[Libya Herald] There has been fighting at Benghazi's Jalaa hospital, reportedly between 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 and Yemen, with the Libyan versions currently most active. Tunisia's Shabaab al-Tawhid started out an Ansar al-Sharia and changed its name in early 2014. It still uses the old name now and then, probably because the stationery's not all used up and the web site hasn't expired yet... forces and locals. According to a hospital source who asked not to be named, a Sudanese cleaner named as Abdul Karim Abdul Nabi Adam was rubbed out in the festivities. Patients and staff alike are said to have fled and the hospital now closed although fighting is reported to be continuing this evening.
The festivities started after locals apparently moved in to evict Ansar from the hospital. It and fellow fighters in Benghazi Revolutionaries Shoura Council have been taking their maimed there from the current fighting around Benina and places bombed by Operation Dignity aircraft.
Claims that a leading Ansar commander is being treated at the hospital have not be confirmed.
This not the first time that Ansar's presence in the hospital has resulted in deadly violence.
In July, seven people were reported killed and 35 injured in festivities at Jalaa between Ansar and Saiqa Special Forces ...Libya's elite army unit, insofar as they have one, formed from a mixture of paratroopers and commandos. The group emerged from a militia with the same name in 2010. It now numbers a few thousand and reports to the Ministry of Defence. It deployed in Benghazi in an attempt to control the carnage. As a result, it has been attacked and several of its officers murdered. The force is popular in Benghazi for its stance against Ansar al-Sharia group... three weeks after the Islamists took over security and thus control of the hospital. At the end of the month, locals then forced Ansar to move out but it moved back in hours later after a brief firefight with them.
Ansar again left in a deal mediated at the beginning of August by former Benghazi municipal councillor Awad Alqawiri. Under it, the hospital was supposed to be protected by young men from Salmani district. However, a good lie finds more believers than a bad truth... according to the hospital source, there has been no such protection.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/05/2014 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under: Arab Spring
[Libya Herald] Despite the sanctity of Eid, murders in Benghazi show no sign of ending.
A young local man, who has been named as Waleed Swehli, was reported rubbed out near his home on the city's Ashreen Street. The motive for his murder, however, is unknown. He is not thought to have been politically active.
Yesterday saw what was almost certainly a political liquidation. Salim Salash Obeidi, said to be a senior officer but who was working with the foreign ministry, was shot close to his home in Hay Dollar district.
As usual, his killers escaped, are unknown and no efforts are expected to find out they were. In all the killings that have taken place in Benghazi over the past year and more, no one has been tossed in the calaboose Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw! .
Posted by: Fred ||
10/05/2014 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under: Arab Spring
#1
Posted by: Big Thromoth3646 ||
10/05/2014 8:04 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Gee, Hemingway Jane Austen. I log on to the Burg and see that you're already off on the wrong foot with the mods. Again. And you got the Spamcop. That's usually reserved for internet scum, like spammers, certain trolls, and other related low-life.
[Libya Herald] After some of the fiercest fighting so far in 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 and Yemen, with the Libyan versions currently most active. Tunisia's Shabaab al-Tawhid started out an Ansar al-Sharia and changed its name in early 2014. It still uses the old name now and then, probably because the stationery's not all used up and the web site hasn't expired yet... 's attempt to capture Bnenia airbase, a total of 14 troops from Operation Dignity have been killed and 50 maimed in two days of fighting.
Medics at Benghazi Medical Centre (BMC) told the Libya Herald that two more members of the Dignity forces had been killed today in the festivities and five maimed. Yesterday, it was reported that at least 12 soldiers had been killed and 45 maimed on in this latest assault on airbase
According to the Head of Saiqa Special Forces ...Libya's elite army unit, insofar as they have one, formed from a mixture of paratroopers and commandos. The group emerged from a militia with the same name in 2010. It now numbers a few thousand and reports to the Ministry of Defence. It deployed in Benghazi in an attempt to control the carnage. As a result, it has been attacked and several of its officers murdered. The force is popular in Benghazi for its stance against Ansar al-Sharia group... Investigations Unit, Fadel Al-Hassi, seven soliders were critically maimed and taken to Marj hospital today.
He also disclosed that in response to the latest attack, military planes and helicopters had this afternoon bombed targets in the 17 February Brigade's headquarters and those of the Benghazi Revolutionaries' Shoura Council (BRSC) in Hawari and BRSC facilities in Gwarsha.
He accused Ansar and the BRSC of rejecting the Eid truce announced by General Staff.
Fighting stopped this evening around sunset. It is, however, but is expected to begin again tomorrow morning. A pattern of fighting during the day but not at night has emerged.
On Thursday 24 soldiers being killed and 12 maimed, according to the government. Medical reports, however, put Thursday's toll at 29 dead and dozens maimed.
These are only the casualties on the army's side. The number of BRSC's dead and maimed has not been disclosed.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/05/2014 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under: Arab Spring
[Libya Herald] [Libya Herald] Derna's Shoura Council of Islamic Youth is said to have declared its allegiance to Daesh, also known as the Islamic State, and to the "caliphate" of Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi. Remainder of the article's behind the paywall, but you get the drift.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/05/2014 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under: Islamic State
[IsraelTimes] The Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... snuffies who have beheaded another Western hostage are deaf to reason and must be destroyed, British Prime Minister David Cameron ... has stated that he is certainly a big Thatcher fan, but I don't know whether that makes me a Thatcherite, which means he's not. Since he is not deeply ideological he lacks core principles and is easily led. He has been described as certainly not a Pitt, Elder or Younger, but he does wear a nice suit so maybe he's Beau Brummel ... said Saturday as Moslems worldwide were urged to pray for the victim on one of Islam's holiest days.
Cameron, speaking after a security briefing at his rural retreat Chequers, said Friday's slaying of 47-year-old English aid worker Alan Henning demonstrated that Islamic State gunnies were committed to inflicting horror for horror's sake.
Asked whether he believed Islamic State fighters would kill more hostages, Cameron said they would have to be hunted down to be stopped. He declined to say whether Britannia would extend its involvement in U.S.-led Arclight airstrikes on the Islamic State group to Syria, where the hostage killings are believed to have happened.
"The fact that this was a kind, gentle, compassionate and caring man who had simply gone to help others, the fact they could murder him in the way they did, shows what we are dealing with," Cameron said. "This is going to be our struggle now. … We must do everything we can to defeat this organization."
Moslem leaders across Britannia urged worshippers worldwide to pray for Henning and peace in the Middle East as they gathered at mosques to celebrate Eid al-Adha, Islam's annual "festival of sacrifice."
"Millions should be praying today for Alan Henning, a good and honorable man," said Moslem peace activist Shaukat Warraich, speaking outside a mosque in the central English city of Birmingham.
Egypt's Foreign Ministry denounced what it called a "barbaric and savage act that fully contradicts Islamic religion tenets and the simplest human and ethical rules."
Britannia's former army chief of staff, Gen. Richard Dannatt, called for British air power to be deployed in Syria as well as Iraq, but not for Western ground forces. "This is a fight for the soul of Islam. This is their fight," Dannatt said, pointing to Jordan and Turkey as countries which need "to get stuck into this fight."
Farooq Siddique, former leader of a British government initiative to combat extremism, said Western involvement plays into the Lion of Islams' hands. "Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... has 700 jets. They are using only 10 of them. Why do they need the West to go and help them?" Siddique said.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
10/05/2014 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[5 views]
Top|| File under: Islamic State
#1
So jump right in there Mr. Cameron, unless you want to pissoff how many muzzzie immigrants that you are supporting on your own soil?
Maggie had bigger balls than you do you spotted dick eating Obama-Clone
#2
Could he say "KILL THEM, WHERE THEY STAND! CUT THIER HEARTS OUT AND SHOW IT TO THEM!" and not the weenie word "destroy" "stopped" "defeat". Defeat is for ASoccers. Destroy is for weeds. Stopped is for traffic.
#7
"Islamic State Must Be Destroyed, Says Cameron After Latest Beheading"
I call bullsh!t, David. You'll whine and speechify and posture and write strongly worded letters, but you and the rest of the tranzis won't do a goddam thing but wring your hands.
Posted by: Barbara ||
10/05/2014 15:49 Comments ||
Top||
#8
Barbara, Barbara, calm, remember your blood pressure, Cameron is just posturing for the domestic UK crowd and kicking the dirt, drawing a line in the sand, just like his political buddy Obe did on Syria. You are right, the bovine excrement is what political critters throw around from time to me to sound tough, beat their chests and pee on the bad guy stake. You know and I know nothing will come of this, the UK is down to its last few military pounds, while they cloth, feed and house on the public dole, the very relatives of the religion of peace crowd that is being vilified by Cameron. The UK military is powerless to stop this IS behavior and Obe is too feckless to see anything regarding the religion he has chosen to favor.
Barbara, I must say, I like it when you get angry and call out the pretentious politicians, but please remember your blood pressure, we would like to have you around for decades to come.
[DAWN] KARACHI: After a brief lull, violence broke out in Lyari on Friday as armed gangs launched gun-and-bomb attacks on each other’s strongholds, causing death of an alleged gangster and injuries to several passers-by including four children. "Mahmoud! We gotta go to the matresses!"
Officials said that two men riding a motorbike threw a hand-grenade in Afshani Gali and fled. The explosion left a passer-by woman and four children wounded. "It bears da mark of da Tataglias, Mike!"
SSP-City Sheeraz Nazeer said that two rival gangs, led by Uzair Baloch and Noor Mohammed alias Baba Ladla, respectively, fought with each in Sabir Lane. A young man was killed in the clash. He was later identified as Sheeraz Rasheed, an alleged member of the gang being led by Uzair Baloch. "He wuz like a son ta me! [Sniff!]"
“We are looking for his criminal record,” said the SSP. "We already found what wuz left of him!"
Fear and panic gripped parts of Lyari as residents preferred to stay indoors. Shops and other commercial activities were also suspended in the Kalakot area. "Everywhere ya look dere's Barzinis and Balochs!"
Later, police and Rangers entered the trouble-hit Sabir Lane area to carry out a search operation. "It's from Sollozzo, Sonny! He wants a meeting!"
The area SSP said that the law-enforcers were fired upon by armed gangsters during the operation and they returned fire. As a result, one suspect, identified as Yasin alias Jogi, was killed, but his accomplice managed to escape. "Boss! Dey got Jogi! He sleeps widda fishes!"
He said that an AK-47 assault rifle and one hand-grenade were recovered from him. He was allegedly involved in cases pertaining to targeted killings and extortion, claimed SSP Nazeer. "[Sniff!] I remember when Aunt Fatima gave him dat hand-grenade. It wuz his graduation present from reform school!"
Posted by: Fred ||
10/05/2014 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
[DAWN] KHAR: Unidentified gunnies on Friday rubbed out wife and son of a local peace volunteer in remote Badan area of Mamond on the night between Thursday and Friday.
Officials said that a group of gunnies entered the house of a member of local peace committee, Malik Inayat Khan, and opened fire on the family members who were sleeping in a room. As a result, the wife and a son of Inayat Khan was struck down in his prime, while he himself received injuries.
Local people and peace committee volunteers reached the spot immediately after the blast and started search for the attackers, who escaped the area.
No one grabbed credit of the attack. However, there's no worse danger than telling a mother her baby is ugly... the officials said that personal enmity could be a motive behind the incident.
“We are investigating the incident; but we cannot rule out the possibility of a personal dispute leading to the incident as the local residents said the victims’ family had an old enmity with someone in the area,” said an official.
Meanwhile, ...back at the barn, Bossy was furiously chewing her cud and thinking... a senior tribal elder of Utmankhail tribe suffered injuries when a roadside kaboom targeted him in Alizi area of Khar on Friday.
Officials said the injured, Malik Khan Bahadar, was going to Khar from his home when the incident occurred.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/05/2014 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under: TTP
#1
Posted by: Big Thromoth3646 ||
10/05/2014 8:10 Comments ||
Top||
[DAWN] The Pak Taliban declared allegiance to Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... on Saturday and ordered forces of Evil across the region to help the Middle Eastern jihadist group in its campaign to set up a global Islamic caliphate. So what happened to their allegiance to Mullah Omar?
Islamic State, which controls swathes of land in Syria and Iraq, has been making inroads into South Asia, which has traditionally been dominated by local Taliban insurgencies against both the Pakistain and Afghanistan governments.
The announcement comes after a September move by al Qaeda chief, Ayman al-Zawahri, to name former Taliban capoAsim Umar ...chief of al-Qaeda's Sharia Committee for Pakistain, named head of al-Qaeda in India. His video appearances are frequently accompanied by clips of al Qaeda's senior propagandist in Pakistan, Ahmad Farooq. Umar is the author of The Army of Anti-Christ: Blackwater, Documentation of the Dreadful Terrorist Activities of America's Blackwater in Islamic Countries... as the “emir” of a new South Asia branch of the network that criminal masterminded the 2001 attacks on the United States.
Although there is little evidence of a firm alliance yet between IS and al Qaeda-linked Taliban capos, IS activists have been spotted recently 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. distributing pamphlets praising the group.
IS flags have also been seen at street rallies in Indian-administered Kashmire. The trend has been of growing concern to global powers struggling to keep up with the fast-changing nature of the international insurgency.
In a message marking the Moslem holy festival of Eid al-Adha, the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) said they fully supported IS goals.
“Oh our brothers, we are proud of you in your victories. We are with you in your happiness and your sorrow,” TTP front man Shahidullah Shahid said in a statement sent to Rooters by email from an unknown location.
“In these troubled days, we call for your patience and stability, especially now that all your enemies are united against you. Please put all your rivalries behind you ... All Moslems in the world have great expectations of you ... We are with you, we will provide you with Mujahideen (fighters) and with every possible support.”
The statement, released in Urdu, Pashto and Arabic, was sent after Islamic State forces of Evil beheaded British aid worker Alan Henning in a video posted on Friday, triggering condemnation by the British and US governments.
It also came despite recent speculation that the Taliban leadership, whose goal is to topple the government and set up a Sharia state, is actually wary of IS, which is driven by different ambitions that have little to do with South Asia.
The Pak Taliban, funded by local as well as foreign charity donations from wealthy supporters in the Gulf and elsewhere, operate separately from the Afghan forces of Evil of the same name, but are loosely aligned with them.
There are concerns about further turmoil in the region as most US-led foreign troops withdraw from Afghanistan this year, with groups like the Haqqani network likely to exploit the security vacuum to strengthen their hold on Afghan regions.
The Haqqani network, despite being based in Pakistain, is narrowly focused on its insurgency in Afghanistan and has not commented on IS-related developments.
The TTP has been beset by bitter internal rivalries over the past year, with the influential Mehsud tribal faction of the group refusing to accept the authority of Mullah Fazlullah ...son-in-law of holy man Sufi Mohammad. Known as Mullah FM, Fazlullah had the habit of grabbing his FM mike when the mood struck him and bellowing forth sermons. Sufi suckered the Pak govt into imposing Shariah on the Swat Valley and then stepped aside whilst Fazlullah and his Talibs imposed a reign of terror on the populace like they hadn't seen before, at least not for a thousand years or so. For some reason the Pak intel services were never able to locate his transmitter, much less bomb it. After ruling the place like a conquered province for a year or so, Fazlullah's Talibs began gobbling up more territory as they pushed toward Islamabad, at which point as a matter of self-preservation the Mighty Pak Army threw them out and chased them into Afghanistan... , who came to power in late 2013.
IS, in an effort to extend its global reach, could exploit these rivalries to its advantage, wading into a region ripe with fierce anti-Western ideology and full of young unemployed men ready to take up guns and fight for Islam.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/05/2014 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under: TTP
They never get bored with that stuff, do they? Same headline as yesterday, different town.
[DAWN] PESHAWAR: Six people were killed and several injured in an kaboom that took place in a passenger van in Kohat’s 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. Chowk area on Saturday.
Police confirmed the corpse count, adding that at least 13 others were also injured in the blast which damaged two vehicles.
“The blast occurred at a small bus stop in Kohat city. At least two vehicles were damaged in the kaboom,” Salim Khan Marwat, district police chief in Kohat, told AFP.
“The kaboom has left six people dead and 17 injured,” he added.
Fazal Khaliq, head of the emergency department at Kohat's main government hospital, also confirmed the toll.
The kaboom occurred along a roadside, police said, adding that it appeared to have been caused by an improvised bomb.
No group has grabbed credit for the blast as yet.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/05/2014 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under: TTP
At least six people were killed and 17 wounded when a bomb exploded at a bus stop in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Saturday.
We know, we know, a bomb at a bus stop in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province isn't really news...
"The blast occurred at a small bus stop in Kohat city. At least two vehicles were damaged in the explosion," Salim Khan Marwat, district police chief in the town of Kohat, told AFP. "The explosion has left six people dead and 17 injured."
In February, 12 people including two women and a child were killed in a bombing at the same bus stop.
It is the second attack on a passenger vehicle to hit northwest Pakistan in a week. On Thursday, a bomb blast on a coach in the city of Peshawar killed at least seven people and wounded another six.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/05/2014 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
[ARABNEWS] US and Arab warplanes pounded Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... positions in Syria overnight, targeting fighters, artillery and combat equipment in nine Arclight airstrikes, the US military said.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/05/2014 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under: Islamic State
[AnNahar] Gunmen killed 10 Iraqi soldiers and Shiite allied bully boyz in two separate attacks on Saturday in Diyala province northeast of the capital Baghdad, a military source said.
In the first attack, five soldiers were killed and 15 maimed when gunnies assaulted a military checkpoint north of the historic provincial capital of Baquba, the source said.
Elsewhere north of Baquba, five members of a Shiite militia allied to the army were killed when gunnies attacked one of their positions.
Ten more were maimed in that incident.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks which come as the Iraqi forces and their allies fight the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... group and other Sunni Lions of Islam who have swept through much of northern and western Iraq.
Baquba is a Shiite-dominated city surrounded by many Sunni villages.
It is under the control of the Iraqi army and their Shiite allies and lies east of three roads converging on Baghdad. Holding Baquba is considered vital to defending the capital.
According to Mohagher Iqbal, the chief peace negotiator of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), there is a real danger of Islamist extremism spreading in Mindanao, particularly if Congress fails to pass "good legislation" to empower the Moro community and bring genuine peace.
"We have to look at two situations: One is the ideology of radicalism which is infectious. The other one is that if we fail in this engagement, with this present Bangsamoro Basic Law, and eventually become irrelevant then that’s the danger," he said after the Abu Sayyaf and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) swore allegiance to IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
"If the Bangsamoro people will be empowered and the Bangsamoro Basic Law will be passed in the Congress as a good legislation, I think the MILF will play a very vital role in moderating the situation in Mindanao," Iqbal added.
He made the remarks after a large faction within the MILF openly expressed disapproval of the disarmament provision in the peace pact and has allegedly begun "realignment talks" with the BIFF.
Posted by: ryuge ||
10/05/2014 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under: Moro Islamic Liberation Front
#1
Translation: Give us what we want or Mindanao gets it.
[AnNahar] The Lebanese army on Saturday shot upgunnies in the outskirts of the Bekaa town of Arsal which borders Syria, according to media reports.
“The army opened fire from its posts in Wadi Hmeid and al-Masyadeh after detecting movements by gunnies in Arsal's outskirts,” LBCI TV reported.
Meanwhile, ...back at the desert island, Bert was realizing to his horror that he'd had only one bottle for one message, and he'd forgotten to include a return address... Voice of Leb radio (93.3) said the army “targeted movements by gunnies in Wadi Hmeid and al-Masyadeh, repelling an infiltration attempt into the town of Arsal.”
For its part, state-run National News Agency reported a “clash” between the army and gunnies in Arsal's outskirts.
Jihadists from al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra ...the current nom de guerre of al-Qaeda in the Levant, which isn't to be confused with al-Qaeda in Iraq and the Levant... Front and the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... group overran Arsal in August, killing and capturing scores of soldiers and police. They later executed three of the hostages.
The festivities were sparked by the arrest of top Islamist holy warrior Imad Jomaa in Arsal.
The Nusra and IS jihadists are reportedly seeking to find a safe passage from the mountains on the Lebanese-Syrian border to the heart of the town of Arsal.
As Safir daily quoted informed sources as saying that the holy warriors, who have been besieged in the area after the army blocked all dirt roads on the town's outskirts, are seeking the passage to guarantee their supply of food and oil.
A security source confirmed to the newspaper that the army had isolated Arsal's outskirts from the town.
Approving the safe passage would mean opening the road for the terrorist groups to occupy Arsal again, the source warned.
The army on Friday defused an bomb weighing around 50 kilograms in Arsal's Ras al-Sarj area.
[AnNahar] At least 35 jihadists from the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... group were killed in air strikes by a U.S.-led coalition overnight in northern and northeastern Syria, a monitor said Saturday.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 30 jihadists were killed around the town of Shadadi in northeastern Hasakeh, and another five outside the embattled town of Kobane, on the border with Turkey in northern Aleppo province.
The group said the strikes had destroyed some military materiel belonging to IS, which fired dozens of shells into the town on Friday after advancing to its outskirts.
An activist from the town, Mustafa Ebdi, also reported the strikes.
"They hit last night mostly on the eastern front," he said.
The raids followed a day of relentless bombardment of Kobane by IS forces who have surrounded the town, Syria's third largest Kurdish town.
Both Ebdi and the Observatory said IS forces had fired at least 80 shells into Kobane on Friday, as they attempted to force their way into the strategic border town.
Ebdi said Kurdish forces working with Arab rebels were able to repel an evening attack by IS jihadists, but fighting was ongoing.
The Observatory too reported heavy fighting on Saturday morning, particularly on the southwestern front, adding that IS was continuing to shell the town.
There was no immediate corpse count from the fighting overnight.
But Ebdi said there was some optimism among the fighters in the town on Saturday.
"Daesh fighters were saying they would be praying Eid prayers in Kobane," he said, using the Arabic acronym for IS and referring to the Moslem Eid al-Adha festival being marked on Saturday.
"But so far they have failed to enter the town."
Later on Saturday, the U.S. military said U.S. and Arab warplanes pounded Islamic State positions in Syria overnight, targeting fighters, artillery and combat equipment in nine Arclight airstrikes.
U.S. bombers and fighter jets also carried out five Arclight airstrikes against the IS group in Iraq.
The United States was joined by Jordanian, Saudi and UAE warplanes in the attacks inside Syria, which involved a mix of fighter aircraft and drones.
Four of the Arclight airstrikes were around Kobane, a town along the Syrian border with Turkey that has been under attack by IS fighters.
Two of those strikes hit a large IS unit, a building, three artillery positions and an IS vehicle east of Kobane, which also is known as Ain al Arab, U.S. Central Command said.
South of Kobane, a small IS unit, an armored personnel carrier, and a vehicle were struck in two other air attacks.
The warplanes also struck an IS depot and logistics complex in Hasakeh, where 30 jihadists were reported killed.
Centcom said strikes also damaged the Taqba Airfield southwest of Raqa and another destroyed an artillery piece west of there.
Two Arclight airstrikes southeast of Deir Ezzor destroyed a tank and a vehicle.
IS began its advance towards Kobane on September 16, hoping to seize the strategic town and cement its grip over a long stretch of the Syrian-Turkish border.
The fighting has prompted a mass exodus of residents from Kobane and the surrounding countryside, with the Observatory estimating around 300,000 people have been displaced.
Many of those, at least 186,000 according to the Turkish government, have fled over the border into Turkey.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
10/05/2014 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[5 views]
Top|| File under: Islamic State
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
David Cameron
