[Tolo News] Security officials in Badakhshan said Wednesday that one of the main goals of hard boyz in the area is to bring about the collapse of Warduj district in the northeastern province. In addition, the insurgency is being led by mostly Tajik and Chechen rebels, officials said.
Afghan National Army (ANA) operational commander Hamid Saifi has confirmed the existence of imported muscle in Warduj, and said their main aim is to take control of the district.
"We will fight and defend the country until the last drop of our blood and we will not let the enemy achieve their nefarious ends," he said.
Another ANA commander Mohammad Salem said despite hard boyz bent on taking control of the district, this will not happen.
"The enemies of Afghanistan have faced heavy damages and their decision to take control of Warduj has failed," he said.
An Afghan bully boy, who comes from Badakhshan, and now in the custody of the Afghan cops, said there are many imported muscle among them fighting the Afghan forces.
"They deceived me. They prevented me from going home for the past year. They told me that I am part of the Taliban and I should stay with them. They deceived me," the bully boy told TOLOnews.
Badakhshan has made headlines recently due to ongoing turmoil and festivities between Afghan cops and bully boys.
MPs recently voiced their concerns over the issue with one, Neelofar Ibrahimi, pointing out the complexity of the geopolitical interests behind the turmoil in the province.
"The war in Badakhshan is a regional and intelligence war, and negligence regarding the issue could be harmful to the whole country," he said.
"Foreign intelligence are working on how to infiltrate Central Asian countries via Badakhshan."
Other politicians and local officials from Badakhshan have also warned in recent weeks about the gravity of the situation in their province, which they say is a clear sign of shift in strategy by hard boyz in so far as they have opened up a new front in northern Afghanistan. Over the past month, dozens of Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers have been killed and hundreds maimed in Badakhshan.
In addition to foreign intelligence operations, an influx of Taliban and foreign Lion of Islams, Badakhshan also faces a major issue in armed illegal mining mafias, according to Badakshan University Rector Khusro Nazari. "We shouldn't fear anyone and need to talk frankly about all aspects of the instability," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2015 00:00 ||
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LEGO, Somalia - Hundreds of Ethiopian Forces serving under AU mission for Somalia, have on Tuesday took the control of Leego town in lower Shabelle region following deadly attack on AU military base in south of Somalia by Al Shabab.
The Ethiopian forces reportedly moved from Jame’o area 30Km away from Burhakaba town in south of Somalia’s Bay region in an attempt to push Al Shabab militants out of Lower Shabelle region, local residents said on Tuesday.
Military sources told Shabelle Media in Mogadishu that hundreds of African Union forces from Ethiopia have on Tuesday set up new military bases in the parts of lower Shabelle region in a bid to thwart Al Shabab fighters’ attempts.
You get the sense that the Æthiops won't screw around...
Meanwhile, Somalia army along with African Union peacekeeping forces have reportedly vacated from Toratorow and Leego towns over unknown reason, according to residents who spoke to Shabelle Media based in Mogadishu.
The arrival of Ethiopians comes a days after Al Shabab rebels claimed to have killed at least 50 African Union peacekeeping forces from Burundi at AU military base in Leego lies 130 Km South-West of Mogadishu.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/02/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
Ligature or Dipthong?
Please don't ask.
All we know is ash, ash, ash. ash
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 bumped off nearly 100 Moslems praying in mosques in a northeast Nigeria ... a particularly crimson stretch of Islam's bloody border... n town during the holy month of Ramadan, a government official and a self-defense fighter said Thursday.
The attack Wednesday night on the town of Kukawa came the day after the Islamic Lion of Islam group attacked a village 35 kilometers (22 miles) away and killed another 48 men and boys, according to witnesses who counted the dead.
The people of Kukawa were in several mosques, praying ahead of breaking their daylong fast, when the Death Eaters attacked. They killed 97 people, mainly men, said self-defense front man Abbas Gava and a senior government official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to give information to news hounds.
Gava said his group's fighters in Kukawa said some gunnies also broke into people's homes, killing women and kiddies as they prepared the evening meal.
Posted by: BA ||
07/02/2015 14:36 ||
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#1
the Boko Haram version of wishing you a happy Ramadan
Posted by: lord garth ||
07/02/2015 17:16 Comments ||
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[AlAhram] Ahram Online spoke to two military experts on implications of Wednesday's of IS group terrorist attack on the Egyptian army in North Sinai on Wednesday
Major General Hisham El-Halaby who teaches at the National Defence College of the Nasser Military academy- told Ahram Online that the initial number of gunnies who attacked the army in North Sinai earlier in the day was around 70.
"Those 70 who attacked the forces in Sheikh Zuweid represented the first wave of attackers. The total number of attackers throughout the day might exceed 300 elements or even more. This is a new technique that the gunnies have been using in their operations," El-Halaby explained.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife ||
07/02/2015 00:00:00 ||
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#1
Rafah, that's Gaza crossing point? Opened as a humanitarian gesture recently? Am I at the right blog? I mean I have a vague memory of a fiver laid down on something. Perhaps some morning tea and toast with chilled strawberry jam will awake my memory.
While I do this, widen the no build zone another klick.
[AlAhram] Sheikh Zuwied town is located in North Sinai and is the site of ongoing festivities between security forces and gunnies affiliated with 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.... -affiliated Sinai Province, previously known as Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis.
Sheikh Zuwied has witnessed numerous holy warrior assaults on security forces since an upswing in violence following the 2013 ouster of Islamist president Mohammed Morsi. The last major of these attacks took place in October last year when at least 30 security officers and soldiers were killed in a holy warrior assault on Karam Al-Qawadis checkpoint.
- Sheikh Zuwied is located between the cities of Al-Arish and Rafah. It lies at a distance of 334 kilometres from Cairo and 16 kilometres from Egypt's border with the Gazoo Strip.
- According to figures released by Egyptian officials in 2010, the North Sinai town is inhabited of 55,000 residents who are spread over 14 suburbs and four main tribal clans. The tribes, Al Sawrka, Al Romylat, Abu Rayash and Tarabin, are considered to be the largest of Sinai's Bedouin tribes.
- Agriculture is the main occupation of the residents in the town.
- In May, the Tarabin tribe announced that it would participate in the fight against Islamist murderous Moslems alongside the military.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
07/02/2015 00:00:00 ||
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[Haaretz] Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,Death Eaters in the Gazoo Strip have been maintaining close ties with operatives of Wilayat Sinai, the radical jihadist group identified with ISIS (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.... ), whose warriors are behind the massive attack on Egyptian defense forces in the Sinai on Wednesday, Israeli...
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2015 00:00 ||
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Oyster Bay -- The United Nations on Wednesday declared its highest-level humanitarian emergency in conflict-torn Yemen, where over 80 per cent of the population need assistance. UN officials have said the country is now a step away from famine.
No extra desserts in the UN cafeteria! Now that's solidarity, by gum!
Humanitarian chief Stephen O’Brien convened a meeting of UN agencies early Wednesday, and all agreed to declare a “Level 3” humanitarian emergency in Yemen for six months.
It was a "Level 22" emergency when the UN bar ran out of cognac...
The United Nations now faces four top-level humanitarian emergencies. It is already trying to respond to “Level 3” emergencies in three other conflict-wracked countries: Iraq, Syria and South Sudan. The UN humanitarian office says the declaration of a top-level emergency mobilizes UN-wide staffing and funding to scale up aid delivery.
Last week, the UN envoy for Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, said the country is “one step” from famine. He urged all parties to the conflict to agree to a humanitarian pause during the current Holy month of Ramadan to allow desperately needed aid to be delivered.
According to the World Health Organization’s latest figures, over 21.1 million people in Yemen today need aid, nearly 13 million face “a food security crisis” and 9.4 million have little or no access to water, raising the risk of water-borne diseases including cholera.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/02/2015 00:00 ||
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North Korea is engaged in clandestine business around the world through a company called KKG to avoid international sanctions, the Financial Times reported Thursday.
The daily said North Korea's overseas businesses range from oil exploration to taxi firms, but they all have one thing in common -- the KKG corporate logo. The logo is also found on new taxis in Pyongyang and airport buses in the North. "KKG is one of several joint ventures in North Korea and it's one of the biggest ones," the paper quoted an Asian official as saying.
A source said KKG is short for the Korean name that can be translated as Kumgang economic development corporation, which used to be run by the North Korean military politburo until it was transferred to the National Defense Commission headed by Kim Jong-il in the late 2000s. It is the biggest of the companies tasked with earning valuta for the regime and competes with a rival state business led by eminence grise Jang Song-taek until he was executed in 2013.
The source said KKG president Hwang Yong-sik drives around in a BMW whose license plate bears the number 216, the birthday of former leader Kim Jong-il -- the mark of a very senior official.
"The North Korean end of the KKG network leads to a shadowy organization called Office 39 of the Workers Party," the Financial Times cited Asian and U.S. officials as saying.
The source said among KKG’s jobs are buying oil and luxury cars overseas to keep the elite loyal. "Hwang Yong-sik was able to survive last year's purge because he was not affiliated with Jang Song-taek," the source added.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/02/2015 00:00 ||
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Another North Korean patrol boat crossed the Northern Limit Line in the West Sea on Tuesday but turned back after a South Korean Navy ship fired warning shots, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff here.
The patrol boat crossed about 1.5 km into South Korean waters west of Yeonpyeong Island around 10:22 a.m., a JCS spokesman said. It turned back when the South Korean ship sent warning signals and fired warning shots.
Next time put the warning shot through the bridge...
The North Korean boat appeared to be following an unidentified object.
"North Korean boats have crossed the NLL six times in June alone," a military officer said. "It's possible that was intentional to find out how South Korea would react."
Incursions have become more frequent recently after ceasing completely last winter.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/02/2015 00:00 ||
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[THETIMES.CO.UK] Europe is facing "a maritime refugee crisis of historic proportions", the United Nations ...an idea whose time has gone... has warned. It said that a record 137,000 people had crossed the Mediterranean in the first six months of this year.
The numbers were 83 per cent higher than the same period last year, a report by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said. It warned that numbers were likely to continue rising as more good weather allowed people- smuggling gangs to put more vessels to sea.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2015 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] KARACHI: Militants involved in the deadly Safoora Goth massacre and the murder of prominent social activist Sabeen Mahmud were inspired by the self-styled 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.... , said a top counter-terrorism official of Sindh police on Wednesday.
"The accused murderous Moslems established their own group in 2014 but they did not name it," said Raja Umer Khattab, an official of Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of the Sindh police.
"This group was inspired by the ideology and terror activities of groups such as self-styled Islamic State and wanted to establish an affiliation with them," added the CTD official while speaking at presser.
Khattab further added that Tahir alias Minhas alias Sain and Jalal were members of al Qaeda in 2014, but later developed differences over funding and other organizational matters. Later, Tahir established his own group while Jalal remained associated with Al Qaeda.
"It is possible that Jalal's group was recently involved in the murder of two DSPs, one SP and several other police officials," added Khattab.
He revealed that the JIT's (Joint Investigation Team) investigation has been completed. Other accused in the Safoora carnage are Saad Aziz, Hafiz Nasir Ahmed, Mohammad Azhar Ishrat and Asad Rehman.
Also read: Attack on Debra Lobo: Eye-witness identifies Saad Aziz as main shooter
A polygraph test conducted by an expert, corroborated the confession of the accused regarding involvement in over two dozen gunnies attacks.
Responding to a question, Raja Umer Khattab said he could not rule out the possibility of links between murderous Moslems led by Jalal and India's spy agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) or any other foreign intelligence agency
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2015 00:00 ||
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#2
the kurds are our only allies in the area unless Obama dosent want to upset turkey?
Posted by: paul ||
07/02/2015 14:50 Comments ||
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#3
This may be attributing too much forethought to O & co., but what if their plan is to have all sides fight for 15-20 years and burn themselves out doing it? What would they be doing differently from their current foreign policy amateur hour act?
Seems to be shaping up that way, but I don't think it was part of the plan. If Team Obama had a plan, it certainly fell apart when Morsi was ousted, and again when Sisi was installed.
I'm not sold on it just yet, but I think the plan was to surround Israel and force a peace process onto Israel. When that fell apart, Team Oh continued by trying to get rid of Netanyahu.
I think another fail point was the arming of the Good Syrian Rebels after the poison gas report, when every democrat and their dog (looking at you McCain) starting beating the war drums. There is the theory that Team Syria Rebels was already being armed via Libya pre-Benghazi, and in that aisle is that Russia/Iran/Team Assad had something to do with shutting that down (dunno know there; I would only taste that before buying the whole can). Remember that season of McCains Heroes! which went off air when AQ said the guys we were arming are total assholes. The PR fell apart when Operation Libya II: The Red Line was being attempted here, UK, and France. The downplaying of the mindset and brutality of the newly forming trying to arm and train IS led to the Junior Varsity classic.
I think they were trying to ride that tiger to get Assad out and their boy in, riding it hard until ISJV swung east, got heady in their victories, released their official propaganda effort, and started slaughtering locals en masse.
Remember Sam LaHood and others arrested in Egypt for political influence activities? I'm almost sure they were out there working for the MB candidate Morsi.
My question is, what was the original blueprint? A bloc of puppet countries stretching from Libya to Syria? Throw in BFF Erdogon and Israel looks very alone.
Did they think they could control these brand new islamista governments? Does it matter if they can or can't, if either way helps pressure Israel? Would it benefit pressuring Israel if the new governments couldn't be controlled?
#5
If the goal is to pressure Israel, and you lost Egypt and ISJV is interested in bigger things than just toppling Assad, the next best choice is to arm a different declared enemy - such as a nuke for Teahran.
[Ynet] Defense minister says drive-by shooting near Shilo, shooting of Danny Gonen were both funded by Iran; in light of recent wave of attacks, IDF increases presence in West Bank.
Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon said Tuesday that the recent shooting terror attacks have been sanctioned by Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,' international headquarters in Istanbul and funded by Iran. Meanwhile, ...back at the Alamo, Davy was wondering if Buck was okay. He suspected he wasn't... the IDF decided to increase its presence in the West Bank in search of the perpetrators of the attacks.
According to Ya'alon, this branch of Hamas, which moved to The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... after being expelled from Syria, was behind the terror attack on Monday night near Shilo in which four Israelis were shot, one of them later succumbing to his wounds, while driving home from a basketball game; the shooting earlier this month near Dolev which left Israeli Danny Gonen dead and his friend maimed; and a shooting at a Magen David Adom ambulance near Beit El, in which no one was hurt.
All of these shootings happened in the same area of the West Bank - the Binyamin Regional Council - which bolsters the suspicion the same terror cell was involved.
The defense minister also said the attacks were fueled by incitement in the Paleostinian Authority's official media.
"People are sitting at home during the holiday (Ramadan), watching TV, and go out to do things," Ya'alon told news hounds during a briefing on Tuesday afternoon.
He added that in light of the recent wave of attacks, including the stabbing of a female IDF soldier by a Paleostinian woman during security check at the Rachel crossing on Monday morning, women will no longer be allowed to freely enter the Temple Mount and the age of men allowed to freely enter will change to 50 and older.
Increased IDF presence in West Bank
The IDF decided on Tuesday to reinforce its presence in the West Bank with an additional infantry battalion from the Nahal Brigade as a result of the recent spike in terror attacks in the area. The battalion will deal with defensive operations.
A high ranking official in the IDF said, "There is no collective punishment to the Paleostinian population, and the steps that have been taken are a direct result of the current situation assessment and intelligence picture."
"The moment we get our hands on the perpetrators of the recent attacks we believe that the attacks will stop," he added. "The coordination with the Paleostinian security forces continues as do the conversations with the settlers."
He also stressed that Israel was "far from what happened in the second intifada notwithstanding recent attacks. The recent attacks are a local group, and there is no connection between the attacks. There is no terror infrastructure behind the attacks."
During a meeting with Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni on Tuesday, President Reuven Rivlin said: "This month of Ramadan is turning into a month of terror before our very eyes. Terror is terror, wherever it strikes in the land of Israel, and across the world."
He called on the Paleostinian leadership to condemn the attacks and act against them. "Their silence is louder than ever. These terrorist attacks will not succeed. The Jewish people will continue to live in the land of Israel without being forced to fear for their lives. I pray for the recovery of the maimed and trust the security services will bring those responsible to justice."
[Ynet] In light of Wednesday's terror attacks against security forces in the Sinai Peninsula by 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.... supporters, Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, decided to reinforce military operators in Rafah, a city split on the border between Egypt and Gazoo. Hamas' Ministry of the Interior said the move was meant to maintain security and stability along the border.
#4
But then you got a decently, if not perfectly, western army on your border. It will take a huge amount of trust which doesn't exist ATM between the Zionist Entity and Egypt.
Only the Egyptians can exterminate the threat from Hamas.
g(r)om? What do you say?
[AnNahar] Iran said Wednesday it has recovered part of its gold reserves frozen under international sanctions after an accord sealed on the sidelines of nuclear negotiations with world powers.
Central bank chief Valiollah Seif, quoted by state news agency IRNA, said the accord covers the repatriation of a total of 13 tons of gold blocked in South Africa for the past two years.
Three consignments had been returned to the central bank since the start of the week, the governor said, adding that the last was the delivery of four tons on Tuesday night.
He said the gold was purchased earlier and kept in South Africa but could not be transferred to Iran because of sanctions.
The operation was the result of a compromise struck on the sidelines of Iran's negotiations in Vienna on its disputed nuclear program. The two sides have set a new target date of July 7 for a final accord.
According to Washington, around $100 billion of Iranian assets have been frozen across the world under sanctions over its nuclear program and also for its alleged support of anti-Israeli groups classified as terrorist organizations.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
07/02/2015 01:51 ||
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[Ynet] The hardline 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 has installed surveillance cameras in its Syrian stronghold Raqqa city because it does not appear to have enough members to patrol the streets, a group monitoring the war said on Wednesday.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, citing activists on the ground, said Islamic State appeared to have sent members from Raqqa into battle in other parts of Syria, leading to a reduction in patrols of its self-appointed inquisitors religious police in the northern city.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
07/02/2015 00:00:00 ||
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#1
Screw it. I am off for a week. Bring i. The Buffs three by three and blow those fuckers into the Galilee, yes I am talking arclight city, the McCoy, the real deal, BDA done by Old Patriot in person escorted by a fleet of (yep) armored F-150s.
I forget the other words Iowa? DeMoines? SCUD?
Good news! In researching this in depth comment I find that the Des Moines class cruiser Salem is a muSeem ship at Quincy Ma. One of three of the class completed, in many respects the most overwhelming design of any ship this side of HMS Dreadnaught or USS Constitution.
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.
North Korea is engaged in clandestine business around the world through a company called KKG to avoid international sanctions, the Financial Times reported Thursday. 
