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Area: WoT Background    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix   
Ruthless Henchman® of top Abu Sayyaf leader falls
Today's Headlines
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Page 1: WoT Operations
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Page 2: WoT Background
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Page 3: Non-WoT
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Page 4: Opinion
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Page 6: Politix
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Afghanistan
Two Afghan policemen killed as Taliban ambush convoy
[DAWN] At least two Afghan coppers were killed and three others injured after the Talibs ambushed a police convoy, said Afghan officials.

Taliban
...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
front man Qari Yusuf claimed that 36 coppers were killed in Thursday's attack, in the country's volatile Kandahar province, but bully boyz routinely exaggerate their gains and casualties among government forces.

Police front man Zia Durrani says the attack triggered a protracted firefight that lasted nine hours.

Durrani claimed after the firefight was over, bodies of several Taliban fighters still lay by the roadside at the site of the attack at Shah Wali Kot, located about 80 kilometers from the city of Kandahar, the capital of a southern province by the same name.

Kandahar is strategically important because it borders Pakistain and was the spiritual heartland of the Taliban.

Posted by: Fred || 07/21/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Taliban launch coordinated car bombing in Helmand using Humvee vehicles
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Taliban
...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
turbans launched a coordinated attack on the security posts in southern Helmand
...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan...
province of Afghanistan, carrying out at least two boom-mobileings using the Humvee armored vehicles.

According to the local government officials, the attack was launched earlier today in Gereshk district and a standoff is underway between the turbans and the security forces.

The provincial government media office in a statement confirmed the launch of the attack and said two Humvee armored vehicles packed with explosives were detonated as the turbans launched the attack.

The statement further added that the bombings have not incurred any major loss or destruction to the security posts and the security troops are prepared and are responding to the attack.

At least two army soldiers and three coppers sustained injuries in the attack and the Vehicle-borne Improvised Explosive Devices were destroyed before they reach the security posts, the provincial government added, the statement added.

The provincial government also said that the Afghan forces are currently engaged in shootout with the Taliban turbans in Adam Khan, Parcha, and Pashak areas, receiving air support as they continue to suppress the murderous Moslems.

Posted by: Fred || 07/21/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Six rockets land near Sayyaf’s residence in Kabul
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] At least six rockets landed near the residence of Abdul Rab Rasool Sayyaf
...Afghan Salafist warlord, owned by Saudi Arabia. He was the guy who invited al-Qaeda to come into Afghanistan and make themselves at home...
, the former Afghan politician and one of the prominent political and Jihadi leaders of the country.

Sources close to Sayyaf said the incident took place earlier today in Paghman district after six rockets fired from unknown location landed in the vicinity close to Sayyaf’s house.

The sources further added that the attack has not incurred any casualties or damages to any property.

No group or individual has so far grabbed credit behind the attack.

This comes as Sayyaf’s residence came under a similar attack late in May last year without incurring casualties.

Several rockets were also fired on the residence of Sayyaf earlier in May last year but the attack did not result into any casualties.

Sayyaf is one of the most influential jihadi leaders and has been harshly criticizing the Taliban
...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
group for their insurgency activities.

He has been harshly criticizing the Talibs group and dismiss their so called jihad as a move against th principles of Islam.

Sayyaf reaffirmed his hard stance against the Death Eater groups last month last month during a gathering on the eve of Mujahideen’s victory and called on Death Eater groups last month to end slavery for the outsiders.

He insisted that the Death Eater and terrorist groups fighting in the country should not brand their insurgency as Jihad, insisting that killing of children, women, destroying houses and committing other horrific crimes are not a holy war.

Posted by: Fred || 07/21/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Taliban insurgents suffer casualties in US drone strike in Nangarhar
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Taliban
...Arabic for students...
gunnies suffered casualties in an Arclight airstrike conducted by the US forces 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 local officials said Thursday.

The Arclight airstrike was carried out late on Wednesday night using Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, drone, in Lalpur district.

The provincial government media office in a statement confirmed the Arclight airstrike on the Taliban murderous Moslems.

The statement further added that five Taliban gunnies were killed and another krazed killer was maimed in the Arclight airstrike.

A foreign krazed killer fighting for the Taliban gunnies was also among those killed, the statement said, adding that the security forces and local residents did not suffer any casualties in the Arclight airstrike.

The anti-government armed krazed killer groups including the Taliban gunnies have not commented regarding the report so far.

Nangarhar is among the relatively calm provinces in eastern Afghanistan but the anti-government armed krazed killer groups have recently increased their insurgency activities in some parts of the province during the recent years.

This comes as an anti-ISIS operation is underway in Nangarhar to eliminate the presence of ISIS affiliates in this province.

The US forces based in Afghanistan are also providing support to the Afghan forces during the operations, mainly involving Arclight airstrikes.

Posted by: Fred || 07/21/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  The anti-ISIS action caught mostly Taliban? Was the dead foreigner ISIS, or is this group merely a target of opportunity? A lovely thought, either way.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/21/2017 17:11 Comments || Top||


Africa North
Sabratha security chief gunned down
Tripoli, 20 July 2017:

The head of Sabratha’s central security department has been assassinated by unidentified gunmen in front of the local civil registry office.

Sabratha’s municipal council said yesterday that Sami Al-Gharabli died in a hail of bullets on Monday. It gave no further details.

Gharabli had been prominent in the operation to oust the so-called Islamic State terrorists from the town. He also reportedly played a key role in combatting fuel smugglers and migrant traffickers.

Last February, US airstrikes destroyed an IS compound in Sabratha. Among the dead were two kidnapped Serbian diplomats held there since the previous November.

The man said to have been behind the kidnapping, a prominent IS supporter named Abdullah Al-Dabashi, was killed when local activists stormed his house as part the drive to rid the town of the terrorists.

Posted by: badanov || 07/21/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Al-Hoceima: Riot police fill city ahead of banned rally
[Al Jazeera] Riot police have taken up position as Moroccans prepare to ignore a city ban on marching in the northern city of al-Hoceima against government neglect.

Organisers were hoping for a million-man march on Thursday, which was expected to get under way at 13:00 GMT.

Al-Hoceima, located on the northern edge of the Rif Mountains adjoining the Mediterranean coast, is the capital of al-Hoceima province. Residents there have long complained of neglect and marginalisation.

Local authorities this week barred the march, but organisers responded with fresh calls for mass participation and solidarity marches across the country.

Hours before kick off, activists said on Facebook that police had blocked protesters from entering the city, citing "high orders".

Most shops in the city were closed and there were reports of slow internet connection.

Omar Radi, an activist and investigative journalist, said the Place des Martyrs, or place of the deaders, was full of anti-riot police.

"The police deployment in this place shows that maybe the demonstration can be prevented," he told Al Jazeera from al-Hoceima.

He said foreign protesters from the Netherlands, La Belle France, Germany and Spain were expected to join the rally.

The daily Akhbar Al Yaoum newspaper headlined its front page with "Al-Hoceima ... day of anger and fear".

Posted by: Fred || 07/21/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Arabia
Qatar's Emir orders change to law combating 'terrorism'
[Aljazeera] Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has issued a decree amending some provisions of a law on "combating terrorism", the state news agency reported.

The decree issued on Thursday included definitions for the terms "terrorist", "crime", "terrorist acts", "terrorist entities", "the freezing of funds" and the "financing of terrorism", according to the Qatar News Agency.

It also identifies procedures related to some "terrorist activities".

The decree stated that individuals and entities accused of "terrorist" activities have the right to challenge charges lodged against them before the court.

The amendment is effective immediately upon its publication in the government newsletter, the report said.

The order follows an agreement between Qatar and the United States that seeks to curb "terrorism financing," and which was signed during a visit to Doha by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

Qatar was the first state in the Gulf region to sign an agreement with the US on combating "terrorism".

Tillerson had praised Qatar for signing the deal, and for committing to the effort "to track down and disable terror financing".

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates accuse Doha of funding what they call "terrorism" - allegations Qatar strongly denies.
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/21/2017 07:52 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  *blink*
Posted by: Frank G || 07/21/2017 8:29 Comments || Top||

#2  Two truck loads of lollipops, a year of free ice cream cones and a pony to all terrorists...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 07/21/2017 8:52 Comments || Top||

#3  Do it like the Pesh Merga General said don't get caught!
Posted by: Crinegum Ulaigum2776 || 07/21/2017 16:41 Comments || Top||


Kuwait closes Iran cultural mission, expels diplomats
[Al Jazeera] Kuwait is closing the Iranian cultural mission and related offices in the Gulf Arab state and expelling a number of Iranian diplomats stationed in the country, according to the official news agency, KUNA.

KUNA said on Thursday the move is related to the case of a "terrorist" cell broken up in 2015 that authorities allege had contacts with Iran and Hezbollah.

The KUNA report said Alireza Enayati, Iranian ambassador to Kuwait, had been notified of the decision.

A senior Kuwaiti official, speaking on condition of anonymity
... for fear of being murdered...
, told AFP news agency about 15 Iranian diplomats were expelled.

He declined to comment on whether Enayati was among them. A Rooters report said he was among those who were ordered expelled.

Posted by: Fred || 07/21/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  The pushback against Iran, Hezb, Assad, and Shia militancy in general, is welcome
Posted by: Frank G || 07/21/2017 11:26 Comments || Top||

#2  Body counts are welcome.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 07/21/2017 13:00 Comments || Top||


Europe
Germany indicts five suspects in Islamic State recruitment ring
[DAWN] Prosecutors have filed terrorism charges against a suspected representative 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....
(IS) group in Germany and four fellow suspects who are accused of running a recruitment network.

Federal prosecutors said on Thursday that the suspected ringleader, a 33-year-old Iraqi citizen, identified as Ahmad Abdulaziz Abdullah A,
...known as "the preacher without a face" because of a series of internet videos in which he appeared clothed in black with his back to the camera, he and his henchmen were arrested last November ...
who goes by the alias Abu Walaa was indicted on charges of membership in a terrorist organization, terror financing and public incitement to commit crimes.

He and the other four are suspected of recruiting young Moslems in Germany and raising funds to send them to Syria and Iraq to join IS. Abu Walaa was the imam at a radical mosque in the northern city of Hildesheim
...a charming, small city fifty kilometers from Hannover with a radical Muslim problem...
and also organised "Islam seminars" at mosques elsewhere in Germany.

This article starring:
Hildesheim
Posted by: Fred || 07/21/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


The Grand Turk
Turkey: 6 Kurdish militants killed in drone attack
[Ynet] Officials say that Ottoman Turkish security forces have used an armed drone to locate and kill six Kurdish holy warriors who allegedly were responsible for kidnapping and killing a school teacher in southeast The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
The governor's office for Tunceli province said Thursday the six were killed in an operation near the town of Nazimiye. Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said through Twitter: "our heroes have avenged our martyred teacher."

Teacher Necmettin Yilmaz was kidnapped and shot by suspected rebels of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, on June 16 while traveling from Tunceli to his hometown in northern Turkey. His body was discovered last week.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/21/2017 00:54 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte


Turkish Islamists hold anti-Israel rally outside Istanbul synagogue
[IsraelTimes] Protesting installment of metal detectors at Temple Mount, demonstrators hurl stones at Jewish house of worship, decry ’terror state’ Israel

A group of Ottoman Turkish ultra-nationalists on Thursday protested outside one of the most significant synagogues in Istanbul to denounce Israel’s security measures at the Temple Mount following a deadly attack last Friday that left two Israeli coppers dead, the Dogan news agency said.

The group from the Alperen Hearths, a far-right ultranationalist and Islamist youth group, said in a statement read outside the Neve Salom synagogue in central Istanbul that Israel was a "terror state" seeking to block freedom for worship to Moslems.

"If you prevent our freedom of worship there then we will prevent your freedom of worship here," said the statement, read by the group’s local chairman Kursat Mican.

The Foundation of the Ottoman Turkish Chief Rabbinate -- which looks after the country’s small Jewish community mainly concentrated in Istanbul -- angrily criticized the protest.

"We condemn the provocative action outside the Neve Salom synagogue tonight. We expect that the relevant authorities will take the necessary measures," it said in a statement.

According to Dogan, some protesters kicked the doors of the synagogue and threw stones. They later dispersed.

The synagogue usually has a heavy police guard. It was targeted by deadly attacks in 1986 by Paleostinian forces of Evil and again in 2003, which was attributed to Islamists.

While nationalists protest occasionally outside Israel’s diplomatic missions in The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
, a demonstration outside a synagogue is unusual.

Tensions were high in Jerusalem on Thursday, following days of festivities between police and Moslem worshipers protesting the metal detectors.

President Reuven Rivlin spoke by phone to Ottoman Turkish President Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First
... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him...
on Thursday in a bid to help calm tensions surrounding the Temple Mount despite objections from the Israeli Foreign Ministry to involving Ankara in the dispute.

The call, reportedly at Erdogan’s request, came following nearly a week of unrest in Jerusalem in the wake of a deadly terror attack last Friday by three Arab Israeli assailants who emerged from the Temple Mount and fatally shot two Israeli coppers.

Police footage released Thursday showed how the weapons were smuggled onto the site with the assistance of a fourth, as-yet-unidentified man.

In the phone call, the president told Erdogan that Israel expected Turkey to condemn the terror attack, just as Israel condemns terror attacks in Turkey, "with the understanding that terror was terror wherever it took place; in Jerusalem, in Istanbul, or in Gay Paree," according to a press statement issued by his office.

Meanwhile,
...back at the shootout, Butch cautiously raised his hat over the edge of the horse trough on the end of a stick......
The Ottoman Turkish leader urged Israel to remove the metal detectors as soon as possible.

"Within the framework of freedom of religion and worship there can be no impediment for Moslems" entering the holy site, the Anadolu news agency quoted Erdogan as telling Rivlin.

"Given the importance that Haram al-Sharif carries for the whole Islamic world, the metal detectors put in place by Israel should be removed in the shortest possible time and an end put to the tension," Erdogan added.

Erdogan expressed "sadness" in the call to Rivlin over the "casualties in the incident."
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/21/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte


India-Pakistan
149 foreign militants active in Kashmir: LeT, Jaish-e-Mohammad men on the prowl
[HINDUSTANTIMES] Security agencies have prepared a list of 149 foreign Lions of Islam active in Kashmire ahead of a major counter-insurgency offensive to be executed in the coming days.

The list, obtained by the Hindustan Times, has been jointly compiled by intelligence agencies, security forces and state police. Sources say the list is based on technical surveillance and human intelligence. Security experts, however, believe that it may not be an exhaustive list as the numbers may vary.

According to the list, most of the foreign Lions of Islam are listed as residents of either Pakistain or Pakistain-Indian Kashmiree (PoK). Security agencies have not been able to determine place of origin of some of the Lions of Islam in the list, while some have "resident of PoK/Pakistain" written against their names.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 07/21/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistain Proxies


13 terrorists killed, 6 injured as Operation Khyber-4 gains momentum
[DAWN] Pakistain Army's Operation Khyber-4, launched under Operaion Raddul Fasaad (RuF) in the Rajgal Valley area of Khyber Agency
... the place to go if you've got an Indiana Jones hat and whip. Chock full of high adventure and treacherous Pathans. You should really train up to it, though...
, is progressing as planned, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) announced on Thursday.

According to the ISPR, the operation has been yielding steady results: 13 forces of Evil have been eliminated so far while six others have been debilitated.

Army troops, including personnel from the Special Services Group, have "cleared 90 square kilometres of area while advancing from multiple directions," an ISPR release said.

The army's bomb defusal teams have also successfully neutralised a number of improvised bombs (IEDs) that forces of Evil had hidden underground, while "terrorist hideouts have been destroyed in targeted strikes by Pakistain Air Force, Army Aviation and Artillery," the ISPR said.

"During exchange of fire a soldier, Sepoy Abdul Jabbar, laid down his life for the motherland," the ISPR release said.

The army had also informed Afghan forces ahead of the launch of Khyber-4 operation in Rajgal, which the Afghan army would be able to support on their side of the border if they wished.

Posted by: Fred || 07/21/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: TTP

#1  Catching up to the lead car operation fast and furious!
Posted by: Crinegum Ulaigum2776 || 07/21/2017 16:44 Comments || Top||


Former militant commander shot dead in Kharan district
[DAWN] Unidentified holy warriors reportedly opened fire and killed a former commander of a banned hard boy organization in Balochistan
...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it...
's Kharan district on Thursday evening, DawnNews reported.

According to the police, gunnies sprayed bullets at the vehicle of Ahmed Nawaz Sasoli in Kharan bazaar area, killing the former hard boy commander and his colleague.

Sasoli had reportedly announced to part ways with the hard boy organization and surrendered before the security forces a few days ago, it has been learnt.

He had previously been involved in attacks on security forces, police and civilians. "However,
some men learn by reading. A few learn by observation. The rest have to pee on the electric fence for themselves...
he had now vowed to lead a peaceful life," police said.

The police claim that the assailants sped away on their cycle of violence after the attack.

In a separate incident in Quetta, two people were bumped off in Nawan Killi area.

According to the police, two men were sitting outside their house in Nawan Killi when they were shot at by unidentified gunnies. The attackers escaped unhurt from the spot.

The relatives and rustics protested against the killings and placed the bodies outside commissioner's office to mount pressure on the law enforcement agencies to arrest the killers.

However,
some men learn by reading. A few learn by observation. The rest have to pee on the electric fence for themselves...
officers from the district administration and frontier corps negotiated with protesters and they peacefully dispersed.

The motive behind the incident could not be immediately ascertained, police said.

Posted by: Fred || 07/21/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: TTP


Pak army reacts as Afghan MoD insists terror safe havens in key Pakistani cities
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Pak military officials reacted regarding the remarks of the Afghan defense officials regarding the latest operation launched in Khyber Agency
... the place to go if you've got an Indiana Jones hat and whip. Chock full of high adventure and treacherous Pathans. You should really train up to it, though...
, close to the Durand Line, saying such remarks are unwarranted.

The Afghan defense officials had earlier said the terrorist centers are located in the key cities of Pakistain and not in the tribal regions of Khyber Agency.

However,
if you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to be a horrible warning...
a Pak military front man has said "Afghan Ministry of Defence’s response to Operation Khyber IV is unwarranted and runs counter to Pakistain Army’s efforts for better Pak-Afghan coordination and cooperation."

The ministry of defense front man Gen. Dawlat Waziri said Monday that the main centers and sanctuaries of the terrorist groups are located in the key cities of Pakistain and not in the tribal regions close to the Durand Line as he was responding the launch of the new operations by the Mighty Pak Army in Khyber Agency.

The Afghan officials have long been insisting that the leadership councils of the Taliban
...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
group and the notorious Haqqani terrorist network are based 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.
, Quetta, and other parts of Pakistain from where they plan and coordinate attacks in Afghanistan.

This comes as the US Department of Defense in its report said last month that "Afghan oriented hard boy groups, including the Taliban and Haqqani Network, retain freedom of action inside Pak territory and benefit from support from elements of the Pak Government."

The report further added "Although Pak military operations have disrupted some hard boy sanctuaries, certain murderous Moslem groups--such as the Taliban and the Haqqani Network--were able to relocate and continue to operate in and from Pakistain. The United States continues to convey to Pakistain at all levels the importance of taking action against all terrorist and murderous Moslem groups."

Posted by: Fred || 07/21/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  Of course they did.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/21/2017 17:13 Comments || Top||


Iraq
More Mosul Moslem Mayhem


6 ISIS Bad Guys smoked in airstrike near Tal Afar

Tal Afar (IraqiNews.com) Around six Islamic State militants were killed as Iraqi army targeted IS locations in Tal Afar town, west of Mosul, which is still held by the militant group.

In a statement on Thursday, the Defense Ministry’s War Media Cell said Iraqi army jets “launched airstrikes targeting IS locations in Tal Afar.”

“Based on information from the Nineveh Operations Command, Iraqi jets launched airstrikes, destroying weapon stash and burning huge amounts of arms and explosives that were inside it in the military district in the town,” the statement added.

“Around six militants were killed in al-Ayadiya district, north of Tal Afar,” the WMC said.

Last week, Lt.Gen. Abdul Amir Yarallah said the fourth phase of liberation will be launched soon to free Tal Afar and other regions to complete the liberation of the whole province.

A source was quoted earlier this month as saying that non-Iraqi IS militants executed the last local leader in Tal Afar and the town is currently run by Arab and foreign members after eliminating all the Iraqi leaders.

Tal Afar is one of the important strongholds still held by IS in Nineveh since August 2014, while Hawija has been held by IS since mid-2014, when the group emerged to proclaim an Islamic “caliphate” in Iraq and Syria.

ISIS stay-behinds intensify suicide attacks

Mosul (IraqiNews.com) A few dozen Islamic State militants are targeting Iraqi forces with suicide attacks in western Mosul’s Old City area even after the government officially declared victory over the militant group earlier this month, a newspaper reports.

London-based AlQuds Alarabi said Thursday that the sounds of explosions and fire exchanges were still being heard at the streets and alleyways of the medieval district that witnessed the declaration of the group’s rule in 2014.

It quoted a lieutenant in the Iraqi Federal Police, who asked not to be named, saying that the group has retuned back to action in the Old City, fighting government troops with suicide bombings in defense of its last pockets. He said the situation prompted field leaders to ask the government for reinforcements.

“There are nearly 150 suicide fighters, including women, who are still trapped in the alleyways of the Old City, with no other option but to die,” said the officer. “Those had sneaked in from the Tigris River, and have launched quick and organized attacks against the Iraqi army and police troops”.

According to the police source, eliminating those last few fighters was “a matter of time”, adding that they have become under a full siege, denied supplies, and are told through loudspeakers to choose between surrendering or dying.

ISIS Golden Throat dies in airstrike near Mosul

Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) Seven Islamic State members, including the so-called “emir of communications”, were killed in an air strike that targeted positions held by the group on the outskirts of Tal Afar town, west of Mosul, Alsumaria News reported on Thursday.

A local source told Alsumaria that fighter jets bombed a two-floor building on the outskirts of Tal Afar. The building was completely collapsed, said the source.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source said that the IS used the building as a key position for the terror group’s communications in Tal Afar.

Islamic State still holds Tal Afar, one of the remaining key strongholds inside the Nineveh province.

Earlier today, around six IS militants were killed as Iraqi army targeted IS locations in Tal Afar town.

In a statement on Thursday, the Defense Ministry’s War Media Cell said Iraqi army jets “launched airstrikes targeting IS locations in Tal Afar”.

“Around six militants were killed in al-Ayadiya district, north of Tal Afar,” the WMC said.

A source was quoted earlier this month as saying that non-Iraqi IS militants executed the last local leader in Tal Afar, and that the town was later run by Arab and foreign members after eliminating all the Iraqi leaders.

3 Iraqi soldiers die in suicide attack near Mosul

Baaj (IraqiNews.com) An Islamic State suicide bomber killed three Iraqi army soldiers at an area recaptured weeks ago by paramilitary forces west of Mosul, a police officer was quoted saying Thursday.

Cap. Younis Aref, from Nineveh police department, told BasNews that the suicide bomber drove a booby-trapped car into a checkpoint run by the Iraqi army in al-Baaj region, near the borders with Syria, killing three soldiers.

Baaj and neighbouring Qairawan were both recaptured from IS militants by Popular Mobilization Forces in June. The militias claimed control over the borderline and said they effectively trapped IS inside Mosul.

Islamic State members have reportedly carried out intermittent attacks against security forces over the past few days even after the Iraqi government declared victory over the group in Mosul earlier this month.
Posted by: badanov || 07/21/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Iraqi militia stops ISIS attack near Shirqat
Salahuddin (IraqiNews.com) The pro-government Shi’ite militias of al-Hashd al-Shaabi has thwarted an attack by the Islamic State south of Shirqat town, Salahuddin governorate.

“Troops of the 99th brigade spotted IS elements south of Shirqat town where they confronted and forced them to escape,” al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Units) said in a statement on Thursday.

Last week, PMUs killed three IS fighters in strikes that targeted a rest house belonging to IS in Ishaqi region, south of Salahuddin.

IS still holds a few areas in each of Anbar, Salahuddin, Diyala and Kirkuk.

The eastern coast of Shirqat, which lies on the west bank of the Tigris river in Salahuddin province, is still under the IS control, while the western coast of the city was liberated few months ago.

In September, Iraqi army said its forces recaptured the town, located south of Mosul, after being surrounded for months by Iraqi troops and the Shia-led paramilitary troops.

Al-Hashd al-Shaabi, an alliance of more than 60 mostly Shia militias, has been actively engaged in the government’s campaign against the Islamic State that ran since mid-October, and contributed to the campaign by regaining control over IS holdouts near the Syrian borders.
Posted by: badanov || 07/21/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Baghdad Bomb and Bullet Bulletin


Car bombing attack thwarted

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) A joint security force detonated a booby-trapped vehicle and arrested its driver at a checkpoint west of Baghdad, a security source was quoted saying.

A security source told Baghdad Today that a security force, backed by the pro-government Popular Mobilization Forces, seized a booby-trapped vehicle at the Soqour (Falcons) checkpoint between Baghdad and Anbar, and arrested its driver.

No casualties resulted from the explosion, according to the source.
Posted by: badanov || 07/21/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


ISIL families lament harsh treatment in Iraq
[Al Jazeera] Covered with a painful rash, Nessrine Hamad, six, has tears in her eyes.

"She has been like that for three days," her mother, Kawzhar Youssif Hamad, tells Al Jazeera. "It is because of the dirty water. Most of the children here have sores on their skin."

Dozens of families accused of having relatives in 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 the Levant group (ISIS, also known as ISIS) have been forcibly displaced to Shahama camp by the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), under the control of the Iraqi army. The camp, located north of Tikrit, has been described by Human Rights Watch as akin to an "open-air prison".

Civilians detained at Shahama are prevented from coming and going freely. They are only allowed to leave via ambulance for medical emergencies, and even then, several told Al Jazeera that they were rejected by the main hospital in Tikrit after staff discovered they had come from Shahama.

Raad Kamil Hachim, 43, who hails from Iraq's Baiji district, said his wife was pregnant and close to giving birth. She lay on the ground in the shadow of their tent, moaning in pain.

"We receive no medication," Hachim's wife told Al Jazeera. "They tried to ban me at the [hospital] reception, and I had to beg them to let me in. The doctors wouldn't cooperate, either."

As Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi congratulates his army for defeating ISIS in djinn-infested Mosul
... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn...
, human rights
When they're defined by the state or an NGO they don't mean much...
violations committed during the military campaign continue to raise concerns.

The publication in May of disturbing images and video footage from photojournalist Ali Arkady led to fresh allegations of war crimes, including cases of torture and arbitrary executions, against Iraqi security forces.

In the final phase of the battle against ISIS in Mosul, numerous cases of torture and executions of men and boys fleeing Mosul were reported. And last week, videos surfaced that allegedly showed Iraqi soldiers beating suspected ISIS members and throwing them off a cliff.

In Salah al-Din governorate, south of Mosul, a decree passed in August 2016 ordered the expulsion of any civilians with familial ties or other alleged affiliations to ISIS - a kind of "guilt by association".

Posted by: Fred || 07/21/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Police, army deploying thousands ahead of feared Friday Temple Mount protests
[IsraelTimes] Five battalions of IDF soldiers and over 3,000 cops will be on hand to grapple with violence over increased security measures at holy site

Israel’s security authorities were set to flood the streets of Jerusalem on Friday with policeman and soldiers in an attempt to quell expected violence at protests over increased security measures at the Temple Mount compound in the Old City of Jerusalem.

The contentions site has reemerged as a flashpoint in recent days, with Moslem protesters holding at-times violent demonstrations outside of the Old City in protest of Israel’s placement of metal detectors at the gates to the Temple Mount, following a terror attack last week in which three Arab Israelis rubbed out two coppers guarding one of the entrances to the site.

Over 3,000 coppers will be deployed "in and around the area of the Old City, Temple Mount and nearby neighborhoods," police front man Micky Rosenfeld said. Police are also said to be planning to limit the number of Moslem worshipers allowed to enter the Temple Mount area and blocking entry to the capital from other areas of the country ahead of Friday prayers.

In addition to the heavily bolstered police presence, the army announced that five battalions would be made available to deal with violence in an around the capital.

The IDF also cancelled all leave over the weekend, keeping all units at full strength in anticipation of violence.

Clashes erupted Thursday between Paleostinians protesters and police in Jerusalem’s Old City after thousands of Moslem worshipers gathered around the contested Temple Mount holy site for evening prayers.

Paleostinians threw rocks and glass bottles at the officers outside the Old City’s Lion Gate following evening prayers. Police responded with tear gas and riot dispersal methods, police said. Over 40 Paleostinians and five Israeli officers were reported injured.

Friday prayers on the Moslem holy day are the busiest time in the week at the Temple Mount, with tens of thousands expected to arrive at the compound.

The Paleostinian terror group Hamas, the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood, called for mass protests on Friday against the stepped up security measures, which Israel said were necessary in light of last Friday’s terror attack there.

Israel initially closed the site, known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Moslems as the Noble Sanctuary, as it searched for further weapons. The compound, which houses the al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock, was reopened Sunday with metal detectors installed, a step Paleostinians protested as a change to the longstanding status quo. Israel denied this, and noted that those enter the Western Wall plaza below have long been required to pass through metal detectors. The Temple Mount is the holiest place to Jews as the site of the biblical temples.

The increased security measures were taken after police said the three attackers who emerged armed from the compound and shot at police on Friday had stashed their weapons on the holy site.

On Thursday, police released video footage showing how the killers and an accomplice got the guns into the Temple Mount compound.
Video can be seen at the link.
On Thursday night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was meeting with ministers and security chiefs to discuss whether to remove the new metal detectors and to consider other possible steps that might avert violence Friday.

Jerusalem’s police chief Yoram Halevi expressed confidence Thursday that his forces could deal with any protests Friday, and was not urging the removal of the metal detectors, according to a Channel 2 TV report.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/21/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "Bring it, bitches"
Posted by: Frank G || 07/21/2017 8:44 Comments || Top||

#2  The problem - these bitches have a lot of friends, FG.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 07/21/2017 12:59 Comments || Top||

#3  Three Palestinians killed in 'day of rage' riots

Worldwide condemnation in 5..4..3
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 07/21/2017 13:24 Comments || Top||

#4  What exactly is the problem here? Is it because electromagnetism is un-Islamic? Or because metal detectors violate the section of the Hamas constitution that says the right to murder Juice shall not be infringed?
Posted by: SteveS || 07/21/2017 13:53 Comments || Top||

#5  So when they mount the temple is it more Paris Hilton or Mr. Slave style?
Posted by: Crinegum Ulaigum2776 || 07/21/2017 16:42 Comments || Top||


Palestinian tries to stab soldiers, is shot dead — IDF
[IsraelTimes] No Israelis injured in attempted attack near Arab village of Teqoa, in central West Bank

A Paleostinian man attempted to stab a group of soldiers outside the Arab village of Teqoa in the central West Bank on Thursday, the army said.

The assailant was rubbed out by the troops on the scene, according to the military. None of the soldiers were maimed.

The IDF said the attempted stabbing occurred at a checkpoint the army had set up near the entrance to the Paleostinian village of Teqoa.

"In response to the immediate threat, forces fired shots towards the assailant," the army said in a statement.

The Paleostinian assailant was later identified by Arabic media as 26-year-old Muhammad Hussein Ahmad Tnouh.

The nearby Jewish settlement of Tekoa alerted its residents to the attack, telling them to keep away from the area and off the road until further notice as a riot had broken out. Approximately half an hour later, residents were sent an all-clear message telling them the roadway was open.

Tekoa’s security department also called for contractors to remove their Paleostinian workers from the settlement immediately.

In a WhatsApp message group for residents of Tekoa, one person recalled that Tnouh had worked in the settlement from approximately 2010 to 2015.

According to the resident, Tnouh was caught sneaking into Jerusalem without a permit and was thus barred from working inside Israel. He is also newly divorced, and his daughter died recently. The settler said he believed the 26-year-old was most likely acting out of "desperation" than a desire to kill soldiers.

Throughout the past two years of regular terror attacks, the Shin Bet security service and the IDF have noted that many Paleostinian assailants seem to be carrying out attacks because of personal and mental issues, rather than ideology. Officials believe in many case the attackers are trying to commit "suicide by solider."
...and also earning a final payout from the PA for their families to remember them by.
Some 200 Palestinians throwing stones at IDF on scene of attempt stabbing

[Ynet] Some 200 Paleostinians gathered at the scene of an attempted stabbing near Tuqu' on Thursday and began throwing stones at IDF forces. The troops responded with gas.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/21/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Southeast Asia
Ruthless Henchman® of top Abu Sayyaf leader falls
[SUNSTAR.PH] GOVERNMENT security forces have tossed in the clink
Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit!
the henchman of top leader of the Abu Sayyaf
...also known as al-Harakat al-Islamiyya, an Islamist terror group based in Jolo, Basilan and Zamboanga. Since its inception in the early 1990s, the group has carried out bombings, kidnappings, murders, head choppings, and extortion in their uniquely Islamic attempt to set up an independent Moslem province in the Philippines. Abu Sayyaf forces probably number less than 300 cadres. The group is closely allied with remnants of Indonesia's Jemaah Islamiya and has loose ties with MILF and MNLF who sometimes provide cannon fodder...
Group (ASG) in an east coast village of Zamboanga City, the police reported on Wednesday, July 19. Chief Inspector Elmer Solon, Police Station 4 chief, identified the arrested ASG henchman as Albarin Arabin, whose real identity is Ustadz Namir alias Abu Amama. Solon said that Arabin is a sub-leader of top ASG leader Isnilon Hapilon, who has pledged allegiance to 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....
for Iraq and Syria (Isis). Solon said Arabin was arrested on Monday, July 17, in the village of Taluksangay, 19 kilometers east of the city. He said Arabin has standing warrant of arrest for six counts of kidnapping with serious illegal detention for his involvement in the kidnapping of workers in 2001 at Golden Harvest Plantation in the village of Tairan, Lantawan, Basilan
...Basilan is a rugged, jungle-covered island in the southern Philippines. It is a known stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf, bandidos, and maybe even orcs. Most people with any sense travel with armed escorts...
. He said the arrest of Arabin came after they received report about the presence of two unidentified persons in Taluksangay claiming to be Malaysian preachers. He said Arabin and his lover companion, Abdulwajid Ibno, turned out to be Filipinos who have worked for several years in Malaysia. Ibno was placed under investigation to ascertain whether he is also a member of the ASG, according to Solon.
Posted by: Fred || 07/21/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Abu Sayyaf (ISIS)


ISIS releases new Marawi battle video depicting fierce skirmishes with Philippine Army
[ALMASDARNEWS] Amaq Agency published its fourth video from Marawi on Thursday, exactly two months after the ISIS-linked Maute and Abu Sayyaf
...also known as al-Harakat al-Islamiyya, an Islamist terror group based in Jolo, Basilan and Zamboanga. Since its inception in the early 1990s, the group has carried out bombings, kidnappings, murders, head choppings, and extortion in their uniquely Islamic attempt to set up an independent Moslem province in the Philippines. Abu Sayyaf forces probably number less than 300 cadres. The group is closely allied with remnants of Indonesia's Jemaah Islamiya and has loose ties with MILF and MNLF who sometimes provide cannon fodder...
groups launched a large-scale insurgency to the surprise of many analysts. This battle represent the first attempt at a land-grab by 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 Southeast Asia and has consequently been heavily contested by the Philippine Army which enjoys the backing of both the US and Russia.

The footage showed armed jihadist murderous Moslems ‐ many of whom originate from neighboring countries ‐ opening fire on positions held by the Philippine Army in downtown Marawi:

Although the footage hints to the contrary, Lieutenant General Jo-Ar Herrera insists ISIS’ fighting force in the city has dwindled to just 80 bad boys, most of whom have established last-ditch sniper nests. The remaining murderous Moslems are bogged down in some 500 buildings stretching across four neighborhoods of central Marawi, the military source added.

An estimated 420 murderous Moslems have been killed or captured over the past 60 days including many influential members of the Maute family’s inner circle. If this official estimation is accurate, the Philippine Army outnumbers the Islamic State at least 50-to-1.

Since day one of the battle for Lanao’s predominately Moslem picturesque provincial capital, high-ranking Philippine commanders have notably downplayed the situation as a minor conflict, establishing several deadlines for the city’s full liberation which have since long passed.
Posted by: Fred || 07/21/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Maute group (IS)


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Deadly ambush near Damascus hits pro-Assad forces
[Al Jazeera] Activists say 28 Syrian government soldiers have been killed in a firefight after a military unit was ambushed near the capital, Damascus.

The ambush on Thursday followed days of intense fighting as opposition-held suburbs of Damascus have come under a government offensive.

The Britannia-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said the soldiers and allied fighters were ambushed in the village of Rihan, east of Damascus.

Anas al-Dimashqi, an opposition activist based in the area, and the SOHR said the ambush killed at least 28 troops and pro-government fighters.

Syrian government forces and their allies have been trying to storm the eastern suburbs of Damascus, known as Eastern Ghouta, but have struggled to penetrate opposition defences.

More than 330,000 people have been killed in Syria since the ongoing conflict began with anti-government protests in March 2011.

Posted by: Fred || 07/21/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Kurdish forces seizes more weapons in Raqqa while ISIS cries foul play by US bombings, and more
[ALMASDARNEWS] Urban warfare continues to rage through a handful of suburbs across the predominately Arab city of Raqqa with the most intense clashing currently being observed in the contested Old City and Nazal Shahada neighborhoods.

With ISIS and the Kurdish-led ’Syrian Democratic Forces’ (SDF) fighting over control of the large Euphrates River city, the Kurds not only received new armored vehicles from America but also captured a large batch of armaments 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....
today.

Neither side gained any substantial ground on Thursday, however.

Meanwhile,
...back at the wreckage, Captain Poindexter wished he had a cup of coffee. Even instant would do...
ISIS claims 70 US Arclight airstrikes have struck Raqqa over the past 48 hours while a total of 400 shells have been launched by the SDF and US Marines upon ISIS-held residential areas.

Graphic footage showing collateral damage done by the US-led coalition was released by Amaq Agency today, claiming 8 civilians to be killed and 42 more injured on Tuesday alone.

Tiger Forces advance five kilometers through ISIS-held territory in southern Raqqa

[ALMASDARNEWS] On Thursday afternoon, the Syrian Arab Army’s (SAA) most elite assault troops scored another major advance en route to 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....
’s desert stronghold of al-Suknah.

Securing around a dozen of minor wells in the process, the Tiger Forces brushed aside all ISIS resistance on two axes of the oil-rich region, advancing five kilometers southeast and five kilometers southwest of their earlier forward positions.

Meanwhile,
...back at the Council of Boskone, Helmuth ordered the space pirate fleet to attack Zemblonia...
the SAA ‐ heavily assisted by Syrian and Russian jets ‐ destroyed a number of jihadist bases and outposts at Maadan, al-Rabiyah, Rasm Ghanem and Jableh. According to a military source debriefing al-Masdar News, these air raids took out five ISIS technicals on Thursday.

In the coming weeks, the SAA hopes to complete pincer movements that ultimately look to envelop and liberate the ISIS-held junction town of al-Suknah, thereby establishing a launching pad for an eastern thrust to relieve besieged Deir Ezzor.

15 Kurd fighters die in fighting in Raqqa

[ARA News] The Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) announced on Thursday the death of 15 of its members in recent clashes with Islamic State’s (ISIS) extremists in northern Syria.

The YPG is a leading member of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

“During the recent military operations against Daesh [ISIS] terrorists, fifteen of our bravest fighters have lost their lives,” the YPG leadership said in a statement on Thursday.

The Kurdish leadership identified the fighters who were killed in clashes in Raqqa city.

“They have sacrificed their lives for the sake of liberating Raqqa from the terrorists,” it said.

Supported by the US-led coalition, the YPG and other factions of the SDF are currently locked in fierce clashes with ISIS militants in Raqqa–the de facto capital of the radical group in northeastern Syria.

The YPG is also fighting against Turkey-backed Islamist groups in northwestern Syria, mainly in the Afrin district of Aleppo province.

Syrian forces capture 40 oilwells in Raqqa

[AlManar] Syria’s government forces have retaken over 40 oil rigs from ISIL terrorists in the country’s northern Raqqa province since the beginning of offensive to liberate the Takfiris’ stronghold, a representative of the Syrian oil industry said Thursday.

“Since the beginning of July, over 40 oil pumping stations have been retaken under the control of the Syrian government, all of them have been destroyed by the retreating ISIL terrorists,” Ali Ibrahim, the petroleum engineer in charge for the restoration of oil production facilities in Raqqa province, told reporters.

Since the beginning of the Syrian government forces’ offensive in early July on Raqqa, the militants have been expelled from the main oil producing areas of the province, the engineer added.

“After clearing of the ways to the oil fields off mines, the pumps will be demounted and taken to the city of Hama for reconstruction. The majority of the oil ‘spots’ will resume operation by the end of July,” Ibrahim explained.

ISIL terrorists dismantled a lot of oil rigs in Raqqa province. Particularly, around 50 facilities have been destroyed in the area of Tabqah oil field.

Syrian rebels continue assault in Raqqa

[ARA News] The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Thursday continued their operations against ISIS headquarters in the city of Raqqa, in northeastern Syria.

At least 23 ISIS militants were killed by SDF fire, including a jihadist leader.

“The Syrian Democratic Forces hit ISIS strongholds in the northwestern part of Raqqa city. The heavy artillery bombardment caused massive destruction to an ISIS security centre in the area,” SDF officer Habun Osman told ARA News.

“At least 23 terrorists were killed in the shelling, among them was the head of ISIS security in the area,” the Kurdish officer said.

In the meantime, clashes broke out in the al-Kournish district south of the city after SDF fighters infiltrated into a major ISIS camp.

“The clashes are still ongoing in al-Kournish, particularly in the Shehada square,” Osman reported.

SDF sources reported the death of two of their fighters and the injury of four others in Thursday’s clashes.

This comes after the SDF launched a major operation to liberate the city of Raqqa from ISIS radicals.

Raqqa has been known as a de facto capital for the ISIS self-proclaimed Caliphate since the summer of 2014.

On June 6, the Syrian Democratic Forces announced the official start of the battle for Raqqa city.

On Friday, July 14, Army General Joseph Votel, commander of the U.S. Central Command, said that the battle for Raqqa will take months.

“A large city, an indigenous force, a well-prepared enemy. We would expect they [ISIS] are going to fight harder, and more aggressively than they are and a large part of that is going to be exploited again. So I think it is going to be a challenging fight and it will take months,” he stated.
Posted by: Fred || 07/21/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Turkish Army mobilizes for invasion of Idlib in support of Ahrar Al-Sham, Islamist faction switches teams
[ALMASDARNEWS] In a remarkable turn of events, hundreds of Islamist fighters are being transferred from northern Aleppo to Hatay (Iskenderun) province where they are meeting up with allied Ottoman Turkish troops as we speak.

This combined fighting force, once known as the Euphrates Shield, is now waiting for permission from Ankara to launch a major cross-border military intervention which ultimately looks to defeat or weaken Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).

Over the past 24 hours alone, HTS has expelled Ahrar al-Sham
...a Syria jihadi group made up of Islamists and salafists, not that there's that much difference, formed into a brigade. They make up the main element of the Islamic Front but they don't profess adoration of al-Qaeda and they've been fighting (mainly for survival) against the Islamic State. Their leadership was wiped out at a single blow by a suicide kaboom at a crowded basement meeting in September, 2014...
from a handful of towns across rural Idlib. The al-Qaeda affiliated HTS has also purged several Ottoman Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army
... the more palatable version of the Syrian insurgency, heavily influenced by the Moslem Brüderbund...
(FSA) groups in Maarat al-Numan and Saraqib, vowing to arrest anyone collaborating with the Euphrates Shield forces.

Since a coalition of jihadist groups merged into what is now known as HTS barely six months ago, the group has gradually become the largest rebel fighting force in all of Syria, thereby dethroning Ahrar al-Sham from this long-standing position.

The Ottoman Turkish Armed Forces are frequently rumoured to be planning offensives striking into Syria; however, the only major military campaign launched by Ankara remains the Euphrates Shield operation that saw ISIS expelled from its last stretch of border with The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
in 2016 and subsequently, the establishment of the so-called Jarabulus pocket in northern Aleppo where Ottoman Turkish troops and allied proxies remain deployed.

The photo above shows a Ahrar al-Sham fighter standing at a Ottoman Turkish military checkpoint near the border with Idlib. Turkmen fighters of the FSA are also being deployed to this area.

May they both lose: Moslem groups fighting in Idlib

[AAWSAT] Beirut- The fighting that took place Tuesday between Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, commonly referred to as Tahrir al-Sham, which includes factions like Fath al-Sham (former Nusra Front) from one hand and Ahrar al-Sham, on the other hand, has reached a new level in the long-standing tense relationship between the opposing factions.

It was clear, according to experts and analysts who have been following the developments there, that it is a make or break battle between the two factions and might turn the eyes to Idlib in the coming period, especially if the Free Syrian Army (FSA) decided to join Ahrar al-Sham in an attempt to expel the Nusra Front from the governorate.

Field sources reported that Tahrir al-Sham took control of Ahrar al-Sham’s checkpoint along Hawarin-Kafr Nabal road, the town of Hazarin and another checkpoint at the Western entrance of the town of Kafruma in Southern Idlib.

The sources said that Ahrar al-Sham dispatched more forces and equipment to the town of Hazarin in Idlib’s countryside to attack the positions of Tahrir al-Sham.

Also, Tahrir al-Sham sent a large volume of military hardware to the villages of Jabal al-Zaweiyeh.

Based on the field reports Tahrir al-Sham and Ahrar al-Sham have engaged in heavy fighting in the villages of Jabal al-Zawiyeh up to the village of Haas.

The reports added that the two warring groups have gone on full alert in Bab al-Hawa passageway and Northern Idlib.

Sources close to the opposing groups disclosed that Tahrir al-Sham Commander Abu Mohammad al-Joulani was preparing for a vast war against Ahrar al-Sham, adding that al-Joulani intended to impose control over large territories that were under Ahrar al-Sham to lay siege on Saraqeb in the east, Dana and Sarmada in the northeast and Bab al-Hawa near the Turkish border.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said fighter from the two sides were engaged in clashes across the province in northwest Syria that killed 11 fighters and three civilians in the last 24 hours.

“These are the most violent and widespread clashes that have taken place between Ahrar al-Sham and Tahrir al-Sham,” Observatory director Rami Abdulrahman said.

“The clashes are ongoing across all of the provinces, with territory changing hands… It’s an existential battle,” he added.

The two groups have clashed before, despite having previously formed the backbone of the alliance that captured most of Idlib in early 2015.

The latest conflict arisen partly out of a dispute over Ahrar al-Sham’s desire to fly the flag of the Syrian uprising in Idlib city, the Observatory said.

HTS coalition loses major Islamist faction to Ahrar al-Sham

[ALMASDARNEWS] The Harakat Noor al-Din al-Zenki Islamist faction, one of biggest FSA-linked groups within the Ha’yat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) coalition, has announced their defection from the jihadist conglomerate in favor of joining Ahrar al-Sham
...a Syria jihadi group made up of Islamists and salafists, not that there's that much difference, formed into a brigade. They make up the main element of the Islamic Front but they don't profess adoration of al-Qaeda and they've been fighting (mainly for survival) against the Islamic State. Their leadership was wiped out at a single blow by a suicide kaboom at a crowded basement meeting in September, 2014...
In an official statement, the Islamist group rationalized their decision, claiming that it was unsatisfied with the HTS coalition’s aggression towards Ahrar al-Sham and the outright refusal of HTS commanders to seek common ground with Ahrar al-Sham.

The statement went on to add that despite joining ranks with Ahrar al-Sham, the Islamist group intended to stay clear of any and all infighting between Ahrar al-Sham and HTS, clarifying that the point of their existence was not to fight other rebel factions, but only the Syrian government and the forces allied to it.

In July of 2016, Noor al-Din al-Zenki became well known, even in the Western mainstream media, when some of its top members beheaded a twelve year old Paleostinian child on camera with a hunting knife. The child was falsely accused of being a member of an ethnic Paleostinian pro-government faction fighting in the city.

At that time, the group was openly vetted by the United States and The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
under the assumption that it was a "moderate" opposition faction. Its military support from the US included the provision of American-built TOW anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) systems.

In January 2017, Noor al-Din al-Zenki merged into the then newly-formed HTS conglomerate, effectively aligning itself with hard-line jihadists.

As of now, the Islamist group is leaving HTS to join ranks with Ahrar al-Sham, a rebel coalition which Turkey continues to support with weapons and money.

Jihadists Open Fire on Protesters in Syria's Idlib

[AnNahar] Jihadists from a coalition led by al-Qaeda's former Syria affiliate fired on protesters in northwestern Idlib province on Thursday, a day after killing a demonstrator in the area, a monitor said.

The incident comes as the jihadist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) alliance fights pitched battles across opposition-held Idlib province with the Ahrar al-Sham
...a Syria jihadi group made up of Islamists and salafists, not that there's that much difference, formed into a brigade. They make up the main element of the Islamic Front but they don't profess adoration of al-Qaeda and they've been fighting (mainly for survival) against the Islamic State. Their leadership was wiped out at a single blow by a suicide kaboom at a crowded basement meeting in September, 2014...
rebel faction. The festivities have killed more than 40 people since they erupted this week, including 27 of the combatants and 11 civilians, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor.

Another four of those killed have yet to be identified as fighters or civilians.

Among the casualties was media activist Musaab al-Ezzo, killed in the town of Saraqeb on Wednesday when HTS fighters opened fire on a demonstration against their presence.

The monitor said fresh demonstrations were staged in the town despite Ezzo's death, with the jihadists again opening fire, causing an unspecified number of injuries. The monitor's head Rami Abdel Rahman said demonstrators shouted slogans including "Saraqeb is free, free, Jolani out," a reference to Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, head of the leading component of HTS, the Fateh al-Sham
...formerly al-Nusra, the current false nose and mustache of al-Qaeda in the Levant...
Front.

Fateh al-Sham was previously known as al-Nusra
...formally Jabhat an-Nusrah li-Ahli al-Sham (Support Front for the People of the Levant), also known as al-Qaeda in the Levant. They aim to establish a pan-Arab caliphate. Not the same one as the Islamic State, though .. ...
Front, but changed its name after announcing it was shedding its status as al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate.

Fateh al-Sham and Ahrar al-Sham were once close allies, forming the backbone of the Army of Conquest alliance that seized most of Idlib province from government control in 2015. But tensions have been rising between the two groups, and the Observatory described the latest festivities as the most widespread and serious violence between the factions so far.

An AFP correspondent in the province said both sides had set up multiple checkpoints inside and around bustling provincial capital Idlib city. He said the city streets were deserted, with residents staying indoors for fear of festivities.
Posted by: Fred || 07/21/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte

#1  get your scorecard here

you can't tell what is going on without one

even with one
Posted by: lord garth || 07/21/2017 9:32 Comments || Top||

#2  Gee I thought reading about the Ottoman Empire was as close as I'd get.

Now I can watch it on TV.
Posted by: AlanC || 07/21/2017 15:05 Comments || Top||


ISIS throws in all it has to prevent the Syrian Army’s liberation of Deir Ezzor
[ALMASDARNEWS] Car bombs, artillery guns, machine-gun manned pickup trucks and Inghimasi fighters (elite infiltration unit) were all deployed by 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....
on Thursday in yet another assault on the Syrian Arab Army’s (SAA) positions in eastern Homs.

Attacking the newly liberated hill of Mashirfah, ISIS turbans managed to kill a couple SAA soldiers and seized some armaments before withdrawing to their initial positions.

Photos released by Amaq Agency on Thursday showed a jacket wallah blowing himself up amid the onslaught on the imperative hilltop that overlooks many key neighboring sites
Posted by: Fred || 07/21/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Syrian Army, Hezbollah begin last phase of Qalamoun offensive
[ALMASDARNEWS] At approximately 10:40 P.M. (Damascus Time), the Syrian Elite Republican Guard, alongside Hezbollah and the National Defense Forces (NDF), began their long-awaited Qalamoun Mountains offensive in the Rif Dimashq Governorate of western Syria.

Backed by heavy Arclight airstrikes from their air force, the Syrian Arab Army and their allies stormed the large hilltop of Tal Burkan near the Faleeta Barrens; this resulted in a fierce battle with the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham snuffies positioned there.

Unable to hold their own at Tal Burkan, the snuffies from Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham were forced to concede the hilltop to the Syrian Elite Republican Guard and their allies.

Not long after taking control of Tal Burkan, the Syrian Arab Army and Hezbollah forces began their assault on the nearby hilltops, inflicting heavy damage on the jihadist defenses.

The operation that was launched tonight is the third and final phase of the western Qalamoun offensive; its success will guarantee the security of the Syrian-Lebanese border.

Lebanese Army kicks off Qalamoun offensive, Syrian jets attack

[ALMASDARNEWS] Minutes ago, the Lebanese Army kicked off the long-awaited Qalamoun offensive to liberate the last pockets under Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham’s control in the ’Arsal Barrens.

Using heavy artillery, the Lebanese Army pounded Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham’s positions along the Syrian border, striking the aforementioned bully boy group’s defenses at several points in the entire municipality.

Following the shelling by the Lebanese Army, the Syrian Air Force launched at least four Arclight airstrikes above the ’Arsal Municipality, inflicting heavy damage on the enemy defenses.

According to local reports, the Lebanese Army is now preparing to storm the area, as their counterparts from the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and Hezbollah mount an attack in the Faleeta Barrens across the border.
Posted by: Fred || 07/21/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Terror Networks
The Beatings Will Continue: Iraqi Edition


9 die in IED attack near Hawija

Hawija (IraqiNews.com) Eight children and women were killed on Thursday when a roadside bomb explode don their way out of Islamic State strongholds southwest of Kirkuk, a security source was quoted saying.

Baghdad Today quoted the source saying that two children and a woman were killed, while two women and three children were wounded when a bomb planted on their way out of al-Murra al-Kobra village went off. They were escaping the Islamic State bastion in the town of Hawija, the source said.

Kurdish Peshmerga troops were trying to reach the victims, said the source.

2 journalists fond dead in Mosul

Salahuddin (IraqiNews.com) Bodies of two journalists who were killed in an Islamic State attack against south of Mosul were found, Salahuddin Operations Command said.

In a brief statement on Thursday, Lt.Gen. Juma Anad said “security troops have found bodies of Houna Salahuddin channel’s correspondent Harb Hazzaa, and photojournalist, Sou’dad al-Tikriti.”

“The bodies will be transferred to Tikrit to be transferred to their families,” he added.

The two Iraqi journalists were killed earlier this month as IS militants attacked Imam Gharbi village in Qayyarah, south of Mosul. Iraqi forces were able to retake the village, which was re-invaded by the militants, just before the governmnet declared victory in Mosul on July 10.

The Federation of Arab Journalists said in a statement last week that 47 Iraqi journalists were killed, while 55 others were wounded while covering and accompanying security troops during battles in Mosul.

The first Iraqi slain journalist in 2017 was Abdul Qader al-Qaisi, who was kidnapped and then found by security forces in January. His body was dumped on the road between Kirkuk and Baghdad. Another journalist Afrah Shawqi was abducted for nine days and then released.

A report by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said in December seven reporters were killed in Iraq in 2016, out of a total of 57 who were killed in conflict areas across the world. Syria came on top of the death tally with 19 victims. The total for 2016 was, however, a drop from the 101 death count of 2015.

In October, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Iraq was the world’s top country in terms of impunity regarding journalists’ killing, attributing the fact to the involvement of extremist militias in the murders.
Posted by: badanov || 07/21/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State



Who's in the News
36[untagged]
7Islamic State
5Taliban
4Sublime Porte
2TTP
2Govt of Pakistain Proxies
2Govt of Syria
2Moslem Colonists
1Govt of Saudi Arabia
1Maute group (IS)
1Abu Sayyaf (ISIS)
1Palestinian Authority
1Govt of Pakistan
1Govt of Iran
1Houthis

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Two weeks of WOT
Fri 2017-07-21
  Ruthless Henchman® of top Abu Sayyaf leader falls
Thu 2017-07-20
  ISIS militants refuse to surrender in Marawi as Philippine Army unleashes final assault
Wed 2017-07-19
  Kenyan police foil Al-Shabaab attack in Lamu
Tue 2017-07-18
  Deadly blast hits mosque in Nigeria's Maiduguri
Mon 2017-07-17
  Leader Of ISIS In Afghanistan Killed By US Forces 3 Months After Assuming Command
Sun 2017-07-16
  400 rebels killed by the Syrian Army during east Damascus offensive
Sat 2017-07-15
  Islamic State's Afghan 'emir' killed in raid, US says
Fri 2017-07-14
  19 give up the ghost in suicide kaboom at checkpoint in Anbar
Thu 2017-07-13
  ISIS declares Tal Afar as a separate kalifate
Wed 2017-07-12
  Amnesty: All sides violated international law in Mosul
Tue 2017-07-11
  ISIS: Al-Bagdadhi baghdeadi
Mon 2017-07-10
  Frenchman held for planning terror attack with Belgian pair
Sun 2017-07-09
  Iraqi forces take Mosul
Sat 2017-07-08
  Turkey detains 29 IS group militants in raids in Istanbul
Fri 2017-07-07
  40 ISIS troops die in battle with Iraqi forces in Salahuddin

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