Hi there, !
Today Sun 01/15/2017 Sat 01/14/2017 Fri 01/13/2017 Thu 01/12/2017 Wed 01/11/2017 Tue 01/10/2017 Mon 01/09/2017 Archives
Rantburg
531687 articles and 1855967 comments are archived on Rantburg.

Today: 73 articles and 223 comments as of 9:45.
Post a news link    Post your own article   
Area: WoT Background    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix   
36 Afghan parliament staff killed in Kabul attack
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 1: WoT Operations
4 13:08 Crusader [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
9 21:56 rammer [] 
0 [1] 
0 [1] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [1] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [1] 
1 09:46 Skidmark [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [1] 
0 [3] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [1] 
0 [1] 
0 [] 
2 15:37 trailing wife [] 
Page 2: WoT Background
10 23:42 Grins Snese4215 [1]
1 09:50 Skidmark []
0 [1]
0 [2]
0 []
0 []
0 []
0 []
1 17:56 Seeking cure for ignorance []
0 []
0 []
9 11:57 g(r)omgoru []
0 []
1 14:08 g(r)omgoru []
1 09:59 Skidmark [1]
0 [1]
3 09:58 Skidmark []
Page 3: Non-WoT
14 22:04 KBK [4]
3 22:10 rammer []
3 21:00 Frank G []
2 18:31 Whiskey Mike []
1 09:23 Besoeker []
3 09:52 Besoeker []
2 15:19 trailing wife []
5 19:03 gorb []
0 []
2 18:09 Seeking cure for ignorance []
7 12:39 Abu Uluque []
18 22:44 rammer [1]
0 []
Page 4: Opinion
1 12:21 trailing wife []
5 22:12 rjschwarz [1]
6 14:17 gorb []
0 []
7 18:16 g(r)omgoru []
0 []
Page 6: Politix
9 21:03 JohnQC []
5 16:00 AlmostAnonymous5839 []
15 22:49 bbrewer126 [1]
1 05:37 g(r)omgoru []
6 22:30 rammer [1]
13 22:14 KBK []
20 23:42 CrazyFool [1]
11 17:56 Bright Pebbles []
22 22:35 rammer [1]
Afghanistan
Kidnapped professors beg Trump to negotiate release in Taliban video
[Guardian] An American and an Australian professor who were kidnapped in Kabul five months ago have pleaded with US president-elect Donald Trump to help secure their release in a video released by the Taliban.

The video, uploaded to YouTube on Wednesday and apparently filmed on 1 January, is the first public sign of life of the two teachers since their abduction.

Kevin King, 60, an American, and Timothy John Weeks, 48, an Australian, were violently kidnapped on 7 August outside the campus of the American University of Afghanistan where they both taught.

In the 13-minute video, the pair ‐ who are are visibly distraught and occasionally break into sobs ‐ beg the American government to negotiate with their captors. The Taliban appear to have demanded the release of several "soldiers" in exchange for the professors.

"If we stay here for much longer, we will be killed. I don’t want to die here," Weeks says in the video.

There was no indication of where the video had been filmed but it seemed timed to coincide with the current US presidential transition.
Posted by: Besoeker || 01/12/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  It coincided with a trump rally. Obama was still "in-charge" Said nothing of it.
Posted by: newc || 01/12/2017 1:36 Comments || Top||

#2  "If we stay here for much longer, we will be killed."

I reckon they'd be smart to put their affairs in order.
Posted by: Besoeker || 01/12/2017 1:42 Comments || Top||

#3  "I don’t want to die here,"

To ape Archie Bunker - 'would you feel better if you was tossed out of a window'?
Posted by: Raj || 01/12/2017 1:46 Comments || Top||

#4  This is on Obama, it happened during his watch.

Trump has nothing to do with this! I'm thinking this is the Taliban trying to bait Trump.
Posted by: Seeking cure for ignorance || 01/12/2017 7:48 Comments || Top||

#5  Ya think?
Posted by: Pappy || 01/12/2017 9:00 Comments || Top||

#6  This can be a defining moment for the hard red line.

No rendition will be popular.
Posted by: Skidmark || 01/12/2017 9:45 Comments || Top||

#7  Offer to not nuke mecca in exchange.
Posted by: Silentbrick || 01/12/2017 12:47 Comments || Top||

#8  Substitute Islamabad for Mecca, and it'd be more relevant.
Posted by: Pappy || 01/12/2017 12:59 Comments || Top||

#9  Since they say they are going to be killed anyway, just offer to bomb the crap out of their hidy hole if the hostages are still there in 10 days.
Posted by: rammer || 01/12/2017 21:56 Comments || Top||


36 Afghan parliament staff killed in Kabul attack
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Afghan parliament confirmed that 36 employees of the parliament including secretariat of the Lower House of the Parliament, Wolesi Jirga, and some workers of the Upper House were killed in yesterday’s coordinated suicide kaboom.

Dozens of other were also maimed in the attack which took place close to the parliament building.

The Afghan officials earlier said at least 38 people were killed and over 70 others were maimed in the attack.

According to the officials, the incident took place after a jacket wallah detonated a vehicle packed with explosives close to the parliament and another kaboom followed as people had gathered in the incident area.

The officials also added that four coppers also bit the dust in the attack and at least four others were maimed.

The Taliban group grabbed credit behind the incident.

The United States NSC Spokesperson Ned Price strongly condemned the attack in Kabul
...the capital of Afghanistan. Home to continuous fighting from 1992 to 1996 between the forces of would-be strongman and Pak ISI/Jamaat-e-Islami sock puppet Gulbuddin Hekmayar and the Northern Alliance, a period which won Hek the title Most Evil Man in the World and didn't do much for the reputations of the Northern Alliance guys either....
and other provinces, including Kandahar.

"The United States strongly condemns the terrorist attack on Parliamentary buildings in Kabul today that killed at least 38 Afghans and maimed more than 70. An attack on Parliamentary facilities and politicians is clearly an assault on Afghanistan’s efforts to build democratic institutions," a statement released by the US Embassy said.

The statement further added "We also strongly condemn the terrorist attack today in Kandahar that killed at least seven people and maimed 18, including the United Arab Emirates’ Ambassador to Afghanistan and several Emirati diplomatic personnel, and the suicide kaboom in southern Helmand
...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan...
province today that killed at least seven Afghans, including both civilian and military personnel."

"We commend the Afghan police and other security forces who bravely responded to these attacks, and fully support Afghan efforts to bring those responsible to justice. The United States stands with the people and Government of Afghanistan as we work together to build a more secure, stable, and prosperous Afghanistan," the statement added.

Posted by: Fred || 01/12/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Atmar in Kandahar as Ghani orders thorough probe into the terror attack
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The National Security Adviser Mohammad Hanif Atmar arrived in southern Kandahar province today leading a delegation of high level government officials to investigate the deadly attack on government guesthouse.

Tawab Ghorzang, front man of the National Security Council (NSC), said "A high level security line ministries delegation leading by NSA Atmar, just reached to Kandahar to investigate the yesterday’s kaboom."

The Office of the President, ARG Palace, condemned the attack on strongest words and said enemies of Afghanistan targeted governor, UAE Ambassador, and some civilians in a terrorist attack.

A statement by ARG said the UAE Ambassador had visited the province for humanitarian support and inauguration of al-Nahyan foundation.

President Ghani said the enemies of the stability and development of Afghanistan cannot harm the will and confidence of the Afghan people for development and prosperity of the country.

Posted by: Fred || 01/12/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Afghan police arrest 3 Iranians on terrorism charges in Herat
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] Local officials in Herat
...a venerable old Persian-speaking city in western Afghanistan, populated mostly by Tadjiks, which is why it's not as blood-soaked as areas controlled by Pashtuns...
province are saying at least three Iranians have been locked away
Drop the rod and step away witcher hands up!
by the Afghan police over terror charges.

An official in the counter-terrorism directorate Fazal-ur-Rehman Khadem said the three Iranians were arrested as they were operating in the province to carry out liquidation of the individuals.

No further details were given regarding the possible target of the individuals.

However,
some people are alive only because it's illegal to kill them...
Khadem said the men were initially claiming that they are residents of Afghanistan but further investigations revealed that they were Iranian nationals.

He said the men have not confessed to their crime so far but preliminary investigations suggest that the men are already involved in several murders in this province.

According to Khamem, the apprehension of the Iranian men shows that the outsiders are directly involved in the growing instability and violence in the country.

This comes as reports emerged late last year suggesting that Iran is supporting the Taliban group to counter the growing ISIS threats in the region.

Posted by: Fred || 01/12/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran


Afghan Blast Kills Five UAE Diplomats, Taliban Denies Involvement
[NEWSWEEK] A kaboom in southern Afghanistan late Tuesday killed five diplomats from the United Arab Emirates and maimed its ambassador to the Central Asian country, the federation said on Wednesday.

The kaboom targeted the guesthouse of the provincial governor Homayun Azizi, who was also maimed in the blast, during a visit by the UAE ambassador Juman Mohammed Abdullah al-Kaabi.

The blast killed at least 11 people. The police chief of Kandahar, General Abdul Razeq told News Agency that Dare Not be Named that authorities believe an bomb was hidden inside a sofa at the guesthouse. He said that construction work at the site may have enabled the perpetrators to plant the device within an otherwise heavily guarded compound.

The UAE said it would observe three days of mourning in reaction to the deadliest attack on its diplomatic staff in its young history. The federation of seven sheikdoms was founded in 1971.
Posted by: Fred || 01/12/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Africa Horn
Al-Shabab militants in Somalia announce public execution of homosexuals
[CBSNEWS] The al-Shabaab
... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda...
murderous Moslem group announced Tuesday it has killed a teenage boy and a young man for engaging in sexual conduct. This is the first known time that al-Shabaab has carried out what it calls executions over homosexuality.

The Somalia-based murderous Moslem group announced the killings via its Andalus radio, saying they were carried out in a public square in Buale, a town in Middle Jubba region.

The group said it killed 20-year-old Isaq Abshirow and 15-year-old Abdirizak Sheikh Ali after they were placed in durance vile
Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try!
by al-Shabaab’s Islamic police and convicted by a court run by the murderous Moslems.

Speaking at the site of the killings, the group’s self-proclaimed judge called the sexual acts "immoral and reprehensible," the Andalus announcement said.

Also killed was Said Mohammed Ali, accused of spying for the Æthiopian army, the group said.

Posted by: Fred || 01/12/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab


Africa North
Fighting erupts in Tunisian town over Libyan trade
ZARZIS, TUNISIA: Clashes erupted on Wednesday in Tunisia’s border town of Ben Guerdane between police and protesters demanding the free flow of vital trade with neighboring Libya, witnesses said.

Protesters set fire to tires and blocked the road between Ben Guerdane and the border crossing of Ras Jedir about 30 kilometers (20 miles) away, they said.

They gathered outside official buildings in Ben Guerdane and security forces intervened after they were targeted by stone-throwers, witnesses said.

Private radio station Mosaique FM reported the police fired tear gas to break up the protest.

The interior ministry said police broke up a “protest of around 150 people” in a “legal way.”

There were no immediate reports of any arrests or casualties.

Ras Jedir is the main crossing between western Libya and southeastern Tunisia, a region whose economy is largely dependent on cross-border trade, both legal and illegal.

Tensions have been high in recent months, with a part of the population accusing the authorities of ignoring their plight.
The authorities have said the issue is thorny in view of the political chaos and fighting between militias in Libya.

In May last year, security forces used tear gas against hundreds of people in Ben Guerdane protesting against the closure of the Ras Jedir crossing by Libyan authorities.

Two months earlier, Tunisia closed two border crossings with Libya for a fortnight in response to a deadly jihadist attack on Ben Guerdane.

Thousands of Tunisians are believed to be fighting with jihadist groups abroad including in Libya.
Posted by: badanov || 01/12/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Captured terror suspect turns out to be one of LNA’s most wanted men
[Libya Herald] The Libyan National Army has discovered that a suspect tossed in the calaboose
Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages!
near Jalu two days ago is one of their most desperados.

When he was detained, it was not realised that Mustafa al-Sohaibi was in fact Abu Alzupir al-Ansari, the Ansar al-Sharia
...a Salafist militia which claims it is not part of al-Qaeda, even though it works about the same and for the same ends. There are groups of the same name in Libyaand Yemen, with the Libyan versions currently most active. Tunisia's Shabaab al-Tawhid started out an Ansar al-Sharia and changed its name in early 2014. It still uses the old name now and then, probably because the stationery's not all used up and the web site hasn't expired yet...
commander who had held Benghazi’s Gwarsha Gate until the LNA wrested it from terrorist control last November.

When he was first questioned Sohabi had explained that the two women and four children, including a baby, who were with him were not members of his family but that he was taking them to safety.

Major Ben Barka Majbri of the LNA’s Office of Military Affairs explained that Sohaibi’s vehicle had run out of fuel south of Ajdabiya. He had set off on foot to find a taxi when he was stopped and detained. It is unclear whether the women and kiddies were walking with him.

When he was searched he was found to have LD 60,000 as well as foreign currency including Turkish lira, euros and US dollars. In addition he had an Ansar al-Sharia seal and terrorist literature.

It is understood that Sohaibi was only identified as a terrorist commander when his picture was put out on social media.

Posted by: Fred || 01/12/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Ansar al-Sharia


Swiss nun abduction: Al Qaeda affiliate releases video showing hostage alive
[HINDUSTANTIMES] al-Qaeda’s affiliate in North Africa released a new proof-of-life video of Swiss missionary Beatrice Stockly, held hostage in Mali by the group since last January, US-based monitoring group SITE said.

The al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) video, which lasts two minutes and 17 seconds, was posted on social media sites Telegram and Twitter on Tuesday, according to SITE.

In the clip a woman whose head is covered by a black veil identifies herself as Stockly. She says the date of the recording is December 31, 2016, and that she has been held hostage by AQIM for 360 days.

She spoke in French, with her weary voice barely audible and her face blurred out.

Stockly greeted her family and thanked the Swiss government "for all the efforts they have made."

"I am in good health," she added.

In late January 2016, AQIM grabbed credit in a video for Stockly’s kidnapping, which it said took place on January 7.

The group said it would free her in exchange for a number of AQIM fighters tossed in the calaboose
Please don't kill me!
in Mali and one of their leaders held in The Hague.

Switzerland
...home of the Helvetians, famous for cheese, watches, yodeling, and William Tell...
has demanded her release without conditions.

AQIM released a second similar video in mid-June aimed at proving she was still alive.

Stockly, who is in her 40s, is a Christian missionary who was previously kidnapped by jihadists in northern Mali’s Timbuktu in 2012. On that occasion, she was freed about two weeks later, and opted to keep living in Mali.

Posted by: Fred || 01/12/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in North Africa


Africa Subsaharan
Cameroon Gov't claims progress against Boko Haram
[UK Daily Mail] Cameroon said Wednesday its military offensive against Boko Haram across the Nigerian border has made major progress, with scores of jihadists killed and hundreds of hostages freed since December.

But in a sign of continuing jihadist trouble, four would-be human bombs -- two young boys and two teenaged girls -- tried to strike in Cameroon's Far North province Wednesday. Only the bombers died in the attempted attacks which were foiled by security forces and local vigilantes. Two vigilantes supporting the armed forces were lightly injured, regional governor Midjiyawa Bakari said.

Since Nigeria announced a key victory against Boko Haram jihadists in December, claiming the group had been routed from its Sambisa Forest bastion, its ally Cameroon has intensified operations along its northern border.

Cameroonian troops have in recent weeks killed some 100 Boko Haram fighters and freed "hundreds of hostages" held by the group, Cameroon's government spokesman Issa Tchiroma Bakary said Tuesday. Some 30 other jihadists have been taken prisoner and returned to Nigeria. With access to the combat zones tightly controlled, it was impossible to verify the government's claims.
Posted by: Pappy || 01/12/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Boko Haram


13 Boko Haram suspects arrested in Lagos, Kogi, others -- SSS
[PREMIUMTIMESNG] The State Security Service, SSS, said on Tuesday that its operatives tossed in the calaboose
You have the right to remain silent...
13 Boko Haram
... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality...
suspects in various parts of Nigerian including Lagos State.

In a report by Tony Opuiyo on behalf of the agency, the secret service said its operatives on January 10 in Oko Oba area of Lagos State arrested four suspected fleeing members of the Boko Haram.

Nine others were also arrested in various parts of the country, the agency, also called DSS, stated.

The suspects picked in Lagos were identified as Fanayi Bukar Hassan, Butame Hassan, Kologoni Bukar, and Amina Abubakar.

They were suspected to have fled to Lagos to evade arrest in the ongoing military offensive in the north-east.

The service also arrested, on January 10, a kingpin of the sect in Okene town, Adavi Local Government Area of Kogi State.

Identified as Abdullahi Mohammed, he was said to be the leader of the Boko Haram sect in Okene and was responsible for the coordination of Boko Haram activities in Okene axis of Kogi State.

Operatives of the agency also said two fleeing Boko Haram murderous Moslems were arrested at Mutum Biyu in Gassol Local Government Area of Taraba State on New Year day.

The suspects, Bale Grema and Kolomi Adba-Aji, the agency said, were arrested in a mosque after they had fled Marte, Borno State, where they were involved in Boko Haram activities.

On January 7, one Muhammad Auwal was arrested at Andaza village, Kiyawa Local Government Area of Bauchi State in connection with terrorist activities.

Mr. Auwal, who was arrested with N300,000 on him, is believed to have been a drug supplier to the Boko Haram sect in Sambisa Forest.

In addition, two suspected Boko Haram Lion of Islams, Ibrahim Mala and Abdallah Modu, were arrested on January 6 at Amba and Gudi villages of Kokona Local Government Area, LGA, of Nasarawa State.

The suspects who are indigenes of Maiduguri, Borno State, had fled the military action in Borno State and were regrouping in the state under different trade covers, the SSS said.

While Mr. Modu sells children’s wears, Mr. Mala, who trades in perfumes, confessed to his membership of the sect and disclosed that he (Mala) joined the Yusufiyya faction in 2007,the agency said.

Similarly, Abdulkarim Dahiru, a key terrorist commander and an indigene of Okengwa, Okene LGA of Kogi State, was arrested at the Specialist Hospital, Lokoja.

The suspect was identified as the main coordinator of several kidnappings as well as other robbery activities in Kogi and Edo States, the agency said.

The Nigerian military had last month cautioned Nigerians to be wary of Boko Haram members who were said to be fleeing the north-east in droves after losing territory and personnel to Nigerian soldiers.
Posted by: Fred || 01/12/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Boko Haram


The Grand Turk
2 civilians die after Turkish border guards fire on them
Hasakah – At least two civilians were killed and several others were injured on Wednesday when Turkey’s border police opened fire on a group of Syrians near the town of Sere Kaniye in Hasakah Governorate.

Local sources reported that the unfortunate civilians were trying to escape the ongoing war in Syria.

The would-be refugees had reportedly approached the Syrian-Turkish border from the Kurdish district of Sere Knaiye [also known as Ras al-Ain], when they were fired upon in a bid to keep them in Northern Syria – Rojava (NSR).

The victims were identified as Amira Dawar, a Kurdish woman from the Makran village in Serek Kaniye suburb, and Abdullah Abdulhussein from the town of Sere Kaniye. “They were both killed by Turkish fire while trying to cross the border into Turkey,” Dilawer Kani, a local Kurdish rights activist, told ARA News.

Also, three other civilians were injured and transferred to Hasakah city for treatment.

“Turkish border guards have violated humanitarian and moral principles and passed all international laws and norms, by killing innocent Syrian civilians,” the Kurdish Asayish security said in a previous statement.

Turkey has closed all its border gates with the Kurdish-populated NSR, forcing desperate civilians to seek alternative routes across the border.

Hundreds of Syrians, mostly Kurds, have been killed by the Turkish border guards over the past five years.
Posted by: badanov || 01/12/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte


Home Front: WoT
Man gets 3 years for lying about ISIS contact
[Ynet] A Minnesota man has been sentenced to more than three years in prison for lying to the FBI about his social media exchanges with 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 recruiters.

Twenty-three-year-old Abdul Raheem Ali-Skelton, of Glencoe, pleaded guilty in April to lying about his communications with the group.

Prosecutors argued Tuesday for a five-year sentence. Minnesota Public Radio reported that Assistant US Attorney Charles Kovats said Ali-Skelton maintained secret contact with "the worst of the worst of terrorist organizations."

Ali-Skelton apologized and distanced himself from ISIS ideology, saying he never supported terrorism. His attorney cited mental health issues, saying communicating with the group made Ali-Skelton feel important.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/12/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


13 years for ex-high school student in plot to join al Qaeda
[SFGATE] A man who as a teenager was seen on surveillance video proclaiming his commitment to jihad was sentenced on Tuesday to 13 years in prison despite his tearful pleas to a judge that he was a disillusioned and immature high school student at the time he plotted to join al Qaeda.

"I am not the monster that the government says I am," Justin Kaliebe told U.S. District Court Judge Denis Hurley before being sentenced. "I never intended to hurt anyone. That’s not who I am."

Kaliebe, now 22 years old, also faces 20 years of post-release supervision.

The judge said Kaliebe’s offense "is very serious."

"He was radicalized to the nth degree," the judge said. "He was a very dangerous individual. People who engage in this type of activity ... must recognize that serious consequences will follow."

Kaliebe was a 16-year-old high school student who had recently converted to Islam from Roman Catholicism when he landed on the radar of undercover agents on the hunt for would-be gunnies on suburban Long Island.

FBI agents and New York City coppers watched him for 18 months before arresting him four years ago after he went to John F. Kennedy International Airport intending to fly to Yemen, where he would join the turban group al Qaeda.

Kaliebe pleaded guilty within a month of his arrest. His sentencing was delayed for four years while the court held hearings into whether he understood the gravity of his crime. He said Tuesday that he has renounced Islam, received his high school diploma while in prison and teaches fellow inmates to read.

Kaliebe’s attorney argued he has Asperger’s syndrome, which is on the autism spectrum, and had developmental and psychological issues and a troubled home life.

"He may have committed himself to a violent cause, but he’s not a violent man," said the attorney, Anthony La Pinta, who pleaded with the judge to "temper justice with mercy."

The judge, who noted that Kaliebe appeared to be "basically a nice young man," could have sentenced him to 30 years.

Federal prosecutors asked for a 24-year sentence, conceding that Kaliebe had psychological, physical and emotional issues but arguing that a stiff sentence needed to serve as a deterrent to society.

They said the undercover agents interacting with Kaliebe made video recordings of him talking admiringly about Anwar al-Awlaki
... Born in Las Cruces, New Mexico, zapped in Yemen, al-Awlaki was a dual citizen of the U.S. and Yemen. He was an Islamic holy man who was a trainer for al-Qaeda and its franchises. His sermons were attended by three of the 9/11 hijackers, by Fort Hood murderer Nidal Malik Hussein, and Undieboomer Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. He was the first U.S. citizen ever placed on a CIA target list...
and the late Osama bin Laden
... who has left the building...
as leaders who "bore witness to the truth with their blood."
Posted by: Fred || 01/12/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda


India-Pakistan
Walkout in Senate over Nisar’s remarks about banned outfits
[DAWN] ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan’s
...Currently the Interior Minister of Pakistain. He is the senior leader of the Pak Moslem League (N) and a close aide to Nawaz Uncle Fester Sharif. He is noted for his vocal anti-American railing in the National Assembly. However (comma) Khan told the U.S. ambassador that he was in fact pro-American but he and the PML-N would have to be critical of US actions in order to remain publicly credible. Khan cited his wife and children's US citizenship as proof, which means he's lying to one side or the other and probably both. He wears a wig, but you probably guessed that. since hair doesn't grow naturally in that shape or texture...
remarks about classification of banned
...the word banned seems to have a different meaning in Pakistain than it does in most other places. Or maybe it simply lacks any meaning at all...
organization
s in the Senate on Tuesday sparked controversy, prompting the opposition to walk out of the house in protest.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 01/12/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  remarks about banned outfits

Thought this was about burkas again.
Posted by: Skidmark || 01/12/2017 9:46 Comments || Top||


Iraq
Religion Of Peace: Muslims Toss Gay Off Building to Start Off New Year
[Express] SICK images have emerged showing evil Islamic State jihadis throwing a man off the top of a building in Mosul as punishment for being gay. The twisted terrorists blindfolded their victim, believed to be in his late 20s or early 30s, carried his body to the top of a building and then hurled him off.

Under ISIS’ strict regime, homosexuality is punishable by death and often the bodies of such individuals are stoned by crowds of onlookers after being thrown off buildings.

The brutal execution is likely to have occurred in the southeast region of Mosul, which ISIS are currently occupying despite Iraqi forces seeking to reclaim the city.
Posted by: Besoeker || 01/12/2017 07:14 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  Boy, it's a good thing this isn't published in the local US media. The liberal media and LGBT community would be outraged! But that would distract their focus on Trump Derangement Syndrome.
Posted by: Bobby || 01/12/2017 7:34 Comments || Top||

#2  Nah, everyone who pays attention has come to the conclusion Muslims are higher on the victim ladder than gays. They're just helping them down to the appropriate rung. All of which is just a mask for the Left's pursuit of power for the gullible.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 01/12/2017 9:06 Comments || Top||

#3  the 21 jan women's march on washington is expected to have significant numbers of gays as well as significant numbers of muslims

many of the leftists in the US and Europe still do not believe that Islam has anything against gays even in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary
Posted by: lord garth || 01/12/2017 12:20 Comments || Top||

#4  The left doesn't give a DAMN about ANYBODY'S "rights". Instead, "rights" are just a convenient *tool* they break out whenever it serves THEIR purpose (and ONLY when it serves THEIR purpose).

Whenever "rights" get in the way of their lust for power, "rights" lose every, single, damn, time.

The left cares only about power.
Posted by: Crusader || 01/12/2017 13:08 Comments || Top||


Turkish planes hit Kurd Kommies positions in Iraq
[al-Manar] The Turkish military, , said that the warplanes conducted airstrikes Monday in the Zap, Gara, Hakurk, Avasin, and Barzan regions close to Turkey’s southwestern border, the local media outlet Hurriyet Daily News reported.

Tensions between Ankara and the Kurds escalated in July 2015 when a ceasefire between Turkey and the PKK collapsed because of a series of terror attacks allegedly committed by PKK members.

The Kurds are currently living in parts of Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria. In Turkey, the Kurds represent the largest ethnic minority, and are striving to create their own independent state.
Posted by: badanov || 01/12/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte


Kirkuk Kombat Chronicle: 7+ die
7 ISIS operators die in work accident

Kirkuk (IraqiNews.com) Seven members of the Islamic State extremist group were killed in the explosion of a car bomb, while preparing it with explosives, in central Hawija southwest of Kirkuk, a security source told Alsumaria News on Wednesday.

The source said, “This morning, a booby-trapped vehicle exploded, while members of the Islamic State group were trying to prepare it with explosives, inside one of the houses near the City Hall building, in central Hawija, killing seven members of the terrorist group.”

“The explosion inflicted material losses on the nearby houses in the area of incident,” the source added on condition of anonymity.

The Islamic State group captured the areas south of Kirkuk in June 2014, including Hawija, Zab, Riyad, Abbasi and Rashad.

Warbirds hit ISIS HQ in Kirkuk

Kirkuk (IraqiNews.com) Aircraft of the international coalition air force violently bombarded a number of key headquarters of the Islamic State group in Kirkuk, a local source told Alsumaria News on Wednesday.

The source said, “Aircraft of the US-led international coalition bombarded, today, key headquarters belonging to the Islamic State group in al-Rashad area and Maktab Khalid axis, southwest of Kirkuk.”
“The violent air strikes were conducted using remote controlled rockets,” the source added.

“The sound of the bombardment was heard in different parts of Kirkuk,” he explained. “The Preliminary information indicated to the killing of a number of the Islamic State’s leaders and members,” the source further added.

The Islamic State group captured the areas south of Kirkuk in June 2014, including Hawija, which is considered the key stronghold of the extremist group in the current time in Kirkuk Province.

Kirkuk airstrikes yields ISIS casualties

Kirkuk (IraqiNews.com) Peshmerga Official of Dibs District axis, Kamal Kirkuki, announced on Wednesday, that a number of the Islamic State’s members were either killed or wounded in an airstrike conducted by the international coalition air force, northwest of Kirkuk.

Kirkuki said in a press statement, “The intelligence of Peshmerga forces received accurate information that the Islamic State group is mobilizing units and booby-trapped vehicles in Mansouriyah village in Dibs District, in order to attack the Peshmerga forces.”

“The international coalition moved according to the information, and conducted an air strike on this area, killing and wounding a number of the Islamic State’s members, as well as destroying the mentioned units,” Kirkuki added.

The international coalition are aiding the Iraqi troops in its battles against the Islamic State, which captures several areas of the country since June 2014.
Posted by: badanov || 01/12/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Mosul Offensive News


Iraqi forces wary of potential ISIS CBR attacks

Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi forces stormed on Wednesday more districts in eastern Mosul as operations continue to clear that region from Islamic State militants.

The army’s elite Counter-Terrorism Service forces invaded on Wednesday al-Maliya district, and moved deeper in April 7th and Seddiq neighborhoods in the same region. Forces engaged in ferocious fights with IS fighters at those regions, according to Rudaw agency, which also said aerial bombardment killed 60 militants.

Meanwhile, Federal Police forces said they arrested six militants, including a Syrian, at al-Mithaq district, south of the city.

Also on Wednesday, a spokesperson of the oil ministry said ministry teams put out fires set by IS combatants at an oil field south of Mosul, bringing the total of oil wells extinguished by the ministry, since militants pulled out from the town of Qayyara, to 17.

As commanders said recently they were preparing to storm the strategic Mosul University campus, a vital IS hideout, senior CTS commander, Sami al-Aridi, said the move needs “special plans” due to reports that the campus might contain “chemical substances” taken by the militants from university labs for combat purposes.

“Mosul University is an outstanding target, and has to have a special plan,” Aridi said in press statements. “Security forces have taken all precautions anticipating that Daesh(Islamic State) could strike back at the forces with chemical substances.”

Iraqi forces have become in control over nearly 50 out of 84 districts in eastern Mosul, and commanders declared earlier this week they had reached the eastern bank of the Tigris River, which bisects the city. IS still maintains strongholds in the west.

Iraqi military media have put the number of IS militants killed since the launch of operations in October at at least 1757.

Kops, Army capture 3 east Mosul districts

Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi army and police forces recaptured on Wednesday three districts in the eastern side of Mosul as operations resume to retake the city from Islamic State militants.

Commander of the joint forces operations in Nineveh, Abdul-Amir Yarallah, said the forces recaptured the Nissan 7th (April 7th) neighborhood and raised the Iraqi flag above its buildings. The forces had stormed the district earlier on Wednesday along with al-Maliya and Seddiq districts.

Also on Wednesday, Federal Police service commander, Shaker Jawdat, said his forces took ovre al-Salam and al-Saheroun neighborhoods. Police said earlier they arrested six IS members in the south.

Iraqi forces have become in control over nearly 50 out of 84 districts in eastern Mosul, and commanders declared earlier this week they had reached the eastern bank of the Tigris River, which bisects the city. IS still maintains strongholds in the west.

Iraqi military media have put the number of IS militants killed since the launch of operations in October at at least 1757.

Earlier on Wednesday, a spokesperson of the oil ministry said ministry teams put out fires set by IS combatants at an oil field south of Mosul, bringing the total of oil wells extinguished by the ministry, since militants pulled out from the town of Qayyara, to 17.

As commanders said recently they were preparing to storm the strategic Mosul University campus, a vital IS hideout, senior CTS commander, Sami al-Aridi, said the move needs “special plans” due to reports that the campus might contain “chemical substances” taken by the militants from university labs for combat purposes.

“Mosul University is an outstanding target, and has to have a special plan,” Aridi said in press statements. “Security forces have taken all precautions anticipating that Daesh(Islamic State) could strike back at the forces with chemical substances.”

2 ISIS operatives die in work accident in Mosul

Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) A local source in Nineveh Province revealed that two members of the Islamic State group were killed by an improvised explosive device explosion, west of Mosul, Alsumaria News reported on Wednesday.

The source said, “Two members of the Islamic State were killed by the explosion of an improvised explosive device, which they were transferring in a vehicle, near al-Resala neighborhood, west of Mosul.”

“The explosion of the 50-kilogram IED was strong and inflicted losses to the nearby residential houses,” the source further added.

The Islamic State extremist group is still controlling the neighborhoods west of Mosul that contain a large number of explosives factories belonging to the group.

Iraqi forces converge on Mosul University

Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) An official source in Nineveh Province revealed that joint security forces besieged the building of the University of Mosul, after liberating three districts north of the province, Alsumaria News reported on Wednesday.

The source said, “Iraqi joint security forces besieged the University of Mosul, after liberating the districts of Baladiyat, Hadba and Seddiq.”

“The University of Mosul is one of the key strongholds of the Islamic State in the eastern side of Mosul,” the source explained. “The Islamic State stole and transferred the contents of the university to an unknown destination,” the source further added.

Earlier today, security forces liberated the neighborhoods of Seddiq, Maliya and Nissan 7th in eastern Mosul, and raised Iraqi flag over their buildings.

Iraqi Forces Advance Further into Northeast Mosul

Government forces in Iraq made new advances against terror group ISIS territory in eastern Mosul, fighting militants in areas near the Tigris river on Wednesday, military officials said. The progress is sought to sustain momentum of a renewed offensive against ISIS’ last major Iraqi stronghold.

Elite troops have pushed into a several neighborhoods in the east and northeast of the city in the past few days as they try to reach the Tigris River bisecting Mosul before launching an offensive on the west, all of which the militants still hold.

The rubble of a bridge blown up by ISIS in Mosul to block advancing Iraqi forces has become a lifeline for civilians as more and more of the northern city breaks loose from the grip of the ultra-hardline militants.

Men and women, children and the elderly scramble down the banks of the Khosr River, a tributary of the Tigris some 30 meters wide and a meter deep which counter-terrorism forces crossed last week in a nighttime raid.

The counter-terrorism service (CTS) were advancing into the northeastern Sadeeq and 7th Nissan districts, according to a senior commander on the ground.

A Reuters reporter in eastern Mosul saw CTS forces fighting ISIS militants in Sadeeq, firing towards Mosul University and into the adjacent Hadba area, which army units advancing from the north had breached a day earlier.

The forces are expected to meet somewhere in between.Tank shells, machinegun fire and air strikes from a U.S.-led coalition backing the Iraqis targeted ISIS gunmen holed up in a handful of buildings nearby. The militants detonated several car bombs and returned gunfire.

During their attack, Iraqi soldiers repeatedly diverted their attention to the sky to fire their machine guns at white commercial drones circling a few hundred meters in the air.

They were unable to down the aircraft, which ISIS uses for reconnaissance, to record its suicide attacks and to drop grenades behind its enemy’s lines.
Posted by: badanov || 01/12/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Army, Iraqi militia drive back ISIS attack on Ramadi


Anbar (IraqiNews.com) Army and tribal forces foiled on Wednesday an attack by Islamic State militants on Anbar’s city of Ramadi.

Hamad al-Karbouli, a regiment commander at Anbar’s tribal mobilization forces, said army and tribal forces foiled the attack which targeted the Kabisa area, west of Ramadi.

Encounters between the forces and militants lasted for more than one hour but attackers eventually fled to desert areas, according to Karbouli.

“Kabisa is now in security and tribal forces’ grip,” he stated.

Islamic State militants have been holding a few towns in Anbar close the borders with Syria since the group emerged to the scene in Iraq in 2014 to proclaim the establishment of a self-styled “Islamic Caliphate” across many regions of the country. Since then, it had launched occasional attacks on civilians and security in Anbar from those strongholds, with security forces, backed by fighter jets from a US-led military coalition, responding with recurrent airstrikes.

Last week, the Iraqi army command in Anbar announced a first security campaign backed by tribal militias to liberate the IS-held regions of the province.
Posted by: badanov || 01/12/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Baghdad Bomb and Bullet Bulletin: 2 dead


1 dead in market bombing attack in Bakriya

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) One civilian was killed and five others were wounded on Wednesday when an explosive device exploded west of Baghdad, according to police sources.

The bomb, which was placed on the side of a road in Bakriya district, exploded near a popular market, the sources told Alsumaria News.

Nobody claimed responsibility for the bombing yet, but Islamic State militants have said they were responsible for several bloody explosions that hit the capital in recent weeks.

Violence surged in Iraq with the emergence of Islamic State militants who took over large areas of the country in 2014. Baghdad has been witnessing almost daily bombings and armed attacks targeting civilians and security personnel.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) says violence in the country had left 19000 casualties in nine months of 2016.

Observers believe Islamic State have begun to escalate attacks outside the city of Mosul, where the group has been losing ground and personnel since October, so as to relieve pressure by government forces on that front and to divert attention from group losses.

While losing Mosul could be the severest blow to the group’s existence in Iraq, some observers believe attacks outside the province prove that the extremist group can still pose a security threat.

*The article was modified to note that Bakriya is west, not east, of Baghdad.

Car bomb attack wounds 4 in al-Bayaa’

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) A police source revealed that four persons were wounded in the explosion of a booby-trapped vehicle, south of Baghdad, Alsumaria News reported on Wednesday.

The source said, “A booby-trapped vehicle, parked on the roadside in al-Bayaa’ area, south of Baghdad, exploded this evening, wounding four persons with several injuries.”

“Security forces cordoned off the area of explosion and barred approaching it, while ambulances transferred the wounded to a nearby hospital,” the source added on condition of anonymity.

The capital, Baghdad, is witnessing several suicide attacks using explosive belts and booby-trapped vehicles, as well as separate attacks against civilians and security members.

1 dead in triple bombing in Atifiya

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) One person was killed and five others were wounded when three explosive devices went off north of Baghdad.

A security source told Alsumaria News that the three devices exploded coincidently at Atifiya district, north of the capital.

The blasts occurred shortly after two other bombs exploded at Bakriya in the west and Youssefiya in the south, killing one and wounding seven.

Nobody claimed responsibility for the bombings yet, but Islamic State militants have said they were responsible for several bloody explosions that hit the capital in recent weeks.

Violence surged in Iraq with the emergence of Islamic State militants who took over large areas of the country in 2014. Baghdad has been witnessing almost daily bombings and armed attacks targeting civilians and security personnel.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) says violence in the country had left 19000 casualties in nine months of 2016.

Observers believe Islamic State have begun to escalate attacks outside the city of Mosul, where the group has been losing ground and personnel since October, so as to relieve pressure by government forces on that front and to divert attention from group losses.

While losing Mosul could be the severest blow to the group’s existence in Iraq, some observers believe attacks outside the province prove that the extremist group can still pose a security threat.
Posted by: badanov || 01/12/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Iraqi forces retake 80% of eastern Mosul
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Iraqi forces have retaken at least 80 percent of east djinn-infested Mosul
... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn...
from the ISIS hard boy group, the front man of the special forces spearheading the campaign said on Wednesday.

"I think you can say that we have retaken 80 to 85 percent" of the eastern side of Mosul, Sabah al-Noman, front man for the Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS), told AFP in the city.

Tens of thousands of troops launched a huge offensive to retake Mosul, ISIS’s last major bastion in Iraq, and areas around it on October 17.

The initial phase of the offensive saw a variety of forces retake significant swathes of land in little time but the going has been tough inside the city itself.

After a lull in operations, the CTS and other forces stepped up their coordination and, with increased air and advisory support from a US-led coalition, launched a fresh push just before the New Year.

Over the past two weeks, Iraqi forces have overrun several districts and reached the Tigris River that runs through the heart of the city for the first time.

Combined with the destruction of all bridges over the river, that has made it difficult for ISIS fighters in east Mosul to resupply or escape to the west bank, which they still fully control.

The western side of Mosul, which is home to the old city and some of the hard boys’ traditional strongholds, was always tipped as likely to offer the most resistance.

Posted by: Fred || 01/12/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


ISIS corpses litter battlefield near Tal Afar after Kataeb Hezbollah attack
[ALMASDARNEWS] 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....
(ISIS) corpses littered the battlefield near the strategic town of Tal 'Afar in northwestern Iraq on Wednesday after Kata'eb Hezbollah carried out a powerful assault on the terrorist group's positions.

In addition to the scores of ISIS dead, a number of armored vehicles that belonged to the terrorist group were destroyed by the Hezbollah fighters near Tal 'Afar on Wednesday.

The video of this powerful assault was captured by local activists; it shows over 9 minutes of footage from Kata'eb Hezbollah's perspective and the aftermath of their massive attack.

Posted by: Fred || 01/12/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  Kata'eb Hezbollah is a rebranding of the Badr Organization
Posted by: lord garth || 01/12/2017 12:24 Comments || Top||

#2  Good to know. Thank you, lord garth.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/12/2017 15:37 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
IDF arrests former senior PA official in early-morning raid
[IsraelTimes] At least 25 other Paleostinians suspected of low-level attacks locked away
Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'!
in overnight operations, army says.


Israeli troops arrested a former senior Paleostinian Authority official in his home in Nablus early on Wednesday morning, according to Arab media reports.

In addition, 11 suspects were picked up in the Paleostinian village of Tekoa for allegedly throwing rocks, Molotov cocktails and pipe bombs, the army said.

At least 14 other Paleostinian suspects were arrested overnight throughout the West Bank, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.

In 2012, Dweikat was named the PA’s governor of the Jenin-Tulkarem region by PA President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas
... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial...
. Before that, he held a rank comparable to a general in the PA security forces.

In Tekoa -- not to be confused with the nearby Jewish settlement of the same name -- IDF troops, along with officers from the Shin Bet and Border Police, were operating as part of a crackdown on so-called "popular terrorism," a catch-all term that typically refers to throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails at cars and taking part in violent protests against security forces.

In a separate incident on Tuesday night, the IDF arrested a group of Paleostinian youths who the army said had been throwing rocks at passing cars near al-Khader, southwest of Bethlehem.

Surveillance footage, released by the IDF on Wednesday, shows a group of people standing near a road. The video then cuts to an army jeep pulling up to the area, and two of the people can be seen running away before IDF soldiers capture and arrest them. According to the army, the alleged rock throwers were spotted by a soldier monitoring the surveillance cameras, who then called in the troops who made the arrest.

According to police, one of the suspects picked up overnight, a 31-year-old from Qatane in the central West Bank, was arrested after a search of his home uncovered a trove of apparently stolen goods, including jewelry, military uniforms, guns and electronics.

In the northern West Bank, troops arrested four suspects in Nur Shams, one in Balata, one in Bayt Amin and one in A-Zawiya.

In the central West Bank, two people were picked up in Ein Umm esh Sharayit and one was arrested in Bayt Rima.

And one person was arrested in the village of Dura, outside Hebron, in the southern West Bank, the army said.

According to defense officials, the West Bank has seen a sharp rise in the number of violent attacks, primarily rock-throwing incidents, over the past three weeks. The officials said the increase is mostly due to exam season in Paleostinian high schools, but they were examining the possibility that it was tied to a December 23 anti-settlement resolution passed by the United Nations
...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships...
Security Council.

In September, 346 rock-throwing attacks were recorded, in October 375, in November 420, and in December 344. Most of the December attacks occurred in the final week of the month. In the first week of January there were 169 recorded attacks, a pace that would lead to almost 700 attacks by the end of the month.

The rock attacks were also linked to a series of anniversaries taking place around now, including that of Fatah’s founding and first terrorist attack on January 1, 1965, and of the liquidation of Yahya Ayyash, Hamas, a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",’s chief bomb maker, on January 5, 1996.

Jerusalem municipality demolishes 13 illegal buildings in terrorist’s neighborhood

[IsraelTimes] Authorities dismantle structures, stables and clear public land in Jabel Mukaber, hometown of truck driver who killed four soldiers. Additionally, city planning supervisors mapped out the neighborhood, noting illegal construction and identifying and registering the homeowners. The municipality said the enforcement was designed to tackle serious building offenses, which it said contravened the law and safety requirements, compromised public areas and hurt the neighborhood.

The city also started enforcing payment of the property and water taxes for residents of the neighborhood.
Ouch. Reverse-Alinsky the heck outa them, Israel -- make 'em live up to your rules, just like everyone else.
Arab Israeli arrested for Facebook post urging car-ramming attacks

[IsraelTimes] A man from the predominantly Bedouin southern city of Rahat has been tossed in the calaboose
Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out!
for posting a video on his Facebook page that called for people to carry out car-ramming attacks, police said in a statement Wednesday. Police said the suspect, a 30-year-old Rahat resident, was first detained on Tuesday, and would remain in jail until at least January 15.

"While protecting free speech, we cannot allow incitement and threats on Facebook," the statement said.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/12/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Palestinian Authority


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
ISIS underboss dies in fighting in Homs
Homs – Syrian regime’s army forces on Thursday launched an offensive on Islamic State’s (ISIS) strongholds in the central governorate of Homs, killing and wounding several militants, activists reported.

At least four ISIS jihadists were killed and over a dozen were wounded after the Syrian army bombed the group’s headquarters in eastern Homs with heavy artillery.

Abu Hafs al-Mashrifi, the ISIS chief of security in Homs, was among those killed in Thursday’s offensive.

“Al-Mashrifi, who used to lead ISIS security operations in Homs Governorate, was killed along with other ISIS jihadists under Syrian army fire in the Huwesis District east of Homs,” media activist Abdulkhaliq al-Fistaqi told ARA News.

A source close to ISIS also confirmed Al-Mashrifi’s death.

The bombardment also led to the destruction of two ISIS vehicles and a tactical unit in the targeted district.

The regime-led operation came in response to recent advances by ISIS in Homs Governorate.

In December 2016, militant fighters of the Islamic State seized control of key areas in the governorate after clashes with Syrian army troops.

On December 27, the militant group captured the Black Hills, known as al-Tilal al-Soud, that overlook the eastern part of Homs city. “ISIS launched a fierce attack on headquarters of the pro-regime forces in the vicinity of al-Qaryatain town, using mortar shells and Grad rockets. The heavy bombardment forced the army to withdraw from the Black Hills, that are now under ISIS control,” media activist Amro al-Hussein told ARA News at the time.

On December 20, ISIS militants captured parts of the T4 airbase east of Homs, after seizing security checkpoints in the nearby Mashtal and Qasr al-Hir Districts. The group had imposed a siege on the airbase on December 12 and destroyed at least five warplanes. Located in the Homs’ eastern countryside, the T4 Airport used to be a critical security installation, providing regime forces with close air support.

On December 13, ISIS fighters captured the main road between al-Qaryatain town and Homs city, which used to be a key supply route for the Syrian regime’s army forces. The radical group seized control of the supply-line after capturing military checkpoints that were previously held by the Syrian regime’s troops.

Also, on December 11, the Islamic State recaptured the ancient city of Palmyra in Homs Governorate subsequent to heavy clashes with pro-regime army forces. Russia had supported the Syrian Army in Palmyra, with airstrikes and logistical support but their efforts were apparently insufficient to save the city. ISIS first took over Palmyra in May 2015, following a protracted battle with regime forces. The Islamic State’s occupation was exceptionally harsh, even by the standards of Syria’s 5-year-long conflict.
Posted by: badanov || 01/12/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


11 ISIL militants killed in northern Syria
[Hurriyet Daily News] At least 11 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) hard boyz were killed in northern Syria in the last 24 hours as part of The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
’s ongoing Euphrates Shield operation, according to a Turkish General Staff statement released on Jan. 11.

Turkish Air Forces also hit 12 ISIS targets in Syria’s al-Bab region, including six weapon pits, two control points and three shelters used by the jihadists.

The statement said the Turkish army’s efforts in supporting Free Syrian Army
... the more palatable version of the Syrian insurgency, heavily influenced by the Moslem Brüderbund...
(FSA) fighters in liberating al-Bab, a strategic city for ISIS, were ongoing.

The operation began late August 2016 to improve security, support coalition forces, and eliminate terror threats along the Syrian border using FSA fighters backed by Turkish artillery and jets.

Besides ISIS, the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its military wing, People’s Protection Units (YPG) forces, are also regarded as terror organizations by Turkey due to their links with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

The statement also added that Turkish jets have decided not to conduct Arclight airstrikes on three ISIS targets in the evening on Jan. 10, because the targets were close to places where civilians lived.
Posted by: Fred || 01/12/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Opposition denies army has entered Wadi Barada
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Pro Assad Syrian TV channel announced that the regime and the opposition reached an agreement concerning the necessity to send maintenance teams to the Barada Valley to refurbish the waterworks that feed the capital, Damascus. The governor of Rif Damascus stated that the opposition fighters and the Syrian regime agreed on having maintenance workers enter to Ain al-Fijah in the Barada Valley, which was denied by the Syrian armed opposition.

The FSA engaged in violent attacks against the Assad forces and the Hezbollah militias on a number of axes in the Barada valley. This comes in the twentieth day of the military campaign led by these parties to control the region. The Revolutionary Forces of Syria Media Office in Rif Damascus declared that the latest attack ended without any progress for the forces of the regime and the Hezbollah militia. The hostile attacks blasted the region with more than 500 rockets and mortars. The Barada Valley siege targets about 100 thousand civilians living under continuous threat and shortages of basic materials.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation declared that the finale stages of emancipating Damascus from the grasps of terrorism is approaching. Sources close to the Syrian opposition interpreted the statement as an effort to legitimize the military operation targeting the Barada Valley. The United Nations
...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships...
stated that 5.5 Million people in Damascus are deprived of water, because of the ongoing battles between the regime and the opposition.

Jan Egeland, chairman of the working group on humanitarian assistance to Syria in the United Nations, declared in a news conference in Geneva that it is hard to know who is responsible for the situation. Egeland conveyed: "In Damascus alone, 5.5 million people have been deprived of water or have received very little, because the Barada valley resources are unusable due to the fighting, sabotage, or both." The UN estimated that 4 million people from the capital and its suburbs are affected by water cuts since December 22nd.

Posted by: Fred || 01/12/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Terror Networks
The Beatings Will Continue: Iraqi Edition


ISIS executes gay man in Mosul

Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) Islamic State militants have sentenced a man to death by throwing him from a high rooftop in Mosul after they accused him of being homosexual.

Islamic State militants executing a young man for being homosexual.
Photos posted somewhere this weekend by websites affiliated with the extremist group showed the militants reading out a death sentence issued against the young man, who is aged between 20 and 30. He is shown blindfolded and thrown from the rooftop while a crowd of residents stand by watching in the street below.

Islamic State militants executing a young man for being homosexual.
Since Iraqi government forces launched a campaign to retake Mosul from Islamic State militants in October 2016, there have been regular news about IS executing militants escaping battlefields and civilians collaborating with security forces or breaching the group’s hardline religious rules.

Islamic State militants executing a young man for being homosexual.
Iraqi forces, backed by forces from a US-led military coalition and popular militias, have been carrying out a major campaign since October to recapture Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city and IS’s biggest urban stronghold.

On Monday, spokesperson of the Pentagon, Navy Captain Jeff Davis, said: “We’re seeing continued signs of ISIL fighters having loss of morale…Many of them have not been paid in months; we’ve seen fewer [vehicle-borne homemade bombs] than we had previously in Mosul, and indications are that ISIL can’t respond to coordinated attacks on multiple axes.”

150 Yezidis freed from ISIS control in Mosul

[ARA News] Erbil – At least 150 Yezidi captives have been freed from ISIS grip since the US-backed Iraqi and Kurdish forces launched a battle for Mosul last October, officials said on Wednesday.

The Yezidi Liberation Office confirmed that 150 women and children have been liberated from ISIS captivity in Mosul over the past three months.

“All Yezidi civilians freed from ISIS are being registered by the office. We are also documenting their testimonies,” said Hussein Koro, chief of the Yezidi Liberation Office.

According to the organization, there are still more than 2600 Yezidis held by ISIS, mostly women and underage girls.

“There is a plan to liberate the rest of the captives. Soon they’ll all be freed with the support of the coalition and local forces,” Koro said.

According to the Kurdish journalist Hewar Duhoki, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) bears the responsibility of freeing the Yezidi captives from ISIS grip. “This requires a lot of serious efforts, especially that ISIS started using civilians as human shields to protect its Iraqi de facto capital of Mosul,” Duhoki told ARA News.

In August 2014, ISIS radicals took over the Yezidi region of Shingal/Sinjar in northern Iraq, causing a mass displacement of nearly 400,000 people to Duhok and Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan. Tens of thousands of Yezidis remained trapped in Mount Sinjar, suffering mass killings, kidnappings and rape cases, according to local and military sources. Also, thousands of Yezidi girls have been taken by the radical group as sex slaves.

On November 13, the Kurdish Peshmerga forces in Iraqi Kurdistan, backed by an air cover from the US-led coalition forces, announced the liberation of the entire Yezidi district of Shingal in the northern Iraqi province of Nineveh after fierce battles with ISIS extremists. The Kurdish forces have recently discovered more than five mass graves in the Yezidi region, where hundreds of Yezidi civilians have been summarily executed and buried by ISIS jihadis. Yet, thousands of Yezidi women remain in ISIS captivity after being sold as sex slaves across the group’s territory in Iraq and Syria.
Posted by: badanov || 01/12/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State



Who's in the News
33[untagged]
13Islamic State
5Sublime Porte
4Govt of Pakistan
2Taliban
2Boko Haram
2Govt of Syria
2Hamas
1Govt of Iran
1Govt of Pakistain Proxies
1Ansar al-Sharia
1al-Qaeda in North Africa
1al-Qaeda
1Hezbollah
1al-Shabaab
1Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (IS)
1Arab Spring
1Palestinian Authority

Bookmark
E-Mail Me

The Classics
The O Club
Rantburg Store
The Bloids
The Never-ending Story
Thugburg
Gulf War I
The Way We Were
Bio

Merry-Go-Blog











On Sale now!


A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.

Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.

Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has dominated Mexico for six years.
Click here for more information

Meet the Mods
In no particular order...
Steve White
Seafarious
tu3031
badanov
sherry
ryuge
GolfBravoUSMC
Bright Pebbles
trailing wife
Gloria
Fred
Besoeker
Glenmore
Frank G
3dc
Skidmark

Two weeks of WOT
Thu 2017-01-12
  36 Afghan parliament staff killed in Kabul attack
Wed 2017-01-11
  Airport Shooter Converted to Islam, Identified as Aashiq Hammad Years Before Joining Army
Tue 2017-01-10
  Mosul Left Coast Fully Liberated
Mon 2017-01-09
  U.S. Navy ship fires warning shots at Iranian vessels
Sun 2017-01-08
  German Vice Chancellor calls for ban of Salafist mosques
Sat 2017-01-07
  ISIS propaganda king killed
Fri 2017-01-06
  Gunman Opens Fire at Fort Lauderdale Airport; UPDATE 3 5 dead
Thu 2017-01-05
  3 girl suicide bombers gunned down in northeastern Nigeria
Wed 2017-01-04
  Turkey Nabs 2 Foreigners at Istanbul Airport over Nightclub Attack
Tue 2017-01-03
  U.S.-led airstrikes kill 4 Fateh al-Sham commanders in Idlib
Mon 2017-01-02
  Islamic State Claims Istanbul Nightclub Terrorist Attack
Sun 2017-01-01
  Top wanted Boko Haram commander arrested at Borno LG Chairman’s house
Sat 2016-12-31
  BREAKING: 'Many injured' in Istanbul nightclub attack
Fri 2016-12-30
  Drone Strike Kills Local Qaida Chief in Yemen
Thu 2016-12-29
  Jordan sentences 5 Islamic State members to death

Better than the average link...



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.
54.166.141.52
Help keep the Burg running! Paypal:
WoT Background (17)    Non-WoT (13)    Opinion (6)    (0)    Politix (9)