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Today: 76 articles and 212 comments as of 11:05.
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BIFF Bravely Takes Hostages at Philippine School
Today's Headlines
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Page 1: WoT Operations
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Page 2: WoT Background
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Page 3: Non-WoT
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Page 4: Opinion
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Page 6: Politix
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Afghanistan
Heavy explosion heard in Jalalabad city of Afghanistan
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] A relatively explosion has taken place in Jalalabad city, the provincial capital of eastern Nangarhar province of Afghanistan.

According to reports, the incident has taken place close to a government compound but there are no information available regarding the type of the explosion and possible casualties.

In the meantime, eyewitnesses in the area said an Improvised Explosive Device went off near the Eidgah mosque in the 4th police district of the city but no casualties were inflicted to the civilians or security personnel.

This comes as a judge was killed and three others were wounded in a magnetic bomb explosion in Jalalabad city on Tuesday.

No group has so far claimed responsibility behind the incident.

Posted by: Fred || 06/22/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Haqqani Network


Afghan forces clear Tora Bora of ISIS leaving 44 militants dead, 22 wounded
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Afghan national defense and security forces have fully cleared the strategic Tora Bora area from the presence of the ISIS militants, leaving at least 44 militants dead and 22 more wounded during the operations, the local officials said.

The commander of the 201st Silab Corps of the Afghan army General Mohammad Zaman Waziri said at least 44 ISIS militants were killed since the operations were launched.

He said at least 22 more were wounded and two others were arrested along with their weapons and ammunition, confirming that the area has been fully cleared of ISIS terrorists.

The provincial police chief General Abdul Rahman Rahimi told reporters in Tora Bora that the security forces will not allow the insurgents to once again create sanctuaries and safe havens for themselves in Nangarhar and specifically in Tora Bora of Pacher Agam.

Provincial governor Mohammad Gulab Mangal in the meantime said the ISIS militants who had taken positions in Tora Bora were all foreigners.

He said Pakistani, Uzbek, Chechen, Arab, and other insurgents were seen among the militants during the operations.

Posted by: Fred || 06/22/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  DATELINE 1968 --- The Afghan national defense and security US Military forces have fully cleared the strategic Tora Bora Khe Sanh area---
Posted by: magpie || 06/22/2017 16:04 Comments || Top||

#2  I like it!
US SF clears the shit and Afghan forces wipe.
Posted by: Skidmark || 06/22/2017 21:56 Comments || Top||


Africa Horn
Puntland forces destroy al-Shabaab bases in Elmadow
[Garowe Online] A military offensive carried out by forces in Somalia’s northeastern region of Puntland
...a region in northeastern Somalia, centered on Garowe in the Nugaal province. Its leaders declared the territory an autonomous state in 1998. Puntland and the equally autonomous Somaliland seem to have avoided the clan rivalries and warlordism that have typified the rest of Somalia, which puts both places high on the list for Islamic subversion...
, was reported has led to successfully destroy a base belonging to al-Shabaab
... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda...
on Monday, Garowe Online reports.

Puntland Security Forces (PSF) launched a raid against al-Shabaab base in Elmadow Mountain located southwest of Bosaso town, inflicting heavy losses including deaths and injuries, however, the exact casualties of the raid were not yet confirmed.

"PSF conducted an anti-terror operation on Monday morning at a rebel-held areas belonging to al-Shabaab group in Elmadow Mountain," read a statement released by PSF on Facebook.

PSF officials said the operations were carried out according to the plan, which resulted in a complete destruction of the base and Lions of Islam fleeing the area.

So far Puntland government hasn’t released any statement to the anti-terror operations being carried out against al-Shabaab group in Puntland.

This coincides after recent visit by Puntland officials to military outposts in Bari region to assess the situation and boost the morale of the soldiers fighting al-Shabaab group.

Earlier this month, The terror group conducted a deadly raid against Puntland forces at Afurur outpost, killing at least 50 soldiers and civilians and injuring other dozens. Following the attack no official statement was released to confirm the causalities, but the government vowed to carry out counter offensive.
Posted by: Fred || 06/22/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab (AQ)


Somalia: Military court sentences soldier to death for killing Minister
[Garowe Online] A Somali military court has on Monday sentenced Ahmed Abdullahi "Aidid" to death for the killing Minister of Public Works and Reconstruction Abbas Siraji in Mogadishu, May 3, Garowe Online reports.

Speaking to news hounds in Mogadishu, the chairman of Somalia’s military tribunal Colonel Hassan Ali Nour Shuute has announced the final decision of the court.

Col Shuute said, Aidid, 29, has been found guilty of killing Siraji, after firing two bullets towards the vehicle of the Minister at a security checkpoint near the Presidential Palace. One of the shots has killed the Minster.

"After three proceeding, including hearings and the presentation of evidences the court sentences Ahmed Abdullahi Aided to death penalty," he said.

The judge has announced that the convicted soldier can still take an appeal if he is not satisfied with the court verdict.

Siraji, who was the youngest member in the Somalia’s cabinet was killed when the bodyguards of Somalia’s auditor general opened fire on his car in third May at round 7:00 p.m. in the night.

Meanwhile,
...back at the laboratory the smoke and fumes had dispersed, to reveal an ominous sight...
the court also ordered the release of Osman Salad Bare, who was one of the defendants jugged
... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not...
in connection with killing the Public Works minister.

Posted by: Fred || 06/22/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab (AQ)


Somalia: Security forces arrest head of Amniyat for al-Shabaab group
[Garowe Online] The Federal government of Somalia has announced it captured the head of Amniyat operatives of al-Shabaab
... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda...
group in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Sunday, Garowe Online.

The head of Amniyat operatives identified as Abdi wahab Khalif Ahmed aka Isse Tarabun was captured during a security sweep conducted by the joint security forces in Mogadishu’s Baraka market.

Minister of Security, Mohammed Abukar Islow said the mission was planned earlier and executed successfully with the capture of a leader from the terrorist group.

"We have captured Abdiwahab Khaliif aka Isse Tarabun, who is responsible for many unfortunate events in the capital. We have him in jug and he will face the law," added the Minister.

"In the past weeks we carried out security operations aimed to stabilize the capital and we managed to foil many attacks by the enemy."

The Minister urged the public to bear the burden of closing many roads between neighborhoods and asked them to support the security forces. He commended the joint security forces for the successful mission, and called to maintain efforts to to flush out terrorist elements from the capital.

Posted by: Fred || 06/22/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab (AQ)


Africa North
Sidra suicide bomber’s other explosives did not detonate
[Libya Herald] It has become clear that guards at the Sidra Gate had a lucky escape early this morning when they tackled a jacket wallah. Though the man went kaboom!, slightly injuring one member of the security forces, the explosives-packed vehicle in which he was travelling failed to explode.

Today a Libyan National Army (LNA) bomb disposal team unloaded and made safe 17 shells, one tank missile and an air-burst mine from the partially-destroyed blue Nissan four-by-four.

It is likely that the bomber expected this deadly ordinance to explode when he detonated his own boom jacket. Had that occurred it seems certain that the men manning the checkpoint would have suffered death or serious injury and there would have been considerable surrounding structural damage.

In the wake of the lone attack just after one o’clock this morning, the area was locked down. Patrols were sent out in the expectation that the suicide bomber heralded a larger assault. It appears that no other forces of Evil were discovered and the highway is now once again open.

Posted by: Fred || 06/22/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Southern fuel shipments stopped after Sebha-bound trucks seized
[Libya Herald] Fuel supplies to Sebha have been stopped following today’s suspected IS terrorist seizure of two fuel trucks south of Sirte as the vehicles made their way from Zawia to the south.

The Fuel and Gas Crisis Committee (FAGCC) has decided that fuel movements cannot continue until the Presidency Council (PC) and the local authorities in the area secure the route to the south.

The FAGCC said that one of the drivers escaped but the fate of his colleague is not yet clear. It noted that the identity of the attackers was unknown but it was thought they were IS bully boyz who, since their ejection from Sirte last year, are known to be operating in the countryside south of the town.

The two tankers were carrying 100,000 litres of fuel. The seizure of this cargo will not only disrupt much needed supplies to the south of the country but, if the attackers were indeed terrorists, would also allow them to replenish their fuel supplies.

However,
a hangover is the wrath of grapes...
one observer pointed out that given the current anarchic state of fuel movements, it was possible that the vehicles had been seized by fuel smugglers rather than terrorists.

Either way, the FAGCC said that until security along the route to the south was assured, it did not intend to send further fuel shipments

Posted by: Fred || 06/22/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Africa Subsaharan
'Around 100 killed' in CAR's Bria despite truce deal
[Al Jazeera] As many as 100 people may have been killed in a day of festivities between rival factions in the Central African Republic town of Bria, shortly after a truce deal was signed, the town's mayor said.

Bodies lay in the streets of Bria, around 580km northeast of the capital, Bangui, and dozens more people were treated for shotgun wounds after fighting erupted at dawn on Tuesday.

"The corpse count will certainly rise. For now it's an estimate and it could be up to 100 dead," Maurice Belikoussou told the Rooters news agency on Wednesday by telephone, raising an earlier corpse count of "around 50".

"There are still dead lying in the neighbourhoods, in the road and in the bush," he said.

Witnesses said houses were looted and set on fire during the festivities.

The country, one of the poorest in the world, has been plagued by conflict since 2013 between the mainly Moslem Seleka
...a 'mainly' Moslem rebel force in the Central African Republic that overthrew the govt, imposed a regime of rapine and looting on the country's non-Moslem population, and was then tossed by France. They still exist, getting funding and weapons from somewhere or other, licking their wounds, complaining about the oppression of Moslems, and occasionally raping and looting someone...
rebels and the Christian Anti-Balaka militia that started after the overthrow of leader Francois Bozize.

Posted by: Fred || 06/22/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Seleka


Arabia
Yemeni missile strikes Saudi Jizan province
[ALMASDARNEWS] Scores of pro-Saudi troops alongside with Sudanese military have been reportedly killed when Yemeni Armed Forces targeted their gathering in the southern Saudi border region of Jizan, in retaliation for the ongoing Saudi shelling of popular markets and state infrastructure in Yemen.

An unnamed military official told Yemen’s state Saba news agency on Wednesday that Houthis and their allies in the Yemeni Army fired a domestically-built Zelzal-2 (Earthquake-2) surface-to-surface missile at the gate of al-Tiwal Land Crossing inside the border province of Jizan, 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...
, this evening.

The official noted that a large number of pro-Saudi fighters were killed and their military hardware destroyed in the attack, without specifying a precise number.
Posted by: Fred || 06/22/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Houthis


Europe
Police detain three terror suspects in Madrid
[ALMASDARNEWS] Police officers detained three Morrocan citizens suspected of having ties to the self-proclaimed 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; formerly ISIS/ISIS) in Madrid.

The suspects were tossed in the calaboose
You have the right to remain silent...
during the raid near a house close to Atocha train station where all of the suspects were residing.

According to officials at the Interior Ministry, the detainees were planning a ’suicide kaboom’. During the raid in the apartment, the coppers discovered and seized a large number of Islamic State training materials.
Ynet adds details that may or may not be useful:
Spanish police arrested a 32-year-old Moroccan in a dawn raid in central Madrid on Tuesday who they said was "highly radicalised" and had a large collection of extreme Islamist material including a manual for suicide bombers, the government said.

Police also arrested two other Moroccan men aged 38 and 33 who lived with the first man in the residential apartment, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

Television images showed armed police in riot gear storming the apartment building before dawn and men dressed in white robes and motorcycle helmets being grappled to the ground and handcuffed outside the apartment block.

The man had an extremely dangerous profile, similar to that of those who carried out recent attacks in Britain and France, the government said, without giving further details.

He had tried to recruit others to carry out an Islamist attack in Spain, it said.
Posted by: Fred || 06/22/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Home Front: WoT
Terror attack at Michigan airport: Tunisian knifeman with a 'hatred of the United States' wounds cop by repeatedly stabbing him in the neck while shouting Allahu Akbar before being tackled to the ground
Some more detail on this story from yesterday. So dear Readers, place your bets: will he turn out to be self-radicalized over the internet, a highly connected known wolf who tried respectability for a while, or a mental health case?
  • [Daily Mail, Where America Gets Its News] Amor Ftouhi has been identified as the man who stabbed police officer Lt. Jeff Neville at Bishop Airport in Flint, Michigan Wednesday morning

  • The approximately 50 year old man is Canadian, but is originally from Tunisia

  • He yelled 'Allahu Akbar' before stabbing Neville in the neck with a 12-inch knife

  • He was taken into custody within a minute of the terror attack

  • Feds say they plan to charge Ftouhi with violence at an international airport - which carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison

  • Neville is resting comfortably at the hospital in satisfactory condition and is expected to survive his injuries
Officials say Ftouhi, who lives in Quebec, where he apparently worked as an insurance agent, crossed into the U.S. on June 16 via Lake Champlain in New York.

This morning, he arrived at the airport and walked around a bit - never going past security into the terminals.

They say he spent some time on the first level of the airport, before going upstairs to a restaurant. He then went into a bathroom, dropped his baggage there and then came back out to attack Neville.

The FBI spokesman also said that Ftouhi said something to the extent of 'you have killed people in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan and you're all going to die'. He added that it was clear the Ftouhi had a 'hatred for the U.S.'

Authorities said there's no indication that Ftouhi was connected to any international terror organization, or that he was part of any wider plot.

Sources told NBC 25/Fox 66 that Ftouhi tried to buy a gun before the attack, but was denied one so he bought a knife instead. The whole incident inside the airport was caught on video, the sources added.
Update from another Daily Mail article on the subject at 12:30 p.m. EDT:
A criminal complaint charging him with committing violence at an airport says Ftouhi asked an officer who subdued him why he didn't kill him.
Attempted suicide by cop?
Cherie Carpenter, who was awaiting a flight, told Flint TV station WJRT she saw the attacker being led away in handcuffs. She described the man in custody as appearing 'blank, just totally blank.'

The suspect, who is married and has children, reportedly has dual citizenship in Canada and Tunisia.
Posted by: Fred || 06/22/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Moslem Colonists

#1  What sources told the news--this soon--that the moron tried to buy a gun?
Posted by: Richard Aubrey || 06/22/2017 7:54 Comments || Top||

#2  Officials say Ftouhi, who lives in Quebec, where he apparently worked as an insurance agent, crossed into the U.S. on June 16 via Lake Champlain in New York

Seems a check on Customs and Immigration (both countries) is in order.
Posted by: Pappy || 06/22/2017 10:44 Comments || Top||

#3  Feds say they plan to charge Ftouhi with violence at an international airport - which carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison

Uh huh. What about attempted murder on a LEO?
Posted by: Frank G || 06/22/2017 11:21 Comments || Top||

#4  What about attempted murder on a LEO?

Additional charges can be added later, Frank G.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/22/2017 12:45 Comments || Top||

#5  It's an inappropriate time to be laughing, but Flint International Airport is pretty funny.

I'm going with Spontaneous Jihad by a Moderate Muslim, which is worrisome once you start doing the math.
Posted by: SteveS || 06/22/2017 13:29 Comments || Top||

#6  In a Petrodactyl Airlines way funny or a TLH International way funny. Seriously Tallahassee International.... Customs is in the Civil Aviation area.
Posted by: Shipman || 06/22/2017 13:35 Comments || Top||

#7  In a worn-out factory town that can't even supply its citizens with potable drinking water way funny. Also, Michael Moore. No cases of cholera though, so that's a positive.
Posted by: SteveS || 06/22/2017 13:51 Comments || Top||

#8  "town that can't even supply its citizens with potable drinking water"

It made him feel at home, and that's what made him all stabby.
Posted by: Rob Crawford || 06/22/2017 13:59 Comments || Top||

#9  I get kinda wound up by these types of events.
Makes me want to grab a movable object with irresistible force.
Posted by: Skidmark || 06/22/2017 20:06 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Security personnel kill two militants in Tank
[DAWN] Security personnel killed two Death Eaters during an encounter in Tank district on Tuesday, said the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) in a statement.

The encounter took place in Mullazai area which is adjacent to the Frontier Region Tank.

The ISPR said the Death Eaters were attempting to fire on a check-post near Dewana Baba Ziarat, some 12 kilometres from Tank town.

The military’s public affairs wing did not release the names of the slain krazed killers. When approached, the police expressed ignorance about the incident.

The ISPR, however, did release pictures of the krazed killers’ bodies and weapons seized from them.

Sources said that Death Eaters had a noticeable presence in the Mullazai area, which is close to the FR Tank.

Posted by: Fred || 06/22/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: TTP


ATC acquits two in Sri Lanka team attack case
[DAWN] An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on Wednesday acquitted two accused in the Sri Lanka cricket team attack case.

Obaidullah and Ibrahim Khalil had been accused of providing arms and training to the gunnies involved in the attack on a visiting Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore on March 3, 2009.

Seven people had been killed and 20, including seven Sri Lankan players, injured in the attacks. The Lankan team had escaped owing to the heroics of the team's bus driver.

The doors of international cricket in Pakistain had, till recently, closed as a result of the incident.

Representing the accused, Advocate Rana Baleegh had argued that the allegations against his clients were false and baseless. His clients should, therefore, be acquitted, he said.

The court had therefore ordered acquittal of the two accused in the case.

Six individuals -- Qari Zubair alias Naik Mohammad, Adnan Arshad, Abdul Wahab, Javed Anwar, Ibrahim Khalil and Obaidullah -- had been indicted in 2016 for the attacks.

Qari Zubair, Adnan Arshad and Abdul Wahab were later killed in an alleged encounter with security officials. The alleged criminal mastermind of the attack, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi
... a 'more violent' offshoot of Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistain. LeJ's purpose in life is to murder anyone who's not of utmost religious purity, starting with Shiites but including Brelvis, Ahmadis, Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Rosicrucians, and just about anyone else you can think of. They are currently a wholly-owned subsidiary of al-Qaeda ...
chief Malik Ishaq, was also killed in a police encounter.

Earlier, the case had been transferred from the ATC to military courts, from where it was transferred back to the ATC.

Posted by: Fred || 06/22/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Lashkar e-Taiba


Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad launched
[DAWN] The Pakistain Army launched Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad earlier this year following a spate of terror attacks in the country, which claimed more than a hundred lives and left hundreds of others injured.

The operation seeks to eliminate the "residual/latent threat of terrorism", consolidating the gains made in other military operations, and further ensuring the security of Pakistain's borders.

Hundreds of suspected Lions of Islam have reportedly either been killed or tossed in the calaboose
You have the right to remain silent...
in raids carried out by security personnel since the start of the operation.

Posted by: Fred || 06/22/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Army seizes large cache of weapons from Waziristan Agency
[DAWN] The Army on Wednesday said it had recovered a cache of weapons from Wazoo Agency.

According to a statement issued by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), an intelligence-based operation was conducted in the villages of Zarkai and Maidankai in which a significant quantity of weapons and ammunition was recovered.

Recovered weapons included light machine guns, 12.7mm machine guns, RPG7s, SMGs, grenades, rifles, pistols, explosive boxes, anti-personnel mines and daggers.

Ammunition recovered included RPG7 rockets, 14.5mm ammunition rounds, ammunition boxes of 12.7mm guns, 12-bore rifle rounds, as well as heavy and small machine gun rounds.

The raids were part of the ongoing Operation Raddul Fasaad

Posted by: Fred || 06/22/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: TTP


Iraq
Canadian sniper sets world record with 2.2-mile pickoff of ISIS fighter
This is the third submission on this story today, Beavis and Skidmark being responsible for the BBC version filed earlier under Iraq, with which this one has now been grouped for consistency. Text snipped for duplication.

-- trailing wife at 7:30 p.m. EDT

" ... the true challenge here was being able to calculate the actual wind speed and direction all the way to the target."
- Ryan Cleckner, former U.S. Army Ranger sniper
Posted by: Seeking cure for ignorance || 06/22/2017 16:20 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1 
Posted by: Anomalous Sources || 06/22/2017 18:32 Comments || Top||

#2  Just . . . . in awe.
Posted by: Canuckistan sniper || 06/22/2017 19:00 Comments || Top||

#3  Metric translation: "Aim six feet left and 8 feet up"
Posted by: Frank G || 06/22/2017 19:44 Comments || Top||

#4  Like randomly throwing a pebble at a 2'x4' puddle 2 miles away hoping for a splash.
Posted by: Skidmark || 06/22/2017 19:56 Comments || Top||


Canadian sniper 'kills IS militant two miles away'
[BBC] A sniper in the Canadian special forces shot and killed an Islamic State (IS) fighter from a distance of 2.1 miles (3,540m) in Iraq last month.

Military sources told Toronto's Globe and Mail newspaper that the gunman is a member of Joint Task Force 2, and made the shot from a high-rise building.

It took the bullet almost 10 seconds to hit its target, it reports.

The Canadian Special Operations Command confirmed to the BBC the sniper "hit a target" from that distance. The shot, which sources tell the paper was filmed, is thought to be a record for the longest confirmed kill.

The sniper worked in tandem with an observer, who helps to spot targets, and used a standard Canadian military issued McMillan TAC-50 rifle.

"The shot in question actually disrupted a Daesh [so-called Islamic State] attack on Iraqi security forces," a military source told the paper.

"Instead of dropping a bomb that could potentially kill civilians in the area, it is a very precise application of force and because it was so far away, the bad guys didn't have a clue what was happening."
Posted by: Beavis & Skidmark || 06/22/2017 14:40 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Make mine a double, Beavis & Skidmark please. It's time to celebrate.
Posted by: Besoeker || 06/22/2017 15:03 Comments || Top||

#2  I wonder what the hold-over was.
Hold-over - Aiming above your intended target to compensate for bullet drop
Posted by: Whiskey Mike || 06/22/2017 16:11 Comments || Top||

#3  Thanks for the spelling correction, but who made the clarification? And I think I mis-spelled misspelled my nic before. Not even sure it is correct now.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike || 06/22/2017 16:56 Comments || Top||

#4  I didn't scroll down far enough to find the color code. Thank you Besoeker.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike || 06/22/2017 17:13 Comments || Top||

#5  NP, thank you for your comments and contributions.
Posted by: Besoeker || 06/22/2017 17:17 Comments || Top||

#6  Okay, my acronym page has now become "Acronyms & Terminologies" page.

I added "hold-over" as the first terminology.

Now at eight acronyms and one terminology.
Posted by: Seeking cure for ignorance || 06/22/2017 20:42 Comments || Top||

#7  Add HG2
as hope for the good guys.
Posted by: Skidmark || 06/22/2017 21:52 Comments || Top||


Islamic State resorts to horses in Kirkuk to offset fuel shortage
Hawija (IraqiNews.com) Islamic State members are now relying on horses and donkeys in their movements in Kirkuk’s Hawija, making up for fuel shortage, a local source in the province said Wednesday.

Alsumaria News quoted the source saying horses were allocated for senior leaders while donkeys were given to subordinate fighters. He added that the move was designed to facilitate movement and protect the fighters from targeted attacks.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/22/2017 02:02 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  Send sick-f*ck protester girl over there with her nail studded stick to straighten them out!
Posted by: M. Murcek || 06/22/2017 5:26 Comments || Top||

#2  And back to the 7th century they go.

Hope they enjoy it.
Posted by: AlanC || 06/22/2017 10:48 Comments || Top||

#3  Donkeys are a dual use technology to ISIS, if ya know what I mean...
Posted by: Raj || 06/22/2017 12:38 Comments || Top||

#4  They can ride donkeys, or use them as pack animals?
Posted by: Skidmark || 06/22/2017 14:35 Comments || Top||

#5  Putting VIPs on horses and everyone else on donkeys is a great idea.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 06/22/2017 15:56 Comments || Top||

#6  I just dunno... these complicated questions. I'm stumped.
Posted by: D.A. Donkey || 06/22/2017 17:20 Comments || Top||

#7  This step may improve their image with the left--donkey's are easier on the planet (and global warming) motorized transport.
Posted by: Crusader || 06/22/2017 18:32 Comments || Top||

#8  By the 11th century the Moslems had abandoned the wheel in the various territories they had conquered.
Posted by: Si vis pacem || 06/22/2017 21:43 Comments || Top||

#9  By the 11th century the Moslems had abandoned the wheel in the various territories they had conquered.

Do you have a source for that, Si vis pacem? That's news to me.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/22/2017 22:15 Comments || Top||

#10  Mo didn't do circles. Their wheels sucked
Posted by: Frank G || 06/22/2017 22:30 Comments || Top||


Airstrikes by Iraqi jets kill fifteen Islamic State militants in Hawija, Tal Afar
(IraqiNews.com) Fifteen Islamic State militants were killed on Wednesday in airstrikes by the Iraqi jets that targeted IS locations in Hawija and Tal Afar, the War Media Cell said.

In a statement, the Defense Ministry’s WMC said “Iraqi fighter jets launched several airstrikes that completely destroyed a booby-trapping workshop and missiles and killed three militants specialized in developing missiles in al-Abbassi district, in Hawija.”

Hawija, located 55 KM west of Kirkuk, has been held by IS since mid-2014.

IS still holds three towns in western Anbar close to the borders with Syria, in addition to a few areas in Salahuddin, Diyala and Kirkuk. The Iraqi government is expected to aim at those strongholds once the Mosul battle is concluded.

Dozens of residents from Hawija and the regions in its vicinity escape to Kirkuk province on a daily basis. Despite the risky routes to the freed regions, the civilians prefer death to staying under IS control.

Meanwhile, other airstrikes in al-Mahalabiya, Tal Afar town, destroyed two booby-trapped vehicles and weapons. An IS location was destroyed, “12 militants were killed, huge amounts of weapons and explosives were destroyed.”

Last week, the WMC announced liberation of five villages in Mahalabiya, a region which Iraqi forces and paramilitary troops had previously isolated from Mosul.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/22/2017 02:02 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Unidentified shelling kill, injure thirteen civilians inside house, west of Anbar
Anbar (IraqiNews.com) Thirteen civilians were killed and injured as unidentified shelling occurred, north of Rutba city, west of Anbar, a local source from the province said.

“Unidentified jet shelled a house of civilians near Okashat region, in the north of Rutba,” the source told AlSumaria News.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source said “the shelling left Four people, including two children, were killed, while nine others, including children, were injured.”

Despite being controlled by security troops, occasional attacks as well as unidentified shelling usually occur on some parts and regions in the vicinity of Rutba.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/22/2017 02:02 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Ar-Rutbah
Posted by: 3dc || 06/22/2017 20:58 Comments || Top||


An Iraqi officer says ISIS has detonated the famous al-Nuri mosque in Mosul
  • [Daily Mail, Where America Gets Its News] The Iraqi army was moving in on Grand Mosque in Mosul's Old city earlier today

  • The soldiers got within 50m of the iconic mosque when ISIS militants blew it up

  • 'ISIS terror gangs committed another historical crime,' Iraqi military said today

  • ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi made his only public appearance there in 2014

  • The terrorists' flag has flown on its minaret ever since it captured Mosul that year
No skin off my religious fore.
Posted by: Fred || 06/22/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  Eh....

Can't cure the cancer without killing off a few healthy cells.

Although I wonder how "healthy" they were.
Posted by: DarthVader || 06/22/2017 0:04 Comments || Top||

#2  Did they have to add their own explosives or was it 'pre-loaded'?
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 06/22/2017 8:13 Comments || Top||

#3  Map of attack on Mosul's Old City

Yes, ISIS blew up its own holiest mosque.

Al
Posted by: Frozen Al || 06/22/2017 11:25 Comments || Top||

#4  I'm fine with them blowing up a few more.
Posted by: Crusader || 06/22/2017 12:09 Comments || Top||

#5  Mosque wasn't Islamic enough.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 06/22/2017 16:03 Comments || Top||

#6  Islamic Infidels?
Posted by: Frank G || 06/22/2017 19:45 Comments || Top||

#7  Uhhh...famous to who?
Whom?
For what?
Oh,bugs?
Posted by: Skidmark || 06/22/2017 21:58 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Israel arrests mother of Palestinian attacker over support to kill Israelis
[Ynet] Israeli forces jugged
You have the right to remain silent...
Wednesday a Paleostinian woman who praised her son, the perpetrator of a murderous attack on police in East Jerusalem, said the army and police.

Last Friday, three Paleostinians attacked the Israeli police near the Old City of Jerusalem, fatally stabbing a 23-year-old police officer before being rubbed out.

Israeli security forces arrested Zaynab Ankush, the mother of one of the assailants, on Wednesday morning "because of her recent calls ... to commit further attacks against the Jews and because of hate inciting statements" An army front man told AFP.

"He chose to die as a martyr (...) I am proud and I would have liked him to kill 20, 50, 100 (more)," Zaynab Ankouch, mother of Adel Ankush, said in an interview on Sunday with Israeli public television channel Kan.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/22/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Southeast Asia
Islamic Militants Take Hostages at Philippine School
[AnNahar] Islamic turbans launched a day-long assault on a southern Philippine village Wednesday during which they held 31 people hostage inside a school, authorities said, raising fears of spreading violence as other jihadists fought a month-long urban war nearby.

Hundreds of gunnies attacked a lightly guarded military outpost at dawn, with some then taking over the school and using civilians as human shields throughout the day before fleeing at night, the military said.

"It's all resolved, all the hostages have been accounted for, no one was hurt," military front man Brigadier General Restituto Padilla told AFP by phone on Wednesday night.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/22/2017 00:30 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Syrian regime forces launch assault on Jobar, dozens of casualties
Damascus (IraqiNews) More than 20 members of the Syrian regime forces were either killed or wounded during to their violent attack on Jobar neighborhood in the Syrian Capital, Damascus.

Qasioun News reported, on Wednesday, that the Syrian regime forces launched an offensive on Jobar neighborhood, northeast of Damascus, where violent clashes took place between the government forces and Syrian rebels, amid mutual artillery and rockets shelling.

Furthermore, over 20 members of the regime forces had been either killed or wounded in the clashes that broke out in Jobar neighborhood between the two sides.

Meanwhile, warplanes carried out more than seven air strikes on the neighborhood, resulting significant damage to the area, but no casualties were reported, while several mortar shells fell on the regime-held neighborhoods of Damascus, causing only material damage.

It is noteworthy, Syrian government forces and their affiliated militias are trying to advance into Jobar neighborhood since Monday, however, all their attempts failed.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/22/2017 02:02 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


U.S.-backed Syrian forces close in on Raqqa from south
(IraqiNews) U.S.-backed Syrian militias closed in on Islamic State’s Syrian stronghold of Raqqa on Wednesday, taking territory on the south bank of the Euphrates River with the aim of encircling the city, a militia spokesman told Reuters.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which include Arab and Kurdish fighters and are supported with air strikes by a U.S.-led coalition, began an offensive two weeks ago to seize the northern city from Islamic State, which overran it in 2014.

Nouri Mahmoud, spokesman for the Kurdish YPG militia which is part of the SDF, told Reuters Islamic State had been ousted from the suburb of Kasrat al-Farj as the SDF moved in along the southern riverbank from the west.

When the campaign began the SDF had Raqqa, which sits on the Euphrates’ northern bank, surrounded from the north, west and east. Although Islamic State controlled the south bank of the river, coalition air strikes had destroyed the bridges connecting it to the city.

The SDF is now trying to enact a siege of the city by taking the southern bank. The forces are a couple of kilometers from achieving this aim.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said on Wednesday SDF forces had moved along the southern river bank to reach the eastern edge of Kasrat al-Farj, in the area between the new and old bridges into Raqqa.

Islamic State is also facing defeat in its Iraqi stronghold of Mosul and is being forced into retreat across much of Syria, where Deir al-Zor in eastern Syria is its last major foothold.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/22/2017 02:02 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  Deir_ez-Zor
Posted by: 3dc || 06/22/2017 21:02 Comments || Top||


Syrian Army kills scores of jihadist combatants in east Damascus
[ALMASDARNEWS] The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) resumed their military operations in the eastern countryside of Damascus, Wednesday, targeting the movement of Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham in the Bir Qassab region.

According to a military source in Damascus, the Syrian Arab Army’s 5th Corps unleashed a flurry of guided missiles on the jihadist defenses near Aradi Al-Rawabi, Tal Rinbah,Rajm Al-Sarihi, and Bir Qassab.

The military source added that at least 20 Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham fighters and several vehicles were destroyed during the attack.
Posted by: Fred || 06/22/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Nusra


ISIS propaganda video shows clashes with Kurdish forces in the battle for Raqqa
[ALMASDARNEWS] ISIS has released another lengthy propaganda video, this time covering its inevitable loss of Raqqa, the city in northern Syria which jihadists transformed into 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....
capital back in 2014.

Featuring the aftermath of American Arclight airstrikes and their toll on buildings and civilians alike, the footage proceeds to show jihadists fighting for Raqqa’s countryside along with jacket wallahs in action against the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

Later in the video, child fighters are proudly put on display while the emphasis of recruitment by religious teachers during Ramadan is underlined by the Islamic State.

At the moment, roughly 15% of Raqqa city is under Kurdish control while heavy festivities are ongoing in several neighborhoods.

On Wednesday evening however, ISIS retook the southern part of the Division 17 Army Base which has now changed hands a handful of times this month.
Posted by: Fred || 06/22/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Footage of the Syrian Army capturing ISIL’s stronghold in west Raqqa
[ALMASDARNEWS] The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) recently liberated the key town of Resafa in the western countryside of the al-Raqqa Governorate, marking the first time in five years that they have had a presence in this area.

A video of the Syrian Arab Army’s Tiger Forces capturing Resafa was released by pro-government media channels, Wednesday; it shows more than ten minutes of footage from this operation that led to the liberation of this town.

With the liberation of Resafa this week, the Syrian Arab Army has taken control of more than 1,400 square kilometers and 22 villages in the past 14 days.

The Syrian Arab Army has now shifted their attention to the Khanasser Plain, where they hope to secure their imperative supply line to the Aleppo Governorate.
Posted by: Fred || 06/22/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Turkey sends military reinforcements into northern Syria
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
has sent new military reinforcements including troops, vehicles and equipment into northern Syria, a war monitoring group and rebel and Kurdish sources said on Wednesday.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the forces had crossed the border in the last 24 hours and headed towards areas south of Azaz town, which is held by Turkish-backed Syrian rebels.

To Azaz’s south are areas controlled by the Kurdish YPG militia, which Turkey has fought in northern Syria.

The Observatory said the reinforcements were part of preparations for new joint attacks on the YPG by Turkish forces and their Syrian rebel allies in that area of Syria's northwest. The area is separated from the main territory the YPG and its allies control in the northeast.

A rebel from a Turkish-backed group confirmed Ankara had sent more forces.

"Turkish forces are now inside Syria ... the forces are huger reinforcements that have been entering since last night," said Mustafa Sejari of the Liwa al-Mutasem group.

Turkish opposition to what it says is Kurdish encroachment along its long border with Syria has complicated US strategy in the region, because Washington supports the YPG and its allies in the fight against ISIS.

The YPG is a key part of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which a US-led coalition is supporting with air strikes and military advisers on the ground to fight ISIS in its stronghold Raqqa.

Turkey launched an offensive in northern Syria in August last year, sending tanks and warplanes across the border to support Syrian rebels fighting both ISIS and the YPG.

It helped them carve out a big portion of northern Syria, helping ensure the YPG and its allies could not link the 400-km (250-mile) stretch of territory they hold in the north and northeast with the pocket they hold west of Azaz.

The YPG is linked to the PKK, a Kurdish group fighting an insurgency in Turkey’s southeast.

Posted by: Fred || 06/22/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte

#1  Time for friendly fire?
Posted by: 3dc || 06/22/2017 21:06 Comments || Top||


Terror Networks
ISIS urges attacks on Ramadan's Night of Power, Islam's holiest day
[FOXNEWS] Law enforcement officials around the world are on high alert this week as ISIS calls for a surge of civilian attacks during Islam’s "Night of Power," the holiest day on the Islamic calendar, which this year begins Wednesday evening.

Known in Arabic as "Laylat al-Qadr," it marks the night during the holy month of Ramadan that Moslems believe the Prophet Muhammad received the first revelations of the Koran.

While the vast majority of Moslems consider the occasion as the best time in the year to pray for blessings and forgiveness, jihadist groups such as ISIS exploit the date to urge brutal acts of violence.

Last year, when the Night of Power fell on July 2, a widely shared message pushing for "calamity everywhere for the nonbelievers," was delivered by ISIS. And that night there was a surge of deadly terror attacks.

Posted by: Fred || 06/22/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  Night of power 2017 (1439 in Islam) was last night.

Posted by: lord garth || 06/22/2017 9:25 Comments || Top||

#2  Except in paleoland.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 06/22/2017 16:47 Comments || Top||

#3  Do they have calendars?
Posted by: Skidmark || 06/22/2017 21:59 Comments || Top||

#4  Sundials, but they reset every night.
Posted by: Frank G || 06/22/2017 22:32 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
38[untagged]
10Islamic State
4Arab Spring
3Govt of Pakistan
3al-Shabaab (AQ)
2TTP
2Govt of Syria
2Moslem Colonists
1Govt of Qatar (MB)
1Sublime Porte
1Hamas
1Haqqani Network
1Houthis
1Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters
1Lashkar e-Taiba
1al-Nusra
1Palestinian Authority
1Seleka
1Govt of Iran
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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Two weeks of WOT
Thu 2017-06-22
  BIFF Bravely Takes Hostages at Philippine School
Wed 2017-06-21
  ISIS Lord High Holy Man, al-Baghdadi confidant, killed by US-led coalition forces
Tue 2017-06-20
  Afghan forces clear strategic Tora Bora of ISIS militants: Gen. Waziri
Mon 2017-06-19
  IRGC completely dismantles terrorist group in southeast Iran: Commander
Sun 2017-06-18
  Afghan forces recapture Tora Bora in Nangarhar
Sat 2017-06-17
  Taliban rejects report on Kandahar bombing that killed UAE ambassador, diplomats
Fri 2017-06-16
  Army takes over Mosul’s Old City entrance, IS trapped
Thu 2017-06-15
  SDF capture former IS member known as Jihadi Jack
Wed 2017-06-14
  Senior Republican politician and several aides shot at baseball practice near Washington
Tue 2017-06-13
  Taliban’s military commission chief killed in Helmand drone strike
Mon 2017-06-12
  London Police Chief: Terror Victims Show How Diverse We Are
Sun 2017-06-11
  Libyan group says it has freed Gaddafi son Seif al-Islam
Sat 2017-06-10
  Islamic State claims it killed two Chinese in Pakistan
Fri 2017-06-09
  Nearly 70 dead in Al-Shabaab attack on Puntland military base
Thu 2017-06-08
  Syrian government, rebel forces fighting in Aleppo

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