[Tolo News] Taliban Death Eaters attacked two police check posts in southern Zabul province early Saturday and clashed with security forces, local officials said.
The attack took place about 07:30 am local time in Shenkai district of the province after a Taliban group attacked the check posts, a front man for Provincial Police Chief Ahmad Fawad Askari said.
"Two Taliban Death Eaters were killed in the attack and one of them who was injured has been placed in durance vile Into the paddy wagon wit' yez! by the police," he said. "The other Death Eaters have escaped."
He said the festivities continued for almost two hours but there were no police casualties.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2015 00:05 ||
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[AnNahar] At least 17 Afghan coppers were killed Saturday when dozens of Talibs stormed their outpost in the country's volatile south, the latest attack of an increasingly deadly summer fighting season.
The pre-dawn raid occurred in Helmand ...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan... province as the Taliban intensify their countrywide summer offensive despite repeated government attempts to reopen peace negotiations.
"Dozens of armed Taliban attacked a police checkpoint in Musa Qala district of Helmand," provincial police chief Nabi Jan Mullahkhil told AFP.
"In the attack, 17 police forces were killed, and three others were maimed."
Omar Zwak, the front man for the Helmand provincial governor, confirmed the corpse count from the raid that occurred just after midnight and lasted several hours.
The Taliban grabbed credit for the attack, saying they seized several weapons, ammunition and other military hardware from the checkpost.
"Our mujahedeen, armed with heavy and light weapons, attacked police checkpoint in Musa Qala district," Taliban front man Qari Yousuf Ahmadi told AFP.
"In the attack, 25 police forces were killed and 13 others were maimed."
The Taliban, who were toppled from power in a 2001 U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan, are known to make exaggerated battlefield claims.
The hard boyz launched a countrywide offensive in late April, stepping up attacks on government and foreign targets in what is expected to be the bloodiest fighting season in a decade.
Saturday's attack marks another grim setback for Afghan forces, facing their first fighting season without full NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis.... support.
NATO's combat mission formally ended in December but a small follow-up foreign force of about 12,500 mainly U.S. troops has stayed on to train and support local security personnel.
Afghan authorities have repeatedly tried to jumpstart talks with the Taliban in the hope of ending the 13-year conflict, but the Lions of Islam have set tough conditions, including the withdrawal of all foreign troops in Afghanistan.
Afghan cops, many of them poorly equipped, have increasingly borne the brunt of the fighting around Afghanistan.
In early May Talibs killed at least 13 coppers after storming security outposts in the remote mountainous province of Badakhshan.
The attack came just weeks after a similar Taliban raid on army checkpoints in the northeast province in which 18 soldiers were killed -- including some who had their heads chopped off.
Earlier this year a U.S. watchdog said in a report that Afghan cops were suffering heavy casualties on the battlefield and large numbers of troops were resigning or deserting their units.
Between October 2013 and September 2014, more than 1,300 Afghan army soldiers were killed in action and 6,200 were maimed, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) said in its report.
Between September 2013 and September 2014, more than 40,000 personnel were dropped from Afghan National Army rolls, it added.
The surge in attacks has also taken a heavy toll on civilians, according to the U.N. mission in Afghanistan.
Almost 1,000 non-combatants were killed in the conflict during the first four months of this year, a sharp jump from the same period last year, it said.
President Ashraf Ghani ...former chancellor of Kabul University, now president of Afghanistan. Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002 he was a scholar of political science and anthropology. He worked at the World Bank working on international development assistance. As Finance Minister of Afghanistan between July 2002 and December 2004, he led Afghanistan's attempted economic recovery until the Karzais stole all the money. .. 's government has drawn criticism for failing to end growing bad boy attacks, which critics partly blame on political infighting and a lengthy delay in appointing a candidate for the crucial post of defense minister.
Ghani last month nominated Mohammad Masoom Stanekzai, a top official in the government body overseeing the country's grinding of the peace processor, for the job.
The post had been left vacant for months due to disagreements between Ghani and his chief executive and former presidential election rival, Abdullah Abdullah ... the former foreign minister of the Northern Alliance government, advisor to Masood, and candidate for president against Karzai. Dr. Abdullah was born in Kabul and is half Tadjik and half Pashtun... .
MOGADISHU -- The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) would like to confirm that a group of Al Shabaab militants, who attempted to launch an ambush on a convoy of relief supplies in Buur Hakaba region in the late hours of Thursday June 11th 2015, were successfully repelled by AMISOM and Somalia National Army (SNA) troops who were protecting the convoy.
AMISOM Sector Three Commander, Col Yemane Gabremichael says the militants attempted to attack the convoy on the Leego - Buur Hakaba road but were overpowered by AMISOM and Government forces.
“After these enemies of peace have been significantly weakened, it is now increasingly difficult for them to launch surprise ambushes. This time they have suffered defeat as they were unable to take on AMISOM and SNA forces escorting the much needed relief,” said Col Yemane.
“This is yet another futile attempt by Al Shabaab to discredit security gains made by the Federal Government of Somalia and AMISOM, and create fear among citizens. Their time is up, they will not succeed,” he added.
The stretch of road where the incident occurred is located approximately 150 kilometers North West of the Somali capital, Mogadishu.
You can find it if you have a map with enough detail...
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/14/2015 00:00 ||
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[Ynet] An Egyptian court has sentenced 23 people to 14 years in prison for the deaths of four Shiite men two years ago.
The four were beaten to death west of Cairo, when a crowd of angry villagers, including ultraconservative Salafis,
...emboldened by the rule of the Muslem Brotherhood, one presumes...
surrounded the house of Shiite community leader Hassan Shehata, threatening to set it on fire if 34 Shiites inside did not leave the village before the end of the day, according to security officials.
According to officials, when they refused, villagers attacked them, dragged them along the ground, and partially burned the house.
Shiites are a minority in Egypt, which is largely Sunni.
BENGHAZI -- A suicide bomber blew himself up in the Libyan city of Derna on Saturday, killing at least three people and wounding five more as rival militants fought on the streets, local residents said.
Officials could not confirm the blast in Derna, which is at the centre of internecine fighting between Daesh militants and a rival brigade of groups battling for control of the city. Residents said Daesh loyalists and umbrella group Majlis Al Shura had been fighting since last week.
Nine suspected Daesh members were killed during separate clashes on Friday with other groups, a source in one of those movements said.
Seven people were also shot dead on Friday at a protest against Daesh. Demonstrators, angered at foreign fighters coming in to join the militant group, started marching towards its main base when gunmen opened fire into the crowd, several residents told Reuters.
The fighting in Derna, a long-time gathering point for militants, erupted last week after a Majlis Al Shura leader was killed. The group, which is linked to former rebel groups who fought Gaddafi and enjoys local support going back to the revolution, responded by declaring holy war against Daesh in the city.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/14/2015 00:00 ||
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[Tolo News] The United States transferred six Yemeni inmates from its Guantanamo Bay prison to Oman, the Pentagon said Saturday, part of a drive by President Barack Obama I am the change that you seek... to close the controversial jail.
"The United States is grateful to the government of Oman for its humanitarian gesture and willingness to support ongoing US efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility," a statement said.
The men arrived in the sultanate on Saturday for a "temporary stay," said an Omani foreign ministry statement carried by the official ONA news agency. It did not elaborate on their subsequent travel plans.
The six were named as Idris Ahmad Abd Al Qadir Idris, Sharaf Ahmad Muhammad Masud, Jalal Salam Awad Awad, Saad Nasser Moqbil Al Azani, Emad Abdallah Hassan and Muhammad Ali Salem Al Zarnuki.
Yemenis make up the largest portion of the prison population at Guantanamo. A total of 69 are still left at the jail, accounting for more than half of the 116 inmates remaining at the US naval base in southeastern Cuba.
The Pentagon said that the United States "coordinated with the government of Oman to ensure these transfers took place consistent with appropriate security and humane treatment measures."
The interagency Guantanamo Review Task Force "conducted comprehensive reviews of each of these cases," and a number of factors, including security issues, had been examined, it said.
"The decision to transfer a detainee is made only after detailed, specific conversations with the receiving country about the potential threat a detainee may pose after transfer and the measures the receiving country will take in order to sufficiently mitigate that threat and to ensure humane treatment," said Lieutenant Colonel Myles Caggins, a Pentagon front man.
"The measures taken must be tailored to mitigate the specific threat that the detainee may pose. If we do not receive adequate assurances, the transfer does not occur."
It was the second Guantanamo prisoner transfer this year, after the Pentagon announced in January that it had moved four men to Oman and one to Estonia.
A total 28 inmates were transferred out of Guantanamo in 2014.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2015 00:04 ||
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The Yemeni army and Popular Committees (PC) forces stormed on Thursday morning the Al-Dood Saudi military site for the second time in retaliation for the Saudi-US aggression on Yemen, leaving a number of hostile vehicles destroyed as Saudi soldiers were escaping the blows of resistance units.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Al-Dood military site witnessed fierce clashes against the Saudi border guards, where the Yemeni national forces managed to inflict the aggressor heavy casualties.
Also on Wednesday, the army and the PC forces targeted Olleik Saudi military camp, as well as Al-Johof and Raqabat al-Dabaa' areas in Dhahran and Dar Al-Imara in Jizan city.
[DAILYMAIL.CO.UK] Warplanes from the Saudi-led coalition struck rebel positions 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... Saturday, witnesses said, as warring parties from the impoverished nation prepared for UN-sponsored talks in Geneva.
Air raids targeted Shiite Houthis in the central province of Dhamar, as well as air defence positions of allied troops loyal to former president President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it... , witnesses said.
Rebel positions in their northern Saada stronghold were also hit, they added.
A wave of intensive overnight air strikes targeted arms depots around the capital and residences of people close to Saleh, including his brother's home, south of Sanaa, witnesses said.
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... launched the air war on March 26, as the rebels and their allies among forces loyal to Saleh advanced on President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi's refuge in the southern city of Aden.
Hadi had fled the capital, which the rebels seized unopposed in September, and was rushed to safety in Saudi Arabia as the Huthis closed in on Aden.
Clashes continued Saturday in the port city of Aden, as well as in nearby Daleh, and in the provinces of Shabwa and Abyan ...a governorate of Yemen. The region was a base to the Aden-Abyan Islamic Army terrorist group until it dropped the name and joined al-Qaeda. Its capital is Zinjibar. In March 2011, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula declared the governate an Islamic Emirate after seizing control of the region. The New York Times fastidiously reported that those in control, while Islamic hard boyz, are not in fact al-Qaeda, but something else that looks, tastes, smells, and acts the same. Yemeni government forces launched an effort to re-establish control of the region when President-for-Life Saleh was tossed and the carnage continues... , where southern fighters allied with Hadi have been fighting advancing rebels.
The exiled government said its delegation flew Saturday to Geneva for the UN talks due to open on Monday.
But representatives of the Huthis and Saleh's General People's Congress refused to board a UN plane from Sanaa to Geneva Saturday because it was scheduled to stop off in Jizan, in Saudi Arabia, a Huthi official told AFP.
The delegations have asked not to travel to the kingdom, the official said, insisting that the rebels' position on participating in the talks had not changed.
The talks had been scheduled to start Sunday but the United Nations ...a lucrative dumping ground for the relatives of dictators and party hacks... said they would be delayed by a day due to "unforeseen circumstances".
UN chief the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon ... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan... said the talks were aimed at securing a ceasefire, agreeing on a withdrawal plan for the Huthis and stepping up humanitarian aid deliveries.
A five-day truce last month allowed aid agencies to reach civilians caught in the fighting but UN efforts to prolong the ceasefire failed.
The World Health Organization said Friday that 2,584 people had been killed in fighting in Yemen as of June 7, with 11,065 maimed.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2015 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] At least five men were killed in different incidents in several areas of Quetta on Saturday.
Two men were killed when unidentified holy warriors shot up a barber shop in Quetta's Mano Jan area.
Police sources told DawnNews that two masked assailants shot up a barber shop in Mano Jan area of Quetta and killed two persons. Both of the victims were brothers, the source added.
The attackers escaped unhurt from the spot.
Security and emergency teams reached the attack site. The bodies were shifted to Civil Hospital Quetta for medico-legal formalities.
In another incident two people were rubbed out by unidentified attackers on Quetta's Double Road area. A huge contingent of security personnel reached the site after the attacks and cordoned off the area as a probe into the incident.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2015 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] The convoy of SSP Rao Anwar came under attack by assailants outside his home in Malir Cantt on Saturday.
All policemen, travelling in the convoy, remained unhurt whereas all attackers were killed in retaliatory fire.
SSP Rao Anwar was heading out of his house, situated in Malir Cantt area of Karachi in a convoy, when he observed four men in a car and on a motorcycle conducting reconnaissance in the area.
According to the police officer, the men, who looked suspicious, opened fire when they were asked to stop.
Police responded with retaliatory firing as a result of which two men, who were travelling by car, died on the spot.
The other two motorcycle-riding men also tried to flee from the scene but policemen chased them and killed them in a subsequent encounter.
Anwar said the CNICs of the assailants have been recovered. The four suspects were identified as Qari Alamgir, Haider Ali, Iqbal and Mahir Badshah, according to Malir Cantonment SHO, Irshad Gabol.
The officer claimed that they belonged to outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan(TTP).
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2015 00:00 ||
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(IraqiNews.com) al-Anbar – On Thursday, Iraqi Ministry of Interior announced the killing and injuring of more than 27 ISIS elements, including top leaders of the militant group, during an aerial bombing that targeted a meeting for ISIS in the city of al-Qaim.
The ministry spokesman, Gen. Saad Moen, stated in a statement received by IraqiNews.com, “The army’s air force, with coordination with the Falcon Intelligence Cell, conducted an tactical operation against a meeting for ISIS elements in the city of al-Qaim,” pointing out that, “The operation resulted in killing 16 ISIS elements and wounding more than 11 others.”
“Abu Aina’ al-Tunsi, Abu Ismail al-Shami, Abu Talha al-Kharasani, along with Abdul-Rauf, a senior leader within Khurasan group from Pakistan, were among the dead,” the statement read.
The city of al-Qaim is located 350 km west of Ramadi.
(IraqiNews.com) Baghdad – On Thursday, an informed source within the Police Force Command in Baghdad province revealed, that a security force had detained an ISIS explosives expert in al-Azamiyah area after conducting a raid operation on his shelter in north of Baghdad.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told IraqiNews.com, “Today, a security force had raided a house in the area of al-Azamiyah, located in north of Baghdad,” pointing out that, “The operation resulted in detaining the ISIS explosives expert, known as Abu Osama al-Zajei, the top leader within the ISIS explosives battalion in the district al-Mada’in.”
“The operation was based on accurate information received by the police,” the source added.
(IraqiNews.com) al-Anbar – On Saturday, Baghdadi District Council announced the killing of 16 militants as well as the destruction of six vehicles for ISIS in a tactical operation by armed tribesmen from the clan of Albu Mahal in the district of al-Baghdadi.
The head of the council, Malullah al-Obeidi, stated for IraqiNews.com, “A force from Albu Mahal clan conducted a tactical operation against sites for ISIS militants in the village of al-Modaham in north of Ainul-Asad base in the district of al-Baghdadi,” pointing out that, “The operation resulted in killing 16 ISIS elements and inflicting material losses upon the militants’ ranks.”
Obeidi added, “The force had managed to destroy six vehicles for the militants, in addition to burning a container that had carried fuel, with support from the international coalition aviation.”
The district of al-Baghdadi is located 90 km west of Ramadi.
(IraqiNews.com) Anbar – On Saturday, a security source in Anbar province said, that the commander of the army’s 2nd brigade has been killed during an ISIS attack in south of Fallujah.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, informed IraqiNews.com, “Today, a force from the army’s 2nd brigade of the 32nd battalion had managed to repel an ISIS attack by 3 booby-trapped vehicles on the brigade’s headquarters in south of Fallujah,” pointing out that, “The attack resulted in killing the army commander of the 2nd brigade and injuring five soldiers.”
“The force was able to repel the attack by firing rockets and heavy artillery with coordination with the Iraqi Army Aviation (IAF) and the international coalition forces,” the source also added.
(IraqiNews.com) al-Anbar – On Saturday, al-Jazirah and al-Badiyah Operations Command announced, that the security forces cut ISIS supplies from al-Qaim to Kabisa in west of Ramadi.
Commander of al-Jazirah and al-Badiyah Operations, Lt. Gen. Naser al-Ghannam, stated for IraqiNews.com, “Today, a force belonging to al-Jazirah and al-Badiyah Opereations, with support from the armed clans, was able to cut the ISIS supplies from the city of al-Qaim to Kabisa, located in west of Ramadi,” pointing out that, “The force set an ambush against ISIS elements in west of Ramadi and managed to kill 10 ISIS fighters and burn 4 vehicles for them.”
[France24] At least 11 Iraqi security personnel were killed Saturday in a quadruple suicide car bombing near Baiji that the Islamic State group said four of its foreign fighters carried out.
Police and army sources said the four car bombs were unleashed on security targets in Hajjaj, which lies on the road between Tikrit and Baiji in Salaheddin province, north of Baghdad.
Seven soldiers were killed as well as four members of the Popular Mobilisation force, an umbrella for mostly Shiite militias and volunteers that has been doing much of the heavy lifting in the fight against IS in Iraq.
At least 27 people were also wounded in the coordinated attack, which saw one of the four car bombs neutralised before it could reach its target, a police colonel said.
An army officer said the vehicles used were identical, brand new SUVs that looked like an official convoy.
Pictures released by IS show the black-clad suicide bombers each standing by one of four black Toyota Land Cruisers.
IS said in a statement that the bombers were a Kuwaiti, a Palestinian, a Briton and a German.
The picture of the German bomber, named Abu Ibrahim al-Almani, shows a red-haired blue-eyed man behind the wheel of his explosives-laden car, smiling and pointing his index finger to the sky.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles ||
06/14/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
When ISIS starts using Escalades and Land Rovers for boom mobiles, we should start worrying.
Four brand new Land Cruisers at $65000 a pop in Los Angeles.
ISIS does seem to have money to burn.
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
06/14/2015 11:33 Comments ||
Top||
#2
The Saudis and Qataris have a lot of money to give.
[AnNahar] A Syrian rebel alliance has pushed 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 jihadists further away from one of its key supply routes from neighboring The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... , a monitoring group said Saturday.
The Salafist tough guys ousted IS from the village of Al-Bal, which it captured on Tuesday, threatening the Bab al-Salama border crossing, just 10 kilometers (six miles) away, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The village's recapture late Friday came after heavy fighting, which killed 14 rebels and 15 IS jihadists, Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said.
Further south, the rebels were fighting to defend the town of Marea, on the road between the crossing and the rebel-held eastern sector of the main northern city of Aleppo.
Activists said the rebels were simultaneously launching their own attacks on IS positions in the area.
"The ultimate goal for IS is to cut off this crossing," said Abdel Rahman.
Mamun Abu Omar, head of a local pro-rebel press agency, said "IS is trying to surround the town by occupying the villages all around it."
The rebel alliance is fighting both IS and government forces in Aleppo province, which is one of the most complex battlegrounds of Syria's multi-front civil war.
In some areas, it is supported by fighters of IS's jihadist rival, Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front.
IS fighters control areas in the province's east, and have been laying siege to the Kweyris military airport, still controlled by the regime.
Early Saturday, three government officers were killed when their helicopter was shot down by IS just outside the airport, Abdel Rahman told AFP.
"All three officers were killed, but it's not clear if IS has taken the bodies," he said.
Meanwhile, ...back at the Alamo, Davy was counting their remaining cannon balls and not liking the results... Kurdish militia advanced further into IS's bastion province Raqa, in Syria's north, in a bid to capture the key border town of Tal Abyad.
The Observatory said Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) had edged to within 10 kilometers (six miles) southwest of Tal Abyad, used by IS as a gateway from Turkey.
Backed by air strikes from a US-led coalition, Kurdish forces recaptured the flashpoint town of Kobane -- which lies west of Raqa province -- from IS in January.
Since then, YPG militia have chipped away at IS control along the Turkish border on both sides of Raqa.
According to the Observatory, the Kurdish fighters advancing from east and west aim to meet at Tal Abyad and lay siege to the town.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
06/14/2015 03:36 ||
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[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] Syrian rebels on Saturday announced a new battle in the northern countryside of Hama province, looking to extend a territory they control to link captured Idlib province.
Fatha Men Allah battle stated by attacking regime checkpoints in Sahl al-Ghab.
Major Jamil Saleh, head of the operations room, did not give further details about the battle in order to preserve the confidentiality of the battle, he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2015 00:09 ||
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Islamic State (IS/ISIS), rebels of the Army of Islam (an extended umbrella for Syrian rebels) were able Saturday to advance in the eastern front of Qalamoun in Damascus countryside, in southern Syria.
At least ten militants of IS group were killed during clashes with rebels of Army of Islam in eastern Qalamoun on Saturday, rebel sources said in a statement.
Rebel fighters of the Army of Islam reported in an official statement that they were able to extend their control over the entire region of as-Saghir and Mount Afaee in eastern Qalamoun, after expelling IS militants from the area.
The area, where the Army of Islam combats the IS group, connects northern Syria with southern areas. The rebels aim at opening a supply route between Damascus countryside and Idlib province.
Qamishli, Syria – Amid continues military campaign against Islamic State militants (IS/ISIS) north of Raqqa, Kurdish forces of the People’s Protection Units (YPG) regained 12 new villages in the vicinity of Suluk town.
Raqqa is considered the capital of the IS radical group in Syria.
The YPG’s Media Center issued Saturday evening a statement, of which ARA News received a copy, saying: “Our units (YPG) continue their military operations near the IS-held town of Suluk, during which they clashed with IS terrorists in the southern and northwestern suburbs of Suluk town, causing heavy losses in the group’s ranks and liberating several new villages and farms.”
According to the statement, the villages regained by the Kurdish include Dardo, Razaki, Qalaj, Rafah, Quneitara, Khuwaitla, Dara, Ranim, and four other villages as well as eight surrounding farms.
During the clashes, the YPG forces seized a machine gun with a large deal of ammunition and an RBG (B7) with four shells from the radical group.
[WASHINGTONPOST] A Kurdish-Syrian force is advancing toward one of 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.... 's most strategically vital possessions, capturing territory in the group's landmark province of Raqqa and threatening to inflict what could potentially be the most significant defeat yet for the bad boys.
The Kurdish-led force, backed by U.S. Arclight airstrikes, closed in from the south, east and west on Saturday on the Syrian-Turkish border town of Tal Abiyad, a key Islamic State stronghold on which the gunnies rely for trade with the outside world and also the flow of imported muscle who sustain their strength on the battlefield.
The Kurdish militias and their allies are now within six miles of the town and could soon be in a position to encircle it completely, isolating the Islamic State's self-proclaimed capital in the city of Raqqa further south, according to statements from the People's Protection Units, or YPG, the main Kurdish fighting force.
The advance is forcing the Islamic State on to the defensive only weeks after the group celebrated important victories in the Iraqi city of Ramadi and the Syrian city of Palmyra, after both the Iraqi and Syrian armies crumbled.
The progress demonstrates that success is possible when a well-motivated and coordinated force is backed by U.S. Arclight airstrikes, said Abu Shujaa, a front man for Thuwar al-Raqqa, or Raqqa Revolutionaries, one of the Syrian rebel battalions fighting in the coalition force.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
Mass numbers of Refugees are repor fleeing the fighting into TURKEY, even iff they have to forcibly climb or breach Turkey's border fences to get in.
Damascus, Syria – U.S.-led international coalition renewed its airstrikes against locations of the Islamic State radical group (IS/ISIL) in Syria and Iraq, the U.S. Central Command said in a statement on Saturday.
The coalition conducted 12 airstrikes against the extremist group in Iraq, and three other strikes hit the group in Syria on Saturday.
“The coalition continues to strike Daesh (Islamic State) terrorists in complex and congested urban terrain in Iraq and Syria,” Brigadier General Thomas Weidley, chief of staff for the Combined Joint Task Force, said in a statement.
In Syria, the U.S.-led operations focused on the countryside of Kobane near the Turkish border. Tactical Units and fighting positions of the IS extremists were main targets for the coalition’s warplanes.
Dang, I wonder if the world is laughing as hard at these statistics as we are.
Maureen Dowd, who I normally loathe, wrote a nice juicy castration of the One in the times. She specifically called out this tepid air campaign as a proof of the One's failures to follow through on a variety of key issues. She basically tore off her "Yes we can" tee-shirt and went full honey badger on his entire two terms in office...saying many of the same things we have collectively been saying here for the last seven years.
Back to this little article.
The numbers are laughable and the ROE of our air assets are causing USAF planes to return to base fully loaded with ordinance because our micromanagers in charge can't get their shit together before the low fuel warning light comes on. ISIS can run a parade with literally hundreds of fighters and dozens of tanks, Humvees, trucks, technical, and APCs and our "brain trust" in charge of the air campaign cannot put down their donuts long enough to expedite a mission.
I have read articles that suggest the air campaign has degenerated into the one we had during Viet Nam with President Johnson personally picking the next days targets. While I doubt the ONE wants to get his hands dirty with selecting targets, I do believe the WH is in charge of the campaign and has no guts for the fight.
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
06/14/2015 11:30 Comments ||
Top||
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.
the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon
Qamishli, Syria – Amid continues military campaign against Islamic State militants (IS/ISIS) north of Raqqa, Kurdish forces of the People’s Protection Units (YPG) regained 12 new villages in the vicinity of Suluk town. 
