68 year old retired @PhillyPolice Officer working as Philadelphia School Safety Officer in marked school vehicle, shot multiple times in face & body on Columbus Blvd under Ben Franklin Bridge after road rage victims from 95 alerted him armed men in Hyundai aimed gun at them. 1/ pic.twitter.com/W4HvDNQhxW
[ShabelleMedia] Heavy fighting has broken out in Somalia’s Lower Shabelle region between federal government forces and the al-Qaeda-linked hard boy group al-Shabaab ... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda... , local sources and officials said Monday.
The festivities, which are concentrated in areas including Sabiid Caanoole, Bariire, and Awdheegle, have been accompanied by aerial bombardments and heavy artillery shelling, raising concerns for the safety of civilians in the region.
[Garowe] The Danab Special Forces — a Special Operations contingent of the Somali National Army (SNA), which is trained by Americans, initiated operations in Jubaland, leading to the death of several fighters linked to the al-Shabaab ... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord... krazed killers.
According to reports, the Danab Special Forces targeted Bulo Haji town which is located a few kilometres from the strategic town of Kismayo ...a port city in the southern Lower Juba province of Somalia, at the extreme southern end of the country (always assuming Somalia can be called a country). It is the commercial capital of the autonomous Jubaland region.... , which is the regional administrative capital of Jubaland state.
The fighting took place around Maqoqaha area, approximately 13 kilometres from Bulo Haji. The bandidosfaceless myrmidons engaged in fierce festivities with the special operations team, leading to many casualties, which were reported.
Military officials said at least 37 bandidosfaceless myrmidons were killed in the raid and several others were maimed. The krazed killers' arsenals were also destroyed beyond repair, officials said, while maintaining that the victory against the group was resounding.
But the al-Shabaab fighters said they repelled the attack by the Danab Special Forces, killing six US-trained troops and wounding 13 others. The claims could not be verified independently, given that the group is fond of spreading propaganda.
Danab Special Forces are trained and equipped by the US Africa Command, which nurtures the military within the country. The US has signified the possibility of withdrawing support for the Somali National Army, with the funding reportedly getting significantly slashed.
[Garowe] Puntland ...a region in northeastern Somalia, centered on Garowe in the Nugaal province. Its leaders declared the territory an autonomous state in 1998. Puntland and the equally autonomous Somaliland seem to have avoided the clan rivalries and warlordism that have typified the rest of Somalia, which puts both places high on the list for Islamic subversion... Defense Forces launched a military operation early Monday targeting areas in the al-Miskad mountain range where remnants of the ISIS-affiliated holy warrior group are believed to be hiding.
"The forces are conducting a clearance operation today against fleeing terrorists. Troops have spread out and are advancing toward the limited zones where the runaways may be hiding," read a statement from Operation Hillaac, the ongoing military campaign.
According to intelligence information obtained by Garowe Online, ISIS elements who previously operated in the Baalade, Miiraale, and Jacayl valley areas are now believed to be hiding in Walisoor and Marmarka — remote locations currently under military pressure.
Security officials say the operation is part of a broader effort to eliminate remaining holy warrior cells in the mountainous region, which has long served as a hideout for gangs. The Puntland authorities have not yet released casualty figures or confirmed arrests linked to the ongoing offensive.
Timing, guys — timing matters. Should have done this two days ago.
[IsraelTimes] Activist says arms firms that supply Israel are customers at UK bank, ties must be cut like with Russia; Barclays ‘proud’ of partnership with tennis tourney, defends business deals
Pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel protesters urged Wimbledon to drop Barclays as a sponsor Monday because of the British bank’s business dealings with Israel.
About two dozen protesters from Palestine Solidarity Campaign demonstrated near the main entrance of the All England Club, as thousands of fans arrived for Day 1 of the tennis tournament.
“They’re the bank for the arms companies that are obviously supplying weapons to Israel,” protester Khalid Zalmay told The Associated Press. “We should not be arming Israel, we should not be allowing anybody to facilitate arming them, and I think ties should be cut with Israel, the same way that ties were cut with Russia.”
One protester held a sign that said Barclays is a “sponsor of Wimbledon and genocide.”
Wimbledon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Barclays said it is “proud of our partnership with Wimbledon” and defended its business practices.
“We provide a range of financial services and products to companies supplying defense products to the UK, NATO and its allies,” the company statement said. “As NATO, the EU and UK seek to increase their defense capabilities in response to increasing geopolitical threats, the provision of financial products and services to the defense sector is becoming increasingly important.”
Summarizing yesterday, in case there are new developments, and otherwise to give perspective for the Barclays article.
UK police announced Monday that the weekend performances by rap punk duo Bob Vylan and Irish-language band Kneecap at the Glastonbury Festival are subject to a criminal investigation, after they led crowds in chants calling for “death” to the Israeli military and chants of “Free Palestine.”
Police said the performances at the UK’s largest summer music festival “have been recorded as a public order incident.”
Meanwhile, the US State Department said it has revoked the US visas for Bob Vylan after their “hateful tirade at Glastonbury.”
The rap duo’s lead vocalist, known by the alias Bobby Vylan — who until the weekend was relatively little known — led crowds in chants of “Free, free Palestine” and “Death, death to the IDF” — the Israel Defense Forces.
The BBC said it regretted livestreaming the performance. “The antisemitic sentiments expressed by Bob Vylan were utterly unacceptable and have no place on our airwaves,” it said, adding that it “respects freedom of expression but stands firmly against incitement to violence.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and UK politicians condemned the chants, saying there was no excuse for such “appalling hate speech.”
“Foreigners who glorify violence and hatred are not welcome visitors to our country,” US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said in a social media post.
Hamas’s October 7, 2023, massacre and the subsequent war against the Palestinian terror group in Gaza have triggered anti-Israel protests in many capitals and on college campuses. Israel and some supporters have described the protests as antisemitic, while critics claim Israel uses such descriptions to silence opponents.
Starmer said the BBC must explain “how these scenes came to be broadcast.”
Ofcom, the broadcasting regulator, said it was “very concerned” about the BBC livestream and said the broadcaster “clearly has questions to answer.”
The BBC said earlier in its defense that it had issued a warning on screen about “very strong and discriminatory language” during the livestream.
The Israeli embassy to the UK said over the weekend it was “deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival.”
Bob Vylan, which formed in 2017, have released four albums mixing punk, grime, and other styles with lyrics that often address issues including racism, masculinity and politics. Its two members keep their real names secret for privacy reasons.
In a statement posted on social media, singer Bobby Vylan said he was inundated with messages of both support and hatred.
“Teaching our children to speak up for the change they want and need is the only way that we make this world a better place,” he wrote.
The duo played Saturday afternoon right before Kneecap, another band that has drawn controversy over its stance on Middle East politics. Kneecap led a huge crowd in chants of “Free Palestine” at the festival.
They also aimed an expletive-laden chant at Starmer, who had said he did not think it was “appropriate” for Kneecap to play Glastonbury, after one of its members was charged under the Terrorism Act. Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, was charged with supporting a proscribed terror organization for waving a Hezbollah flag at a concert in London last year.
Amid the anti-Israel rhetoric from some of the performers at the music festival, which draws some 200,000 people annually, some in the crowd used the tradition of waving large flags during performances as an opportunity to draw attention to the plight of the hostages taken by Hamas during the October 7, 2023, invasion of southern Israel.
Palestine Action to challenge UK government ban
[IsraelTimes] Pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel campaign organization Palestine Action says it has initiated legal proceedings to challenge the British government’s intention to ban the group under anti-terrorism laws.
The proscription – expected to be laid before parliament today – would make it a criminal offense to belong to the group, and was announced days after its activists damaged two British military planes in protest at London’s support for Israel.
Palestine Action previously condemned the government’s move, calling it “an unhinged reaction,” and said that London’s High Court had granted the group an urgent hearing on Friday to consider permission for a legal challenge to the proscription.
The group is seeking a court order to prevent the government from proscribing the group pending its case being heard, Palestine Action says.
Under British law, the Home Secretary can proscribe a group if it is believed it commits, encourages or “is otherwise concerned in terrorism.” The ban would put Palestine Action on a par with Hamas, al-Qaeda or ISIS under British law.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper previously said the group had a “long history of unacceptable criminal damage” and that the government would not tolerate those who put national security at risk.
Continued on Page 47
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[KavkazUzel] The court sentenced a resident of the Ingush village of Inarki to ten years in prison, finding him guilty of financing terrorist activities.
The convicted resident of Ingushetia is 35 years old, in the past he had already been convicted under the article on illegal trafficking of explosives. The case is being heard by the Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don.
According to the prosecution, in March 2023, a resident of Inarka personally transferred money to a person wanted for terrorist crimes. This person acts in the interests of a terrorist organization banned in Russia, according to a publication on the official website of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for Ingushetia.
Investigators did not specify how much money the accused transferred to the alleged militants and under what conditions. According to the agency, this money "allowed the wanted persons to continue their terrorist activities" in Ingushetia.
The accused, who was previously sentenced by the Malgobek City Court to three years and a fine of 20 thousand rubles in the explosives case, was taken into custody. The military court, when determining the punishment, took into account the previous sentence, sentencing the man to 10 years of imprisonment with the first two years to be served in prison, and the rest of the term - in a maximum security penal colony. The fine of 20 thousand rubles was also retained in the new sentence.
The article on financing terrorist activity (part 1.1 of article 205.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) provides for eight to 15 years of imprisonment. According to the case file of the Southern District Military Court, on June 25, a guilty verdict under this article was handed down to Islam Zagiyev, a 35-year-old native of Malgobek, whose data is included in the list of terrorists and extremists of Rosfinmonitoring.
The Caucasian Knot does not yet have any comments from the accused or his lawyer regarding the verdict and plans to appeal.
Azerbaijan has reported the detention of two officers from Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) who were working undercover at the pro-Russian news agency Sputnik Azerbaijan.
Source: Azerbaijani news agency APA, as reported by European Pravda
Details: On the morning of 30 June, police in Baku conducted an operation at the office of Sputnik Azerbaijan, the Baku branch of Russia’s state-owned media group Rossiya Segodnya (Russia Today).
During the operation, Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs detained two FSB officers who were working at Sputnik Azerbaijan.
Back in February, Azerbaijan decided to suspend the activities of Sputnik Azerbaijan.
The decision aimed to ensure parity between the operations of Azerbaijani state media abroad and foreign journalists working in Azerbaijan. The number of Sputnik Azerbaijan journalists working in Baku was to be matched to the number of Azerbaijan State News Agency (AZERTAC) journalists working in Russia.
However,
a person who gets all wrapped up in himself makes a mighty small package... the Sputnik Azerbaijan editorial team has ignored the decision and continued its operations.
Background:
Tensions recently escalated between Baku and Moscow after more than 50 Azerbaijani nationals were detained in Yekaterinburg in connection with an unresolved criminal case concerning the murder of Yunis Pashayev, which took place in 2001.
Azerbaijani authorities have publicly criticised Russia following the raid by Russian security forces in Yekaterinburg, during which several Azerbaijani nationals were killed and dozens detained.
On Sunday, it was reported that all cultural events organised by Russian state and private institutions in Azerbaijan had been cancelled.
Additionally, a planned visit of an Azerbaijani parliamentary delegation to Moscow was also called off.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin said that the actions of law enforcement agencies should not be a reason for diplomatic demarches.
[IsraelTimes] One suspect allegedly moved grenade to another location with knowledge it would be used to harm Israelis; two others recruited to murder unnamed Israeli in exchange for money
Police and Shin Bet agents have arrested three Israeli citizens in two separate cases on suspicion that they carried out tasks for Iranian agents, the two agencies said in a statement on Monday.
In one investigation, 33-year-old Mark Morgein, who lives in the Jordan Valley in the West Bank, was arrested on suspicion of moving a grenade from a hidden location to another at the request of his handler, with whom he maintained contact over the course of June.
Police said he carried out this task with the knowledge that this explosive would be used to harm Israeli citizens.
He was also enlisted to film a video of a missile interception during open war between Israel and 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 JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... and send it to his handler.
Security forces also arrested two Tiberias residents, Yoni Segal, 18, and Nehorai Omri Mizrahi, 20, whom an Iranian agent allegedly tried to recruit into murdering an unnamed Israeli citizen in exchange for hundreds of thousands of shekels.
The agent offered to fly the pair out to another country, train them, and then give them the identity of their target. The plan never came to fruition.
The two are also suspected of filming shopping malls and hospitals across the country and sending their handler information on each mall’s layout, number of security guards, and number of stores. They allegedly sent information on malls in Haifa, Tiberias, and Tel Aviv, as well as about Tel Aviv’s Ichilov hospital.
On Monday, Lahav 433 police Sherlocks submitted a prosecutor’s declaration ahead of anticipated indictments against the suspects. The Petah Tikva Magistrate’s Court extended the remand of all three by four days, until Thursday.
There has been a rise in recent months in Israelis being arrested and charged with carrying out acts of espionage on behalf of Iran.
[IsraelTimes] IDF statement says Hamas figures inflated, but says civilians killed in ‘tragic’ incidents, has ‘learned lessons’ to prevent future deaths; reports say 22 killed in north Gaza café
Dozens of people were killed across the 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 a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... Strip on Monday, including at least 11 in the area of a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) aid distribution center, according to local Paleostinian media outlets, hours before the military admitted in a statement that it has killed several civilians near aid sites in recent weeks and said it has learned lessons that will avoid similar incidents in the future.
No footage of the reported shooting incident near the GHF site has yet been published, though videos claiming to show those maimed in the incident receiving treatment at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis were posted to social media.
The IDF did not issue a response to reports of Monday’s incident and the GHF told The Times of Israel it was unaware of any shooting incidents near their sites.
There have been repeated instances of Paleostinians being shot near aid distribution sites. The IDF said it is investigating, and denied that troops are ordered to open fire on civilians.
On Monday afternoon, the IDF released a statement acknowledging that Paleostinian civilians have been killed and injured by its fire near aid distribution sites, including by artillery fire, but claimed that the tolls provided by Hamas ..always the voice of sweet reason... authorities are exaggerated.
The military also announced that it "reorganized the access routes" to the humanitarian hubs, adding new fencing and signage along with additional paths to the aid sites.
The statement came days after the Haaretz daily reported that the military launched a probe last week into potential war crimes committed by its troops. It quoted unidentified soldiers as saying that the aid sites were like a "killing field" and that they were ordered to treat the aid seekers like combatants, using heavy live fire for crowd control.
The Haaretz report drew a first detailed response from the military regarding the near-daily deadly shootings around aid distribution sites, but the IDF vociferously denied that troops are being ordered by commanders to deliberately open fire on the Paleostinian civilians.
According to the military, troops on the ground have only used live gunfire when a threat was posed to them, including when dozens of suspects approached forces outside of the designated routes to the aid sites operated by the Israel- and US-backed GHF, or outside the operating hours.
In those cases, the IDF said a small number of people were hit by its fire, and not dozens as Hamas has claimed.
However,
women are made to be loved, not understood... the military said that at least in three "tragic" cases, artillery shelling was carried out toward areas near the aid sites, in an attempt to prevent Paleostinians from approaching specific zones outside of the distribution centers.
The artillery fire in those cases was "inaccurate," according to the IDF’s investigations, and resulted in 30-40 Paleostinian casualties, among them several dead.
The military said those civilian casualties "did not need to happen" and it was the result of the inaccurate artillery, and not intended to directly target civilians at the aid sites.
The IDF added that it stopped carrying out shelling near the aid sites following the incidents, and according to a Monday report in Haaretz, an officer in the IDF southern command said that the artillery had been used to "maintain order" at the aid sites, and the military has now shifted to "other methods."
Each case of reported civilian casualties near the GHF sites has been investigated, the military said, adding that it is working to improve infrastructure, access routes, signage and announcements for the aid sites.
Currently, there is no screening process for Paleostinians who seek to collect aid, meaning that Hamas members are likely also arriving and picking up food packages. In the coming weeks, the IDF hopes that a screening process may begin, along with the opening of additional aid sites.
Citing "the lessons that were learned," the IDF also said the Tel Sultan aid site will temporarily be closed while a new distribution hub is built there, "in order to reduce the friction with the population and maintain the security of the forces on the ground."
Last week, the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry said at least 549 people had been killed and 4,000 had been maimed trying to pick up aid from GHF sites or while waiting for UN food trucks since May 27, when GHF launched.
The numbers have not been verified, but between May 27 and June 24, there were at least 19 IDF shooting incidents related to humanitarian aid distribution, according to a review of reports out of Gaza conducted by The Times of Israel.
Later on Monday, an Israeli official told The Times of Israel that the government may expand the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza "in the near future, as part of a broader and larger plan."
"Then we would be reducing the tension between the population and the soldiers, as well as other advantages which I will not go into right now," the official added. "It’s a bigger plan, but it’s still under debate and not decided."
The plan was set to be discussed in Monday night’s cabinet meeting, the official said.
NORTH GAZA FACES HEAVY STRIKES Meanwhile,
...back at the shootout, Butch clutched at his leg. Son of a Breech! he exclaimed with feeling...... Paleostinians in northern Gaza on Monday morning reported one of the heaviest nights of Israeli strikes in weeks after the military issued mass evacuation orders for wide swaths of territory in Gaza City and Jabalia, ahead of a major IDF offensive in the area.
"Explosions never stopped; they bombed schools and homes. It felt like earthquakes," said Salah, 60, a father of five children, from Gaza City. "In the news, we hear a ceasefire is near; on the ground, we see death and we hear explosions."
According to residents, Israeli tanks pushed into the eastern areas of the Zeitoun suburb in Gaza City and shelled several areas in the north, while aircraft hit at least four schools after ordering hundreds of families sheltering inside to leave.
At least 58 people were killed in Israeli strikes on Monday, according to Hamas-run health authorities, including 10 people killed in Zeitoun. The figures cannot be verified and do not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
The IDF said it struck terror targets in northern Gaza, including command and control centers, after taking steps to mitigate the risk of harming civilians.
Later Monday, media outlets in Gaza reported that around 22 people were killed and others injured in an Israeli strike in western Gaza City, near the coast. According to the reports, the targeted structure was a beachfront café.
Footage from the scene showed a destroyed pavilion and casualties being pulled from the site.
The IDF has yet to issue a response on the strike or its target.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda...
... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord...
...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 
..always the voice of sweet reason...
