Around 6 people mostly children have died and many more were injured we were told by intelligence reports from the Heliwaa district.
Strong evacuation procedures are being undertaken in Mogadishus Heliwaa district of Banaadir region, as the citizens residing in the area have been affected by the recurring attacks in the district.
The district commissioner of Heliwaa district in Banaadir, Omar Jacfaan, spoke to Radio Shabelle and reported that 3 bases where AMISOM and government forces were stationed came under attack by Al-Shabaab. Omar Jacfaan alleged that mortar shells were targeted at some neighbourhoods within the district without mentioning the fatalities of the shelling.
The individuals residing in Heliwaa have been subject to assaults between the government forces cooperating with AMISOM in opposition to the Al-Shabaab union.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/21/2014 00:00 ||
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Intelligence coming from the Luuq district in Gedo region shows that a intense fight took place between the Ethiopian troops and government forces on one side in opposition to Al-Shabaab, in Kureed territory; 12km south of Luuq district.
The battle comes after fighters from Al-Shabaab ambushed a convoy belonging to the Ethiopian and government troops when they were passing by Kureed in Gedo. In addition, for a brief period there was an exchange of extreme gunfire between the Ethiopian forces and Al-Shabaab members, but the fatalities it has caused is still unclear.
There has been no claim of victory after the battle between both sides in Kureed, 12km south of Luuq district in Gedo.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/21/2014 00:00 ||
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Might have been better to have tight security before the commander was assassinated. Just saying...
KISMAYO -- Somalia's Jubaland administration tighted the security in the southern port city of Kismayo after the brutal assassination of the state's top security head Isse Mohamed Allaki (Isse Kamboni) last Monday night, Garowe Online reports. Jubaland soldiers in armored personnel carriers began to carry out investigations in Kismayo neighborhoods in a step towards greater security, residents unveiled.
The death of Isse Kamboni sparked anger in Jubaland regions, with senior officials within Jubaland administration threatening new offensives against Al Shabaab's remaining strongholds.
Addressing reporters in Kismayo on Wednesday , Social Affairs Minister Moallim Mohamed Ibrahim declared that Jubaland forces are ready to attack Al Shabaab hideouts: "We are about to commence military offensives against Al Shabaab, Jubaland forces will reach a decision on the fate of anybody who is suspected of being A l Shabaab member".
Despite amnesty to Al Shabaab defectors, Ibrahim says Jubaland administration will firmly deal with those who defect from the militant group of Al Shabaab.
"Al Shabaab is Al Shabaab, we were offering amnesty to defectors but now the stance has changed," added Social Affairs Minister.
On the other hand, in a recorded statement, a spokesman for Al Shabaab Abdiasis Abu Muscab told that Al Shabaab fighters will target all Jubaland officials with assassinations.
"We [Al Shabaab] will target the self-declared officials of Jubba in everywhere, we will kill them. The killing of Isse Kamboni was a clear message to them [Jubaland officials] and those who infiltrated AMISOM into the country," he said.
Isse Kamboni was killed along with two bodyguards by former Al Shabaab fighter in the strategic Kismayo city.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/21/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
Might have been better to have tight security before the commander was assassinated. Just saying...
Unless you're #2 in line and want an immediate promotion
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/21/2014 15:12 Comments ||
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#2
I got here by clicking on Frank's name on the right-hand comments and read his comment. I scrolled up to the article, thinking it's about Benghazi, and it wasn't.
[DAWN] At least 67 suspects, including foreigners, were locked away You have the right to remain silent... by the police during a targeted operation in different areas of Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... in the early hours of Friday morning, DawnNews reported.
Following the killings of five people in Karachi's Orangi Town on Thursday, police carried out raids in the area and arrested 30 suspects, including foreigners.
Meanwhile, ...back at the Council of Boskone, Helmuth ordered the entire 614th quadrant searched. The Green Lensman must be found!... 28 suspects were arrested during an operation in the city's Sharafi Goth area. Furthermore, weapons and drugs were also recovered from the arrested suspects.
Moreover, five suspects were arrested by the police after raids in Karachi's Clifton and Azizabad areas whereas weapons and drugs were seized.
Police arrested alleged hit man, extortionist and gang-war suspect Amir arf Marchi from the city's Malir area. He belonged to the Wasiullah Lakho group.
Earlier, security personnel carried out raids in Musharraf Colony, Mauripur and seized a car full of explosives while also arresting three suspects. One of the suspects was reportedly involved in the Abbas Town bombing.
Karachi, the largest metropolitan city of Pakistain, is riddled with assassinations, gang wars, kidnappings for ransom, extortion and terrorism.
Targeted operations led by Rangers' forces with the support of police are ongoing in the city under a directive issued by the federal government against criminals already identified by federal, military and civilian agencies.
Earlier, security personnel carried out raids in Musharraf Colony, Mauripur and seized a car full of explosives while also arresting three suspects. One of the suspects was reportedly involved in the Abbas Town bombing.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/21/2014 10:29 ||
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ISLAMABAD/PESHAWAR: Pakistan Air Force fighter jets bombed suspected terrorist hideouts in the tribal belt on the Afghan border on Thursday, killing at least 40 people, security officials said.
"At least 40 terrorists were killed in the precision strikes in the Mir Ali area," one intelligence official told Reuters. "Six different locations were bombed."
Another official said among the army's targets were training camps run by Uzbek and Turkmen fighters. Earlier, security officials had said 15 terrorists were killed.
The first raid confirmed by security officials came early Thursday when jets bombed several locations including a compound in the town of Mir Ali and surrounding parts of North Waziristan.
"There are confirmed reports of 15 terrorists including foreigners killed in these airstrikes," a senior security official said.
A second strike targeted terrorists hiding in the Khyber Agency who are suspected of bombing a cinema in Peshawar last week and killing an army major on Tuesday, a second security official said.
"Air strikes were carried out to target terrorist hideouts with precision," a security official said about the first raids in North Waziristan. "A huge cache of arms and ammunition has also been destroyed."
Another security official said the strikes were "in retaliation for recent Taliban attacks".
As well as the execution of the kidnapped soldiers and other killings, the insurgents claimed a car bomb attack on a police bus in Karachi on February 13 in which 12 officers died.
A third security official in Miranshah, the main town of North Waziristan, said jet fighters began pounding targets around 12:30 am, with the attack continuing for more than an hour. Residents in the area said the compound caught fire after the attack and many local people were moving to safer areas. The second strike in Khyber also targeted militants and destroyed "prepared explosives and IEDs", said a security source who did not give a death toll.
Another security official told Daily Times that 16 Uzbek terrorists were among those killed in North Waziristan strikes Thursday night. He said seven terrorists, including three suicide bombers and a senior Taliban commander, had been killed in the Khyber Agency attacks.
The morning air attacks came just hours after the army said more than 100 soldiers had been killed by Taliban in the last five months. A total of 93 people have been killed since the reconciliation effort was launched at the end of January, including the kidnapped soldiers, according to an AFP tally.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/21/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
Do we have to wait for HRW and AI to get the count on the dead puppies and kitties?
#2
Good thing the attack was carried out by Paki-jets and not precision drone strikes. Otherwise, the civilian death toll would be horrendous. To say nothing of all the puppies, kitties and bunnies.
The Philippine military on Thursday branded as "damage control propaganda the reported expulsion from the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters of a senior member for leading last years beheading of a farmer as they plundered several villages in North Cotabato last year.
The spokesman of the outlawed BIFF, Abu Misry Mama, was reported on Wednesday as saying that Imam Ali Tambako had been expelled from the group for the decapitation. Misry had reportedly said that Tambakos expulsion was proof that the BIFF do not engage in inhumane conduct while fighting for a puritan Islamic state in Southern Mindanao.
Col. Dickson Hermoso, spokesman for the Armys 6th Infantry Division, said the BIFF would have made a better impression if it had turned over Tambako to the police for prosecution. He said that the announcement was an apparent damage control effort to make up for negative publicity for the group in its use of child warriors, and banditry.
Nearly 30 BIFF leaders, including the groups founder, Ameril Ombra Kato, a Saudi-trained cleric, face criminal charges. They have been charged in connection with a series of attacks on farming communities in Maguindanao and North Cotabato.
Philippine authorities have recovered two kidnapped Muslim sisters after they escaped from their Abu Sayyaf captors in Sulu province. Officials said Linda and Nadjoua Bansil, who are both filmmakers, were recovered by security forces in Sitio Kantatang.
A message from military radio said, After eight months in captivity, KVs (kidnapped victims) escaped fm (from) their captors and were recovered in Sitio Kantatang, Buhanginan, Patikul, Sulu by PN (Marines). Due to the pressure by the Sulu governor (Totoh Tan) and opnl (operational) efforts of the soldiers, the kidnappers loosen their grip on the sisters Linda and Nadjoua Bansil. Devt (development) rpt (report) will folw (follow)."
Another military report from Sulu province reads: On February 20, 2014, around five oclock in the afternoon, a joint special operation conducted by the elements of Marine Battalion Landing Team Six (MBLT-6), Marine Battalion Landing Team Two (MBLT-2) and 2nd Marine Brigade & Sulu PPO with efforts from Sulu Vice Governor Sakur Tan successfully recovered the two kidnapped victims Nadjoua and Linda BANSIL in Sitio Kantatang, Barangay Buhanginan, Patikul, Sulu.
To recall, Nadjoua and Linda Bansil were Muslim-Filipinos who were abducted last June 22, 2013 in Sitio Baunuh, Barangay Liang, Patikul, Sulu by armed men identified as the young members of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) in Sulu who were allegedly trained by foreign Jihadists. The sisters were working together to produce an independent Film entitled "Coffee Armalite showcasing Filipino Muslim life and culture. On the same day, said kidnapped victims will be brought to Western Mindanao Command (WESMINCOM) for proper disposition, the report said.
The duo, whose mother is an Algerian, was seized on June 22 last year while filming in the town together with members of the Sultanate of Sulu Darul Islam. The kidnappers had demanded ransom from the Algerian embassy through the sisters mother.
The Abu Sayyaf is still holding several hostages in the southern Philippines and just recently, six gunmen some of them wearing police uniforms seized a 28-year old woman, Sabrina Ikbala Voon in Zamboanga City. Voon was forcibly taken from her home and dragged her to a white van which was later recovered on a neighboring village by pursuing policemen.
A regional police spokesman, said police and military forces were searching for the woman. He said the gunmen spoke in Tausug, a dialect widely used in Sulu and Tawi-Tawi provinces. No one has claimed responsibility for the abduction, but officials had previously blamed the kidnapping on the Abu Sayyaf group.
Posted by: ryuge ||
02/21/2014 00:00 ||
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Two volunteer military rangers were wounded in a roadside bomb attack in Narathiwat province yesterday, while a rubber tapper was gunned down and another wounded in Yala province.
On Wednesday night, there was an attack on the home of a senior clerk at Yala's Bannang Sata district office, with seven M79 grenades fired, but no one was wounded. Less than an hour later, a resident was gunned down in a separate incident in the district.
The bombing in Narathiwat occurred at about 8:30 a.m. and targeted a six-ranger patrol on three motorcycles. As volunteer military rangers Boonpen Leeka and Jaroonsak Pitakkij inspected a bridge, the hidden terrorists insurgents detonated a bomb remotely.
Earlier, unknown gunmen gunned down one local resident and wounded another in Yala's Raman district while the two victims rode a motorcycle to tap rubber trees.
In Bannang Sata district, police yesterday morning inspected the house of a senior district clerk following the grenade attack. The attackers reportedly hurled two grenades at about 8:45 p.m. and then another five grenades at about 9:10 p.m. Police and defense volunteers fired back, causing the assailants to flee.
A source involved with an investigation into the incident said police suspected an insurgent sympathiser group led by Mukta Ali-mama and Ahmad Leubaesa carried out the attack.
In a separate incident, a villager was gunned down near a local mosque on Wednesday night in Bannang Sata district.
[DAWN] A group of 38 male evacuees from besieged parts of the Syrian city of Homs were released Friday after investigation, leaving almost 200 others still being held, the provincial governor said.
The men and boys were among those detained by security services for questioning after being evacuated from the Old City of Homs by the UN and Red Islamic Thingy under a deal including a temporary ceasefire.
"They left the (processing) centre to the places they wanted to go to after their situations were resolved," governor Talal Barazi said of the 38 evacuees.
He told AFP that around 195 evacuees were still being held at the processing centre while investigations into their identity papers and military service status were being carried out.
The United Nations ...where theory meets practice and practice loses... said earlier this week that some 380 male evacuees were still being held in processing centres, though it said some had been cleared for release but not yet left.
Barazi said many of the detainees were eager to take advantage of an amnesty offered last year to those who had failed to report for compulsory military service.
"Detainees have told us about their desire to settle their situations before being released because they were unable to take advantage of the amnesty while they were under siege," Barazi said.
He said evacuees over 42 would be automatically cleared because they were over the age for compulsory military service.
Beginning February 7, the United Nations and Red Islamic Thingy evacuated some 1,400 people trapped in besieged parts of Homs for more than 18 months as the Syrian regime battles rebels across the country.
Food was also delivered to those remaining behind, who had been forced to subsist on little more than olives and wild herbs.
All men and boys aged between 15-55 were taken for processing by security services, in a move that raised the concern of UN officials.
They are present at the processing centre and have warned that the operation is being carefully monitored.
The evacuations and delivery of aid were made possible by a deal that included a tenuous truce that was twice extended but expired last Saturday with no agreement to extend it further.
On Wednesday, Barazi said a group of 11 civilians had been evacuated from part of Homs, but operations have otherwise largely ground to a halt.
The UN has said it is focusing on the processing of male evacuees before any additional evacuation or aid distribution operations resume.
"The UN is taking a pause to plan for the next round of evacuations given that a significant number of civilians in the Old City of Homs are reported to be more vulnerable and frail," UN humanitarian coordinator Yacoub El-Hillo told AFP.
"The focus of UN activities currently remains on providing protection services to evacuees -- men and boys -- as they are processed by authorities."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/21/2014 10:30 ||
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A senior official in a Lebanese Alawite party supportive of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad was shot dead in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli Thursday, a security official told AFP.
Tusk tusk...
Masked gunmen opened fire at 7:00 am (0500 GMT) on Abdelrahman Diab, a senior official in the Arab Democratic Party, as he drove through Tripoli, which sees frequent deadly clashes between supporters and opponents of the Syrian regime.
A party official said Diab was in charge of military affairs.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/21/2014 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
ISLAMABAD/PESHAWAR: Pakistan Air Force fighter jets bombed suspected terrorist hideouts in the tribal belt on the Afghan border on Thursday, killing at least 40 people, security officials said.
