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Today: 70 articles and 181 comments as of 14:24.
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Area: WoT Background    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix   
ISIS controls 80% of Baiji refinery in Salahuddin
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 1: WoT Operations
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Page 4: Opinion
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Africa North
Two army conscripts killed in North Sinai attack
[AlAhram] Two army conscripts were killed Thursday in an attack on a security camp in Egypt's restive North Sinai, Al-Ahram Arabic news website reported.

Unknown assailants threw shells near the Rafah security camp killing soldiers Ahmed Anwar El-Desouky, 22, originally from Cairo, and Ahmed Mohammed Khedr, 22, from Menoufiya in the Nile Delta.

Egypt's army has been fighting a decade-long hard boy Islamist insurgency that has spiked since the ouster of Islamist president Mohammed Morsi in July 2013.

Hundreds of police and army personnel have been killed in attacks while the army has announced killing and arresting hundreds of "terror" suspects in retaliation.

Egypt's military front man said Saturday that the army had killed 29 alleged gunnies and nabbed
Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages!
133 others in raids on North Sinai cities from 20 to 30 April.

In addition, military forces are engaged in creating a buffer zone on the Rafah-Gazoo border and have evicted hundreds of families from their homes with government promises of compensation.

Reports of civilians getting caught up in the violence have also recently increased.
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/08/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis

#1  Palestinians, the gift that keeps on giving.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 05/08/2015 2:07 Comments || Top||


Two killed in rocket strike in Libya's Benghazi: Medics
[AlAhram] Two people were killed when a rocket hit a residential building in the Libyan city of Benghazi on Thursday, bringing the corpse count from recent fighting to at least 53 people in the past five weeks, medics said.
Forces loyal to Libya's internationally recognised government have been fighting Islamist groups in the eastern port city, part of a wider struggle in the four years since Muammar Qadaffy
...who single-handedly turned a moderately prosperous kingdom into a dictator's fantasyland and was then murdered by his indignant subjects 42 years later...
was tossed and killed.

Army forces have regained some territory in Benghazi lost last year, but fighters of the Islamist Majlis al-Shura still control several districts and the commercial port area.

On Thursday, a rocket hit a residential building, killing two civilians and wounding around four, a hospital medic said. Around 17 civilians have been killed and 90 maimed in artillery and rocket strikes since the start of April.

Another 36 soldiers and armed youth were killed and around 270 maimed in street fighting between pro-government and Islamist forces since April, army and medical sources said.

Mohammed El Hejazi, an army front man, said the Islamists were firing the rockets whenever his forces approached their strongholds. The Islamist camp denies this.

The battle eptiomises the chaos in Libya, where gangs back two governments vying for control. The official prime minister has been based in the east since the capital, Tripoli
...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn...
, was seized by a rival group that set up its own government. Only the eastern government is internationally recognised.

Both sides command loose coalitions of former anti-Qadaffy rebels. After Qadaffy's ouster in 2011, the various factions split along political, regional and tribal lines.

The Tripoli government backs the Majlis al-Shura umbrella group to which Ansar al-Sharia
...a Salafist militia which claims it is not part of al-Qaeda, even though it works about the same and for the same ends. There are groups of the same name in Libyaand Yemen, with the Libyan versions currently most active. Tunisia's Shabaab al-Tawhid started out an Ansar al-Sharia and changed its name in early 2014. It still uses the old name now and then, probably because the stationery's not all used up and the web site hasn't expired yet...
belongs. That was the group blamed by Washington for a 2012 assault on its diplomatic mission in Benghazi that killed the US ambassador.
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/08/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Gunmen Kill 2 Egyptian Policemen in Sinai
Snip. Duplicate.
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/08/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis


Egypt's Sisi Says Ethiopians 'Rescued' from Libya
Egypt, protector of the Christians? Stranger things have happend, I suppose.
[AnNahar] President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi said Egypt had "rescued" 27 Æthiopians from war-torn Libya, as state television
... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
showed him greeting the group at Cairo airport on Thursday.

It was not immediately clear how the Æthiopians were rescued, but Sisi's office said the group flown in on an Egyptian plane was "liberated by Egyptian and Libyan security services".

"All efforts were made to bring the Æthiopians to Egypt safely... Egyptian services participated in this effort to protect, rescue and secure our Æthiopian brothers," Sisi told news hounds at Cairo airport.

Their release comes weeks after a purported video released 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....
jihadist group showed the executions of some 30 Æthiopian Christians captured in Libya.

Sisi said Egypt was "pained by the gruesome beheading of innocent Æthiopians in Libya" and that the rescued Æthiopians were living in dire conditions in the war-strewn country.

"What is happening in Libya is a matter that concerns us and we tell the whole world that Libya should return to be a safe and stable country for its people and even to its visitors," Sisi said.

Libya has plunged into chaos since the toppling of long-time autocrat Muammar Qadaffy
...Custodian of Wheelus AFB for 42 long years until he was ejected from the gene pool by his indignant citizens...
, with rival militias fighting for the control of country's oilfields and territories.

The killing of Æthiopians came weeks after the jihadists posted a similar video showing the beheadings of 21 Coptic Christians, all but one of them Egyptians, on a beach in Libya.

The killing of Egyptian Christians had prompted Arclight airstrikes by Cairo targeting IS targets inside Libya.

Sisi has repeatedly called for a joint Arabic military force to fight jihadists in the region, and at an Arab League
...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing...
summit in March leaders of the region agreed to establish such a force.

The details of the joint Arab force have yet to be worked out.

Since his election last year, Sisi has been working to improve relations with Addis Ababa amid a dispute over Nile water rights.

Æthiopia began diverting the Blue Nile in May 2013 to build a 6,000 megawatt dam, which will be Africa's largest when completed in 2017.

This has raised fears in Cairo that Egypt's share of the Nile water would fall. In March, Æthiopia, Egypt and Sudan signed an agreement of principles on the dam to ease tensions.
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/08/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  I have seen Sisi do nothing but solid action since he was placed at the Helm.
This Leader will rock the world better than even Sadat.

Please support him. His heart is genuine.
Posted by: newc || 05/08/2015 0:21 Comments || Top||

#2  Speaking only for myself, news, I prefer brains.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 05/08/2015 2:35 Comments || Top||

#3  Ah, yes. We've seen the benefits of having a Harvard education here in the US.

Seriously, methinks there is some "brains" at use in Egypt. There's the water-rights issue with Ethiopia, for one.
Posted by: Pappy || 05/08/2015 11:15 Comments || Top||

#4  Ahram.org: A military ‎source has however denied any direct ‎military intervention

The source added that the kidnapped workers were released after negotiations and co‎ordination between Egypt and Libyan authorities and other forces ‎on the ground. ‎
Posted by: mossomo || 05/08/2015 14:39 Comments || Top||


Arabia
Saudi Aggressions Won't Go Unanswered: Tribal Fighters Seize Border Posts
[ALMANAR.LB] New military achievements were accomplished on Thursday by the tribal fighters on the border with the Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
.

The achievements are in retaliation for the US-backed Saudi aggression against the Arab impoverished country, which has been since March 26 under brutal attack.Tribal fighters in Yemen

Field sources from Yemen
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic...
told al-Manar that the tribal forces managed to seize eight posts in Najran and Jizan which are located in southwestern Saudi Arabia near the border with Yemen.

The tribal fighters captured four Saudi soldiers, the sources said, adding that the attacks on the Saudi posts were preceded by rockets shelling on Najran airport and other targets in the area.

Following the attacks, the Yemeni area on the border with Saudi witnessed hysteric and random shelling, the sources added.

Meanwhile,
...back at the revival hall, the SWAT team had finally arrived...
al-Masirah TV reported that tribal fighters downed Saudi Apatchi which was staging raids in Saada.

Elsewhere in the southern province of Shabwa, the Yemeni army, backed by the Popular Committees expelled al-Qaeda gunnies out of al-Masnaa area, another sources said.

In response, the Saudi army shelled the Yemeni bordering areas and launched several air raids on Saada and other provinces, killing at least 9 civilians.
Posted by: Fred || 05/08/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Houthis


US dronezaps Charlie Hebdo Killer
If confirmed, this indicates our intel and action are better than I had thought.
A US operation has killed the senior al-Qaida figure who issued the claim of responsibility
which may be nothing but boasting, but still...
Being as they are Brave Lions of Islam, one and all, it behooves us to take them at their word, and give them the martyrdom they prey pray for so devoutly.
for the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris, according to US sources familiar with the matter and a reported video posted by the group.

Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) said that its ideologue Nasser bin Ali al-Ansi was killed with his eldest son
Got some of the next generation too? Good!
and other fighters in Yemen in a US air strike, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which cited the online video.

Ansi's death would suggest the covert US drone program against the Yemen branch of the global militant group is continuing, despite the evacuation of American military advisers from the country amid a worsening civil war.

The US sources said Washington believed Ansi was the AQAP commander of northern Yemen.
More from An Nahar at 1:45 ET:
Nasser bin Ali al-Ansi, who was killed in the April strike along with his eldest son and other fighters in the port city of Mukalla, also appeared in al-Qaeda videos claiming the holding and death of U.S. hostage Luke Somers, SITE Intelligence Group said.

The announcement of his death came in a video posted Thursday on Twitter by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
...the latest incarnation of various Qaeda and Qaeda-allied groups, including the now-defunct Aden-Abyan Islamic Army that boomed the USS Cole in 2000...
The air raid appears to have been carried out overnight on April 21-22, when witnesses in Mukalla said an apparent U.S. drone strike on a vehicle parked near the presidential palace in the city killed six suspected al-Qaeda murderous Moslems.

SITE described Ansi as "a senior AQAP official and military strategist".

Citing an AQAP video issued in November, SITE said the Taez-born Ansi had pursued jihad in Bosnia in 1995 before travelling to Afghanistan via Yemen
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic...
and Kashmire to train in al-Qaeda camps. It was in Afghanistan that the terror network's now slain leader the late Osama bin Laden
... who is now sometimes referred to as Mister Bones...
"tasked him with administrative affairs, before he entered the military field," according to SITE.

"He was tossed in the calaboose
Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try!
in Yemen and released after six months, and in 2011... joined AQAP," said the U.S.-based group that monitors jihadist websites.
Posted by: Glenmore || 05/08/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Arabia


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Former Tajik militant's public penitence
[RFE/RL] A former militant has publicly expressed remorse for joining Islamist fighters in Syria in Tajikistan.

Farruh Sharifov, from the northern city of Khujand, spoke to a large VIP audience at the Jami Palace in central Dushanbe on Thursday. He gave a gruesome account of the jihad in Syria, and said he was appalled by the cruel and barbaric behavior he witnessed.

Sharifov said that people were often beheaded by the Islamic State over unproven accusations, without legitimate investigations or trials. He said he witnessed the decapitation of several Islamists from Azerbaijan who had been accused of blasphemy or spying for the Kurds.

Sharifov's public penitence seems meant to curb the outflow of Tajik jihadis. Tajik officials have estimated that 300 Tajik men and women are fighting alongside Islamist militants in Syria and Iraq.

Meanwhile, Tajikistan's Supreme Court has announced that 19 people from his native Sharifov's region were sentenced to prison for extremist activity.

The 19 were sentenced to prison terms between 9 1/2 and 17 1/2 years after being found guilty of involvement with the banned Islamist group Jamaat Ansarullah. Four more defendants got one-year sentences for failing to report the other 19 to the authorities.

Over the past five months, 47 people have been sentenced in Tajikistan for being members of Jamaat Ansarullah, which is believed to be linked to the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. The IMU has links to Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and some members have declared allegiance to the Islamic State group.
Posted by: ryuge || 05/08/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Europe
Bosnian police launch operation to root out radical Islamists
[Ynet] Bosnian police on Wednesday launched an operation to root out radical Islamists, arresting several people, a week after a suspected "terrorist attack" in which a police officer was killed.

"The search is underway in 32 places in Republika Srpska (the Serb-run entity of Bosnia," interior ministry front man Milan Salamandija said.
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/08/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Salafists

#1  Near as I can tell, rooting out radical islamists in Bosnia should be as complicated as taking a city bus down the street and letting them get on.
Posted by: ed in texas || 05/08/2015 7:46 Comments || Top||

#2  This is the Serbian-run part; they'll be left alone in the rest of Bosnia.
Posted by: Pappy || 05/08/2015 11:18 Comments || Top||

#3  They run the rest of Bosnia.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 05/08/2015 12:45 Comments || Top||

#4  Bosnia and Herzegovina has a bicameral legislature and a three-member Presidency composed of a member of each major ethnic group. However, the central government's power is highly limited, as the country is largely decentralized and comprises two autonomous entities: the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska, with a third region, the Brčko District, governed under local government.
Posted by: Pappy || 05/08/2015 17:50 Comments || Top||


The Grand Turk
Turkey Orders Arrest of 'Syria Arms Interception' Prosecutors
"Those who dare reveal the truth we wish hidden will be punished!!!!"
[AnNahar] Turkish court has issued arrest warrants for four prosecutors and one military officer in a controversial case over the interception last year of trucks that allegedly contained arms bound for neighboring Syria, reports said Thursday.

The four prosecutors had been reassigned and then suspended after they ordered the search of several trucks and buses in the southern provinces of Hatay and Adana near the Syrian border in January 2014 on suspicions of smuggling "ammunition and arms" into Syria.

A series of documents had circulated on the Internet indicating that the seized trucks were actually National Intelligence Agency (MIT) vehicles delivering weapons to Syrian Salafist tough guys fighting Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Despoiler of Deraa...
The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
has vehemently denied aiding Salafist tough guys in Syria, such as 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) jihadist group, although it wants to see Assad toppled.

The government has imposed an all-out media blackout, including on Facebook and Twitter, prohibiting publication of the allegations.

The four prosecutors have been charged with seeking the overthrow of the government and to paralyze its operations. They face life imprisonment if convicted, the state-run Anatolia news agency reported.

Police detained two of the prosecutors, Suleyman Bagriyanik and Ozcan Sisman, on Wednesday in their houses in the cities of Antalya and in Adana.

They could not find a third attorney, Aziz Takci, at his address in northern city of Zonguldak but his lawyer said he would surrender. There were no details on the status of the fourth prosecutor, Ahmet Karaca.

"We witnessed a night when law went bankrupt and courtesy was turned upside down," Bagriyanik, former chief prosecutor of Adana, said as he was detained by the police.

"No matter what, everyone will see the reality," he added.

"I am being detained right now just because I did not listen to Mr. Minister's 'Do not search trucks' order and threats, and did not stop my colleagues from doing so. What more can I say?

"Laws are there. It is my job to implement the laws."

The court in Tarsus in southern Turkey also upheld the demand of Turkey's top body of judges and prosecutors HSYK for the arrest of colonel Ozkan Cokay because he was the highest-ranking commander in the region, according to Dogan.

The controversy erupted on January 19, 2014 when Turkish forces stopped trucks bound for Syria suspected to have been loaded with weapons. But they then found MIT personnel were on board.
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/08/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Great White North
Canadian judge frees former teen terrorist who killed US Army medic
[FOXNEWS] A former teen terrorist who killed a U.S. Army Delta Force medic in Afghanistan in 2002 was ordered released Thursday by a Canadian judge who said rules the former Guantanamo Bay detainee once sentenced to 40 years in prison has changed his jihadist ways.
"G'bye, warden! I'm off to Syria to... ummm... teach Arabic to disadvantaged widows and orphans!"
Omar Baby Face Khadr, a Canadian citizen who was just 15 when he threw the grenade that killed U.S. Army medic Christopher Speer in Afghanistan during a 2002 firefight, was ordered freed on bail by an Edmonton appeals judge. Now 28, Khadr claims to be a different person from the young Al Qaeda follower who admitted killing Speer, but critics say he has not paid the price.

"Omar Khadr is a convicted Al Qaeda terrorist, guilty of war crimes," Ezra Levant, author of "The Enemy Within: Terror, Lies, and the Whitewashing of Omar Khadr," told FoxNews.com. "He murdered a U.S. medic in cold blood. A jury sentenced him to 40 years in prison, but President B.O. offered him a plea deal for just eight years, and now parole will reduce that further. This isn't sufficient, especially given that Khadr has never publicly renounced terrorism or Al Qaeda, or his own father's terrorism."

Speer, 28, of Denver, was a sergeant first class who was with four other soldiers on reconnaissance patrol when they entered a building in the Khost province
... across the border from Miranshah, within commuting distance of Haqqani hangouts such as Datta Khel and probably within sight of Mordor. Khost is populated by six different tribes of Pashtuns, the largest probably being the Khostwal, from which it takes its name...
that had been destroyed by air attacks. They were ambushed by terrorists, including Khadr, and Speer died a month later at a facility at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.

Khadr, who was born in Toronto, but grew up mostly in Pakistain, where his father was accused of being an associate of Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri
... Formerly second in command of al-Qaeda, now the head cheese, occasionally described as the real brains of the outfit. Formerly the Mister Big of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Bumped off Abdullah Azzam with a car boom in the course of one of their little disputes. Is thought to have composed bin Laden's fatwa entitled World Islamic Front Against Jews and Crusaders. Currently residing in the North Wazoo area. That is not a horn growing from the middle of his forehead, but a prayer bump, attesting to how devout he is...
, confessed to throwing the grenade as part of a plea deal he accepted in 2010. The confession Khadr signed acknowledged that he built and helped place explosives for Al Qaeda, and noted that U.S. soldiers gave women and kiddies an opportunity to leave the compound where Khadr and Al Qaeda gunnies were hiding before they began the bombing. One woman and a child left the compound and survived, but Khadr stayed. Khadr, who was badly injured, was locked away
... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not...
at the scene, and sent to Guantanamo.

Although a military jury gave him a 40-year sentence, the term was merely symbolic, as the U.S. Justice Department had agreed to limit the sentence to eight years, and permitted the time to be served in Canada. Khadr is appealing his U.S. conviction of war crimes, for killing a medic.
Posted by: Fred || 05/08/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda


Home Front: WoT
FBI Alerted Garland PD of Jihadists Before Attack
[Breitbart] While the White House still won't call it a terrorist attack, word out of the FBI on Thursday that the Bureau had been in communication with Garland Police hours before the attack. They had provided a picture of Elton Simpson, and his license plate information, and including him with a group of people thought to have "high interest" in the Mohammad Art Exhibit and Contest event over the weekend.

KDFW-Fox 4 TV Senior Reporter Shaun Rabb on with Greta Van Sustern on Fox News Channel in the 7pm hour on Thursday night, saying that the FBI wasn't sure exactly where Simpson was, in his hometown of Phoenix, in Dallas, or somewhere in-between, and that there was 'no specific threat", but that he was added to the list of people with "high interest" in the event at the Caldwell Center in Garland
Posted by: Ebbomosh Hupemp2664 || 05/08/2015 00:06 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Yeah, even with the FBI trying to take credit, it still came down to a traffic cop on point duty.
Posted by: ed in texas || 05/08/2015 7:43 Comments || Top||

#2  UNCONFIRMED:

Subject: Inside Info on the Garland, Texas shooting

Received this from a friend who is a friend of the Police Chief of a Texas City. Thought it was interesting.


I have access to some of the info on the Garland shooting you probably don’t have. Interestingly enough that was a 60 year old 30 year veteran cop that went to war with these guys. He confronted them at 20 yards with a Glock 21 .45 cal and instead of retreating approached them steadily firing. He took down 1st guy within first 4-5 rounds and went to working on other as he had closed to within 8-10 yards. He was textbook, reloaded with one round still in chamber and finished off 2nd guy with 2-3 more rounds. Word is 2nd guy threw his gun down after a malfunction but cop decided it wasn’t quite even just yet and hit him with another couple of rounds. I hope that doesn’t get controversial but that old saying “it isn’t over until it’s over” should certainly apply to this situation. Moral of story: don’t screw with old men who know how to shoot....
Posted by: Besoeker || 05/08/2015 12:39 Comments || Top||

#3  Flashback (Nov. 20, 2013): Exclusive: US May Have Let 'Dozens' of Terrorists Into Country As Refugees

Posted by: Blossom Unains5562 || 05/08/2015 17:37 Comments || Top||


Iraq
ISIS controls 80% of Baiji refinery in Salahuddin
(IraqiNews.com) Baghdad- US official stressed on Thursday ISIS control over 80% of Baiji refinery in Salahuddin province, while considered that the situation in the refinery as “very worrying”, pointing out that the international coalition did not target ISIS elements within the oil facility in order to maintain the infrastructure.

“CNN” quoted the official, who asked to remain anonymous, as saying, “The Iraqi army controls only 20% of Baiji oil refinery, while ISIS has controlled 80%,” noting that, “the latter was able during few days to penetrate areas within the refinery, preventing supply lines of the Iraqi army. ”

“the situation on the ground in Baiji refinery is very worrying; the Iraqi army has suffered numerous losses,” pointing out that “the American aviation has bombed ISIS sites around the refinery and supply routes, but it has not targeted ISIS elements inside the refinery so as to save the infrastructure, ” the official added.
Posted by: badanov || 05/08/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


60 policemen under investigation after 6 volunteer fighters die
(IraqiNews.com) According to a security source, the Ministry of Interior has referred 60 policemen of Balad police to investigation on the background of the death of 6 volunteer fighters from Saraya al-Khorasani, which belong to al-Hashed al-Sha’bi militia, noting that the investigation was transferred to Baghdad, while dozens of people protested against the transfer of the investigation to the capital.

The source said in an interview for IraqiNews.com, “The Ministry of Interior issued an order to refer 60 policemen from Balad police to investigation on the background of the death of 6 volunteer fighters from Saraya al-Khorasani, grouped under al-Hashed al-Sha’bi earlier.”

The source, who requested to remain anonymous, added, “The ministry has instructed the transfer of the investigation of this crime to the capital Baghdad.”
Posted by: badanov || 05/08/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Whatsa matter? These, I assume Shia militia, "volunteers" raped a wrong woman?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 05/08/2015 2:17 Comments || Top||

#2  Possibly. Mixed Shiite-Sunni population, history of sectarian fighting, a hotbed of Baathist resistance during the Iraq War...
Posted by: Pappy || 05/08/2015 17:56 Comments || Top||


U.S.-led coalition intensifies airstrikes in Anbar
(IraqiNews.com) Anbar – On Thursday, Member of Anbar Provincial Council Farhan Mohammed revealed, that the ISIS militants had transported tons of weapons from Syria to Anbar Province.

Member of the provincial council, Farhan Mohammed, stated in an interview for IraqiNews.com “The ISIS militants had transported tons of weapons, ammunition and equipment from Syria to al-Qa’im,” adding that, “Warplanes of the U.S.-led international coalition against ISIS intensified its air strikes to target ISIS ranks that could be transporting weapons to the province in the future.”

The city of al-Qa’im is located 350 km west of Ramadi.
Posted by: badanov || 05/08/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Suicide bomber detonates bomb against security elements in southeast of Tikrit
(IraqiNews.com) Salahuddin – A security source in Salahuddin province said Thursday, that a suicide bombing had left a number of casualties among security elements in southeast of Tikrit.

The source informed IraqiNews, “Today, a suicide bomber detonated his car bomb targeting a gathering site for the security forces and al-Hashed al-Sha’bi militia fighters near al-Ajil oil field in northeast of Tikrit,” pointing out that, “The explosion had left an unknown number of casualties.”

“A security force blockaded the area of the incident and transferred the dead to the Forensic Medicine Authority and the injured to a near hospital for medical treatment,” the source added.
Posted by: badanov || 05/08/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Reinforcement troops sent to Baiji
(IraqiNews.com) Salahuddin – On Thursday, Salahuddin Provincial Council announced, that reinforcements troops have been sent to back the security forces stationed near Baiji’s oil refinery.

The president of the provincial council, Ahmed al-Karim, stated in an interview for IraqiNews.com “Reinforcement troops have been sent to back the oil refinery in Baiji,” adding that, “These forces will begin an operation to liberate the refinery and the entire district of Baiji from the ISIS control.”
Posted by: badanov || 05/08/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  As per CNN AM, Iraqi Army authoriies have confirmed that their hold on Baiji is tenous or uncertain at best.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 05/08/2015 21:46 Comments || Top||


17 ISIS elements killed in aerial bombing in Salahuddin
(IraqiNews.com) Baghdad – on Thursday the Ministry of Defense announced the death of 17 ISIS elements and the destruction of 12 wheels in an aerial bombing in Salahuddin province.

The ministry said in a statement received by IraqiNews.com, “The Army Air Hawks have managed, through directing air strikes on ISIS gatherings in Ajil fields, to kill 17 terrorists.”

The statement added that the strikes also resulted in the destruction of 12 wheels.
Posted by: badanov || 05/08/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Peshmerga forces kill, wound 20 ISIS militants, retake village in Daquq
(IraqiNews.com) Kirkuk – On Thursday, a security source in Kirkuk province said, that 20 ISIS elements have been either killed or injured in a security operation by the paramilitary Kurdish Peshmerga forces to liberate the village of Tal-Rabah in the district of Daquq.

The source told IraqiNews.com, “This afternoon, Kurdish Peshmerga forces had managed to liberate the village of Tal-Rabah in the district of Daquq,” noting that, “The intensive shelling by the Peshmerga forces against ISIS sites resulted in killing 10 ISIS elements and injuring 10 others.”

The district of Daquq is located 35 km southwest of Kirkuk.
Posted by: badanov || 05/08/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Fierce Fighting in Iraq's Largest Refinery
[AnNahar] 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....
jihadist group launched a fresh offensive Thursday against Iraq's largest refinery, where a military official said security forces are facing one of their toughest battles.

The IS launched "a fierce attack at dawn and festivities are ongoing," an army major general told AFP, on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to talk to the press.

The country's largest refinery is located near the city of Baiji, around 200 kilometers (120 miles) north of Baghdad.

Following a victory against jihadist fighters in Tikrit, government and allied forces have vowed to continue working their way north.

Control of the Baiji area is seen as key step toward the reconquest of the main IS hub of djinn-infested Mosul
... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn...
.

"The battle for Baiji refinery is a real test for the Iraqi forces and it's one of the most complicated battles we have," the major general said.

The vast complex, which once produced 300,000 barrels per day of refined products meeting half of the country's needs, remained besieged by IS fighters for months following the group's massive onslaught across Iraq in June 2014.

The siege was broken last year but IS attacked anew and in April some of its fighters managed to establish a foothold inside the refinery compound.

"The Death Eaters who broke in three weeks ago are taking positions in buildings. They are suicide fighters who will not leave until they have been killed," the officer said.

"Our security forces are struggling to go after them, they are inside buildings, next to pipes and tanks and setting them on fire," he said.

He said army, police, counter-terrorism forces and several Shiite militias fighting under the umbrella of the volunteer Popular Mobilization units were involved in the fight.

IS said in its daily radio broadcast Thursday that its fighters had carried out two suicide kabooms on Wednesday, one using a truck inside the refinery complex and another using a military vehicle outside the compound perimeter.

U.S. Colonel Steven Warren, a Pentagon front man, admitted Wednesday that it was unclear which side would have the upper hand.

"It's difficult to say how it's going to turn out," he said, calling it a "tough fight."

"Baiji is an avenue of approach into Mosul so it would be difficult to take Mosul without Baiji, but not impossible," Warren said.

According to the U.S.-led international coalition fighting IS in Iraq and Syria, 22 coalition air strikes have been carried out in the Baiji area this month alone.

"IS is burning the refinery," Fawzi Mohsen, one of the hard boyz involved in operations outside the complex, told AFP on Wednesday as smoke billowed from the refinery behind him.

"Our troops have advanced and are currently moving 700 to 800 meters closer to the refinery every day," said Mohsen, from the Ketaeb Jund al-Imam paramilitary group.

The army major general said that despite reinforcements, anti-IS forces were struggling to break the deadlock.

"During daytime we are able to break the siege around the security forces thanks to coalition and Iraqi air force strikes but Daesh renews its attacks at night and around dawn," he said using the Arabic acronym for IS.

He said that around 250 security personnel holding out inside the refinery were being airdropped four tonnes of food and ammunition on a daily basis.

He estimated the number of IS fighters to be 230.
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/08/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Salafist group fires 2 mortar shells at Hamas military post west of Khan Younis
A Salafist jihadist group in Gaza said Friday it fired two mortar shells at a Hamas military base west of Khan Younis.

Witnesses confirmed to AFP explosions were heard in the area in question in southern Gaza.

"God has enabled your brothers of the Partisans of the Islamic State in Jerusalem to target the al-Qassam Qadessiya base of the gang (Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas), west of Khan Younis on Friday morning with two 82 mm mortar shells," the group said in a statement posted on the Internet.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 05/08/2015 15:43 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Damn, I'm getting low on pop-corn!
Posted by: AlanC || 05/08/2015 17:55 Comments || Top||

#2  Yep - ISIS "declares war" on Hamas. For this, I'm passing on popcorn and going straight to pork rinds.
Posted by: Rex Mundi || 05/08/2015 19:15 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
Brunei Arrests Indonesian with 'IS Flag, Bullets'
[AnNahar] Brunei has tossed in the calaboose
Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please!
an Indonesian man en route to Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
after authorities found bullets and what appeared to be an Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
(IS) group flag in his luggage, Indonesian officials said Thursday.
"Say, looky here, Mohammed: I'm not sure, but I think these are some of your suspicious items, the kind that when we see them we're supposed to do a really, really thorough search."
"Why, I do believe you're right, Mahmoud. We'll need to pull him and his baggages into that little room over there. Send for the search crew, the barrel of #4 mustache wax, and a #17 truncheon. This is specialized work, this is -- could take hours."
"If you would just quietly walk this way, sir. I'm sure we'll have this little misunderstanding cleared up in a jiffy."
Rustawi Tomo Kabul, 63, was detained on Saturday in transit at Brunei airport after arriving from Indonesia, and claimed to be going on pilgrimage with a group from his home country, the foreign ministry in Jakarta said.

"The man was detained because of suspicious things found in his luggage, such as bullets and what looked similar to an ISIS flag," said foreign ministry front man Arrmanatha Nasir, using an alternative name for IS.

Indonesian newspaper Kompas reported that he was also carrying explosives.

Police were cited in the paper as saying that it was not clear how Kabul, from East Java, managed to pass undetected through airport security in Indonesia.
I'm sure several well-placed, mid-size bribes had nothing to do with it.
Kabul was initially detained with two others, who were subsequently released and allowed to continue their journey, foreign ministry official Lalu Muhamad Iqbal said.

The Indonesian is due to appear in court on May 11, he added.
That's fast.
Hundreds of Indonesians are feared to have headed to the Middle East to join IS, which has captured vast swathes of land in Iraq and Syria.

Indonesia is the world's most populous Moslem-majority country and has long struggled with extremism, although most Indonesians practice a moderate form of Islam.
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/08/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Five Abu Sayyaf militants killed in kidnap attempt
[Gulf Today] At least five Abu Sayyaf militants were slain in an aborted attempt to kidnap a businesswoman on the island province of Sulu.

Senior Inspector Annidul Sali said the five militants were killed in separate encounters during the rescue of businesswoman Guankin Lim Maujan in Siasi, Sulu, on Tuesday. He credited close cooperation between the police, military and village militiamen resulted in the rescue of Maujan who was injured during the operation.

One of the suspects was killed when Maujan's bodyguards tried to stop the abduction from her home in Siasi on Tuesday. Another suspect was killed the next day in the pursuit operations launched by security forces. On Thursday, three more Abu Sayyaf militants were killed by militiamen when they tried to flee with Maujan aboard a pump boat in Parang.
An Nahar adds this bit of background information:
The Abu Sayyaf is a loose band of gunmen founded in the late 1990s with seed money from Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaida network. The group is notorious for kidnap-for-ransom activities that target mostly foreign tourists. It is also blamed for the worst terror attack in the country, the 2004 firebombing of a ferry off Manila Bay that killed more than 100 people.
Posted by: ryuge || 05/08/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Abu Sayyaf


Three Philippine soldiers killed in clash with NPA
[Sun Star] Three Philippine soldiers were killed and seven others injured in an encounter with members of the New People's Army in Davao City on Wednesday. Military spokesmen said the troops and militants from the NPA's Pulang Bagani Command Southern Mindanao Regional Committee fought for 45 minutes in the Calinan district.
Posted by: ryuge || 05/08/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Commies


Army condemns brutal slaying of Thai couple
[Bangkok Post] Thai officials today condemned the killing of a couple who were slain when gunmen opened fire on their vehicle and set it ablaze. Army units are looking for the murderers who shot Sanphet Kanchanathep and his wife Nopparat while they were returning to their home in Yala province Wednesday afternoon.

Duty officer Bundhit Sada said that as the couple's truck was passing through Bannang Sata district gunmen ambushed them, killing both. The attackers dragged their bodies out of the truck, set them on fire and fled.
Posted by: ryuge || 05/08/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Thai Insurgency


Sri Lanka
Syrian Army, Lebanese Resistance Totally Control Assal Al-Ward Barrens
[ALMANAR.LB] Syrian army and the Lebanese resistance
...that'd be Hizb'allah...
have launched an operation against the terrorist forces of Evil in Assal al-Ward barrens in al-Qalamoun.

The Syrian army and the Lebanese resistance fighters controlled al-Qarna height which consists of three hills the forces of Evil were using as hideouts, sources told al-Manar.Syrian army

The sources reported collapse within the ranks of the terrorists, noting that dozens of them were killed and injured.

The Syrian army and the Lebanese resistance totally control an area of 45 km of Assal al-Ward barrens, the sources said.

The Syrian army have been engaged in several military operations across Syria to cleanse the country from the foreign-backed Takfiri
...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who must be killed...
forces of Evil who have been since the year of 2011 commiting crims against Syrian civilians and soldiers.
An Nahar, being a Lebanese news site, sees it through a different filter:
Hizbullah
...Party of God, a Leb militia inspired, founded, funded and directed by Iran. Hizbullah refers to itself as The Resistance and purports to defend Leb against Israel, with whom it has started and lost one disastrous war to date, though it did claim victory...
backed by Syrian forces controlled on Thursday strategic heights in the Syrian region of Qalamoun that abuts Leb's eastern border, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The control of the area on the outskirts of Assal al-Wared came following heavy festivities with al-Qaeda linked al-Nusra
...formally Jabhat an-Nusrah li-Ahli sh-Sham (Support Front for the People of the Levant), also known as al-Qaeda in the Levant. They aim to establish a pan-Arab caliphate. Not the same one as the Islamic State, though .. ...
Front, it said in a statement.

The battles were accompanied by heavy shelling by Syrian warplanes.

The Britannia-based Observatory stressed that there were casualties from both sides.
Posted by: Fred || 05/08/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Pentagon confirms US has begun training Syrians to battle ISIS
Defense Secretary Ash Carter said on Thursday that US military troops have begun training a small, company-sized group of Syrian fighters to battle Islamic State militants who have overrun parts of Syria and Iraq.
Fishing for moderates continues.
Carter told a news conference a second company-sized group of Syrian fighters would begin training soon. The Pentagon chief said the company-sized unit that already has started training has about 90 personnel.
First they trained Syrian Sunnis Freedom fighters to fight against Alawis & Christians bloody tyrant Assad---and got ISIS. Now they're training the same Sunnis to fight ISIS? What would Einstein say?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 05/08/2015 01:50 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Training and arming one group of Sunnis, while bombing another group of Sunnis.

PC madness in an ethnic/religious war.
Posted by: phil_b || 05/08/2015 3:53 Comments || Top||

#2  The 'cunning plan' must be to bomb more radical Sunnis into being less radical.

Words fail me at the utter stupidity of this.
Posted by: phil_b || 05/08/2015 3:58 Comments || Top||

#3  This will end well.
Posted by: DarthVader || 05/08/2015 9:47 Comments || Top||

#4  I guess they figure they'll make sure at least one set of bad guys controls Syria when the dust settles.
Posted by: rjschwarz || 05/08/2015 14:35 Comments || Top||

#5  This will end well.

Really...What could go wrong?
Posted by: tu3031 || 05/08/2015 15:08 Comments || Top||

#6  Neither side can win. They both have to destroy themselves in a Mexican standoff. That is the only way civilization can win.

Unfortunately, when you declare yourself puppet master, and the only knots you can tie on your strings is a slip knot, you are bound to create a clusterf**k.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 05/08/2015 17:16 Comments || Top||


Vital facilities are main targets for Syrian conflicting parties
Urfa, Turkey – The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) documented the destruction of dozens of public buildings and vital facilities in major areas of Syria by the various warring parties in April.

The Syrian regime has the lion’s share of the facilities’ destruction across Syria, according to the network.

In a report published on Thursday, the network documented in April the destruction of 94 key facilities in Syria, 82 of them have been destroyed by Syrian regime forces, three facilities were demolished by the Islamic State group (IS/ISIS), and nine others by the armed opposition factions.

The report revealed the destruction of 23 religious places, 19 medical facilities, 15 schools, 15 hospitals, 10 markets, four service facilities, three vital facilities, two bakeries, one civil defense center, one fire truck, and one public facility during April of 2015, pointing to the absence of military headquarters from the report, whether before or during the attacks.

Speaking to ARA News, Syrian attorney Farid Hisso pointed out that major conflicting parties in Syria share the same mentality in terms of targeting facilities and vital infrastructure in the ongoing war.
Posted by: badanov || 05/08/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


ISIS calls on pro-Assad soldiers trapped in military airport to surrender
Aleppo, Syria – The Islamic State group (IS/ISIS) announced Thursday morning an amnesty for the pro-regime soldiers trapped in the Kwairis military airport in the eastern countryside of Aleppo, in case they surrender.

At least 1800 Syrian soldiers are trapped inside the Kwairis airport.

The group called on the pro-regime soldiers trapped in the military airport to “take a lesson” from the soldiers who were arrested during the battles of the military airport of Tabqa in Raqqa province last year –most of whom have been summarily executed.

The group delivered three phone numbers to the trapped soldiers so that they can communicate with the IS militants in case they agreed to surrender.

Speaking to ARA News, field sources close to Kwairis military airport said that the regime forces moved hundreds of its members from the airport and transferred them to Neirab military airport in the city of Aleppo following Islamists’ fierce attacks on Kwairis.
Posted by: badanov || 05/08/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Isn't ISIS the ones who always execute POWs?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 05/08/2015 15:21 Comments || Top||

#2  Correct me iff I'm wrong, but I thought I'd read that Baby Assad's Boyz had launched a successful relief expedition + had gotten these soldiers out???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 05/08/2015 21:48 Comments || Top||


Syrian regime conducts new security measures in Damascus
Damascus, Syria – On Thursday, Syrian security forces at checkpoints in Damascus started inspecting civilians’ identities and electronic devices, activists reported.

Pro-regime security checkpoints near Shamdin Square of Rukn al-Din district in central Damascus searched hundreds civilians on Thursday, demanding identity cards to be tested by footprint laser scanner, showing their security files.

The checkpoints’ security members were also inspecting mobile phones of passers by, checking their contacts and messages, asking them in some cases for disclosing online friends on their personal accounts of social media.

Speaking to ARA News in Damascus, media activist Suha al-Shami said that the regime-led inspection began in several neighborhoods of Damascus earlier this week, but it increased following the suicide bomb attacks hit Rukn al-Din two days ago.

“This may be another tactic by the regime’s authorities to put pressure on young people in order to join the armed forces or the so-called national defense militias,” she argued.

Al-Shami considered that the authorities and military forces “crack down on people and intimidate them”.
Posted by: badanov || 05/08/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Assad forces attack Red Crescent convoy in Douma, volunteer killed
[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] Syrian regime forces on Wednesday targeted vehicles of Syrian Arab Red Islamic Thingy during a humanitarian mission to deliver medical aid to their center in the rebel-held city of Douma north of Damascus.

One female volunteer has been killed, the veteran association said in statement. Israa al-Habash, 19-year-old, was killed by the mortar fire of Syrian forces that targeted 3 vehicles loaded by parcels of medical and humanitarian aid.
Posted by: Fred || 05/08/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


ISIS car bomb kills, wounds 30 PYD fighters west of Hasakah
[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] At least 30 Kurdish snuffies on Wednesday have been killed when a jacket wallah affiliated 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....
detonated his car in PYD bases in northern city of Hasakah, Zaman al-Wasl news hound said.

ISIS' boom-mobile stormed one of Kurdish Democratic Union's bases in al-Kallasa neighborhood west of the city, the news hound said.

Ahmad al-Adwan, local activist, told Zaman al-Wasl, that ISIS suicide bombers have played the key role in battles of the hardline group against Kurdish militias.

Also, 4 non-combatants were killed in ISIS' mortar fire on the al-Salihiya, Tal Hajr and al-Mufti neighborhoods in Hasakah.

In their turn, PYD fighters, who control northern countryside of Hasakah, have captured three villages were under ISIS control south of Ras al Ayin town.
Posted by: Fred || 05/08/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Eastern Ghouta rebels release 3 hostages including mother and son
[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] Salafist tough guys in Eastern Ghouta district near Damascus have released three hostages, including mother and son, after 17 months of captivity, rebel group and Husband said.

On Wednesday, the Islamic Union of Ajnad al-Sham active, in statement posted online, said the release of Helena Nasr, Sarjon Khieu and Amjad Daoud was "In response to the mediation of (veteran journalist at Al Jazeera) Dr. Faisal Kasim, Mr. Maher Sharaf al-Din and after long tours with the (Bashar) al-Assad regime and the intervention of several international parties."

Helena and her son Sarjon were taken captive in January 2014 when Salafist tough guys overrun Adra al-Ommaliya city north of Damascus.

Husband and prominent Journalist Fawaz Khieu said he did not meet his wife and son yet because Syrian regime security is still interrogating them.

Al-Ajnad said the hostages had been handed to the head of Syrian Arab Red Islamic Thingy on Wednesday during a humanitarian mission to deliver medical aid to their center in the rebel-held city of Douma north of Damascus.
Posted by: Fred || 05/08/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Dozens of Hezbollah fighters killed by Fatah Army in Qalamoun
[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] Army of Fatah in Qalamoun on Wednesday has killed more than 40 Hezbollah fighters, including two senior commanders, near the Lebanese border, rebel Twitter feeds said.

The newly alliance led by Syria's al-Qaeda wing, the Nusra Front, has inflicted humiliating defeats on Bashir al-Assad froces and its allied Lebanese militia Hezbollah in Assal al-Ward and Jibba near the northeastern border town of Arsal, field sources said.

Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV claimed that dozens of Islamist hard boyz killed and maimed in a Syrian army attack Thursday near the border with Leb, according to The Daily Star.

A Hezbollah attack in the Syrian Qalamoun border region killed three Islamist commanders Wednesday, also according to the Hezbollah channel.

Wednesday's attack comes one day after a Hezbollah ambush on a Nusra convoy which killed at least 15 fighters on the outskirts of the Lebanese border enclave of Tfail, a security source told The Daily Star.

Early this week, Nusra has deployed thousands of fighters who fanned out in areas near the Lebanese border. The fighters took up positions overlooking Hezbollah and Syrian army outposts in the towns of Wadi Barada, Al-Kfeir, Zabadani, Serghaya and Hreira.

Activists said on Tuesday that Hezbollah field commander, Ali Khalil al-Alayan, has been killed in Qalamoun battles.

Meanwhile,
...back at the hoedown, the fiddler suddenly struck a sour note. The dancing stopped abruptly. Everyone looked at Bob...
former Prime Minister Saad Hariri
Second son of Rafik Hariri, the Leb PM who was assassinated in 2005. He has was prime minister in his own right from 2009 through early 2011. He was born in Riyadh to an Iraqi mother and graduated from Georgetown University. He managed his father's business interests in Riyadh until his father's assassination. When his father died he inherited a fortune of some $4.1 billion, which won't do him much good if Hizbullah has him bumped off, too.
attacked Hezbollah over its preparations for an anticipated large-scale battle in Qalamoun region against Nusra-led rebels, saying the fight is meant to protect the Syrian government, and not Leb, The Daily Star reported.
Posted by: Fred || 05/08/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Nusra

#1  nice
Posted by: Frank G || 05/08/2015 14:53 Comments || Top||


Syrian Army Blows ISIL in Suwaida Countryside, Kills 30 Terrorists
[ALMANAR.LB] The Syrian army ambushed ISIL terrorist group in Suwaidaa countryside near Khalediya hill, killing at least 30 bad boys.

Big explosives were detonated when ISIL Lions of Islam were attempting to transport weapons in the area.

The Syrian army and armed forces units continued Thursday combating terrorism in different areas in the country, killing large number of holy warriors in Daraa, Quneitra, Hamah, Idleb, Latakia, Aleppo and Dir Ezzour .
Posted by: Fred || 05/08/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Terror Networks
US-led coalition conduct 18 air strikes against ISIS
[Ynet] The US-led military coalition launched 14 air strikes in Iraq and four in Syria against 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....
hard boyz since early on Wednesday, the Combined Joint Task Force said on Thursday.

The military statement said strikes in Syria near Al Hasakah involved attack and fighter aircraft. It said the strikes in Iraq involved attack, bomber, fighter and drone aircraft and were near Al Huwayjah, Bayji, Fallujah,
... the City of Mosques, which might have somthing to do with why it's not called Center of Prosperity or a really nice place to raise your kids...
Kirkuk,
... a thick stew of Arabs, Turkmen, Kurds, and probably Antarcticans, all of them mutually hostile most of the time...
djinn-infested Mosul
... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn...
, Sinjar and Tal Afar.
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/08/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State



Who's in the News
37[untagged]
10Islamic State
3Govt of Pakistan
3Govt of Syria
2Houthis
2Govt of Iran
2Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis
1Al-Muhajiroun
1Govt of Saudi Arabia
1Thai Insurgency
1Abu Sayyaf
1Muslim Brotherhood
1Salafists
1Taliban
1al-Qaeda
1al-Nusra
1al-Qaeda in Arabia
1Commies

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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.
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In no particular order...
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Two weeks of WOT
Fri 2015-05-08
  ISIS controls 80% of Baiji refinery in Salahuddin
Thu 2015-05-07
  Fighting continues in Benghazi despite fall of Mreisa
Wed 2015-05-06
  Hezbollah Brigades in Iraq repel a major ISIS attack southeast of Fallujah
Tue 2015-05-05
  Troops Kill 28 Suspected Militants in Central Nigeria
Mon 2015-05-04
  3 Shot, 2 dead a '€˜Muhammad Art, Cartoon Contest' in Texas
Sun 2015-05-03
  40 Person Mob Assaults 2 Jews on Paris’ Boulevard Voltaire
Sat 2015-05-02
  Saudi Air Raids Kill Dozens of Yemenis
Fri 2015-05-01
  Largest Iraqi Refinery Under Seige
Thu 2015-04-30
   Iraqi forces make hard gains in rough Ramadi
Wed 2015-04-29
  Houthis, tribesmen battle in central Yemen, at least 15 dead
Tue 2015-04-28
  Saudi Arabia Arrests 93 Jihadists, Says Attacks Foiled
Mon 2015-04-27
  Isis Leader Baghdadi Is Reportedly 'Unable To Move' After A Spinal Injury
Sun 2015-04-26
  Mpls. Man Charged with Making Threats in Islamic State Group Case
Sat 2015-04-25
  Italy arrests suspected bin Laden bodyguards, Peshawar bombers
Fri 2015-04-24
  Italian police arrest 18 in AQ plot to attack Vatican

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