Hi there, !
Today Fri 10/09/2015 Thu 10/08/2015 Wed 10/07/2015 Tue 10/06/2015 Mon 10/05/2015 Sun 10/04/2015 Sat 10/03/2015 Archives
Rantburg
531694 articles and 1855967 comments are archived on Rantburg.

Today: 65 articles and 206 comments as of 12:46.
Post a news link    Post your own article   
Area: WoT Background    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix   
IS destroys ancient Palmyra Arch of Triumph
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 1: WoT Operations
20 21:31 swksvolFF [] 
6 21:15 Pappy [] 
2 21:27 Whiskey Mike [] 
0 [] 
1 16:48 Sven the pelter [] 
0 [1] 
8 17:15 Shipman [] 
0 [1] 
0 [1] 
3 13:02 Redneck Jim [1] 
1 17:56 trailing wife [] 
1 20:40 Sven the pelter [2] 
2 18:02 Zenobia Floger6220 [] 
0 [] 
3 18:07 Zenobia Floger6220 [1] 
0 [] 
Page 2: WoT Background
3 21:28 Whiskey Mike []
2 13:20 Raj []
0 []
0 [1]
2 13:16 Sven the pelter []
0 []
1 20:36 Sven the pelter [1]
4 11:27 Sven the pelter []
0 []
1 16:57 Sven the pelter [1]
0 []
1 15:10 Pappy []
3 18:37 Blossom Unains5562 []
2 21:17 Pappy []
9 16:51 Sven the pelter []
3 00:26 JosephMendiola []
0 []
1 00:21 JosephMendiola []
2 16:39 Sven the pelter []
1 00:21 Skidmark []
0 [1]
0 []
Page 3: Non-WoT
3 18:50 Frank G []
3 20:16 Shipman [1]
1 08:30 Besoeker []
0 [1]
4 15:46 g(r)omgoru []
11 17:49 Zenobia Floger6220 []
9 18:39 Blossom Unains5562 []
0 []
0 []
0 [1]
1 01:17 newc [1]
6 20:13 Shipman []
34 22:12 swksvolFF [1]
3 11:43 Pappy []
1 03:43 Besoeker [1]
6 20:57 Old Patriot []
Page 4: Opinion
4 19:34 charger []
3 21:01 Old Patriot []
0 []
0 []
1 00:46 CrazyFool []
9 21:58 swksvolFF [1]
4 20:13 swksvolFF []
3 12:58 Bright Pebbles []
Page 6: Politix
4 19:50 Airandee []
3 21:53 Zenobia Floger6220 []
11 22:32 49 Pan []
Afghanistan
Suicide attack rocks capital Kabul
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] A relatively heavy kaboom rocked capital Kabul
...the capital of Afghanistan. Home to continuous fighting from 1992 to 1996 between the forces of would-be strongman and Pak ISI/Jamaat-e-Islami sock puppet Gulbuddin Hekmayar and the Northern Alliance, a period which won Hek the title Most Evil Man in the World and didn't do much for the reputations of the Northern Alliance guys either....
earlier tonight after a jacket wallah detonated his explosives in Darul Aman area of the city.

Gun battle between the security forces and a group of holy warriors was also reported in the area with local residents saying they have heard two blasts in the area so far.

Sediq Sediq, front man for the Ministry of Interior (MoI), said Police Special Forces have been deployed in the area following the attack.

The embassy of Russia and parliament building area are located close to the incident area.

The target of the kaboom was the house of the former provincial governor of southern Helmand
...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan...
province Naeem Balouch.

Preliminary reports suggest at least four people were maimed in the attack which also inflicted damages to the nearby properties.
Posted by: Fred || 10/06/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


New ISIS video purportedly shows beheading of a man in Nangarhar
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The loyalists of 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....
of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group have released a new propaganda video claimed to be filmed 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 of Afghanistan.

The video purportedly shows the beheading of a man in an area apparently under the control of the loyalists of the terror group.

The man, accused of espionage, is show in an orange jump suit and executed by an ISIS loyalist in black uniform and mask.

The latest propaganda video is released amid ongoing military operations by the Afghan cops in eastern Nangarhar province of Afghanistan.

Local officials in Nangarhar said at least seven forces of Evil were killed and eight others maimed in the latest anti-Daesh operation in Achin District.

The officials further added that the loyalists of the terror group suffered the latest casualties in Abdulkhil area where ISIS forces of Evil are actively operating.

This comes as the United Nations
...boodling on the grand scale...
released a report late last month warning that the terror group is making inroads in Afghanistan with the number of sympathizers and followers growing across the country.

According to the report around 70 forces of Evil of the terror group are busy in forming the core of the group's branch in Afghanistan.

The report further added that the group is recruiting followers in at least 25 provinces of Afghanistan with 10 percent of the sympathizers belonging to the Taliban group.

Posted by: Fred || 10/06/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Africa North
Ajdabiya continues its separate conflict with further killings
[Libya Herald] The three-cornered conflict in Ajdabiya between local Islamists, forces loyal to Ibrahim Jadhran and those supporting the Libyan National Army (LNA) saw more killings over the weekend. On Friday, gunnies shot and killed Hassuna Al-Atawish Al-Maghrebi, 33, a commander of the LNA's Brigade 302, currently fighting in Benghazi.

He was leaving the a local mosque after evening prayers with a friend when gunnies driving by in a black 4×4 vehicle shot at both of them. Maghrebi was hit in the head and died instantly. The friend, 32-year-old Ahmed Badr Mansour Al-Zwai who worked for the state electricity company GECOL in Zueitina, died in hospital yesterday of his wounds. He had taken several shots to his leg which had had to be amputated.

Local sources are blaming the killing on the largely Islamist Ajdabiya Revolutionaries' Shoura Council (ARSC). It was blamed for the liquidation ten days ago of a local militiaman Nasser Al-Rugaieh and of political activist Belgassem Al-Zwai the previous week.

One of the main leaders of the ARSC is Osama Jadhran the brother of Ibrahim, the Cyrenaica federalist who heads the central region Petroleum Facilities Guards (PFG) and who forced the closure of Libya's oil terminals for much of 2013.

Another brother is Salem, the mayor of Ajdabiya.

The ARSC is widely seen pro-Al Qaeda although there are reports that Osama is now developing sympathies with 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....
(IS) despite others in the council being strongly opposed to it.

Ibrahim Jadhran is seen as more focused on potential backing for his forces. Notwithstanding earlier links with LNA military head Khalifa Hafter, he has now firmly split with him. In the middle of last month, he accused Hafter of trying to kill him when he visited Tobruk.

In a statement yesterday, Jadhran's front man, Ali Hassi, alleged that Hafter and the House of Representatives were effectively working IS because they had apparently not condemned its attack on a PFG checkpoint in Sidra last week.

"We don't need you," Hassi was quoted saying, accusing Hafter of betraying the PFG.
Posted by: Fred || 10/06/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


LNA planes bomb militants' supply vessels off Benghazi
[Libya Herald] The Libyan air force says it bombed and sunk two transport craft bringing men and equipment from Misrata to Salafist tough guys besieged in Benghazi.

There has been no independent confirmation of the strikes, or any reports of casualties, but the air force has carried out numerous strikes against such boats in recent months.

Libyan National Army (LNA) and associated forces have for the past two weeks been pounding Islamist militias, including 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....
(IS) fighters, who are hemmed into four districts of Benghazi, in an offensive launched by the head of the Libyan armed forces, General Khalifa Hafter and codenamed Operation Doom.

Military sources say the districts are almost empty of civilians, but army advances are held up by snipers and sporadic rocket and artillery fire from the largely ruined areas.

The army says the sea supply line from Misrata is the reason Islamist units continue to fight on in Benghazi, accusing Misratans, prominent members of the former Libya Dawn
...aka Fajr Libya, the Islamist operation launched to counter that of General Khalifa Haftar (Operation Dignity). It is made up of the Libya Shield militia (Misrata and Moslem Brotherhood), Libya Revolutionaries Operations Room (Moslem Brotherhood), and Tripoli Brigade (close to Abdul Hakim Belhaj, head of Al-Watan party). Financing and moral support come from Turkey and Qatar...
alliance, of prolonging the battle. Last week, Benghazi council said Misrata council bore responsibility for the city's sufferings because of the continuing supply of fighters and weapons and that it would take legal action against Misrata.

Hafter has been fighting to capture Benghazi in a number of offensives that first began in May of last year, with the artillery and rockets of both sides reducing some areas, including parts of the historic quarter by the port, to rubble.
Posted by: Fred || 10/06/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring

#1  Any connection to this story?

85 dead migrants found washed up in Libya: Red Crescent
Posted by: Sven the pelter || 10/06/2015 16:48 Comments || Top||


Africa Subsaharan
Official: Multiple Bomb Blasts in Nigerian Capital, 15 Dead
[NYTIMES] Several bombs in two locations of the Nigerian capital, Abuja, killed at least 15 people, the National Emergency Management Agency said Saturday.

The kabooms Friday night were in Nyanya and Kuje, suburbs of Abuja, agency front man Sani Datti said in a statement. He said 13 people died in the blast in Kuje and two in Nyanya. At least 41 people were maimed, Datti said.

No group has grabbed credit but the attack is similar to others by 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...
, Nigeria's home-grown Islamic murderous Moslem group. Boko Haram has largely been carrying out attacks in the country's northeast but has been extending its range to other cities.

Violence from Boko Haram's six-year insurgency has killed nearly 20,000 people and displaced 1.4 million from their homes. At least 1,000 people have been killed since President Muhammadu Buhari took office earlier this year with the promise of wiping out the bad boys.

Four jacket wallahs killed at least 10 people Thursday in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, the army said. No group grabbed credit but Nigerian security forces blamed Boko Haram, which is based in the area. At least 39 others were maimed in the attack in the Sareji neighborhood of Maiduguri, military front man Col. Sani Kukasheka Usman said.
Posted by: Fred || 10/06/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Boko Haram


Europe
Turkey reports 2nd day of harassment by Russian military
[CBS] BRUSSELS - Turkey's military said Tuesday more of its jets patrolling the border with Syria were placed in a radar lock by Russian planes and surface-to-air missile systems, casting further doubt on Moscow's behavior and intentions in the Syria crisis.

Eight Turkish F-16 jet patrolling the Turkish-Syrian border were harassed by a MIG-29 plane as well as surface-to-air missile systems based in Syria in two separate incidents on Monday.

It was the second successive harassment of Turkish planes reported by Turkey. The MIG-29 locked radar on the planes for 4 minutes and 30 seconds, while the missile systems threatened the planes for 4 minutes and 15 seconds, the military said.

Turkey reported Monday that two Turkish jets were harassed by a MIG-29 on Sunday.
Vlad probes Mooslim NATO underbelly.
Posted by: Besoeker || 10/06/2015 11:52 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  A couple HARMs back at the SAMs would be an appropriate response I think.
Posted by: DarthVader || 10/06/2015 12:03 Comments || Top||

#2  "Any attack on Turkey is an attack on NATO," Erdogan said. "If Russia loses a friend like Turkey with whom it has cooperated on many issues, it will lose a lot."
Posted by: Besoeker || 10/06/2015 12:10 Comments || Top||

#3  Boot Turkey out of NATO or disband NATO. It's just not worth the mental contortions trying to keep something so alien in an organisation.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 10/06/2015 12:52 Comments || Top||

#4  Eight Turkish F-16 jet patrolling the Turkish-Syrian border were harassed by a MIG-29 plane

"Plane" singular?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 10/06/2015 13:29 Comments || Top||

#5  Erdrogan is the cause of all this "migration" horseshit. He's actively on the Islamist side, folks.
Posted by: Angirt Tingle3947 || 10/06/2015 13:30 Comments || Top||

#6  "Any attack on Turkey is an attack on NATO," Erdogan said.

Now he remembers NATO??
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 10/06/2015 13:39 Comments || Top||

#7  Of course, we will jump to the immediate aid of Turkey, just like they did during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia || 10/06/2015 13:54 Comments || Top||

#8  Had that website right at your fingertips did you ?
Posted by: Besoeker || 10/06/2015 14:29 Comments || Top||

#9  g(r)omgoru is a veritable font of information.
Posted by: Pappy || 10/06/2015 14:46 Comments || Top||

#10  Yes, if Sergey Lavrov had a son.... who blogged.
Posted by: Besoeker || 10/06/2015 15:08 Comments || Top||

#11  My fun club.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 10/06/2015 15:47 Comments || Top||

#12  Erdogon is the illegitimate metroturban of the boy-lover Mahmet I.

And if everyone just took a time out for a minute to attack Turkey, only ISJV and Obama would come to their aid.

Thing is Lil' Berdy is participating in an invasion of NATO. He has also been trying to drag NATO into this squared circle ever since sent his planes out to be shot down by Team Assad.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 10/06/2015 16:11 Comments || Top||

#13  If the Turks were to shoot down a couple of RU fighters and Vlad were forced to turn Adana to cinders, with stronger message to follow, then what? The music stops, everyone huddles, no one does anything.

Vlad smiles.
Posted by: Besoeker || 10/06/2015 16:20 Comments || Top||

#14  The UK might act.
Posted by: Sven the pelter || 10/06/2015 16:58 Comments || Top||

#15  I'll bet the Russians go to ground when Jooooooooo strike planes are inbound. Figure they understand each other.
Posted by: Shipman || 10/06/2015 17:12 Comments || Top||

#16  What mess over there! Let's focus on getting guns out of law biding American citizens while we decide which side Obama is on in the Middle East.
Posted by: Airandee || 10/06/2015 19:45 Comments || Top||

#17  What's this I hear about Judge Crater? Any truth to these vicious lies?
Posted by: Shipman || 10/06/2015 20:07 Comments || Top||

#18  while we decide which side Obama is on in the Middle East

That's easy. Mr. Obama is on "his" side.
Posted by: Pappy || 10/06/2015 21:10 Comments || Top||

#19  I dont. Give a shit, I'm backin putin and israel in this mess. They seem to be the only ppl with common sense in this. Fuck turkey, fuck. Isis and europe not to mention obumble an his cronies. To bad they control the poor men an women under their control in the military.
Posted by: chris || 10/06/2015 21:19 Comments || Top||

#20  If Russia wanted to give Turkey the jitters, from where could they supply arms to the Kurds, and could they do so without also giving Iran the jitters (or if they wanted to give Iran the jitters to keep them in-line from bringing Israel into the mix)?
Posted by: swksvolFF || 10/06/2015 21:31 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Pro-govt tribal elder killed in bomb blast
[DAWN] BANNU: A pro-government tribal elder and former head of a peace committee was killed and his son injured in a roadside kaboom blast near Nullah Tochi on Sunday morning.

Police said Malak Syed Ali alias Sadali was coming to Bannu with his sons Abdul Rehman and Abid from his Ghora Bakkakhel village for a medical check-up when an improvised bomb (IED) destroyed his car.

The tribal elder and his elder son suffered injuries in the blast that occurred near Nullah Tochi, 14km from Bannu in the jurisdiction of Miryan cop shoppe.

The injured were taken to the district headquarters hospital in Bannu where Malak Ali died.

According to relatives, it was the third attack on Malak Syed Ali who previously headed a peace committee.
Posted by: Fred || 10/06/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: TTP


Pakistani Taliban hang ISI officer as revenge for executions
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Pak Taliban group has reportedly released a video which purportedly shows the execution of a Pak officer who was serving with the country's military intelligence -- Inter Services Intelligence (ISI).

The ISI officer, identified as Bashir Ahmad Khan, was hanged to death to avenge the execution of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) members.

Khan was originally serving with the 19th army air defense unit and later recruited by Pakistain's military intelligence agency -- ISI.

The Rooters news agency obtained the two videos which shows the introduction and execution of Khan.

Dressed in plain brown traditional Pak clothes and surrounded by gunnies wearing masks and camouflage, Khan speaks to the camera, saying "We were trained to trace the Taliban's training camps."

The video also shows one unmasked man in white robes kneels beside him and two men holding a black banner in the background that is embroidered with the kalma, a Muslim declaration of faith.

Another masked man is shown in the second video, saying "The hanging of Bashir Ahmad is our response to the Pak government who are busy hanging our group members. This is just the beginning and all those who are in our custody or those who have any links with the Pakistain government will face the same treatment." ​

With his eyes bound with black cloth and a noose around his neck and wrapped in a Pak flag, Khan is pushed off a rock after the masked man finishes speaking.

The snuffies shoot at his body and shout "God is great" as Khan dangles from the rope around his neck.

Following a deadly attack by Pak military on an army-run school in Beautiful Downtown Peshawar
...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire.
the capital city of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central...
province last December, the Pak government reinstated the death penalty and has since then executed numerous prisoners linked to terrorist activities.

Posted by: Fred || 10/06/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: TTP

#1  Biting the hand that feeds you.
Posted by: Sven the pelter || 10/06/2015 11:17 Comments || Top||

#2  That's the Afghan Taliban. The Pak Taliban are the ones who've gone feral.
Posted by: Pappy || 10/06/2015 11:29 Comments || Top||

#3  The story about the scorpion and the frog ,here.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 10/06/2015 13:02 Comments || Top||


Iraq
Car bomb attacks kill 57 people in Iraq
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] At least 57 people were killed on Monday in car kabooms in Baghdad and the north and south of Iraq, police and medical sources said.

One attack took place near a crowded market in the town of Khalis, about 80 kilometers northeast of Baghdad, killing 35 people, police said.

"The driver begged police to be allowed to park his vehicle in order to buy medication from a nearby pharmacy and five minutes later it (the bomb) went off and caused huge destruction," police captain Mohammed al-Tamimi said.

In the town of Al Zubair, about 15 kilometers southwest of the oil town of Basra, a second attack took place also near a crowded market. Ten people died.

Another boom-mobile went kaboom! in the Hussainiya district of the northern outskirts of Baghdad, killing 12 people, police and medical sources said.
Posted by: Fred || 10/06/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  From The Times of Israel:

IS says in a statement posted on a Twitter account linked to the group that it carried out Monday’s attack in Basra’s southwest suburb of al-Zubair, targeting Shiites. The Sunni-dominated al-Zubair is located 50 kilometers (31 miles) southwest of Basra.
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/06/2015 17:56 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Third Palestinian youth said killed in clashes with IDF
You know how it is: allow the troops to shoot back at mobs hurling rocks and molotov cocktails at them, and Darwin will start winning again.
[IsraelTimes] Paleostinian teens also killed in Bethlehem and Tulkarem in past 24 hours; several hurt as stones thrown at Israeli vehicles in Jerusalem and West Bank

A Paleostinian youth was killed during violent festivities with Israel Defense Forces troops in the Beit Hanina neighborhood of East Jerusalem, Paleostinian media reported Monday night.

This is the third Paleostinian protester to have been reportedly killed during a confrontation with Israeli forces in 24 hours.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/06/2015 00:54 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Palestinian Authority

#1  Stop clashing with the IDF.
Posted by: Sven the pelter || 10/06/2015 16:01 Comments || Top||

#2  One? Not enough.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike || 10/06/2015 21:27 Comments || Top||


Palestinian teen killed by Israeli army fire near Bethlehem
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] A Paleostinian teen has been killed by Israeli army fire near Bethlehem on Monday as festivities spiked in east Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank, Al Arabiya's correspondent reported.

Abdel Rahman Abdullah, 13, was shot at in the chest during festivities at a refugee camp near Bethlehem, emergency services and police sources told Agence La Belle France-Presse.

He is the second Paleostinian killed by Israeli soldiers over the past 24 hours.

On Sunday night, an 18-year-old Paleostinian was killed during festivities in Tulkarem in the West Bank.

Clashes have spread after two recent attacks killed four Israelis and maimed a two-year-old child.
Posted by: Fred || 10/06/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  'Twas bad shooting:

Senior IDF officer: 13-year-old Palestinian was killed by mistake; the bullet ricocheted off the ground

The killing of a 13-year-old Palestinian by IDF fire near Rachel's Tomb on Monday was explained on Tuesday by a senior army officer.

"A Ruger bullet was fired and did not strike well," the officer explained. "It was aimed at his legs but the bullet hit the ground and then ricocheted into the chest of the Palestinian."
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/06/2015 17:34 Comments || Top||

#2  Thanks! Was wondering about that.

Sez patient: "It hurts when I do that."
"Get shot by the Hebrews you threw at?
Perhaps they are frightened."
The ghost was enlightened.
But ghosts can't be hit with a cluebat.
Posted by: Zenobia Floger6220 || 10/06/2015 18:02 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Russia carving out a fortress for Assad, say experts
[Express] PARIS: The contours of Russia's strategy in Syria are emerging as it tries to carve out a rebel-free zone for Bashar al-Assad's regime and shut out Western forces from his air space.

Although the stated aim of Russia's mission was to target the Islamic State (IS) group, most analysts have dismissed these claims as window-dressing for a campaign that primarily seeks to prop up Assad's embattled regime against a much broader group of rebels.

"The priority for the Russians is to protect 'useful Syria'," said Michel Goya, a military historian at Sciences Po university in Paris, referring to the densely-populated western and coastal parts of the country where Syrian industry and agriculture are concentrated.

He said the Russians' first priority was attacking al Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra, who are a more immediate threat in those areas than IS.

The few Russian strikes against IS targets are only to "justify their campaign but it's not really their priority," he added.

"The strategic objective is to secure an Alawite 'safe zone'... leaving the eastern, desert part of the country to (IS)," wrote Igor Sutyagin, of the Royal United Services Institute, in a recent analysis note.

Assad and much of the leadership come from the Alawite ethnic group based along the western coast, who fear they will be wiped out if extremists take over the country.

Since the Alawites make up only 12 per cent of the population, "control of the whole country is politically impossible and perhaps not even considered necessary for Damascus anymore," wrote Sutyagin.
Posted by: Besoeker || 10/06/2015 08:02 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Why is this bothering the west so bad? They weren't going to do anything about this conflict, and I would rather Russia be the big man in there than Iran.
Posted by: chris || 10/06/2015 9:24 Comments || Top||

#2  At least the Russian's have a strategic vision which is more than you can say for current US Administration.
Posted by: Sven the pelter || 10/06/2015 11:16 Comments || Top||

#3  They report this news as if it's some kind of a surprise.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 10/06/2015 16:22 Comments || Top||

#4  Yes, at some point the Russians had to go 'all in' in order to save their Navy base at Tartus. All in all, quite predictable as EU has indicated.

Link
Posted by: Besoeker || 10/06/2015 16:28 Comments || Top||

#5  I thought the Russians were in Latakia, not Tartus. Neither have a lot of room, but Latakia is larger and has more docking space. It's also closer to the airfield in Latakia province.
Posted by: Old Patriot || 10/06/2015 20:17 Comments || Top||

#6  Nope. It's Tartus. Reason? Location.
Posted by: Pappy || 10/06/2015 21:15 Comments || Top||


Syrian insurgent groups vow to attack Russian forces
More than 40 Syrian insurgent groups vowed to attack Russian forces in retaliation for Moscow's air campaign in a show of unity among the usually fragmented rebels against what they called the "occupiers" of Syria. The 41 groups, which included powerful factions such as Ahrar Al Sham, Islam Army and the Levant Front, said Russia joined the war in Syria after President Bashar Assad's forces were on the verge "of a crushing defeat."
Depends. Do you guys fight like Afghans?
Russia launched its air campaign on Wednesday and claims it's targeting the Daesh group and Al Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, the Nusra Front. But many of the strikes appear to have hit Western-backed rebel factions. The Russian attacks have largely focused on the northwestern and central provinces - the gateways to the heartland of Assad's powerbase in the capital, Damascus, and on the Mediterranean coast.

The Russian intervention was widely criticised by Syrian opposition groups and activists especially since Moscow once played the role of a mediator hosting rounds of talks between the Syrian government and its opponents.

"This new reality requires the region's countries and the allies in specific to hasten in forming a regional alliance to face the Russian-Iranian alliance that occupies Syria," the 41 factions said in a statement released by Ahrar Al Sham. It was apparently referring to backers of the opposition such as Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

A Syrian military official was quoted by state media as saying that Russian airstrikes on Monday hit in the central province of Homs and Idlib in the northwest.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human rights said warplanes believed to be Russian have targeted the northern town of Al Bab that is a stronghold of the Daesh group. It said the airstrike left "a large number" of casualties.
I bet the Russian targeting coordinators don't consult with Russian lawyers before giving the go-ahead to the Russian pilots...
A Facebook page used by Daesh posted photos of wounded people being treated in a clinic and another of what appeared to be a burned body being pulled out of a charred car. The Facebook page said dozens of people were killed or wounded in the airstrikes.

The Syrian militant and rebel factions, including the US-backed Division 101 and Tajammu Alezza, said "the Russian military aggression on Syria is considered a blatant occupation of the country even if some claim it was done with the official request of the Assad regime. Those who lost legitimacy can't offer it."

"All Syrian armed revolutionary factions must realise we are in a war to push an aggressor, a war that makes unifying ranks and word a duty on all brothers," the factions said in the two-page statement posted online. "Any occupation force to our beloved country is a legitimate target."

Earlier in the day militant websites reported that Syria's Muslim Brotherhood declared that fight against the "sheer Russian occupation of Syria" is a legitimate duty for everyone capable of carrying weapons.

The Brotherhood's media chief Omar Mushawah was quoted as saying that "we as Muslim Brotherhood group confirm that we are witnessing a sheer and clear Russian occupation" and that "resisting the occupier is a legitimate duty."

Meanwhile, Syria's foreign minister said Russian airstrikes and its new military "steps" in Syria took months of preparations. Walid Al Moallem said in remarks broadcast on Beirut's Al Mayadeen TV that Russia closely coordinates with the Syrian army over its airstrikes. The full interview with Al Moallem will be aired later on Monday.
Posted by: Steve White || 10/06/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Does Ladbrokes have odds on this match? I'll take the Russians & the over...
Posted by: Raj || 10/06/2015 0:59 Comments || Top||

#2  Given all the history, both fact & fiction, about us arming the Afghan rebels to fight the Russians what's the consensus about arming the Syrian rebels against the Russians and Iranians?

Seems like an approach/avoidance conflict to me.

Posted by: AlanC || 10/06/2015 7:16 Comments || Top||

#3  More than 40 Syrian insurgent groups vowed to attack Russian forces in retaliation for Moscow's air campaign in a show of unity among the usually fragmented rebels against what they called the "occupiers" of Syria.

I give it a week. Okay, two weeks.
Posted by: Pappy || 10/06/2015 11:30 Comments || Top||

#4  Russia has maybe 100,000 combat ready troops. Given the number committed to the Ukraine and to the strategic reserve (somebody has to march in parades), how many is Russia willing to commit to defending pencilneck? And what happens when the KIA counts go up?
Posted by: Sven the pelter || 10/06/2015 14:33 Comments || Top||

#5  how many is Russia willing to commit to defending pencilneck?

Enough to buy time for Assad's forces to rearm, re-equip and learn new weapon systems.

Enough to buy time for the Iranians to both bring in forces and kick their wavering Hesb'allah subsidiary into their place.

Enough to establish a de facto buffer zone around the current rump Syrian state, perhaps interdict the rebels' supply routes.

And do it long enough for the rebels to start fighting among themselves.

Posted by: Pappy || 10/06/2015 15:08 Comments || Top||

#6  do it long enough for the rebels to start fighting among themselves.

Um, Pappy, hasn't that time line gone negative already?

I mean the past is present and future, no?
Posted by: AlanC || 10/06/2015 15:29 Comments || Top||

#7  Syria's economy is finished. How will the rump state eat? Live off Russian rent money?
Posted by: Sven the pelter || 10/06/2015 16:04 Comments || Top||

#8  How many troops can the Russian state provide for? This is a bit out of country for them.
Posted by: Shipman || 10/06/2015 17:15 Comments || Top||


Roadside bomb 'targets Hezbollah van' in eastern Lebanon
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] A roadside explosive in the Lebanese town of Chtaura targeted a Hezbollah vehicle on Monday, Al Arabiya News Channel reported.

Sources told Al Arabiya that there were no injuries reported and the van, which reportedly belonging to Hezbollah, continued on its journey to an unidentified location.

Chtaura is a town in Lebanon in the Beqaa Valley located halfway on the Beirut-Damascus highway and 44 km from Beirut.
Posted by: Fred || 10/06/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Hezbollah

#1  Teenagers and their pranks.~
Posted by: Sven the pelter || 10/06/2015 20:40 Comments || Top||


Russia hits '10 ISIS targets'
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Russian jets struck 10 ISIS targets in Syria Monday, the defense ministry said, as Moscow ramped up its aerial campaign with bombardments that for the first time targeted the Damascus area.

"Su-34, Su-24M and Su-25 carried out 15 sorties from the Hmeimim airbase in the afternoon," the ministry said in a statement, adding that 10 facilities had been struck on the sixth day of Moscow's military intervention in Syria.

The raids notably destroyed an ISIS command center and communications hub in a mountainous area of Damascus province, the statement said.

They also destroyed ISIS command centers in the northern province of Aleppo, around 20 tanks and two ammunition depots in the eastern province of Homs, as well as 30 vehicles, including armored vehicles, in northwestern Idlib province.
Posted by: Fred || 10/06/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


IS destroys ancient Palmyra Arch of Triumph
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] SIS has blown up the famous Arch of Triumph in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, the country's head of antiquities said on Monday, as the gunnies press their campaign to tear down the treasured heritage site.

"We have received news from the site that the Arch of Triumph was destroyed yesterday (Sunday). ISIS bobby-trapped it several weeks ago," antiquities director Maamun Abdulkarim told AFP.

Irina Bokova said the U.N.'s scientific and cultural body would make every effort "to make sure that the perpetrators of the destruction are tried and punished."
UNESCO's director-general on Monday condemned the destruction saying "gunnies are terrified by history and culture."

Irina Bokova said the U.N.'s scientific and cultural body would make every effort "to make sure that the perpetrators of the destruction are tried and punished."

ISIS has carried out a sustained campaign of destruction against heritage sites in areas under its control in Syria and Iraq, and in mid-August beheaded the ancient city's 82-year-old former antiquities chief.

ISIS gunnies have already destroyed the shrine of Baal Shamin and the 2,000-year-old Temple of Bel, regarded as Palmyra's masterpiece, since overrunning the citadel in May.

The Arch of Triumph, situated at the entrance of the ancient ruins' historic colonnaded street, was an "icon of Palmyra," Abdulkarim said, warning that ISIS fighters have already laid explosives in other monuments.

"This is a systematic destruction of the city. They want to raze it completely," he said.
Posted by: Fred || 10/06/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  "This is a systematic destruction of the city. They want to raze it completely"

And - horrors - they're doing it without a court ruling.
Posted by: Pappy || 10/06/2015 11:33 Comments || Top||

#2  Islam was once described to me as Satan's answer to Christianity. Certainly ISIL is fitting that description. Hard to see any relation to God in what ISIL is doing.
Posted by: Sven the pelter || 10/06/2015 11:40 Comments || Top||

#3  Okay, I guess it's time to say it.

Bastards!
Posted by: Zenobia Floger6220 || 10/06/2015 18:07 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
28[untagged]
8Govt of Pakistan
6Govt of Syria
5Muslim Brotherhood
4Arab Spring
3Islamic State
2TTP
2Taliban
1Hezbollah
1Human Trafficking
1Govt of Saudi Arabia
1Commies
1Palestinian Authority
1Boko Haram
1Hamas

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
Tue 2015-10-06
  IS destroys ancient Palmyra Arch of Triumph
Mon 2015-10-05
  Israel bars Palestinians from entering Old City after deadly attacks
Sun 2015-10-04
  Sar-e-Pul's Kohistanat District Falls to Taliban
Sat 2015-10-03
  Yemeni loyalists control all of key strait
Fri 2015-10-02
  Taliban militants have reportedly captured Wardoj district of Badakhshan
Thu 2015-10-01
  Afghan forces retake northern city of Kunduz from Taliban militants
Wed 2015-09-30
  U.S. military carries out airstrikes on Kunduz after Taliban attack
Tue 2015-09-29
  Kunduz Falls To The Taliban
Mon 2015-09-28
  85 Pakistani IS turbans killed in Nangarhar province of Afghanistan
Sun 2015-09-27
  Iraqi security reports slow advance into Ramadi
Sat 2015-09-26
  Fighting in city of Taiz kill 3 children, 10 fighters
Fri 2015-09-25
  ISIS hits famous mosque in Yeman - dozens dead
Thu 2015-09-24
  Insurgent group pledges allegiance to al Qaeda's Syria wing
Wed 2015-09-23
  Death toll hits 117 after NE Nigeria bombings
Tue 2015-09-22
  Child migrants entering U.S. rises in August

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.
54.234.233.157
Help keep the Burg running! Paypal:
WoT Background (22)    Non-WoT (16)    Opinion (8)    (0)    Politix (3)