Hi there, !
Today Tue 07/26/2016 Mon 07/25/2016 Sun 07/24/2016 Sat 07/23/2016 Fri 07/22/2016 Thu 07/21/2016 Wed 07/20/2016 Archives
Rantburg
531688 articles and 1855967 comments are archived on Rantburg.

Today: 66 articles and 211 comments as of 10:59.
Post a news link    Post your own article   
Area: WoT Background    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix   
Russian Warplanes Targeted U.S., British Outpost in Syria
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 1: WoT Operations
1 23:09 Skidmark [] 
9 21:16 jvalentour [] 
0 [] 
6 23:33 Bov Flimbers [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
1 20:44 Bov Flimbers [] 
0 [] 
35 22:24 phil_b [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [1] 
1 02:43 g(r)omgoru [] 
0 [] 
1 21:13 Bov Flimbers [] 
1 02:10 Bov Flimbers [] 
0 [] 
Page 2: WoT Background
4 18:46 Besoeker []
0 []
6 19:57 Unelet Protector of the Sith2424 [1]
4 22:57 Skidmark [1]
1 18:01 Canuckistan sniper [1]
4 10:07 Grins Snese4215 [1]
7 22:52 trailing wife []
1 16:53 Mullah Richard []
0 []
6 10:40 Pappy [1]
0 []
3 02:26 Bov Flimbers []
2 21:48 Bov Flimbers []
7 23:19 Bov Flimbers []
1 00:35 3dc []
0 []
0 [1]
1 09:12 Frank G [1]
3 21:21 Pappy []
5 22:23 Bov Flimbers [1]
0 []
0 [1]
2 09:36 Frank G []
0 []
0 [1]
0 []
Page 3: Non-WoT
4 18:26 Iblis []
6 23:43 rjschwarz []
0 []
7 22:47 trailing wife [2]
2 22:17 Bov Flimbers []
4 18:56 DarthVader []
8 23:50 rjschwarz [1]
1 08:49 g(r)omgoru []
0 []
1 22:42 Bov Flimbers []
0 []
0 []
0 [1]
0 []
Page 4: Opinion
10 21:00 Shipman []
8 11:03 Skidmark []
1 19:59 swksvolFF []
Page 6: Politix
4 22:52 Bov Flimbers [1]
3 12:34 Raj [1]
22 23:42 rjschwarz [1]
2 12:14 gorb []
11 22:19 Alaska Paul []
5 14:44 g(r)omgoru []
Good evening
Posted by: Fred || 07/23/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Coffee, tea or three?
Posted by: Skidmark || 07/23/2016 23:09 Comments || Top||


Africa Horn
Shaboobs raid AMISOM base near Mogadishu
Heavily armed Al Shabaab fighters
Is there any other kind?
have launched an overnight attack on African Union peacekeepers’ military base located in the outskirts of Somali capital, Mogadishu.

The night-time attack began with rocket propelled grenades (RPGs) fire targeted on AMISOM base at Elasha Biyaha area, located some 18Km northwest of Mogadishu, according to reports.

The attack has sparked fierce gunfight between Al Shabaab fighters and Burundian soldiers of AMISOM contingent. There was no immediate reports of casualties from independent sources.

The militants raided AMISOM forces base leading to a fierce gun battle that lasted for hours. The AU troops, however managed to repulse the attackers. AMISOM said in a statement posted on its Official Twitter account AU troops at Albao defensive position, NW of Mogadishu, repulsed an attack by Al-Shabaab last night, neutralizing 3 militants.
Posted by: Steve White || 07/23/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab


KDF pound Al Shabaab Stronghold in Somalia
Kenyan military fired mortar rounds on a small town in Gedo region of southwestern Somalia which is under the control of Al Shabaab fighters.

The local residents of Dhamase area, located about 40Km north of El Wak town said several civilians house were hit by the mortar shells fired by Kenyan forces. The villagers are worried about their safety and voiced concern over the mortar bombing by the Kenyan military based on the border area near to Somalia.

Scores of civilians and livestock were killed in the KDF barrage, according to a resident who did not want to be named, fearing his own safety and reprisal.
Posted by: Steve White || 07/23/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab


Africa North
French, British, U.S. Soldiers 'Monitoring' Libya
[AnNahar] French, British and American soldiers are in Libya to "monitor" 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....
group jihadists, a military commander in the east of the country told Agence La Belle France Presse on Thursday.

"French, American and British soldiers are in the Benina base" near Benghazi, said air force chief Saqr al-Jaroushi, whose forces are allied with a government based out of the eastern city of Tobruk that is not recognized by the international community.

He said around 20 soldiers at the base were charged with "monitoring the movements of the Islamic State jihadists and how they store ammunition."

"There are no (foreign) pilots fighting in the place of our pilots and fighters," he said.

He added that other foreign military personnel were carrying out similar tasks at other bases and towns across Libya, including the capital Tripoli
...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn...
, Misrata, 200 kilometers (125 miles) to the east and Tobruk in the far east of the country.

Jaroushi commands the air force that forms part of the forces loyal to General Khalifa Haftar
... served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all...
and the House of Representatives in Tobruk, a rival to the Government of National Unity (GNA) that operates out of Tripoli.

La Belle France, Britannia and the U.S. recognize the GNA as the legitimate government of Libya.

Jaroushi's remarks come a day after the GNA criticized the presence of French troops in the chaos-wracked country, as President Francois Hollande
...the Socialist president of La Belle France, an economic bad joke for la Belle France but seemingly a foreign policy realist...
confirmed La Belle France has soldiers there after three died in a helicopter crash.

The soldiers were carrying out a reconnaissance mission alongside Haftar's troops.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/23/2016 02:37 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Africa Subsaharan
IS' West Africa Province (Boko Haram) Claims Killing 17 Cameroonian Soldiers In Fotokol
[ENT.SITEINTELGROUP] West Africa Province, the division of the Islamic State (IS) formerly known as "Boko Haram," claimed killing 17 Cameroonian soldiers in an attack on their positions in Fotokol, in northwestern Cameroon.
Posted by: Fred || 07/23/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Boko Haram


Europe
Munich shooting update -- Saturday am
Suspect dead, police give all clear

[AyPee] A gunman opened fire in a crowded Munich shopping mall and a nearby McDonald's Friday night, killing nine people and wounding at least 10 others before killing himself, said authorities who called the rampage an act of terrorism.

Police gave a "cautious all clear" early Saturday morning, more than seven hours after the attack began. They said a body found near the scene was that of the shooter and he appeared to have acted alone.

Witnesses had reported seeing three men with firearms near the Olympia Einkaufszentrum mall, but police said on Twitter that "as part of our manhunt we found a person who had killed himself - the person is likely to have been the attacker who, according to the current state of the investigation, acted alone."
So, what about the other two guys? This is much like what happened in Nice, where supposed accomplices suddenly weren't accomplices any more...
And the Neo-Nazis. Don't forget them.
They lifted a shutdown of all public transport in the Bavarian capital, and said more details would be disclosed at a press conference later in the morning.

Merkel to hold security council meeting in wake of Munich attack

[EN.TREND.AZ] German Chancellor Angela Merkel will hold a security cabinet meeting on Saturday to assess the situation following the deadly shooting in Munich, Merkel’s chief of staff Peter Altmaier said on public television, Sputnik reported. Altmaier told ZDF public television on Friday that Merkel was being "constantly briefed" on developments in the southern city, where police say up to three gunmen are still at large.

"The cabinet ministers concerned are on their way to Berlin," he added.

Munich shooting - police say suspect killed, 'no indication' of other shooters

[DeutscheWelle] Police have issued a cautious all-clear after a shooting at a shopping center in Munich. Ten people are dead, one a suspect. For several hours, the Bavarian capital was put into lockdown.

What we know so far:

  • Police say a suspect committed suicide, and that they now believe he had acted alone. There was "no indication" of other shooters, after probing two false leads, Munich's police chief said. Police had shot at him before he apparently turned his own gun on himself.

  • Ten people, including the suspect, have so far been confirmed killed in the shooting at the Olympia shopping center in the north of Munich. The attack took place shortly before 6 p.m. local time.

  • At least 16 people were also injured, with Munich hospitals calling in extra staff to respond.

  • Police said they currently believe that the attacker was an 18-year-old German-Iranian who had lived in Munich "for a long time," but are still conducting checks. The motive was "unclear" at this point.

  • Public transport in and around the city was suspended for several hours but restarted early on Saturday morning. Locals were ordered to stay indoors by police, who declared an acute terror threat.

  • During Friday evening's major mobilization in Munich, more than 2,300 emergency services personnel were on duty. These included Munich police, elite units from Bavaria and the states of Baden Württemberg and Hesse, the federal police's elite GSG9 units, and Austria's special taskforce Cobra.
    From Blossom Unains5562:
    Did Munich killer lure children to their deaths on Facebook? Police probe fake ad for free food at massacre McDonald's where Iranian, 18, killed first of his nine victims before turning gun on himself
    The cost of Facebook "free stuff" writ large. So sad.
    [DailyMail]
  • Witnesses said that the shopping centre gunman screamed 'I'm German' and 'Allahu Akbar' before shooting

  • Shooter reportedly fled after his shooting spree on the city underground network, which has now been shut down

  • His body was found half a mile from the scene.

  • Police are investigating a fake Facebook advert which offered free food at the McDonald's where a gunman killed the first of his nine victims.

  • The shooter was not previously known to police and there was no evidence of any links to terrorist organizations, Andrae said.
  • Posted by: Steve White || 07/23/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

    #1  In Munich?
    Posted by: Fred || 07/23/2016 0:28 Comments || Top||

    #2  In Germany? During cold or rainy weather, anyone with small children, who then can play while the mothers chat nearby. On a nice day ditto, because the children have developed a taste for it. And anytime, people who want inexpensive, trustworthy food quickly served and quickly eaten.
    Posted by: trailing wife || 07/23/2016 0:46 Comments || Top||

    #3  UG that is a bit rough - expect that kind of thing from the El33t5.
    Posted by: Bov Flimbers || 07/23/2016 1:06 Comments || Top||

    #4  The coverup begins?
    Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 07/23/2016 1:06 Comments || Top||

    #5  No name so far, which would indicate if he's a shiia or not.
    Posted by: phil_b || 07/23/2016 1:12 Comments || Top||

    #6  Timing, place, and opportunity.

    I was wrong about an attack, but that was a good "Training Exercise". And those Officers killed none.

    I always knew the Polizei were at the top of their game first hand.

    They wanted to know who we were and drew down as fast as they could stop the car.

    The Germans were a very Gracious Country for US. Many Americans settled right there with beautiful Wives. It is such a Beautiful Nation.

    So I get touchy about keeping them Squared Away from now on. Don't force the Hun's hand if you don't have to. So sayeth the Second World War.

    The Media disconnect, the Police lack of timing, Were those Our LEO with "Long Rifles" - what time was that call out?.

    The suicide report, the metro shooter report, the three location report, the 11 dead report,Alluah Akbar report, the videos? Same event in one place?

    That check was my fault I guess.
    Posted by: newc || 07/23/2016 1:18 Comments || Top||

    #7  A note worth consideration is not only the fact that this was the epicenter of the 1972 Olympic massacre.

    It marks a date. An "Anniversary"

    Who eats at McDonalds? Everyone. Everyone. They are very consistent.

    Who Else? Americans. Specifically Americans Anniversary at the Olympics.

    The Messenger promptly shoots himself in the head as his mission as a SIGINT event, or not.

    What say you Holmes?
    Posted by: newc || 07/23/2016 1:32 Comments || Top||

    #8  For that was his only purpose for Allah, or Stalan, Or Hezbollah or whatever.

    Just a mental case.
    Posted by: newc || 07/23/2016 1:34 Comments || Top||

    #9  Who eats at Pizza Hut in Lebanon?

    Who tosses an hand grenade outside of the Hotel housing Ambassador Stevens? And on 9/11 for such matter?

    Someone on this board - in the Berg stated to essence

    "They keep trying to tell US who they are, and We spend so much time denying it is them, I am beginning to wonder if they will intensify them"

    Someone please tell me who was that masked man?
    Seriously.
    Posted by: newc || 07/23/2016 1:48 Comments || Top||

    #10  Who Else? Americans. Specifically Americans Anniversary at the Olympics.

    Newc, when we lived in Germany, it was the German mothers in our playgroup who insisted on meeting at McDonalds. The Americans were appalled by the idea, wanting to experience the real Germany, and in general having bigger apartments or even houses with gardens which had room for a group of small children to play.

    Ditto when road tripping across Europe, my Czech au pair girl would insist on stopping along the way only at McDonalds for pit stops and quick meals, which drove the American soldiers she was travelling with bonkers. But she had been a professional tour guide, and explained that only McDonalds was consistently cheap, clean, trustworthy, and quick -- all important when heading toward the next adventure.
    Posted by: trailing wife || 07/23/2016 3:34 Comments || Top||

    #11  Who temporals the place when you do not have time to sort through the experience. I went to McDonalds in Frankfurt and had a familiar cheeseburger with Ein Beer on the second floor, it was special. See, we only had wolfburger or burger king. Taco bell was also greatly missed.

    Posted by: newc || 07/23/2016 4:10 Comments || Top||

    #12  Terrorists are counting on the American longing for a 'familiar cheeseburger.'

    Make the terrorist task a bit more difficult. Lose the American flag T-shirt and don't frequent western chain eateries. Just basic survival steps.
    Posted by: Besoeker || 07/23/2016 4:18 Comments || Top||

    #13  Not ISIS, not AQ, confirmed he was Shia.
    Posted by: Unelet Protector of the Sith2424 || 07/23/2016 5:54 Comments || Top||

    #14  Thanks.

    I'm wondering if he was radicalized on a trip to Iran.
    Posted by: phil_b || 07/23/2016 6:11 Comments || Top||

    #15  McDonalds is always full in Munich. Many young people, many tourists.

    The killer seems to have no Islamist background.

    He had 300 rounds of ammunition in his backback.

    German press doesn't give his full name - we are so considerate - but the Swiss press does: Ali (or David) Sonboly.
    Posted by: European Conservative || 07/23/2016 7:10 Comments || Top||

    #16  verbal diarrhea?
    Posted by: European Conservative || 07/23/2016 7:55 Comments || Top||

    #17  Hemingway.
    Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 07/23/2016 8:03 Comments || Top||

    #18  Briefly awake. Will properly update later when I'm properly awake, but in the meantime Deutsche Welle is liveblogging the story today. Chancellor Merkel should speak about it shortly, if I have the time difference correct.

    Vielen Dank, European Conservative. Glad it's over.
    Posted by: trailing wife || 07/23/2016 8:23 Comments || Top||

    #19  Dunno G(r)om could be mind-controll guy.
    Posted by: Shipman || 07/23/2016 8:59 Comments || Top||

    #20 
    Hemingway deleted

    AoS
    Posted by: Steve White || 07/23/2016 9:40 Comments || Top||

    #21  The cost of Facebook "free stuff" writ large. So sad.

    Taco Bueno routinely offers some great deals on Facebook. Until last week, I hadn't been to a Taco Bueno since my first wife to have a half price Hatch chile taco (actually I had three). They even offered fresh green chile salsa, which I love.
    Posted by: badanov || 07/23/2016 9:48 Comments || Top||

    #22  Again, something of a sophisticated operation with a patsy left behind for cover.
    Posted by: Skidmark || 07/23/2016 10:16 Comments || Top||

    #23  Still a classic: "A Mosque in Munich: Nazis, the CIA and the Rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in the West", by Ian Johnson, 2010.
    Posted by: Whavise Wheque2596 || 07/23/2016 10:21 Comments || Top||

    #24  The Merkel government will cover up the details much as Obama tried to cover up and sweep under the rug the Fort Hood shooting.
    In Germany, there is a great deal more government censorship than in the rest of the West.
    Posted by: jvalentour || 07/23/2016 10:35 Comments || Top||

    #25  Who in the hell eats at fucking Mc Donald's?

    I guess swimming in yer underwear (in a canal, no less) gives you moral superiority.
    Posted by: Pappy || 07/23/2016 10:36 Comments || Top||

    #26  Sorry G(r)om you called it.
    Posted by: Shipman || 07/23/2016 12:39 Comments || Top||

    #27  Incidentally, re McDonalds, I did a bit driving around US south west. One of the important lessons I've learned: in places that only have McDonalds and one local Mom & Pops: it's better to eat at McDonalds.
    Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 07/23/2016 14:25 Comments || Top||

    #28  And I call it again.
    Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 07/23/2016 15:31 Comments || Top||

    #29  McDonalds: when traveling. Cheap, consistent, excellent wifi, clean restroom, fast service, convenient to interstate, tasty fries. McChicken, small fries, milk $3. and back on the road.
    Posted by: KBK || 07/23/2016 16:17 Comments || Top||

    #30  Police Chief Andrae also told a news conference that the crime and the perpetrator had "absolutely no" link to the issue of refugees.

    Except he was a 2nd generation refugee immigrant.

    Illustrating how ghettoized non-assimilated immigrants are a problem for generations.
    Posted by: phil_b || 07/23/2016 16:42 Comments || Top||

    #31  McD's has decent coffee, too. Everywhere you go.

    Not a St*rb*ck's fan, so the Golden Arches at the airport is always a stop before an AM flight.
    Posted by: Mullah Richard || 07/23/2016 16:52 Comments || Top||

    #32  No Islamist background, but seems to have been a typical loser fascinated by Breivik and the "hero" of the Winnenden massacre. Police has found revealing material in the apartment of his parents.

    The other two guys never existed.
    Posted by: European Conservative || 07/23/2016 17:43 Comments || Top||

    #33  Daily Mail had the names of the dead. They were mostly Kosovars and Turks. Jibes with the theory of revenge for his fellow Muslims bullying him. A Sunni vs. Shiite thing?
    Posted by: Cravirt Flusong7056 || 07/23/2016 18:12 Comments || Top||

    #34  My biggest problem with McDonald's is that they are now an openly 'progressive' company. Who wants to support that?

    Now in Germany the reason you go is free bathrooms and wifi. In France they use local cheese and the result can be quite good. In China, well, it's probably the safest option.
    Posted by: Iblis || 07/23/2016 18:34 Comments || Top||

    #35  A Sunni vs. Shiite thing?

    That was my thought as well. His ghetto school would have been overwhelmingly non-German and shiites would have been a small minority.
    Posted by: phil_b || 07/23/2016 22:24 Comments || Top||


    Five charged over France truck attack
    [YAHOO] Five suspects have been formally charged over the truck attack in the French Riveria city of Nice that killed 84 people, the Gay Paree prosecutor said,

    Mohammed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, who mowed down crowds of people enjoying a Bastille Day fireworks display, had long plotted the carnage, prosecutor Francois Molins said.

    The revelations come as the French government continues to be plagued by questions over possible security failings, prompting authorities to launch an investigation into potential oversights.

    Molins said photos on Bouhlel's phone showed he had likely already staked out the same July 14 event in 2015.

    It also emerged that one of the five suspects in jug, a Tunisian named Mohammed Oualid G., had filmed the scene the day after the carnage, as it crawled with paramedics and journalists.

    The five were brought before anti-terrorism judges late Thursday and charged.

    They are 22-year-old Franco-Tunisian Ramzi A., 37-year-old Tunisian Chokri C., 40-year-old Tunisian Mohammed Oualid G., 38-year-old Albanian Artan H., and his wife Enkeledja Z. who holds both French and Albanian nationality.

    None were known to intelligence services, and only Ramzi A., who was born in Nice, had a criminal record, for robbery and drug offences.

    He led police to discover a Kalashnikov and a bag of ammunition on Thursday, however the purpose of the weapons was unclear.

    Ramzi, Chokri and Oualid were charged with being accomplices to murder by a terror group.

    Ramzi and the Albanian couple faced a second charge, of breaking the law on firearms in relation to a terrorist crime. They are accused of providing Bouhlel with the gun he fired at coppers before he was rubbed out.

    More than 400 Sherlocks have been poring over evidence since the grisly attack last Thursday, the third in La Belle France in 18 months, and it was analyses of Bouhlel's telephone records that led them to the five suspects.

    While 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....
    group claimed the attack, describing Bouhlel as a "soldier", Sherlocks have not found direct proof of his allegiance to the jihadists.

    Many people interviewed by Sherlocks described the Tunisian father of three as "someone who did not practise the Moslem religion, ate pork, drank alcohol, took drugs and had an unbridled sexual activity", Molins said earlier this week.

    However initial details of the investigation revealed Bouhlel had been fascinated with jihad for a while.

    In May last year, he took a photo of an article about the drug Captagon, an amphetamine used by jihadists in Syria.

    Posted by: Fred || 07/23/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


    Iraq
    The Beatings Will Continue: Iraqi Edition

    [ARA News] DUHOK – Extremists of the Islamic State (ISIS) executed a young Iraqi man by throwing him from the top of a building on charges of being gay, activists reported on Friday.

    The radical group arrested the man in southern Kirkuk under the pretext that he was a homosexual.

    “He was thrown off a roof in front of dozens of people,” a local media activist told ARA News, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Then ISIS militants called on the people to stone the victim although he was already dead. They started to barbarically stone his corpse.”

    Also, ISIS released footages of the execution, showing two masked militants throwing the young man off a roof. Other footages showed the victim while being stoned by local people.

    “Civilians who live under ISIS suppression are forced to follow any order by the group, otherwise they could get killed,” head of Nineveh media centre Raafat al-Zarari told ARA News. “People sometimes have no choice but showing loyalty to ISIS. It’s a bitter reality in territories held by this terror group.”

    The ISIS-linked Sharia Court had issued a decision to execute every gay man by throwing him from the top of a building, according to eyewitnesses.

    Over the past three years, the extremist group has executed dozens of allegedly gay men in its areas of control in Syria and Iraq.
    Posted by: badanov || 07/23/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

    #1  9.9 from the pakistani judge
    Posted by: Bov Flimbers || 07/23/2016 20:44 Comments || Top||


    Israel-Palestine-Jordan
    'Moderate' Paleo Authority Unveils statue of 'Frig Bomber' Who Murdered 15
    [PJ] On July 4, 1975, in Zion Square in Jerusalem, a booby-trapped refrigerator exploded, killing 15 people and wounding 77.

    The perpetrators were two Palestinians from the West Bank, one of whom escaped to Jordan. The other, Ahmad Jabara -- nom de guerre of Abu Sukkar -- was eventually apprehended, tried by an Israeli military court, and sentenced to life in prison.
    Sukkar Avenue....very bad vibe. For now, we will go with the statue.
    In 2003, under pressure from the Bush administration to make a "gesture" to the Palestinian Authority, Israel freed Sukkar, then 70, along with 99 other security prisoners.

    Yasser Arafat, then head of the PA, showed his appreciation for Israel’s gesture by appointing the mass-murdering Sukkar as a special adviser. Since Sukkar's death on July 16, 2013, more honors have been heaped on the "refrigerator bomber" than almost any of us could ever hope for.
    Posted by: Besoeker || 07/23/2016 03:34 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

    #1  In 2003, under pressure from the Bush administration to make a "gesture" to the Palestinian Authority

    Some 'burghers always ask "But why Jews don't vote Republican - don't they understand?" There are two answers.
    (a) A lot of American Jews are anti-zionist (IMO, Stockholm syndrome).
    (b) Trump is the first Pub, since Nixon, who may not be in Saudi pocket.
    Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 07/23/2016 6:44 Comments || Top||

    #2  I might suggest a third reason.
    Posted by: Besoeker || 07/23/2016 9:45 Comments || Top||

    #3  May I recommend dropping a refrigerator with a GPS-guided fin kit on it?
    Posted by: gorb || 07/23/2016 14:08 Comments || Top||

    #4  Who is it, Besoeker?
    Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 07/23/2016 14:19 Comments || Top||

    #5  Madoff
    Posted by: Besoeker || 07/23/2016 14:38 Comments || Top||

    #6  Relevance?
    Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 07/23/2016 14:40 Comments || Top||

    #7  Ponzi-schemed his American Jewish contacts among others?
    Posted by: Frank G || 07/23/2016 18:26 Comments || Top||

    #8  You see the same thing with Mormons.

    (And I could mention the "catholic" who just joined the Democratic ticket).

    Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 07/23/2016 20:02 Comments || Top||

    #9  I'm not up to speed on this one. Please provide links.
    Posted by: jvalentour || 07/23/2016 21:16 Comments || Top||


    Syria-Lebanon-Iran
    Aleppo Rebel Tunnel Blast Killed 38 Regime Forces
    [AnNahar] Nearly 40 Syrian soldiers and pro-regime fighters were killed when rebels blew up a tunnel under a government position in Aleppo city, a monitor said Friday.

    The Britannia-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 38 members of government forces were killed in Thursday's blast, which brought down a building used by the regime in Aleppo's Old City. The monitor had earlier reported a toll of 14.

    A video posted online by the Thuwwar al-Sham rebel group purported to show the incident, with members of the force walking though a long tunnel and preparing barrels full of explosives.

    "We are now inside the tunnel that will be detonated soon, God willing, the tunnel under the traffic branch building, which is an important headquarters for the Assad regime and its mercenaries," a rebel says in the video. The footage then shows a massive blast leveling a multi-storey building, filmed from multiple angles.
    Posted by: trailing wife || 07/23/2016 02:37 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


    Russian Warplanes Targeted U.S., British Outpost in Syria
    [AnNahar] Russian warplanes bombed a remote outpost in Syria used by elite U.S. and British forces last month as well as another site linked to the CIA, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

    The Journal, which cited U.S. officials as its source, said the previously unreported air strikes on June 16 and July 12 were part of a bid by Moscow to pressure Washington to cooperate more closely with it in the skies over Syria.

    A contingent of about 20 British special forces had pulled out the day before the first attack on June 16, on a garrison about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from the Jordanian border at At-Tanf, the report said.

    U.S. officials and rebel commanders told the Journal that the outpost was hit with cluster munitions.

    U.S. attempts to wave off the Russians failed to prevent a second air strike on the base, the report said.

    About three weeks later, on July 12, Russian warplanes hit a rebel camp used by family members of CIA-backed fighters about 50 miles west of At-Tanf, the report said.

    U.S. military and intelligence officials told the newspaper that the attacks hardened opposition at the Pentagon and the CIA to cooperating with the Russians.

    But the White House and the State Department, seeking to avoid a military escalation, decided to pursue a compromise, it said.

    Last week, U.S. Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry
    Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State...
    reached a provisional agreement with the Russians to join forces in strikes on Al-Nusra, the al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria.

    Under the agreement, the Russians would halt air strikes against U.S.-backed rebels and restrain the Syrian air force in return for Washington easing Moscow's international isolation, the Journal said.
    Posted by: trailing wife || 07/23/2016 02:37 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

    #1  A contingent of about 20 British special forces had pulled out the day before the first attack on June 16,...

    Details like that are always interesting.
    Posted by: magpie || 07/23/2016 20:29 Comments || Top||

    #2  back channel still working
    Posted by: Bov Flimbers || 07/23/2016 20:53 Comments || Top||

    #3  Putin does a good job getting O's attention when he wants to.
    Posted by: jvalentour || 07/23/2016 21:21 Comments || Top||

    #4  yeah, for a moment, but the attentions span is kinda short
    Posted by: Bov Flimbers || 07/23/2016 22:56 Comments || Top||

    #5  It's mad trying to make an enemy out of Russia. If Putin wants Syria in his sphere of influence, let him have it. It's Turkey's problem.
    Posted by: phil_b || 07/23/2016 23:01 Comments || Top||

    #6  Agreed - stupid shit in the 1850s was Britain/France allying with Turkey vs Tsarist Russia (Charge of the Light Brigade etc) - let Mother Russia grab the Holy Wisdom - they have been after it since 860 AD and - ask yourself - could it be in worse hands right now?
    Posted by: Bov Flimbers || 07/23/2016 23:33 Comments || Top||


    al-Nusra executes 14 soldiers
    BEIRUT: Al-Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate Al-Nusra Front has executed 14 captured men it accused of fighting for President Bashar Assad, in retaliation for a regime advance near Damascus.

    A video distributed via the group’s social media accounts showed 14 men, many with injuries including black eyes, stating their names as they lined up in pairs in front of the group’s black flag.

    “Implementation of the death sentence against a group of ... regime prisoners because of their attack on Harira village in Wadi Barada,” text on the video read.

    The footage showed the men being shot in the head simultaneously as they knelt in front of Al-Nusra fighters. Wadi Barada is an area in the Qalamun region of Syria’s Damascus province and is mostly controlled by an array of opposition groups, including Al-Nusra.
    The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said that Al-Nusra had threatened to execute prisoners if government forces entered Harira.

    The threats came in an earlier video in which one of the captured men warned that the group would kill 14 captives if the government attacked.

    Al-Nusra is the local affiliate of Al-Qaeda and has regularly carried out executions of government forces.

    In September 2015, it executed at least 56 regime fighters at a military airport in Idlib province in the northwest of the country.
    More than 280,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict began in March 2011.

    Posted by: badanov || 07/23/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Nusra


    Bad guys claim Syrian jet downed
    HOMS – Militant fighters of the Islamic State (ISIS) have shot down a warplane for the Syrian army in the central province of Homs. The group has also bombed Syrian army basis in Homs countryside, activists and media sources reported on Friday.

    ISIS fighters launched a mortar attack on Syrian army basis in the vicinity of al-Bara town in Homs province.

    “The attack resulted in the death of nine soldiers and the injury of several others, beside the destruction of two military vehicles and a number of machine guns,” media activist Amro al-Hussein told ARA News, citing officials in the Syrian army.

    In the meantime, the pro-ISIS Amaq agency released images showing a destroyed Syrian warplane, saying it crashed after ISIS militants hit it with a rocket.

    “The warplane was hit after entering the airspace of Jib al-Jarrah district in Homs,” al-Hussein said.

    The Syrian army did not comment on the reported downing of its plane.
    Posted by: badanov || 07/23/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


    Syrian Army Controls Harira Town in Damascus Countryside
    [ENGLISH.ALMANAR.LB] A Syrian army unit, backed by supporting forces, on Friday restored stability and security to Harira town in Wadi Barada in Damascus Countryside after killing a number of bully boyz and destroying 3 armored vehicles, 2 cannons and 4 machineguns-equipped vehicles, SANA reported.

    The engineering units are dismantling the bombs planted earlier by bully boyz in a number of buildings and streets in the town to hinder the army’s progress.

    The rest of the bully boyz fled away towards the neighboring valleys and farms.

    The Army units also achieved new progress in its war against the terrorist organizations in the Eastern Gouta in Damascus Countryside.

    SANA news hound pointed out that army units, in cooperation with popular defense groups, engaged during the past few hours in heavy festivities with terrorist organizations in which army progressed towards Hosh al-Fara town after inflicting heavy losses upon bully boyz in personnel and equipment.

    Daraa

    Army units on Friday destroyed rocket launchers for al-Nusra
    ...formally Jabhat an-Nusrah li-Ahli sh-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 (Qaeda branch in the Levant) in the eastern neighborhood of Busra al-Sham city to the southeast of Daraa city, according to a military source.

    The source added that the members of a terrorist group affiliated to al-Nusra were killed or injured and their weapons and ammunition were destroyed in the eastern neighborhood of Busra al-Shanm city.

    Homs

    The Syrian army air force continued its sorties on the gatherings and fortified positions for ISIS in the eastern countryside of Homs.

    A number of ISIS vehicles, some of them were transporting terrorists, were destroyed during the army’s Arclight airstrikes in the east of Palmyra (Tadmour )city in Homs countryside.

    Deir Ezzor

    The Syrian army air force carried out Arclight airstrikes against the gatherings and dens of ISIS terrorist organization in the countryside of Deir Ezzor city.

    One of the army’s Arclight airstrikes launched against ISIS dens in the area surrounding Jabal al-Tharda in the southern outskirts of Deir Ezzor city.

    A number of ISIS vehicles were destroyed and many of its members were killed.
    Posted by: Fred || 07/23/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


    American YPG volunteer killed in Manbij operation
    [RUDAW.NET] The Kurdish Peoples’ Protection Units (YPG) have confirmed the death of an American volunteer, Levi Jonathan Shirley, fighting in Rojava, northern Syria under the name Agir Servan. He was killed in the operation to liberate Manbij 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....
    In a video from the YPG, Shirley introduces himself as Agir, "means fire," he describes why he volunteered with the Kurdish force.

    "I came here to Rojava to stop Da’esh, ISIS as it’s known more commonly in America. They’re my definition of pure evil. I don’t think good people in society can stick other people inside of a cage and set them on fire. So I came here to stop that."

    Shirley, a former US marine born in Nevada, first joined the YPG in February 2015 and participated in an operation to retake the Kezwane Mountains, west of Hasaka, before returning home, the YPG reported.

    He came back to Rojava in January this year and joined the defence of the Kobane and Cizire cantons of Rojava. When the YPG, as a member of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), launched an operation to retake the city of Manbij, west of the Euphrates, in late May, Shirley joined the operation.

    "Hevale Agir was known for his discipline and sense of responsibility. His style and personality were a source of strength, motivation, and morale for his friends. In the fight, Hevale Agir was known and respected as a brave and altruistic person," reads a statement issued by the YPG on Thursday.

    "We can say that Martyr Agir strengthened our brotherhood and fought for the freedom of an oppressed people. The sacrifice of our comrade Agir has enriched the democratic revolution being fought in Rojava, His name has been written in the history of our brotherhood."

    Shirley was killed on July 14.

    Macer Gifford, eulogizing his friend of Shirley in a statement published by the YPG on Thursday, said, "He came to fight and participate in the destruction of one of the most vicious ideologies of hate this world has ever seen."

    "When Americans hear about his sacrifice, I hope it gives them great pride. We are one human race that shares one planet. It’s about time people realized that liberty and justice aren’t just words, they’re a birth right."

    Posted by: Fred || 07/23/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

    #1  In 1939, many Americans could not wait for 1941, and joined the RAF etc to get in the fight. Some are making a similar decison here. A free Kurdistan is long overdue, and I bow my head to those who would fight for that. They are, unfortunately, gonna get screwed as always.
    Posted by: Bov Flimbers || 07/23/2016 21:13 Comments || Top||


    SDF capture ISIS militants fleeing Manbij dressed as women
    [RUDAW.NET] Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighting to retake the northern Syrian city of Manbij 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....
    have apprehended bandidos bully boyz fleeing the city disguised as civilians, some even in women’s clothing.

    "As you see, today we caught 10 of them dressed as women," said an SDF soldier in a video released by the SDF Press Center. "We catch the same number almost every day, but recently with the pressure on them increasing, they flee in women’s clothing."

    Earlier in July, Shervan Derwish, SDF spokesperson, said that ISIS bandidos bully boyz in Manbij were "carrying razors in their pockets in order to be able to quickly shave off their beards in order not to be identified," as they try to blend in with civilians fleeing the city.

    The SDF, a coalition force dominated by the Kurdish Peoples’ Protection Units (YPG), launched an offensive to retake Manbij in late May. They have the city surrounded and have been steadily progressing into the centre. The high number of explosives laid by ISIS bandidos bully boyz and concern for the safety of civilians has meant that progress is slow but, Derwish said, ISIS knows they are defeated in the city. "They know that there is no hope and we are taking over."

    Recently, the SDF offered Islamic State members a deal in an attempt to protect civilian lives ‐ they can leave Manbij within 48 hours, taking light weaponry, without being harmed.

    Manbij is a strategic city for the Islamic State. It is 40 kilometres from the The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
    ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
    -Syria border and lies on the route between Raqqa and Turkey, and thus to Europe. Brett McGurk, the US Special Envoy for the global anti-ISIS coalition, described it as a "foreign-fighter hub."

    Capturing it will cut ISIS’ de facto capital of Raqqa off from this supply route, isolating the group. SDF forces have been steadily forcing ISIS back across Syria with continued US-led coalition air support.
    Posted by: Fred || 07/23/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

    #1  See!! They aren't our enemy - they are just as progressive as we are!!!
    memo to Kurds - they had razors - make it permanent.
    Posted by: Bov Flimbers || 07/23/2016 2:10 Comments || Top||


    Terror Networks
    Al-Qaeda Calls IS And Baghdadi Hypocrites In Latest Issue Of Anti-IS Bulletin
    [ENT.SITEINTELGROUP] Al-Qaeda called the Islamic State (IS) and its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, hypocrites for claiming that they follow the "correct doctrine" while at the same time they eschew Shariah principles.
    Pot, kettle different shades of very dark black.
    Posted by: Fred || 07/23/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda

    #1  I'd say "let the turf wars begin", except their turfs are now in Europe.
    Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 07/23/2016 2:43 Comments || Top||



    Who's in the News
    35[untagged]
    8Islamic State
    5Govt of Pakistan
    4Sublime Porte
    4Govt of Syria
    2al-Shabaab
    2Govt of Iraq
    1al-Nusra
    1Hamas
    1Houthis
    1al-Qaeda
    1Boko Haram
    1Govt of Pakistain Proxies

    Bookmark
    E-Mail Me

    The Classics
    The O Club
    Rantburg Store
    The Bloids
    The Never-ending Story
    Thugburg
    Gulf War I
    The Way We Were
    Bio

    Merry-Go-Blog











    On Sale now!


    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.
    Click here for more information

    Meet the Mods
    In no particular order...
    Steve White
    Seafarious
    tu3031
    badanov
    sherry
    ryuge
    GolfBravoUSMC
    Bright Pebbles
    trailing wife
    Gloria
    Fred
    Besoeker
    Glenmore
    Frank G
    3dc
    Skidmark

    Two weeks of WOT
    Sat 2016-07-23
      Russian Warplanes Targeted U.S., British Outpost in Syria
    Fri 2016-07-22
      Terror attack in Munich
    Thu 2016-07-21
      Breaking: Brazil arrests 10 suspected of Olympic terror plot
    Wed 2016-07-20
      Syrian rebels capture ISIS command center in Manbij
    Tue 2016-07-19
      Indonesia's ISIS-linked, most wanted terrorist dead
    Mon 2016-07-18
      German train 'axe attack': Many reported hurt
    Sun 2016-07-17
      3 officers dead after shooting near Baton Rouge PD HQ
    Sat 2016-07-16
      Situation largely under control after coup attempt: Turkish PM
    Fri 2016-07-15
      BREAKING in Turkey: MILITARY COUP UNDERWAY
    Thu 2016-07-14
      Truck Plows Through Bastille Day Crowd, Kills 30
    Wed 2016-07-13
      Trial begins for Virginia, Washington women accused of fundraising for Al Qaeda affiliate
    Tue 2016-07-12
      Nigerian Islamists Hack Female Pastor to Death – Place Her Head on Bible
    Mon 2016-07-11
      Pakistan condemns India's killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant commander
    Sun 2016-07-10
      Iraqi Forces Push ISIL Back from Air Base in Mosul

    Better than the average link...



    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.
    34.204.99.254
    Help keep the Burg running! Paypal:
    WoT Background (26)    Non-WoT (14)    Opinion (3)    (0)    Politix (6)