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Texas Federal Judge Blocks China Joe's Deportation Moratorium
Today's Headlines
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Page 1: WoT Operations
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Page 4: Opinion
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Page 6: Politix
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Afghanistan
Italian Embassy Vehicle Hit by IED in Kabul
The IED campaign in Kabul continues. This kind of thing is more effective when everyone knows who is doing it, though.
[ToloNews] An armored vehicle of the Italian embassy was hit by an IED blast in Kabul city on Monday morning, a security source said.

"The vehicle that was targeted belongs to the Italian embassy and was carrying Afghan employees of the embassy. One person was slightly maimed in the blast," the source said, adding that "a vehicle of the Ministry of Economy that was passing by was also damaged."

Kabul police said that the incident happened about 7:30am local time, adding that there were no casualties.

No group including the Taliban
...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
has grabbed credit for the blast.

TOLOnews figures shows that in the past 100 days, over 177 security incidents including suicide kabooms, IED blasts and crimes happened in Kabul, and 177 people were killed and 360 others were maimed.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/26/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Africa Subsaharan
13 villagers killed in Boko Haram attack in northern Cameroon
January 8, 2020
[Africa.CGTN] At least 13 villagers were killed following a suspected Boko Haram
... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality...
suicide kaboom in northern Cameroon
...a long, narrow country that fills the space between Nigeria and Chad on the northeast, CAR to the southeast. Prior to incursions by Boko Haram nothing ever happened there...
, according to local administration and security sources.

The mayor of Mozogo, Boukar Medjewe, said residents began fleeing to a nearby forest once they heard assailants approaching the area.

The victims, who included eight children, were killed after a woman detonated an bomb while hiding among the fleeing residents.

Medjewe added that security forces responded promptly but were unable to shoot at the bully boyz who had blended in with the civilians.

This is the latest attack by the jihadist group which has been active in Cameroon’s Far North region since 2014, posing significant humanitarian, security and governance challenges.

Earlier this week, three members of a vigilante group were rubbed out in an attack blamed on the group.

Last week, at least two soldiers of Cameroon elite forces Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR) were maimed and 14 houses were burnt down in an attack on a village in the region by the group.

An estimated 2,500 Cameroonians have been killed by the murderous Moslem group between 2014 and 2017, according to the nation’s Ministry of Defence.

The UN Refugee Agency estimates about 26 million people in the Lake Chad region have been affected by the Boko Haram violence since the insurgency began in 2009 in northeast Nigeria
... a particularly crimson stretch of Islam's bloody border...
and spread to neighbouring countries.
At least 13 people were killed in a suicide kaboom in predominantly-Christian Mozogo, Mayo Tsanaga, in the Far North region of Cameroon, after armed forces of Evil raided the community.

The attack, thought to be perpetrated by Boko Haram, took place in the early hours of Friday, Jan. 8. According to the village chief, Mahamat Chetima Abba, the forces of Evil arrived wielding machetes and firing guns into the air.

Authorities in Cameroon had to close more than 60 schools on the northern border with Nigeria, in October 2020, to protect children and teaching staff from continuing suicide kabooms by Boko Haram.

In Far North Cameroon, rural Christian communities are frequently subjected to Boko Haram violence. Eyewitness accounts of attacks describe heavily armed forces of Evil encircling Christian villages, shouting throughout the night as they kill, loot and burn. Boko Haram has stated its aim is to establish an Islamic caliphate extending from its base in north-east Nigeria.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/26/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: Boko Haram (ISIS)


Iraq
Iraq Hangs Three Convicted of 'Terrorism'
[AnNahar] Three Iraqis convicted of "terrorism" were hanged on Monday, a security source said, days after a deadly double-tap suicide kaboom in a crowded Baghdad marketplace.

"Three people convicted under Article 4 of the anti-terror law were executed on Monday at the Nasiriyah central prison," the source told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The reported hangings came after rights groups warned Iraq may give the green light to a spree of executions of convicted jihadists in a show of strength following the bombings on Thursday which killed at least 32 people.
ISIS, I suspect. They’ve got ‘em jammed in there like a Turkish prison, there are so many.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/26/2021 00:36 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  These hangings usually occur from a mobile commercial crane. Is anyone trying to get these crane manufacturers cancelled yet?
Posted by: M. Murcek || 01/26/2021 13:06 Comments || Top||

#2  ^ Immer mit the chairman und the "dual-use," eh? ;-)
Posted by: Vinegar Jones3751 || 01/26/2021 14:02 Comments || Top||

#3  Gut Chermans, wissen Sie...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 01/26/2021 14:07 Comments || Top||


4 busted for drugs in Sulaimani
[NRT Digital Media] SULAIMANI — Four suspects were arrested in Sulaimani city’s Sarchinar neighborhood on Friday on charges of narcotics use, police said on Monday (January 25).

Sulaimani Police Directorate’s Relations and Media Department said in a statement that police seized paraphernalia and a quantity of narcotics as well, without specifying the amount.

Three suspects were in their early twenties and the other one was below eighteen years old, who were detained in accordance with Article 14 of the Anti-Narcotics Law, read the statement.

In December, the Kurdistan Region’s General Narcotics Control Directorate said that it seized more than half a ton of drugs during 2020 and arrested 1,133 suspects on drug-related charges.

The Kurdistan Region largely acts as a transit route for narcotics coming from Iran and central Asia to Europe, with limited but growing domestic consumption, according to officials and activists.
Posted by: badanov || 01/26/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Narcos


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Major work accident in Gaza
[Jpost] An explosion destroyed a home in Gaza Saturday morning as terrorists attempted to prepare explosives to purportedly attack Israel, according to an IDF tweet.

The explosion took place in the home of a Hamas operative and at least 30 were injured in the explosion, according to Israeli media. Pictures posted on Twitter by the IDF showed the massive extent of damage to the house from the blast.

Avichay Adraee, the IDF spokesperson for Arabic media, said on Twitter that the explosion 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 said.
Posted by: Steve White || 01/26/2021 00:06 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Hamas

#1  "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."

This Old Exploding House
Posted by: tu3031 || 01/26/2021 17:15 Comments || Top||

#2  Well, it's a LOT more affordable housing, now
Posted by: Frank G || 01/26/2021 17:28 Comments || Top||

#3  A new varient of 'flipping a house'?
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 01/26/2021 17:29 Comments || Top||

#4  That's what happens when you play mosque at home.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 01/26/2021 17:36 Comments || Top||

#5  "Open roof area for stargazing"
Posted by: Frank G || 01/26/2021 18:40 Comments || Top||

#6  "Find the Crescent Moon" contest.

Meanwhile, this accident calls for a drink!
Posted by: Clem || 01/26/2021 21:07 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
Indonesia seizes Iranian oil tanker off its coast: video
[AlMasdar] Iranian TV, citing CNN
...formerly the Cable News Network, now who know what it might stand for...
, reported that Indonesia had seized an Iranian oil tanker for illegally transporting oil in the region.

State-owned Fars News also quoted Indonesian media as saying that Jakarta had detained two oil tankers, one of which was Iranian, identified as the Horse, and the other flying the Panamanian flag, identified as the Free.

"Indonesian officials said that the reason for detaining the two tankers was illegally transporting oil between the two ships. The two ships were spotted by chance as they switched off their tracking devices," the Fars report said.

Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh confirmed on Monday that "the Iranian tanker held in Indonesia was carrying oil," pointing out that "Tehran is following this file."

The Iranian Foreign Ministry commented on the detention of an Iranian oil tanker by Indonesia, and said that it is looking forward to receiving more information from the Indonesian government, noting that "the problem is technical, and it occurs in the field of shipping."
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/26/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Rare clashes breakout between Syrian military and Kurdish forces in northeast Syria
[AlMasdar] A series of festivities broke out between the government-aligned National Defense Forces (NDF) and Kurdish-led Asayish police forces in the northeastern region of Syria on Saturday, resulting in several hours of tension between the both sides.

According to local reports, the festivities broke out during a dispute between the NDF and Asayish along the front-lines of the two forces inside Qamishli (Al-Hasakah Governorate), one of the largest cities in Syria.

The festivities forced the Russian military police to get involved, who dispersed the two sides and reestablished security between the Qamishli International Airport and the neighborhoods under the control of the Asayish.

The reports from the area said calm has returned to Qamishli and its surroundings, despite some disputes between the government and Kurdish-led forces in the al-Hasakah Governorate.

Tensions have recently risen between the government and Kurdish-led forces after the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) began to block the exits of the administrative capital, prompting protests from locals and state employees.

Furthermore, the government has accused the SDF and its political wing of aiding the U.S.’ economic blockade of the Syrian Arab Republic by blocking trade between the two sides east of the Euphrates.

The SDF has not responded to these allegations.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/26/2021 00:36 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Large US military convoy enters Syria from neighboring Iraq
January 13, 2020
Good to know.
[AlMasdar] A large U.S. military convoy was seen entering northeastern Syria on Wednesday, marking the second time in five days that the International Coalition has brought in reinforcements and supplies.

According to local reports, dozens of U.S. military trucks and vehicles entered Syria’s al-Hasakah Governorate via the al-Walid Crossing that links the Levantine nation with Iraq’s Nineveh (Ninawa) Governorate.

The U.S. convoy was said to have consisted of several vehicles that were transporting both troops and supplies, primarily military and logistical, to one of their bases inside Syrian territory.

Previously, the U.S. military transported both troops and supplies through the same crossing over the weekend, before making their way to one of their bases in the Deir Ezzor Governorate of eastern Syria.

These U.S. military transports have become a weekly occurrence in eastern Syria, as the American-led Coalition continues its activities inside the Euphrates River Valley region.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/26/2021 00:11 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  This was the effort of Deep State that lied to Trump on troop withdraws?

Why lose lives defending people who have never known democracy while losing the democracy at home?
Posted by: Procopius2k || 01/26/2021 7:48 Comments || Top||

#2  It's not about democracy, P2K. You know that. It's all about power. Biden will not hesitate to get us into another war.
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 01/26/2021 11:27 Comments || Top||

#3  Can anyone help me out understand how to define victory or national interest for the US in Syria? Surely it has to be more than JoJo remembering that Obama thought something or other about it? Climate change? Xi likes the idea? AOC wants a beach house? Anyone?
Posted by: NoMoreBS || 01/26/2021 11:57 Comments || Top||

#4  I believe we had bases near/among the Kurds, facing the Turkish expansion, and on the Jordanian border. I seem to recall they closed the one next to Jordan, but had not given up guarding the oil wells supplying the Kurds with income, and as I recall we’ve been patrolling with the Turks to keep them at least nominally focussed on ISIS instead of continuing to expand into Kurdish territory — can anyone confirm or correct?
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/26/2021 12:03 Comments || Top||

#5  /\ Foreign Policy Mag: U.S. Plan to Guard Syrian Oil Fields Sows Confusion.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Monday confirmed that President Donald Trump’s administration is considering maintaining a small force of U.S. troops in northeastern Syria near Kurdish-controlled oil fields, a risky proposal that caught many officials off guard after the president spent the last two weeks insisting that all U.S. forces in the area would return home.

Since Trump’s decision to withdraw U.S. troops from the border with Syria on Oct. 6, paving the way for a violent Turkish incursion that has killed scores of Kurdish fighters and civilians and displaced hundreds of thousands of residents, top Pentagon officials have pushed to leave a residual force of a few hundred troops in northeastern Syria to fight the Islamic State and maintain a relationship with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a senior U.S. administration official told Foreign Policy. Under the proposal, airstrikes against the militant group in Syria would continue from Iraq, the official said.

Originally, the internal Pentagon plan did not include any stipulations about U.S. troops guarding the oil fields in Kurdish-held territory, the official noted. Framing the proposal as a way to keep Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from controlling the oil was likely a way to make it more appealing to Trump, who has been pushing for troop withdrawals all year.

“That is probably to play POTUS,” the official said.

Trump late last week started tweeting about “securing the oil” in northern Syria, sowing confusion among analysts trying to sort out the consequences of the abrupt U.S. withdrawal from the country and abandonment of its former Kurdish allies. Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham floated a similar idea over the weekend—that residual U.S. troops in Syria might serve to protect some oil fields, if not their former allies.
Posted by: Besoeker || 01/26/2021 12:13 Comments || Top||

#6  I don't want to hear a damn thing about teachers (who refuse to show up for class, but expect to get paid anyway) buying pencils and paper out of their own pockets until the Foreign Adventure For Adventure's Sake™ is shut completely down.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 01/26/2021 12:22 Comments || Top||

#7  agreed murcek
Posted by: Chris || 01/26/2021 13:42 Comments || Top||


Russian Air Force delivers dozens of airstrikes over central Syria, military convoys deploys for anti-ISIS op
[AlMasdar] The Russian Aerospace Forces unleashed several Arclight airstrike
...KABOOM!...
s over central Syria on Monday, targeting a number of sites belonging to 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/ISIS/IS/ISIS) terrorist organization in the Badiya al-Sham region.

According to a field report from Syria’s Homs Governorate, the Russian Aerospace Forces heavily bombarded the Islamic State’s positions between the historical ruins of al-Resafa and Ithriya, causing severe damage to the terrorist group’s forces in the area.

The Russian Aerospace Forces also conducted several airstrikes between the Homs and Deir Ezzor governorates, hitting many terrorist hideouts near the towns of al-Sukhnah (Homs Governorate) and al-Shoula (Deir Ezzor Governorate).

This latest round of airstrikes by the Russian Aerospace Forces comes at a time when they increase their pressure against the Islamic State sleeper cells that have been active in central and eastern Syria for several years.

The Islamic State sleeper cells have carried out daily attacks against the Syrian Arab Army and their allies in the Badiya al-Sham region, which has prompted the latter and the Russian Armed Forces to deploy reinforcements to several fronts in eastern and central Syria.

Large number of Russian forces deploy to central Syria for operation against ISIS

[AlMasdar] Over the past few days, several Russian military convoys have suddenly moved towards the Syrian desert, as they join the fight on the ground against the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL/IS/Daesh) terrorist organization.

According to Sputnik Arabic, the Russian military convoys consisted of armored vehicles, troop carriers and trucks carrying logistical equipment to the forces in the Syrian desert.

Special sources revealed to Sputnik Arabic that the Russian forces, in cooperation with units of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and the Russian military police, have moved reinforcements towards the Badiya al-Sham region, which is located in the countrysides of Hama, Raqqa and Homs.

The sources confirmed that other columns arrived in the Deir Ezzor desert, specifically in the areas of Bajab and Shoula, as part of a plan through which the Russian forces, in coordination with the Syrian Arab Army, sought to besiege the areas that witnessed renewed activity by ISIS in the region.

The private sources added that the reinforcements consist of the largest amount of troops deployed to this region in the last five years.

The Russian forces have been focusing on strengthening their positions in the Badiya Al-Sham region by increasing their number of ground forces and intensifying reconnaissance flights, in anticipation of any attacks that ISIS cells may carry out in the region.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/26/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  How many US troops will be killed or wounded helping our the neocons' friendsssssssch?
Posted by: M. Murcek || 01/26/2021 14:16 Comments || Top||


Suspected Russian drone strikes hit oil smuggling sites of Turkish-backed forces: video
[AlMasdar] For the second time in a month, unknown drones struck the oil smuggling sites of the Ottoman Turkish-backed forces in the Aleppo countryside.

According to reports, the drones approached the oil smuggling sites of the Ottoman Turkish-backed forces in the town of Tarheen on Sunday evening.

The unknown drones, likely from the Russian Aerospace Forces, then unleashed a flurry of missiles on the oil smuggling sites, causing massive explosions inside the town.

While the Russian Ministry of Defense has not commented on these strikes, it is believed that it is their drones that are attacking these oil sites, as they have warned before about smuggling the Arab Republic’s natural resources.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/26/2021 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Ottoman Proxies



Who's in the News
43[untagged]
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3Islamic State
2Muslim Brotherhood
1Govt of Syria
1Hamas
1Houthis
1Human Trafficking
1Narcos
1Ottoman Proxies
1al-Qaeda
1Boko Haram (ISIS)
1Govt of Iran

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Two weeks of WOT
Tue 2021-01-26
  Texas Federal Judge Blocks China Joe's Deportation Moratorium
Mon 2021-01-25
  Twitter Suspends Antifa-Linked Accounts Following Inauguration Day Riots
Sun 2021-01-24
   Many of us are concerned....
Sat 2021-01-23
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