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Today: 63 articles and 166 comments as of 13:35.
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Area: WoT Background    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix   
B-52s in Al Udeid AB Qatar
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 1: WoT Operations
3 23:58 Isadora Duncan [1] 
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4 11:05 swksvolFF [] 
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1 10:50 Frank G [2] 
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Page 2: WoT Background
1 13:30 Mike Kozlowski [2]
2 10:10 JohnQC []
1 10:17 SteveS []
3 11:26 Skidmark [1]
1 11:28 Skidmark [2]
6 23:58 trailing wife [1]
1 14:35 Rambler in Virginia [1]
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2 08:31 M. Murcek [2]
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Page 3: Non-WoT
2 23:53 Sninese Lumplump2570 []
8 20:58 Woodrow [2]
4 21:53 Omomong Omique2579 [2]
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5 10:21 trailing wife [1]
5 11:00 swksvolFF []
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Page 4: Opinion
3 15:39 KBK [1]
10 12:31 gorb []
4 17:41 magpie []
4 11:18 magpie [2]
4 10:18 Phaick Uneretle6310 []
4 21:53 Snavimble Bucket1794 []
1 08:36 M. Murcek []
Page 6: Politix
12 21:02 Woodrow [1]
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2 13:05 CrazyFool [1]
7 21:06 Woodrow [3]
12 13:44 charger []
8 14:59 Bobby []
7 14:33 Glenmore []
6 21:08 Woodrow []
Afghanistan
Taliban biker rally in Afghanistan
[Twitter[


Posted by: 3dc || 05/11/2019 11:06 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  Be a shame if one of them got his robes caught in the chain.
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 05/11/2019 11:19 Comments || Top||

#2  Beard would be even better.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 05/11/2019 15:50 Comments || Top||

#3  That's not funny.
Posted by: Isadora Duncan || 05/11/2019 23:58 Comments || Top||


4 children killed, 5 wounded in a roadside bomb explosion in Faryab
[KhaamaPress] At least four children were killed and five others were maimed in an kaboom triggered by an improvised bomb in northern Faryab province.

A front man for Faryab Police Abdul Karim Yurish said the incident took place late on Thursday afternoon in the vicinity of Dawlatabad district.

Yurish further added that the children were busy herding their livestock when they struck an improvised bomb in Chaharshangho Village.

He also added that the IED was planted by Talibs to target the security forces.

The anti-government armed bully boyz including Taliban
...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
have not commented regarding the incident so far.

Talibs frequently use improvised bombs as the weapon of their choice to target the security forces but in majority of such attacks ordinary civilians are targeted.
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/11/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


21 militants killed in a ‘kinetic airstrike’ carried out in support of Afghan soldiers in Kandahar
[KhaamaPress] At least 21 Talibs were killed in a kinetic Arclight airstrike which was carried out in support of the Afghan army soldiers in southern Kandahar province of Afghanistan.

The military sources said Friday "In defense of Afghan National Army soldiers, a kinetic strike was conducted in Khakrez district killing 21 Taliban
...Arabic for students...
fighters and wounding 1 other."

The sources further added that an airstrike was also conducted in Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand
...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan...
province killing 3 Taliban fighters.

The anti-government armed gunnies including Taliban have not commented regarding the airstrikes so far.

Kandahar and Helmand among the relatively volatile provinces in South of Afghanistan. Talibs are active in some of the restive districts of the two provinces where they often attempt to carry out terrorist related activities against the government and security institutions.
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/11/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Senior militant leader in-charge of ‘Kangaroo Court’ of Taliban killed in Ghor province
[KhaamaPress] The Afghan Special Forces have killed a senior Taliban
...mindless ferocity in a turban...
leader who in charge of the ’Kangaroo Court’ of the group in North-western Ghor province.

The Ministry of Interior (MoI) issued a statement earlier today confirming that a senior Taliban leader who was in-charge of the Kangaroo Court of the group in Ghor province was killed in a joint operation of the Special Forces of Afghan National Police and Special Air Brigade.

The statement further added that the operation was conducted late last night in the vicinity of Ghalmin Village located in the outskirts of the lovely provincial capital of Ghro.

The Afghan forces also confiscated two weapons, munitions, and some important documents of Taliban group were also confiscated along with six cycle of violences during the operation, the Ministry of Interior added.

The anti-government armed turbans including Taliban have not commented regarding the operation so far.
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/11/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Deadly car bomb explosion foiled in Lashkargah city of Helmand province
[KhaamaPress] A deadly boom-mobile kaboom was foiled in Lashkargah city, the picturesque provincial capital of southern Helmand
...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan...
province, the Ministry of Interior (MoI) said Thursday.

According to a statement released by MoI, the boom-mobile was destroyed in an Arclight airstrike which was carried out in the vicinity of Nad-e-Ali district.

The statement further added that the snuffies were looking to detonate the boom-mobile in Lashkargah city.

The anti-government armed snuffies including Taliban
...Arabic for students...
have not commented regarding the airstrike and destruction of the boom-mobile so far.

Helmand is among the relatively volatile provinces in South of Afghanistan. Talibs are active in some of the restive districts of the province where they often attempt to carry out terrorist related activities against the government and security institutions.
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/11/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Africa North
French military frees hostages in Burkina Faso, two commandos killed
PARIS (Reuters) - French commandos rescued four foreign hostages including two French citizens from a militant group in Burkina Faso, France’s military said on Friday, adding that two of the elite soldiers were killed in the night-time operation.

French special forces carried out the raid under cover of dark over the night of Thursday-Friday, supported by U.S. intelligence and troops from France’s Barkhane operation deployed in the Sahel region to counter Islamist militants.

All four hostages were safe, President Emmanuel Macron’s office said, adding that a U.S. woman and a South Korean woman were also freed in the covert operation.

"The precise and determined actions of French soldiers allowed us to take out the kidnappers while protecting the lives of the hostages," France’s army chief Francois Lecointre told a news conference, describing the militant group as "terrorists".

Four kidnappers were killed and two escaped, he said.
Posted by: Besoeker || 05/11/2019 00:18 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Thank you for their sacrifice.
Posted by: Uleck Spererong9442 || 05/11/2019 9:01 Comments || Top||

#2  OK, the French are now 1 for 137. Do we keep them on the team?
Posted by: Slating McGurque2808 || 05/11/2019 9:57 Comments || Top||

#3  I woud submit that the French have done way more that we have in Africa in the 10 years. They've been taking it to the bad guys in truckloads. They just don't brag about.
Posted by: Bangkok Billy || 05/11/2019 10:54 Comments || Top||

#4  That assault into CAR was awesome, if that is the right word for it.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 05/11/2019 11:05 Comments || Top||


Egypt police kill 'extremely dangerous' terrorist on Cairo-Suez road
“Really most extremely dangerous. And now really most extremely dead. Whoever he is...”
[AlAhram] Egypt's interior ministry has killed an "extremely dangerous" terrorist in an exchange of fire on a Cairo-Suez highway, it said on Friday.

"In continuation of the intensive campaigns launched by the security services under the leadership of the Public Security Sector with the participation of the General Directorate for Drug Control and the Criminal Investigation Departments in the security of East Ismailia and Qalioubia, the Department of Security Forces and the Central Security Sector received information on a very dangerous element that had transferred their activity to the desert Cairo-Suez road, escaping intensive security strikes in the ​​Magic and Beauty area," read a Friday ministry statement.

According to the statement, when the terrorist element saw forces approaching, "he fired shots at them; as a result, he was killed."

A quantity of heroin was found with the dear departed as well as night vision goggles, a mobile phone and EGP 34,000.

The public prosecution investigated the incident, the statement read.

The efforts of successive security campaigns in a geographic area the statement named as "Magic and Beauty" have resulted in the arrest of 199 criminal elements, 66 of whom possessed large quantities of narcotics and firearms, and the death of seven people who exchanged fire with troops.
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/11/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Two killed in gunmen attack on Ghadduwah town - southern Libya
[Libya Observer] Gunmen, believed to be linked to ISIS, attacked Ghadduwah town in southern Sabha in the Libyan south on Thursday, killing two and kidnapping a third person then left after burning several houses.

Local sources from the desert town said residents had festivities with the button men before the latter killed two and kidnapped a third then fled the town.

The sources also reported a relative calm in the town after the incident.

Ghadduwah town saw an ISIS attack on March 25, 2019, killing one person and kidnapping three after exchanging gunfire with the residents.

ISIS forces of Evil later published a video showing the execution of the three kidnapped persons from the town.

In the meantime, the Libyan Interior Ministry of the Presidential Council's government condemned the attack in statement, saying there can be no tolerance for such cowardly criminal acts that aim to destabilize Libya, vowing to bring down criminals and punish them by the rule of law.
Posted by: Fred || 05/11/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Libya's HoR condemns airstrikes on Tripoli
[Libya Observer] The members of the House of Representatives (HoR) condemned on Thursday the Arclight airstrikes on security and services locations in Janzour, western 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...
, in addition to the airstrikes on Dawa al-Islamiya Commission HQs and the targeting of an ambulance in Wadi Rabea.

The HoR denounced, in a statement, the silence of the international community - especially the UN - toward the crimes and violations committed by Khalifa Haftar
...Self-proclaimed Field Marshal, served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all...
and his "outlaw and terrorist forces."

They also added that they are following closely the deterioration of human rights
...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions...
conditions due to violations made by Haftar's forces against Tripoli residents.

Meanwhile,
...back at the wine tasting, Vince was about to start on his third quart...
a warplane from Haftar's Air Force hit Wednesday night security locations in Janzour, few kilometers away from the headquarters of the UNSMIL.

Haftar's forces shelled also Wadi Rabea hitting an ambulance driven by the Head of Emergency and Ambulance Apparatus Nasser Daw, who was trying to evacuate trapped families. Daw's legs were amputated due to the injury.

Haftar's forces have targeted residential areas, detention centers of migrants colonists and ambulances as well as government institutions and electricity stations in many frontlines in southern Tripoli and in Tajoura in eastern Tripoli.
Posted by: Fred || 05/11/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Africa Subsaharan
Anti-Boko Haram Militia Frees 900 Children in Nigeria, Says UN
[AnNahar] Nearly 900 children held by a pro-government militia force fighting 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...
Death Eaters in northeastern Nigeria were freed on Friday, the UN said.

The 894 children, including 106 girls, had been in the ranks of the government-backed Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), a local militia which supports regular soldiers battling the Islamist holy warriors.

At a ceremony in the northeastern town of Maiduguri, they were released as part of the CJTF's "commitment to end and prevent the recruitment and use of children," the UN children's agency (UNICEF) said.

"Children of north-east Nigeria have borne the brunt of this conflict," said UNICEF chief in Nigeria Mohammed Fall.

"They have been used by gangs in combatant and non-combatant roles and witnessed death, killing and violence."

The CJTF is a militia formed in 2013 to protect communities from attack, but it has also recruited hundreds of children.

In 2017, the militia signed a promise to stop recruiting child soldiers and release the ones they hold.

The children freed on Friday bring the total released since then to 1,727 children, UNICEF said.

It was not clear how many children remain in its ranks, but the UN welcomed the news on Friday.

"Any commitment for children that is matched with action is a step in the right direction for the protection of children's rights, and must be recognised and encouraged," Fall said.

The freed children will be enrolled into a reintegration programme with education and training to help them return to civilian life.

Boko Haram's decade-long uprising to establish a hardline Islamic state in Nigeria's northeast has spilled into neighbouring Niger, Chad and 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...
The jihadis have also recruited thousands of children to fight in their ranks.

"We will continue until there is no child left in the ranks of all gangs in Nigeria," Fall said, noting that children "have been kidnapped, maimed, raped and killed."
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/11/2019 00:02 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Arabia
Yemen's Houthis to start Hodeidah withdrawal on Saturday: UN
[AlAhram] Yemen's Houthi
...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews ...
group intends to withdraw forces from three key ports in Yemen
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic...
over four days, starting on Saturday, said a senior United Nations
...an idea whose time has gone...
official in charge of monitoring the move.

The Houthi movement and the Saudi-backed Yemen government initially agreed in December to withdraw troops by Jan. 7 from Hodeidah - a lifeline for millions facing famine - under a truce aimed at averting a full-scale assault on the port and paving the way for negotiations to end the four-year war.

Lt. Gen. Michael Lollesgaard, who heads a UN mission to monitor the deal, said the Houthis intended to start withdrawing on Saturday from the ports of Hodeidah, Salif and Ras-Issa.
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/11/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Houthis

#1  No confirmation of which Saturday
Posted by: Frank G || 05/11/2019 10:50 Comments || Top||


B-52s in Al Udeid AB Qatar
[TWITTER]
Another piece moving into place...

Posted by: Fred || 05/11/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  B-61s and AGM-86s
Posted by: M. Murcek || 05/11/2019 8:38 Comments || Top||

#2  ...The -61s are probably out, as much as one might wish, but -86Cs are definitely in play.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 05/11/2019 8:52 Comments || Top||

#3  Ummm...prelude to Kuwait?
Posted by: Skidmark || 05/11/2019 11:22 Comments || Top||

#4 
#3 Ummm...prelude to Kuwait?
Posted by: Skidmark 2019-05-11 11:22


Skid,

Not yet, no. But I would not be at all surprised if Miss Buffy did a LOT of no-notice takeoffs at odd hours to just keep the lads across the gulf guessing.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 05/11/2019 11:54 Comments || Top||

#5  For the uninitiated:

B-52H bombers carry six AGM-86B or AGM-86C missiles on each of two externally mounted pylons and eight internally on a rotary launcher, giving the B-52H a maximum capacity of 20 missiles per aircraft.

...the missiles' small size and low-altitude flight capability, which makes them difficult to detect on radar.


Wikipedia
Posted by: Bobby || 05/11/2019 12:14 Comments || Top||


Bangladesh
Saudi-born Bangladeshi IS fighter in police custody
[Dhaka Tribune] A 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...
-born Bangladeshi, who returned to the country in February after fighting for the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
(IS) in Syria, is now in police custody.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit tossed in the calaboose
Book 'im, Mahmoud!
Motaj Abdul Majid Kafiluddin Bepari on Sunday; he is now on a four-day remand.

Confirming the matter yesterday, CTTC Deputy Commissioner Mohibul Islam Khan said interrogation is underway to know his motive.

According to the first information report (FIR) of the case recorded under Anti-Terrorism Act with Uttara (West) cop shoppe, Motaj and five or six unnamed people were accused for "planning sabotage with different murderous Moslem organizations to establish Khalifah (caliphate) by displacing the government."

Police also seized a passport, a Saudi Arabian ID card, Saudi driving licence, an iPhone, and Bangla translations of several essays on Khilafah in Bangladesh was from Motaj’s possession.

MOTAJ AND HIS IS CONNECTION

Born in Saudi Arabia to a Bangladeshi father and a Pak mother, Motaj took a Bangladeshi passport in 2014 from the Bangladesh embassy in Saudi Arabia and then went to The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...Qatar's colony in Asia Minor....
in 2016 using it, the FIR stated.

The report also mentioned he was influenced by the IS ideology and was trying to get in touch with them, after which he attempted to enter into Syria several times, but failed.

Later in 2017, he tried to enter Syria via Egypt and Turkey from Saudi Arabia, but failed again.

Finally in 2018, Motaj succeeded, but it was too late, as the IS regime had been ousted from Syria by then.

After this, he fled to Turkey where his plan was to flee to any European country via Greece. But as Ottoman Turkish police began a drive against terrorists, Motaj decided to return to Bangladesh and arrived in Dhaka.

According to the case files, police was aware of his entry and was tracking his movements to arrest him.

Citing findings from the primary inquiry, the FIR says Motaj believed in the ideology of banned murderous Moslem outfit New JMB.

WHAT WILL BE THE FATE OF IS RETURNEES?

No police official is ready to publicly comment on Motaj’s matter.

However,
corruption finds a dozen alibis for its evil deeds...
CTTC chief and Additional Commissioner Monirul Islam recently said Bangladeshis returning home after joining IS would face legal action.

He also said a section of youths have been going to join IS since late 2014. They suspect some aspiring snuffies were arrested and some were killed. But he acknowledged the lack of statistics regarding the matter.

"If they want to return home now, they have no alternative but to come by air. They need passports. But people who left the country in 2014 no longer have valid passports. If anybody wants to return, they will have to apply for a travel pass," Monirul explained.
Posted by: Fred || 05/11/2019 00:01 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


The Grand Turk
Turkish soldier killed near border with Iran: state media
[Rudaw] One Ottoman Turkish soldier was killed and another injured by an improvised bomb near the eastern border with Iran in an attack blamed on the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Ottoman Turkish media reported. This spring has seen a spate of deadly festivities between Ottoman Turkish security forces and the armed Kurdish group.

The attack occurred early in the morning on May 10 near Dilucu, Igdir province, state-run Anadolu Agency reported citing security sources. Ottoman Turkish forces are conducting a counter-terror operation in the area.

In 2015, a bombing in the same Dilucu area killed 14 Ottoman Turkish coppers who were guarding customs officials commuting to the border with Azerbaijan. The PKK was blamed.

The PKK has not immediately made any claim of responsibility for the today’s attack.

Clashes between the PKK and Ottoman Turkish forces this spring have been intense, with multiple casualties reported on both sides of the conflict in The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...just another cheapjack Moslem dictatorship, brought to you by the Moslem Brüderbund....
and in the Kurdistan Region. Last weekend, Ottoman Turkish helicopter gunships pursued PKK guerrillas across the Turkey-Kurdistan Region border, terrifying local villagers. Both sides claimed to have inflicted casualties on the other in multiple festivities in late April and four Ottoman Turkish soldiers were killed in a skirmish on the border earlier in the month. Two soldiers had been killed inside the Kurdistan Region territory in March.

For the last four decades that the PKK has carried out its struggle against the Ottoman Turkish state, the mountains between Iraq, Iran, and Turkey have served as a safe haven for the guerrillas. Local residents have been driven out of the homes by the conflict and the fighting sees no sign of abating as the melting of the snow ushers in a new wave of attacks by both parties to the conflict.

At least 4,356 people have been killed since a grinding of the peace processor fell apart and the four-decade-long conflict was reignited in July 2015, according to figures compiled by the International Crisis Group. The casualties include 2,515 PKK fighters, 1,154 members of state security forces, and 464 civilians.
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/11/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran


India-Pakistan
Armed religious activists force closure of five heatstroke centres in Sukkur
[DAWN] SUKKUR: Armed men, believed to be activists of some radical religious group, on Thursday stormed a heatstroke centre in the city and resorted to firing into the air, forcing its operators to take to their heels toes.

The water outlet, set up at Ayub Gate, is one of the many centres set up by the Sukkur Municipal Corporation (SMC) to provide immediate relief to victims of heatstroke as the maximum temperatures in certain upper Sindh areas in recent days remained between 40 and 47 degrees Celsius. Such centres normally function at peak hours ie from 10am to 5pm.

Some radical religious activists, taking it as a violation of the Ehteram-e-Ramazan Ordinance, objected to the operation of such centres during the fasting hours. They told operators of several centres to shut them "or face the consequences", according to Mr Taufiq Bandhani, SMC’s contractor of the centres.

However,
a poor excuse is better than no excuse at all...
the operators under threat appeared not convinced by their argument that people not suffering from heatstroke were largely being served water.

After repeatedly issuing such threats and getting annoyed by the operators’ defiance, a group of armed forces of Evil stormed the Ayub Goth centre and forced its operators to shut it down. They had gun sex making the operators flee.

Mr Atta-ur-Rehman, the officer in charge of the Municipal Water Works, said the attackers belonged to a religious outfit. He said the municipal authorities had now advised the contractor to close down five such centres in the city for the time being. He said they would be reopened after necessary consultations with the authorities concerned.

Posted by: Fred || 05/11/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Security forces arrest 4 from Lahore in connection with Data Darbar bombing
[DAWN] Security forces in Lahore picked up four suspects during a late night raid on Thursday in Lahore's Garhi Shahu area soon after agencies investigating the Data Darbar bombing traced the alleged jacket wallah to the locality.

Twelve individuals bit the dust in what officials had described as a suicide kaboom targeting an Elite Force van detailed to the security of the Data Darbar shrine on Wednesday.

Agencies investigating the bombing said they had identified the cycle of violence rickshaw used to transport the suspected bomber to the shrine.

The suspect took the rickshaw from near the railway station. Video footage obtained by the agencies reportedly shows that the rickshaw driver approached the bomber as the latter approached from Garhi Shahu.

Meanwhile,
...back at the shootout, Butch clutched at his other leg......
law enforcement agencies said they had shifted their focus to three major terrorist networks of the outlawed Tehrik-e-Taliban
...Arabic for students...
Pakistain (TTP) in Punjab
1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots....

to uncover handlers/controllers of the attack.

Talking about the ongoing investigation into the suicide kaboom, a police brass hat told Dawn that two high-profile teams had been assigned the task to go after three offshoots of the TTP and their controllers.

He said the major focus was on Hizbul Ahrar, which had grabbed credit for sending the teenage suicide bomber to Data Darbar on Wednesday.

He said the law enforcement agencies were using available resources to track down handlers who dropped the boy (suicide bomber) at the shrine.

The official further said that the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) Punjab had examined the records of three terror groups, including the Ghazi Force and Jamaatul Ahrar
...A Pak Taliban splinter group that split off from the Mullah Fazlullah faction because it wasn't violent enough...
He said Hizbul Ahrar, which grabbed credit for the attack, was a splinter group of Jamaatul Ahrar headed by Muqarram Shah from Afghanistan.

Hizbul Ahrar had separated from Jamaatul Ahrar due to some internal rifts. It started operating separately to target primarily the law enforcement agencies in various parts of Pakistain.

In addition to that, the CTD, which is leading the entire investigation process, is also following other leads, like the possibility of the involvement of ISIS as well, he said.

The official further said the probe was being conducted along the lines of the 2017 Mall Road blast investigation, in which LEAs had successfully locked away
Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please!
the controller who dropped the suicide bomber near the target site a few minutes before the blast.

Posted by: Fred || 05/11/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: TTP


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Palestinian said killed in Gaza border riot in test of truce after fighting
[IsraelTimes] 30 maimed as thousands gather on border; UN envoy speaks with Hamas, a regional Iranian catspaw, chief on implementing understandings with Israel to prevent renewed violence.

One Paleostinian was killed and 30 were maimed as thousands gathered on the Gazoo Strip border Friday for weekly protests, according to Gazoo’s Hamas-run health ministry. The violence was seen as a major test for the calm that has prevailed since intense fighting last weekend between Israel and terror groups in the coastal enclave.
Aaaaannnnd you failed. Because ...you're Paleos
Some 6,000 Paleostinians took part in demonstrations at five locations along the border. Several hundred people were rioting, throwing explosives and rocks at Israeli forces. IDF soldiers responded with tear gas and occasional live fire.

Twenty-four-year-old Abdullah Abed al-A’al was killed on the border near the southern Gazoo city of Rafah, Gazoo’s health ministry reported. It said 30 were maimed by live fire in the festivities.

The IDF’s Arabic-language front man shared footage from the festivities near the southern Gazoo city of Rafah on his Twitter account, which appeared to show Paleostinians attempting to damage the border fence.

Ahead of the protests, UN Middle East peace envoy Nickolay Mladenov spoke with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh
...became Prime Minister after the legislative elections of 2006 which Hamas won. President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed Haniyeh from office on 14 June 2007 at the height of the Fatah-Hamas festivities, but Haniyeh did not acknowledge the decree and continues as the PM of Gazoo while Abbas maintains a separate PM in the West Bank...
. The two discussed efforts to implement understandings reportedly reached between Israel and Hamas to prevent renewed violence, the Kan public broadcaster quoted Haniyeh’s office as saying.

Israel has refused to officially confirm the ceasefire understandings.

In addition to the border rioting, a fire broke out Friday in the nearby Sha’ar Hanegev Regional Council. Authorities were probing if the blaze was started by an incendiary balloon flown from the Gazoo Strip, Hebrew media reported.

Earlier Friday, Israel began easing restrictions on Gazoo put in place amid the latest fighting, including reopening a 12 nautical mile fishing zone off the coast of the Strip. It also reopened the crossings into and out of Gazoo at midnight Thursday, after they had been closed for Memorial Day and Independence Day, as is standard practice.

COGAT, the Defense Ministry body that liaises with the Paleostinians, said in a statement late Thursday that the fishing zone expansion is "part of the civilian policy for prevention of deterioration in humanitarian conditions in the Gazoo Strip and is consistent with the policy of distinguishing between gunnies and the general population."

The statement warned that security forces would "handle any deviation" from the agreement.

IDF denies Reports Of Two Gaza Rockets Fired On Israel On Friday

[Jpost] IDF spokesperson denied early Paleostinian reports of two rockets from Gazoo that were fired on Israel Friday evening. The alleged rockets followed the death of a 24 year old Paleostinian youth during the Friday festivities with IDF forces during the 'March of Return' protests.

Posted by: trailing wife || 05/11/2019 01:25 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Hamas

#1  "understandings with Israel to prevent renewed violence."

1) Don't f*ck around with us
2) There won't be any violence.

"That includes tunnels, pyro-kites, rockets, ANYTHING WE don't like. Otherwise, the smiting will continue and increase in pain"
Posted by: Frank G || 05/11/2019 8:44 Comments || Top||

#2  One day somebody (several somebodies) in IAF will make a terrible, horrible mistake and a FAE will get dropped in a center of Gazah.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 05/11/2019 11:16 Comments || Top||

#3  i don't know what that is but it sure would npot be a horrible too me
Posted by: chris || 05/11/2019 18:25 Comments || Top||


Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka slaps controls on mosques after Easter attacks, DNA test to check dead dude is ringleader
[DAWN] The Sri Lankan government on Friday ordered mosques to clamp down on forces of Evil and to submit copies of sermons in new fallout from the Easter suicide kabooms that left 258 dead.

The country has been on edge since the April 21 attacks by jihadist bombers who attacked three churches and three Colombo hotels which also left 500 people injured.

The Ministry of Moslem Religious and Cultural Affairs said mosques must not be used for radicalising congregations.

"In view of the prevailing situation in the country, the ministry directs all trustees of mosques not to engage in or permit any gathering to promote or propagate hatred or extremism in any form," the ministry said.

It said all mosques must submit copies of sermons given within their premises.

Sri Lankan snuffies who had pledged allegiance to the holy warrior Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
group have been blamed for the April 21 bombings against three Christian churches and three luxury hotels.

Since the attacks, the government has carried out raids across the country and killed several suspected radicals. At least 56 suspects are in jug, according to police, while authorities have also expelled 200 foreign holy mans who had overstayed their visas.

Sri Lanka orders DNA test to confirm Easter attack ringleader is dead

[Jpost] A Sri Lankan court on Friday authorized a DNA test to confirm that the presumed ringleader of coordinated Islamist attacks that killed over 250 people on Easter Sunday in churches and hotels did indeed blow himself up at Colombo's Shangri-La hotel.

The government, which has come under fire for missing multiple warnings that an attack was imminent, believes the ringleader was Zahran Hashim, a fiery
...a single two-syllable word carrying connotations of both incoherence and viciousness. A fiery delivery implies an audience of rubes and yokels, preferably forming up into a mob...
34-year-old preacher from eastern Sri Lanka.

However,
a good lie finds more believers than a bad truth...
half a dozen locals in his hometown of Kattankudy and others who knew him have told Rooters that video surveillance footage taken in a lift before the April 21 attack, showing a man who Sherlocks believe is the bomber, appears to depict a far slimmer man than Hashim, with a different gait.

The clip is short, though, and the man's face is partially hidden by a cap. Hashim had disappeared from public view several months before the attacks.

Colombo Chief Magistrate Ranga Dissanayake ordered state judiciary medical officials to check the bomber's remains against his daughter's DNA.

Dissanayake said he was responding to a request by the criminal investigation department.

A top intelligence official told Rooters that facial identification had confirmed that the dead jacket wallah was Zahran.

"But since there is a dispute, we are going for a DNA test," he said.

Sri Lankan authorities believe the bombings were carried out by two little-known domestic Islamist groups, the National Tawheed Jamaath (NTJ) and Jamathei Millathu Ibrahim (JMI). Islamic State has grabbed credit.

Investigators from eight countries, including the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and Interpol, are helping with the investigation.
Posted by: Fred || 05/11/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Salafists

#1  Them Buddhists don't f*ck around
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 05/11/2019 11:12 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
USS Arlington joining USS TR, Patriot missiles to be deployed
[Yahoo] The Pentagon announced Friday that it is deploying an amphibious assault ship and a Patriot missile battery to the Middle East to bolster an aircraft carrier force sent to counter alleged threats from Iran.

The USS Arlington, which transports marines, amphibious vehicles, conventional landing craft and rotary aircraft, and the Patriot air defense system will join the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group and a B-52 bomber task force headed toward the Gulf after intelligence reports suggested Iran was planning some sort of attack in the region.

US approves deployment of Patriot Missiles to Middle East amid Iranian threat

[MOBILE.ALMASDARNEWS] The U.S. Defense Department has approved the deployment of their Patriot Missile System to the Middle East as they deal with the "Iranian threat" national security adviser John Bolton warned of earlier this week.

Citing Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, Sky News reported that the U.S. is indeed deploying this missile system in response to the alleged threats posed by the Iranian Armed Forces in the Persian Gulf.

Earlier this week, Bolton and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claimed that Iran was preparing to strike the U.S. forces in the Middle East region.

The U.S. then sent their aircraft carrier strike group, led by the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln, to the Persian Gulf after a brief deployment in the Mediterranean Sea.

Iran has denied any such plans, but Washington is adamant that Tehran was preparing to strike their forces in the region.

Posted by: 3dc || 05/11/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


US forces attack Syrian gov’t oil transport in Euphrates region
[MOBILE.ALMASDARNEWS] The U.S. military and their allies from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) opened fire on a Syrian government ferry that was attempting to transport oil in the Euphrates River Valley.

According to the pro-SDF Deir Ezzor Media Center page on Facebook, the U.S. Coalition forces fired shots at the Syrian government ferry as it was traveling down the Euphrates River.

The U.S. has been preventing Syria from transporting oil from neighboring countries like Iraq because of the Trump administration’s ongoing sanctions against the government in Damascus.

Syria is experiencing a nationwide fuel crisis as a result of these sanctions; it has forced the government to ration of fuel to civilians in order to maintain their current supply.

Some reports claim that fuel from Iran recently arrived on May 5th; however, nothing has been confirmed by the Syrian government.

Posted by: Fred || 05/11/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran Proxies


Jihadist counter-offensive in northwestern Hama ends in failure
[ALMASDARNEWS] The jihadist rebels, led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham
(HTS), attempted to retake several areas from the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) that they lost in the northwestern countryside of Hama in the last four days.

HTS and their allies began their attack this morning by attempting to overwhelm the Syrian Arab Army troops near the key town of Kafr Naboudeh.

However,
a good lie finds more believers than a bad truth...
despite the intensity of the attack, the jihadist rebels were unable to crack the Syrian Arab Army’s defenses, resulting in the subsequent withdrawal of HTS from this axis.

According to a military source near the front-lines, the jihadist rebels did not capture any areas and they suffered heavy casualties during their attack on Friday.

The source added that the Syrian Arab Army and their allies are now preparing to storm the key hilltop of Tal Sakher.

The Syrian Army has yet to fully secure the Kafr Naboudeh area because they still do not have control over Tal Sakher.

Posted by: Fred || 05/11/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Nusra


Syrian Army ambush kills 15 jihadists in northwestern Hama
[ALMASDARNEWS] The jihadist rebels of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham
launches a counter-offensive this morning to recover the sites they lost to the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) this week.

However,
those who apply themselves too closely to little things often become incapable of great things...
despite the intensity of the attack, the jihadist rebels were unable to recover any territory and were later forced to retreat back towards Tal Sakher in the northwestern countryside of the Hama Governorate.

According to a military source, the Syrian Arab Army laid an ambush against the attacking jihadists, killing more than 15 of their fighters in the process.

The source added that many of the jihadists that launched the counter-attack were foreign combatants that are part of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham’s special forces.

Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham has championed the cause to retake the areas previously lost by the Free Syrian Army
... the more palatable version of the Syrian insurgency, heavily influenced by the Moslem Brüderbund...
(FSA) and their allies; however, they have failed to recover anything thus far.
Posted by: Fred || 05/11/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Nusra


Terror Networks
CIA used secret missile to kill terrorists ‘with no explosion’-- report
The view in the Iranian world, and perhaps beyond, of the flying ginsu story from yesterday. Enjoy, dear Reader, enjoy.
[ALMASDARNEWS] The US government has developed a secret missile to launch pinpoint Arclight airstrikes against murderous Moslems and their leaders "with no kaboom", the Wall Street Journal reports.

The newspaper cited unnamed US officials as saying that the use of the specially designed new missile with "extraordinarily accurate intelligence about a target’s location and surroundings" will help "drastically" reduce damage and minimise chances of civilian casualties.

"A modified version of the well-known Hellfire missile, [...] the R9X is designed to plunge more than 100 pounds of metal through the tops of cars and buildings to kill its target without harming individuals and property close by", the officials said.

The R9X aims to target murderous Moslems who adapt to US airstrikes by "hiding among groups of women and kiddies to put themselves out of reach".

The newspaper notes in this vein that that both the Pentagon and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) have already used this weapon, "carefully concealing its existence".

The missile was reportedly used at least twice: once over Syria in February 2017, and again in Yemen
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic...
in January.

"A Hellfire, which is a little more than five feet [1.5 m] long and weighs just over 100 pounds [45kg], typically leaves behind mangled, burned-out shells of vehicles, surrounded by debris and scorch marks over a large radius. The R9X leaves no such signature", the sources pointed out.

The number of civilian casualties in Afghanistan in 2018 is the highest in any six-month period since they began being counted systemically in 2009, according to the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).

The US military has repeatedly denied civilian casualties during its missions against Talibs in Afghanistan.

Posted by: Fred || 05/11/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


#2  Sounds like the "Rods from God" popularized in scifi.
Posted by: Threreque Glereger1817 || 05/11/2019 8:21 Comments || Top||

#3  Sorta like dropping rocks on bad guys besieging your castle
Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom || 05/11/2019 9:58 Comments || Top||

#4  The R9X is designed to plunge more than 100 pounds of metal through the tops of cars.

Its likely possible but I dunno. I've seen photos of cars where someone dropped a concrete block off an over-pass onto a car on the interstate. Lot of roof damage and a fatality. Is it possible this is disinformation? Yesterday's photos looked like self-driving Teslas gone amok.

Posted by: JohnQC || 05/11/2019 10:07 Comments || Top||

#5  Iss Hush-a-Boom, Natasha.
Posted by: AlanC || 05/11/2019 11:12 Comments || Top||

#6  I call bull - IMO, if CIA had such a missile, they'd used it on Trump.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 05/11/2019 11:13 Comments || Top||

#7  Concrete cylinder with a GBU-31 tailpiece was used during Iraqi invasion in metro areas.

Probably left more debris to clean up, though.
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 05/11/2019 11:21 Comments || Top||

#8  Think of the inert warhead as a training missile re-purposed as a "hi-tech cannonball". IIRC, some versions had "pop-out fins" so the missile could extend its range as a glider after the rocket engine runs out of fuel (so not chop-chop blades).
Posted by: magpie || 05/11/2019 11:31 Comments || Top||

#9  I suppose that 100 pounds of cast iron moving at Mach 2.0 could do some serious damage to the recipient
Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom || 05/11/2019 12:18 Comments || Top||

#10  The Farside solutions are sometimes the best.
Posted by: Besoeker || 05/11/2019 14:35 Comments || Top||

#11  I prefer the "Phantasm" flying silver killing ball.
Posted by: AlmostAnonymous5839 || 05/11/2019 15:37 Comments || Top||

#12  Forgive me if I am not real concerned about the wellbeing of the women and kids the hard boys are hiding among, as long as we get our targets.
Posted by: Glenmore || 05/11/2019 17:53 Comments || Top||

#13  Forgive me if I am not real concerned about the wellbeing of the women and kids the hard boys are hiding among

If you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas. Or shrapnel.
Posted by: SteveS || 05/11/2019 18:08 Comments || Top||

#14  or you don't get up at all
Posted by: chris || 05/11/2019 18:27 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
28[untagged]
6Taliban
5Islamic State
5Govt of Iran
4Arab Spring
3Commies
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1Salafists
1Sublime Porte
1TTP
1Govt of Iran Proxies
1Govt of Pakistan
1Govt of Saudi Arabia
1Hamas
1Houthis
1Moslem Colonists

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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.

Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.

Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has dominated Mexico for six years.
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In no particular order...
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Two weeks of WOT
Sat 2019-05-11
  B-52s in Al Udeid AB Qatar
Fri 2019-05-10
  U.S. revokes citizenship of Portland mosque's imam for ties to ObL
Thu 2019-05-09
  Rotherham abuse scandal: 40 arrests made in last two months
Wed 2019-05-08
  Pompeo suddenly in Iraq
Tue 2019-05-07
  400-strong Christian mob attacks Muslim shops in Sri Lankan town hit by Easter bomb
Mon 2019-05-06
  19 killed in Gaza, four in Israel in Sunday’s escalation, say officials
Sun 2019-05-05
  Iran money man zapped in Gaza
Sat 2019-05-04
  Israel strikes Gaza targets in response to heavy rocket fire Saturday
Fri 2019-05-03
  Taliban militants blow up one of the oldest shrines of Ghazni city
Thu 2019-05-02
  Iran, Turkey criticize US plan to designate Muslim Brotherhood a terror group
Wed 2019-05-01
  Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated businessman Malek sentenced to 25 years in prison
Tue 2019-04-30
  Gunmen kill pastor, worshippers in Burkina Faso church
Mon 2019-04-29
  Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi seen in new video for first time in five years
Sun 2019-04-28
  Father, brothers of alleged Sri Lanka bombing mastermind killed
Sat 2019-04-27
  Sri Lanka - Inside help?

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