Marines and sailors risked their lives for one another in Chattanooga last week, trying to distract the gunman who assaulted a naval center, helping people scale a fence for safety and returning fire at the attacker, law enforcement officials said Wednesday. Some of the five servicemen who were fatally wounded effectively sacrificed themselves during the assault on Thursday, diverting the gunman from a larger group of potential victims, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the investigation into the killings. "This could have been a lot worse," said the official, who did not want to be identified because he was not authorized to discuss the investigation. "It could have been a horrible, horrible massacre ‐ so much worse."
And this: "A service member from inside the facility observed him and opened fire on him, firing several rounds at him," said Edward W. Reinhold, the special agent in charge of the F.B.I.'s Knoxville office. Two guns belonging to service members were recovered from the scene, he said, and "at least one of those weapons had been discharged."
Of course they did. They are the best of American manhood. They defended their charges until the last as they had sworn. Any armed forces member would have done the same.
[VOA News] The U.S. military said an airstrike earlier this month in southeastern Afghanistan killed a "high-ranking al-Qaida operational commander."
In a statement Friday, the Pentagon said Abu Khalil al-Sudani was killed in a July 11 attack in Paktika province, which borders Pakistan.
The statement described al-Sudani as the head of the Sunni militant group's "suicide and explosive operations," adding he had played a part in attacks on U.S., Afghan and Pakistani forces.
"Al-Sudani was one of three known violent extremists killed in the strike," the statement said. The names of the two others killed in the strike were not given.
"The death of al-Sudani will further degrade al-Qaida operations across the globe," Defense Secretary Ash Carter said in a statement. "We will continue to counter violent extremism in the region and the world."
Posted by: Fred ||
07/24/2015 11:50 ||
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#1
Is this how we measure progress degradation? At least W had a deck of cards to identify the hit list.
Posted by: Bobby ||
07/24/2015 13:38 Comments ||
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[Tolo News] At least four Taliban members, reportedly from Raghistan, Yamgan and Jurm districts in Badakhshan, have been killed and six wounded after they attacked security check points early Thursday morning, officials said.
Badakhshan Security Chief Sakhi Dad Haidari said the insurgents attacked around 5:00 a.m local time Thursday and started firing on security check posts in the Tergaran area of the district. Within a few hours Afghan security forces had brought the situation under control.
The Taliban is yet to comment about the attack.
Two months ago Taliban insurgents attacked at least ten police bases in Warduj district in north-eastern Badakhshan and took control of most of the posts, an official said at the time.
He said that Taliban insurgents not only took control of police posts but also stole a number of security force vehicles.
This comes after MPs from Badakhshan province warned of the rise in serious threats by insurgents in the province.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/24/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
Raghistan? Fred - you're making that sh*t up, aren't you?
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/24/2015 8:47 Comments ||
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[Tolo News] A man attempting to enter the capital with a car full of explosives was arrested by Kabul police on Thursday, according to Kabul Police Chief General Abdrul Rahman Rahimi.
"The man was trying to transfer the explosives inside Kabul city and conduct the attack," Rahimi said. "Fortunately, the security forces foiled the attempt."
The culprit was said to be entering Kabul through the Maidan gate near Arghande square when the police detected the explosives and apprehended him.
"The terrorist had placed the explosives very professionally and was seeking to detonate the car in Kabul," Rahimi added.
According to the police chief, over just the past few days, Kabul police have detained at least 113 individuals on various criminal charges, including murder, robbery and the selling of recently outlawed toy guns.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/24/2015 00:00 ||
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[ALMANAR.LB] Yemeni field sources revealed on Wednesday that the national army and fighters of the Popular Committees - continued their operations against terrorist operatives in several provinces across the country.
The sources told Al-Manar TV that the Yemeni military advanced in the central province of Ma'rib, leaving dozens of terrorists killed and wounded, after it managed to destroy several positions where al-Qaeda operatives were deployed west of the city.
In the southern province of Taez, the Yemeni army and the Committees continued their progress in Al-Settin road towards Mekhlaf-Shera'b area to liberate it from the operating takfiri groups.
In the meantime, the Saudi-US aggression targeted the provinces of Saada in the north and Lahej in the south, in addition to carrying out three raids over the main road linking Sanaa to Ma'rib in Al-A'roosh area.
Moreover, in the capital Sanaa, the security forces managed to foil two terrorist attacks and dismantled an improvised explosive device planted under an oil tanker in the city. The security personnel also defused a car loaded with explosive barrels near Al-Iman university.
On the border area with Saudi Arabia, the Yemeni forces and the Committees targeted the Saudi military posts, setting ablaze the Al-Tawwal and Al-Hathira positions in Jizan, in retaliation for the persistent Saudi-led war on the country.
The Yemeni shelling also forced several Saudi soldiers to escape the army blows.
Also in Jizan, the Popular Committees targeted an assembly point of the Saudi vehicles and troops in Al-Me'sab and Al-Shabaka positions in Jizan.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/24/2015 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] Yemeni pro-government forces recaptured the presidential palace in Aden on Wednesday and a Saudi military plane landed in the war-scarred southern city following recent territorial losses by Iran-backed rebels.
The arrival of reinforcements freshly trained and heavily armed by the Saudi-led coalition has helped forces loyal to exiled President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi to retake most of Aden after four months of fierce fighting.
Thirty rebels were killed in the battle for the Al-Maashiq hilltop palace, where Hadi had taken refuge before fleeing to 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... in March, a source in the pro-government Popular Resistance militia said.
Underscoring the recent advances by the pro-Hadi forces, a Saudi military plane touched down Wednesday in the city's newly reopened airport.
The plane, carrying relief aid, will be followed by others in the coming days, according to transport minister Badr Basalma, one of two ministers who returned to the city after it was declared "liberated" by the exiled government on Friday.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/24/2015 00:00 ||
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[ALMANAR.LB] Military source in Yemeni Defense ministry said that the artillery force in the Yemeni army targeted on Thursday an operations room for militiamen of fugitive president Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
The strike in Aden’s Tawahi district killed several commanders in the militia, including Emirati officers, the source told Yemeni news agency, SABA.
In addition to the Gulf officers, prominent commander in Hadi militiamen was killed the source added.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/24/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
Just when I think of having a D-9 in the driveway, I think, why sell short,, I need Die dicke Bertha. Cats will stay in their place, dawgs salute, a and postmen punctual.
[RUDAW.NET] Military officials say Saudi-backed troops and local militias are in full control of the strategic port city of Aden after repelling Shiite rebels from their last holdout in the city's presidential compound. We've been hearing that, along with Houthi denials that it's so, for the past week or so.
The officials said new checkpoints were erected around the city Thursday to search for remnants of the rebel forces who lost control of the presidential compound overnight following days of intense fighting.
Meanwhile, airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition continued north of Aden and troops pushed their way into provinces east and north of Aden in an attempt to secure control of Aden, officials said. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not allowed to brief reporters.
Fighting was most intense around the rebel-controlled military base of Al-Anad in the province of Lahj.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/24/2015 00:00 ||
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[RFE/RL] Russian officials said security forces have killed six militants in the republic of Kabardino-Balkaria. The National Antiterrorist Committee said the militants were surrounded in an apartment building on July 23 during a counterterrorism operation in Nalchik, the regional capital. It said security forces also found a large illegal laboratory used to make explosives.
[RUDAW.NET] Turkey scrambled jets to the Syrian border on Thursday, after clashes with militants of the Islamic State (ISIS) that killed a Turkish soldier and wounded another, local media reports said.
The official Anadolu Agency said the clashes erupted after the militants fired from inside Syria into Turkey’s southern Kiris province.
The Turkish military said that a soldier had lost his life and another was wounded, while an ISIS fighter was killed and three of the group’s vehicles were destroyed by Turkish artillery.
Local media reports quoted an unidentified Turkish as saying that fighter jets had been scrambled to the border, but he gave no other details.
Turkey has long been known as a springboard for foreign jihadi fighters going to Syria to fight alongside ISIS. But it is now facing a surge in violence blamed on the militant group, including a a suicide bombing Monday that killed 32 people in the town of Suruc in Turkey’s southeast.
Earlier Thursday, media reports said Turkey is planning to spend more than $1.5 billion to secure its long border with Syria, building new fences and ditches and flying surveillance balloons.
On Wednesday US President Barack Obama spoke with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan. A White House statement said Obama agreed to help Washington’s NATO ally secure its southeastern border.
Turkish officials say they have detained more than 500 ISIS suspects over the past six months, and that this month they arrested 21 people recruiting for the militant group.
The Hurriyet Daily reported Thursday that about half of Turkey’s border security patrol is now deployed along the Syrian frontier. It said that 90 percent of its military drones and about half of the military’s armored vehicles also were currently in use along the border with Syria.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/24/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
How long before Turkey ask for US aid to fight ISIS? Any guesses?
Posted by: chris ||
07/24/2015 0:16 Comments ||
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#2
Turkey is to let the US carry out airstrikes against the Islamic State group from a key military base near the Syrian border, US officials have said.
The agreement, yet to be confirmed by Ankara, follows months of negotiations...The use of the Incirlik airbase broadens the US military's ability to strike IS targets - one US official told the New York Times it was a "game changer".
Once used in raids against former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, the base is near to Turkey's long border with Syria, and significantly narrows the distance to the IS stronghold of Raqqa.
#5
Turkey is to let the US carry out airstrikes against the Islamic State group from a key military base near the Syrian border, US officials have said.
The agreement, yet to be confirmed by Ankara
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan changed tack on Friday and said Turkey will allow its Incirlik air base to be used by the United States to fight against "Islamic State" (IS) militants "within a certain framework." His confirmation came hours after Turkish warplanes struck "IS" sites inside Syria.
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > [Hurriyet Daily News] TURKEY [Turkish Air Force] STRIKES TARGETS IN BOTH SYRIA AND IRAQ AGZ PKK AND ISIS SIMULTANEOUSLY.
and
* BIGNEWSNETWORK > [Guardian.UK] US' DEAL WID TURKEY MAY GO BEYOND SIMPLE USE OF AIRBASE.
Today ANKARA = TURKEY, tomorrow CAIRO = EGYPT for the US???
Moreso for the US given ...
* MEMRI.ORG > SAUDI PRESS: WE [KSA] MUST HAVE A MILITARY NUCLEAR PROGRAM WIDIN TEN YEARS [circa 2025 in parallel wid Nuclear Iran], NO ALTERNATIVE TO [Sunni-vs-Shia, pan-Me] NUCLEAR ARMS RACE, SUNNI BALANCE OF POWER [Nukes = Balance of Terror] NEEDED [ASAP AMAP ALAP in aftermath of new Iran-P5+1 Nuke Deal] AGZ IRAN AND ISRAEL.
[Iran Press TV] Members of the ISIL Takfiri group have executed a Muslim preacher in Iraq’s northern city of Mosul as they seek to promote their own heavily distorted and austere interpretation of religious principles in the areas under their control.
A local source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said ISIL extremists decapitated Sheikh Mushir al-Naqshbandi, the imam of the al-Salehin Mosque, in the western al-Ghazlani neighborhood of the city, located some 400 kilometers (248 miles) north of the capital, Baghdad, on Thursday, Arabic-language al-Sumaria satellite television network reported.
The source added that the militants beheaded the clergyman in front of a large crowd of onlookers after accusing him of spreading religious teachings deemed as opposed to those of the Takfiris.
Meanwhile, Iraqi military aircraft carried out precision strikes against terrorist hideouts in the al-Rashad district of the town of al-Karmah, situated about 48 kilometers (30 miles) west of Baghdad. A total of 17 ISIL extremists were killed in the aerial attack.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/24/2015 00:00 ||
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[RUDAW.NET] Kurdish forces bombarded several ISIS weapons depots and military bases Thursday on the Nawaran front in northern Mosul province, a Peshmerga spokesman said.
“Peshmerga forces conducted four attacks on ISIS, destroying weapons depots and military bases in the Khorsabad village on the Nawaran front, at 5:20am Thursday, causing material damage and heavy casualties among ISIS radicals,” said Brigadier Dilshad Mawlood, media officer of the Peshmerga Zeravani force.
“The US-led coalition along with the Peshmerga have continuously targeted ISIS maneuvers in Nawaran,” Mawlood added.
The brigadier said an ISIS base in Bazgirkan village near the Khazir front southeast of Mosul was also targeted by coalition airstrikes.
The Nawaran front is located on the Nineveh plain, some 10km northeast of Mosul city.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/24/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
Bombarded? With what? Is "bombarded" a poor translation of, say, "attacked"? Or did they use artillery? That might be news. Mortars? They don't have airpower. Did they call in an airstrike?
Posted by: Richard Aubrey ||
07/24/2015 7:07 Comments ||
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[ALMANAR.LB] Units of the Syrian army continued operations against terrorists across the country on Thursday, establishing control over areas after eliminating terrorists of the so-called 'Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant' (ISIL) takfiri group, and killing others in different provinces across the country, state-run SANA news agency reported.
In Daraa, units of the army and armed forces targeted dens and supply routes of Takfiri terrorist organizations in the southern Daraa province.
A military source told SANA that units of the army destroyed a number of mortar launchers in Maqas al-Hajar and al-Adim buildings to the west of Tal al-Za’atar in the northwestern countryside of the province.
The source added that a number of terrorists from al-Nusra Front and the so-called 'Ahrar al-Sham Islamic Movement' were killed and others were injured.
Meanwhile, a unit of the army carried out a precise operation against dens and positions of al-Nusra terrorists and other Takfiri organizations in al-Yadoda town, killing a number of terrorists and injuring others, in addition to destroying their arms and ammunition.
A unit of the army also killed a number of terrorists in a special operation to the northwest of the grains silos in the eastern countryside of the province.
A number of terrorists were killed and others were injured in an operation carried out by the army against their positions in Saida town in the eastern countryside.
An army unit destroyed a number of al-Nusra dens were in the surroundings of the water reservoir in Daraa al-Balad neighborhood.
Units of the army and armed forces destroyed artillery launchers and armored vehicles equipped with machineguns belonging to the terrorist organizations in a series of strikes in the southern Daraa province.
Meanwhile, SANA reporter in Hasaka said that army units, aided by national supporting groups, established full control over building blocks surrounding the cemetery on the southeastern outskirts of Ghweiran neighborhood in Hasaka city after eliminating the last ISIL terrorists’ positions in them.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/24/2015 00:00 ||
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[ALMANAR.LB] The Syrian army and Hezbollah fighters blew up on Thursday two tunnels used by Takfiri militants in Zabadani, sources told al-Manar.
The two tunnels, connected to each other, link Sahl al-Zabadani with the town of Madaya which lies south of Zabadani and is 8-km-far from Lebanon’s eastern border.
The tunnels were also linked to a third one which was blown up by the allied forces few days earlier, the sources said.
The Takfiri militants were using these tunnels to transfer supplies, according to the sources.
Earlier on Wednesday, the allied forces killed scores of insurgents as they advanced toward the city of Zabadani.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/24/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
What is with the Arab infatuation with tunnels?
[RUDAW.NET] Kurdish forces claim they have seized strategic areas of Hasaka amidst reports of poisonous gas attacks by ISIS in the violently contested city.
The Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) claimed they took control of the crossroads at Nashwa in Hasaka this afternoon, according to information obtained by Rudaw.
Intense battles are ongoing in Hasaka between ISIS militants on one side and Kurdish forces, the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and Syrian regime army. Much of the fighting has reportedly been centered at Nashwa.
Dozens of ISIS militants have reportedly been killed in those battles, according to Rudaw’s sources.
“The ISIS militants have been surrounded by the YPG fighters in one neighborhood, and the fight has turned into urban warfare,” a source told Rudaw.
“Several YPG fighters were killed with booby traps placed by ISIS. The radical group also used poisonous gas against the Kurdish forces in some areas,” added the source. “The coalition airstrikes continue their support to the Kurdish forces by bombing ISIS positions.”
Posted by: Fred ||
07/24/2015 00:00 ||
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[RUDAW.NET] A Peshmerga official says that a roadside landmine previously planted by the Islamic State on the Mekhmour front was triggered by an ISIS convoy early Thursday, killing two leaders of the terrorist group.
“A mine had been planted by ISIS troops in previous battles in the village of Kharbadan to target the Peshmerga, the vise versa happened, killing two of the group’s local leaders on the front,” Ali Hussain, commander of the Mekhmour front told Rudaw.
He added: “One of the slain Emirs [Leader] was the group’s administrator in the area named Abu Malik, and the other one named Abu abdul-Aziz.”
The Peshmerga commander said the bomb went off at a time when several convoys of ISIS were passing by on the road.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/24/2015 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.
Marines and sailors risked their lives for one another in Chattanooga last week, trying to distract the gunman who assaulted a naval center, helping people scale a fence for safety and returning fire at the attacker, law enforcement officials said Wednesday. Some of the five servicemen who were fatally wounded effectively sacrificed themselves during the assault on Thursday, diverting the gunman from a larger group of potential victims, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the investigation into the killings. "This could have been a lot worse," said the official, who did not want to be identified because he was not authorized to discuss the investigation. "It could have been a horrible, horrible massacre ‐ so much worse."
[Tolo News] At least four Taliban members, reportedly from Raghistan, Yamgan and Jurm districts in Badakhshan, have been killed and six wounded after they attacked security check points early Thursday morning, officials said.
[Tolo News] A man attempting to enter the capital with a car full of explosives was arrested by Kabul police on Thursday, according to Kabul Police Chief General Abdrul Rahman Rahimi.
[ALMANAR.LB] Yemeni field sources revealed on Wednesday that the national army and fighters of the Popular Committees - continued their operations against terrorist operatives in several provinces across the country.
[DAWN] Yemeni pro-government forces recaptured the presidential palace in Aden on Wednesday and a Saudi military plane landed in the war-scarred southern city following recent territorial losses by Iran-backed rebels.
[ALMANAR.LB] Military source in Yemeni Defense ministry said that the artillery force in the Yemeni army targeted on Thursday an operations room for militiamen of fugitive president Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
[RUDAW.NET] Military officials say Saudi-backed troops and local militias are in full control of the strategic port city of Aden after repelling Shiite rebels from their last holdout in the city's presidential compound.
[RFE/RL] Russian officials said security forces have killed six militants in the republic of Kabardino-Balkaria. The National Antiterrorist Committee said the militants were surrounded in an apartment building on July 23 during a counterterrorism operation in Nalchik, the regional capital. It said security forces also found a large illegal laboratory used to make explosives.
[RUDAW.NET] Turkey scrambled jets to the Syrian border on Thursday, after clashes with militants of the Islamic State (ISIS) that killed a Turkish soldier and wounded another, local media reports said.
[Iran Press TV] Members of the ISIL Takfiri group have executed a Muslim preacher in Iraq’s northern city of Mosul as they seek to promote their own heavily distorted and austere interpretation of religious principles in the areas under their control.
[RUDAW.NET] Kurdish forces bombarded several ISIS weapons depots and military bases Thursday on the Nawaran front in northern Mosul province, a Peshmerga spokesman said. 
[ALMANAR.LB] Units of the Syrian army continued operations against terrorists across the country on Thursday, establishing control over areas after eliminating terrorists of the so-called 'Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant' (ISIL) takfiri group, and killing others in different provinces across the country, state-run SANA news agency reported.
[ALMANAR.LB] The Syrian army and Hezbollah fighters blew up on Thursday two tunnels used by Takfiri militants in Zabadani, sources told al-Manar.
[RUDAW.NET] Kurdish forces claim they have seized strategic areas of Hasaka amidst reports of poisonous gas attacks by ISIS in the violently contested city.
[RUDAW.NET] A Peshmerga official says that a roadside landmine previously planted by the Islamic State on the Mekhmour front was triggered by an ISIS convoy early Thursday, killing two leaders of the terrorist group.
