POSSIBLE NON-COMBATANT KILLINGS REPORTED IN BADAKHSHAN – Several news outlets reported a clash between Taliban security forces and local opium farmers on 11 May in the Darayim District of Badakhshan. It now seems as if the early reporting was accurate and at least 4 non-combatants were reputedly killed in the clash with local Taliban militia. Some reports say that 4 Taliban were also injured in the fray. The Taliban have been clear that they intend to wipe out the drug trade in the country, but farmers have been left with few alternatives to grow replacement crops.
FIRST CASE OF POLIO FOR 2023 REPORTED IN AFGHANISTAN – A young child from Nangarhar Province has tested positive for the disease. Pakistan and Afghanistan completed a large-scale polio vaccination campaign in 2022-23.
PAKISTANI ARMY UNITS ENGAGE TERRORISTS IN BALOCHISTAN – Acting on intelligence, Pakistani military forces conducted a counter-terrorism operation in Muslim Bagh Town yesterday that resulted in the deaths of 6 terror suspects. The unidentified terror group had reputedly attacked a military camp on the outskirts of the town earlier in the day and had been tracked back to a residential neighborhood full of families. A military spokesman said that 2 of the Pakistani Army soldiers had been killed and 1 non-combatant was killed in the crossfire. Muslim Bagh Town has been the site of four clashes in the past eight days and it is unclear which terror organization appears to have established a base of operations there.
RUSSIA CALLS FOR INCLUSIVE LEADERSHIP AND CRITICIZES RECENT UN MEETING IN DOHA – Zamir Kabulov, special envoy for Afghanistan said in an interview with the TASS news agency that Afghanistan must form an inclusive government before focusing on repealing the bans on women in the humanitarian sector and education. Kabulov said that forcing the repeal of the bans should come after a legal and representative government is put in place. He then went on to say that Russia can’t support an international approach while Afghanistan’s frozen reserves remain in Switzerland. Several US officials have opined that Russia and China’s fixation on the frozen reserves have little to do with stability in Afghanistan and are more focused on challenging the West’s decision to impose sanctions against Russia and select Chinese companies. Perhaps the point is moot as the Taliban have shown very little inclination to include ethnic minorities in the decision-making process or to repeal the bans on women.
NEXT 24 HOURS
PAKISTAN SITUATION – While calm has returned to the majority of the country, the Prime Minister has ordered Police and Military forces to ‘round-up’ suspects who may have participated in vandalism and arson during the protests. By most accounts, this is taking place and several arrests were reported over the previous twenty-four hours. The Prime Minister has mandated the operation to continue for another 48 hours. We do not assess any specific risk to at-risk Afghans but some protestors may resist arrest and limited bouts of violence could take place. We recommend that at-risk Afghans continue to exercise caution and we do not foresee any more protests until at least the 15th of May when the former Prime Minister could face arrest again. We recommend those families/individuals who sheltered in place over the last week use the time available in the next 36 hours to stock back up on food and water.
TURKISH ELECTIONS – President Erdogan faces the toughest reelection bid of his career and is in a dead heat with rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu. Kilicdaroglu is center-left but has welded together six political parties to mount his challenge to Erdogan. Strangely, one of the platforms he has run on is to deport both Syrian and Afghan refugees should his coalition win. While there is no immediate threat to at-risk Afghans residing in Turkey, emotions could run high and protests could take place that may target refugees.
[KhaamaPress] At least four farmers have died, and five others have been injured in a dispute over the poppy field destruction in the northeastern Darayim district of Badakhshan province of Afghanistan.
The incident occurred in the village of Doabe Tagab in the Darayim district of Badakhshan on Thursday when the Taliban ...Arabic for students... forces reportedly arrived to destroy the local’s poppy crops. However, a poor excuse is better than no excuse at all... a dispute erupted when the farmers sought payment for the money spent on their lands.
As a result, Taliban forces opened fire on farmers, killing four and injuring five others. At the same time, another local source claimed that 15 individuals were hurt during the dispute, including the district commander and six other Taliban fighters.
The locals, who were outraged by the Taliban’s conduct, demanded that those involved be brought to justice. On the other hand, the Taliban were seen establishing a roadblock in the area out of concern about a local uprising.
The Taliban has not yet responded to the incident, in the meantime.
According to UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report, since the takeover of the Taliban in August 2021, opium cultivation in Afghanistan increased by 32% over the previous year to 233,000 hectares — making the 2022 crop the third largest area under opium cultivation since monitoring began.
On the other hand, since the Taliban announced the cultivation ban in April 2022, opium prices have soared.
Opiate seizures around Afghanistan show that the flow of opium and heroin out of Afghanistan has not stopped. Afghanistan meets eighty per cent of the world’s opiate demand.
Meanwhile, ...back at the Council of Boskone, Kinnison began his slow infiltration of the sewer system... the majority of the opium crop for 2023 must be sowed by early November, and farmers will decide whether and how much to plant in the face of a severe economic and humanitarian crisis, persistently high opium prices, and uncertainty regarding how the de facto authorities will enforce the cultivation ban.
In April 2022, the Taliban announced a ban on poppy cultivation throughout the country. However, as a KabulNow Special Report found in January, the group has been enforcing the ban selectively, to control the market and ensure the price increasing.
[GOOBJOOG] The two warring factions in the Sudan conflict, Sudan National Army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have both agreed to ensure safety of civilians and ensure movement of humanitarian aid.
This comes amidst an elusive ceasefire, after a week of talks in Jaddah 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... where the two sides agreed to sign a short-term ceasefire to create room for further talks.
"The two sides are quite far apart," a senior US State Department official who spoke on condition of anonymity told Rooters news agency. "Negotiators working with Saudi and US mediators set a goal of reaching a ceasefire deal in up to 10 days," the official added.
On Thursday, festivities were reported in the Khartoum within Halfaya and Omdurman at the outskirts of the Capital where residents reported hearing warplanes fly above the city.
However, corruption finds a dozen alibis for its evil deeds... neither of the sides has publicly shown signs of agreeing to de-escalate the tension and end the conflict that has been ongoing since last month, threatening to plunge the country into a civil war.
Previous ceasefires have been violated leaving civilians caught in between crossfires and navigating terrifying landscape of firefights and aerial bombardments amidst dwindling food, water and medical supplies and power outages.
According to the senior US Department official, the latest declaration by the two parties in the conflict to extend the ceasefire seek to improve the flow of humanitarian relief and enable the restoration of water and electricity services.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/14/2023 00:00 ||
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Somali forces alongside foreign troops killed 44 al-Shabaab ...... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord... faceless myrmidons in the Lower Shabelle region on Saturday, a government official has said.
Deputy Information Minister Abdirahman Adala told the media that forces from the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) with ’international partners’ backing killed the faceless myrmidons in Ali Fuuto location near Kurtowarey district in Lower Shabelle region.
"Our Intelligence, NISA and International Partners destroyed the terrorist strong-holds where they were regrouping at the time of the special operation", Adala said.
The killings come barely a week after Somali Army said it killed 67 al-Shabaab faceless myrmidons in Harardhere district in the central region of Mudug.
The operation, security forces revealed, left a number of senior commanders dead, a huge trajectory in the war against the group. The operation was conducted in Ali Fuuto near Kurtowarey in the Lower Shabelle region, which is prone to al-Shabaab attacks, a bigwig confirmed.
Ali Fuuto village is about 208 kilometers Southwest of the capital Mogadishu. The National Intelligence Security Agency lauded the international partners for "support" in the latest offensive which has the blessings of the African Union ...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful... Transition Mission in Somalia [ATMIS] and the US Africa Command.
[HODHODYEMENNEWS.NET] A powerful explosion sounded on Saturday in the Saudi-led-coalition-controlled province of Abyan ...a governorate of Yemen. The region was a base to the Aden-Abyan Islamic Army terrorist group until it dropped the name and joined al-Qaeda. Its capital is Zinjibar. In March 2011, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula declared the governate an Islamic Emirate after seizing control of the region. The New York Times fastidiously reported that those in control, while Islamic hard boyz, are not in fact al-Qaeda, but something else that looks, tastes, smells, and acts the same. Yemeni government forces launched an effort to re-establish control of the region when President-for-Life Saleh was tossed and the carnage continues... , southern 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... , media sources said.
According to the sources, the earth-shattering kaboom shook the city of Zinjibar, the capital of the province.
So yet, there has been no news of any deaths or injuries, nor has there been comprehensive information on the causes of the earth-shattering kaboom.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/14/2023 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Southern Transitional Council
[KhaamaPress] The Belarussian authorities said an Afghan national holding a fake French passport, who intended to cross to Lithuania has been recognized and detained by the country’s border officials.
During the investigations, the Afghan national has said he wanted to reach Europe, according to Belarussian media.
The Afghan citizen will be kept in detention until his real identity is recognized, as per the existing reports.
Belarus is the route for many migrants colonists from different countries, including Afghanistan, to reach Europe.
Nearly a month ago, the Belarussian police announced that several Afghan nationals who had illegally entered the country were detained.
Since the return of the Taliban ...the Pashtun equivalent of men... to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, millions of Afghans have migrated to the neighboring countries of Iran, Pakistain and elsewhere fearing persecution and death threats.
Many Afghans have taken rather risky routes to reach Europa ...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum... through land and sea. Currently, thousands of Afghan families are stranded in The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire... and Greece hoping to reach Western European countries.
First, the story as reported by our usual sources:
[DW] Two people were killed in a shooting when a man shot up a Mercedes-Benz plant in southwestern Germany. A suspect has been taken into custody, police said.
A large-scale emergency operation was underway following a shooting that left two people dead at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Sindelfingen on Thursday morning.
A special operations team sealed off the site with a full-scale deployment including two helicopters and several emergency doctors.
The Public Prosecutor's Office in the nearby city of Stuttgart said it thought a single perpetrator was responsible for the shooting that killed two 44-year-old men.
The shots were believed to have been fired at a production line team leader, with the arrested suspect being a 53-year-old external worker from a logistics firm.
Staff overpowered the suspected perpetrator, detaining him until police arrived, officials said.
WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR
Multiple shots were reportedly fired at about 7:45 a.m. local time (0545 GMT/UTC).
Police tweeted about an hour later that an operation involving police and rescue workers was ongoing on the factory complex, some 15 kilometers (just under 10 miles) southwest of Stuttgart. Authorities confirmed a suspect had been taken into custody.
Emergency services were said to have carried out a search of the building looking for other injured people.
Employees reported that the scene was the automaker's Factory 56, where the firm's flagship S-Class vehicle is produced.
Police are still gathering information, a spokesperson said, and staff are being provided with psychological support.
Mercedes-Benz expressed dismay over the incident. "The tragic news from Sindelfingen has deeply shocked us," a company front man said, adding, "Our thoughts are with the victims, their families and all colleagues on site."
Recent fatal shootings in Germany have sparked a debate over implementing stricter gun laws in the country. The German government said it would revisit firearms laws in the wake of a shooting in March in Hamburg where a gunman killed six people at a Jehovah's Witness hall.
The suspect, a 53-year-old Ottoman Turkish citizen, was taken into custody, the Stuttgart prosecutor's office said.
By the time officers arrived, the suspect had already been overwhelmed by company security. He is being investigated on suspicion of double homicide.
The company said the three people involved were employees of an external service provider. German news agency dpa reported that they worked for logistics company Rhenus.
The sprawling Sindelfingen factory employs around 35,000 workers producing E-Class and S-Class luxury sedans and CLS and GLC coupes, according to Mercedes-Benz's website. It also houses planning, purchasing and development and design departments.
A workplace dispute between workers from The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the decaying remnant of the Ottoman Empire... in a politically tense environment resulted in the killing of two at the Mercedes factory in Stuttgart. One laid off worker shot two team leaders dead. The suspect was taken into custody, and the police started an investigation.
A 53-year-old worker shot two team leaders who he entered into a quarrel with at the Mercedes factory in Sindelfingen, Baden-Wurttemberg in Germany. The suspect was caught shortly after.
While the police have not made any statement about the reason of the killings, the website of the Junge Freiheit newspaper wrote, based on voice messages received from some working at the factory, that the events started with a discussion between two "pro-Erdogan" team leaders at the factory and the suspect who is an Erdogan opponent. When the discussion turned into a fight, the suspect took out his gun and took eight shots at the two.
Yucel Özdemir, a correspondent of Evrensel newspaper, wrote that the events started with M.D. who is known as an opponent, showing a reaction to Özcan K. and Ayhan B. because his labor contract was not extended.
Black Chicago residents held a press conference to express frustration that hundreds of migrants have relocated to their city. Millions of migrants have made illegal crossings into the US last year & this year due to the administration’s lax policies. pic.twitter.com/NN0ORrLSwL
[HindustanTimes] The officials of the directorate of revenue intelligence (DRI) will thoroughly investigate the links of the West Bengal (WB)-based importer and his wife, who were arrested for heroin smuggling on Friday, in Afghanistan and India during their three-day remand, officials said.
The couple is accused of smuggling heroin from Afghanistan to India via the Attari-Wagah border land route. The DRI officials posted at the integrated check post (ICP) Attari, which facilitates India’s trade with Afghanistan, and the movement of people from India to Pakistain and vice-versa, seized 5.5 kg of heroin from a consignment of Afghan brooms on Thursday evening.
In the consignment of 4,000 pieces of brooms in 40 bags, the heroin was stealthily filled in 442 hollow short pieces (in 3 bags) with ends of sticks artificially sealed. The sticks were further concealed/camouflaged inside the brooms which were tied up with iron wire on the outside.
The consignment was imported by an Afghan national in a pickup truck with fake Indian IDs in connivance with his Indian national wife.
"The accused were presented in a local court on Friday evening and the court sent them to three-day remand. During the remand, backward and forward linkages of the accused in India and Afghanistan will be probed," said an official privy to the investigation.
"The Afghan national had come out on bail 20 months after being lodged in a Delhi jail. He was arrested at the Delhi airport, around three years ago for smuggling heroin from Afghanistan in capsules. Around 400 gm of heroin was recovered from his possession at that time," the above-quoted official added.
"After coming out of the jail, the accused thought of a new way to smuggle via the land route, but it was detected. So far, we have found that it was his first consignment from the land route," the official said.
Earlier in 2019, customs officials had seized 532kg of heroin, which was smuggled in a salt truck from Afghanistan.
[Dawn] Six bad boyz were potted on Saturday in a clearance operation in Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... ’s Moslem Bagh town, a day after Lions of Islam attacked a Frontier Constabulary (FC) camp there, while seven — including soldiers — were martyred in the process, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.
In a blurb, the ISPR said it completed the clearance operation it began a day ago — when it had already killed two Lions of Islam — earlier this morning. "All six Lions of Islam in the compound who were well equipped have been sent to hell," it stated.
The statement further said, "In the process of clearance operation, seven sons of the soil, including a civilian, have embraced shahadat (martyrdom) while another six individuals, including a woman, have been injured."
Moreover, a hostage rescue operation was also conducted to save three families from a residential block, the ISPR said. "The Lions of Islam had not even spared children from their horrendous approach," it added.
"Necessary intelligence follow-up will continue to trace their (terrorists’) linkages, arrest controllers and expose their sponsors," the ISPR vowed.
The blurb stated: "Security forces, in step with the nation, remain determined to thwart all attempts at sabotaging peace, stability and progress of Balochistan."
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed "deep grief and sorrow" over the martyrdom of six soldiers of Pakistain Army and one civilian, Radio Pakistain quoted him as saying.
In a statement, he commiserated with the bereaved families and prayed for the higher ranks of deaders. Praying for the early recovery of the injured, the prime minister directed to provide them best possible medical treatment.
Shehbaz Sharif said the armed forces are determined to completely eradicate the menace of terrorism. He said the entire nation stands by the security forces.
A day ago, Balochistan Chief Minister Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo had condemned the attack and had expressed grief over the martyrdom of two soldiers till then.
The same day, in a separate incident, five turbans were killed in a heavy exchange of fire with security forces during an operation in the Hoshab area of the Kech district after turbans shot up a security checkpoint there.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
05/14/2023 01:53 ||
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Top|| File under: Pak Taliban (TTP)
[Shafaq News] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor... 's military on Saturday said it has "neutralized" two members of the anti-Ankara Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) for their involvement in killing an army officer on Friday.
Ottoman Turkish authorities use the term "neutralize" to imply that "the gunnies in question surrendered, were killed, or captured."
"We avenged our martyr and shall persist in our pursuit of vengeance," a blurb by Ankara's defense ministy said on Saturday, boasting the successful "neutralization" of the PKK operatives allegedly involved in the killing.
The ministry accentuated the unwavering commitment of the Ottoman Turkish Armed Forces to sustain their operations in the area with resolute determination.
The Ottoman Turkish Armed Forces have been conducting cross-border military operations against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Northern Iraq since the 1980s. Since 2019, Turkey has begun conducting operations codenamed Claw, including Claw Eagle and Tiger in 2020 and Claw-Lighting and Thunderbolt in 2021.
According to Ottoman Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, the current operation, Claw-lock, targets positions in the areas Metina, Zap, and Avashin and is carried out in cooperation with their allies.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
05/14/2023 01:26 ||
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Top|| File under: Sublime Porte
[IsraelTime] Spokesman says suspect, named as Ahmed Muhammad Atatreh, ran at crossing near Shaked settlement while brandishing knife
A Paleostinian man who allegedly attempted to stab Border Police officers at a checkpoint in the northern West Bank was rubbed out on Saturday afternoon.
A Border Police front man said the suspect ran toward the checkpoint near the settlement of Shaked, known as "checkpoint 300," while brandishing a knife.
"Border Police troops operating at the crossing fired at the terrorist and neutralized him," the front man said.
The Paleostinian Authority Health Ministry identified the man as 33-year-old Ahmed Muhammad Atatreh, and said he had died of his wounds.
No soldiers or officers were hurt in the incident.
[IsraelTimes] Hundreds at Tel Aviv march, 5,000 attend rally in Haifa, as main organizers cancel events in center and south of country on fifth day of conflict with Islamic Jihad ...created after many members of the Egyptian Moslem Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat. They worked out of Gaza until they were exiled to Lebanon in 1987, where they clove tightly to Hezbollah. In 1989 they moved to Damascus, where they remain a subsidiary of Hezbollah... .
[IsraelTimes] A tense ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) in Gaza appeared to hold ...after the 10 p.m. [local time 13 May] truce went into effect [holding as of 4am local time 14 May].
The Egyptian-brokered ceasefire puts a stop to five days of intense fighting that saw over 1,200 rockets launched at Israel as the Israeli military responded by targeting Islamic Jihad members, command centers, and capabilities in the Palestinian enclave.
A tense ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) in Gaza appeared to hold early Saturday, following brief rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip late in the night and retaliatory Israel Defense Forces airstrikes after the 10 p.m. truce went into effect.
Late Saturday, rocket alerts sounded in southern and central Israel, leading the IDF to launch retaliatory strikes in the Gaza Strip that the military said targeted two underground rocket launchers belonging to Islamic Jihad.
The Home Front Command told residents of communities near the enclave to remain near bomb shelters overnight and announced that restrictions on movements and gatherings for those within 40 kilometers (25 miles) of Gaza would lift at noon on Sunday. Roads near the border that were shut for fears of anti-tank guided missile attacks were set to reopen at 6 a.m. Sunday, the IDF said, following military assessments. Likewise, restrictions on residents beyond 40 kilometers from Gaza would lift at 6 a.m. on Sunday.
Home Front Command rules have mandated school closures, work closures — unless employees have a bomb-safe room they can reach in time — and limits to outdoor gatherings to no more than 10 people for those near the Palestinian enclave. Indoor gatherings are restricted to 100 people in those areas.
Additionally, special education schools are permitted to operate in areas near Gaza, provided there is a bomb-safe room that school kids and teachers can reach in time.
The announcement may be a precaution though, given that Gazan terror groups have violated ceasefires in the past. IDF officer Hadar Goldin was killed by Hamas and his body was dragged into a tunnel during the 2014 Gaza war, which unfolded shortly after a ceasefire was supposed to have gone in place.
In Gaza City late Saturday, as the truce took hold, the deafening whooshes of outgoing rockets and booms of Israeli airstrikes were replaced by the honking of cars. Streets that had been desolate in recent days quickly teemed with people reveling in the ceasefire, waving Palestinian flags and flashing victory signs from speeding vehicles. Amid the celebration, a fruit vendor used a loudspeaker, enthusiastically promoting his supply of bananas.
In a speech following the truce agreement, Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader Ziad Nakhaleh declared the "end of another round of conflict with the Zionist project."
Israel had to mow the grass, as they do at least annually — each time with less damage to Israel and more to Gaza. But Gaza starts it each time, so some masochistic impulse must need to experience death and destruction.
Nakhaleh, who is based in Syria where the Iranian-backed terror group also operates, said it "lost many of our dear brothers" and "we part from them with pride," as cited in Hebrew-language media. "A nation whose leaders died as shahids [martyrs] will never be defeated," he added.
At some point the destruction is great enough that defeat can be concluded despite lacking a formal surrender.
In its announcement on Saturday evening, Egypt said the parties agreed to a ceasefire starting at 10 p.m. Saturday which includes "a commitment to stop the attacks on civilians and the destruction of homes, as well as the harm to people immediately, from the start of the ceasefire."
Cairo said it expects Israel and Islamic Jihad to abide by the agreement, amid contradictory reports on its contents.
Egypt knows of hudna. And so knows that Islamic Jihad will abide by the agreement precisely until it once again does not.
In Gaza, Islamic Jihad spokesman Tareq Selmi said Israel had agreed to halt its policy of targeted strikes on the group’s leaders.
Does Israel also say so, or is this a special interpretation of Mr. Selmi’s?
"Any stupidity or assassination by the occupation will be met with a response and the Zionist enemy bears the responsibility," he said.
What occupation? The only Israelis in Gaza are prisoners, and they’re mentally ill volunteers. Ariel Sharon disengaged from Gaza in 2005.
But in a statement thanking Egypt for its "vigorous efforts" to negotiate an end to the fighting, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s national security adviser, Tzachi Nanegbi, said that "quiet would be answered with quiet" and Israel would do "everything that it needs to in order to defend itself."
In an official statement by the so-called "Joint Room" of Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip, which includes both Islamic Jihad and Gaza-ruling Hamas, the groups said "the round of fighting is over" but warned that if "the policy of assassinations... we are ready with a firm finger on the trigger."
Earlier Saturday night, a senior Egyptian official familiar with the negotiations between Israel and Palestinian Islamic Jihad told The Times of Israel that Israel would not sign a ceasefire agreement that includes any conditions beyond the IDF holding its fire.
PIJ has pushed for Israel to release the body of its senior member Khader Adnan, who died earlier this month after a hunger strike in protest of his detention in Israel without charge. Islamic Jihad has also demanded that Israel commit to halting assassinations of its leaders, the Egyptian official said, adding that Israel has refused the inclusion of either demand in a ceasefire deal.
On Friday, the Egyptian official told The Times of Israel that Cairo was determined to broker a ceasefire ahead of Thursday’s controversial rally of Israeli religious nationalists through the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City, which Cairo fears could inflame tensions to a point of no return.
The so-called Flag March is held every year on Jerusalem Day with its thousands of largely Orthodox participants rallying from Independence Park to the Western Wall to mark Israel’s reunification of East and West Jerusalem during the 1967 Six Day War. The march has gained notoriety over the years, as it is often marred by hate speech and sometimes violence by young Jewish participants toward Palestinians.
In the past two years, the Biden administration has urged Israel to change the route of the march to go through the Old City’s Jaffa Gate, instead of Damascus Gate, thereby avoiding the Muslim Quarter, which is largely populated by Palestinians.
A senior Israeli official told The Times of Israel last week that the hardline government was not likely to reroute the march.
FIVE DAYS OF FIGHTING
Operation Shield and Arrow, as it is known in the military, was launched early Tuesday with the killing of three top Islamic Jihad commanders in the wake of rocket fire from Gaza earlier this month. Subsequent Israeli strikes killed at least three other senior figures of the Iranian-backed terror group.
Gazan fighters, who began firing rockets in response to the bombing on Wednesday afternoon, launched at least 1,234 projectiles during the conflict as of Saturday morning, according to military figures.
At least 976 of the projectiles crossed the border, while 221 fell short in Gaza — with some of them believed to have killed four Palestinians.
The IDF said air defense systems — Iron Dome and the medium-range David’s Sling — intercepted 373 of the rockets, marking a 91 percent interception rate of projectiles heading for populated areas. Several rockets have landed within towns, killing one and injuring several others, as well as causing extensive damage.
The rest landed in open areas without causing damage, according to the IDF. Most rockets targeted towns in southern Israel, but some reached as far north as Tel Aviv.
The military also said it had carried out strikes against 371 targets belonging to Islamic Jihad during the campaign.
Two civilians in Israel were killed by Islamic Jihad rockets since the IDF launched the operation — an Israeli woman in Rehovot and a Palestinian man from Gaza who was working in a greenhouse near the southern town of Shokeda.
Meanwhile, Israel has killed 18 Islamic Jihad operatives in addition to at least 10 Palestinian civilians, an IDF official said Saturday. The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry put the death toll at 33, but the IDF official noted that some Gaza civilians were likely killed by Islamic Jihad rockets that landed inside the Strip.
The Times of Israel liveblog for yesterday is here.
Israel and Palestinian militants unleashed salvos of fire for a fourth day on Saturday, with the Islamic Jihad militant group launching rockets and the Israeli military pounding targets inside the Gaza Strip.
There were no immediate reports of casualties in Gaza or Israel on Saturday. But in a reminder of the combustible situation in the occupied West Bank, the Israeli military raided the Balata refugee camp in the northern city of Nablus, killing two Palestinians. The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the two as 32-year-old Said Mesha and 19-year-old Adnan Araj. At least three other Palestinians were wounded in the raid, the latest of near-daily Israeli arrest operations against suspected militants in the territory.
Meanwhile, hopes for an imminent cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad were fading as the Israeli military early Saturday bombed an apartment belonging to Islamic Jihad commander Mohammed Abu Al Atta,
The hostilities erupted on Tuesday when Israel targeted and killed three senior Islamic Jihad commanders who it said were responsible for firing rockets toward Israel last week. At least 10 civilians, including women, young children and uninvolved neighbors were killed in those initial strikes, which drew regional condemnation.
Over the past few days, Israel has conducted even more airstrikes, killing other senior Islamic Jihad commanders and destroying their command centers and rocket-launching sites. On Friday, Israel killed Iyad al-Hassani, an Islamic Jihad commander who had replaced a leader of the group's military operations killed in a Tuesday airstrike.
The Palestinian Health Ministry has reported 33 Palestinians killed — six of them children — and over 147 wounded.
Islamic Jihad has retaliated by firing rockets toward southern and central Israel. On Friday, the group escalated its assaults and fired rockets toward Jerusalem, setting off air raid sirens in the Israeli settlements south of the contested capital. Most of the rockets have fallen short or been intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome aerial defense system. But one on Thursday penetrated missile defenses and sliced through a house in the central city of Rehovot, killing an 80-year-old woman and wounding several others.
Hamas, the larger militant group that has controlled Gaza since seizing power in 2007, has praised Islamic Jihad's strikes but remained on the sidelines, according to Israeli military officials, limiting the scope of the conflict. As the de facto government held responsible for the abysmal conditions in the blockaded Gaza Strip, Hamas has recently tried to keep a lid on its conflict with Israel. Islamic Jihad has taken the lead in the past few rounds of fighting with Israel.
On Saturday, the deadly Israeli raid into the Balata refugee camp turned the focus of the conflict back to the long-simmering West Bank. Residents said that Israeli forces used shoulder-fired rockets to besiege a militant hideout, sharing footage of a large explosion and smoke billowing from the crowded camp. The two Palestinians killed were not the target of the arrest raid, witnesses said, but among the crowds of protesters throwing stones and explosives at Israeli troops. The Israeli military had no immediate comment.
Israeli-Palestinian fighting has surged in the West Bank under Israel's most right-wing government in history. Since the start of the year, 111 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied territory, at least half of them affiliated with militant groups, according to a tally by The Associated Press — the highest death toll in some two decades. In that time, 20 people have been killed in Palestinian attacks on Israelis.
Two Paleostinian button men were rubbed out Saturday morning by Israeli troops in the Balata refugee camp in the northern West Bank city of Nablus, the military and Paleostinian health officials said.
The Paleostinian Authority Health Ministry said Saed Jihad Shaker Mashah, 32, and Adnan Wasim Yusef al-Araj, 19, were both fatally shot in the head during festivities with Israeli soldiers.
The ministry said another three were maimed in the festivities.
The Israel Defense Forces said troops raided a hideout apartment in the camp used by terror operatives who were planning to carry out attacks.
Troops broke into the residence and located and seized explosives, firearms, and other military equipment, the IDF said. Several primed bombs were detonated by troops in the apartment, the military added.
Amid the raid, Paleostinian button menshot up troops, and others hurled bombs, the IDF said.
"[Troops] responded with riot dispersal means and live fire, two of the button men were killed," the military said in a statement.
No Israeli soldiers were hurt during the operation.
The IDF did not say if the soldiers had arrested any suspects.
Israeli troops have been conducting frequent arrest raids in Paleostinian cities, often coming under fire by local button men. Several Israeli soldiers have been maimed in such shootouts in recent weeks.
Images circulating online showed al-Araj brandishing a firearm, indicating his affiliation with an gang.
Local terror groups did not immediately claim al-Araj and Mashah as members.
Graphic footage from the scene of the incident showed the two men lying on the ground covered in blood.
In other clips shared by Paleostinian media, gunfire could be heard across the camp.
Tensions between Israel and the Paleostinians have been elevated for the past year, with the IDF conducting near-nightly raids in the West Bank amid a series of deadly Paleostinian terror attacks.
Since the beginning of the year, Paleostinian attacks in Israel and the West Bank have killed 19 people and left several more seriously hurt. At least 106 West Bank Paleostinians have been killed during that span, most of them while carrying out attacks or during festivities with security forces
[HODHODYEMENNEWS.NET] Israeli occupation’s warplanes bombed a house belonging to the al-Za’anin family and destroyed it completely in Beit Hanoun in the northern Gazoo ...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamaswith about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... Strip, after another house was destroyed in the same city belonging to the al-Madhoun family this morning, Saturday.Media sources confirmed that there was significant damage to the neighboring houses due to the destruction of the al-Za’anin family’s house.
The sources announced that two women were moderately maimed, as a result of the Israeli occupation’s bombing of a house in Beit Lahiya.
Earlier, the occupation warplanes targeted a house belonging to the Muhanna family on Yarmouk Street in the center of Gaza City, as well as the apartment of the martyr Bahaa Abu al-Ata in the al-Shujayia neighborhood.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/14/2023 00:00 ||
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[8 views]
Top|| File under: Palestinian Islamic Jihad
[War Horse] Explosions flashed in the fog hanging over the Euphrates River like a coming summer storm.
The continuous thunder of Russian guns pounded the American positions in a burned-out natural gas refinery in eastern Syria. Tracers crisscrossed the Syrian sky. The Special Forces soldiers felt the rumble of the explosions through the armored cabins of their trucks.
Overhead, America’s most lethal aircraft—F-15E strike fighters, AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, and MQ-9 Reapers—pounded the Russian guns and enemy formations below.
The Special Forces team had been in combat against ISIS fighters for months, but this was different. ISIS, for the most part, was a few mortar rounds or spray-and-pray potshots from an AK-47. This was a trained Russian force with artillery and armored vehicles.
This was a fair fight, and the U.S. troops were driving into it.
"It looked like New York City on New Year’s Eve," Chauncey, a former Special Forces team sergeant who helped lead a quick reaction force (QRF) to the refinery, tells The War Horse. "By far, the most chaotic battle scene that I’ve ever observed, let alone be a part of."
The soldiers’ last names have been withheld to protect their identities.
In February 2018, the American Special Forces team deployed to Syria as part of the ongoing campaign against ISIS that began in 2015. But after months of successful operations against ISIS, the team now faced a new adversary. Around 500 pro-Syrian government forces, including Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group, launched a nearly four-hour attack on a small group of 40 American Special Operations troops and their Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) allies at a Conoco natural gas refinery in eastern Syria. Among the largest in the area, it had multiple buildings that provided good cover. It offered the Russians a foothold on the east side of the river.
Unidentified gunmen shoot dead a civilian in the western countryside of #Daraa. In a separate incident, some attackers target a military vehicle of #Syrian government forces with an IED in eastern Daraa.https://t.co/ufsfszNBef
— NORTH PRESS AGENCY - ENGLISH (@NPA_English) May 13, 2023
Posted by: Fred ||
05/14/2023 00:00 ||
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Sheikh Laith al-Balous, a prominent local leader in #Suwayda, survived an assassination attempt in the western countryside of Suwayda, southern #Syria.https://t.co/ARUct9d6Cn
— NORTH PRESS AGENCY - ENGLISH (@NPA_English) May 13, 2023
Posted by: Fred ||
05/14/2023 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Islamic State
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
...Arabic for 
...... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord...
...the decaying remnant of the Ottoman Empire...
...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor...
