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Suicide Bomb Rocks Downtown Kabul
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 1: WoT Operations
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Page 2: WoT Background
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Good morning
Posted by: Fred || 01/18/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Birthday Gam Shot

Becca Tobin[Filmography][Discography](age 28)



Tree Hugging Design


Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 01/18/2014 1:55 Comments || Top||

#2  Birthday Gam Shot 01/17

Zooey Deschanel[Filmography](age 34)



Design Trussed like a Turkey

Sorry Gorb, the pickings are slim.


Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 01/18/2014 1:57 Comments || Top||

#3  I liked her in Tin Man.

But I had the flux, so I am still okay.
Posted by: Shipman || 01/18/2014 8:19 Comments || Top||

#4  Design Trussed Like a Turkey, but without the login requirement.
Posted by: gorb || 01/18/2014 21:06 Comments || Top||

#5  Gorbs link doesn't work. Try this, Gorb
Posted by: Frank G || 01/18/2014 21:45 Comments || Top||

#6  Got me.
Posted by: Shipman || 01/18/2014 22:50 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan
Four U.N. Staff 'Unaccounted For' after Kabul Attack
[An Nahar] Four United Nations
...where theory meets practice and practice loses...
' employees were missing five hours after at least 14 people were killed in a multiple Taliban suicide kaboom on a popular restaurant in Kabul on Friday, U.N. officials said.

"Four U.N. civilian personnel, who reportedly could have been present in close proximity to the scene of Friday's attack in Kabul, still remain unaccounted for," U.N. front man Ari Gaitanis told Agence La Belle France Presse.

"The U.N. is making efforts to clarify the status of its personnel."
And the Land Cruiser...
Posted by: Fred || 01/18/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  So sad.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 01/18/2014 4:11 Comments || Top||

#2  when is Karzai going to apologize?
Posted by: Frank G || 01/18/2014 8:04 Comments || Top||


Suicide Bomb Rocks Downtown Kabul
[Tolo News] A jacket wallah reportedly detonated explosives near a Lebanese restaurant frequented by foreigners in a central neighborhood of Kabul late Friday night. There were confirmed casualties from the attack, but the exact details are unknown.

According to Ministry of Interior (MoI) front man Sediq Sediqqi, Afghan cops have cordoned off the area around the restaurant, called Taverna du Liban. The restaurant sits in the Wazir Akbar Khan area of the capital that houses a number of embassies.

Police officials have indicated there there were gunnies inside the restaurant following the blast. And bystanders told TOLOnews' news hound on the scene that scattered gunshots were heard before and after the kaboom.

Initial reports indicate that employees of the restaurant were amongst the casualties. Six injured civilians were spotted by TOLOnews news hounds, but whether they were inside or outside the restaurant at the time of the attack is unknown.

Taverna du Liban is a popular restaurant in Kabul with high security and the reputation for serving foreign diplomats and aid workers. It is known to draw crowds on Friday nights.

The Taliban's front man Zabihullah Mujahid grabbed credit for the attack, which he said was targeting foreign officials.

There have been a number of high-profile Taliban attacks in the capital since the start of 2014, after the country saw one of the bloodiest fighting seasons of the 13-year war last year.

Despite claiming to only target Afghan cops, government officials and foreigners, Taliban attacks, especially in urban settings such as Kabul, often result in predominantely Afghan civilian casualties.

The United Nations
...boodling on the grand scale...
has attributed over 70 percent of all civilian casualties in Afghanistan to Taliban attacks.
Posted by: Fred || 01/18/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Africa Horn
Al Qaeda militia chiefs killed in KDF attack
SIX senior foreign al Shabaab leaders are among 57 members of the al QAeda linked militia who were killed in the Kenya Defence Forces air strike on Gedo region last Thursday.

Intelligence sources in Somalia yesterday confirmed that key foreign al Shabaab commanders Imran Abu Jilali from Pakistan, Sh. Abdalla Al Manzur from Egypt, Alakim Nurala from Sudan, Abdul Hakim Mohamud an al Qaeda leader from Yemen and Shukri Bin Khalifa also from Yemen were killed in the Kenya Defence Forces F-5 jet air strike on Birta Dheere, in Garabarhey within Gedo area.

According to the intelligence sources, Al Amud Bin Ibrahim, a senior al Shabaab commander respected by the terror group's leader Ahmed Godana, the outgoing al Shabaab Gedo region commander and Fara Dheere, the incoming commander were also killed in the attack. The KDF attack targeted Godane, who left thirty minutes before the bombs were dropped. The KDF conducted three air strikes on the target.

"Ahmed Godane was the target but he narrowly escaped the strike by sheer luck. He left a few minutes before the air strike.The al Shabaab leaders were holding a regional command change over meeting at Garabarhey. Gamadhere Mohammed, a Kenyan from Garissa might have died or sustained injuries during the attack. He is responsible for terrorist attacks in Kenya," said a source who sought anonymity for fear of retribution.

Two Kenyan members of the insurgent group identified as Adan Adow and and Idris Dheere were confirmed dead while another Kenyan from Garissa and who is linked to all the insurgent group's attack on Kenyan soil, identified as Gama Dhere Mohammed, is suspected to have either been killed or sustained injuries during the attack. 120 al Shabaab fighters were injured and five technicals and three buses destroyed.

The air strike was conducted on after an Amisom intelligence gathering exercise that tracked down the al Shabaab leaders' movement.
Posted by: Steve White || 01/18/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab

#1  left just before the strike? Almost Bin-Ladinish
Posted by: Frank G || 01/18/2014 8:52 Comments || Top||


Gov’t officer shot dead in Burhakaba, Bay region
BURHAKABA -- According to local residents, unknown assailants in Somalia have on Thursday night shot and killed a Gov’t officer in Burhakaba in Bay region, the latest in series of killings on Somali officials in the district.

The Eyewitnesses who declined to be unnamed
...for fear of being killed themselves...
told Shabelle Media Station in Mogadishu that the victim whose name has been released as Abdi Hassan was gunned down and wounding his a security guard by masked men armed with pistols in Burhakaba.

The killers have managed to escape immediately from the crime scene before Somali security forces arrived at the spot and begun massive crackdown to hunt down the perpetrators.
Dang, that reads like an anti-crossfire...
So far, Burhakaba authority in Bay region for Somali federal Government did not comment on the murder of the officer in the town.

Burhakaba, A town situated just 316 light years kilometers by road northwest of the capital city of Somalia, Mogadishu.
Posted by: Steve White || 01/18/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Africa North
ANP troops kill two terrorists in Medea
[MAGHAREBIA] Two terrorists were killed in an army ambush in Medea province, the Algerian defence ministry said on Thursday (January 16th).

Algerian troops also discovered the bodies of two dead terrorists near Oued Souf, on the border with Tunisia, Tunisie Numerique reported.

The men reportedly died from a blast by an explosive belt. Weapons, ammunition and four bombs were found near the bodies.
Posted by: Fred || 01/18/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in North Africa


Sebha truce collapses as fighting breaks out
[Libya Herald] A local Sebha official has said the tentative truce brokered between Tebu and Awlad Sulieman forces in Sebha on Wednesday has collapsed. As shots are reported on the ground, another wave of deadly festivities in the embattled southern city area is reported as inevitable.

Zahra Ahmed Dazi, Social Affairs Coordinator for Sebha Local Council, told the Libya Herald that there was now frequent artillery and small arms fire in Sebha, adding that she expected further escalation in the coming hours.

A makeshift ceasefire was negotiated in the city on Wednesday by a Zintani delegation headed by former Defence Minister Osama Juwaili. The truce brought an end to nearly five days and six nights of fighting which left 31 dead and 65 maimed.

Violence initially erupted in Sebha a week ago today as tribal and racial tensions between Tebu rustics and Awlad Sulieman members erupted over the murder of one of the city's revolutionary commanders, Mansour Al-Aswad, by Tebu gunnies in Traghen.

Aswad's killing was seen as an act of retribution for some of the the worst post-revolution violence seen in Sebha when in three says March 2012 some 40 Tebus and 30 members of the Arab Awlad Sulieman tribe were killed.

The security situation in Sebha has been increasingly fragile in recent months with a string small-scale festivities including an attack on the city's central hospital. At the end of December, Sebha Local Council was forced to suspend work because of the situation.
Posted by: Fred || 01/18/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Benghazi Saiqa reservist murdered after Friday prayers
[Libya Herald] A reserve member of the Saiqa special forces was murdered in Benghazi this afternoon. He has been named as 37-year-old Faraj Emhamed Al-Madani. He was shot in the head in a drive-by killing as he was leaving a mosque in Hay Al-Dolar near the Airport Road after Friday prayers. He was rushed to the city's Jelaa hospital but was dead on arrival.
Posted by: Fred || 01/18/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Explosive disposal expert dies while defusing Benghazi cigarette kiosk bomb
[Libya Herald] An explosives disposal expert was killed in Benghazi today and three of his colleagues seriously maimed when a bomb which they were defusing blew up. The device had been left in a bag at a cigarette kiosk in the city's Kish district.

Colonel Rajab Elabbar is said to have been an experienced disposal expert. However the blast, at about 4pm, was so powerful that his body is said to have been blown to pieces.

His three colleagues have been named as Farid Al-Saaiti, Ali Al-Shweidi and Fathi Al-Houderi.

There have been several violent attacks on cigarette kiosks over the past year, mainly in Benghazi and Derna, some being blown up, others burned down. Salafists
...Salafists are ostentatiously devout Moslems who figure the ostentation of their piety gives them the right to tell others how to do it and to kill those who don't listen to them...
, who view smoking as haram, are widely seen as being behind the attacks.

There have been a number of fatwas against cigarette and shisha smoking across the Moslem world on the basis that it is harmful to health. The Grand Mufti, Sheikh Sadek Al-Ghariani, has also spoken against it but has not made any formal pronouncement.

Seven weeks ago, a cigarette stall was blown up in Benghazi's Zawiya district (formally known as Al-Fatah). Again, the device, said to consist of about 5 kilos of explosive, was left in a bag. On that occasion there were no casualties, the kaboom having happened in the middle of the night.
Posted by: Fred || 01/18/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


One dead in Fayoum during clashes
[Egypt Independent] The Health Ministry announced on Friday the death of a protester and the injury of five others during festivities that erupted between supporters of the Moslem Brüderbund and their opponents.

"The death occurred in Fayoum governorate," the statement said.

The five injuries were in Giza, Fayoum,and Minya.

"The injured were still under treatment and observation," the statement added.
Posted by: Fred || 01/18/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Clashes erupt between Cairo University students, police
[Egypt Independent] Dozens of pro-Moslem Brüderbund students at Cairo University blocked Tharwat street on Friday to protest the arrest of their colleagues during festivities with police a day earlier.

Students pelted rocks at police, who used tear gas to disperse them.

"The situation on campus required the interference of security forces in order to prevent the escalation of events due to the Brotherhood students' violence," the statement said. "Security forces had to impose control to ensure the continuing of exams."

Dozens of pro-MB students performed funeral prayers at Cairo University's mosque after on Friday for colleagues who were killed in recent festivities.

According to the Health Ministry, a student was shot and killed during festivities that erupted between students and police on campus on Thursday.
Posted by: Fred || 01/18/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Arabia
US drone kills civilian
[Yemen Post] A day only after Yemen Human Rights Minister, Hooriah Mashour took to the Washington Post, denouncing the Pentagon's use of drones in Yemen to eliminate al-Qaeda gunnies and clamp down on the most dangerous terror cell in the region, officials confirmed that a farmer was slayed in the south-eastern province of Hadhramawt near the city of Shibam.

Witnesses told news hounds on Wednesday that the farmer was hit by shrapnel as he was returning home to his village of Huta. The drone which aimed to target alleged al-Qaeda gunnies in the area, once again led to the death of an innocent civilian.

While officials have refused to comment on the matter, only confirming the farmer's manner of death, activists in Hadhramawt have warned they would seek retribution for the man's family in accordance with Yemeni tradition, but more importantly they noted they want Sana'a central government to review its anti-terror collaboration with the US and ban drones altogether.

With more proofs standing against America's drone campaign, human rights
...which are usually entirely different from personal liberty...
activists have vowed to continue their lobbying against drones, calling instead for a more pragmatic approach through education and prevention, rather than bloodshed and violence.

Following December 12th massacre, when 14 civilians, including children were mistakenly killed by a drone, Yemenis across the political spectrum want to see a change in counter-terror policy, one dedicated to the protection of civilians.

Ever since US President B.O. chose in 2012 to resume his drone campaign in Yemen, dozens of innocent and unarmed civilians have been killed and scores more injured.

Posted by: Fred || 01/18/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Arabia

#1  once again led to the death of an innocent civilian.

Says who? I suspect anything from that region, especialy "INNOCENT CIVILIAN" headlines.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 01/18/2014 18:27 Comments || Top||


Four Killed in South Yemen Clashes
[An Nahar] lashes between Yemeni troops and secessionist faceless myrmidons killed four people Friday in southern Yemen, two of them soldiers, sources on both sides said.

The fighting broke out when the faceless myrmidons ambushed a military vehicle, killing the soldiers and wounding four others, a military source told Agence La Belle France Presse.

Two faceless myrmidons died in the fighting in the town of Daleh, said Abderrahim al-Naqib, from the Southern Movement, accusing the army of bombing residential areas and a hospital.

Naqib said a third krazed killer was "clinically dead" and 21 fighters maimed.

Tensions have soared in southern Yemen following deadly festivities at the end of December in which secessionists stormed a governor's office to raise the flag of the former South Yemen.

Two coppers and a civilian died in that fighting. The following day, 19 people were killed when the army shelled a funeral tent, according to faceless myrmidons and medical sources.

After British colonial rule ended in 1967, southern Yemen was independent until union with the north in 1990.

A secession attempt four years later sparked a brief civil war that ended with northern forces taking over the south.

Southern grievances have hindered the political transition following the 33-year rule of 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...
, who stepped down last year following Arab Spring-inspired protests.
Posted by: Fred || 01/18/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Attack By Al-Qaeda Militants Kills 5 Yemen Troops
[Ynet] Security officials say suspected al-Qaeda Death Eaters have attacked a military camp in central Yemen, sparking heavy festivities that killed at least five soldiers.

The officials say Death Eaters tried to storm the camp on Thursday morning on the outskirts of the city of Radda, 160 kilometers south of the capital, Sanaa.

They say the attack also maimed 10 soldiers. The military sent reinforcements and helicopters hovered overhead as the battle raged.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/18/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Arabia


Britain
Two men have been charged on suspicion of travelling to Syria for terrorism,
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 01/18/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


India-Pakistan
Pakistan Attacks Kill Sunni Leader, News Channel Workers
[An Nahar] Gunmen rubbed out a senior sunni religious leader and two of his associates in the southern Pak city of Bloody Karachi
...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
on Friday, police said, while a separate attack killed three people who worked for a private television channel.

A front man for Karachi police said attackers sprayed bullets at the car of Usman Yar Khan, the provincial deputy chief of Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam
...Assembly of Islamic Clergy, or JUI, is a Pak Deobandi (Hanafi) political party. There are two main branches, one led by Maulana Fazlur Rahman, and one led by Maulana Samiul Haq. Fazl is active in Pak politix and Sami spends more time running his madrassah. Both branches sponsor branches of the Taliban, though with plausible deniability...
, a religious party headed by Samiul Haq
...the Godfather of the Taliban, leader of his own faction of the JUI. Known as Mullah Sandwich for his habit of having two young boys at a time...
known in the West as "father of the Taliban".

"The gunnies fled away after the shooting and the injured were shifted to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center where Usman Khan and two of his associates died while a third is at death's door" he said.

In another attack in the port city, gunnies killed three people who worked for a private television channel.

"Three people were killed when gunnies attacked a DSNG (digital satellite news gathering) vehicle of the privately run Express News in the western district of the city", police chief for the western district Javaid Odho told Agence La Belle France Presse.

"The dead included a technician, the driver and a guard," he added.

It followed an attack on Express News in December.

Media rights watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said last month that Pakistain was among the world's five deadliest countries for the media in its annual round-up of press freedom violations.

Rangers are currently taking part in a joint operation with police in Karachi aimed at cleansing the city of snuffies and other hardcore criminals including hired killers, gun runners and drug peddlers.

Karachi, a city of 18 million people which contributes 42 percent of Pakistain's GDP, has been plagued by sectarian, ethnic and political violence for years.
Posted by: Fred || 01/18/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Pakistan

#1  That picture always freaks me right out. Take away the dish towel and put on a foraging cap and you got yourself a CSA light cavalryman. If you catch muh drift.
Posted by: Shipman || 01/18/2014 20:20 Comments || Top||

#2  Let's hope that MSNBC dispatches some teams there.
Posted by: Eric Jablow || 01/18/2014 20:46 Comments || Top||


Blast Kills Seven During Prayers At Pakistani Islamic Centre
Sunnis going after Shiites? Someone wants to take control of a profitable imambargh? Gang warfare or revenge? Family feud? Someone's inbreeding acting up again? So many possibilities in Peshawar -- my brain feels quite exercised!
[Ynet] At least seven people including an eight-year-old child were killed in Pakistain on Thursday when an kaboom destroyed a packed Islamic preaching centre during evening prayers.

No one immediately grabbed credit for the attack in Beautiful Downtown Peshawar
...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire.
, a volatile city on the Pak border with Afghanistan. Around 70 people were maimed, officials said.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/18/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Iraq
Al-Qaeda Asks Iraqis In Embattled City For Support
[Ynet] Members of al-Qaeda's branch in Iraq handed out pamphlets in Fallujah on Thursday, urging people to take up arms and back them in their weeks long fight against government troops for control of the city.

While the gunnies battled Iraqi security forces in and around Fallujah and Ramadi, police outside the capital, Storied Baghdad
...located along the Tigris River, founded in the 8th century, home of the Abbasid Caliphate...
, found the bullet-riddled bodies of 14 Sunni men who had been kidnapped from a funeral by gunnies wearing military uniforms. It was a grim reminder of similar slayings at the height of the war about six years ago.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/18/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in the Levant


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Israel Troops 'Wound Two' Firing on Gaza Protesters
[An Nahar] The Israeli army fired live rounds and tear gas at protesters near the border fence in the Gazoo Strip on Friday, wounding two Paleostinians, medics and an AFP correspondent said.

Troops fired at some 300 demonstrators who were protesting against Israel's destruction of farmland for its 300-meter (yard) buffer zone, the correspondent said.

Two protesters were slightly maimed and taken to hospital, Gazoo's Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, health ministry front man Ashraf al-Qudra told AFP.

An army front man confirmed that troops had opened fire on Paleostinians who went near the border fence and refused to heed warnings to pull back, but said he was unaware of any injuries.

"A group of Paleostinians came very near the border fence. Soldiers tried to disperse them by using anti-riot methods but as the Paleostinians continued to advance they fired towards their legs," the front man said.

The demonstrators were marching near the fence in support of farmers, whose citrus trees they said had been uprooted by troops to make way for a buffer zone along the border.

"Israel destroyed most of our citrus trees... (and) still prevents us from importing or exporting any products," said protest organizers the Gazoo Youth Coalition.

A statement deplored "daily Israeli attacks" against farmers near the border.

Israeli troops had been allowing Paleostinians to farm their lands in the buffer zone, in line with a 2012 agreement between the Jewish state and the Hamas rulers of Gazoo.

Israel allows "civilian access on foot to areas up to 100 meters from the perimeter fence for agricultural purposes only, and vehicular access to a distance of 300 meters," according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Soldiers often fire at Paleostinians who stray beyond the civilian access area.
Posted by: Fred || 01/18/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Hamas


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Jihadists pull out of north Syria town
[Al Ahram] Jihadists on Friday withdrew from Saraqeb, their last bastion in the Syrian province of Idlib, five days into a major battle in the town against local rebels, a monitor said.

In the region of Aleppo, rebels also made advances except in Jarabolos on the border with Turkey, which the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
... the current version of al-Qaeda in Iraq, just as blood-thirsty and well-beloved as the original...
(ISIL) seized, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Rami Abdel Rahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said "members of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant withdrew at dawn today from Saraqeb to Sermin."

"ISIL withdrew after their situation there became very hard... and after they were besieged by Islamist and moderate rebel groups from all sides," said Abdel Rahman.

Their retreat comes two weeks into a major rebel offensive against the jihadist ISIL.

While rebels and jihadists were once allied in the fight against Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Horror of Homs...
, ISIL's quest for hegemony and its horrific abuses against the local population and opposition has turned rebels -- including other Islamists -- against them.

Abu Leila, a rebel from Idlib who is opposed to both Assad and ISIL, told AFP that the jihadists "withdrew to save themselves".

Dozens of ISIL fighters were killed or injured in the fighting for Saraqeb, where a major battle pitting rebels and jihadists broke out on Monday.

Saraqeb was once a key source of inspiration for moderate activists using art and other peaceful means to protest Assad's regime.

Long out of regime control, it fell to ISIL last month.

The battle for Saraqeb is part of a wider rebel offensive against ISIL in several parts of Syria, which in two weeks has killed nearly 1,100 people, most of them fighters on both sides.

In Aleppo, two ISIL jacket wallahs detonated themselves near checkpoints manned by rival rebels, said the Aleppo Media Centre, a grassroots network of citizen journalists.

ISIL has staged some two dozen suicide kabooms in the past two weeks targeting rebel positions. Scores of rebels and civilians have died as a result.

In Jarabolos, on Aleppo province's border with Turkey, ISIL "took total control... after fierce fighting against rebels," said the Observatory.

Abdel Rahman also said ISIL summarily executed several rebels captured during the fighting.

But in another part of the province, rebels pushed out ISIL fighters from an army post they had turned into a jihadist bastion.

Rebels fighting ISIL have described progress in their war against the jihadist as "mixed."

"In some areas, there is good progress. In others, the situation is bad," said one Islamic Front fighter, whose alliance is among the key groups battling both ISIL and Assad's regime.

On another front, Assad loyalists shelled Madira, northeast of Damascus, killing 11 people, said the Observatory.

Syria's nearly three-year war has killed more than 130,000 people and forced millions of others to flee their homes.
Posted by: Fred || 01/18/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State of Iraq & the Levant


Eight Killed, 15 Wounded in Syrian Shelling on Arsal
[An Nahar] A number of people were killed and maimed on Friday in shelling from the Syrian side of the border against the Bekaa border town of Arsal.

The National News Agency reported that seven people were killed and 15 maimed in the attack.

Five of the victims have been identified as children from the al-Hujairi family, whose ages range from 2 to 11-years-old, added NNA.

Another victim has been identified as Hassan Ezzeddine.

Voice of Leb radio (93.3) later said that the corpse count from the shelling had risen to eight after a young women died from injuries she had sustained.

The town's municipality chief later told VDL (100.5) that four houses received direct hits in the shelling.

Several rockets fired from the Lebanese-Syrian border area struck a number of other regions in the Bekaa region on Friday, reported NNA earlier.

Rockets landed in the area between al-Qaa's barren mountains and Ras Baalbek near the border with Syria.

Al-Jadeed television said that the mortar shells landed near an army position in the area.

Other shells hit Sahl al-Ain in north of Bekaa and Bouwaida.

The areas of al-Labwe, Zaboud and the outskirts of Hermel were also hit by four rockets.

Earlier the news agency said that two rockets hit the villages of al-Qasr and al-Kwakh, which are located in northeast Leb's Hermel district.

The Army Command later confirmed the shelling in the various regions, adding that a total of 20 rockets and mortar shells were fired from Syria.

President Michel Suleiman
...before assuming office as President, he held the position of commander of the Leb Armed Forces. That was after the previous commander, the loathesome Emile Lahoud, took office as president in November of 1998. Likely the next president of Leb will be whoever's commander of the armed forces, too...
later condemned the shelling, demanding that the army and military officials take the necessary measures to protect border towns and villages.

"Protecting Lebanese regions and people against any assault is a priority," he added.

Moreover, the president warned against the "dangers of getting involved in the Syrian crisis as the Lebanese people are paying a hefty price for it."

He also offered his condolences to the families of the victims of Friday's attacks.

Caretaker Premier Najib Miqati later condemned the Arsal shelling, saying that he had requested that the army take the necessary measures to protect Lebanese territories.

In addition, Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam condemned the attack in a telephone conversation with caretaker Minister Marwan Charbel.

Meanwhile,
...back at the mall, Clarissa spent the day shopping for new underwear. Tonight was going to be a special occasion...
head of al-Mustaqbal
... the Future Movement, political party led by Saad Hariri...
parliamentary bloc MP Fouad Saniora held phone talks over the deadly shelling with Suleiman, Miqati, Army chief Gen. Jean Qahwaji and Arsal municipal chief Ali al-Hujairi.

Saniora stressed "the importance of conducting a speedy and transparent probe into the circumstances of this criminal attack."

He noted that the bombardment proves that "demanding the withdrawal of Hizbullah from the fighting in Syria and the deployment of the army and UNIFIL on the eastern and northern Lebanese-Syrian border was based on substantial reasons."

"The only serious solution is the deployment of the Lebanese army, assisted by the U.N. Interim Force in Leb, to control the border, curb violations, put an end to retaliatory attacks and identify those responsible," Saniora said.

He added that that must happen simultaneously with "the pullout of Hizbullah and its militias from the Syrian conflict, because its continued participation in the fighting between the regime and the Syrian people will lead to inflicting further tragedies and problems on Leb and the Lebanese."

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Wally Jumblat
... Druze politician, head of the Progressive Socialist Party, who's been on every side in Leb at least four times. He'll sell you his friends for a dollar, but family comes higher because of shipping and handling...
warned that Leb could witness more terrorist activities as he mourned the victims of Arsal.

"The resilient and proud city of Arsal that has given many sacrifices is paying the price once again," Jumblat said.

"And today, again, several people were killed or maimed. These victims are innocent of whatever is happening."

Hermel comes under frequent shelling from the Syrian side of the border.

On Thursday, a group calling itself Al-Nusra Front in Leb said it was responsible for the deadly bombing that targeted Hermel, a bastion of Hizbullah.

The Bekaa town of Arsal and other areas in the Bekaa have also been targeted by rockets fired from Syria in recent months and most attacks were claimed by Syrian rebels.
Posted by: Fred || 01/18/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria

#1  Maybe John Kerry, on his next visit to "Palestine", can swing by and check it out?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 01/18/2014 4:14 Comments || Top||


Four Men with British Passports Detained in Bekaa
[An Nahar] The Lebanese army detained on Friday four men, holding British passports, between Zahle's industrial district and Terbol road in the central Bekaa, media reports said.

The four men entered Leb illegally.

The National New Agency described the men as hard boys.

They were allegedly seeking to offer Syrian refugees aid and are residing in Kadri Hotel in Zahle.

Voice of Leb radio (93.3) identified the men as Mohammed Monhaf, Sayyed Nazir, Khalil Batel and Mohammed Norgat.

The four men were taken to the army barracks in Ablah for questioning.
Posted by: Fred || 01/18/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Nusra

#1  no Nigels or Clives.....again. Whoda thunk it
Posted by: Frank G || 01/18/2014 9:57 Comments || Top||

#2  Could have been Elroy of Palestine.
Posted by: Shipman || 01/18/2014 13:31 Comments || Top||


Sidon Man Suspected of Being Hermel Bomber, Only 1 Civilian Killed
[An Nahar] Investigations are underway to determine whether a young man who hails from the southern city of Sidon is the jacket wallah who blew up an explosives-rigged car in the Bekaa town of Hermel, after preliminary investigations revealed that only one person was killed in the kaboom.

"Preliminary investigations -- which are being conducted by security agencies under the supervision of State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr -- have revealed that only one person was martyred in the Hermel Square bombing that occurred yesterday," state-run National News Agency reported.

"Human remains belonging to the driver of the booby-trapped car were also found and a sketch has been created and distributed to media outlets in a bid to identify him," NNA added.

It said it is still unclear whether the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber or that the car was blown up without the driver's knowledge.

The agency later reported that the army's intelligence directorate has summoned "the mother of H. Ghandour, who was born in Sidon, to perform DNA tests on suspicion that he is the Hermel suicide bomber."

"The army's intelligence directorate is interrogating the sister of Lebanese national Hasan Gh., 20, who is suspected of being the Hermel suicide bomber," al-Jadeed television reported earlier on Friday.

"He was a resident of Sidon's al-Fawwar area and he left his home 4 months ago," it said.

LBCI television said "security agencies have created a sketch of the suspected Hermel suicide bomber according to the testimonies of the witnesses."

"DNA tests showed that one person was killed during the Hermel blast and that all the human remains at the scene belonged to the suicide bomber and the victim Hussein Omar," it added.
Posted by: Fred || 01/18/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Nusra


Report: Army Seizes Detonators from 6 Syrians in Bekaa
[An Nahar] The Lebanese army incarcerated
Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try!
on Friday several Syrians for the possession of detonators in the eastern Bekaa Valley, Voice of Leb radio (93.3) reported.

VDL quoted sources as saying that the arrest of the six suspects was made during a raid in the central Bekaa town of al-Rafid.

Some of the suspects admitted to have entered Leb illegally and of being in contact with security and military leaders in the Syrian opposition.

The sources refused to divulge more information on the alleged targets of the six Syrians.
Posted by: Fred || 01/18/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Nusra


Fierce Clashes in Tripoli after Jabal Mohsen Resident Killed in al-Qobbeh
[An Nahar] Fierce festivities erupted in the northern city of 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...
on Friday afternoon following the death of a Jabal Mohsen resident by gunfire.

"Sounds of gunfire shots were heard in Tripoli as sniper activity was recorded between (the city's neighborhoods of) Jabal Mohsen and Bab al-Tabbaneh," the state-run National News Agency reported.

Hand grenades were also hurled on several fighting frontiers like Syria street, Baal Al-Darawish, Talaat al-Omari, the vegetable market and Souq al-Qameh, the NNA added.

Friday's festivities erupted after Taleb Assi,who hails from Jabal Mohsen, died of his wounds after being hit with gunshots in the northern region of al-Qobbeh.

Assi was pronounced dead at al-Sayyida Hospital in the northern city of Zgharta.

The NNA noted that army troops present in the North responded to the sources of fire.
Posted by: Fred || 01/18/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Miss me yet, Muammar?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 01/18/2014 4:16 Comments || Top||

#2  Seems simple, Immediate execution, followed by cremation, anybody mentioning His name s a "Martyr" Gets the same treatment.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 01/18/2014 18:45 Comments || Top||



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Two weeks of WOT
Sat 2014-01-18
  Suicide Bomb Rocks Downtown Kabul
Fri 2014-01-17
  Car Bomb Kills 3, Hurts Dozens in Hermel, 'al-Nusra in Lebanon' Claims Attack
Thu 2014-01-16
  Syria Opposition Says Army Attacked Rebels with Poison Gas
Wed 2014-01-15
  Sharia begins in Libya
Tue 2014-01-14
  Three militants gunned down in Sopore encounter
Mon 2014-01-13
  Iran, world powers agree to nuclear deal terms
Sun 2014-01-12
  Djotodia seeks exile in Benin
Sat 2014-01-11
  Tribes, Police Retake Parts of Iraq's Ramadi
Fri 2014-01-10
  At Least 45 Syrian Rebels Killed in Homs Regime Ambush
Thu 2014-01-09
  'Prisoners Executed by Jihadists' in Syria's Aleppo
Wed 2014-01-08
  34 jihadists dead after rebel clashes in Syria's Idlib
Tue 2014-01-07
  10-Year Old Girl With Suicide Vest Detained in Helmand
Mon 2014-01-06
  ISIL Jihadists Kill at Least 50 Rebels in North Syria
Sun 2014-01-05
  Fallujah residents flee, fearing major battle
Sat 2014-01-04
  Majid al-Majid pegs out in custody

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