Sarder, son of Nurul Islam Sarder of Satkhira’s Tala upazila.
The gang named Master Bahini is led by Md Mostafa Sheikh, who is said to be the most notorious bandit at the Sundarbans.
The seven also surrendered 51 firearms of different types and some 5,000 rounds of ammunition at Charaputia area in Chandpai range of the Sundarbans (east) around 6:30am.
They were taken to RAB 8 custody after they surrendered.
The seven were to officially surrender to Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and RAB Director General Benazir Ahmed at noon but the process was postponed due to adverse weather conditions.
Nizamul Haque Mollah, superintendent of police of Bagerhat, said the bandidos did not officially surrender as the home minister could not make it to the programme due to bad weather.
’We want to start a new life’
After his surrender, the leader of the gang, Mostafa, said a union parishad chairman of Rampal area made him a bandit and he started working as a member of the gang named Raju Bahini.
He said he formed a gang of 10-15 members on his own after the leader of Raju Bahini, Raju, fled to neighbouring India following a raid conducted by the joint forces.
"As RAB continued to crack down on bandidos, we decided that we would surrender. Except the seven, other members of the gang fled after they learned that we would surrender," Mostafa said.
"We wish to return to a normal life after the legal procedure ends."
RAB sources said a RAB intelligence team connected with the members of Master Bahini after they were informed that the bandidos were willing to surrender.
According to RAB, Master Bahini terrorised local fishermen and beekeepers in the Sundarbans and the west coast. They would extort fishermen and were also involved in a range of crimes, such as abduction and demanding ransom.
The surrender of the bandidos made local fishermen happy. They said they would be able to catch fish without fear if other bandidos also decided to surrender like the seven.
Md Jahangir Alam, deputy commissioner of Bagerhat, praised the decision of the bandidos to surrender in order to start a new and normal life.
"This is undoubtedly a good move for them, and a good news for locals as well. It will be great if other forest robbers follow in the footsteps of the seven Master Bahini members," he said.
The government official said all necessary measures would be taken for helping the seven bandidos to return to a normal life.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/30/2016 00:00 ||
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#1
We want to start a new life’
Ah, you have seen the light and surrendered to a higher power, excellent first step. Now it's time to:
1. Find a quiet place outside of some tony Upazilla where you might gather quietly and consider your past.
II. It will be very dark and unlighted so bring a shutter gun and at least two rounds of bullet, perhaps one of the group should have a sharp device.
Step the Third. Discuss amongst yourselves honestly (srsly) and openly (rly) your past crimes, wants and warrants. You need not be wanted in 12 (twelve) systems, but ideally at least 3 (three) and your mother should love you.
IVee. Cookies and Juice! Usually someone has to go call his bookie and settle the claiming race bet at Saratoga, let him go it's break time!
Funf Steppen Regather and commencing again the agenda
Six. Is that Mahmoud coming back from his call, thrashing about with the pompatus in the weeds? Likely no. In this case fire wildly and FLEE
QUETTA: Six people, including two women and a child, were injured in a hand grenade attack in Balochistan's Chaman area, a town near the Pak-Afghan border, on Sunday.
Police said miscreants lobbed a hand grenade at a house in Chaman Bazaar. The motive behind the attack is unknown.
The injured were rushed to Civil Hospital Chaman for treatment.
In a separate incident, two people, including a Levies man, were gunned down by unidentified men on motorcycles in Turbat.
Levies officials said unknown assailants opened fire at two people in the Zamran area and fled. Both victims sustained multiple bullet wounds and died on the spot. The bodies were rushed to a nearby hospital for postmortem.
Levies personnel reached the site of the attack and initiated an investigation into the incident. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.
KARACHI: Police on Sunday claimed to have killed three suspected Al Qaeda militants who were allegedly planning an attack on the chief of a law enforcement agency.
Malir SSP Rao Anwar said the suspected militants belonged to the outlawed Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and were killed after an alleged encounter in Quaidabad are of the metropolis.
“Police were searching the area after receiving a tip-off that militants were hiding there. When they reached an area near a hill, terrorists started firing on them and in retaliation three militants were killed,” said Anwar.
The Malir SSP identified one of the deceased as Riaz alias Raja, who he believed was a commander of the AQIS.
Karachi, a city of 20 million and country's economic hub, is frequently hit by religious, political and ethnic violence.
Paramilitary forces began a sweeping crackdown on militants in the city in 2013, which has led to a substantial drop in overall levels of violence.
Al Qaeda and the Pakistani Taliban have carried out joint operations for years, but both are hostile to the Islamic State group which is an upstart in the region.
Pakistan launched a countrywide campaign against militancy called the National Action Plan starting in 2015.
Posted by: badanov ||
05/30/2016 00:00 ||
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KARACHI: Police claimed on Saturday to have killed two suspected militants who were allegedly involved in the murder of a lawmaker of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and killing of more than 20 others, including policemen, according to officials.
The officials said they have come to the conclusion that the outlawed Lashkar-i-Jhangvi (LJ) was involved in recent killings of seven policemen guarding polio workers in Orangi.
Acting on information about presence of militants in Kunwari Colony of the Manghopir area, the police’s Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) conducted a raid and in an ensuing encounter, two suspects were killed, claimed CTD SSP Amir Farooqi.He identified the deceased as Amjad alias Mota and Taj, who belonged to the LJ.
“Amjad alias Mota was involved in the murder of over 20 members of the Shia community and MQM lawmaker Manzar Imam,” claimed CTD AIG Dr Sanaullah Abbasi.
He said the ring leader was Saeed alias Khalu who was suspected to be involved in the murder of seven policemen in Orangi. Amjad was his right-hand man, while Taj was involved in over five sectarian murder cases.
Sindh CTD chief Dr Abbasi said militant groups such as Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan have joined hands with the LJ and other militant outfits and have formed five groups to carry out terror acts in the country, particularly in Karachi.
[DAWN] MARDAN: Three proclaimed offenders were killed during an alleged encounter with police here on Saturday.
Police officials told media persons here that Mardan and Charsadda police, following a tip-off regarding presence of four proclaimed offenders in Qaseem locality of Saroshah village, raided a house.
They said the proclaimed offenders hailing from Dosihra area of Charsadda, started firing when the police reached the area. The coppers returned the fire, killing three POs on the spot, and arresting the fourth. The officials identified the killed outlaws as Ishfaq, Shahid, Majid, and the tossed in the slammer You have the right to remain silent... one as Amjid.
The outlaws, the officials said, were real brothers, adding two Kalashnikovs, four hand grenades and three pistols were also recovered from the house.
The officials said the POs were wanted to different cop shoppes of Mardan and Charsadda in cases of murders, robberies, heroin smuggling and abductions.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/30/2016 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] RAWALPINDI: Security forces averted a 'terrorist attempt' by arresting two suspected murderous Moslems in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... , Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Sunday.
The arrests were made during two intelligence-based operations in the villages of Karebai Oghi and Charangada near Mansehra ...a city and an eponymous district in eastern Khyber-Pakthunwa, nestled snug up against Pak Kashmir, with Kohistan and Diamir to the north and Abbottabad to the south... , an ISPR statement said.
A 20 kilogram pressure cooker Improvised Explosive Device, hand grenades, pistols, an AK-47 rifle and rockets were recovered from the suspects, ISPR said.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/30/2016 00:00 ||
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(IraqiNews.com) Babel – Babel Police chief, Maj. Gen. Ali Kowa, announced on Sunday, that the security forces had managed to arrest 57 wanted individuals during raid operations in different areas of the province.
Kowa said in a brief statement followed by IraqiNews.com, “The police forces conducted raid and inspection operations in different areas of the province during the past 72 hours,” noting that, “The operations resulted in the arrest of 56 wanted [persons] on various criminal charges.”
He also added, “A force from the police, in coordination with the Intelligence [Agency], was able to arrest a wanted [individual] on terrorism charges in the vicinity of Jabla (35 km northeast of Babel).”
(IraqiNews.com) Diyala – The Head of Muqdadiya District Council in Diyala Province Adnan al-Tamimi, announced on Sunday, that seven people were killed and 35 others were wounded in the suicide attack that targeted a casino in the district.
Tamimi said in a press interview received by IraqiNews.com, “The final outcome of the suicide bombing that took place, this evening, near a casino in the center of al-Moalmeen neighborhood in Muqdadiya District reached seven dead and 35 wounded.”
“The ambulances transferred the wounded to a nearby hospital to receive treatment and the dead bodies to the forensic medicine department,” Tamimi added.
Tamimi said in a press statement obtained by IraqiNews.com, “A suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt tried to break into a casino in al-Moalmeen neighborhood in the center of Muqdadiya (35 km northeast of Baqubah),” pointing out that, “A policeman shot him outside the casino, causing the belt to explode.”
(IraqiNews.com) Nineveh – On Sunday, a source in the Kurdish Peshmerga forces announced retaking two villages from ISIS grip east of Mosul.
The source reported for IraqiNews.com, “On Sunday, Kurdish Peshmerga forces backed by the international coalition aviation carried out a military operation and managed to retake the villages of Tel Aswad and al-Mofty east of Mosul.”
Noteworthy, a number of media outlets stated, that the US-led coalition backed by the Kurdish Peshmerga forces launched an attack to retake a number of villages in Mosul.
(IraqiNews.com) Nineveh – A security source in Nineveh province said on Sunday, that the paramilitary Kurdish Peshmerga force had managed to kill tens of ISIS militants and advance 20 kilometers into the axis of al-Khazir north of Mosul.
The source said in a statement obtained by IraqiNews.com, “This morning, Peshmerga forces carried out an operation to liberate Nineveh Plain in the axis of al-Khazir, north of Mosul, resulting in the death of tens of ISIS terrorists, in addition to fully liberating four villages and advancing 20 kilometers in the axis.”
The source, who requested to remain anonymous, added, “The Peshmerga engineering force continues to dismantle the explosive devices in the four liberated villages.”
Posted by: badanov ||
05/30/2016 00:00 ||
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(IraqiNews.com) Anbar – On Sunday the leadership of al-Hashed al-Shaabi announced, that the so-called ISIS launched an attack using light and medium weapons on Heet District west of Ramadi (110 km west of Baghdad), while pointed out that violent clashes had broke out between the security forces and ISIS members in the district.
The intelligence director in al-Somoud brigade, Nazim Aljughaifi, said in a press statement followed by IraqiNews.com, “This morning, ISIS launched a massive attack with light and medium weapons on Heet District (70 km west of Ramadi),” noting that, “Violent clashes broke out between the security forces and ISIS elements in the area of al-Mashtel near Heet General Hospital in the center of the district.”
(IraqiNews.com) Anbar – Baghdad Operations Command announced on Sunday, that the security forces and al-Hashd al-Shaabi foiled an attack launched by ISIS to break the security cordon on Albu Shajal.
The command said in a statement followed by IraqiNews.com, “Today the security forces and al-Hashd al-Shaabi in the northern axis of Baghdad Operations foiled an attempt carried out by ISIS to break the security cordon on Albu Shajal area.”
The statement added, “Dozens of casualties were inflicted on ISIS during the operation.”
(IraqiNews.com) Anbar – The Head of Khalidiya District Council in Anbar Province, Ali Dawood, announced on Sunday, that the so-called ISIS Security Officer was killed in Khalidiya Island east of Ramadi.
Dawood said in an interview obtained by IraqiNews.com, “A warplane bombarded one of ISIS headquarters in Albu Bali area in Khalidiya Island (23 km east of Ramadi), destroying the headquarters and killing all the ISIS members who were inside it.”
Dawood added, “The dead ISIS members included the so-called ISIS Security Officer in Khalidiya Island Salah Aidan Hamoud al-Akawi.”
(IraqiNews.com) al-Anbar – An informed security source announced on Sunday, that the Iraqi security forces had managed to retake the strategic bridge which links between al-Zagharid village and the vicinity of al-Saqalawiya north of Fallujah.
The source said in a brief statement obtained by IraqiNews.com, “The security forces had managed to liberate the bridge of al-Zagharid which links between the village of al-Zagharid and the vicinity of al-Saqalawiya north of the city of Fallujah,” pointing out that, “The importance of the bridge will facilitate the entry of the security forces from the international highway road into the center of Saqlawiyah.”
“The liberalization process of the bridge came after the killing of a number of ISIS elements,” the source added.
(IraqiNews.com) Baghdad – A source in the Iraqi police said on Sunday, that two civilians had been wounded in a bomb blast that took place south of the capital Baghdad.
The source said in a statement received by IraqiNews.com, “This afternoon, an explosive device that was emplaced under a civilian vehicle has went off while the vehicle was passing in the vicinity of al-Yusufiyah, south of Baghdad, resulting in the injury of two civilians that were inside it.”
The source, who asked anonymity, added, “A security force cordoned off the area of the explosion and prevented approaching it, while the injured [civilians] were transferred to a nearby hospital to receive the necessary medical treatment.”
(IraqiNews.com) Baghdad – A source within the police force in Baghdad province said on Sunday, that nine people had been either killed or injured in a bomb blast northeast of Baghdad.
The source said in a statement obtained by IraqiNews.com, “This evening, an explosive device went off near a popular cafe in the area of al-Sha’ab, northeast of Baghdad, resulting in the death of one person and wounding eight others,” adding that, “A security force rushed to the area of the incident and transferred the injured to a nearby hospital for medical treatment and the dead body to the forensic medicine authority, while imposed a security cordon around the area and prevented approaching it.”
[RUDAW.NET] Some 5,000 Peshmerga and Zeravani Special Forces launched a major pre-dawn offensive Sunday, aiming to liberate 10 villages 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.... (ISIS) group and moving a step closer to an anticipated joint offensive on djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... The 4 a.m. offensive began with Kurdish forces divided on eastern and western fronts and advancing toward a clutch of abandoned villages belonging to the Kakei and Shabak Kurdish minorities.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
05/30/2016 00:00 ||
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[IsraelTimes] Shin Bet says group of 6 Paleostinians from Bethlehem planned suicide kaboom, as well as future attacks in capital
Israeli security forces locked away You have the right to remain silent... six alleged members of a Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, terror cell accused of planning and carrying out a suicide kaboom in Jerusalem last month, the Shin Bet security service announced Sunday.
On April 18, Abed al-Hamid Abu Srour boarded the number 12 public bus in the capital and detonated an bomb, injuring 19 people and killing himself, in the first suicide bus bombing in Israel since 2004.
The Shin Bet, Israel Defense Forces and Police launched an investigation to track down Abu Srour’s accomplices. Details of the case were placed under a court-approved gag order, which was removed Sunday morning.
The alleged Hamas terror cell was made up of six Paleostinian men, all from the Bethlehem area, the Shin Bet said.
The security agency would not reveal the precise dates of the arrests, only that they’d happened "in recent weeks."
In addition to the April bus bombing, the Shin Bet found the cell had planned additional attacks, mostly boom-mobileings and shootings, and had been creating improvised bombs based off "educational videos from the internet," the security service said.
Muhammad Sami Abd Alhamid al-A’zza, a 28-year-old resident of Beit Sahour near Bethlehem, admitted to Sherlocks that he’d crafted the bomb used by Abu Srour in the Jerusalem bus bombing, the Shin Bet said.
"Once the creation of the device was completed, they worked together to enlist a jacket wallah and then prepare the attack, specifically planning how to infiltrate Jerusalem," the Shin Bet said al-A’zza revealed during his interrogation.
"At the same time, they worked to plan additional attacks and tried to obtain additional weapons and kaboom," the security service said.
In addition to the plans for future acts, the Shin Bet found that al-A’zza and another suspect, 28-year-old Muhammad Issa Mahmoud al-Barbari, had carried out a shooting attack near the Jewish settlement of Tekoa in 2015, albeit one that resulted in no casualties. Al-A’zza had previously served a prison sentence from 2004 to 2007 for planning terror attacks with Hamas.
According to Sherlocks, Muhammad Majdi Mustafa al-A’zza, 21, worked alongside al-A’zza in creating the bomb used in the attack and also recruited members of the cell, including Abu Srour.
Ahmad Muhammad Mahmoud al-Mashaiekh, a 19-year-old from the al-Ayda refugee camp, has been accused of driving the suicide bomber to the Jerusalem for the attack, though the security service did not reveal how exactly they sneaked into the capital.
Israeli forces also picked up Ali Ahmad Muhammad al-A’rouj and Sai’d Osama Issa Hermes, who were found to be involved, though to a lesser extent in the attack, according to the Shin Bet. Al-A’rouj, who was also imprisoned from 2004 to 2007 for planning an IED attack, helped raised money for the group, assisted in the production of the bomb used in the April attack and filmed Abu Srour’s testimonial video before he carried out the attack, the security service said. Hermes, meanwhile, helped Abu Srour write the testimony and helped al-A’rouj film it, the Shin Bet said.
The agency also found that after al-A’zza and al-Barbari’s 2015 shooting, Hermes offered his home as a hiding place for the homemade gun used in the attack.
The Shin Bet’s findings have been handed over to a military court and in the coming days the members of the alleged terror cell will be indicted.
[Mindanao Examiner] Police foiled a bombing attempt on Saturday in the Philippine province of Basilan in the Muslim autonomous region.
Police defused an improvised bomb assembled from a mortar round connected to a blasting cap and cell phone on a bridge in Lamitan City. The explosive was in a black backpack when police bomb experts carefully disarmed it. The bridge was closed temporarily while police searched the area for more bombs, but found nothing.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the foiled attack, but Lamitan had been previously bombed by the Abu Sayyaf.
Posted by: ryuge ||
05/30/2016 00:00 ||
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[Broadly] Joanna Palani was only 22 when she left her comfortable life as a college student behind in Denmark to join up as a YPG and Peshmerga fighter on the frontlines of the war in Iraq and Syria. She tells us how ISIS soldiers are "easy to kill," but Assad's troops are much harder.
From 2011 to 2013, some 50k Syrians supporting Assad were killed (including army, national guard, militia and police). They probably weren't that hard to kill then but perhaps the ones that weren't killed are battle hardened.
Or she may be referring to Hezbollah or Iranian Special Forces.
Posted by: lord garth ||
05/30/2016 8:10 Comments ||
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Garth - I thinks she is referring to the fact that the ISIS cats are all about martyrdom...the Syrian dudes not so much.
[ARA News] ALEPPO – Dozens of civilian casualties were reported on Sunday after the Syrian regime’s warplanes launched several airstrikes on the Tall al-Daman town south of Aleppo, activists reported.
The Syrian air force hit a popular marketplace and residential buildings in Tall al-Daman with at least six airstrikes on Sunday evening.
“More than twenty people were killed and dozens more wounded in the airstrikes,” rights activist Ali Rihawi told ARA News in the targeted Tall al-Daman town.
“Volunteers of the civil defence are still searching for victims under the rubble,” the source said.
Tall al-Daman and its suburbs are held by the Syrian opposition forces.
“This town has hosted hundreds of displaced people from the war-torn villages of Khan Touman, al-Iss and al-Hadir. Yet the killing machine of the Assad regime has followed them to Tall al-Daman,” opposition spokesman Mustafa Suleiman told ARA News in Aleppo.
“Today the town [Tall al-Daman] has witnessed another massacre by pro-Assad warplanes. We promise to continue our operations against pro-Assad forces to prevent further bloodshed among innocent civilians,” Suleiman said.
Posted by: badanov ||
05/30/2016 00:00 ||
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[ARA News] ALEPPO – Subsequent to clashes with militants of the Islamic State (ISIS), Syrian opposition groups took control of two towns in the northern countryside of Aleppo province, military sources reported on Sunday.
The opposition fighters launched an offensive against ISIS headquarters near the border with Turkey, and captured the towns of Braghida and Kafr Shoush.
“Under heavy bombardment by the rebel forces, ISIS militants withdrew from areas near Azaz city, including Kafr Shoush and Braghida,” rebel spokesman Salih al-Zain told ARA News.
At least 22 ISIS members were killed in the clashes, where heavy weapons have been used by both sides. On the other hand, four opposition fighters were killed and nine more were wounded, according to the rebel official.
Also on Sunday, clashes broke out between ISIS and Syrian rebels near the Marea city north of Aleppo, after an attempt by ISIS fighters to storm rebel positions inside the city. “ISIS retreated after suffering heavy losses,” al-Zain said.
Posted by: badanov ||
05/30/2016 00:00 ||
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Thousands of civilians have fled an offensive by ISIS against non-militant rebels in northern Syria into territory controlled by a US-backed Kurdish-led alliance, a monitor said on Sunday.
The offensive against the towns of Marea and Azaz threatens to overrun the last swathe of territory in the east of Aleppo province held by non-militant rebels and bring ISIS to the doorstep of the Kurds’ Afrin enclave.
At least 29 civilians have been killed since ISIS launched the assault early on Friday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
It came as the forces of Evil were under attack by the Kurdish-led alliance in Raqa province further east and by the army and allied militia around Fallujah in neighbouring Iraq.
"More than 6,000 civilians, most of them women and kiddies, were able to flee areas in the countryside of Aleppo province... especially from Marea town and Sheikh Issa village" to its west, the Britannia-based monitoring group said.
"The displaced arrived last night in areas in the west and north of Aleppo province under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces," Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said.
The SDF is an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters that Washington regards as the most effective force on the ground in Syria against the forces of Evil of ISIS.
Washington’s support for the alliance, which is dominated by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), has severely strained relations with NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... ally Ankara which regards it as a terror group.
AFP pictures of US commandos wearing the YPG insignia drew condemnation on Saturday from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him... , whose government regards the group as a puppet of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) which Ankara has been battling for more than three decades.
ISIS launched its offensive against the rebel-held territory that separates it from the Kurds in Afrin on Friday.
Heavy fighting ... as opposed to the more usual name-calling or slapsy... raged early on Sunday on the outskirts of Marea and around two villages on the supply route to the town of Azaz on the Turkish border to the northeast.
The forces of Evil managed to cut the key supply line in a surprise assault early on Friday.
At least 61 rebel fighters have been killed in the fighting, as well as 47 Death Eaters, nine of them jacket wallahs, the Observatory said.
The United Nations ...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships... has expressed concern ...meaning the brow was mildly wrinkled, the eyebrows drawn slightly together, and a thoughtful expression assumed, not that anything was actually done or indeed that any thought was actually expended... for some 165,000 civilians who have been trapped by the fighting between Azaz and the closed Turkish border.
The UN refugee agency said fleeing civilians were being caught in crossfire and were facing "challenges to access medical services, food, water and safety".
The supply lines to The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... have made Aleppo province one of the most contested battlegrounds of Syria’s five-year-old civil war.
Parts are held by the government, parts by non-jihadist rebels, parts by the Kurds and parts by ISIS or its Death Eater rival Al-Qaeda.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/30/2016 00:00 ||
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[RUDAW.NET] Turkish and coalition forces bombed 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.... (ISIS) positions and killed an estimated 40 gunnies in northern Syria on Sunday, in response to cross-border rocket attacks into The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... by the Lion of Islams.
The Arclight airstrikes also took out four Katyusha rocket launchers, two ammunition depots and as many armored vehicles belonging to ISIS, Turkey’s official Anadolu Agency news reported.
The Arclight airstrikes came a day after two rockets from Syria hit the Oguzeli district of Turkey’s southeastern Gaziantep, near the city’s international airport. No casualties were reported. It was not clear if the rockets were a result of stray fire from festivities over the border in Syria or another deliberate ISIS attack.
The strikes also come a day after the Turkish General Staff claimed the military killed 104 ISIS gunnies in cross-border artillery, rocket and tank fire in retaliation to an ISIS rocket attack on Turkey's Kilis border region on Friday, which left five people maimed.
ISIS has been rocketing Kilis since January. The Turkish military has been responding with artillery to such attacks, which to date have killed 21 civilians in Turkey.
The US coalition has been using Turkey’s strategically important southeastern Incirlik airbase to strike ISIS in Syria. The US operates unmanned drones from the base, equipped with Hellfire air-to-surface missiles, along with A-10 ground attack planes.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/30/2016 00:00 ||
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[RUDAW.NET] Peshmerga forces repulsed an 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.... (ISIS) attack on the Gwer front south of Erbil on Sunday, killing 19 bad boys, a Kurdish official told Rudaw.
"ISIS snuffies launched an attack on Peshmerga in the Abu Sheita village on the Gwer front, but it was repulsed by the Peshmerga," said Sirwan Barzani, the Peshmerga commander of the Gwer-Makhmour region.
"No casualties were inflicted on the Peshmerga, while 19 snuffies of the group were killed," Barzani added.
On Saturday, five ISIS jacket wallahs wearing boom belts launched an assault on Peshmerga defense lines on the Gwer front. Two were bumped off and one detonated his vest, wounding one Peshmerga.
Sunday’s attack coincided with a major Peshmerga offensive against ISIS on the Khazir front, 30 kilometers from Erbil.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/30/2016 00:00 ||
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(IraqiNews.com) Nineveh – The Kurdistan Patriotic Union’s member in Makhmur, Rashad Kalali, announced on Sunday, that 35 people fled from ISIS to the areas controlled by the Peshmerga forces in Makhmur.
Kalali said in a brief statement received by IraqiNews.com, “35 people of Karaj vicinity resorted to the Peshmerga forces,” pointing out that, “The majority of them are youths who escaped from the areas controlled by ISIS members.”
Kalali added, “The escaped youths will be transferred to the displaced people camps after being interrogated.”
Posted by: badanov ||
05/30/2016 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
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.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] A commander of the loyalists of 
a city and an eponymous district in eastern Khyber-Pakthunwa, nestled snug up against Pak Kashmir, with Kohistan and Diamir to the north and Abbottabad to the south...
[Broadly] Joanna Palani was only 22 when she left her comfortable life as a college student behind in Denmark to join up as a YPG and Peshmerga fighter on the frontlines of the war in Iraq and Syria. She tells us how ISIS soldiers are "easy to kill," but Assad's troops are much harder.
