Hi there, !
Today Wed 06/26/2013 Tue 06/25/2013 Mon 06/24/2013 Sun 06/23/2013 Sat 06/22/2013 Fri 06/21/2013 Thu 06/20/2013 Archives
Rantburg
531698 articles and 1855975 comments are archived on Rantburg.

Today: 62 articles and 128 comments as of 13:57.
Post a news link    Post your own article   
Area: WoT Background    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix   
Dutch Say Time of 'Ever Closer' Union in Europe is Over
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 1: WoT Operations
1 15:37 Mike Kozlowski [] 
9 23:15 Newc [] 
1 12:12 SteveS [] 
3 21:22 3dc [] 
0 [] 
0 [1] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
2 20:29 Bob Snore6814 [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
2 20:44 Bob Snore6814 [] 
4 17:56 Frank G [] 
1 23:06 JosephMendiola [] 
Page 2: WoT Background
1 15:17 Besoeker []
30 23:26 Hupuque Bucket2093 []
4 13:01 Bertie Lumumba6387 []
1 23:09 JosephMendiola [2]
7 20:52 Bob Snore6814 []
0 [1]
2 13:36 Besoeker []
1 13:01 Pappy []
0 []
0 []
0 []
5 20:56 Bob Snore6814 []
3 21:16 Bob Snore6814 [1]
0 []
0 []
2 20:03 JosephMendiola []
1 01:49 Crusort White9752 []
0 [1]
2 13:08 Frank G []
1 10:12 Redneck Jim []
0 []
1 14:19 g(r)omgoru []
Page 3: Non-WoT
0 []
9 14:05 CrazyFool []
0 [1]
0 []
7 14:22 g(r)omgoru []
0 []
0 []
0 []
1 01:34 Crusort White9752 []
1 09:51 Redneck Jim []
3 10:44 JohnQC []
1 01:44 Crusort White9752 []
1 09:39 Redneck Jim []
7 20:14 JosephMendiola []
Page 4: Opinion
3 20:51 Procopius2k []
2 16:08 Frank G []
2 15:55 lord garth []
4 17:54 Frank G [1]
0 []
Page 6: Politix
3 10:27 JohnQC []
Good morning
Posted by: Fred || 06/23/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Birthday Gam Shot

Marielle Jaffe[Filmography](age 24)



Floor Cover Design


Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 06/23/2013 1:12 Comments || Top||

#2  Ralston was born Esther Worth in Bar Harbor, Maine. She was the older sister of Howard Ralston who also appeared in silent pictures but never achieved the stardom of his sister. She began her career as a child actress in a family vaudeville act which was billed as "The Ralston Family with Baby Esther, America's Youngest Juliet." From this, she appeared in a few small silent film roles including a role alongside her brother in the 1920 film adaptation of Huckleberry Finn. Ralston later gained attention as Mrs. Darling in the 1924 film version of Peter Pan.

In the late 1920s she appeared in many films for Paramount, at one point earning as much as $8000 a week, and garnering much popularity, especially in Britain. She appeared mainly in comedies, often portraying spirited society girls, but she also received good reviews for her forays into dramatic roles.

Posted by: Crusort White9752 || 06/23/2013 1:27 Comments || Top||

#3  search on fablesofthedestruction and Marielle Jaffe
for a NSFW view of Marielle.

In point of case its surprising how many of the daily ladies turn up when searching on their name and tumblr in google.
Posted by: 3dc || 06/23/2013 21:22 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan
38 Taliban militants killed in Afghanistan
[Times of India] Thirty-eight Taliban militants were killed in separate military operations launched in Afghanistan since Saturday, the Afghanistan government said Sunday.

The joint security operations were carried out by Afghan National Police (ANP), army and the Nato-led coalition forces in the provinces of Nangarhar, Parwan, Kandahar, Zabul, Uruzgan, Wardak, Logar, Ghazni and Helmand, Xinhua reported.

"As a result, 38 armed Taliban were killed, four wounded and six others were arrested," the interior ministry said in a statement.

The Taliban did not comment over the deaths immediately.
Posted by: Flath Thrins3276 || 06/23/2013 06:23 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  Now *that* is negotiation!
Posted by: SteveS || 06/23/2013 12:12 Comments || Top||


Attacks kill NATO service member, 2 Afghan police
[Al Ahram] Talibs attacked local security checkpoints in a scenic provincial capital in northern Afghanistan, killing two coppers in a fight that also left 18 snuffies dead, Afghan officials said Saturday.

NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A single organization with differing goals, equipment, language, doctrine, and organization....
said a coalition service member also died in a krazed killer attack in the south on Saturday, but did not provide further details.

The violence follows NATO's formal handover of security in the entirety of Afghanistan to Kabul's forces -- a transition that comes at a time with violence levels matching their worst in nearly 12 years of war.

In northern Afghanistan, Kunduz provincial police front man Sayed Sarwar Hussaini said Saturday that the Taliban attacked multiple checkpoints at about noon Friday in the scenic provincial capital of the same name, killing one member of the Afghan local police, a community-based force, and wounding two.

The Taliban then moved outside the city where a shootout with Afghan cops lasted until about midnight, Hussaini said.

Eighteen Taliban fighters and another local policeman were killed in the battle, and another 11 snuffies were maimed, he said. Hussaini posted on his Facebook page a picture of 11 bodies lined up inside the provincial police compound in Kunduz that he said were those of Talibs his troops recovered from the scene of the fight.
Posted by: Fred || 06/23/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Africa North
Pro-Morsi protester dies after being shot by opposition: FJP
[Al Ahram] The Moslem Brüderbund's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) said on Saturday that a Gamaa Islamiya member has died from gunshot wounds in Egypt's central Fayoum governorate, pointing finger at opposition forces for his death.

The FJP said in a statement that Mohamed Said El-Shalakany, 35, was shot by "thugs" of the National Salvation Front (NSF), the main opposition umbrella group, and proponents of the anti-Mohamed Morsi Rebel campaign during a rally supporting the president on 16 June.

"The party condemns that criminal act, and offers its condolences to the martyr's family. His blood will be a curse on those who incite violence," the FJP added.

Ahmed Ibrahim Bayoumi, a member of the Moslem Brüderbund higher board, stated on 17 June that the Fayoum festivities involving the supporters and opponents of Morsi were instigated by "remnants" of the former regime and not by anti-government 'Rebel' campaigners.
El-Shalakany, a father of four, was a tourism worker. He was a member of the hard-line Islamist Gamaa Islamiya group, according to the Brotherhood's satellite channel.
Posted by: Fred || 06/23/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Arabia
Shia man shot dead in Saudi Arabia
[Al Ahram] A Shia man was rubbed out late on Friday in the fractious Qatif district of Soddy Arabia's
...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...
Eastern Province, home to many of its Shia Mohammedan minority.

The shooting brings to 19 the corpse count since early 2011 during protests by Shias demanding equal rights with the Sunni majority, and in festivities with police in the towns and villages around Qatif.

Shia activists said the 19-year-old Shia was shot in his car by a stray bullet fired by police when they fired at another person on a cycle of violence.

An Eastern Province police front man said in a statement carried on state media he was shot when they exchanged fire with unknown gunnies, adding he was found in his car at dawn on Saturday but was dead before reaching hospital.

The shooting happened at around midnight on Friday, he said.
Posted by: Fred || 06/23/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Upping the pressure for a Sunni-vs-Shia, Saudi-vs-Iran mil showdown ... ... AND AT "HIGH NOON" STARRING THE BAMMER AS NOT-GARY COOPER??
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 06/23/2013 20:01 Comments || Top||

#2 
Posted by: Bob Snore6814 || 06/23/2013 20:29 Comments || Top||


Europe
Spain: 8 Arrested For Recruiting Jihadists For Syria
[Jpost] Spain tossed in the calaboose
Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un!
eight people in its North African enclave of Ceuta early on Friday on suspicion of recruiting fighters for a branch of al-Qaeda in Syria, the Interior Ministry said.

The operation was carried out by police intelligence services and the Spanish Civil Guard, it said.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/23/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Nusra

#1  See FREEREPUBLIC > SPAIN: "MUSLIMS WILL BECOME THE KINGS OF THE WORLD".

The single best weapon Radical Islam has agz Christians + other on-Muslims are Christians + non-Muslims agz themselves.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 06/23/2013 23:06 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Taliban kills foreign climbers
Gunmen stormed a camp on Pakistan’s second largest mountain on Sunday, killing nine foreign climbers in a brazen assault that could deal a blow to the country’s efforts to jumpstart its tourism industry.

Pakistan’s Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, calling it retribution for a suspected U.S. drone strike last month that killed Wali ur-Rehman, the second highest-ranking leader of the terrorist group.

“Through this killing we gave a message to international community to ask U.S. to stop drone strikes,” said Ehsanullah Ehsan, a Taliban spokesman.

The attack in northern Pakistan at Nanga Parbat, the world’s ninth tallest mountain, occurred around 1 a.m. as the climbers and their guides were at a camp at about 4,000 feet above sea level. According to local and regional officials, about a dozen gunmen tied up the climbers’ Pakistani guides before shooting the climbers as they slept in tents.

The attackers reportedly wore police uniforms, an increasingly common tactic Taliban militants have used to evade scrutiny.

In all, 11 people were killed, including five from Ukraine, three from China and one from Russia. Two Pakistanis were also reportedly killed. At least one Chinese tourist survived and was later rescued from the area, known as Ferry Meadows, officials said.

The assault occurred in the picturesque Gilgit Ballistan area, a popular tourist area in the Himalayan Mountains near the country’s border with China. Nanga Parbat rises to an elevation of 26,660 feet. The world’s second largest mountain, K2, with an elevation of 28,251, straddles Gilgit Ballistan's border with China.
Posted by: tipper || 06/23/2013 07:08 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Because mountain climbing is un-islamic?
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 06/23/2013 10:03 Comments || Top||

#2  WTF were they thinking? I was betting the climbers were Germans, but no, wow, bad travel agent stories with a bullet.
Posted by: Shipman || 06/23/2013 12:41 Comments || Top||

#3  "WTF were they thinking?"

Probably that it was a very cheap trip, Ship.

Guess Everest would have cost less in the long run. :-(
Posted by: Barbara || 06/23/2013 12:43 Comments || Top||

#4  Okay, the mountain is on the border between China and Pakiwakiland. One of the climbers killed on their own mountain is Chinese so solution should be simple to PRC... EXTEND the border to encompass K2 and access areas to K2.
Posted by: 3dc || 06/23/2013 13:02 Comments || Top||

#5  Maybe climb from the China side while Pakistan sorts out its Taliban problem?
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 06/23/2013 17:08 Comments || Top||

#6  This is a view of Nanga Parbat near the base camp. A magnificent mountain. Pic from wikipedia.
ApproachingNangaParbat
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 06/23/2013 17:28 Comments || Top||

#7  maybe Chinese elite troops kill them and hang their heads as a warning to others?
Posted by: Frank G || 06/23/2013 17:59 Comments || Top||

#8  3dc: the area around the mountain used to be Indian; Pakistan fought very hard for it and then ceded the area to China when they were through.

China hasn't really shown much signs of caring when Pakistan-supported-taliban killed Chinese in the past; I guess they consider them too useful and the deaths as a cost of doing business in the great game.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 06/23/2013 18:38 Comments || Top||

#9  China is busy internally and very reluctant to start tango - ing again./
Posted by: Newc || 06/23/2013 23:15 Comments || Top||


Peace Lashkar volunteer killed in Bajaur blast
[Pak Daily Times] A bomb kaboom on Saturday killed two members of a Pak pro-government militia in a tribal region near the Afghanistan border, officials said. The kaboom took place in Chamarkand town, 40 kilometres (25 miles) northwest of Khar, the main town of Bajaur tribal region. "Two members of a pro-government tribal peace committee were killed when an improvised bomb (IED) went off near them," local administration official, Ghulam Saeedullah told AFP. He said that the men were inspecting the site of an earlier IED blast when a second device went off. Local tribal police officials also confirmed the incident and casualties. The attack came two days after about a dozen forces of Evil attacked the homes of two tribal elders near Khar and later killed them. Pakistain has for years been fighting home-grown Taliban forces of Evil in its northwestern border areas with Afghanistan. A US-led NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A single organization with differing goals, equipment, language, doctrine, and organization....
combat mission across the border is due to withdraw next year after a 12-year Afghan Taliban insurgency.
Posted by: Fred || 06/23/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: TTP


ASI, two terrorists killed in encounter
[Pak Daily Times] An Assistant sub inspector (ASI) and two bad boyz were potted during a police-criminals encounter in Buner on Saturday. On a tip-off regarding presence of terrorists, police and security forces launched joint operation that continued for six hours in the area at Ambela Phari of Buner. The police and security forces reached Ambela area and clamped curfew in adjoining area and after six hours operation two bad boyz were potted and one beat feet from the scene. During an exchange of fire, one bullet fired by the bully boyz hit ASI Ameer Aurangzeb and he was struck down in his prime. Two bully boyz were also killed in resistance and one passers-by including one cop sustained serious injuries amid firing. Police have registered the case and started further search for other terrorists.
Posted by: Fred || 06/23/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: TTP


Police escape terror bid in Quetta
[Pak Daily Times] The personnel of police on Saturday escaped terror bid as explosives went off on Qambrani Road of the city. Official sources said faceless myrmidons had placed explosives along the road side which they detonated after police van of Kachi Baig PS passed by the area. Blast caused minor damage to the vehicle. Police personnel escaped unhurt. The area was cordoned off to track the suspects out. Further probe was underway.
Posted by: Fred || 06/23/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


BDU defuses 2.5kg bomb
[Pak Daily Times] PESHAWAR: The Bomb Disposal Unit (BDU) on Saturday defused a two-and-a-half kilogram bomb, planted near a car bargain center here. AIG, BDU, Shafqat Malik said unknown myrmidons had planted explosive, wrapped in a plastic bag near a car showroom at University Road. The police called BDU personnel who successfully defused the device. Paperwork was started but nothing else was done against unknown myrmidons at Tehkal Police Station.
Posted by: Fred || 06/23/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: TTP


Rebels kill two police in held Kashmir
[Pak Daily Times] Two Indian coppers were rubbed out Saturday by rebels in a high security area of Srinagar, the summer capital of held Kashmire, police said.

The coppers were shot from point blank range when they were on a regular patrol near the main court complex located in a busy commercial district of Srinagar, a senior police official said. "Both the coppers died at the spot. We don't know as yet who carried out the attack," city police chief Ashiq Bukhari told AFP. The attack comes at a time when security is being stepped up in the region ahead of a visit by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh early next week.
Posted by: Fred || 06/23/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Iraq
Attacks kill 13 north of Baghdad
[Al Ahram] Attacks north of Storied Baghdad
...located along the Tigris River, founded in the 8th century, home of the Abbasid Caliphate...
, including two suicide kabooms, killed 13 people on Saturday, the latest in a spate of violence stoking fears of a return to full-blown sectarian war in Iraq.

The latest unrest come as the country grapples with months of protests by its Sunni Arab minority, tensions in a swathe of territory that Kurdish leaders want to incorporate into their autonomous region in the north and protracted political deadlock in Storied Baghdad.

In the main northern city of djinn-infested Mosul, a suicide kaboomer set off a vehicle rigged with explosives near a police patrol on the city's southern outskirts.

The kaboom killed four people including a policeman, police and medical officials said.

And in Taji, just north of Storied Baghdad, a jacket wallah went kaboom! at a Shia mosque, killing at least four and wounding 20 others.

In the ethnically mixed town of Tuz Khurmatu, which lies at the heart of the area disputed between the Kurds and Storied Baghdad, gunnies opened fire on patrolling police, killing three and wounding a fourth, security and medical officials said.

The tract of land, which the Kurds want to incorporate over the objections of Storied Baghdad, stretches from Iraq's eastern border with Iran to its western frontier with Syria.

Diplomats and officials say the unresolved row is one of the biggest threats to Iraq's long-term stability.

And in the mostly Sunni Arab city of Tikrit, Death Eaters fired on day labourers waiting near a grain silo, killing two and wounding four, officials said.

Iraq has suffered an upsurge in violence since the beginning of the year, coinciding with rising discontent among Sunnis that erupted into protests in late December.

Analysts say a failure by the Shia-led authorities to address the underlying causes of the demonstrations has given bad turban groups both a recruitment platform and room to manoeuvre.
Posted by: Fred || 06/23/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Iraq


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
David's Sling goes on display for first time
Once shrouded in secrecy, Israel's David's Sling missile interceptor went on display for the first time this week at the Paris Air Show.

Its co-manufacturers, Rafael, say the system is designed to compliment the Iron Dome defensive shield used in the Gaza conflict, and will be operational within two years.

Co-developed by US firm Raytheon and Israeli company Rafael, David's Sling is a missile defense system designed to safeguard Israeli citizens from attack.

The Sling is capable of intercepting incoming rockets more than 160 kilometers away.

Until now all that's been seen of it is a brief video handout of a secret desert test last November.

But this week Yossi Horowitz, business development director at Rafael, showed off one of the missiles at the Paris Air Show.

Also known as the Stunner, the missile is part of a three-tier system. It will be used as a bridge between the existing Iron Dome system, which intercepts short-range rockets, and the Arrow, targeting ballistic missiles.

Horowitz says David's Sling will be ready for deployment within two years.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 06/23/2013 14:26 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  This is gonna p!ss off the crazies to no end....

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 06/23/2013 15:37 Comments || Top||


Hamas hangs 2 Palestinians convicted of spying for Israel
[Jpost] Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, leaders said they had hanged two Paleostinians found guilty of spying for Israel over a decade, making them the first to be executed since the end of a month-long amnesty for informants in April.

Sixteen Paleostinians have been executed in Gazoo for spying since Hamas seized the territory in 2007.

Hamas, which rejects any recognition of Israel as a legitimate state, says the executions are aimed at discouraging Paleostinians from impoverished Gazoo selling Israel information such as the whereabouts of top Death Eaters or weapons depots.

Human rights activists say such executions violate Paleostinian Authority law which says that any cases of this sort must be reviewed by PA President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas
... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial...
, but Hamas does not recognize the Western-backed Abbas as having authority in Gazoo.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/23/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Hamas

#1  MORE, MORE, pikers only two?
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 06/23/2013 10:18 Comments || Top||

#2  Hell there are 2 in every FalafelHouse.
Posted by: Shipman || 06/23/2013 12:41 Comments || Top||

#3  What was the evidence? Did they bring in Cairo CSI? How about Monk? Inspector Clouseau?
Posted by: AlanC || 06/23/2013 16:50 Comments || Top||

#4  Kosher meat
Posted by: Frank G || 06/23/2013 17:56 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
Two Moro filmmakers seized in Mindanao
Two female Muslim filmmakers were reportedly seized in the southern Philippines, but authorities could not be reached for confirmation. The two women were filming in Sulu province when gunmen reportedly seized them inside a commuter jeep near Patikul town.

Officials have released no information about the alleged abduction. But a television network had reported that Abu Sayyaf may have been involved.

It was not immediately known what the duo was filming, but one of them had previously researched coffee farming in Sulu, one of the provinces in the Muslim autonomous region which is one of the biggest suppliers of coffee in the region. Both women have written and made many films about Muslims and their culture and traditions in Mindanao.
Posted by: ryuge || 06/23/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Roadside bomb kills Thai army major
An army major was killed and five other soldiers injured by a roadside bomb in Pattani province yesterday morning. The blast occurred when six soldiers were traveling in an armored truck along Highway 43. The bomb, buried in the road, was remotely detonated when the military vehicle drove over it.

Fourth Army chief Sakol Chuentrakoon said that despite the violence the military would act in accordance with peace talks between security authorities and representatives of the Barisan Revolusi Nasional terrorist separatist group. He said that during Ramadan the military provide security for the locals so they could carry out their religious activities in peace.

The Fourth Army commander urged separatist sympathisers to turn themselves in before Ramadan. He said security forces have placed an emphasis on fighting violence in the South through peaceful means. He urged everyone in the region to take a united stance in rejecting all forms of violence.
Posted by: ryuge || 06/23/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Thai Insurgency

#1  Hesaid that during Ramadan the military provide security for the locals so they could carry out their religious activities in peace.

Let em be slaughtered by their fellow Muslims. Allan will be pleased by the sacrifice
Posted by: Frank G || 06/23/2013 9:40 Comments || Top||

#2  "have placed an emphasis on fighting violence in the South through peaceful means."

Of course, since the Thai Army upper echelon is in majority Muslims supporting the Monarchist dictatorship...the 'slimes are in the south in conquered territory and can count in the Army not lifting a finger against them.
Posted by: Bob Snore6814 || 06/23/2013 20:44 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Heavy Syrian Shelling on Akkar Border Town
[An Nahar] More than 12 shells landed on Saturday on a border town in the northern Akkar district without causing any casualties, the state-run National News Agency reported.

NNA said the shelling on al-Dbabiyeh from the Syrian side of the border caused panic among the residents.

They urged the Lebanese army to help the occupants of two houses to evacuate after three of the shells landed near the homes of Mohammed and Walid Kouha.

NNA said two more shells hit an area near the house of Tajeddine Kouha.
Posted by: Fred || 06/23/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Syrian army renews offensive on Damascus rebels
[Al Ahram] Syria's army on Saturday pressed a fierce assault launched four days ago against rebel areas in northern and eastern Damascus, killing three children with mortar fire, a monitoring group said.

"The district of Qaboon in (northeastern) Damascus is being intensely shelled by regime forces," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.

Rebels were resisting the onslaught, battling troops loyal to Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Oppressor of the Syrians and the Lebs...
on the edges of Qaboon as the army tried to storm the neighbourhood, it said.

Overnight mortar fire targeting Qaboon killed three children from one family, the Britannia-based group said.

Nearby, festivities raged between rebels, troops and pro-Assad gunnies in the Barzeh neighbourhood of the capital, said the watchdog.

The fighting erupted as rebels fought off an army attempt to enter the district, said the Syrian Revolution General Commission, a network of activists on the ground.

Battles also raged on the edges of Al-Hajar al-Aswad in southern Damascus and Jubar in the east, said the Observatory. Troops meanwhile pounded the Qadam district, parts of which are rebel-held.

Over the past fortnight, the army has dramatically boosted efforts to crush the anti-Assad insurgency in and around Damascus.

The opposition and activists have warned of critical humanitarian conditions in some areas.

Also on Saturday, the military pushed on with its bid to end the insurgency in and around Homs in central Syria, said the Observatory.

While troops shelled rebel-held besieged districts in the heart of Homs city, Assad loyalists also tried to storm the town of Tal Kalakh near the border with Leb.

Referred to by activists as "the capital of the revolution", Homs has suffered massive damage during Syria's 27-month conflict.
Posted by: Fred || 06/23/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Damascus Clashes Rage, Aleppo Rebels in New Attack
[An Nahar] Syria's army on Saturday pressed a fierce assault launched four days ago against rebel areas in northern and eastern Damascus, killing three children with mortar fire, a monitoring group said.

In northern Syria, rebels said they had begun a new assault on regime-held neighborhoods of the country's second city, Aleppo.

"The district of Qaboon in (northeastern) Damascus is being intensely shelled by regime forces," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.

Rebels were resisting the onslaught, battling troops loyal to Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor. If he'd stuck with it he'd have had a good practice by now...
on the edges of Qaboon as the army tried to storm the neighborhood, it said.

Overnight mortar fire targeting Qaboon killed three children from one family, the Britannia-based group said.

Nearby, festivities raged between rebels, troops and pro-Assad forces of Evil in the Barzeh neighborhood of the capital, said the watchdog.

The fighting erupted as rebels fought off an army attempt to enter the district, said the Syrian Revolution General Commission, a network of activists on the ground.

Battles also raged on the edges of Al-Hajar al-Aswad in southern Damascus and Jubar in the east, said the Observatory. Troops meanwhile pounded the Qadam district, parts of which are rebel-held.

Over the past fortnight, the army has dramatically boosted efforts to crush the anti-Assad insurgency in and around Damascus.

Meanwhile in Aleppo, large swathes of which are under rebel control, the main rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) command announced the launch of "a battle to liberate several western districts".

According to a statement posted online, "several revolutionary brigades and armed factions launched a new battle at dawn today".

Activists said fierce fighting raged in the regime-held New Aleppo district in the west of the city.

Rebels launched their first major assault on Aleppo on July 20 last year.

Ever since, despite many festivities and army bids to retake control, the city has fallen into a stalemate.

The latest assault is being staged by 13 rebel groups, including the powerful Liwa al-Tawhid and the Farouq Brigades, the FSA statement said.

Saturday's fighting was heaviest in the Rashidin area of New Aleppo, an activist in the city told Agence La Belle France Presse via the Internet.

"A fire broke out in a (military) research center in New Aleppo after the revolutionary brigades used mortars to shell it," said the activist who identified himself as Mohammad, adding that the rebels were advancing on Rashidin.

The rebels "are focusing on hitting military targets" including a military security branch in the area, he said.

Mohammad said Aleppo's western districts are key because the army has been shelling rebel areas from there.

Saturday's developments come as the military pushed on with its bid to end the insurgency in and around Homs in central Syria, said the Observatory.

While troops shelled rebel-held besieged districts in the heart of Homs city, Assad loyalists also tried to storm the town of Tal Kalakh near the border with Leb.

Saturday's violence comes a day after at least 100 people were killed nationwide, the Observatory added.
Posted by: Fred || 06/23/2013 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria



Who's in the News
35[untagged]
6Govt of Syria
5Arab Spring
4Taliban
3Govt of Pakistan
3TTP
2Hamas
1Hezbollah
1al-Qaeda in Iraq
1Thai Insurgency
1al-Nusra

Bookmark
E-Mail Me

The Classics
The O Club
Rantburg Store
The Bloids
The Never-ending Story
Thugburg
Gulf War I
The Way We Were
Bio

Merry-Go-Blog











On Sale now!


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.
Click here for more information

Meet the Mods
In no particular order...
Steve White
Seafarious
tu3031
badanov
sherry
ryuge
GolfBravoUSMC
Bright Pebbles
trailing wife
Gloria
Fred
Besoeker
Glenmore
Frank G
3dc
Skidmark

Two weeks of WOT
Sun 2013-06-23
  Dutch Say Time of 'Ever Closer' Union in Europe is Over
Sat 2013-06-22
  Britain OKs Treaty Clearing Way to Deport Abu Qatada to Jordan
Fri 2013-06-21
  Today's Pakaboom: 15 Dead in Peshawar Mosquaboom
Thu 2013-06-20
  Hizbullah Leader's Brother Killed In Syria Clashes
Wed 2013-06-19
  20 killed after militants storm UN compound in Somalia
Tue 2013-06-18
  Today's Pakaboom: 18 dead at Mardan funeral
Mon 2013-06-17
  LeJ claims twin attacks
Sun 2013-06-16
  Double blasts kill 25 in Pakistan
Sat 2013-06-15
  Mali's Tuareg rebels ready to sign peace deal
Fri 2013-06-14
  Mortars Fired at Damascus Airport, Delay 3 Flights
Thu 2013-06-13
  60 Boko Haram members killed in Maiduguri
Wed 2013-06-12
  Thousands Throng Istanbul Protest Square
Tue 2013-06-11
  Bombs and battles hit northern Iraq, more than 70 dead
Mon 2013-06-10
  Syria Islamists Execute Youth in Front of Family
Sun 2013-06-09
  Pak police recovers 15,000 kilos of explosive material

Better than the average link...



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.
44.211.35.130
Help keep the Burg running! Paypal:
WoT Background (22)    Non-WoT (14)    Opinion (5)    (0)    Politix (1)