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Today: 74 articles and 190 comments as of 23:15.
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Area: WoT Background    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix   
Many of us are concerned....
Today's Headlines
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Page 1: WoT Operations
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Page 2: WoT Background
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Page 4: Opinion
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Page 6: Politix
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Afghanistan
Taliban Suffer Casualties in Faryab, Uruzgan Provinces
[KhaamaPress] Security officials said in a statement on Thursday, that the Taliban
...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
had suffered heavy casualties in Faryab province.

Dozens of Taliban Lions of Islam gathered on Wednesday in a location, the group planned and intended to attack Afghan security and defense forces in the center of Belchiragh district of the province, the statement added.

According to the statement, four Taliban Lions of Islam were killed and two others were maimed in a joint operation conducted by ANDSF forces.

The ANDSF operation was also facilitated with Air support.

It is stated that during the ambush, with 20 cycle of violences, one vehicle was completely wrecked, Afghan republic’s security members seized 15 other motorbikes, weapons, and ammunition after the festivities.

No injuries were inflicted to the Afghan National Army.

This comes as seven Taliban members were killed and 7 others were maimed in the Gizab district of Uruzgan province on Wednesday.

Ministry of Defense tweeted, that additional 12 IEDs which were planted by the Taliban on Public roads were also discovered.

The IEDs were later defused and many innocent lives were saved.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/24/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336112 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  It's Sunday...no work. That calls for a drink!
Posted by: Clem || 01/24/2021 12:23 Comments || Top||


Eight Security Force Members Killed in Baghlan, Nimroz
[ToloNews] At least members of the Afghan forces were killed in Taliban
...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
attacks in Nimroz and Baghlan province on Thursday evening, sources and officials said.

Six police force members were killed in a Taliban attack on their outpost in Khashrod district in the south-western province of Nimroz on Thursday night, the provincial police chief Colonel Abdul Wahab Balakarzai said.

According to him, the attack was carried out by "dozens" of Taliban fighters on an outpost in Halili area in Khashrod district last night.

He said the Taliban also suffered casualties in the attack.

Meanwhile,
...back at the shootout, Butch clutched at his other leg......
two security force members were killed in Taliban attacks in Baghlan province that happened on the outskirts of the center of the province on Thursday evening, according to sources.

Sources said that five security force members were killed in the two attacks in Baghlan.

One of the attacks happened on a local police outpost in PD2 of Pul-e-Khumri city, the center of Baghlan, in which one security force member was killed and a local police commander and a soldier were maimed, sources said.

The Taliban also attacked a security forces outpost in Chashma-e-Shibar area long Baghlan-Samangan highway in the north of Afghanistan, killing one soldier and wounding three others, sources said.

Local officials said the Taliban attacks were pushed back and that the snuffies suffered casualties in the attacks.

Sources said that the Taliban has established checkpoints in northern highways and are "extorting" truck drivers, something that the Taliban has denied.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/24/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336122 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Helmand: Afghan Commandos ‘Release Captives’ From Taliban Prison
[KhaamaPress] Afghan security officials say the commando forces have carried out an operation on a Taliban
...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
’s prison in Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand
...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan...
province on Wednesday night.

Security officials stated, that in an operation carried out by the Afghan Commando forces on a Taliban prison in Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province.

At least 27 prisoners held in the captivity of the Talibs were released and freed during the Wednesday night operation.

Reports indicate Afghan commando forces seized a rocket, AK47, two radios, and other Taliban equipment used for planting IEDs.

One of the Taliban guards who had the duty to look after the prison was also killed during the night raid, the statement read.

Earlier, the Ministry of Defense in a post on their Facebook page said, that commando forces rescued at least 13 prisoners from the clutches of the Taliban.

The captured prisoners were rescued from a Taliban jail in the Washer district of Helmand province.

Commando operations backed by air support conducted a mission on Taliban controlled jail during the night.

The overnight mission forced the Talibs to flee to nearby villages.

Security officials told the media, that 13 people including a policeman were rescued from the grips of the Taliban during the operation.

The abductees were held by the Taliban for over a year and were being held inside the prison in a poor condition.

The freed Afghan citizens, including the policeman, have returned to their families.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/24/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336107 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


6 ANP members ‘Injured in Herat’ IED Blast
[KhaamaPress] Six coppers were maimed in an IED blast near a police outpost in Herat
...a venerable old Persian-speaking city in western Afghanistan, populated mostly by Tadjiks, which is why it's not as blood-soaked as areas controlled by Pashtuns...
province.

The incident happened on Tuesday night at around 10 p.m. local time in Angel District.

Local officials told the media, that a mine was placed close to the outpost that left six ANP members maimed.

Four ANP members were reportedly taken to a nearby hospital for treatment, and all of the injured ANA personnel are in good condition, reports indicate.

Following the blast, residents in the area says they have heard gunfire.

In another incident, 3 Afghan National Army soldiers were killed and two others were maimed in an attack by unknown button men in Herat province on Wednesday morning.

The incident happened when unknown gunnies opened fire on Afghan cops inside a vehicle.

According to reports, investigations are ongoing in relation to the attack, button men on the lam.

Some sources told the media, that during the attack 3 ANA soldiers were killed and four are maimed.

No group or individual has yet claimed any responsibility for both of the attacks.

An analysis reported by Tolonews shows that over 40 afghan security force members were killed in skirmishes with the Taliban
...Arabic for students...
over the past 24 hours in Kunduz, Baghlan, and Nimroz provinces.

"At least nine provinces in Afghanistan have witnessed assassinations, explosions, and violent mostly peaceful criminal acts in the past 48 hours," Tolonews said in a report.

Meanwhile,
...back at the game, the Babe headed for second base. He almost made it. Then Sheila slapped him....
the Ministry of Defense stated, that over 40 Taliban affiliated members were killed in Kunduz.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/24/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336107 views] Top|| File under:


Twin Explosions Rock Nangarhar
[KhaamaPress] Local officials confirmed to media, that Twin blasts rattle 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 Wednesday.

According to a statement, the initial blast happened at around 3 pm, when a vehicle hit a roadside kaboom in the Sherzad district.

In the incident, two Afghan non-combatants were killed and further four people were maimed.

30 minutes after the first blast another vehicle carrying civilians hit an IED in the Khogyani district of Nangarhar province.

At least two non-combatants were killed and three more were maimed in the incident, officials to media.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/24/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336110 views] Top|| File under:

#1  So, just another day in Nangarhar.
Posted by: ed in texas || 01/24/2021 16:48 Comments || Top||

#2  Was going to hang out at the Nangarhar Wendys tonight but think I'll stay home instead and finish the book I started.
Posted by: jpal || 01/24/2021 18:24 Comments || Top||


2 ANA Officers, 1 Civilian Killed as Attacks Continue in Kabul
[ToloNews] Three people were killed and one more was maimed in two separate security incidents in Kabul on Thursday evening, according to security sources.

In the first incident, at least two Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers were killed in the Kot-e-Sangi area of PD5 in Kabul city on Thursday evening, a security source told TOLOnews.

The two ANA officers Sayed Abu Talib Sadat and Nawab Haidari belonged to 209 Shaheen Army Corps.

Interior Ministry front man Tariq Arian blamed the Taliban
...Arabic for students...
for the liquidation of the ANA soldiers.

The second incident happened in PD6 and one civilian was killed and two others were maimed in an IED blast that targeted a vehicle in PD6 of Kabul city.

The recent spate of assassinations comes three months after Afghanistan’s First Vice President Amrullah Saleh took the charge of Kabul security in a move to fix the fragile security situation in the nation’s most congested city.

Although, Saleh’s new security measures for Kabul have met with mixed reaction among the ordinary Afghans, but on Friday, President Ashraf Ghani
...former chancellor of Kabul University, now president of Afghanistan. Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002 he was a scholar of political science and anthropology. He worked at the World Bank working on international development assistance. As Finance Minister of Afghanistan between July 2002 and December 2004, he led Afghanistan's attempted economic recovery until the Karzais stole all the money...
defended Saleh’s security measures.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/24/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336100 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Africa Horn
Three Killed In Mogadishu Bomb Explosion
Three people were killed in a roadside blast in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Saturday, the police and government officials said. Sadiq Adan, police spokesman said the soldiers were killed following an improvised explosive device (IED) exploded on a vehicle carrying two former lawmakers and a prominent traditional elder in Kaaraan district of central Mogadishu.

“Those who were killed are three bodyguards of the former lawmakers. Their driver was badly wounded while two former members of parliament were slightly injured,” Adan told Xinhua on the phone.

The latest blast is part of a series of similar bombings in Mogadishu that have killed several government officials in the recent past.

Kaaraan District Commissioner, Abshir Mohamed Mohamud told reporters that al-Shabab militants were behind the IED attack that targeted former Parliament members and urged people to be vigilant.

“IED attack left three soldiers dead and injured three senior officials including Muhyadin Hassan Afrah who was a former Parliament member of Somalia. The enemy, al-Shabab militants, hid the bomb on the roadside,” Mohamud said. He added that the two injured former lawmakers were rushed to the hospital but independent sources said the death toll is more than those mentioned.
Posted by: Steve White || 01/24/2021 00:07 || Comments || Link || [336103 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab (AQ)


Shaboobs attack Æthiop troops in Gedo
MOGADISHU, Somalia -The Al-Shabaab militants have claimed to have targeted Ethiopian National Defense Forces base in Gedo, a region in Jubaland which has been witnessing skirmishes for the last several months, with elections in Somalia just around the corner.

Through friendly media sites, the Al-Shabaab said they killed two Ethiopian soldiers by using mortar shells, which were fired to the base in Burdhubo town that hosts hundreds of Ethiopian troops who are responsible for security details along the region.

For months, the militants have been targeting army bases in the country as a way of neutralizing the security teams which have been carrying out operations in the region. Most of these attacks have been successfully repelled by the security forces.

Neither AMISOM nor the Ethiopian troops have responded to the claims. The Ethiopian troops rarely give feedback on such incidents especially when they suffer casualties.

Gedo region is majorly under the Ethiopian National Defense Forces and those from Kenya Defense Forces serving in the AMISOM. The teams are also aided by troops from the Somali National Army and Jubaland Security forces.
Posted by: Steve White || 01/24/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336104 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab (AQ)


Africa North
Ocean Viking Rescuers Pick up Hundreds of Migrants off Libya
[AnNahar] Over 350 migrants colonists have been rescued off the Libyan coast by the Ocean Viking humanitarian vessel in just two days, a French NGO running the boat said on Saturday.

SOS Mediterranee said that "106 people were rescued ... in international waters 28 nautical miles (50 kms) from the Libyan coast" on Friday evening.

"The majority of the people aboard an inflatable rubber dinghy were found intoxicated by oil fumes," it said. They came from Guinea, Sudan and Sierra Leone.

On Friday morning, the Ocean Viking picked up 149 people from two boats following an SOS signal, including 58 minors and four babies -- one just a month old, it said.

Since Thursday, a total of 374 people have been rescued by the Ocean Viking, of whom 165 are children, SOS Mediterranee said.

A total of 131 minors are unaccompanied.

Libya has become a key route for irregular migration to Europa
...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum...
in the chaotic years since the 2011 overthrow and killing of dictator Moamer Qadaffy in a NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all....
-backed uprising.

While many have drowned at sea, thousands have been intercepted by the Libyan coastguard, which has been backed by Italia and the European Union
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
, and returned to Libya.

They mostly end up in detention, often in horrific conditions.

The Ocean Viking took to the seas on January 11 after being blocked in Italia for five months before being released in December. Authorities had cited alleged safety issues for the holdup.

Ocean Viking is currently the sole rescue ship run by an NGO in the area, according to SOS Mediterranee's head, Sophie Beau, who said "the others have been blocked by Italian authorities like the Ocean Viking earlier".

Most migrants colonists leave from Libya and Tunisia attempting a hazardous Mediterranean crossing to try and enter Europe through Italia.

More than 1,200 died last year while trying to cross the Mediterranean.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/24/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336119 views] Top|| File under: Human Trafficking

#1  The NGO's should required to take their pickups home with them rather than dump them on the nearest nation. Finders keepers.
Posted by: ed in texas || 01/24/2021 12:52 Comments || Top||

#2  The NGOs should be required to *sponsor* them by posting a bond, say 2 million Euros per migrant, that the migrants will not need government assistance in their new country. Show their sincerity by pledging their money.
Posted by: magpie || 01/24/2021 15:34 Comments || Top||

#3  Some may choose not to be rescued by a cruise ship. You know considering their history of being quarantined at sea.
Posted by: jpal || 01/24/2021 17:25 Comments || Top||

#4  If they were real Vikings, the "rescued" would be on sale in Dublin by the end of the week.
Posted by: Rob Crawford || 01/24/2021 19:04 Comments || Top||


Foreign forces ignore Libya exit deadline under fragile truce
[AlAhram] Satellite images broadcast by CNN
...formerly the Cable News Network, now who know what it might stand for...
show a trench running tens of kilometres (miles) dug by 'Russian mercenaries' near the frontline coastal city of Sirte


Foreign forces ignored a deadline to pull out of Libya as scheduled Saturday under a UN-backed ceasefire deal, highlighting the fragility of peace efforts after a decade of conflict.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/24/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336118 views] Top|| File under: Ottoman Proxies


10 More Bodies Found in Libya Mass Grave
[AnNahar] Forensics teams in war-shattered Libya have discovered 10 more bodies in mass graves in a once militia-controlled town outside 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 Government of National Accord said on Thursday.

"Three bodies were blindfolded and their wrists bound," the GNA's interior ministry said in a Facebook post on the latest grisly find at Tarhuna, 80 kilometers (50 miles) southeast of Tripoli.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/24/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336117 views] Top|| File under:


Arabia
Saudi Intercepts 'Hostile Target' over Capital
[AnNahar] 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...
intercepted a "hostile target" over Riyadh on Saturday, said state media in the kingdom which has come under repeated attack from Yemen
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of...
's Iran-backed Iran's Houthi sock puppets
...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 legitimate Yemeni government has accused the them of having ties to the Iranian government. Honest they did. 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 They like shooting off... ummm... missiles that they would have us believe they make at home in their basements. On the plus side, they did murder Ali Abdullah Saleh, which was the only way the country was ever going to be rid of him...
s
since 2015.

An explosion was heard in the Saudi capital at around 11:00 am (0800 GMT), AFP correspondents reported.

"I heard a loud sound and thought that something had fallen from the sky," said one resident, who lives in the al-Sulaimaniyah district of Riyadh. "The whole house was shaking."

The Saudi-led coalition, which backs Yemen's internationally recognised government against the Huthis, said it had "intercepted and destroyed a hostile air target going towards Riyadh", without elaborating, according to state-run Al Ekhbariya television station.

Riyadh's King Khaled International Airport said there were a number of flight delays, but it was not immediately clear if they were linked to Saturday's incident.

Saudi Arabia has been repeatedly targeted by the Huthis since its intervention in the Yemen war in 2015.
Houthis = Iranian Proxies
It is rare, however, for drones and missiles launched by the Huthis to reach the kingdom's capital -- about 700 kilometres (435 miles) from the Yemeni border.

The Iranian catspaws have yet to comment on the incident, which comes only days after Joe Foreign Policy Whiz Kid Biden
...Candidate for president in 2020. You're a lyin' dog-faced pony soldier...
was sworn-in as US president, replacing Donald Trump
...dictatorial for repealing some (but not all) of the diktats of his predecessor, misogynistic because he likes pretty girls, homophobic because he doesn't think gender bending should be mandatory, truly a man for all seasons......
According to the new US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, the Biden administration will quickly revisit the designation of Yemen's Houthis as terrorists.

At his confirmation hearing on Tuesday, Blinken said he would "immediately" review the Trump administration's labelling of the bad boys, fearing the move was worsening a humanitarian crisis.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/24/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336123 views] Top|| File under: Houthis


Europe
Italy arrests suspected al-Qaeda foreign fighter caught in Turkey
[Jpost] A 24-year-old Italian suspected of fighting in the Middle East since 2014 with al-Qaeda-affiliated groups was arrested in The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor...
and placed in durance vile
Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages!
in Italia, police said on Wednesday.

The unnamed man, who had lived with his wife and their four children near the Syrian city of Idlib, agreed to hand himself over after being tracked down on accusations of terrorist activity in Syria and Iraq, police told a news conference.

"We managed to find him and bring him back to Italia... we were also able to get his wife and children out of a crisis area," said Italia's anti-terrorism agency chief Diego Parente.
Should've revoked his passport and let him and his brood rot there
The man was transferred to the Ottoman Turkish province of Hatay and then on to jail in Italia, while his family remain in Turkey. The hunt began on information from his parents in Switzerland
...home of the Helvetians, famous for cheese, watches, yodeling, and William Tell...
, where he had lived and was radicalized, police said.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/24/2021 01:24 || Comments || Link || [336106 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda


The Grand Turk
Turkey announces new phase of operation against PKK in eastern province
[Rudaw] Ottoman Turkish interior ministry announced on Saturday that it had launched a new stage of a military operation against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the eastern province of Agri.

The ministry began the first phase of Operation Eren in both Agri and Van provinces on January 11 and extended it to a second phase on January 20 in the Lice region of Diyarbakir province. It declared the third phase of the operation on Saturday.

The new phase targets alleged PKK positions on Mount Ararat, and involves 59 operational teams of 1,040 personnel from the gendarmerie, police, and village guards, according to a statement from the ministry.

The operation is named after 15-year-old Eren Bulbul who was killed during a clash between Ottoman Turkish forces and the PKK in Trabzon province on August 11, 2017. According to Ottoman Turkish media, Bulbul had spotted some PKK fighters in his hometown Macka and informed the police of it. He accompanied the police to the area and was killed. The PKK confirmed their involvement in the clash, but did not mention Bulbul.

The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...just another cheapjack Moslem dictatorship, brought to you by the Moslem Brüderbund...
accuses the PKK for his death, and has cast him as a hero in their fight against the arm group ever since.

State-owned Anadolu Agency (AA) published footage of the forces attending to Eren’s third phase on the mountain, which is covered with snow.

The PKK is an gang struggling for the increased rights of Kurds in Turkey. It is considered a terrorist organization by Ankara.

Turkey frequently attacks the group’s alleged position at home and in northern Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region.

It launched operations codenamed Kapan and Yildirim in 2020 against the group inside Turkey. It also launched air-based Operation Claw-Eagle and ground-based Operation Claw-Tiger in Kurdistan in mid-June 2020 - the latter one continues.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/24/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336111 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte


India-Pakistan
Militant leader killed in North Waziristan operation
NORTH WAZIRISTAN: A militant hard boy leader was killed during an intelligence-based operation in Mirali subdivision of North Waziristan tribal district on Saturday.

Sources said that the security forces launched an operation after receiving information about the presence of a militant commander in Mossaki village.
Mahmoud the Weasel; he's everywhere...
As the militant saw the security forces, he opened random senseless aimless fire on them.

The security personnel responded to the attack
They had to, you know...
and killed the militant leader.
Right there on the spot...
He was identified as Said Rahim alias Abid.
Not exactly an alias that inspires fear and admiration, but perhaps it sounds better in Urdu...
The sources said that the militant was involved in attacks on security forces in the area, including a recent attack on a Frontier Corps convoy.
The return of Mr. Pink Salmon?
Posted by: Steve White || 01/24/2021 00:02 || Comments || Link || [336104 views] Top|| File under:


Iraq
Turkey bombs multiple sites in Kurdistan, injuring two children: local sources
[Rudaw] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...just another cheapjack Moslem dictatorship, brought to you by the Moslem Brüderbund...
bombed at least three areas in the Kurdistan Region on Friday, injuring two children and killing hundreds of sheep, according to local sources. The attacks come just days after Turkey’s defense minister visited Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.

Mohammed Sheikhzade is a villager living in Gri in Duhok’s Chamanke district, at the foot of Gara mountain near the border with Turkey. "Ottoman Turkish warplanes bombarded the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) positions today at 2:30pm. A bomb hit near our house, breaking the window glass. As a result, my brothers Salih, 10, and Islam, 15, were maimed due to the broken glass," he told Rudaw.

The mayor of Chamanke, Alend Amir, confirmed the bombardment and the injuries, saying "both injured people were moved to Chamanke Hospital and were given necessary treatment."

Turkey’s defense ministry said in a statement Friday afternoon that they "neutralized" four members of the PKK in an Arclight airstrike
...KABOOM!...
in the Gara area of Duhok province. Ankara uses the word "neutralize" to denote death, injury, or capture of its adversaries.

Turkey launched a new air and ground military operation in the Kurdistan Region in mid-June last year, on the grounds of targeting alleged PKK positions. The ground operation was "successfully completed" in September but the air campaign still continues.

Two villages in the Haji Omran district of Erbil province, on the Iranian border, were also bombarded on Friday.

Abdulwahab Mahmoud, mayor of Haji Omran, told Rudaw that the eastern parts of Gundazhur village came under attack by Turkey. But the village "is usually empty during this season, so there were no casualties."

Bardarukhaw village was also bombed, he confirmed.

In a third area, Ottoman Turkish warplanes hit a barn in Chikan village in the Choman district of Erbil province, killing hundreds of sheep. In video submitted to Rudaw, the bombing appeared to take place near a busy road.

In a second statement, Turkey’s defense ministry claimed it "neutralized" three PKK fighters in the Khakurk region, referring to a broad area on Kurdistan Region's border with Turkey and Iran, including Haji Omran.

This week, Turkey’s defense minister Hulusi Akar visited Baghdad and Erbil. In his meetings with Kurdish and Iraqi leaders, he said Turkey will continue its fight against the PKK in Iraq.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/24/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336113 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte


Counter-terror forces raid ISIS networks day after deadly Baghdad bombing killed at least 32, injured mare than 100
[Rudaw] Iraq’s counter-terror forces detained a number of alleged Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really 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 western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
(ISIS) forces of Evil in multiple operations against the group on Friday, a day after twin suicide kabooms in Baghdad, claimed by ISIS, killed dozens of people.

At dawn on Friday, the Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) launched an operation dubbed "Revenge of the Martyrs" in three provinces: Baghdad, Anbar, and Kirkuk and "neutralized a number of terrorists," tweeted Yehia Rasool, spokesperson for Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.

"Those arrested are linked to ISIS [ISIS] gang networks and have good information about the leaders of these terrorist networks," he stated.

In an open-air market in Baghdad on Thursday, two jacket wallahs detonated boom belts, killing at least 32 people and injuring more than 100.

The attack, after several years of calm in Baghdad, has exposed flaws in Iraq’s security forces, strained under the coronavirus (aka COVID19 or Chinese Plague)
...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men...
pandemic, tensions between allies Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate Jews Zionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
and the United States, and political turmoil.

Hours after the suicide kabooms, Kadhimi had an emergency meeting with his security team and ordered a reshuffling, moving five senior commanders out of their posts.

But the people of Baghdad are afraid of a return to near-daily suicide kabooms and bombings.

ISIS claims responsibility for Baghdad suicide bombing

[Rudaw] The Islamic State (ISIS) has claimed responsibility for a double suicide bombing in central Baghdad’s Tayaran Square on Thursday that left more than 30 dead in the first attack of its kind in several years.

Two suicide bombers belonging to the terror group detonated explosive belts in the crowded square, the group confirmed via its propaganda telegram channels late on Thursday. It said the second bomber struck as people gathered after the first explosion.

Thirty-two people were killed and 110 injured in the attack, according to Iraq's Ministry of Health.

The first attacker claimed to feel sick, attracting a crowd of helpers before detonating his explosive device, according to the interior ministry.

Ministry spokesperson Major General Tahsin Al-Khafaji told al-Iraqiya TV on Thursday that the bombings "bear the imprint of ISIS."

The terror group struck the same square in 2018, killing 28 people.

ISIS claimed on Thursday in its weekly propaganda newspaper al-Naba that it had killed and injured at least 40 people in 30 operations in Iraq from January 15 to January 21.

In an emergency meeting shortly after the bombing, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi dismissed and reshuffled several security and intelligence officials responsible for security in the area where the attack took place, not far from the capital’s Green Zone.

Posted by: trailing wife || 01/24/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336140 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Senior ISIS commander killed by Peshmerga in Kifri: commander
[Rudaw] An Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really 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 western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
(ISIS) emir was killed by Peshmerga forces during a two-day operation against the group near Kifri town, according to a commander.

Barham Mohammed, commander from Peshmerga Forces’ Unit 70, told Rudaw that the operation targeted several ISIS sleeper cells in Mount Ghara near Kifri town on Thursday. The operation was supported by US-led Coalition forces.

Mohammed reports that eight ISIS positions were destroyed in the operation, which saw the killing of an emir reportedly named Othman. The commander described the raid as "retaliation" for the deaths of two Kurdish shepherds in the same village after an improvised bomb, suspected to be planted by ISIS, went kaboom! on January 12.

Kifri town is located near Tuz Khurmatu and Kalar, in the Garmiyan administration. It is governed by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

The Peshmerga commander noted that they spotted two additional ISIS members in the village with the aid of drones, adding that the snuffies were able to escape through the assistance of a shepherd. Peshmerga and the coalition forces were not able to target them due to the presence of civilians, he claims.

Mohammed added that Iraqi army fired at the ISIS krazed killers, but they got away.

"They were able to cross the Hamrin river and then reach the Hamrin mountains," he noted.

"Previously, we had information about the escape of ISIS fighters in two military vehicles and five cycle of violences in the area," the commander added, using the Arabic acronym for ISIS.

ISIS controlled swaths of Iraqi land in summer 2014, but the Iraqi army announced the territorial defeat of the group in December 2017. The krazed killer group’s sleeper cells are still present in rugged areas and those areas that are disputed between Erbil and Baghdad. The group has exploited the lack of coordination between Peshmerga and Iraqi forces there.

An improvised bomb suspected to be set by ISIS sleeper cells in Makhmour town killed four members of a Kurdish family on October 21.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/24/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336104 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


11 Iraqi militiamen killed in ISIS ambush: reports
[Rudaw] At least 11 fighters from Iraq's state-sponsored Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF, Hashd al-Shaabi in Arabic) were killed in an ambush by the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really 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 western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
(ISIS) group north of the capital on Saturday, AFP reported.

ISIS hard boyz attacked PMF forces east of Tikrit
...birthplace of Saddam Hussein...
after dark, using light weaponry, according to AFP. Iraq’s Security Media Cell also confirmed the attack on its Telegram channel.

Heavy fighting
... as opposed to the more usual name-calling or slapsy...
took place between the PMF and ISIS in the al-Eith area of Saladin province, according to PMF channels on Telegram. A PMF commander in the province, Abu Alia al-Hasnawi, a leader in the Badr Organization, was among those killed in the festivities.

The PMF was created in 2014 when Sistani issued a fatwa (a religious call to action) urging young Iraqis to take up arms against ISIS. The loose coalition of militia groups was formally recognized as an Iraqi armed force by the parliament in 2016, enjoying similar privileges as the Iraqi Army.

Since the territorial defeat of ISIS in Iraq in late 2017, the role of the PMF has increasingly been called into question, with demands to withdraw units garrisoned in northern areas and to fully integrate them into the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF).

Others have fought to maintain the PMF’s autonomy in order to allow it to continue carrying out the military objectives of its backer, Iran.

PMF units close to Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate Jews Zionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
are widely accused of abducting and killing protesters during Iraq's recent wave of anti-government unrest. They are also believed responsible for a spate of deadly rocket attacks targeting US and coalition personnel stationed at bases across Iraq, most recently on Friday night.

Sistani-affiliated units, meanwhile, are not known to have fired on protesters, have a generally better human rights
When they're defined by the state or an NGO they don't mean much...
record in areas they occupy, and are not implicated in the targeting of foreign troops and infrastructure.

The United States Department of Treasury has sanctioned senior PMF leader Falih al-Fayyadh "for his connection to serious human rights abuse," the Treasury said in a statement on January 8th.

This was followed by sanctions on Abu Fadak al-Mohammedawi, chief of staff of the Iran-backed PMF, who was added on January 13 to the US’ Specially Designated Nationals And Blocked Persons List of "individuals and companies owned or controlled by, or acting for or on behalf of, targeted countries."
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/24/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336113 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
IDF shoots down drone near Lebanese border
[Jpost] The IDF on Friday spotted a drone crossing into Israeli airspace from Leb
...an Iranian colony situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozeen flavors of Christians. It is the home of Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
and shot it down, the IDF Spokesperson reported.

The drone was under observation during the entire incident. "The IDF will continue to prevent any violation of Israel's illusory sovereignty," the IDF stated.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/24/2021 01:24 || Comments || Link || [336090 views] Top|| File under: Hezbollah


Explosion in Gaza home used for weapons storage injures dozens
[Jpost] An explosion destroyed a home in 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...
Saturday morning as bully boyz attempted to prepare explosives with which to attack Israel, according to an IDF tweet.
Spontaneous, or did the Israelis kindly lend a helping hand?
The explosion was in the home of a Hamas, the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood, operative, according to Ynet News and at least 30 were maimed in the earth-shattering kaboom, Kan News reported.

Pictures posted to twitter by the IDF showe the extent of the massive damage to the house caused by the blast.

Avichay Adraee, the IDF spokesperson for Arabic media, said on twitter that the earth-shattering kaboom was a result of storing weapons in the house. Adraee went on to say that "the story of the house is the story of many homes in the Gaza Strip," that are being used for weapons storage.

"They have turned [homes] into warehouses of weapons, military parts and missiles for terrorist organizations and the people who pay the price in the end are the innocent civilians," Adraee want on to say.



Posted by: trailing wife || 01/24/2021 01:00 || Comments || Link || [336104 views] Top|| File under: Hamas


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Syrian media reports Israeli airstrikes near western city of Hama
[IsraelTimes] Family of four said killed during the attack, homes damaged in the area, but more likely from Syrian air defenses than Israeli munitions; fifth alleged strike in the past month.

Israeli Arclight airstrike
...KABOOM!...
s targeted a site near the city of Hama in northwestern Syria in the predawn hours of Friday morning, Syrian media reported.

These were the first Israeli strikes against targets in Syria reported since US President Joe Foreign Policy Whiz Kid Biden
...Candidate for president in 2020. I had the great honor of being arrested with our UN Ambassador on the streets of Soweto, trying to get to see him on Robbens Island...
entered office earlier this week and the fifth such alleged attack in the past month.

The nature of the target was not immediately known. Israel has reportedly bombed sites connected to Iran’s alleged missile production and transport efforts in the area of Hama before.

According to the official Syrian state news outlet SANA, a family of four was killed during the bombardment, which it referred to as "Israeli aggression," and at least three homes were damaged on the outskirts of Hama.

The Syrian military did not explicitly say the deaths and destruction were caused by Israeli munitions, likely indicating that they were instead caused by Syrian surface-to-air missiles that misfired or from shrapnel. Syrian air defenses have caused the deaths of several Syrian civilians.

SANA quoted a military source as saying the attack had come from the direction of the city of 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...
on Leb
...an Iranian colony situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozeen flavors of Christians. It is the home of Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
’s coast.

The Israel Defense Forces refused to comment on the late-night strikes, in accordance with its policy to neither confirm nor deny its operations in Syria, save for those in retaliation for an attack from the country.

The IDF has launched hundreds of strikes in Syria since the start of the civil war in 2011 against moves by Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate Jews Zionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
to establish a permanent military presence in the country and efforts to transport advanced, game-changing weapons to terrorist groups in the region, principally Hezbollah.

Friday’s strikes appeared to be the first such attacks during the Biden administration, which is expected to take a more conciliatory approach to Iran than its predecessor. At the same time, Israeli analysts do not anticipate Biden to prevent the Jewish state from striking Iranian military targets in Syria.

Tensions climbed ahead of the transition as the Trump administration and Iran traded threats and made accusations, and Iran carried out another significant breach of the terms of the 2015 nuclear deal it signed with world powers.

Israeli officials have also issued threats against Iran in recent weeks and warned against the US returning to the nuclear deal.

Earlier this month, massive Israeli airstrikes targeted a number of sites in Syria near the Iraq border, an area with a major Iranian military presence that is believed to be used by Tehran to move weapons throughout the region, Syrian media reported.

The strikes, which reportedly targeted more than 15 Iran-linked facilities, were the fourth reported attack by Israel against Iranian targets in Syria in weeks, a significant increase from the normal rate of such strikes.

Unverified reports said 57 fighters were killed.

A senior US intelligence official with knowledge of the attack told the News Agency that Dare Not be Named that the airstrikes were carried out with intelligence provided by the United States and targeted a series of warehouses in Syria that were being used as part of the pipeline to store and stage Iranian weapons.

Last month, a series of airstrikes attributed to Israel hit four weapons manufacturing facilities near the town of Masyaf, also in the area of Hama.

Related from January 13:
Syria says Israel massively bombs area with large Iranian presence, 57 Syrian and pro-Iranian fighters said killed

[IsraelTimes] Massive Israeli Arclight airstrike
...KABOOM!...
s after midnight Tuesday targeted a number of sites in Syria near the Iraq border, an area with a major Iranian military presence that is believed to be used by Tehran to move weapons throughout the region, Syrian media reported.

The strikes, which reportedly targeted more than 15 Iran-linked facilities, were the fourth reported attack by Israel against Iranian targets in Syria in the past two and a half weeks, a significant increase from the normal rate of such strikes.

Unverified reports said 57 fighters were killed.

According to Syria’s official SANA news agency, the strikes targeted sites in the areas of Boukamal and Deir Ezzor in eastern Syria, where there is a major presence of Iranian-backed militias. Though not unprecedented, alleged Israeli strikes on targets near the Syrian-Iraqi border are uncommon, due to the challenges of conducting such operations far from Israel, which likely accounts for the large numbers of targets struck in the raids.

A senior US intelligence official with knowledge of the attack told the News Agency that Dare Not be Named that the airstrikes were carried out with intelligence provided by the United States and targeted a series of warehouses in Syria that were being used as a part of the pipeline to store and stage Iranian weapons.

The official said the warehouses also served as a pipeline for components that supports Iran’s nuclear program. It was not clear if this was meant to indicate that such nuclear components were targeted in Wednesday’s strikes or if this referred to past uses of these same facilities.

The US official, who requested anonymity to speak about sensitive national security matters, said US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo discussed the airstrikes with Mossad chief Yossi Cohen while the latter was visiting Washington, DC, earlier this week.

Europe-based Syrian expert Omar Abu Layla, whose news organization DeirEzzor24 maintains researchers on the ground in Syria, reported that the Israeli strikes hit at least 16 distinct facilities associated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Leb
’s Hezbollah and a number of other Iran-backed Shiite militias.

Abu Layla said the targets of the airstrikes in eastern Syria earlier today were a large shipment of missiles brought into the country by the Fatimiyeoun, a Shiite militia organized by Tehran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that is principally made up of fighters from Afghanistan.

According to Abu Layla, who cited no sources, the missiles were brought into Syria earlier this month and stored inside the militia’s warehouses in the Deir Ezzor region, which contain a series of underground tunnels and storerooms.

"The warehouses have a control and telecommunications building, and reconnaissance aircraft headquarters. They include heavy and light weapons, and heat-seeking and medium-range missiles. Most of the arms are Iranian and Russian," he said.

The Britannia-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a pro-Syrian opposition organization, said that the strikes hit 18 facilities and that 57 fighters were killed, at least nine of them Syrian soldiers and the rest "militia fighters allied with Iran" of as yet unknown nationalities.

Though other news outlets in Syria reported that there were casualties in the strikes, those figures could not be verified and were not reported by official sources in Syria. The Observatory has regularly been accused by Syrian war analysts of inflating casualty numbers, as well as inventing them wholesale.

The organization said these were the deadliest airstrikes by Israel since June 2019, when the Israeli military allegedly conducted raids in the same area.

The strike comes after reports last week that Israeli jets hit targets near Damascus.
An Nahar adds:
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor that tracks Syria's war, said it recorded 39 Israeli strikes inside Syria in 2020 that hit 135 targets, including military posts, warehouses or vehicles.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/24/2021 02:10 || Comments || Link || [336130 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran


UN says 12 murdered in Syria camp in two weeks
[Rudaw] Twelve murders have taken place at a displacement camp in northeast Syria in just over two weeks, the UN said Thursday, sounding the alarm over an "increasingly untenable" security situation.

Held by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), al-Hol camp -- Syria's biggest -- holds almost 62,000 people, of whom more than 80 percent are women and kiddies, including Syrians, Iraqis and thousands from as far afield as Europa
...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum...
and Asia.
as we've seen, the Jihadi Bitches wives can be as truculent and intractable as the Brave Warriors of Islam™
The foreigners are families of jihadists from the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really 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 western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
(ISIS) group, which seized swathes of Iraq and Syria in 2014. The Iraqi and Syrian residents of the camp largely fled subsequent fighting between ISIS and Kurdish forces.

"Between 1 and 16 January, the UN received reports of the murders of 12 Syrian and Iraqi camp residents," said the UN statement, adding that an Iraqi woman was among those killed.

"The disturbing events indicate an increasingly untenable security environment at al-Hol," it added.

The camp had already witnessed several security incidents in recent months, sometimes involving ISIS supporters.

These have included escape attempts and attacks against guards or staff employed by NGOs, sometimes with knives, other times with firearms.

The UN statement published on Thursday said that Imran Riza, its Humanitarian Coordinator for Syria, and Muhannad Hadi, the Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syria Crisis, expressed their "serious concern over the deteriorating security conditions" at the camp.

The two UN officials also stressed the "urgent need for durable solutions to be found for every person living in the camp."

Since the fall of ISIS' self-proclaimed caliphate in March 2019 after a US-backed Kurdish offensive in eastern Syria, Kurdish authorities have repeatedly demanded that countries repatriate women and kiddies. But most countries, especially European nations, are reluctant to take back their citizens. Some, including La Belle France, have brought home a limited number of French jihadists and children.

"The recent rise in violence... jeopardises the ability for the UN and humanitarian partners to continue to safely deliver critical humanitarian assistance," the UN statement added.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/24/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336132 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  I guess they're too starved & Covid wracked to be active.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 01/24/2021 0:14 Comments || Top||

#2  Some Chicago 'hoods can do that on a weekend.
Posted by: Cravinter Whising8356 || 01/24/2021 6:01 Comments || Top||

#3  Bait for Biden to start another war?
Posted by: Deadeye Jaiting7534 || 01/24/2021 17:11 Comments || Top||

#4  So things are relatively peaceful.
Posted by: Rob Crawford || 01/24/2021 19:35 Comments || Top||


Turkish shelling kills three civilians in Syria’s Tal Rifaat: local sources
[Rudaw] Three civilians, including two children, were killed and multiple others maimed on Saturday in Ottoman Turkish shelling of the Syrian Kurdish-controlled city of Tal Rifaat, north of Aleppo, according to local sources.

The UK-based conflict monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported three non-combatants were killed and eleven maimed with injuries "of varying degrees."

Five-year-old Yasser Sakran and twelve-year-old Ebid al-Mohsen were both killed. The third person who died, Nazliye Mohammed Mustafa, was originally from Afrin, according to Hawar News Agency, an outlet affiliated with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

More than 22,000 people originally from the Afrin region are living in Tal Rifaat, according to the Observatory. They moved there after fleeing their homes during The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...Qatar's satrapy in Asia Minor...
’s Olive Branch military operation against Afrin launched in January 2018. Tal Rifaat is under the control of Kurdish forces, and Ottoman Turkish and Russian personnel are also present in the area.

At least six others were maimed in the attack.

North Press Agency (NPA) said that the six injured were transferred to Afrin Hospital, some of them at death's door. The Rojava Information Centre reported 11 maimed.

Ankara has conducted three military campaigns in northern Syria since 2016, mainly targeting Kurdish forces, the People’s Protection Units (YPG), it believes are linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). With its Syrian militia proxies, Turkey now controls Afrin, areas north of Aleppo, and pockets of territory within the Kurdish region in the northeast known as Rojava.

In Turkey’s latest offensive, in October 2019, large numbers of civilians were displaced and the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) warned Ankara was relocating Syrian refugees from other areas of the country in "religious, ethnic, and cultural replacement."

The military operation ended with ceasefire agreements brokered by Washington and Moscow that included the deployment of Russian and Syrian regime forces to the region. In December, Russia sent additional units to the Ain Issa area after deadly festivities between Ottoman Turkish-backed militias and the SDF.

A year ago, eight children in Tal Rifaat were killed in another similar attack. Another eight were maimed, "all of them under the age of 15," reported the United Nations
...a formerly good idea gone bad...
children’s agency UNICEF.

According to UNICEF, in the first quarter of 2020 alone, 273 children were killed and 236 maimed in northwest Syria. This was the highest number of child casualties recorded since the war began in Syria nearly 10 years ago.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/24/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336112 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte


Two Rojava municipal council women assassinated: reports
[Rudaw] Two city council officials in northeast Syria’s Hasaka province were kidnapped and assassinated Friday night.

Hind Latif al-Khadir was head of the economy committee in the administration of the town of Til Shayir. Sa’da Faysal al-Hermas was co-chair of the town’s people’s council, the Rojava Information Centre reported.

Khadir and Hermas were kidnapped Friday evening, shot, and killed, according to a statement from the Hasaka provincial council, published by Hawar News Agency.

"And in a heinous crime that is added to the black record of terrorism, this crime is targeting women in our society, who shed the dust of ISIS from their shoulders, entered the field of work, proved themselves, played their active role in society, and proved their ability to carry weapons and stand by their brother to protect their land and people," read the statement.

"This crime is also aimed at destabilizing security and stability, and spreading horror among our people," the council statement added.

Both women had received death threats from the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really 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 western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
(ISIS), according to the UK-based conflict monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Their bodies were found in the town of al-Dashisha, in southern Hasaka province.

The Rojava Information Centre also reported suspected ISIS involvement in the liquidations.

Women have risen to prominent public roles under the Kurdish-led administration in northeast Syria. Every council and government office is gender-balanced with male and female co-leaders. Women have also made advancements economically and an all-female armed force gained international recognition in the war against ISIS.

In 2019, Havrin Khalaf, leader of the Future Syria Party, was executed by Ottoman Turkish-backed militia groups.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/24/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336119 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State



Who's in the News
38[untagged]
8Taliban
5Islamic State
4Govt of Iran
3Sublime Porte
3al-Shabaab (AQ)
2Human Trafficking
2Commies
1Hezbollah
1Houthis
1Ottoman Proxies
1al-Qaeda
1Devout Moslems
1Govt of Iran Proxies
1Govt of Iraq
1Govt of Saudi Arabia
1Hamas

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