[Garowe] The Somali National Army (SNA) and the al-Shabaab militants suffered casualties following intense fighting within the Bay region of Southwest, multiple sources revealed, in the latest clashes involving the two teams.
According to reports, several government soldiers as well as al-Shabaab fighters were killed after the militants attacked a military outpost, Burjeed, about 12km south of Baidoa, on Monday, within the restless Southwest State.
Sources in the region say the militants briefly entered the outpost before government forces retook it. Intense fighting ensued, leading to multiple deaths, but both teams have yet to disclose the extent of the damage.
The al-Shabaab fighters usually target military bases since they cannot wage an effective frontline challenge against the Somali National Army and allies, whose ground combat capability is greatly enhanced with the support of modern technology.
Meanwhile, the commander of Sector 60 of the national army, which operates in the area, Brigadier Hassan Isaq Omar, has been replaced. Colonel Mohamed Yarisow was appointed to replace him. The removal is not related to the Monday attack, sources said.
[ShabelleMedia] Somali government troops backed by local militias have launched a large-scale military operation in the central Middle Shabelle region, targeting areas previously controlled by the Al-Qaeda-linked group Al-Shabaab, security sources and residents said on Thursday.
The operation is concentrated around Masaajid Cali Gaduud, a strategic town recently recaptured by Somali forces after being held by Al-Shabaab fighters for several months. The offensive has since expanded to nearby villages, including Towfiiq, where heavy troop movements have been observed.
Residents reported seeing heavily armed Somali National Army (SNA) soldiers and allied Macawiisley militias streaming into the area in a push to dislodge remaining militants.
Following the retaking of Masaajid Cali Gaduud, the army conducted mine clearance operations to secure key roads and infrastructure. Military officials said the town was used by Al-Shabaab as a launch point for attacks in Hirshabelle state and surrounding regions.
“Al-Shabaab has suffered heavy losses and has been forced to withdraw from several villages,” a military spokesperson told Radio Shabelle, requesting anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the press.
[ShabelleMedia] Security sources in southern Somalia say Jubaland regional forces, in coordination with the U.S.-trained Danab special forces and the 56th Battalion of the Somali National Army’s 11th Division, have carried out a planned military operation targeting al-Shabaab ... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda... strongholds in several areas of Lower Juba region.
The joint offensive reportedly took place in the areas of Malaaleey, Araare, Koban, Janaale Jay, and Reeynero, all located along the banks of the Jubba River in southern Somalia.
In a statement released by the Jubaland administration, authorities said the operation targeted key al-Shabaab hideouts and defensive positions, resulting in what they described as "heavy losses" for the group. Several holy warrior hideouts were destroyed, and numerous fighters were reportedly killed, though independent verification remains limited.
The operation forms part of an ongoing military campaign by Jubaland forces and the Somali National Army aimed at dislodging al-Shabaab from rural areas and districts under the group’s control.
Al-Shabaab continues to maintain a strong presence in the Middle and Lower Juba regions, as well as parts of Gedo, where they impose their own administration and conduct attacks on security forces and civilians.
Meanwhile,
...back at the revival hall, the congregants were being herded into the paddy wagon... Kenyan Defence Forces stationed under the African Union ...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful... Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) continue to support Jubaland authorities in securing key urban centers such as 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.... , Afmadow, and Dhobley, which remain relatively stable compared to rural conflict zones.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] The Southern District Military Court sentenced two members of Shamil Basayev's gang,
…Shamil Salmanovich Basayev, also known as Emir Abdullah Shamil Abu-Idrisand by his kunya, “Abu Idris” (1965-2006). Basayev was a Chechen warlord in the post-Soviet Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, which after his death became the Al Qaeda-linked Caucasus Emirate. In 2015 most of the hard boys changed their allegiance to the local Islamic State affiliate, Vilayat Kavkaz, whereupon a majority chose to escape the Spetsnaz hunting them by making hijra to the caliphate in Syria — those that survived the reconquest and the SDF prison camps are about to become the property of the HTS government of Syria, which will be educational, one way or another. Some of Basayev’s projects were the 2004 Beslan school siege and the 2002 Moscow theater hostage crisis (the Nord-Ost siege)…
Vakhit Khamzatkhanov and Takhir Begeldiev (both are included in the Russian Federation's list of terrorists and extremists), to 21 and 24 years in a strict regime penal colony for participating in an attack on Russian servicemen in Chechnya in 1999. The court hearing was held on June 25.
The investigation established that the convicted men joined the gang of Basayev and Amir Khattab in 1999. In October, as part of a detachment of about 400 militants, they ambushed Russian fighters in the village of Chervlennaya in the Shelkovsky district. In the shootout, 15 Russian soldiers were killed and another 28 were wounded.
Begeldiev and Khamzatkhanov were found guilty under Article 317 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation "Encroachment on the life of a law enforcement officer or military serviceman." Cases were also brought against them under Article 209 ("Banditry") and Article 279 ("Armed rebellion"), but they were dropped due to the expiration of the statute of limitations.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, in May the FSB published a video of the arrest of four members of the Basayev and Khattab gang, involved in attacks on Russian servicemen in 1999-2000. The operations took place in Stavropol Krai, Ingushetia, Dagestan and Astrakhan Oblast. The detainees were also in an ambush in the village of Chervlennaya. In addition, they participated in a battle with Pskov paratroopers near the village of Ulus-Kert in February 2000.
In October 2024, security forces detained three members of the Basayev and Khattab gang in Dagestan, Karachay-Cherkessia and the Volgograd region. They participated in the militants' attack on the Pskov paratroopers.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Over the past weekend, 12 people have already been detained in France in connection with the attack with syringes on women and girls during a music festival. However, the search for the criminals is still ongoing, the British newspaper The Guardian reported. Moreover, at least two suspects have already been released.
Local law enforcement agencies do not rule out that illegal migrants and minors were among the attackers, but they have not made any official statements on this matter.
The Fete de la musique music festival is held annually in France. Last weekend, millions of people took to the streets across the country, with local authorities in Paris reporting “unprecedented crowds.”
Shortly before the festival, feminist influencer Abrej Soer posted a warning on her social media page about an impending attack on women, calling for attention and seeking help if necessary.
As a result, during the festival, 145 people sought help after syringe attacks. Most of them were young women and teenage girls. Many complained of feeling unwell, dizziness, and some even required hospitalization. Some were sent to the hospital for toxicological tests.
It is currently unknown what the attackers' purpose was. It may have been to confuse the victim, make her vulnerable, and rape her. Most of the injections were made in the arm, back, or buttocks, so that the victim would not have the opportunity to see the attacker.
During the festival, more than 370 people were arrested for various offenses. Among them, only 12 were arrested in connection with the case of pricking women with syringes. In particular, two suspects were detained in Metz thanks to CCTV cameras, one of them was a 20-year-old man previously convicted of rape. However, the police were forced to release both: one was in very poor health, and they could not gather enough evidence against the other.
This year's attacks are not the first cases of women being stabbed with syringes in France. In 2022, before a music festival, messages were distributed calling for men and women to be attacked with syringes in clubs, bars, music events and even theatres. As reported by Regnum, in 2022, women filed several hundred complaints about such attacks all over France.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum The bodies of five people with their hands and feet tied were found by the Spanish Civil Guard on the beaches of a popular resort on the Balearic Sea. This was reported by the British newspaper Daily Mail.
"Off the coast of Ibiza, members of the Spanish Civil Guard have pulled the remains of at least five people from the water. Police have launched an investigation," the publication on June 23 said.
Local authorities believe the victims were migrants from Algeria who were trying to reach Europe by boat. According to the author of the article, the newcomers are aware of their illegal status, which is why they do not report the abuse.
The publication's source said that over the past six months, about 30 bodies have washed up on the coast of the Balearic Islands, which is why local journalists have nicknamed these beaches "cemetery beaches."
[IsraelTimes] Activists in Gaza say on social media that Ahmad al-Masri, a known figure in the anti-Hamas protests in the northern Strip, was beaten by Hamas operatives and hospitalized in recent days.
In footage and images circulated online, Al-Masri can be seen with injuries to his legs, apparently as a result of the attack.
According to the reports, he was hospitalized at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. His condition is currently unclear.
Al-Masri, a resident of Beit Lahia in northern Gaza, had been filmed in recent months holding a sign during protests that read, “Hamas does not represent us,” referring to the people of Gaza.
In another video from a demonstration, he is heard saying: “We don’t want Hamas. Hamas has destroyed us. Enough!”
[AnNahar] Israel said it killed Tuesday in south Leb ...home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade.... the head of a money exchange firm that was allegedly transferring money from 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... to Hezbollah for military purposes.
"Haytham Abdullah Bakri, the head of the ’Al-Sadiq’ Currency Exchange who operated with Hezbollah to transfer funds for Hezbollah terrorist activities, was eliminated by the IDF (Israeli army) in southern Lebanon," the Israeli army said.
"The ’Al-Sadiq’ Currency Exchange serves as a funds storage and transfer mechanism for Hezbollah, for funds originating from the Iranian Quds Force," it added.
"These funds are used by Hezbollah for military purposes including purchasing weapons, manufacturing means, and providing salaries to operatives, and are diverted for terrorist purposes and to finance the continuation of Hezbollah's terrorist activities," the Israeli army claimed.
[AnNahar] The Lebanese Army said it has arrested the suspected leader of 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.... group in Leb ...home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade.... after implicating him in planning several operations.
"Following a series of security, surveillance and monitoring operations, the Intelligence Directorate arrested citizen R.F., nicknamed "Qasoura", a prominent leader of the terrorist organization ISIS," the army said, using the Arabic acronym for IS.
Weapons and ammunitions were also seized.
According to the army, Qasoura took over the group's Lebanon branch after the arrest of several prominent figures in December.
The announcement comes days after a jacket wallah killed at least 25 people in a church in neighboring Syria, with authorities there blaming IS.
IS and other Sunni bad boy groups fought several battles with the Lebanese Army in the 2010s and carried out a series of deadly bombings targeting Shiite Death Eater group Hezbollah and its supporters.
He was described as ISIS’s top leader in Lebanon and “one of the most prominent leaders of the terrorist organization ISIS.”
Qaswara is accused of “participating in the planning of various destabilizing security operations,” the statement noted, adding that the arrest followed “extensive surveillance and intelligence efforts” by the Lebanese Army’s Intelligence Directorate.
According to the army, Qaswara assumed leadership of ISIS operations in Lebanon following the arrest of his predecessor - another Lebanese citizen identified by the initials “M.K.” and known as “Abu Said al-Shami” - who, along with several other ISIS commanders, was detained in December.
During Qaswara’s apprehension, authorities “seized a significant cache of weapons, ammunition, electronic devices, and equipment used for manufacturing drones.”
ISIS’s presence in Lebanon stems largely from the spillover of the Syrian Civil War, which began in 2011. The group exploited the porous 375-kilometer border between the two countries. While ISIS never controlled substantial territory inside Lebanon, it sought to destabilize the country through attacks and recruitment.
Its early operations in 2013–2014 included targeting Hezbollah and predominantly Shiite areas with bombings. ISIS also collaborated with the al-Nusra Front in clashes against the Lebanese Army and Hezbollah near the Syrian border, particularly in the Sunni-majority town of Arsal in August 2014 and July 2017.
The group was also responsible for a number of high-profile attacks, including the November 2015 twin suicide bombings in Beirut’s southern suburb, a Hezbollah powerbase.
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: trailing wife ||
06/26/2025 2025-06-26 02:13 ||
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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.
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...
...home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade....
...home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade....
