At least 33 anti-government armed militants were killed in the latest air and ground offensives of the Afghan security forces.
The Ministry of Defense (MoD) said at least 16 militants were also wounded and 9 suspects were arrested by the security forces.
A statement by MoD said at least 4 of the militants were killed in the outskirts of Kunduz city where 3 militants were also wounded and 9 others were detained.
The statement further added that 13 militants were killed in a separate raid in the center of Ghazni province and at least 13 others were wounded.
According to MoD, at least 8 soldiers of the Afghan National Army (ANA) forces also lost their lives during the same operations.
The anti-government armed militant groups have not commented regarding the reports so far.
This comes as the Afghan security forces have stepped up counter-terrorism operations to suppress the anti-government armed militant groups.
The increase in offensives follow amid concerns that the militant groups are preparing to stage more attacks across the country as the security officials predict the militant groups will pursue violence in the summer.
[Iran Press TV] At least 12 people have bit the dust and dozens sustained injuries in a bombing attack in eastern Afghanistan, officials say.
The attack took place when a bomber stormed a bus which was carrying Afghan army recruits in the quiet provincial capital of Jalalabad in 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 on Monday.
"In the attack, 12 army recruits were killed and 38 others were maimed," said Attaullah Khogyani, the front man for Nangarhar province.
Afghanistan's Defense Ministry front man General Dawlat Waziri confirmed the incident and the corpse count, saying the attacker struck the bus while riding a motorized tricycle.
"The recruits were being transferred from Jalalabad to Kabul ...the capital of Afghanistan. Home to continuous fighting from 1992 to 1996 between the forces of would-be strongman and Pak ISI/Jamaat-e-Islami sock puppet Gulbuddin Hekmayar and the Northern Alliance, a period which won Hek the title Most Evil Man in the World and didn't do much for the reputations of the Northern Alliance guys either.... ," said Waziri, putting the number of injured at 26.
The head of a regional hospital in the province, however, put the corpse count at 13.
Taliban front man Zabiullah Mujahid grabbed credit for the attack on his Twitter page.
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04/12/2016 00:00 ||
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Four Libyan oilfields have closed and employees in a fifth are striking over fears of attacks from ISIS, a military source and media said Monday.
"Four oilfields were evacuated in the oil basin in Merada", 800 kilometres (500 miles) southeast of 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... , the military source said.
The Bayda, Tibisti, Samah and Waha oilfields were evacuated on Saturday, according to the LANA news agency close to the internationally recognised parliament in the country’s east.
The evacuation came after "the collapse of security and low daily production rate due to difficult security conditions", said the source, who is part of a brigade protecting the oilfields that is loyal to the recognised parliament.
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This evening the Air Force said that it had sunk a vessel off the coast near Ganfouda, bringing arms and reinforcements to terrorist fighters. The army has continued to attack the Ganfouda tourist village, scene of its heavy assault yesterday, while the terrorists have rocketed civilian areas.
However it appears that the initial momentum of the army assault has slowed in the face of stubborn resistance. There was an air strike on the district earlier today. In addition, at least one attack by a helicopter gunship was seen taking place on the isolated IS and Ansar Al-Sharia enclave of Sabri, but no sign of any attempted advance by army units.
Meanwhile militants have launched rocket barrages from Hawari to the south of the city. Missiles stuck several properties in the Benina district, causing extensive damage. It is not yet clear if there were any casualties.
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04/12/2016 00:00 ||
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[217.218.67.231] Six Turkish crew members of a fat merchantman have been kidnapped by pirates off the coast of Nigeria.
The pirates attacked the Turkish vessel, named the M/T Puli, in the early hours of Monday while it was reportedly carrying chemicals from Gabon to Ivory Coast through the oil-rich Niger Delta.
"All the six Turkish crew members, including the captain of the vessel, the chief officer and the chief engineer, were kidnapped by the attackers," Nigerian Navy front man Chris Ezekobe told AFP.
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04/12/2016 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] Fighting broke out in north of Yemen’s capital and in the centre of the country on Sunday, killing more than 20 people, hours before a planned halt to the fighting aimed at facilitating talks to end the year-long war.
Yemen’s government and its Iran-allied Houthi ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews ... rebels are supposed to implement the UN-backed "cessation of hostilities" from midnight (2100 GMT) before peace negotiations begin in Kuwait on April 18.
The United Nations ...an idea whose time has gone... hopes this will lead to a more concrete, formal ceasefire with peace-building steps.
The war has killed more than 6,200 people, drawn in 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... and Iran and tipped one of the Arab world’s poorest countries into a humanitarian crisis.
But hours before the planned halt in fighting, heavy battles flared between forces loyal to Yemen’s President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and Houthi fighters in al-Maton, a town north of the capital Sanaa, killing and wounding several fighters, local residents said, without giving precise figures.
In the central Bayda province, battles between the rival forces in al-Sawadiya and al-Zaher districts killed more than 20 people, local officials and residents said, and fighting continued in the southwestern city of Taiz.
Mr Hadi, whose forces are backed by a Saudi-led military coalition which has been carrying out Arclight airstrikes on 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... for the past year, met his advisers in Riyadh on Sunday to discuss the impending halt in fighting, Yemeni officials said.
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04/12/2016 00:00 ||
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The key word here is readiness...
A truce brokered by the United Nations went into effect in Yemen, with revolutionary movement, Ansarullah, stressed its commitment to ceasefire.
The ceasefire came into effect on Sunday at 11:59 p.m. after Ansarullah and the exiled government, which is backed by Saudi Arabia, agreed o a truce ahead of a planned resumption of peace talks in Kuwait on April 19.
For its part, Ansarullah assured it will abide by the UN-brokered ceasefire.
“Following discussions with the UN in the recent days, we handed late on Saturday our letter to (UN Yemen envoy) Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, in which we agreed to the ceasefire and we voice our readiness to abide by it,” Yemeni news agency, Sabaa, quoted Ansarullah source as saying.
The source meanwhile hoped that the other side will be committed to the ceasefire.
[FRANCE24] Two turbans were killed and a third went kaboom! in an attempt to attack a cop shoppe in southern Russia on Monday, police said, adding that no coppers or civilians were hurt.
The identity of the turbans who attacked the cop shoppe in the town of Novoselitskoye in the Stavropol region was not yet clear.
The Stavropol region is close to the North Caucasus, where an Islamic insurgency has simmered for years. In Dagestan ...a formerly inoffensive Caucasus republic currently bedevilled by low-level Islamic insurgency, occasional outbreaks of separatism, ethnic tensions and terrorism, primarily due to its proximity to Chechnya. There are several dozen ethnic groups, most of which speak either Caucasian, Turkic, or Iranian languages. Largest among these ethnic groups are the Avar, Dargin, Kumyk, Lezgin, and Laks. While Russers form less than five percent of the population, Russian remains the primary official language and the lingua franca... , the center of the insurgency, many of the bombings and attacks have targeted police and other officials.
Dagestan also has proved to be a fertile recruiting ground for the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... group, with hundreds estimated to have traveled to Syria to join IS forces there.
The attack could raise security concerns for the 2018 World Cup, since the Stavropol region will host four training bases for national soccer teams competing in the tournament. The bases are all about 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the site of Monday's attack.
The turbans set off explosives when they tried to break into the cop shoppe, Russia's counter-terrorist agency said. Russian news reports said the blasts damaged the building and vehicles parked outside.
Schools and day care centers In Novoselitskoye were evacuated, as well as the local hospital, with the exception of 14 seriously ill patients and medical personnel. In a possible indication that law enforcement agencies fear more attacks, security was stepped up at schools, day care centers and hospitals in the Stavropol region, the Interfax news agency reported, citing the governor.
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[AnNahar] A citizen's arrest of three illegal migrants colonists sparked controversy in Bulgaria on Monday, with rights groups protesting while the government refrained from condemning the practice.
Amateur video footage broadcast on several Bulgarian televisions and in social media showed three men lying on the ground, their hands tied behind their backs as someone shouts: "Go back to The Sick Man of Europe Turkey!" ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... Border police who arrived at the scene found the three unhurt and with their hands free.
Such arrests have happened increasingly in recent weeks, targeting migrants colonists arriving through the border with Turkey in a move denounced by the Bulgarian branch of the Helsinki Committee (BHC) rights group.
"These images (show) the most brutal citizen's arrest so far in Bulgaria. The prosecution must open a probe immediately," BHC president Krasimir Kanev said, warning that a failure to act by the authorities would only encourage such acts.
But the authorities' reaction has been ambiguous.
"This is.. illegal," border police chief Antonio Angelov told private bTV television in comments a week after he handed out certificates of appreciation to another vigilante group for intercepting some 20 migrants colonists near the border with Turkey.
Prime Minister Boyko Borisov also expressed his thanks to the group's leader in a telephone call. "The state belongs to all of us, whoever wants to help (protecting it) is welcome," he said on Monday.
But the BHC denounced such rewards as "unacceptable", warning that Bulgaria risked turning "into a cradle of Balkan fascism ...a political system developed in Italy symbolized by the Roman fasces -- thin reeds, each flimsy in itself but unbreakable when bound into a bundle. The word is nowadays thrown around by all sorts of people who have no idea what they're talking about... Bulgaria, which has so far remained on the sidelines of Europe's worst migration crisis since World War II, is concerned that the closure of the western Balkans migrant route could see increasing numbers of people trying to cross its territory.
To prevent an influx, it has sped up construction of a 132-kilometre (82-mile) fence along the Turkish border and holds regular army and border police training sessions along the frontier in a show of force.
According to a survey published last week, 60 percent of Bulgarians see migrants colonists as "a threat to national security" and 51 percent would not like to work with or live next door to a migrant in a country which is the poorest in the EU.
11/04/2016 – Turkey-Bulgaria Border – Bulgarians Deploy 300 More Troops to Frontier
Following a vote in the Bulgarian parliament in Feburary giving soldiers policing powers along the Turkish border -- effectively declaring martial law in the area -- the Bulgarian prime minister has announced 300 more troops will be deployed.
Remarking that up to 100 migrants colonists are captured every night just coming over the Serbian border, PM Boyko Borisov said the government was going everything possible to keep illegals out, reports Novinite.
The German Interior Ministry has revealed that last year 5,835 refugee children, of which 555 were younger than 14, were reported as missing in that country reports TheLocal.
"The missing, unaccompanied, underage refugee children came mainly from Afghanistan, Syria, Eritrea ...is run by the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), with about the amounts of democracy and justice you'd expect from a party with that name. National elections have been periodically scheduled and cancelled; none have ever been held in the country. The president, Isaias Afewerki, has been in office since independence in 1993 and will probably die there of old age... , Morocco and Algeria," the Ministry said.
The Federal Criminal Police Office has previously said missing children do turn up -- 8,006 was the original number of lost reported -- and numbers can be distorted when a child is reported missing in multiple places, or with slightly different personal details.
One of the biggest concerns about the missing children who are not found to be living with relatives is that they are susceptible to organised crime -- including human trafficking, forced prostitution and exploitation.
Breitbart London previously reported that Europol, the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... ’s police agency, said over 10,000 child migrants colonists went missing across Europe last year after registering with state authorities in several countries.
[AnNahar] Germany put a 33-year-old Moroccan on trial for sexual assault Monday, the first man accused over a spate of such attacks at New Year's celebrations that shocked the country.
The defendant, who entered the Duesseldorf courtroom hiding his face under a blue jacket, allegedly groped a woman while he and some 15 to 20 other men encircled and also assaulted her.
The 18-year-old woman said she later identified the defendant from unrelated television footage screened in a "Spiegel TV" news reportage on pickpockets in the city of Duesseldorf.
The court heard that the Moroccan man accused of attacking the woman in Duesseldorf also faces separate unspecified assault and property damage charges, and has four previous theft convictions.
Germany was appalled by the wave of sexual assaults and other crimes targeting women on New Year's Eve, mainly in Cologne ...a lovely city in Germany. They invented perfume there... but also in several other cities including Duesseldorf, where police received 118 criminal complaints.
The Cologne attacks in particular -- committed in a crowd of mostly North African men, according to witnesses -- heightened public fears about a mass influx of refugees and migrants colonists.
Right-wing populist groups protested against "rape-fugees" and "sex-jihadists" while condemning the arrival of more than one million asylum seekers last year, the majority from war-torn Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.
The court heard that the Moroccan man accused of attacking the woman in Duesseldorf also faces separate unspecified assault and property damage charges, and has four previous theft convictions.
The man had entered Germany in April 2014 when he filed a request for political asylum which was later rejected, but continued to stay in a shelter for asylum seekers, she said.
"The injured party has said that she was watching a television report in which the defendant gave an interview about a different matter," said Prosecutor Laura De Bruyn. "She clearly recognized him as the perpetrator and decided to file charges."
#1
One of the biggest concerns about the missing children who are not found to be living with relatives is that they are susceptible to organized crime - including human trafficking, forced prostitution and exploitation.
So let them into your country, feed them, clothe them, and in a few years, they can exploit you and your children!
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04/12/2016 7:58 Comments ||
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[217.218.67.231] As The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... continues to aid 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, some 10,000 Death Eaters of the 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... terrorist group have converged around Syria’s northwestern province of Aleppo, says Russia's General Staff.
"Despite progress achieved in securing a ceasefire, Turkey continues to funnel men and arms to al-Nusra Front," said Lieutenant General Sergey Rudskoy, the head of the Main Operative Department of the Russian General Staff, on Monday.
On February 27, a US- and Russia-sponsored ceasefire was brokered between the Syrian government and dozens of krazed killer groups operating in the country. ISIS and al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra are excluded from the truce.
"Al-Nusra’s men and materiel are being allowed to pass through areas that the US has designated as being controlled by the opposition," he added while noting that Russia has on multiple occasions called on the US to aid in limiting al-Nusra’s operations.
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] The Turkish army on Monday shelled sites in northern Syria in response to cross-border rocket fire that hit a Turkish town and maimed several people, a government official said.
Artillery from Syria maimed at least four people in the border town of Kilis, security sources said. Media put the figure at five maimed.
More than one rocket is believed to have been fired from Syria, landing in Kilis' town center near an emergency services building, the government official said. Turkish howitzers then hit targets in Syria, the official said.
It was not immediately clear whether the rockets had come from Syrian territory controlled by ISIS.
Kilis, which is home to large numbers of Syrian refugees, has suffered repeatedly from cross-border shelling. Last week, the Turkish military fired on ISIS targets in northern Syria in retaliation for a cross-border artillery attack that hit Kilis and maimed three people.
The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... 's army has launched artillery strikes on positions 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 Syria after the jihadists recaptured an area near the Turkish border, local media reported Monday.
Turkish artillery fired shells from howitzers positioned on its border region of Kilis against IS targets, the private NTV television reported.
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04/12/2016 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] MINGORA: Awami National Party founded by Abdul Wali Khan in 1986. Part of the PPP-led cabinet 2008-13. The ANP is considered left wing, advocating for secularism, democratic socialism, public sector government, and economic egalitarianism.... (ANP) local leader Syed Jamshaid Ali was rubbed out by unidentified attackers in Manglore area of Swat ...a valley and an administrative district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistain, located 99 mi from Islamabad. It is inhabited mostly by Pashto speakers. The place has gone steadily downhill since the days when Babe Ruth was the Sultan of Swat... on Sunday.
According to police, two faceless myrmidons approached Jamshaid Ali when he was present at the site of an under-construction school building at Telegram.
"One of the attackers met him and the other opened fire, killing him on the spot," said Manglore Police Station SHO Fayaz Khan.
He said that law-enforcement agencies reached the area after the incident and launched a search operation.
Jamshaid Ali was an active peace activist and had served as nazim ...small time big shot, the chief elected official of a local government in Pakistan, such as a district, tehsil, union council, or village council... of the area thrice. He was also a member ANP’s district and provincial councils.
Reacting to the incident, ANP district president Sher Shah Khan said that Jamshaid Ali was an active peace volunteer and after a full-fledged military operation, occurrence of such an incident raised questions on the efficacy of the operation in the area.
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04/12/2016 00:00 ||
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[ARA News] ERBIL ــ Militant fighters of the Islamic State (ISIS) have reportedly destroyed another archaeological icon in the Iraqi city of Mosul, using military equipment, local sources reported on Tuesday.
Local activists confirmed that ISIS demolished the Gate of God [Eia] which dates back to the 7th century BC, the time of the Assyrian king Sennacherib.
Speaking to ARA News in Mosul, media activist Zuheir Mousilly said that since its control over the city of Mosul in 2014, ISIS have destroyed much of Iraqi historic sites and monuments, including the Assyrian city of Nimrud, the Winged Bulls, and the Mosul National Museum, after stealing the removable pieces for smuggling.
The expert on the Iraqi Antiquities Affairs Yasser Hatami condemned the destruction of the historic gate “Mishqi”, blaming Iraqi authorities for the incident for their inability to protect it [Mishqi gate].
The historic Mishqi gate, which was discovered in 1968, is considered one of the ancient gates in eastern Nineveh province.
“ISIS views tombs they destroy as sacrilegious and a return to paganism,” Syrian antiquities chief Abdul Maamoun Abdulkarim told ARA News in an earlier report.
Last year, ISIS extremists bombed the renowned Yezidi ancient minaret of the Shingal district (120 km west of the city of Mosul), in northern Iraq.
In April, 2015, the terror group blew up the church of Virgin Mary in the Assyrian village of Tel Nasri near the town of Tel Temir (50 km west of Hasakah) in northeastern Syria.
Also, the radical group blew up two monuments in the ancient city of Palmyra in central Syria in June, 2015, according to local sources.
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#1
When the Taliban destroyed the Buddhas of Bamiyan in 2001, people tut-tutted. But few cared to visit antiquities in Afghanistan. The pace of destruction may have slowed during the period of the much-hated Bush, but has accelerated under the regime of The Lightbringer and Nobel peace prize winner.
Secretary Kerry - prepare another strongly-worded letter!
Posted by: Bobby ||
04/12/2016 7:41 Comments ||
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(IraqiNews.com) Kirkuk – A source in al-Hashd al-Turkmani announced on Sunday, that the commander of al-Abbas brigade was killed in a suicide bombing during the ongoing liberation operations of Kasabet al-Bashir area in southern Kirkuk.
The source said in a statement obtained by IraqiNews.com, “The commander of al-Abbas brigade Abu Ahmed al-Badri was killed in a suicide bombing in the village of Albu Moufarej in western Kasabet al-Bashir, during the advance of al-Hashd al-Shaabi forces to liberate the area in southern Kirkuk.”
Noteworthy, al-Hashd al-Turkmani and the forces from al-Abbas brigade had carried out an operation to cleanse the areas of Tel Ahmed and al-Azba in southern Kirkuk, and raised the Iraqi flag over these areas.
(IraqiNews.com) Kirkuk – A source in al-Hashd al-Turkmani announced on Sunday, that more than 134 members of ISIS and al-Hashd al-Shaabi were either killed or wounded during the cleansing battles of Kasabet al-Bashir area in southern Kirkuk.
The source said in a statement obtained by IraqiNews.com, “The cleansing battles of Kasabet al-Bashir area resulted in the killing of 40 ISIS fighters and wounding of more than 25 others,” pointing out that, “The clashes between ISIS and al-Hashd al-Shaabi forces led to the killing of nine members of al-Hashd al-Shaabi and injury of 60 others.”
The source, who requested anonymity, added, “The forces from al-Hashd al-Shaabi managed to liberate the villages of Albu Moufarej and al-Mazraa west of Kasabet al-Bashir,” indicating that, “The Army Aviation managed to destroy three booby-trapped vehicles driven by suicide bombers.”
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(IraqiNews.com) Anbar – The leadership of al-Hashd al-Shaabi in Anbar Province announced on Monday, that the security forces need only 72 hours to cleanse Karma District, while pointed out to the readiness of al-Hashd al-Shaabi and security forces to destroy ISIS defense lines in some areas of the district.
The commander of the 1st regiment in Karmet Fallujah brigade, Col. Mahmoud Mardi Jumaili, said in a press statement received by IraqiNews.com, “The security forces are ready to liberate al-karma areas, and we only need 72 hours to completely liberate and cleanse al-Karma from ISIS gangs.”
Jumaili added, “The security forces from the army, police and al-Hashd al-Shaabi are ready to liberate the remaining parts of al-Karma, as well as destroying the defense lines of the terrorist organization.”
(IraqiNews.com) al-Anbar – A local source in al-Rutba District in Anbar province said on Monday, that violent clashes erupted between ISIS elements in the district of al-Rutba west of the city of Ramadi.
The source reported for IraqiNews.com, “Some ISIS elements tried to escape from the district of al-Rutba (310 km west of Ramadi), resulting in the outbreak of armed clashes between them and other elements belonging to the ISIS,” pointing out that, “A number of the ISIS elements were either killed or wounded due to these clashes.”
(IraqiNews.com) The commander of Anbar Operations Command, Maj. Gen. Ismail al-Mahalawi, announced on Monday the cleansing of 15 booby-trapped houses as well as the seizure of a cache of gear west and northwest of Ramadi.
Mahalawi said in a statement obtained by IraqiNews.com, “A force from the engineering force belonging to the army’s 16th Division had managed to seize a cache of gear belonging to the ISIS in the area of the modern village northwest of Ramadi,” noting that, “The cache contained 70 mortar shells and two explosive belts.”
He also added, “A force from the same division was able to cleanse three streets and 15 booby-trapped houses in the area of al-Aramel in the city of Heet west of Ramadi.”
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(IraqiNews.com) Baghdad – A source in the Iraqi police said on Monday, that four soldiers had been injured in a bomb blast that took place in southern Baghdad.
The source said in a statement obtained by IraqiNews.com, “An explosive device that was emplaced on the road side in the area of Arab Jabour, located in southern Baghdad, went off while a patrol belonging to the army was passing in the area, resulting in the injury of four soldiers.”
The source, who asked anonymity, added, “The injured soldiers were taken to a nearby hospital, while a military force launched an inspection operation to find the perpetrators of the bombing.”
1 Iraqi soldier wounded in shooting
(IraqiNews.com) Baghdad – A source in the Iraqi police said on Monday, that a soldier was injured by a militant attack in the area of al-Yusufiyah in southern Baghdad.
The source said in a brief statement obtained by IraqiNews.com, “This afternoon, unidentified militants opened fire against a patrol for the army in the area of al-Yusufiyah in southern Baghdad, resulting in the injury of [one] soldier.”
“The injured soldier was transferred to a nearby hospital, while raid operations were carried out in the vicinity of [al-Yusufiyah] to find the attackers,” the source also added.
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] ISIS has retaken a northern town along Syria’s border with The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... just days after losing it to rebel forces and allied bully boys, Syrian activists said Monday as UN envoy to Syria stressed on the importance of maintaining cessation of hostilities with the Syrian foreign minister.
The Britannia-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Aleppo Today TV station say the ISIS faceless myrmidons captured al-Rai early on Monday morning after intense fighting for the frontier town.
Continued on Page 49
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“Syrian regime’s government forces, with support from Russia, are planning an operation to retake Aleppo and battle a terrorist rebel offensive in the region,” the Syrian regime’s Prime Minister, Wael al Halqi, said on Sunday after a week of clashes.
“We, together with our Russian partners, are readying ourselves for an operation to liberate Aleppo and blockade all illegal armed groups which have not signed up to or are violating a ceasefire,” said Wael al Halqi in a meeting with delegation of visiting Russian lawmakers.
Statements made by Bashar al-Assad’s regime regarding preparations to take over Aleppo coincided with confirmations from Syrians against and pro-regime that the Russian air force has been engaged in the military operations in south of Aleppo since last Saturday.
For his part, Director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdulrahman, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Syrian regime along with its Iranian allies are preparing for a military battle and confirmed that the region is facing the fiercest clashes coinciding with Russian violent bombardments targeting areas where opposition forces and allies are taking over.
Moreover, sources from the Syrian opposition also told Asharq Al-Awsat that armed factions have benefited from the truce to supply themselves with arms and ammunition. He revealed that opposition fighters possessed around 20 Chinese missiles, which they bought from the International Black Market, each costing around 25 thousand dollars.
A member of the main opposition council said the last 10 days had “witnessed a serious deterioration, to the point where the ceasefire is about to collapse.” Basmah Qadamani of the High Negotiations Committee also told “Journal du Dimanche” that a US-Russian ceasefire monitoring mission was “powerless”.
“The government has resumed using barrel bombs,” Basmah Qadamani added, referring to the crude and indiscriminate weapons that observers say have killed thousands of civilians in opposition-held areas.
Politically, the U.N. Envoy to Syria, Staffan Di Mistura arrived to Damascus on Sunday, coming from Amman, in the framework of preparing for Geneva talks that will resume on Wednesday.
De Mistura has said the next round of talks needs to “be quite concrete in the direction of a political process leading to a real beginning of a political transition”.
He is scheduled to meet with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the regime, Walid Muallem and Russian Ambassador in Damascus.
On the other hand, the Syrian National Coalition’s envoy to Paris and the opposition’s spokesman, told Asharq Al-Awsat” we are not optimistic about the coming round of talks.”
He also said that there is one major request in the coalition’s agenda, which is the formation of a transitional ruling body with full powers.
In a common matter, “U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke by phone on the need for greater cooperation to strengthen the truce,” Reuters quoted Russia’s Foreign Ministry.
They also discussed efforts to fight ISIS and other terrorist organizations, agreeing to take additional measures to halt the flow of militants and weapons from abroad, the ministry said.
Posted by: badanov ||
04/12/2016 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
#1
we are now in the 4th year of a multi sided Aleppo battle
thousands of combatant have died, hundreds of thousand of civilians have been displaced
no end in sight
Posted by: lord garth ||
04/12/2016 6:57 Comments ||
Top||
#2
"Launches" is different than "planning", "readying ourselves" and "preparations".
BEIRUT: At least 24 Daesh terrorists and eight civilians were killed in airstrikes Sunday on Syria's Raqa, the de facto capital of the militant movement, a monitor said.
It was unclear whether the raids were carried out by Syrian, Russian or US-led coalition warplanes, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
"At least 24 Daesh members, among them three commanders, as well as eight civilians were killed in airstrikes," Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said.
"We do not know whether the warplanes were from the US-led coalition, the Syrian regime or Russia," he added.
Also on Sunday, a monitor said clashes around Aleppo have killed at least 16 pro-regime militants and 19 members of Al-Qaeda's affiliate and allied rebel groups within a 24-hour period.
"Fierce fighting raged past midnight on several fronts in the south of Aleppo province," said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
"Shelling and fighting in the past 24 hours has left 19 Syrian and non-Syrian members of Al-Nusra dead... while 16 pro-regime militants were also killed," the Observatory said, adding that one of the rebels had blown himself up.
A truce brokered by the United States and Russia, which back opposing sides in Syria's war, does not apply to the fight against militants.
Across much of Syria, the Feb. 27 truce has largely held. In areas where Al-Nusra fights alongside allied rebel groups, violence has been frequent in spite of the ceasefire.
Around Aleppo in particular, "the ceasefire has all but collapsed on the main front lines," Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said.
"Al-Nusra, Ahrar Al-Sham and their allies are pushing an offensive to take back turf seized around Aleppo by the regime before the truce came into force," he told AFP.
The civilian death toll has dropped as air raids and barrel bomb strikes by the regime on residential areas have all but ceased, Abdel Rahman said.
"The violence around front lines has by no means stopped," he added.
Posted by: badanov ||
04/12/2016 00:00 ||
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Like a 2-9 football team that "is playing better than the score indicates", ISIS is always gaining in Aleppo. Prolly always will...
[ARA News] ALEPPO ــ Subsequent to clashes with Syrian rebel groups, militant fighters of the Islamic State (ISIS) on Monday captured several towns and villages in Syria’s northern province of Aleppo, local and military sources reported.
The battles led to the death of several rebels and the injury of others before they withdrew from the key town of al-Raee and a number of nearby villages.
Speaking to ARA News in Aleppo, rebel spokesman Saleh al-Zain said that ISIS launched a major attack on the northern suburbs of Aleppo and was able to take control of the villages Tel Ahmar, ar-Raghibiya, ash-Shabaniya, Shaheen farms and Tel Shaeer west of the al-Raee town subsequent to fierce battles with Syrian rebel fighters from the al-Sham Corps, the First Regiment and the Sultan Murad Brigade.
Last Thursday, Syrian rebel groups, including Islamist factions, announced the expulsion of ISIS extremists from the town of al-Raee [35 km to the west of Jarablus] in northern Aleppo. However, sporadic clashes continue between the two sides along the borderline with Turkey, according to locals.
“The rebels were forced to retreat due to artillery and rocket fire launched by ISIS militants on their positions near the Syrian-Turkish border,” al-Zain reported.
ISIS was able to take over the key town of al-Raee in the northern suburbs of Aleppo on Monday. The radical group seeks to preserve areas under its control extending from al-Bab city to the bordering city of Jarablus–major pocket for the group in northern Syria.
Also, Jarablus is a strategic target at the moment for the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG); if they were able to retake it from ISIS, they would be blocking one of the main routes in the face of foreign militants who continue to cross from Turkey into Syria in order to join their alleged Caliphate, according to military sources.
Posted by: badanov ||
04/12/2016 00:00 ||
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[ARA News] AFRIN ــ Three Senior Iranian officers, who have been operating in Syria as military advisers to army forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, were reportedly killed during clashes with Islamist rebel groups in Syria’s northern province of Aleppo.
Syrian official sources confirmed the death of the Iranian military officers Hussein Bawas, Mohsen Kaitaslo and Mohammad Taqi Salkhodi in fighting with Syrian rebels southern Aleppo.
Iran has for long supported the Assad regime in Syria, especially after the outbreak of the Syrian conflict in 2011. Iranian authorities have provided extensive military support to pro-Assad army forces to combat the armed opposition and the mostly Sunni rebel groups.
According to Syrian analyst Zozan Hussein, “in the current devastative war in Syria, Iranians seek to expel the Sunni component from major Syrian cities.”
“Syria is likely heading towards a sectarian division,” she told ARA News.
In January, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told the U.N. Special Envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura in Tehran that Iran will not allow Saudi Arabia ‘fuel Syria crisis’, pointing out “it intends to leave a negative impact on Syria’s crisis through its escalating actions.”
Over the past few months, Iranian authorities announced the death of several officers and military commanders in Syria, including Maj. Gen. Hussein Hamdani, commander and advisor in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards in Aleppo; Rashad Hassouni Zadeh, former commander of the Sabirin brigade; and military adviser Hamid Mokhtarbend.
Two weeks ago, the Iranian government bid farewell to the military commanders Jamal Riza and Saeed Musafer, who were killed after clashes broke out between Syrian rebel forces and pro-Assad troops in Aleppo province.
Posted by: badanov ||
04/12/2016 00:00 ||
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[ARA News] HOMS – Several rebel groups, including Islamist factions, announced a new battle against Syrian army forces under the banner ‘Conquer them’ in Mount Turkmen in Syria’s coastal province of Latakia, local sources reported on Monday.
Activists confirmed that the Ajnad al-Qoqaz is the most influential Islamist group participating in the new alliance.
Speaking to ARA News in Latakia, media activist Jamal Ali said that rebel factions began a major offensive in several hills in the vicinity of the Baydaa village of the Kinsabba township in Mount Turkmen.
“Islamist rebels have also attacked headquarters of the regime’s army in the villages surrounding the Baydaa with heavy artillery fire,” Ali added, pointing out that the bombardment came in conjunction with the entry of an infantry unit from Islamist rebels into the township earlier this morning.
Also, the Islamist rebel factions gained control of the Baydaa hill after killing around 17 soldiers from the pro-regime forces and injuring over a dozen more. The rebels were also able to seize a large deal of light and medium weapons after forcing the regime’s army to retreat from the Kinsabba township.
“An Islamist military commander was killed in the Kinsabba township in the clashes,” a rebel spokesman told ARA News, preferring anonymity.
Latakia suburbs has been witnessing ongoing battles between the Syrian army forces and Islamist rebels for weeks, during which the latter have been seeking to regain areas that fell to the regime in the Mount Turkmen in Latakia province.
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] ISIS has retaken a northern town along Syria’s border with 
