[Iran Press TV] Armed robbers have stolen USD 8.5 million worth of gold from a refinery at a mine owned by a Canadian company in Mexico's western state of Sinaloa, company officials say.
The theft occurred on Tuesday at the El Gallo 1 mine and robbers made off with 900 kilograms (almost 2,000 pounds) of gold-bearing concentrate containing approximately 7,000 ounces of gold, the McEwen Mining Inc. said in a statement issued late Tuesday.
"The company maintains insurance against these types of incidents and is working closely with its insurance carrier to determine the extent of available coverage," the company said, adding, "However, you can observe a lot just by watching... the company's policy will not be sufficient to cover the entire expected loss."
The statement said no one was injured and mining operations were not affected, but it did not provide any more details about the robbery.
Mexican authorities are carrying on an investigation into the matter.
The Toronto-based company has operations in Mexico, Argentina ...a country located on the other side of the Deep South. It is covered with Pampers and inhabited by Grouchos, who dance the Tangle. They used to have some islands called the Malvinas located where the Falklands are now. They're not supposed to cry for Evita... and the state of Nevada in America. Based on its current stock price, the company is worth about USD 364 million.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/10/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
Once upon a time gold mines and gold shipments were the prime target of robbers, probably because the mines tend to be in the middle of nowhere. I would not be surprised to see more robberies like this, especially if they get away with it.
Also possible it's an insurance fraud 'robbery' - gold mining companies have historically been over-represented in fraudulent activities.
[Boston Herald] A Whitinsville soldier killed in Afghanistan Wednesday joined the Army and volunteered to be a combat medic because he wanted to "serve and be useful," his family said.
Spc. John M. Dawson, 22, was killed by small-arms fire while he was on an escort mission in Jalalabad, according to the Defense Department.
"He was a great kid," James Baxendale, his cousin and neighbor, said with a tremor in his voice. "Anybody would be proud to have him as a son."
News reports from Afghanistan indicate the medic was killed by an Afghan National Army soldier after a meeting between Afghan provincial leaders and a U.S. Embassy official in the provincial governor's compound in Jalalabad. There was no motive reported for the attack. In prior similar attacks, Afghan soldiers who are Taliban sympathizers and Taliban disguised as soldiers have killed Americans.
"He wanted to join the Army and serve and be useful," said Baxendale, who keeps a picture of him on his refrigerator. "He wanted to be a medic."
Dawson graduated from Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School and spent a year working at a job in Worcester, Baxendale said.
He had a warm smile and would cut his older cousin's grass in the summer and used to clear the snow from his driveway in the winter.
Dawson joined the Army in 2012 and was stationed at Fort Campbell, Ky., where he was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 33rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division as a combat medic, Master Sgt. Kevin Doheny, a division spokesman, said.
He was deployed to Afghanistan with the "Rakkasans," as 3rd Brigade is known, about three months ago, Doheny said.
Dawson is survived by his parents, Rhonda and Michael Dawson of Whitinsville.
Dawson's awards include the Combat Action Badge, Afghanistan Campaign Ribbon, Global War on Terrorism Ribbon, Air Assault Badge, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal and Army Service Ribbon.
Dan Magoon of Massachusetts Fallen Heroes, said his group's network of Gold Star parents will be reaching out to the Dawson family through the Army's casualty assistance officer -- the soldier accompanying Dawson's body -- to offer support.
"We have Gold Star families who have lived through it,' said Magoon, whose group is building an Iraq-Afghan War Memorial in the Seaport District. Of reaching out to newly bereaved families, he said, "Unfortunately, we have a plan, because we've been through this before. We let them know, 'You're not alone.'"
The group's effort, involving a coalition of veterans' nonprofits and headed by Gold Star father Steve Xiarhos of Yarmouth, will also steer the family to financial resources they may need at this time.
[Tolo News] Northern Faryab province Police Chief Mohammad Nabi Alham, said that the Taliban have set fire to a mosque in the province.
According to Alham, the incident took place on Tuesday night in Arpatu village of Shirin Tagab district when Taliban members attacked the village and set fire to houses and the Arpatu village mosque.
Several Holy Koran and religious books burned in the fire, Alham said.
There is no report on casualties yet.
Taliban has yet to comment on the incident.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/10/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
Boy Howdy, can you imagine the riots in Islamabad if a Marine had done that?
[Tolo News] Balkh police officials on Thursday night confirmed ten people, including five security force members and five civilians, were killed in the Mazar-e-Sharif Appeal Court complex attack.
According to officials, an additional 66 people were maimed in the siege that raged between gunnies and Afghan security members for many hours.
Afghan security force members killed the four murderous Moslems responsible for the attack that started at about 11.30 a.m local time when the gunnies dressed in military uniforms stormed the building after shooting dead a security guard.
It is believed that among the injured is the Head of the Appeal Court and the provincial head of the violence against children department, said officials.
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04/10/2015 00:00 ||
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[AnNahar] At least 10 people died Thursday when Taliban murderous Moslems wearing military uniforms mounted a six-hour gun and grenade siege on a court complex in northern Afghanistan, an assault highlighting the country's fragile security situation.
The attack in the usually tranquil city of Mazar-e-Sharif occurred just before the start of the Taliban's traditional spring offensive, set to be the first fighting season when Afghan cops battle murderous Moslems without full NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions... support.
Explosions rang out as assailants wearing boom jackets lobbed grenades and exchanged gunfire with Afghan cops, setting ablaze one of the buildings in the compound, according to an AFP news hound at the scene.
Dozens of people were left maimed, with reports of blood shortages in hospitals emerging and urgent appeals for donors circulating on social media.
"Around noon four assailants dressed in military uniforms breached the main gate of the Appeals Court in Mazar-e-Sharif and started firing gunshots and throwing hand grenades inside the complex," said Abdul Raziq Qaderi, the acting provincial police chief of Balkh province.
"Five security personnel and five non-combatants were killed and 66 others were maimed," he added.
Noor Mohammad Faiz, a senior doctor at the local public hospital, confirmed the toll, adding that some of the maimed were at death's door.
"Police, prosecutors, court staff, women and kiddies are among those maimed," Faiz told AFP.
The murderous Moslems were holed up inside the complex for six hours, surrounded by a large number of Afghan cops before they were taken down.
The Taliban grabbed credit for the attack, which underscores Afghanistan's precarious security situation as U.S.-led foreign troops pull back from the frontlines after a 13-year war against the Taliban.
"Our mujahideen have carried out a martyrdom attack... in Mazar-e-Sharif city," Taliban front man Zabihullah Mujahid told AFP by telephone.
Militant attacks are relatively rare in Mazar-e-Sharif, a city well-known as a melting pot of diverse cultures and religious influences where liberal attitudes coexist with conservative traditions.
Thursday's attack comes a day after an American soldier was killed by an Afghan counterpart in eastern Afghanistan, the first insider attack since Washington announced a delay in troop withdrawals from the country.
NATO's combat mission formally ended in December but a small follow-up foreign force has stayed on to train and support the local security forces.
President Barack Obama I am not a dictator!... last month reversed plans to shrink the U.S. force in Afghanistan this year by nearly half, an overture to the country's new reform-minded leader, President Ashraf Ghani ...former chancellor of Kabul University, now president of Afghanistan. Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002 he was a scholar of political science and anthropology. He worked at the World Bank working on international development assistance. As Finance Minister of Afghanistan between July 2002 and December 2004, he led Afghanistan's attempted economic recovery until the Karzais stole all the money. .. Hosting Ghani at the White House for their first presidential head-to-head, Obama agreed to keep the current level of 9,800 U.S. troops until the end of 2015.
[Libya Herald] Al Nabaa TV, the main media supporter of Libya Dawn ...aka Fajr Libya, the Islamist operation launched to counter that of General Khalifa Haftar (Operation Dignity). It is made up of the Libya Shield militia (Misrata and Moslem Brotherhood), Libya Revolutionaries Operations Room (Moslem Brotherhood), and Tripoli Brigade (close to Abdul Hakim Belhaj, head of Al-Watan party). Financing and moral support come from Turkey and Qatar... /General National Congress regime in Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... , has been forced off air today.
According to the station's managing director Walid Al-Lafi, Kuwait's Gulfsat and Egypt's Nilesat stopped rebroadcasting it following a request by the Beida-based government of Abdullah Al-Thinni. It said that a "secret" letter had been sent to the Kuwaitis and Egyptians on 25 March.
Earlier in the day, the Tripoli-based Al-Nabaa had said on its Facebook page that re-broadcasts had been cut on Nilesat "for reasons that are not clear" and that work was underway to overcome the problem and "return broadcast within hours".
There has been no comment from the government, but if true, the most surprising aspect of the case is how long it took the authorities to get the Egyptians and Kuwaitis, both of who strongly back the Thinni government, to act.
Nilesat and Gulfsat both took Ahrar 25, a Beirut-based satellite channel linked to Egypt's Moslem Brüderbund off air over a year ago. Last August, the government managed to get Nilesat to switch off Libya's two state-owned TV channels, Al-Wataniya and Al-Rasmiya. It was said at the time that Nilesat cooperated because it accepted the Thinni government as the owners and took instructions from it shut them down.
Ownership of the privately-run station is unclear although it is widely asserted that it is owned by the controversial Abdul-Hakim Belhaj. Unconfirmed reports say that funding came from Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates... In January, the station's Tripoli offices were hit in an RPG attack. No one grabbed credit and no one was charged in connection with the attack.
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04/10/2015 00:00 ||
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[Libya Herald] The Libya National Army (LNA) says it has stopped an attempt by forces of the Benghazi Revolutionaries’ Shoura Council (BRSC) to break out of Hawari district into Buhdeima . . .
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[AnNahar] Algerian troops killed four armed Islamists and recovered weapons and ammunition during an operation not far from the capital on Thursday, the defense ministry said.
The four were shot in Oued Ouakser, some 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of Algiers, a statement said.
Among the materiel seized were two rifles, a pistol, along with a significant amount of ammunition, as well as explosives, radios, mobile telephones and a pair of handcuffs.
Violence involving Islamists in Algeria has fallen considerably since the civil war of the 1990s, but groups linked to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb still carry out some attacks, mostly on security forces.
The army says more than 100 armed Islamists were killed in 2014.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
04/10/2015 00:00 ||
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[AnNahar] Mortar fire has killed 11 civilians, all but one of them women and kiddies, in Egypt's North Sinai, where the government is battling an Islamist insurgency, police and medics said Thursday.
The mortar rounds, which hit two houses in a village southeast of the bustling provincial capital El-Arish Wednesday night, also maimed six people, the officials said without specifying who was behind the attack.
Sinai is a hotbed of a jihadist group once known as Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, which changed its named to Sinai Province after pledging allegiance last year to 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.... (IS) group.
In a separate incident in the same area, a roadside kaboom targeting an armored personnel carrier killed two police and maimed three, police said.
On April 2, Sinai Province claimed a series of simultaneous attacks that killed 15 soldiers and two civilians in the restive peninsula.
The group has killed scores of security personnel since the army ousted Islamist president Mohammed Morsi in 2013. It says its attacks are in retaliation for the brutal crackdown against Islamists that left hundreds dead and thousands jugged Please don't kill me! As its name implies, the group wants to turn Sinai into a province of the self-declared IS "caliphate" in Syria and Iraq.
[Daily Nation (Kenya)] The United States said Wednesday a former Guantanamo prison detainee was among several suspects it helped Ugandan authorities arrest in connection with the murder of a prosecutor overseeing the trial of men linked to 2010 Al-Shabaab ... the personification of Somali state failure... bombings in Kampala.
US State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf did not elaborate on exactly what assistance the country gave in the operation.
Harf confirmed one of those tossed in the clink ... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not... in the raid had been a former detainee at the controversial Guantanamo military jail who was released in 2006.
Ugandan authorities made the arrests in connection with the murder of Joan Kagezi, acting assistant director of public prosecution, who was killed in Kampala on March 30.
Kagezi was rubbed out by men on a cycle of violence as she drove home in a suburb of the capital. She had been prosecuting 13 men on trial for involvement in twin 2010 suicide kabooms in the capital which left 76 people dead.
One of the jacket wallahs detonated explosives in an Æthiopian restaurant while a second attacker targeted a packed rugby club bar screening the World Cup final in South Africa. Somalia's
Al-Qaeda linked Al-Shabaab Death Eaters grabbed credit for the attack.
The 13 men on trial include seven Kenyans, five Ugandans and a Tanzanian national. The case opened on March 17 but has been postponed indefinitely since Kagezi's murder.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/10/2015 00:00 ||
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[AnNahar] Air strikes by the Saudi-led coalition on Thursday hit Yemen's defense ministry in the capital Sanaa which is controlled by Iranian catspaws and allied troops, witnesses said.
Three kabooms were heard as warplanes hit the building in central Sanaa and thick smoke billowed over the area, the witnesses said.
The attack was part of raids that struck positions across the capital, including a base of the elite Elite Republican Guards in Fajj Attan, in south Sanaa, according to witnesses.
The Republican Guard is a force that has remained loyal to former president President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it... , who stepped down in 2012 following nationwide protests against his three-decade rule and who is allied with the Houthis against the government.
A food supply building belonging to the army in western Sanaa was also targeted in an air raid, other witnesses said.
Earlier in the day, a base for the Republican Guard in Arhab, north of the capital, was also hit.
The attacks come as the an air campaign led by Riyadh in support of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi entered its third week.
Earlier, at least 20 Shiite Houthis were killed in southern Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic... Thursday by Saudi-led coalition air strikes and an ambush by pro-government militia, army and loyalist militia sources said.
"Fourteen Huthis were killed in eight dawn air raids by the coalition on their positions near Dar Saad," a northern district of the port city of Aden, a loyalist army source told AFP.
In the nearby city of Daleh, fighters allied with runaway President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi attacked a Huthi position, killing six Lion of Islams, said Southern Movement chief Nasser al-Shuaibi.
AFP could not immediately obtain independent confirmation, and the Huthis rarely acknowledge their losses.
Meanwhile, ...back at the shouting match, the spittle had reached unprecedented levels... coalition air strikes on the southern Shabwa province hit Muhra military camp, which is controlled by troops loyal to Saleh.
Following the raid, some 300 fighters fled the base and deployed unopposed in the bustling provincial capital of Ataq, where they raised Huthi flags after seizing local government and police installations, military sources said.
Witnesses said rustics led by chief Hasan Banan, who is close to the Huthis, have cooperated with the rebels.
The World Health Organization says at least 643 people were killed and 2,226 maimed in fighting between March 19 and April 6.
And UNICEF has said at least 74 children were confirmed to have died and a further were 44 maimed since air strikes began on March 26.
[AnNahar] A Norwegian freelance journalist has been locked away Please don't kill me! in the Yemeni capital Sanaa and accused spying, media reports said on Thursday.
Raymond Lidal, 28, was detained in late March when he failed to show a journalist's visa while filming Saudi-led Arclight airstrikes against Huthi Iranian catspaws who have seized the city, according to the Verdens Gang newspaper (VG).
"Verdens gang has learned from several sources... that the Norwegian was suspected of espionage and was accused of carrying out some kind of investigation," the paper said.
Norway's foreign affairs ministry confirmed that a Norwegian national had been arrested in Sanaa but would not comment on his identity or the reasons for the arrest.
A foreign ministry spokeswoman, Veslemoey Lothe Salvesen, told AFP that Norway had been in touch with Yemeni authorities and insisted that they were "responsible for his security and health".
The ministry added that details of the case were unclear due to the "chaotic situation" in the country.
Norwegian public broadcaster NRK -- one of Lidal's employers -- said he had been reporting from Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic... for several media outlets since 2013 while studying there.
One assumes he was studying Arabic, since everyone knows the Yemeni accent is the purest. But when a European goes to Yemen to study, it is automatically suspicious -- why would an unbeliever need a pure, but location-specific accent? It would immediately mark him were he to open his mouth In Iraq or Egypt or Morocco... or really anywhere not Yemen.
#1
I hate newspapermen. They come into camp and pick up their camp rumors and print them as facts. I regard them as spies, which, in truth, they are.
- William Tecumseh Sherman
[Iran Press TV] 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... 's fighter jets have pounded a military airport in Yemen's southern province of Shabwa.
According to eyewitness on Thursday, the Saudi warplanes targeted a military command center in the province as well, the Anadolu Agency reported.
There were no immediate reports of casualties in the latest Saudi act of aggression.
The air raids by Saudi Arabia came after Ansarullah fighters managed to take control of Ataq, the capital of oil-rich Shabwa, earlier in the day.
Saudi Arabia's air campaign against Ansarullah fighters started on March 26, without a UN mandate, in a bid to restore power to the country's runaway former President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, a staunch ally of Riyadh.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/10/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
Do the Houthi know how to fly? Do they have anything to fly in? Do the Iranians use the airport?
This whole thing sounds like a video game played by 11 year old boys.
#2
A good portion of the Yemeni armed forces are standing with the Houthi friends of their erstwhile president, and therefore against the current president and his friends the Saudis. So it's safe enough to assume that some on the Houthi-army team can indeed pilot full size airplanes.
As per #2, there's still no evidence the Saudi airstrikes have been effective in stopping the Houthi advance.
It increasingly appears that a Saudi ground offensive, wid consequence in likely Iran mil intervention, will be needed, espec as neither side(s) or camp(s) wants to be involved in protractive quagmire.
[DAWN] One soldier was killed and three others maimed on Wednesday in a live-fire military exercise between Pakistain and 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... , official media said.
A military official told Dawn.com that initial information coming from Riyadh suggests that no Pak solider has been killed.
The report on the SPA website quoted an official source at the Saudi Ministry of Defense saying, "a non-commissioned officer has died and three other officers have sustained injuries during live-ammunition shooting related to the Saudi-Pak al-Samsam 5" exercises in Baha, in the kingdom's southwest.
The condition of the maimed was reported as stable.
The pre scheduled Saudi-Pak joint exercise al-Samsam-5 is being held in Taif since March 29. At the time of commencement a Saudi commander had said that exercise has nothing to do with military operations in Yemen.
At least 292 Pak troops are participating in the joint exercise which is held annually. Last year the exercise was held near Jhelum in Pakistain.
The incident occurred as Pakistain debates whether or not to join a Saudi-led coalition battling sock puppets of the Medes and the Persians in neighbouring Yemen.
Saudi Arabia has asked its longstanding ally to contribute planes, ships and ground troops but Pakistain has so far resisted.
The coalition on March 26 began air strikes against the Houthi ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews ... rebels.
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04/10/2015 00:00 ||
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[SMH.AU] France's TV5Monde television channel has resumed full operations after an "unprecedented" hack by self-proclaimed Islamic State militants, who shut down transmissions and hijacked its website and social networks to protest against French military action in Iraq.
Authorities said the hack was likely a "terrorist act" and urged media companies to be "vigilant", warning that further attacks could not be ruled out.
Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said: "There are a lot of elements that suggest that a terrorist act" was to blame for the shutdown at the Paris-based station, whose programs are broadcast in more than 200 countries worldwide.
For most of Thursday, the channel was forced to broadcast pre-recorded programs after what TV5Monde boss Yves Bigot said was a cyber-attack "unprecedented in the history of television".
President Francois Hollande's government branded the cyber attacks, which started late on Wednesday, a "vile and cowardly" affront to freedom of expression and began an investigation, promising to track down those responsible.
Yves Bigot, head of the TV5Monde station, said the assault caused its 11 channels to go temporarily off air and also hit its websites. The network broadcasts news and entertainment programmes in French on 11 channels around the world, and is 49 per cent owned by state-backed broadcaster France Televisions.
Interior Minister Cazeneuve said it was too early to say where the attack had come from, but that cybersecurity measures would be reinforced.
"There are a lot of factors suggesting that a terrorist attack was behind this," he told a news conference.
The hackers posted documents on TV5Monde's Facebook page purporting to be the identity cards of relatives of French soldiers involved in anti-Islamic State operations, and threats against the troops.
The "unprecedented" cyber-attack on French television channel TV5Monde represents a major "step up" in the Internet warfare being waged by highly specialized jihadist hackers, experts said Thursday.
Since January's three-day Islamist attacks in Gay Paree that killed 17 people, hackers have launched hundreds of assaults on French websites, from denial of service attacks that snarl up web traffic to full-scale hacks. But taking over a television channel and blocking programming -- as happened to TV5Monde -- is another matter entirely, experts believe, an "unprecedented" attack, according to the station's boss Yves Bigot.
"This is certainly a step up," said Gilbert Ramsay, expert on cyber-jihadism at Scotland's St. Andrews University. "For years now, low-level cyber-attacks have been a routine part of Islamist mobilization. They have published manuals on how to hack websites. But this is an escalation."
What's more, they are almost impossible to trace, as they work in virtual teams and can be based anywhere in the world.
"Sometimes they don't even bother to hide their IP addresses," said one cyber-crime investigator, who did not wish to be identified.
"Cyber-jihadist attacks are commonplace, but this is the first time they have been able to stop a television channel," this source said.
Like real-world "terrorism", these virtual warriors "come from all sorts of backgrounds," he added.
However, a poor excuse is better than no excuse at all... he said "investigations generally led towards the countries of North Africa."
Cyber-attacks are nothing new, stressed Daniel Martin, co-founder of the Gay Paree-based Cyber Crime Institute.
Even during a wave of Algerian attacks on La Belle France in the 1990s there were "high-level IT experts capable of launching sophisticated attacks," he said.
"So we shouldn't be surprised, given the means at the disposal of 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.... , that they can afford the best specialists."
"Some people think that jihadists are low-brow terrorists, but that is not at all the case: they have considerable technical know-how," added Martin.
He said the attack on TV5Monde was probably months in the planning and would have required several hackers working in close coordination.
"We're not talking about a basic little hacker. We're not talking about amateurs. This time, they really did some damage."
As of late afternoon Thursday, the station was still able only to broadcast pre-recorded programs but had regained control of its website.
Just hours before the attack, the Islamic State bully boy group had published a video praising their "knights of the media" carrying out cyber-attacks and urged them to step up their efforts.
"They have global recruitment," said Martin. "A bit like the Chinese army, which has set up cyberwarfare battalions, they are totally capable of doing the same thing."
Ramsay from St. Andrews University said he believed the jihadists had something to prove after recent military reverses -- notably in the Iraqi city of Tikrit.
"The IS fundamental theme is momentum: They want to show that they are on the offensive, on the ground and in cyberspace," he said. "After the set-back in Tikrit, for example, it can be important for them to show that they can continue the struggle elsewhere."
Posted by: Fred ||
04/10/2015 00:00 ||
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[AP] A Wisconsin man accused of traveling to Turkey as part of a failed attempt to join the Islamic State in Syria was ordered held without bond Thursday for trying to aid a terrorist group.
Joshua Van Haften, 34, made his first court appearance a day after being arrested at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. During the brief hearing in federal court in Madison, Van Haften did not contest his detention.
A newly unsealed criminal complaint charges Van Haften with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization.
The complaint, which had been under seal since Oct. 28, alleges that Van Haften talked to people about his plan before leaving the United States in August for Istanbul. But it says he was unable to cross the border into Syria.
The complaint says Van Haften's former roommate told FBI officers that he made comments referring to jihad. When asked to explain what he meant, the complaint says, Van Haften folded a $100 bill to make it look like the twin towers of the World Trade Center that were destroyed in the Sept. 11 attack. The complaint says Van Haften folded another $100 bill to look like a missile.
Van Haften's lawyer, Joseph Bugni, said he looks forward to "having all the facts brought to light."
#2
Van Haften was sentenced to three years' probation on the battery conviction in 1998, but his probation was revoked in 1999 and he was sentenced to a year in jail. He was sentenced to eight years' probation on the sexual assault charge in 1999, but that was revoked in 2000. He was then sentenced to seven years in prison.
Joshua has had his problems. ISIS was to be his 'fresh start.'
#3
Yes, some jailhouse imam told him that killing kuffars would purify his soul...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
04/10/2015 7:27 Comments ||
Top||
#4
A Madison man, one Van Haften,
Set sail, while in jail, with a kaftan:
"I bend on my knees as
It flaps in the breezes
That waft the salt sea air abaft 'un."
[DAWN] KARACHI: Nine suspected hard boys, including a Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain group's 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... chief and one involved in the killing of army soldiers, were rubbed out in two separate alleged encounters in the metropolis on Wednesday, officials said.
The paramilitary force killed five suspected faceless myrmidons in Keamari early Wednesday morning while in the evening police potted four other faceless myrmidons in Sohrab Goth.
According to a Rangers front man, the paramilitary force on Wednesday morning received a call on Rangers helpline 1101 about the presence of faceless myrmidons in Keamari's Tapu, an area located between the oil terminal and Shirin Jinnah Colony.
Acting on the information, Rangers personnel rushed to the place, where an encounter took place. After an exchange of 'intense fire', five faceless myrmidons linked with the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain and Al-Qaeda were killed.
The Rangers official identified the dead as Mohammed Umar, alias Fahad alias Moon, stated to be chief of the Ilyas Kashmiri group of the TTP in Karachi. The others were identified as Anas Ahmed, alias Saqib, Abdul Rauf, alias Bilal, Javed Hasan, alias Yasin, and Talha Qaiser, alias Imran.
"They were involved in a suicide kaboom on a Rangers sector commander on Feb 14, 2014," said the officer.
They were also involved in firing and hand-grenade attacks on Rangers and police mobile vans in Landhi and North Karachi. Besides, they were involved in high-profile assassination of professionals, bank robberies and kidnapping for ransom.
"Currently, they were planning to attack the Expo Centre during an event," said the Rangers official.
The bodies were shifted to the Edhi morgue at Sohrab Goth after post-mortem examinations conducted at the Civil Hospital Karachi.
Sohrab Goth killings
In the other incident, in Sohrab Goth four suspects were bumped off in an encounter while eight others enjugged Book 'im, Mahmoud! , Malir SSP Rao Anwaar Ahmed said.
Acting on a tip-off, a raid was conducted in Ali Town off the Superhighway, where faceless myrmidons had been active. They had been sending extortion chits to people there and fired at those who refused to pay them extortion, added the officer.
One of the killed faceless myrmidons was identified as Qari Zubair, a member of the TTP. "He had slaughtered two soldiers of the Pak Army in Swat," said the Malir SSP. He was maimed in a drone strike in Wazoo also. "He had come to Karachi to carry out terrorist activities when the police received secret information about his presence and conducted a targeted raid on their hideout," said the officer.
The identity of three other faceless myrmidons could not be ascertained immediately.
Rao Anwaar said eight suspects were also detained during the encounter and their possible affiliation with any group or their involvement in criminal activities was being ascertained.
Police seized a Kalashnikov and three pistols from their possession, said Sachal SHO Sohail Awan. The bodies were shifted to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for a post-mortem examination.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/10/2015 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] The Lahore High Court on Thursday dismissed the detention orders of Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi ...an asset of the Pak govt and a big turban in Lashkar-e-Taiba, which is actually a redundant statement. Zak was the criminal mastermind behind the 2008 Mumbai attack. Despite what India's provided there is not enough evidence in this world for a Pak court to convict him or even to keep him in the calaboose for very long... , one of the key accused in the 2008 Mumbai attacks case, and ordered his release.
The court was hearing a petition of Lakhvi challenging his fourth one-month detention ordered by the Okara DCO on March 14.
The Punjab 1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots.... government had previously maintained the stance that Lakhvi has been detained based on 'sensitive information' provided by intelligence agencies. Justice Anwarul Haq had directed the government's counsel to submit records of the information to the court, which was also presented in the Islamabad High Court in the past based on which the IHC had ordered Lakhvi's bail.
The court upheld the stance that if this sensitive information was reliable, the IHC would not have accepted Lakhvi's bail. Therefore, the LHC ordered Lakhvi's release based on the lack of reliability of the sensitive information provided and directed the accused to play Rs20 lakhs in surety bonds to Adiala jail.
Lakhvi is among the seven persons charged with planning and helping carry out the 2008 Mumbai attacks. The six other men facing trial in Adiala Jail for their alleged involvement in Mumbai attacks are Hammad Amin Sadiq, Shahid Jamil Riaz, Younas Anjum, Jamil Ahmed, Mazhar Iqbal and Abdul Majid.
At the time of the attacks, Lakhvi was believed to be the operational head of the banned Laskhar-e-Taiba (LT) that has been accused by India of carrying out the attacks in India's financial capital.
Lakhvi along with Zarar Shah was allegedly the key planner of the attack that killed 166 people.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/10/2015 00:00 ||
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#2
Play baseball? No. Maybe buzkashi.
Eat hot dogs? He'd pull out his mashie!
Drive Chevrolet? Never.
But does he love chevre!
What's that in his hat? Kamikaze.
[IraqiNews.com] On Thursday, a local source in Salahuddin province said, that the ISIS group forces of Evil have kidnapped 100 civilians after raids in al-Sharqat district in north of Tikrit.
The source informed IraqiNews, "This evening, ISIS forces of Evil kidnapped around 100 civilians after raiding their houses in the village of Telol al-Baj in west of al-Sharqat district (120 km north of Tikrit)," pointing out that, "The forces of Evil drove the kidnaped individuals to an unknown destination."
[IraqiNews.com] On Wednesday, Joint Operations Command announced, that the security forces killed 28 holy warriors and destroyed a number of shelters for the holy warriors in four Iraqi provinces.
Joint Operations Command said in a statement obtained by IraqiNews, "Security forces backed by the army's air force and warplanes of the international coalition have managed to kill 28 terrorists, including 3 jacket wallahs, in military operations in the provinces of Salahuddin, Anbar, Kirkuk and Nineveh," pointing out that, "The forces have also destroyed many terrorists' shelters and removed a number of explosives."
[IraqiNews.com] On Wednesday, a local source in Kirkuk province said, that the ISIS group bully boyz have released 216 Yazidis after holding them for 8 months in Nineveh province.
The source informed IraqiNews, "Today, ISIS bully boyz have released 216 Yazidis after holding them in the prisons of Nineveh for over 8 months," pointing out that, "Most of the freed captives were women, children and elderly persons."
"They have arrived in the district of al-Rashad, 35 km southwest of Kirkuk, ... a thick stew of Arabs, Turkmen, Kurds, and probably Antarcticans, all of them mutually hostile most of the time... " the source added.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
04/10/2015 00:00 ||
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[IraqiNews.com] On Wednesday, a security source in Anbar province said, that 13 elements of the ISIS group have been killed in an air strike by the international coalition on ISIS sites in western Ramadi.
The source stated for IraqiNews, "Warplanes of the international, in coordination with a force from the military intelligence, has managed to strike one of the headquarters for the group in the area of al-Tamim, located in west Ramadi," pointing out that, "The air strike resulted in killing 13 ISIS elements and injuring many others."
"The air bombing was based on accurate intelligence received by the coalition forces," the source also added.
[IraqiNews.com] A tribal leader in al-Anbar province, Mozhir Mullah Khidr announced Wednesday, that the security forces and the tribal forces are now advancing from two axes to liberate al-Hamidiya area eastern Ramadi, while pointed to the presence of heavy shelling by the US-led international coalition warplanes on important ISIS sites in the region.
Khidr said in an interview for IraqiNews.com, "The security forces backed by the tribal forces are advancing from two axes to liberate al-Hamidiya area eastern Ramadi from the ISIS organization's grip," noting that, "The first axis is the Japanese Bridge and the second axis is the Nazim Tharthar."
Khidr added, "The international coalition warplanes have violently bombed important sites belonging to the terrorist organization ISIS in the region. Great losses in lives and equipment have been inflicted upon the groups' bad boys."
President of the Council of Anbar province Sabah Krhot announced on Wednesday, that the security forces and tribal fighters have liberated al-Sajaria and Falahat east of Ramadi.
[IraqiNews.com] The head of the tribal leaders in Anbar Council, Naim Gaood announced on Thursday, that the ISIS organization elements have executed 300 people from Anbar western the province.
Gaood said in press statements, "The ISIS group snuffies executed 300 security elements and civilians in Qaim district west of Anbar."
"The executed belonged to the tribes of Karbala, Salman and Albu Mahal, but most of them were from Albu Mahal," he added, noting that, "ISIS snuffies executed civilians accused of collaborating with the Iraqi security forces."
The President of Anbar Provincial Council, Sabah Krhot announced on Wednesday (April 8, 2015), the launch of military operations, named 'Anbar's Grand Operations', to liberate all the cities and regions of the province," while emphasized that more than 10 thousand tribal fighters would participated in these operations.
[Iran Press TV] ISIL Takfiri ...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who must be killed... holy warriors have reportedly executed 300 people in Iraq's troubled western province of al-Anbar.
Sheikh Naim al-Gaoud, the leader of Albu Nimr tribe, said on Thursday that ISIL gunnies killed the victims in the border town of al-Qa'im, located nearly 400 kilometers (248 miles) northwest of the capital, Baghdad, English-language online newspaper Iraqi News reported.
Gaoud said that those executed were civilians as well as members of the Iraqi army and security forces. They were from the al-Karableh, Albu Mahal and Albu Salman tribes in the western sector of al-Anbar Province.
The development came a day after ISIL members executed 10 doctors in the Hammam al-Alil area, located some 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) south of bully boy-held djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... , after the men refused to treat the maimed members of the terrorist group.
The ISIL started its campaign of terror in Iraq in early June 2014. The heavily-armed holy warriors took control of Mosul before sweeping through parts of the country's Sunni Arab heartland.
The Lions of Islam have been carrying out horrific acts of violence, including public decapitations, against all Iraqi communities such as Shias, Sunnis, Kurds and Christians.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/10/2015 00:00 ||
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[GANTDAILY] IS killed 52 men -- the majority Iraqi coppers -- at the al Qaim border crossing with Syria this week, according to Sohaib al Rawi, governor of Iraq's Anbar province.
The men were shot Monday, and their deaths were confirmed by the governor's office Thursday.
ISIS had detained the victims since the Death Eater group overran the border post last year.
The group has captured large areas of Iraq and Syria for what it says is its Islamic caliphate.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/10/2015 00:00 ||
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[AFP] Philippine troops battled about 200 Abu Sayyaf militants on Thursday, killing two soldiers and six guerrillas. Military spokeswoman Captain Rowena Muyuela said the soldiers were on patrol on Jolo island when they encountered the militants. She said, "The firefight lasted for two hours resulting in a big number of casualties to the bandits."
Ten Abu Sayyaf militants and 15 soldiers were also injured in the encounter before the guerrillas fled.
[AnNahar] Canada carried out its first air strikes in Syria on Wednesday the military said, expanding Ottawa's contribution to the U.S.-led coalition against 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.... , after parliament approved a larger role in the conflict.
Two F-18s using precision-guided munitions struck a IS position near the Syrian city of Raqqa, before safely returning to base, the military announced.
The strike near Raqqa, an IS stronghold, was carried out with a group of 10 aircraft, including six U.S. planes.
Canadian strikes had been limited to Iraqi territory, but at the end of March Canadian politicians narrowly passed a measure to allow the country's aircraft to target IS targets in Syria.
Opposition politicians argued Canada should not deepen its involvement in the long-running and complex war.
Canada first joined the anti-IS coalition in November and it has also deployed about 70 special forces troops to train Kurds to fight IS in northern Iraq.
Despite a sustained air campaign and ground advances in Iraq, the radical group still holds large swaths of territory straddling Syria and Iraq.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
04/10/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
Take that, eh?
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
04/10/2015 7:28 Comments ||
Top||
[Iran Press TV] Terrorists have killed two signal officers working for the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) near the southeastern border with Pakistan.
A local official confirmed Thursday that the two officers were killed as they were returning from work in the mountainous areas of the Mehrestan, a city located at the southern extreme of the province of Sistan-Baluchestan.
Rashid Parsayi, the governor of Mehrestan which is locally known as Zaboli and is located 335 kilometers south of the provincial capital city of Zahedan, said unidentified gunmen fired at the two officers who were descending Birak Mountain.
The two slain officers have been identified as Morteza Mohammad-Baqeri and Mohammad Mohammadi Soleimani. The pair worked at the telecommunications unit of IRGC in the neighboring Kerman province.
On Monday, terrorists killed eight border guards in a border area in the southeastern town of Negur before fleeing to Pakistan to escape being hunted down by security forces. The incident came after IRGC busted a major terror group in the region earlier in the day.
Sistan-Baluchestan province has seen similar attacks by terrorists who launch hit-and-run attacks and flee to neighboring Pakistan. Iran has repeatedly criticized its eastern neighbor for failing to rein in the terrorists.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/10/2015 00:00 ||
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#4
Hope they had a very long and informative conversation with them first.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
04/10/2015 8:22 Comments ||
Top||
#5
Yep, One man's freedom fighter is another man's terrorist. It all depends on what color rag you wrap around your head on the nifty video that followed.
Did they cut off their heads and post it on YouTube?
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
04/10/2015 11:57 Comments ||
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[ARA] On Wednesday, more than 30 people were reportedly killed when bully boyz of 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.... (IS/ISIL) launched simultaneous car kabooms against rebel headquarters in two separate locations in northern Syria.
Local sources reported that at least 21 people were killed in the village of Hawar Kilis at the borderline with The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... , where IS conducted a suicide car kaboom against units of the Syrian armed opposition.
In the meantime, nine others fell victims to a similar car kaboom carried out by IS bully boyz against rebel fighters in the town of Marea.
Among the casualties were three military commanders from the rebel forces, including a commander from the 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 two others from Jaish al-Mujahideen and aj-Jabha al-Shamiya.
Wednesday's bombings were considered as an attempt by the radical group to broaden its areas of control in the province of Aleppo.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/10/2015 00:00 ||
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[CHRON] Paleostinian groups agreed to join forces with the Syrian government to expel 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.... holy warriors from an embattled Paleostinian refugee camp in Damascus, opening the door to a potentially destructive military campaign in a district already devastated by many rounds of fighting.
But the head of the U.N. cautioned that a military assault on the Yarmouk camp would be "yet one more outrageous war crime for which those responsible must be held accountable."
Islamic State bully boyz overran much of Yarmouk last week, establishing a foothold in the Syrian capital for the first time. The incursion is the latest trial for Yarmouk's estimated 18,000 remaining residents, who have already suffered through a devastating, two-year government siege, starvation and disease.
Reporters on a government-escorted visit Thursday to Yarmouk saw blown-out buildings at the camp's northern entrance that were nothing but empty shells. In its dusty and deserted streets, a few sheep foraged in the rubble. Building facades were charred by fire and walls were pockmarked by bullets.
"There has been an agreement with the Syrian side to expel IS from Yarmouk as part of a joint Syrian-Paleostinian effort," said Ahmad Majdalani, a Paleostinian Authority envoy who was sent to Damascus this week.
"We will establish a joint military operation between the Syrian army and Paleostinian factions, and this (operations) room will lead the military campaign to oust IS. The campaign will start soon."
Posted by: Fred ||
04/10/2015 00:00 ||
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[ARA] On Wednesday, he 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 (IS/ISIS) carried out an offensive on the village of Kharita in the countryside of Tel Temir in Hasakah province, northeastern Syria, which was followed by fierce festivities between the radical group and the joint forces (the People's Protection Units "YPG" and Haras al-Khabur fighters) in the area.
Speaking to ARA News, Sarhad Botan, a YPG fighter in the battlefronts of Tel Temir, said that their units deterred the IS-led attack and stopped the group's advancement through counterattacks, leading to festivities that continued until Wednesday midnight.
"We (YPG) cannot disclose the results of these battles yet," he added.
In a related development, the General Command of the YPG issued Wednesday a statement, of which ARA News received a copy, saying that fierce festivities continue at several points and the results will be disclosed to the public as soon as the battles are suspended.
The IS group has taken over several Assyrian villages in the countryside of Tel Temir, killing dozens and displacing thousands of civilians from their hometowns in Hasakah province. Kurds and Assyrians formed have a joint military forces to regain the IS-held areas and defend the region against the group's atrocities.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/10/2015 00:00 ||
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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.
[Boston Herald] A Whitinsville soldier killed in Afghanistan Wednesday joined the Army and volunteered to be a combat medic because he wanted to "serve and be useful," his family said.
[DAWN] One soldier was killed and three others 
[SMH.AU] France's TV5Monde television channel has resumed full operations after an "unprecedented" hack by self-proclaimed Islamic State militants, who shut down transmissions and hijacked its website and social networks to protest against French military action in Iraq.
[AP] A Wisconsin man accused of traveling to Turkey as part of a failed attempt to join the Islamic State in Syria was ordered held without bond Thursday for trying to aid a terrorist group..png)
Wazoo
[DAWN] The Lahore High Court on Thursday dismissed the detention orders of 
[GANTDAILY] IS killed 52 men -- the majority Iraqi 
[AnNahar] Canada carried out its first air strikes in Syria on Wednesday the military said, expanding Ottawa's contribution to the U.S.-led coalition against 
