[DAWN] Security forces have "obliterated" fighters of the hard boyIslamic 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.... (IS) group in Afghanistan, 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... said on Tuesday, hours after a prisoner swap with Taliban ...the Pashtun equivalent of men... bully boyz raised hopes of a lull in violence in the country.
More than 600 fighters from IS, locally known as ISIS, have surrendered with their families to the Afghan government in past weeks. Officials said air strikes by Afghan and coalition forces, lack of funds and low morale have forced the group to give up.
"No one believed one year ago that we would stand up and today be saying we have obliterated ISIS," Ghani told a gathering of elders and officials in Jalalabad, the main city of eastern Nangarhar The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country.. province that saw a wave of suicide kabooms in past years claimed by the jihadists.
"Now that ISISmurderous Moslems have surrendered, I ask authorities to treat their families humanely," Ghani added.
The government said among fighters in its custody are foreign nationals from Pakistain, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and the Maldives.
However, if you can't say something nice about a person some juicy gossip will go well... the Afghan Taliban, which has been battling IS and the government for control of the country, disputed that.
Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban’s official front man, described Ghani’s announcement as "absurd".
"Kabul admin had 0% role in defeat of ISIS and the proud people of Nangarhar are witnesses," he tweeted.
The Taliban controls more territory than at any point since the US invasion in 2001, including sections of Nangarhar province.
#AlFath CP overrun in Qala Jowz area of #Ghazni capital last night resulting in 8 gunmen killed & weapons/equipment seized. Reinforcements also engaged leaving 2 APCs destroyed & all aboard killed/wounded.
— Zabihullah (..ذبـــــیح الله م ) (@Zabehulah_M33) November 20, 2019
Posted by: Fred ||
11/21/2019 00:00 ||
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#AlFath Base overrun in Kol Arbab Khalil area of Imam Sahib district #Kunduz last night resulting in 14 gunmen including First Sergeant (Altaf) killed & 9 wounded; 3 US machine guns, RPG, 4 M16 rifles, comm. radio & sizable amount equipment seized.
— Zabihullah (..ذبـــــیح الله م ) (@Zabehulah_M33) November 20, 2019
[Libya Observer] The Libyan Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha has unveiled links between two Russians arrested for spying in Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... earlier this year and Wagner Group whose mercenaries are fighting for Khalifa Haftar ...Self-proclaimed Field Marshal, served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy, so it's kind of hard to describe him as a Qadaffy holdover. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all... 's forces in southern Tripoli.
Bashagha told The Washington Post on Tuesday that the Russian nationals were arrested in last July on suspicion of attempting to influence planned municipal elections and gather information on the military operations against Khalifa Haftar's forces, which are based in eastern Libya and backed by Russia, confirming that the Russians had confessed to the accusations.
The Washington Post reported a Western official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss diplomatic issues, as saying that the Russian government was putting a lot of pressure on the Presidential Council's government leadership to free the two men, who the officials said were part of a broader effort by Moscow to assert influence in Libya.
Russian Foreign Ministry admitted that the two nationals were arrested in Tripoli and said they were trying to prepare for a meeting with Saif al-Islam Qadaffy, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court.
Bloomberg said previously that the detained Russians had met twice in the months before their arrest with Saif Qadaffy with support from Russian officials, saying Saif is believed to be seeking a political comeback.
The Russians were arrested with some laptops and USBs that prove they were working for a company that works to influence elections in African countries, including Libya. A third Russian national managed to leave Libya before the Libyan security forces had stormed his house, Bloomberg said.
Bashagha accused Russia earlier of trying to help Qadaffy loyalists to return to the scene in Libya.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/21/2019 00:00 ||
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Italian Defense Ministry says an Italian Air Force predator crashed near Tarhuna city, south #Tripoli, while on a mission to support Operation Mare Sicuro today. This morning, Haftar’s armed groups in the city said they shot down a Turkish drone. pic.twitter.com/Ui3zxWpjbY
[Dhaka Tribune] Between 10 and 21 non-combatants were killed in two attacks by a notorious militia in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo ...formerly the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Zaire, and who knows what else, not to be confused with the Brazzaville Congo aka Republic of Congo, which is much smaller and much more (for Africa) stable. DRC gave the world Patrice Lumumba and Joseph Mobutu, followed by years of tedious civil war. Its principle industry seems to be the production of corpses. With a population of about 74 million it has lots of raw material... , where government forces have vowed to root out gangs, sources said on Wednesday.
Seven people were killed in the city of Beni and between three and 14 were killed near Oicha, 30km away, according to the UN radio Okapi, which quoted the military, and local civil society.
The attacks late Tuesday were blamed on the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a militia of Ugandan origin targeted by an army campaign to restore peace to DR Congo's troubled east.
At least 60 people have been killed by the ADF since the offensive began on October 30, according to a toll compiled by AFP.
Commentators see the massacres as warnings to the local population against collaborating with government forces.
The city of Beni was last targeted by the ADF in October 2018.
The latest attacks sparked an exodus in the Beni district of Boikene and in the Mavete district of Oichi.
Protests erupted against poor security, and members of the UN peacekeeping force, Monusco, were advised not to go out on the streets of Beni.
The ADF's historical roots lie in Islamist Ugandans opposed to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni ...President-for-Life of Uganda. He assumed office in 1985. His primary virtue is being prefereable to both his predecessors, Idi Amin and Milton Obote... The group has plagued the North Kivu region bordering Uganda since the Congo Wars in the 1990s, although its membership has since broadened to non-Ugandans and it has not carried out an attack on Uganda for years.
Hundreds of deaths have been attributed to the shadowy organization since 2015.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/21/2019 00:00 ||
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[THEBAGHDADPOST] 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... ’s Iran's Houthi sock puppets ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The legitimate Yemeni government has accused the them of having ties to the Iranian government. Honest they did. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews They like shooting off... ummm... missiles that they would have us believe they make at home in their basements. On the plus side, they did murder Ali Abdullah Saleh, which was the only way the country was ever going to be rid of him... movement said on Wednesday it intercepted an F-15 warplane of the Saudi-led coalition near the border with 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... "Our air defense systems have intercepted an F-15 fighter jet belonging to the countries of aggression in Saada province," the group’s military front man said in a Twitter post.
There was no immediate confirmation from the coalition that has been battling the group for more than four years.
[Rudaw] US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told a presser in Washington on Monday the US will impose sanctions on those found responsible for maiming and killing Iraqi protesters.
"We support the Iraqi people who strive for a prosperous Iraq free of corruption and Iranian influence," Pompeo said. "Iraq leaders should respect human rights ...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions... "The United State will start to put sanctions on corrupt individuals in Iraq who are stealing Iraq’s wealth and killing and wounding peaceful protesters."
At least 320 protesters and members of the security forces have been killed since October 1 and around 15,000 maimed.
Several of Iraq’s largest political parties met on Monday evening and agreed to give Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi a "45 days waiver" to make reforms ‐ otherwise he will be ousted from office.
Shiite holy man and Sayirun bloc leader Moqtada Tater al-Sadr ... the Iranian catspaw holy man who was 22 years old in 2003 and was nearing 40 in 2010. He spends most of his time in Iran, safely out of the line of fire, where he's learning to be an ayatollah... , who supports the aims of the protesters, did not participate in the meeting.
Ammar al-Hakim, leader of the Hikma Front, which considers itself part of the official parliamentary opposition, hosted the meeting at his home in the Iraqi capital Baghdad.
In a joint statement, the parties said they want reforms that preserve the state, develop political institutions, and preserve the right to protest peacefully.
The top priority is to stop the bloodshed, protect the lives of Iraqis, and to insulate them "from a civil war, destruction, and eradication, which will spare no one", the statement said.
The parties agreed to preserve Iraq’s democracy, to the peaceful transition of power, and further recommended that Abdul-Mahdi and security authorities should preserve law and order to catch "saboteurs" who hide among protesters and to hold all those who have killed protesters or kidnapped them to account.
All recommendations and the demands of the people must be implemented within a period that "does not exceed 45 days", including reform packages already announced by the PM.
The government has already announced several measures in a bid to quell the protests, pledging to end corruption, deliver more job opportunities, and to provide welfare support to the poorest.
The protests have nevertheless continued to rage.
Protesters have begun blocking roads leading to major oil fields and have shut down whole city centers, leaving schools and workplaces empty.
According to AP, protests continued in the southern city of Basra on Tuesday, where dozens of protesters blocked the main entrance to Khor al-Zubair port ‐ Iraq’s second largest.
Iraq’s biggest port, Umm Qasr port, has also been blocked by protesters repeatedly since the unrest began.
The blockade of oilfields, oil tanker routes, and major ports has crippled the Iraqi economy, draining the country of billions of dollars. In a single week, the blockade at Umm Qasr has cost an estimated $6 billion.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
11/21/2019 00:55 ||
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#1
Quid Pro Quo?
[if there is none, why bother with any foreign aid? /rhet question]
[THEBAGHDADPOST] Iraqi security officials say at least 27 protesters have been maimed in renewed festivities overnight in central Baghdad.
The officials say the festivities occurred between 4:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. on Wednesday near the Ahrar Bridge in the center of the capital. They spoke on condition of anonymity under regulations.
Iraqi security forces used tear gas to repel demonstrators from advancing to the fortified Green Zone, the seat of government. There were no fatalities.
The protesters had occupied one side of the bridge, with security forces deployed on the other.
At least 320 protesters have been killed and thousands maimed since the unrest began on October 1, when tens of thousands of protesters erupted into the streets outraged by government corruption and poor basic services despite Iraq’s vast oil wealth.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/21/2019 00:00 ||
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[Jewish Press, HT Insty] Something very strange seems to have happened during the Israeli Air Force’s large-scale attack on Syrian and Iranian targets in Syria overnight.
In a video released by IntelliTimes, which is reportedly of the Syrian missile system launching rockets at the Israeli Air Force last night, one clearly sees Syrian missile after missile become "confused", turn around, and return to the ground and explode...
The blog estimates that this may indicate a loss of radar lock after the launch, or another proactive action that prevented the missiles from starting their course toward the target.
Security sites reported in the past that Israel wanted to install radar blocks on its F-35 aircraft which would enable the aircraft to bypass enemy radar systems. Similar reports have suggested that the IAF F-35 planes are equipped with a system that prevents its detection by enemy radar.
Back in 2012, an IAF official told Av Week that while the stealth of the F-35 in its current form would be cracked and overcome in 5–10 years, the aircraft will be in service for 30–40 years, which is why Israel insisted on making its own changes to the aircraft's electronic warfare systems.
Defense Minister Naftali Bennett declared on Wednesday that "the rules have changed. Anyone who shoots at the State of Israel during the day will not sleep at night. Like last week and now this week. Our message to Iran's leaders is simple: You are no longer immune. Wherever you stretch your tentacles-we will hack them off."
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/21/2019 09:03 ||
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[11128 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
#1
Really? posting a site that forces you to wait for that crap to disappear?
#2
No way I'm an expert in such things, but I'd expect that if a missile lost lock, it would maneuver to search and re-acquire. The problem with that is that SAMs are sprinters and don't have any loiter time.
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/21/2019 12:50 Comments ||
Top||
#7
Fascinating.
Some 'return-to-launch' reset function was induced into the position tracking logic. Could somebody have downloaded simulation test code that has a 'fire-and0reset' sequence? Unbelievable there might be a 'no-position,stop' sequence.
#10
I'm eagerly looking forward to the next ISDEF. It's always a celebration. The Israelis are practical innovators, not bridled by some list of parameters or stupid global guidelines on how to go about things.
[Rudaw] While the crackdown has been vicious since protests gained momentum on Friday night, the IRGC’s official entrance onto the scene will likely have dire consequences for the protesters, with the number of dead expected to rise.
The IRGC said on Monday that they would respond to any saboteurs with "decisive" and "revolutionary" manner after the Supreme Leader, the ultimate decision maker in the country, ordered security forces to restore calm and refused to bow to the demands of the protesters, whom he labelled "thugs".
"The officials in charge of the security must fulfil their duties," said Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife ||
11/21/2019 02:02 ||
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#1
You can use peasant militia to suppress urban population. You can't use peasants to run the country.
[IsraelTimes] Images distributed by private Israeli intelligence firm ImageSat International indicate suspected Iranian buildings at two Syrian airports, al-Mazzeh airport and Damascus International Airport, either fully or partially demolished by Israeli missiles
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 Pashtun equivalent of men...
...Self-proclaimed Field Marshal, served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy, so it's kind of hard to describe him as a Qadaffy holdover. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all...
...formerly the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Zaire, and who knows what else, not to be confused with the Brazzaville Congo aka 
President-for-Life of Uganda. He assumed office in 1985. His primary virtue is being prefereable to both his predecessors, Idi Amin and Milton Obote...
...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the 
Moqtada 
[Jewish Press, HT Insty] Something very strange seems to have happened during the Israeli Air Force’s large-scale attack on Syrian and Iranian targets in Syria overnight.
