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Area: WoT Background    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix   
Iran sends forces to Iraq as ISIS militants press forward
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 1: WoT Operations
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Page 2: WoT Background
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Page 3: Non-WoT
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Page 4: Opinion
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Page 6: Politix
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Good morning
Posted by: Fred || 06/14/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Afghanistan
U.S. Transfers 12 Detainees out of Afghan Prison
[An Nahar] A U.S. official said Thursday the United States has repatriated a dozen inmates from a secretive military prison in Afghanistan where foreign terror suspects have been held for years without trial.

A French national, a Kuwaiti and 10 Pak detainees were sent back to their home countries last month from the Parwan prison, the defense official told Agence La Belle France Presse.

The move left 38 non-Afghan detainees at the prison.

The Defense Department notified Congress of the transfer 10 days beforehand, the official added.

President Barack Obama
I've now been in 57 states -- I think one left to go...
's administration faces legal difficulties at the Parwan center similar to those posed by the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

In both cases, U.S. authorities suspect detainees have terror links but often lack sufficient evidence to try them in court and are reluctant to release them.

The B.O. regime is trying to shut down the Guantanamo and Parwan prisons as it seeks to draw a line under the extraordinary legal measures adopted in the wake of the September 11 attacks.

The move at Parwan came amid controversy over a prisoner swap involving the release of a U.S. soldier captured by Afghan gunnies and five Talibs held at Guantanamo.
Posted by: Fred || 06/14/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda

#1  I presume they were released to their Unicorn families?
Posted by: Uncle Phester || 06/14/2014 0:10 Comments || Top||

#2  Sneaking them out on a Friday, typical underhanded approach from that fucking coward Obama.
Posted by: OldSpook || 06/14/2014 1:52 Comments || Top||

#3  The Parwan Detention Facility sits adjacent the runway at Bagram Air Base. Champ is attempting to ensure a Taliban attack to free the detainees at Bagram does not happen. If Bagram is overrun, his AFG withdrawl program is seriously in the kak! And no, I don't believe Champ's plans include a "residule force" of any kind.
Posted by: Besoeker || 06/14/2014 2:23 Comments || Top||


Africa Horn
Ethiopian military convoy raided in Bakool
According to news reports from the Bakool region, a convoy belonging to Ethiopian troops under the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) was attacked as it was passing by Waajid town.

After the attack, the Ethiopian soldiers fought with the armed fighters for hours, residents reported. Two battlewagons of the convoy were destroyed although fatalities to the soldiers are still unknown.

The convoy was attacked as the troops were transferring to Waajid town in Bakool region after they withdrew from Baidoa in Bay region.

Many towns in central and south Somalia have recently blockaded with skirmishes erupting between militias and government troops.
Posted by: Steve White || 06/14/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Sudan Opposition Chief's Daughters Held at Demo
[An Nahar] Sudanese police on Friday detained four daughters of opposition leader Sadiq al-Mahdi as they violently broke up a protest demanding freedom for political prisoners, his party said.

"Police used violence and tossed in the calaboose
Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit!
17 people including four daughters of Umma party leader Sadiq al-Mahdi," party secretary general Sarra Naqdallah told Agence La Belle France Presse.

Mahdi himself, a former prime minister, was arrested on May 17 after he reportedly accused the counter-insurgency Rapid Support Forces of rape and other abuses of civilians in the Darfur region of western Sudan.

Since his arrest, several pro-Mahdi demonstrations have been held, and his Umma party has decided to quit the "national dialogue."

Mahdi is under investigation on charges of treason, and could be sentenced to death if convicted.

Journalists in Sudan were banned from investigating or publishing information about his arrest.

The RSF operates under the authority of the National Intelligence and Security Service and has denied Mahdi's reported claims.
Posted by: Fred || 06/14/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Sudan


Africa North
AQIM claim Tunisia attacks
[MAGHAREBIA] Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb on Friday (June 13th) grabbed credit for last month's attack on the home of Tunisia's interior minister, AFP reported.

The fighters went to the Kasserine home of Lotfi Ben Jeddou on May 27th to "cut off his head", AQIM said in a statement posted on a jihadist internet forum. Ben Jeddou, who was not in the house, "got away this time, but he won't the next", the statement said.

Four coppers were killed in the attack.
Posted by: Fred || 06/14/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in North Africa


ISIS menace al-Qaeda in Derna
[MAGHAREBIA] A Libyan jihadist just home from Syria was rubbed out in Derna this week during a feud between rival terror groups.

The al-Battar Brigade, which is affiliated with 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...
(ISIS), issued a statement on Monday (June 9th) saying that heads would be cut off, stomachs slit and Libya filled with graves to avenge Mahdi Saad Abu al-Abyadh al-Gaithi.

Al-Ghaithi was killed in a clash with the Abu Slim Martyrs Brigade, inflaming the conflict between the jihadist groups.

"The people of Derna are disempowered," said Tahani Obeidi, a 28 year old housewife. "Most hope that the army enters Derna to save them from the pressure they are suffering at the hands of the terrorists."

"Takfiri
...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who most be killed...
sts are in control and [we] fear liquidations," she added.

For his part, media figure Mahmud Shammam described bad boy groups as "forces of darkness and evil".

"They are afraid of ballot boxes, and thus use their religious power represented by the mufti to encourage suicide operations," he said.

"ISIS and Jabhat al-Nusra and Ansar al-Sharia
...a Salafist militia which claims it is not part of al-Qaeda, even though it works about the same and for the same ends. There are groups of the same name in Libya, Tunisia and Yemen, with the Libyan and Tunisian versions currently most active...
are trying to push us into the abyss, but the Libyan people will not allow them to do so," Shammam added.

On the other hand, Ramzi Yusef, a member of Ansar al-Sharia said, "The group of al-Battar, the word refers to one of the names of the sword an affiliate of Ansar al-Sharia. It was founded in Syria and all its members are from Libya. They are the fiercest because they do not negotiate but just act. "

He affirmed that it was a group trained in weapons and specialising in suicide kabooms, bombings, and liquidations that they learned in Syria.

According to local residents, the threat to Libyan civilians from the rival bad boy groups is not just violence.

"A family next door with eight maidens of tender years was forced to escape to Benghazi in August," engineer Firas al-Mansouri, 32, told Magharebia. "The father was afraid and moved, to get away from bad boy groups that marry off Libyan girls to al-Qaeda, against their parents' will."

"The Abu Salim brigade is another form of al-Qaeda and Ansar are the same as ISIS," al-Mansouri added.
Posted by: Fred || 06/14/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Ansar al-Sharia

#1  Jets vs. Sharks from West Side Story.

Where is my popcorn....
Posted by: Squinty || 06/14/2014 0:42 Comments || Top||

#2  Whats remarkable is this - think how nuts the ISIL is considering Al Qaeda kicked them out for being too extreme!
Posted by: OldSpook || 06/14/2014 1:54 Comments || Top||


Checkpoint near Benghazi targeted in suicide attack, one killed
[Iraq Sun] A jacket wallah driving a boom-mobile hit a police post outside the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, killing at least one person and wounding five coppers, officials said Thursday.

The boom-mobile went kaboom! Wednesday evening in Barsis, 50 km east of the port city, security service spokesperson Ibrahim Al-Sharaa said.

Sharaa said that the car was driven at a very high speed before explosives were detonated at the check post, run by forces belonging to renegade General Khalifa Haftar.

Haftar is currently leading a military campaign against Benghazi's Islamist militia brigades.

Rooters quoted an unnamed army official as saying that "there are body parts spread all over ...so we first thought two people had been killed".

Police officer Khaled Al-Agouri said the attack happened when the bomber "drove a refrigerated lorry which he went kaboom! upon arrival at the post".

He said there are human remains at the site but it is not yet definite whether they all belong to the bomber or if there are other fatalities, too.

Media reports citing station commander Suleiman Al-Agouri confirmed the death of the unknown bomber.

He said that five of his officers had been injured during the attack.

Al-Agouri said there had been a large amount of explosives in the car. "The kaboom created a big crater" in the ground, he said.

This was the second attack since December last year at the checkpoint. The attack in December left 13 people dead.
Posted by: Fred || 06/14/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Ansar al-Sharia


1000s of Egyptians hold anti-government rallies
[Iran Press TV] Clashes have broken out in Egypt as tens of thousands of Moslem Brüderbund supporters join rallies to protest against the army-backed government.

Major cities in Egypt became the scene of violent festivities on Friday as people gathered to condemn the judiciary for handing death penalties and lengthy jail sentences to Moslem Brüderbund members.

The demonstrations were held at the request of Egypt's Anti-Coup Alliance, led by the Moslem Brüderbund, which has called for a weeklong protest starting from Friday under the slogan "Freedom for Egypt".

In the capital Cairo, security forces fired teargas and birdshot to disperse protesters.

Several people were reportedly locked away
... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not...
in the crackdown and a number of others were maimed in the city of Giza and in the Nile Delta.

Meanwhile,
...back at the Council of Boskone, Helmuth ordered the entire 614th quadrant searched. The Green Lensman must be found!...
a police officer was killed as security forces tried to break up a rally in Cairo's southern district of Maadi.

Tensions in Egypt have been running high since the former defense minister, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, won the presidential election in May.
Posted by: Fred || 06/14/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring

#1  Y'know, there was a reason why Paris' streets were relaid in a grid fashion.

Much easier for stationing cannon.
Posted by: Pappy || 06/14/2014 3:09 Comments || Top||

#2  Washington has better avenues of fire.
Posted by: Shipman || 06/14/2014 7:04 Comments || Top||

#3  Any ties, other than Muzzie insanity, between the MoBro and ISIS/L?
Posted by: AlanC || 06/14/2014 8:49 Comments || Top||

#4  Washington has better avenues of fire

Washington's streets were also laid out by a Frenchman.
Posted by: Pappy || 06/14/2014 12:25 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
North Waziristan empties out as foreign fighters flee
[DAWN] Some of the world's most feared snuffies are quietly slipping away from the North Wazoo tribal region in anticipation of a long-rumoured military operation, raising questions about the effectiveness of such intervention.

The exodus from the mountainous district on the Afghan border began in late May following air strikes by the Pak military, locals said.

But it has been hastened by the Taliban's all-night siege 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...
airport this week, which all but destroyed a tentative grinding of the peace processor.

On Wednesday night two US drone strikes hit the region killing at least 16 in the first such attack this year, fueling suspicion of coordination between the two countries, with Islamabad's patience for talks seemingly exhausted.

But as pressure builds for a fuller response to the airport assault, which was joined by snuffies from Uzbekistan, residents and officials in North Waziristan's main town of Miranshah
... headquarters of al-Qaeda in Pakistain and likely location of Ayman al-Zawahiri. The Haqqani network has established a ministate in centered on the town with courts, tax offices and lots of madrassas...
said the majority of foreign and local fighters had already left.

"Most of them have gone deep into the mountains towards the Afghan border," a security bigshot said.

The locals said turban groups were also seen escaping from villages that are a known hub of the dreaded Haqqani network, an Al-Qaeda affiliate known for its spectacular attacks against US forces in Afghanistan.
Posted by: Fred || 06/14/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Pakistan

#1  "Knock knock! Mighty Pak Army here"
"Nobody's home"
"Hokay"
Posted by: Frank G || 06/14/2014 9:50 Comments || Top||


UN vehicle reported snatched in Karachi
[DAWN] A double cabin vehicle of the United Nations
...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships...
was snatched in 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, whereas six people were reported injured in two separate incident in the city, DawnNews reported. Moreover, two alleged members of a banned group were also taken into custody here by law enforcement personnel.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 06/14/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  better not have been a crew cab F-150. Bastards!

Drink up!
Posted by: Frank G || 06/14/2014 9:51 Comments || Top||

#2 

glug glug glug
It's LeMans Saturday!
Posted by: Shipman || 06/14/2014 10:25 Comments || Top||


Iraq
Lots of current Iraq video at this link
Posted by: 3dc || 06/14/2014 12:19 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Good summary of what's going on.
Posted by: JohnQC || 06/14/2014 13:41 Comments || Top||


Kurdish Forces are Pushing Back Against ISIS, Gaining Ground Around Mosul
In the wake of the catastrophic collapse of Iraqi forces in Mosul, Kurdish Peshmerga have moved decisively into positions west of the city to prevent more war material from falling into the hands of ISIS.

The only road from the Kurdish city of Duhok, north of Mosul, to Sinjar, west of the city, has been opened with the Peshmerga now occupying the Sunni Arab town of Rabiah on the Syrian border. An unknown number of Syrian Kurdish forces from the PYD, a Syrian Kurdish party, reportedly crossed the border into Iraq in a show of solidarity with their Kurdish brethren against their common enemy ISIS. The border is said to be completely open south of Sinjar but the Peshmerga are reportedly attempting to construct a barrier south of Sinjar to prevent further ISIS incursions.

The forces at Tal Afar also took control of the city's airport--known as FOB Sykes when US forces controlled it--and secured the helicopters stationed there.

The Peshmerga have also seized the Iraqi base known as Al Kasik located between Mosul and Tal Afar after the Iraqi Army fled, to prevent more war material from winding up in the hands of ISIS. Iraqi Army vehicles recovered by the Peshmerga are immediately being moved north, repainted with Kurdish insignia, and entering the Peshmerga's inventory.
For those not knowledgeable, the term Peshmerga is a Kurdish term meaning "Those who confront death" - its a traditional Kurdish term for all their military forces, So no, these aren't splinter groups or "terrorists" as the Turks might want people to believe. Right now, they are the only effective military force in the north of the country thats stoping the ISIL and even in places, rolling them back. If the US wants some people to provide support to, these would be the ones.
Posted by: OldSpook || 06/14/2014 02:18 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  FYI, the Peshmerga operate battalion sized formations, including a few heavies that have T-62/72 MBTs, BMP1 AFVs, and BRDM scouts, 2S1 SP Arty, and D30 howitzers. The Kurds took full advantage of rearming themselves after OIF. And better yet, they are well led and relatively well trained with several hundred hours on their heavy weapon systems. Allegedly they also are operating MI-8/MI-17 air assault/transport and OH-58 scout/AT helicopters.

They also benefit from a decade of liaison with US 10th group SF for training & leadership and operations, prior to OIF, and a lot of strong support for, and from, US forces in Iraq prior to the Obama bug-out in 2011. Plus, this is their home region.
Posted by: OldSpook || 06/14/2014 2:45 Comments || Top||

#2  Thanks for the info OS. I just hope the Turks stay out of it.
Posted by: Besoeker || 06/14/2014 2:47 Comments || Top||

#3  I Back the Kurds. Never turn your backs on them again.
Posted by: newc || 06/14/2014 2:51 Comments || Top||

#4  How likely is that, newc?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 06/14/2014 4:23 Comments || Top||

#5  Grom good point. If I were the Kurds I would not trust the US at all as long as that asshole Obama is in office.

Posted by: OldSpook || 06/14/2014 6:27 Comments || Top||

#6  As you are no doubt aware, the Kurds are quite familiar with Western betrayal.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the division of Kurdistan amongst Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey is the direct result of Western collusion in pursuit of its colonial and neo-colonial goals. Kurdistan could not have been divided if it were not for the hypocrisy and duplicity of the Western superpowers. After more than nine decades in allowing these racist nations to subject the Kurds to the policy of genocide, one could say it is about time for the Western powers, especially America to revisit their outdated policies vis-ŕ-vis the Kurds and correct them by supporting independence of Kurdistan. Additionally, Americans’ first-hand experience with the Arabs in Iraq since 2003 has proven more often than not that, it is not easy to establish a working relationship with the Iraqi Arab society due to the deep sectarian and ideological division, and the chauvinistic and myopic political culture. Therefore, it is in the interests of the Western nations to support independence of the people of Kurdistan. It is important that the Western political mentality rises above the paranoia created by the regional countries against the Kurdish statehood. Future reality will prove that to stabilize the larger Middle East is to support Kurdish independence. It is the only just solution. This eventually enables America to remain in the region in this beautiful island in peace and tranquility while saluted by the loyal and friendly people of Kurdistan.
Posted by: Besoeker || 06/14/2014 7:17 Comments || Top||

#7  Michael Totten wrote about the shocking difference between what he saw of the Iraqi Kurds when he finally visitied them, starting from the Turkish side of their border crossing, in Where The West Ends. Clean, organized, civil, safe... and immediately fond of, and trusting, the Americans that happened in their midst, even as impulsive tourists crossing over from Turkey in a rather disheveled state and incomplete paperwork. I have only read the kindle sample so far, but as I am referencing it in conversation, thought I ought to pause to purchase the thing. ;-) So as to have other bots to quote, as appropriate. He clearly could top even Mr. Wife's travel stories, a very good thing indeed.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/14/2014 7:26 Comments || Top||

#8  This is half of the reason that Iran QUDs has go an oar in the water now, because the Kurds have been successful in fighting ISIS. The Kurdistan that the Pershmurga is campaigning for includes a swath of southern Turkey, northern Iraq, and northern Iran. According to the maps the way the Kurds draw them, everything from Tabriz to Tehran is part of the Kurdish homeland. As you can imagine, the government of Iran takes exception to this picture.
The other main reason QUDs is involved is Sadr and his group are still in east Baghdad, Sadr City being on the east bank of the Tigris and, they're basically the forward observation post for the Iranian frontier.
Posted by: ed in texas || 06/14/2014 7:47 Comments || Top||

#9  Quds involved because of Ayatollah Ali Sistani - he still has direct and close ties to the Shia clerics in Iran. And Sistani is the biggest Shia cleric in Iraq, even Tater is subordinate to him. So if Sistani calls for help, Iran will send it.

See my other post on the burg about Sistani's call to arms
Posted by: OldSpook || 06/14/2014 8:18 Comments || Top||

#10  Ed, that;s the beauty of it. Give the Kurds their homeland, and you cut the nuts off Turkey (payback is a bitch, Erdogan), and lop a slice of northern and western Iran that is 75-100% Kurdish. And you get a westernized society that is fiercely independent, and very aware of just how fragile freedom is. And also predisposed to being friendly to the US, thanks to the No Fly zone and our treatment of them during OIF.

Posted by: OldSpook || 06/14/2014 8:30 Comments || Top||

#11  Needs a seaport OS, I suggest Latakia.
Posted by: Shipman || 06/14/2014 9:20 Comments || Top||

#12  so ISIL/S has moved towards Baghdad. Didn't leave an occupying-level force behind? Thy don't have enough crazies
Posted by: Frank G || 06/14/2014 9:53 Comments || Top||

#13  Frank, remember this from earlier in the year?

Syrian opposition group unveils Assad, ISIS linkage.

If so, it explains how ISIS can be so lean, and not have to worry about being there for the Long Haul. They're just there to do enough to justify the Quds force presence in Iraq.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 06/14/2014 10:11 Comments || Top||

#14  Don't F*** with the Kurds
Posted by: bbrewer126 || 06/14/2014 11:17 Comments || Top||

#15  I'll second that, Saddam stayed out of Kurdistan except for his WMD exploits.

The Kurds are well armed, have a large Christian component AND don't like Arabs or Turks.
Posted by: Bill Clinton || 06/14/2014 11:49 Comments || Top||

#16  The Kurds have a history of making things happen in government. The govt of Iraq p*ssed away the gift that the US made to them, and the sacrifices our military made for Iraq. Iran and Turkey need to have some reality bites where it hurts.

Good luck to the Kurds. They deserve good luck.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 06/14/2014 12:05 Comments || Top||

#17 
Posted by: 3dc || 06/14/2014 12:21 Comments || Top||

#18  During OIF, US Soldiers walked unarmed in Kurdish towns. I have seen a picture of a US Enlisted Soldier's Re-Up ceremony occurring in such a town.
Posted by: TopRev || 06/14/2014 13:34 Comments || Top||

#19  Walter you got rare footage of Young Elvis with Heavy Machine Gun. Should be on black velvet.

I think this was an out take from Pioneer Go Home.
Posted by: Shipman || 06/14/2014 14:21 Comments || Top||

#20  The Kurds could not be happier right now. They've expanded their front yard. Soon can start taking crude orders, while sitting back and watching their two hated enemies have at it.Now if only a western nation with a leader that has a spine, would get and hold their back. Anyone know of a government like that?
Posted by: bbrewer126 || 06/14/2014 16:33 Comments || Top||

#21  Anyone know of a government like that?

Israel. The Kurds have oil money. Israel has the region's preeminent military. I know that Kurd's are Muslim but wouldn't that be one heck of a way to thumb your nose at the Jihadist?

Israel sells military gear to India. "Kurdistan" is a shorter trip.
Posted by: Squinty || 06/14/2014 17:04 Comments || Top||

#22 
Needs a seaport OS, I suggest Latakia.


Stretch their territory north to the southern coast of the Black Sea. Give them Trabzon.
Posted by: Rob Crawford || 06/14/2014 21:43 Comments || Top||

#23  http://news.yahoo.com/video/raw-kurds-clash-isil-iraq-094818427.html
Posted by: OldSpook || 06/14/2014 22:20 Comments || Top||


Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani issues call to arms against ISIL
[Sistani's mosque speech Friday] stated the defense of the country "against those terrorists" was a "sacred goal," and that anyone who died fighting to that end "will be a martyr"

His words Friday marked a radical departure for a man who has played a powerful hand in shaping Iraqi politics, but has typically urged Iraqi Shiites to resist provocation to sectarian bloodshed.
I half expect Tater and his militia to start gunning up, along side all the other Shia militias. And a healthy sprinkling of Iranian Quds force, given that Sistani has a hotline to Tehran
Posted by: OldSpook || 06/14/2014 01:33 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Iraq should have been divided if we were not going to stay and help keep it united. Kurdistan is cut off, and on its own - and doing quite well because the Kurds never trust anyone. The Shi will have Iran to help them. Leaving the SUnnis to the tender mercies of the Slafists and Wahabbis. Your move Saudi Arabia - you let these wild animals loose and backed their philosophy. We, the US, for better or worse, have turned tail and run like our cowardly nacissist in chief wanted to do all along.
Posted by: OldSpook || 06/14/2014 1:48 Comments || Top||

#2  The US is missing a tremendous opportunity to secure the independence of Iraqi Kurdistan, which could be joined by a portion of northeastern Syria. Two weeks ago a shipmet of 1m barrels of Kurdistan oil was sent from Turkish port to Europe. Certainly, an independent Kurdistan would be landlocked, but daily there are scores of commercial flights out of Irbil to the Middle East and Europe. They are a stong indication that a Kurdish economy will flourish if oil shipments continue, the Peshmerga continues to be strengthened, and if Baghdad (and Damascus) stay the hell out of the way.
Posted by: Omolump Thud8081 || 06/14/2014 10:36 Comments || Top||

#3  Such a move would alienate both the Turks and the Persians, not to mention what remains of Iraq. We simply can't have that Omo.
Posted by: Besoeker || 06/14/2014 11:15 Comments || Top||

#4  The Turks would put an end to an independent Kurdistan in less than a day. They simply won't tolerate it. The map posted earlier shows that the eastern 1/3 of Turkey is Kurdish majority. If Iraqi Kurdistan/NE Syrian Kurdistan come together as a state, the Kurds in Turkey will stage an open rebellion to join in. The Turks won't have it.
Posted by: Steve White || 06/14/2014 14:35 Comments || Top||

#5  If the Turks won't have it, as you put it, why has their Prime Minister begun to use the term Kerdistan when discussing the movement of Kurdistan oil through Turkey to Europe. Turkey may never condone the excision of its Kurdish lands but it doesn't mind dealing with Irbil. And it has shown no objection to the potential incorporation of easternmost Syria's Kurdish lands in the Kurdistan of Iraq. And it sure as hell looks forward to more oil to arrive in Turkey through a pipeline built by Iraqi Kurdistan -- and not the Iraqi state. The times are a'changin.
Posted by: Omolump Thud8081 || 06/14/2014 20:55 Comments || Top||

#6  Kurdish Oil money has a way of greasing palms of politicians in Istanbul.
Posted by: OldSpook || 06/14/2014 22:25 Comments || Top||


Maliki Says Operation to Clear Cities of 'Terrorists' Has Begun
[An Nahar] Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki
... Prime Minister of Iraq and the secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party. Maliki imposed order on Basra wen the Shiites were going nuts, but has proven incapable of dealing with al-Qaeda's Sunni insurgency. Reelected to his third term in 2014...
said Friday Iraqi security forces have begun clearing cities of "terrorists" who seized swathes of territory and brought the military to the point of collapse.

Security forces "began their work to clear all our dear cities from these terrorists," Maliki said in a statement.

Maliki spoke from the embattled city of Samarra where he arrived Friday for a security meeting.

Militants attacked the city, located 110 kilometers (70 miles) north of Storied Baghdad, earlier in the week, and witnesses said they were readying for another assault on Friday.

The city houses the revered Shiite al-Askari shrine, which was bombed by snuffies in 2006, sparking a bloody Sunni-Shiite sectarian war that killed tens of thousands.

A major bully boy offensive, spearheaded by powerful jihadist group 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...
, has overrun all of one province and chunks of three more since Monday.

Security forces have so far failed to halt the push, with some abandoning their vehicles and positions and discarding their uniforms.

Earlier on Friday, Iraqi forces clashed with snuffies advancing on the city of Baquba, just 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of Storied Baghdad.

Security forces were battling snuffies on the outskirts of Muqdadiyah, 35 kilometers (23 miles) northeast of Baquba, police and army officers said.

Baquba is the capital of Diyala province, whose mixed Arab, Kurdish, Sunni and Shiite population has made it a byword for violence ever since the U.S.-led invasion of 2003.

The snuffies have already captured two picturesque provincial capitals this week -- Tikrit in Salaheddin province and second city djinn-infested Mosul
... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn...
in Nineveh.

President Barack Obama
They get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them...
said Washington was examining "all the options" to help Iraq's beleaguered security forces resist the offensive, spearheaded by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), which began in Mosul late on Monday.

Washington has found rare common cause with its longtime foe Tehran, with both voicing dismay at the Sunni Death Eaters' advance and pledging to boost aid to the Shiite-led government.

ISIL front man Abu Mohammed al-Adnani vowed its fighters would press on to the capital and, further south, to the Shiite shrine city of Karbala, visited by millions of pilgrims from around the world each year.

Iraq has meanwhile bolstered Storied Baghdad's defenses as snuffies near the capital pressing an assault launched in second city Mosul, the interior ministry front man said on Friday.

"We put in place a new plan to protect Storied Baghdad," Brigadier General Saad Maan told AFP.

"The plan consists of intensifying the deployment of forces, and increasing intelligence efforts and the use of technology such as (observation) balloons and cameras and other equipment," Maan said.
Posted by: Fred || 06/14/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State of Iraq & the Levant

#1  Maliki had better stay the hell out of Kurdistan. The only effective military force left in the north of Iraq are the Peshmerga, the Kurdish armed forces.
Posted by: OldSpook || 06/14/2014 1:27 Comments || Top||

#2  Al-Maliki isn't clearing anything. If he tries to push into the Sunni areas without the US he will be walking into a buzz-saw.

I agree that Iraq is being partitioned along Kurd, Shia, and Sunni ethnic lines.

Obama has messed up big time.
Posted by: Squinty || 06/14/2014 21:17 Comments || Top||


Iraqis launch airstrikes against ISIL
[Iraq Sun] Iraqi government forces carried out Arclight airstrikes Thursday against fighters from 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...
. The myrmidon group seized several cities from the Iraqi army this week in a move that has caused alarm across the world. Analysts say the myrmidons' advance has called into question the future of the Iraqi state.

Fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) are within 100 kilometers of Storied Baghdad, having taken control of several towns and cities in northern Iraq in recent days. Iraqi army units have abandoned their posts and fled ahead of the myrmidons' advance.

But speaking Thursday, Iraq's foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari, insisted that ISIL forces had been halted north of the capital.

"The situation started to be reversed and the Iraqi security forces have managed to re-organize and to push them back," said Zebari.

ISIL grew out of al-Qaeda in Iraq. Their stated aim is to create a single Sunni Islamic state across the region.

In an audio recording Thursday, ISIL front man Abu Mohammed al-Adnani called for fighters to continue the march to Storied Baghdad.

They are a battle-hardened force, says Shiraz Maher of the International Center for the Study of Radicalization at Kings College London.

"It's really their experience in Syria that has allowed them to generate this head of steam. Foreign fighters came from all over the world to join that conflict. Overwhelmingly they joined ISIL. Now that group has enjoyed a revival in terms of men, money and munitions," said Maher.

Tens of thousands of Iraqi troops abandoned their posts and fled. Loyalty to Storied Baghdad and to the Iraqi state is weak, says Shiraz Maher.
Posted by: Fred || 06/14/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State of Iraq & the Levant

#1  Pix of little girls & their bombed flat kittens at 11?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 06/14/2014 4:28 Comments || Top||

#2  In all of the US dithering, no one has mentioned the existence of US airpower based in the Middle East. Billions were spent on the base at Qatar. What is the situation of the US Al Jaber airbase in Kuwait? Is there anything left? Have we closed it down? What about the NATO base at Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, or the drone operation at Incirlik, Turkey. Is the air power we have situated in the Arab world just for show?
Posted by: Omolump Thud8081 || 06/14/2014 10:48 Comments || Top||

#3  Given that Saudi is the one financing ISIL I doubt that our using air-bases in SA would work out well...same with Qatar...Turkey don't want no part of this.

To do something we'd have to have a leader instead of a traitor calling the shots.
Posted by: AlanC || 06/14/2014 12:08 Comments || Top||


40,000 Iraqis flee Tikrit, Samarra: IOM
[Iran Press TV] Forty-thousand people have escaped violence in the Iraqi cities of Tikrit and Samarra as the army continues fighting Takfiri
...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who most be killed...
faceless myrmidons in the region, says the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

The Geneva-based organization said on Friday that its sources on the ground estimated 40,000 people fled the two cities, after half a million abandoned djinn-infested Mosul
... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn...
earlier.

"Insecurity is spreading across the whole of Iraq and we foresee a protracted humanitarian crisis... It is getting worse by the hour and we do not have the necessary funding to respond adequately," said Mandie Alexander, the IOM emergency coordinator in Storied Baghdad, in a statement.

IOM spokeswoman Christiane Berthiaume also made comments about the situation at a presser in Geneva, saying, "People are on the move and most of them are fleeing the fighting."

"Schools and mosques have been converted into makeshift clinics to tend to the injured and chronically ill," Berthiaume said.

Also on Friday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay expressed concern
...meaning the brow was mildly wrinkled, the eyebrows drawn slightly together, and a thoughtful expression assumed, not that anything was actually done or indeed that any thought was actually expended...
s over summary executions and extra-judicial killings by the al-Qaeda-linked 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), adding that hundreds were probably killed and thousands injured by the violence.

On June 10, the faceless myrmidons took control of Nineveh province, including its bustling provincial capital Mosul, in a lightning advance, forcing "over 500,000 people in and around the city" to flee, according to the IOM.
Posted by: Fred || 06/14/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State of Iraq & the Levant

#1  "we foresee a protracted humanitarian crisis employment opportunity..."
Posted by: Pappy || 06/14/2014 12:31 Comments || Top||


Iran sends forces to Iraq as ISIS militants press forward
[CNN] Emboldened murderous Moslems, backed by Sunni tribal leaders, pushed toward Storied Baghdad on Friday as Iran sent troops to fight alongside government forces. In Washington, increasingly nervous U.S. officials mulled their limited options to help slow the murderous Moslems' advance.

In recent days, Iran has sent about 500 Revolutionary Guard troops to fight alongside Iraqi government security forces in Diyala province, a security bigshot in Storied Baghdad told CNN.

Meanwhile,
...back at the pound, the little lost dog had finished eating the rat terrier...
Sunni tribal leaders have lined up in support of radical Islamists from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, making their push toward Storied Baghdad easier, a Saudi intelligence official told CNN's Nic Robertson.

As Iraq further disintegrated, residents fled Mosul in droves. Militants captured the country's second-largest city this week after soldiers scattered, leaving their uniforms and weapons behind.

Three explosions hit Shiite areas in the capital city Friday evening, killing one person and wounding 20 people, police told CNN. A car bomb also exploded in al-Tarmiya, a Sunni area about 37 miles (60 kilometers) north of Baghdad, killing two civilians and wounding seven others, police officials in Baghdad told CNN.

The spreading violence prompted U.S. President Barack Obama to say the beleaguered government required assistance, but he warned Friday that it would take "several days" for the U.S. to react.

"This is not going to happen overnight," he told reporters.

And, he said, the United States will need assurances from Iraq's government that it will work to find a political solution the crisis.

A senior Obama administration official said Friday that the President has not yet made a decision on whether to act on any military options. But another senior administration official indicated that a decision could come as early as this weekend.
Posted by: Fred || 06/14/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State of Iraq & the Levant

#1  Nero fiddled while Rome burned.

The empty suit, afraid of his anti-war constituency, wrings his hands as he sits on the floor under his desk and snivels at the few options he has.
Posted by: Bill Clinton || 06/14/2014 0:18 Comments || Top||

#2  Why again does he care about any constituency? He is never going to be elected dog catcher after his two terms.
Posted by: Squinty || 06/14/2014 0:46 Comments || Top||

#3  A mauve line has been drawn.
Posted by: Shipman || 06/14/2014 1:52 Comments || Top||

#4  IMO, this shows that even an affirmative action POTUS can make right decisions. Let Sunni & Shia butcher each other to their hearts content.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 06/14/2014 4:32 Comments || Top||

#5  The issue is not Shia vs Sunni, it is the leaders on both sides playing the "great satan" card on the US to deflect criticism of their incompetence, much as the empty suit blames Bush for everyone of his cockups.

When they play the Great Satan card, we get some radical splinter group taking the leader on his word and creating some horrible terrorist attack somewhere.

The greatest problem is Islam covers about 1/3 of the planet and has almost 2 billion followers. We cannot ignore this as strictly an internal struggle, at some point, it will boil over and the non-Muslim west will pay a price for treating it as a neighborhood problem.
Posted by: Bill Clinton || 06/14/2014 11:55 Comments || Top||

#6  Bill, Nero fiddled, but, there are some who claim that he set the fire in the first place.

That's closer to my feeling about the traitor in chief.
Posted by: AlanC || 06/14/2014 12:01 Comments || Top||


200 U.S. contractors surrounded by jihadists in Iraq
WND has learned from sources that the jihadists have closed down escape routes, and the U.S. Air Force is in a stand-down position.
WTF?!
U.S. forces are not assisting even with air cover so a private extradition flight could land for a rescue, the sources said.
Can the Zero admin. + Cankles spin 50x more than they did for Benghazi?
Posted by: Uncle Phester || 06/14/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State of Iraq

#1  Decent intelligence, and say, 3 A-10's starting operations 10 days ago, would have prevented the slaughter that is about to happen.
Posted by: Elmains Speaking for Boskone5165 || 06/14/2014 0:35 Comments || Top||

#2  Im guessing they secretly approve.
Posted by: bright pebbles || 06/14/2014 1:17 Comments || Top||

#3  It was always my belief that all U.S. contractors should be armed. Unfortunately, official 'Arming Memorandums' were very difficult and often impossible to obtain. It will be interesting to see how the contractor issue in Iraq as well as the U.S. State Dept. Embassy situation plays out. This has the potential to make Benghazi look like a very minor situation.
Posted by: Besoeker || 06/14/2014 1:48 Comments || Top||

#4  The guys there piked up the Iraqi Armed abandoned weapons and have held off the mooks so far. But without air support to cover their evac, I dont know if those last 100 will make it out, or end up beheaded as trophies for the ISIL. Not hostages - that fucking coward Obama has already shown he doesn't give a shit about these Americans by denying the air support.
Posted by: OldSpook || 06/14/2014 1:57 Comments || Top||

#5  If any of these Americans perish, even ONE! The worthless, communist SOB should be immediately IMPEACHED !
Posted by: Besoeker || 06/14/2014 2:01 Comments || Top||

#6  The last centurion?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 06/14/2014 4:35 Comments || Top||

#7  Cover your ass letter sent to unamed (until i feel like it)General at Bragg in an attempt to warn them as to what was coming and how they were all getting fucked years in advance of all of this it was never opened! I had a round hat Carpet kneiue bender /corp spook invasion in my hood oil and gas/some of their islam nazi friends that help pad their ss checks!
Posted by: Whulet Shavins7256 || 06/14/2014 5:32 Comments || Top||

#8  You need to take the map room people from 2001 and the one who received the e-mail on the map issue and extract the aoei thing out of them over seas of course for real !
Posted by: Whulet Shavins7256 || 06/14/2014 6:52 Comments || Top||

#9  They are ghouls!
Posted by: Whulet Shavins7256 || 06/14/2014 6:54 Comments || Top||

#10  Afghanistan 34 3 and 4 be it the truth or a lie you people have been played like a fiddle from the start and the dates 32 plus 2 do the math!
Posted by: Whulet Shavins7256 || 06/14/2014 7:00 Comments || Top||

#11  Whoa, yeah. Where 'ya from hub?
Posted by: Shipman || 06/14/2014 7:09 Comments || Top||

#12  MAP OF AFGHANISTAN AEIO! FIRST ATTEMPT AT HEX E THING 16 ! WHATEVER EVERYTIME MAP OF AFGHANISTAN AEIO NO MATTER IF 20,000 POUND BOMB IS DROPPED ON AREA WHO FUCKED THEMSELVES? 20 LETTERS WILL REPEAT EAR DORK LEG HOT COLD YOU GET THE PICTURE RIGHT?
Posted by: Whulet Shavins7256 || 06/14/2014 9:15 Comments || Top||

#13  I got the picture my friend.

(pssst, we got a live one here)
Posted by: Shipman || 06/14/2014 9:22 Comments || Top||

#14  (Not sure Ship. It may be a random word generator.)
Posted by: BrerRabbit || 06/14/2014 9:58 Comments || Top||

#15  If that's the case Barb, it's Fred, and Fred working on AI is, well, frankly, (can I say that here?) terrifying. Altho everyone needs a hobby I guess.
Posted by: Shipman || 06/14/2014 10:28 Comments || Top||

#16  Ugh, sorry, Herr Hare, my eyesight and sight reading wiring measured me up.
Posted by: Shipman || 06/14/2014 10:30 Comments || Top||

#17  Guys, if you would be so kind as to translate the agitated Whulet Shavins7256 for me? It is not clear what my response should be. I can handle JosephMendiola on my own, but this is quite beyond me.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/14/2014 11:32 Comments || Top||

#18  Only Joe M has a license on this site to use screaming all caps, Whulet. Lighten up, Francis.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 06/14/2014 12:10 Comments || Top||

#19  I can figure out Joe. This guy is nucking futs.
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 06/14/2014 17:09 Comments || Top||

#20 
Posted by: swksvolFF || 06/14/2014 20:22 Comments || Top||

#21  at least some of them have been rescued by the Iraq air force as of a few minutes ago
Posted by: lord garth || 06/14/2014 22:57 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Israel In Touch With US, PA As Hunt For Missing Teens Continues
[Ynet] Three Israeli youths disappeared Thursday night in West Bank, prompting abduction fears; Kerry in touch with Abbas and Netanyahu; ISIL claims responsibility for kidnap.

Israeli security officials were in touch with Paleostinian Authority counterparts on Friday as part of a massive manhunt for three Israeli teens who went missing in the West Bank on Thursday night.

Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, who is in London for an international conference on war crimes, held talks with US Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry
Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State...
about the disappearance of the teens, one of whom holds American citizenship, and asked him to push the PA to work for the release of the three.

A bigwig at the State Department said Friday that Kerry had discussed the issue with Paleostinian President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas
... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial...
, and had afterwards spoken to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The prime minister said earlier Friday that Abbas was responsible for the safe return of the three, and blamed the formation of the new Paleostinian unity government for the situation.

"We are following the reports and are very concerned for (the teens') safety," said the official. "We are working with the Israeli government and Paleostinian Authority in order to reach a speedy conclusion and reunite the three youths with their families." The US is supporting full cooperation between the two sides, he added.

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who is currently on a tour of Africa states, has received updates on the situation from the prime minister and defense chiefs.

Meanwhile,
...back at the the conspirators' cleverly concealed hideout the long-awaited message arrived. They quickly got to work with their decoder rings...
a member of the Fatah Central Committee, Mohammed Madani, on Friday evening denounced Netanyahu for his rhetoric blaming the PA for the suspected abduction.

"Israeli efforts should focus on finding the three youths instead of spreading blame and placing responsibility on a great number of factors," said Madani, who has responsibility for contact with the Israel public. "Netanyahu placing blame on the PA is incitement and cheap exploitation given that there is no justification for this, and aims to score political points."

He added that, "The PA has in the past returned dozens of Israelis who mistakenly entered the West Bank. We greatly hope that these youths will be returned safely home. The Paleostinian security establishment is making every effort to help find the youths."

A Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, online forum on Friday night carried the claim that the al-Qaeda linked Islamic State in Syria and the Levant (ISIL) were responsible for seizing the three youths.

"Praise be to Allah, through him our Jihad fighters managed to abduct three Zionist settlers in Hebron in the occupied West Bank," a statement on the forum said. "The action was an initial response to the liquidation of Hebron jihad fighters Mohammed Nuriah, Mahmoud a-Najar and Moussa Muh'amra and as part of attempts to free the priosoners from the occupation jails." The validity of the claim could not be verified, however.

Netanyahu was to hold conference call with defense officials at around 11pm on Friday night, including Defense Ministry officials, IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz and Shin Bet Director Yoram Cohen.

IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Motti Almoz told news hounds at a short briefing Friday night that he had no further information on developments.

"I am coming here from a General Staff situation assessment to update the chief of staff on the direction of operations," Almoz said.

"Due to the sensitivity of the intelligence, I cannot divulge intelligence information. The IDF and the entire defense establishment, Military Intelligence and Shin Bet are doing everything they can to get the boys back. Operations in Judea and Samaria requires sensitive intelligence, I call on everyone to be patient. "
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/14/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Considering recent events, I'm sure it seems good business to have an American in inventory.
Posted by: Uncle Phester || 06/14/2014 0:27 Comments || Top||


Islamic Jihad Detainees Dig Tunnel In Prison Escape Attempt
[Ynet] Israel Prison Service discovers four-meter-long tunnel in cell bathroom; after prison-wide search, guards discover fake uniform in cell of Fatah detainee.

Security detainees tried to escape Shita Prison in northern Israel by digging a four-meter-long tunnel from a cell bathroom. The cell in which the tunnel was found housed Islamic Jihad
...created after many members of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat. They worked out of Gaza until they were exiled to Lebanon in 1987, where they clove tightly to Hezbollah. In 1989 they moved to Damascus, where they remain a subsidiary of Hezbollah...
prisoners -- some serving life sentences.

The search which discovered the tunnel in the security wing of the prison was initiated after the prisoner's management received information about a potential attack on guards.

During a search of the bathrooms, in one of the cells that house prisoners sentenced to life terms, guards discovered the opening of a tunnel that was hidden with tiles. The guards explored the tunnel, discovering it was four meters in length and half a meter in width.

Israel Prison Service said that it appeared the tunnel had been dug up in recent days. They added that the tunnel led to a yard of the wing, but was exposed before it could reach beyond the prison's perimeter.

The prison went on high alert after the discovery and large contingents of guards began a prison-wide sweep. During the sweep guards discovered civilian clothing which was altered to resemble a guard uniform in a wing housing Fatah prisoners.

Israel Prison Service insignia, cut out of cardboard and colored in with toothpaste, were glued on to the clothing. Prison management decided to clear the entire wing in order to conduct a thorough search.

Police said that, given the IPS findings, they are investigating any connection between the tunnel and other findings from other cells. IPS said "we thwarted a planned escape and attack on personnel by security detainees."
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/14/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic Jihad

#1  SPOILER ALERT!
Bronson, Coburn and Willie
Posted by: Shipman || 06/14/2014 2:00 Comments || Top||

#2  Palestinians, Homo Subteranus. Left to their own devices they always dig down.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 06/14/2014 4:25 Comments || Top||

#3  Shita Prison Blues™
Posted by: Frank G || 06/14/2014 10:00 Comments || Top||


Masked Palestinian Rioters Hurl Stones At Police On Temple Mount
You will perhaps recall, dear Reader, the article posted here recently that laid out how Hamas hired "students" to "study" on the Temple Mount, said studies being mostly practicums in stone throwing and other methods in attacking the Jews.
[Ynet] Eight rioters incarcerated
Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please!
during clash at Mughrabi Bridge at the end of Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa mosque.

About 20 masked Paleostinians hurled stones at police forces at the Mughrabi Bridge at the end of Friday prayers on the Temple Mount.

Police forces managed to push the masked men into the Al-Aqsa Mosque, restored calm to the area and the dispersion of the worshippers from the complex continued as normal.

Eight of the stone throwers have been arrested.

Two weeks ago, the Temple Mount was closed for visitors following rioting of masked Paleostinians, who were throwing stones at policeman and civilians and barricaded themselves in the Al-Aqsa mosque. One policeman was lightly maimed from a stone that hit him. The incident occurred a day before Jerusalem Day, that went on as normal despite tensions.

Early June, the Jordanian government protested to the Israeli Foreign Ministry the fact Mohammedan worshippers were prevented from entering the Temple Mount complex. The Jordanian Foreign Ministry said Israel must take the necessary steps to stop the violation of worshippers' rights.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/14/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Hamas

#1  Need a national rock registry it seems.
Posted by: Shipman || 06/14/2014 2:02 Comments || Top||

#2  start with Assault Rocks. Especially the scary black ones
Posted by: Frank G || 06/14/2014 10:02 Comments || Top||

#3  Rock Paper Rifle
Posted by: Shipman || 06/14/2014 10:33 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Militants in Arsal Set up Islamic Law as al-Nusra Front 'Green Brigade' Holds Sway
[An Nahar] The situation along the Lebanese-Syrian border, especially near the outskirts of the Bekaa town of Arsal, has taken a dangerous turn in light of the Syrian regime's waging of an attack on the area of Rankous and the hard boy al-Nusra Front's imposing of Islamic courts.

A reliable source told Egypt's Middle East News Agency that the security situation in Arsal has become dangerous as "gangs have gone so far as to set up these courts and carry out the death penalty against convicts."

He estimated that there are about 3,000 armed gunnies present in the outskirts of Arsal, the majority of whom are Syrian, including members of the Nusra Front.

These members fled to this area from the now Syrian army-controlled region of al-Qalamoun.

The estimates are based on the number of loaves of bread being distributed by the town of Arsal, explained the source.

In addition, these gunnies possess light and medium weapons, as well as anti-aircraft guns.

They also take advantage of the terrain in Arsal that is scattered with valleys and caves that facilitate the guerrilla warfare.

Arsal shares about 40 kilometers with Syria.

Moreover, the source told MENA that the gunnies obtain "through illegal means some of the humanitarian aid dedicated to the displaced Syrians."

Armed Syrian gunnies recently surrounded an Arsal municipality building after the eruption of a dispute over the distribution of aid.

Municipal chief Ali al-Hujairi had turned to the army to settle the dispute.

Furthermore, the source highlighted the threat of the jihadist group 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...
and the advances it is making in Iraq, warning that the hard boy threat may approach Leb's borders whereby members of the Nusra Front may decide to join the ranks of ISIL.

"This has been known to happen in several Syrian regions despite ISIL's notoriety, even among krazed killer groups," he added.

Commenting on the gunnies in Arsal, he spoke of the so-called Islamic Front, which is a union of a number of jihadist groups in Syria.

The most prominent group however is that of the "Green Brigade" that is affiliated with al-Nusra Front, he revealed.

The gunnies in Arsal recently waged an attack from the region against targets within Syria.

This development coincides with reports published in the Lebanese As Safir newspaper on Friday that spoke of an attack carried out by gunnies against the Syrian town of Rankous.

The source called for an "Arab and international stand against the pockets of gunnies along the border with Leb that coincides with the spread of the ISIL in Iraq."

"These developments are a danger to the entire region, not just Iraq and the Levant ," he warned.

The army carried out on Friday a wide-scale raid in the outskirts of Arsal in search of gunnies and wanted suspects linked to terrorist activities.

It enjugged
Book 'im, Mahmoud!
Syrians Zaher Abdul Aziz al-Ahmed for his connection to the al-Qaeda-linked Abdullah Azzam Brigades
... Leb's current al-Qaeda affiliate, named after a guy whose car the current head of al-Qaeda had boomed...

It also detained Nour Muheiddine Shameseddine, Haitham Nader Ghannoum, Adel Suleiman Ghannoum and Mohammed Nazih Ghannoum for the possession of cameras, computers and CDs that show their participation in training with terrorist groups.
Posted by: Fred || 06/14/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Nusra


Army Detains Five Suspected Syrian Terrorists in Arsal
[An Nahar] The army detained on Friday five Syrians in raids carried out on the outskirts of the border town of Arsal on charges of participating in training with terrorist groups.

The detained men were apprehended inside Syrian refugee camps in the area, the army said in a communique.

According to the statement, Zaher Abdul Aziz al-Ahmed for belonging to al-Azzam brigades while Nour Muheiddine Shameseddine, Haitham Nader Ghannoum, Adel Suleiman Ghannoum and Mohammed Nazih Ghannoum were tossed in the clink
Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un!
for the possession of cameras, computers and CDs that show their participation in training with terrorist groups.

The five suspects were handed over to the competent judiciary.

An army commando force began at dawn combing the outskirts of the northeastern border town of Arsal to apprehend wanted gunnies.

NNA said that the army kicked off an operation to detain gunnies, who are accused of assaulting Syrian refugee camps in Wadi Hmeid area and abducting several Syrian nationals and a Lebanese.

On Tuesday, gunnies from the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front kidnapped several Lebanese, Syrian and one Turkmen workers in the outskirts of the Ras Baalbek region in the Bekaa.

Makhoul Mrad, Alaa Ezzeddine and Mohammed al-Hujairi were among the kidnapped men.

Six of the seven kidnapped workers were released in the evening, leaving Makhoul in detention.
Posted by: Fred || 06/14/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Nusra



Who's in the News
35[untagged]
9Islamic State of Iraq & the Levant
6Islamic State of Iraq
4Ansar al-Sharia
4Govt of Pakistan
3Arab Spring
2Govt of Iraq
2al-Nusra
2al-Qaeda in Pakistan
1Commies
1al-Shabaab
1al-Qaeda in North Africa
1Govt of Sudan
1Hamas
1Hezbollah
1Islamic Jihad
1al-Qaeda in Europe
1al-Qaeda
1Jamaat-e-Ulema Islami
1Palestinian Authority

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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
Sat 2014-06-14
  Iran sends forces to Iraq as ISIS militants press forward
Fri 2014-06-13
  Iraqi security forces withdraw from Syrian border
Thu 2014-06-12
  'They have lined the streets of Mosul with the heads of police and soldiers'
Wed 2014-06-11
  Maliki asks for state of emergency
Tue 2014-06-10
  Mosul Falls to Insurgency
Mon 2014-06-09
  Sisi Sworn in as Egypt President, Vows 'No Leniency' for Violence
Sun 2014-06-08
  Gunmen attack Karachi's Jinnah International Airport
Sat 2014-06-07
  Heavy clashes, suicide bombings kill 36 in north Iraq
Fri 2014-06-06
  Boko Haram kills "hundreds" in Nigeria
Thu 2014-06-05
  Libya: Haftar Escapes Suicide Attack
Wed 2014-06-04
  At Least 120 Dead in Clashes in Yemen
Tue 2014-06-03
  Somali gummint claims to have whacked 74 Shaboobs
Mon 2014-06-02
  5 Gitmo Terrorists Arrive in Qatar "With No Sign They Are -- Under Custody"
Sun 2014-06-01
  Bowe Bergdahl, Army Sergeant Held by Taliban Since 2009, Is Released
Sat 2014-05-31
  U.S. Confirms American Carried Out Syria Suicide Bombing

Better than the average link...



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