#4
More tasty, less filling than Fables:
Three ladies at supper. The Gables.
"Hey, once they stop kickin'
They taste just like chicken!"
- A gator, upturning the tables.
[Mil.Com] The U.S. Defense Department has identified the soldier killed in action on Tuesday in Afghanistan as Army Staff Sgt. Matthew V. Thompson.
Thompson, 28, of Irvine, California, was assigned to Company A, 3rd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne), Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, the Pentagon announced in a release Wednesday.
The Special Forces soldier was on his first deployment to Afghanistan, according to the Army. He had previously deployed to Iraq.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Taliban snuffies have beheaded a young university student in northern Faryab province of Afghanistan and used his corpse a Body-borne Improvised Explosive Device (BBIED).
According to the local officials in Faryab, the corpse of the university student was left on a roadside after placing a remote controlled Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in his body.
Provincial governor’s front man Javid Bidar said the university student was taken out of the vehicle on a highway in Faizabad district and was decapitated by the Taliban bad boys.
He said the Afghan forces discovered and defused the IED planted in his stomach before the Taliban snuffies manage to detonate it and target the Afghan forces.
Bidar further added that the move by the Talibs is apparently aimed at discouraging the university students from pursuing their higher education.
According to Bidar, an operation is underway to find and arrest the perpetators of the horrific incident.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/26/2016 00:00 ||
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#1
Arrest? I'd be a little harsher than that
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/26/2016 10:01 Comments ||
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[Khaama (Afghanistan)] At least 30 Taliban turbans were killed in a series of air and ground raids in eastern Nangarhar The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country.. province of Afghanistan.
The provincial police commandment in a statement said Thursday that the operations were conducted in the restive Haska Meena district jointly by the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF).
The statement further added that the dead bodies of at least 5 Taliban turbans were left in the area and the Afghan forces confiscated a PK machine gun and 4 Ak-47 assault rifles belonging to the Death Eaters.
The Talibs group has not commented regarding the report so far.
Nangarhar is among the relatively volatile provinces in eastern Afghanistan where the Taliban turbans and bully boyz belonging 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.... of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group are actively operating in a number of its remote districts.
The joint raids agaisnt the Talibs in Haska Meena came as the group launched a coordinated attack on security posts in this district last week.
However the Afghan forces managed to repulse the Taliban offensive and clearance operations are still underway to clear the area from the bully boyz presence.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/26/2016 00:00 ||
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[Khaama (Afghanistan)] At least four people were killed and fourteen others were maimed in an kaboom in northern Balkh province of Afghanistan earlier today.
Provincial police chief Abdul Razaq Qaderi said the incident took place after an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) exploded on a roadside in Khulm district.
He said the target of the attack was politician Asadullah Sharifi as he was crossing the area but there are no reports regarding his fate in the kaboom.
No group including the Talibs has so far grabbed credit behind the incidnet.
Balkh is among the relatively peaceful provinces in northern Afghanistan but the anti-government armed bad boy groups have recently increased to their insurgency activities.
Militants belonging to the Taliban group and other Death Eater groups are active in a number of the remote districts of Balkh province.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/26/2016 00:00 ||
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A Somali police officer says a car bomber has prematurely detonated an explosives-laden vehicle near the new Turkish embassy compound in the capital, Mogadishu.
Police opened fire on the car Thursday evening when the bomber refused their orders to stop at a checkpoint near the beachside embassy.
Capt. Mohamed Hussein says the driver detonated the car bomb in the middle of the road. It was not immediately known if anyone was killed.
The target of the bomber remains unclear. Several beachside restaurants near the embassy have come under attack by militants before.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/26/2016 00:00 ||
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This is why Somalia can't have nice things.
[Al Jazeera] Al-Shabaab ... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda... fighters have attacked a beach restaurant in the capital Mogadishu with a boom-mobile before entering into a shootout with security forces, according to police and the group.
"A boom-mobilewent kaboom! at Banadir beach restaurant at Lido beach and there is exchange of gunfire. We have no other details so far," Major Ahmed Ibrahim, a police officer, told Rooters news agency on Thursday.
The al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab group grabbed credit for the attack.
"We attacked the Banadir beach restaurant and now our fighters are fighting inside it," Abdiasis Abu Musab, its military operation front man, told Rooters.
The News Agency that Dare Not be Named news agency reported that a boom-mobileer had prematurely detonated an explosives-laden vehicle near the new Turkish embassy compound in the capital, according to a Somali police officer.
Al-Shabaab has carried out a series of deadly attacks in Somalia to try to topple the Western-backed government.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/26/2016 00:00 ||
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#1
If they can't eat near sand they've got a big problem. Or as Ed would say, a really, really big problem
[Ynet] Egyptian security officials say a police driver kidnapped this week has been publicly rubbed out in Sinai by suspected Death Eaters from the local 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.... affiliate.
They say three Death Eaters and the policeman arrived Thursday at el-Arish's residential al-Masaeed district in a green pickup truck. The policeman, blindfolded with his arms and legs tied by a robe, was then brought out and shot twice in the head.
The policeman was kidnapped by Death Eaters Tuesday while driving a police car in el-Arish. The Death Eaters took away the vehicle too.
[Libya Herald] The main coastal road between 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... and Zawiya has been reported to have been reopened today.
The news came following an announcement today by the Presidency Council/Government of National Accord (PC/GNA) that it has been negotiating between the coastal inhabitants and the inland inhabitants representing Wirshifana.
In return for reopening the coastal road, the PC/GNA has promised the Wirshefana tribes that it will activate the existing law which gives compensation for war damage.
The Wirshafana tribe occupying a large swathe of territory from the foot of the Nefusa/Western Mountains up to the coast and onto the Tunisian border are deemed to have made the most political losses as the result of the fall of the Qadaffy regime. The Wirshefana tribe are claiming damages for war losses incurred during the 2014 operations by pro February 17th forces in their region.
The officially recognized and uniformed state police (as opposed to militias) were dispersed along part of the coastal road for at least some time today in the hope of spreading confidence amongst motorists. It is not clear for how long the police can continue to provide the manpower to cover the 180-odd km from Tripoli to the Tunisian border.
However, there is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened... at the time of writing, the Fursan Janzour Brigade (Janzour Knights) based in Janzour and who patrol part of the coastal road around Janzour have refuted that the whole coastal road has been reopened or that it is now ’’safe’’.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/26/2016 00:00 ||
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[Hurriyet] Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu escaped two separate armed attacks staged by outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) myrmidons, targeting his party’s motorcade in the Savsat district of the Black Sea province of Artvin on Aug. 25.
One gendarmerie soldier who was guarding him was killed by the holy warriors while two others were maimed. It marked the first ever attack attempt by the outlawed group directly targeting a political leader.
PKK holy warriors first opened fire on piloting gendarmerie vehicles safeguarding the party motorcade from a forested area near the village of Yanikli, when security forces in three vehicles guarding Kilicdaroglu spotted them.
An armed clash erupted between bodyguards and PKK holy warriors as special forces surrounded Kilicdaroglu’s vehicle and responded to the fire.
Kilicdaroglu and the party committee escaped unharmed in the first attack and he was kept in safety inside his car.
One myrmidon who was preparing to stage a rocket attack on the motorcade was also killed in festivities with security forces, according to reports.
The party committee, which was heading to the Ardanuc district of Artvin, were trying to return when they were targeted once again on their way back to the Savsat district.
Three soldiers, including two non-commissioned officers, were initially maimed in the attack, Interior Minister Efkan Ala said. However, Caliphornia hasn't yet slid into the ocean, no matter how hard it's tried... Fatih Caybasi, the soldier who was heavily maimed in his head, later departed this vale of tears at hospital.
Ala announced that the PKK was the perpetrator of the attack, noting that the group was already active in the region.
[DUNYANEWS.TV] Another youth was killed on Wednesday by security forces armed with shotguns in India-held Kashmire which is reeling from weeks of deadly violence, police said.
The youth identified as Amir Gul Mir departed this vale of tears after he was hit by pellets and teargas shells at Prichoo in the district. Around forty other people were maimed in violent actions of Indian police and troops against the protesters. The killing of Amir Gul Mir has raised the toll in the ongoing Intifada to 84 since July 8, when Indian troops killed the top commander of Hizbul Mujahideen, Burhan Wani in Kukernag area of Islamabad district.
Panic gripped Batamaloo area of Srinagar after Indian troops resorted to firing at Batamaloo Bus Stand and beat up the people who went out to buy milk, vegetables and other essential commodities. A big anti-India rally was held at Bugam in Chadoora, which was addressed among others by Sikh liberation leader, Narinder Singh Khalisa.
The Chairman of All Parties Hurriyet Conference, Syed Ali Gilani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik ...chairman of one of the two factions of Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front. JKLF is a Kashmiri nationalist organization founded in Birmingham, UK in 1977. Branches weren't actually established in Kashmir for another ten years. It has the usual demands for separation of J&K from secular India so it can become an independent Islamic rathole. It seems to have no interest in Pak Kashmir breaking away to join it. In 1994 Malik renounced violence after he was released from jail and from that point he and his organization pursued peaceful means to impose their will on the region... while giving a joint call of Azadi March on Friday have appealed people to march massively towards Eidgah in Srinagar.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/26/2016 00:00 ||
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[DUNYANEWS.TV] In an Intelligence Based Operation (IBO) and a separate combing operation in Chaman area at Pak-Afghan border on Thursday, atleast eight gunnies have been locked away Please don't kill me! According to details, the operation was carried out on a tip-off.
Huge cache of arms and ammunition including explosives, prepared Improvised Explosive Devices (IED), rockets and detonators have also been recovered during the operations, news release by ISPR here stated.
The gunnies have been remanded in the custody of intelligence agencies where they are under interrogation.
The operations are being done to safeguard border and prevent terrorists’ movement in Pakistain from the neighbouring Afghanistan.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/26/2016 00:00 ||
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[DUNYANEWS.TV] 6 Levis were killed in a rocket attack on Thursday, while the convoy was returning from an area near Iran border, reported Dunya News.
There was also firing on the convoy as 5 Levis lost their lives on the spot whereas Risaldar Major Abdullah and Tehsildar Jewani, Naeem were injured along with 4 others. Naeem also succumbed to injuries at the hospital whereas 3 injured were shifted to Karachi.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/26/2016 00:00 ||
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(IraqiNews.com) Anbar – A source in Anbar Operations Command informed that three ISIS members were killed while they were trying to cross the Euphrates River in northern Ramadi.
The source informed, “Intelligence information allowed the security forces to monitor the movement of ISIS members while they were trying to sneak from Albu Ali Jassim to the northern side of Ramadi through the Euphrates River.”
“The security forces clashed with the ISIS members and killed three of them and destroyed their boat,” he said.
The source further added, “ISIS is trying to launch attacks in order to release the pressure exerted by the military operations and security forces.”
Posted by: badanov ||
08/26/2016 00:00 ||
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Iraqi airstrike hits ISIS convoy near Sharqat "We're gonna need more Kia trucks..."
(IraqiNews.com) Salahuddin – A security source in Salahuddin province on Thursday informed that an ISIS convoy was destroyed in Sharqat district.
Sharing details the source said, “Iraqi Air Force today destroyed an ISIS convoy, which consisted eight Kia trucks while the convoy was trying to escape from Sharqat to Hawija, south of Kirkuk”.
“Iraqi Air Force is carrying out airstrikes from time to time against ISIS members in Sharqat. The airstrikes are being carried out after receiving accurate intelligence inputs from the military intelligence department,” further added the source seeking anonymity.
(IraqiNews.com) Salahuddin – Saraya al-Salam Brigade on Thursday announced seizing five vehicles carrying stolen materials from the fertilizers factory in Baiji district in northern Tikrit.
Spokesperson of Saraya al-Salam in Samarra district Mohanad al-Ezawi said, “Forces from Saraya al-Salam yesterday seized five vehicles in an area of Salahuddin province carrying materials from fertilizers factory in Baiji, while a faction of al-Hashd al-Shaabi was trying to get it out of the province.”
Ezawi added, “Saraya al-Salam handed the seized materials to the office of Salahuddin governor.”
Posted by: badanov ||
08/26/2016 00:00 ||
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(IraqiNews.com) Baghdad – A security source informed on Thursday, that a bomb blast to north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad killed two people and wounded five others.
Sharing details the source added, “In a roadside bomb blast today at Hamamiyat in Taji district, north of Baghdad, killed two persons and injured five others.”
“Ambulances rushed to the area and carried the injured to a nearby hospital. The bodies of the deceased were sent to the forensic department. Security forces later cordoned off the area,” further added the source seeking anonymity.
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] The Iraqi army has dislodged ISIS from the Qayyara oil producing region located south of their de facto capital djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... , Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Thursday. This is the third day in a row they've liberated it.
"The liberation of Qayyara is an important step toward achieving the larger goal of restoring Mosul province," according to tweets from Abadi’s media office.
Iraqi forces last month captured the Qayyara airbase which it plans to use as a hub to support forces advancing on Mosul, 60 km (38 miles) further north.
Abadi hopes to defeat the group this year by capturing Mosul, the largest city under its control in both Iraq and Syria.
The Qayyara region produces heavy sour crude and has a small refinery to process some of the oil.
[ArabNews] KIRKUK: Iraqi forces on Wednesday closed in on the center of Qayyarah, officials said, on the second day of an operation to recapture the town from radicals.
Qayyarah lies on the western bank of the Tigris river, about 60 km south of Mosul, the Daesh group’s last major urban stronghold in Iraq.
Brig. Gen. Najm Al-Juburi from the operations command for Nineveh, the province in which both Qayyarah and Mosul are located, said the town was now encircled.
“There are only a few meters left before troops advancing from the west and troops coming from the east meet and complete the siege around Qayyarah,” he told AFP.
He said the vast majority of villages around Qayyarah had been retaken since special forces launched the operation on Tuesday.
Al-Juburi and other military officials in the area confirmed the progress and said that a nearby oil field and refinery had also been recaptured from Daesh.
“Liberating Qayyarah will mean cutting off Mosul from the southern areas, which will make liberating Mosul much easier,” Juburi said. “This is a blow to the organization of Daesh because it affects their economy, and this after we retook an air base that is now going to be used to attack them,” he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/26/2016 00:00 ||
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Iraqi officials say a series of bombings and shooting across the Iraqi capital has killed 13 people and maimed 24.
No group immediately grabbed credit for the attacks. The violence comes as Iraqi forces are pushing to retake a small town from ISIS south of djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... , the country’s second-largest city that is still in ISIS hands.
The police say separate roadside kaboomings on busy commercial streets in northern and southern Baghdad killed five and maimed 17 on Thursday. Two sticky bombs attached to cars just south and east of Baghdad killed two and maimed seven.
And three shootings in different Baghdad neighborhoods killed six people.
Police and hospital officials confirmed the casualty toll, speaking on condition of anonymity ... for fear of being murdered... as they were not authorized to talk to news hounds.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/26/2016 00:00 ||
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[SUNSTAR.PH] An explosive expert of the Abu Sayyaf ...also known as al-Harakat al-Islamiyya, an Islamist terror group based in Jolo, Basilan and Zamboanga. Since its inception in the early 1990s, the group has carried out bombings, kidnappings, murders, head choppings, and extortion in their uniquely Islamic attempt to set up an independent Moslem province in the Philippines. Abu Sayyaf forces probably number less than 300 cadres. The group is closely allied with remnants of Indonesia's Jemaah Islamiya and has loose ties with MILF and MNLF who sometimes provide cannon fodder... Group (ASG) died when the bomb he was carrying accidentally went kaboom! while evading from pursuing government forces in Basilan ...Basilan is a rugged, jungle-covered island in the southern Philippines. It is a known stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf, bandidos, and maybe even orcs. Most people with any sense travel with armed escorts... province.
Colonel Cirilo Tomas Donato, Army’s 104th Infantry Brigade commander, said the incident occurred shortly after 10 a.m. Thursday in the village of Mangalut, Akbar municipality.
Donato identified the slain Abu Sayyaf bomb expert as Mussana Jamiri, whose group the military forces had been pursuing in the hinterlands of Basilan.
Jamiri is a first degree cousin of Basilan-based Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) leader Nurhassan Jamiri.
Donato said the group of Jamiri was fleeing towards the boundary of Akbar town as the troops were closing in on them when the explosive he was carrying went kaboom!.
He said the group of Jamiri was involved in the clash on Tuesday in Tuburan town that resulted to the death of three soldiers and a militiaman.
He said Jamiri’s group has ambushed the government troops on Wednesday night in the village Parangbasak, Lamitan City, Basilan.
He said one soldier died while another was maimed during the ambush. They belong to the Army’s 64th Infantry Battalion.
He said the mangled remains of Jamiri was turned over to his family.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/26/2016 00:00 ||
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[Inquirer] Abu Sayyaf militants beheaded an 18-year-old captive in Indanan, Sulu province, on Tuesday after they failed to recieve ransom from the boy's family. The Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) said the head of Patrick James Almodovar was found inside a plastic bag that was dumped by three motorcycle-riding men at Barangay Kajatian, Indanan, on Wednesday evening. Almodovar was kidnapped by the Ajang-Ajang faction of the Abu Sayyaf in Jolo, Sulu, on July 16.
Westmincom spokesman Filemon Tan said Almodovar was beheaded after the rebels failed to get the ransom they had demanded. Tan didn't say how much the Abu Sayyaf had demanded, but the family said the militants had wanted P1 million.
The military condemned the "barbaric murder perpetrated by this terror group, saying, "The beheading of an innocent man done by the [Abu Sayyaf] is an absolute affront to the peace-loving Moros in the Philippines."
The victim's mother urged President Duterte to punish her son’s killers. She said, "They deserve the same punishment. President [Duterte], we ask you to finish them all."
She said the bandits had demanded P1 million, but all the family could manage was P100,000, borrowed from friends and relatives. She said, "No one helped us, but now everyone is talking about my son."
Posted by: ryuge ||
08/26/2016 00:00 ||
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[Bangkok Post] A pair of bombs detonated near each other killed a woman and injured 30 people late Tuesday in the main town of Pattani province. The bombs were reportedly detonated 20 minutes apart. This so-called 'double tap' is being used more frequently by southern insurgents, with the goal of causing maximum casualties with the second bomb among those who respond to the first.
The first blast at 10:40 p.m. near a karaoke pub caused no casualties. Then, a second blast caused by a huge bomb in a parked pickup truck blew up at 11:00. This bomb injured 30 security officers and bystanders. The injured included two girls, 21 women and seven men.
Both bombs went off in a parking lot behind the pub. The car bomb shattered windows in a wide circle in the heavily populated area. Shops, homes and a 100-room, eight-story hotel all suffered damage. More than 10 cars and motorcycles parked in the area were also damaged by the blast.
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Lebanese security forces incarcerated Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'! an alleged ISIS Lion of Islam on Wednesday who is said to be a relative of the Lion of Islam group’s leader in Leb.
The country’s Internal Security Forces arrested Syrian national Muhieddine al-Jarban in the eastern town of Labweh and believe him to be the uncle of Abu al-Sous - leader of the ISIS group in the northeastern Lebanese border town of Arsal, Leb’s The Daily Star news site reported.
Little is known about Abu al-Sous other than serving as an ISIS Lion of Islam field commander in long-disputed mountain range of Qalamoun, that occuopies majority of the border between Syria and Leb.
The ISIS Lion of Islam group do not have a clear military or organizational structure in Leb, The Daily Star sources said. However, nothing needs reforming like other people's bad habits... Sous is believed to hold either Syrian, Iraqi, or Jordanian citizenship.
It is unknown what the Lion of Islam group’s operations are in Leb, but sources have said the group is trying to form sleeper cells in Leb.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/26/2016 00:00 ||
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] The Turkish military shelled a group of Syrian Kurdish fighters south of the town of Jarablus on Thursday, a Turkish security source said, a day after The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... launched its first US-backed incursion into Syria.
The shelling occurred near Manbij, an area controlled by the US-allied Kurdish militia the People's Protection Units (YPG), after the fighters did not heed a warning from Turkish forces, CNN Turk said. Jarablus lies about 40 km north of Manbij.
President Tayyip Erdogan and senior government officials have made clear the aim of "Operation Euphrates Shield" is as much about stopping the Kurdish YPG militia seizing territory and filling the void left by ISIS as about eliminating the radical Islamist group itself.
At least nine more Turkish tanks entered northern Syria earlier on Thursday as part of an operation aimed at driving ISIS out of the area around Jarablus and preventing Kurdish militia fighters from seizing territory, Rooters witnesses said.
A senior Turkish official said there were now more than 20 Turkish tanks inside Syria and that additional tanks and construction machinery would be sent in as required.
"We need construction machinery to open up roads ... and we may need more in the days ahead. We also have armored personnel carriers that could be used on the Syrian side. We may put them into service as needed," the official said.
The deployments are part of "Operation Euphrates Shield", in which Syrian rebels backed by Turkish special forces, tanks and warplanes on Wednesday entered Jarablus, one of ISIS’s last strongholds on the Turkish-Syrian border, in Turkey’s first major US-backed incursion into its southern neighbor.
Kurdish Syrian force withdraws
In an interview with Turkey’s NTV channel on Thursday, Turkish Defense Minister Fikri Isik said Turkish-backed rebels were "cleansing" Jarablus of ISIS, who had controlled the strategic town.
He also said that the Syrian rebels have taken control of Jarablus from ISIS fighters to prevent Kurdish forces from seizing a new swathe of territory on Turkey’s southern border.
Turkey sees the YPG, the armed wing of the Syrian Kurdish party PYD, as an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has fought a three-decade insurgency in Turkey’s southeast.
On the same day, a front man for the US-led coalition against ISIS said on Thursday that the Kurdish-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have withdrawn across the Euphrates river to prepare for "the eventual liberation" of Raqqa, a city held by ISIS.
"The Syrian Democratic Forces have moved east across the Euphrates to prepare for the eventual liberation of Raqqa," the front man for Operation Inherent Resolve wrote on his Twitter feed.
The Syrian Kurdish YPG militia also said on Thursday its forces taking part in an operation to capture the city of Manbij from ISIS had returned to their bases after the mission was successfully completed.
Turkey had demanded on Wednesday that the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, a critical part of the SDF, return to the east bank of the river.
Turkish officials said Syrian Kurdish forces have started withdrawing east of the Euphrates River.
The Turkish officials were quoting US Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State... , who relayed the news in a telephone conversation with his Turkish counterpart.
The YPG, considered by Ankara to be the Syrian affiliate of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), said its forces had returned to their bases after “successfully completing” the mission to capture Manbij. In a statement, the YPG said military command and all YPG-held positions had been handed to the allied Manbij Military Council, while civilian control was handed to a civilian council on Aug. 15.
[Hurriyet] A total of 350 soldiers from the Turkish Armed Forces are taking part in the “Euphrates Shield” operation launched on Aug. 24 to back Syrian rebels’ bid to clear the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) from territories bordering Turkey, CNN Türk reported on Aug. 25.
Some 200 soldiers from mechanized units and 150 Special Forces soldiers are involved in the operation, which is still ongoing after it secured its first aim of liberating the Syrian town of Jarablus from ISIL, some 14 hours after the operation began.
After the capture of Jarablus, Syrian rebels reportedly carried out careful explorations of the town to clear mines and explosive traps set up by ISIL militants before their retreat.
Regarding recent that additional Turkish tanks had entered Syrian territory on Aug. 25, CNN Türk reported that the tanks had only entered up to two kilometers inside Syria before returning to Turkish territory, with the aim of maintaining border security.
Along with the coalition air support, 17 Turkish planes are reportedly taking part in the operation, including 11 F-16s, two F-16s, a tanker aircraft for the jets’ fuel delivery, one AWACS, and two rescue planes.
It remains unclear when the operation is set to be completed.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/26/2016 00:00 ||
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[Al Jazeera] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... sent more tanks into northern Syria on Thursday and demanded Kurdish militia fighters retreat within a week as it seeks to secure the border region and drive back 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.... of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS, also known as ISIS) in its first major incursion into the war-torn county.
Free Syrian Army ... the more palatable version of the Syrian insurgency, heavily influenced by the Moslem Brüderbund... (FSA) fighters, along with Turkish special forces and tanks, and supported by Turkish and US air power, took over the ISIS-controlled town of Jarablus on Wednesday, pushing the group back to its last stronghold in northeastern Syria - al-Bab.
Syrian rebel and Turkish forces pressed on past Jarablus on Thursday in attempt to clear the border area of any ISIS presence.
"The Free Syrian Army now is in total control of Jarablus and the area surrounding it, and they say that they are now going to try to move forward to recapture the territory that is now under ISIS control ... particularly in al-Bab," said Al Jazeera’s Hashem Ahelbarra, reporting from Karkamis, just across the border from Jarablus.
But Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and senior government officials have made it clear that the aim of "Operation Euphrates Shield" is as much about stopping the Kurdish YPG from seizing more territory along the border and filling the void left by ISIS as it is about eliminating the hardline group itself.
Turkey demanded that the YPG retreat to the east side of the Euphrates within a week. The Kurdish militia had moved west of the river earlier this month as part of a US-backed operation, now completed, to capture the city of Manbij from ISIS.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/26/2016 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Sublime Porte
[NOLA] One night in August 2007, 10-year-old Mohammed Roble was riding on a school bus when it pulled onto a Minneapolis bridge during the evening commute. Officials said that Roble, 62 other children and the bus driver were traveling on the Interstate 35W bridge when it began to crumble into the Mississippi River below.
The disaster would become the deadliest bridge collapse in modern U.S. history, killing 13 people and injuring 145 others. Roble's parents filed a lawsuit after the collapse against Minnesota and others and eventually reached a settlement.
In 2014, Roble began to receive money from this settlement, initially getting more than $91,000, according to a court filing this week. Federal authorities said in the filing that not long after Roble got that money, he left the country, making his way to China, The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... and, ultimately, Syria, where they say he joined 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.... The FBI says that once there, he has been using the money from his settlement to pay for things like cars and weddings, showing "financial generosity" once he got there.
According to an FBI affidavit, filed with a criminal complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota on Tuesday, Roble joined the myrmidon group, also known as ISIS or ISIS, and is fighting in Syria. In the affidavit, an FBI agent states that the bureau came to this conclusion based on an investigation that included comments from an unnamed "confidential human source" and financial evidence and social media postings.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/26/2016 00:00 ||
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[ALMASDARNEWS] The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) continued their wide-scale counter-offensive in the Aleppo Governorate on Thursday, targeting the Technical College 1070 Al-Hamdaniyah Housing Project in the southern districts.
Led by the Republican Guard and Hezbollah, the Syrian Armed Forces stormed the Technical College, where they were able to capture several points inside the northwestern corridor of the building.
Clashes are still ongoing at the Technical College, despite Jaish Al-Fateh’s best efforts to repel this major attack by the Syrian Armed Forces.
Meanwhile, ...back at the shouting match, the spittle had reached unprecedented levels... at the 1070 Housing Project, the Syrian Arab Army’s Republican Guard forces made another attempt to capture the southern sector of this district; however, the heavy artillery fire from the Hikmah School has slowed them down.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/26/2016 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
[CNN] A US Navy patrol craft fired three warning shots at an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps boat Wednesday after US officials said it had harassed that patrol craft, CNN has learned.
Another US patrol craft and a Kuwaiti Navy ship were also harassed in the incident, which took place in the northern end of the Persian Gulf.
At one point, the Iranian boat came within 200 yards of one of the US Navy boats. When it failed to leave the area after the Navy had fired flares and had a radio conversation with the Iranian crew, the US officials said, the USS Squall fired three warning shots. Following standard maritime procedures, the Navy fired the three shots into the water to ensure the Iranians understood they needed to leave the immediate area.
Iran nuclear deal one year out: The good, bad, and ugly
State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau said incidents like this one "unnecessarily escalate tensions," adding that the US doesn't know Iran's intentions.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/26/2016 00:00 ||
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#1
I'd like to see the US take a more apologetic tone here. As in: "Gee, we're sooo sorry we shot up your boat. The junior officer responsible for this unfortunate accident will be severely reprimanded. Lucky no one was killed, eh?"
(IraqiNews.com) Kirkuk – A source in Kirkuk revealed that ISIS members killed and injured 65 civilians while they were trying to escape from Hawija district before they could reach Preshmerga forces.
Sharing details the source further informed, “ISIS members ambush tens of civilians for fleeing Hawija district towards the areas under control Peshmerga forces stationed near Dibs district.”
The source added, “The ISIS members fired indiscriminately toward the civilians, killing 20 persons including nine women and arrested 45 other including six women.”
Posted by: badanov ||
08/26/2016 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.
[Mil.Com] The U.S. Defense Department has identified the soldier killed in action on Tuesday in Afghanistan as Army Staff Sgt. Matthew V. Thompson.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Taliban 
chairman of one of the two factions of Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front. JKLF is a Kashmiri nationalist organization founded in Birmingham, UK in 1977. Branches weren't actually established in Kashmir for another ten years. It has the usual demands for separation of J&K from secular India so it can become an independent Islamic rathole. It seems to have no interest in Pak Kashmir breaking away to join it. In 1994 Malik renounced violence after he was released from jail and from that point he and his organization pursued peaceful means to impose their will on the region...
[DUNYANEWS.TV] 6 Levis were killed in a rocket attack on Thursday, while the convoy was returning from an area near Iran border, reported Dunya News.
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Iraqi officials say a series of bombings and shooting across the Iraqi capital has killed 13 people and 
[SUNSTAR.PH] An explosive expert of the 
[Inquirer] Abu Sayyaf militants beheaded an 18-year-old captive in Indanan, Sulu province, on Tuesday after they failed to recieve ransom from the boy's family. The Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) said the head of Patrick James Almodovar was found inside a plastic bag that was dumped by three motorcycle-riding men at Barangay Kajatian, Indanan, on Wednesday evening. Almodovar was kidnapped by the Ajang-Ajang faction of the Abu Sayyaf in Jolo, Sulu, on July 16.
[Bangkok Post] A pair of bombs detonated near each other killed a woman and injured 30 people late Tuesday in the main town of Pattani province. The bombs were reportedly detonated 20 minutes apart. This so-called 'double tap' is being used more frequently by southern insurgents, with the goal of causing maximum casualties with the second bomb among those who respond to the first. 
