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Today: 70 articles and 164 comments as of 14:31.
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Area: WoT Operations    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix   
33 ISIS troops die in Nangarhar airstrike
Today's Headlines
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Afghanistan
Faces behind Kabul military hospital attack to be revealed soon: Stanikzai
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Afghan Intelligence, National Directorate of Security
...the Afghan national intel agency...
(NDS) Chief, Masoom Stanikzai has said the government will soon reveal the faces involved in the deadly attack on Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan military hospital 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....
Briefing the politicians regarding the deteriorating security situation in the country, particularly in Kabul city, Stanikzai said the government is committed to disclose the truth the Afghan people.

He said the investigations are underway and those involved in the attack will be recognized in the near future.

According to Stanikzai, the government is expecting to conclude the investigations soon and results are expected to be announced in coming one or two weeks.

In other parts of his briefing, Stanikzai said the country is facing menace o terror from at least twenty groups.

He also added that the Afghan intelligence has conducted at least 317 special military operations in the past two months and in the most critical parts of the country.

Stanikzai said the Afghan intelligence managed to foil the majority of the terrorist attack plots but the Lions of Islam managed to carry out about one or two attacks out of every 20 attack plots successfully.

At least 50 people were killed and around 30 others were maimed in the attack on Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan hospital earlier this month, according to the officials investigating the incident.

Posted by: Fred || 03/28/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Major operations ‘Khalid’ to be launched soon to retake lost areas: Jahid
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) will launch a major counter-terrorism operation under the name of Khalid to retake the lost areas.

The Minister of Interior Taj Mohammad Jahid informed regarding the plan as was he was briefing the politicians in the Lower House of the Parliament, Wolesi Jirga.

Jahid was among the three top security officials summoned regarding the recent security incidents and deteriorating security situation.

He said necessary preparations have been done to launch the operations as he insisted that the operations will also focus on cutting the supply routes of the hard boys.

Jahid further added that the government is working on a four-year plan and the number of the Special Forces will be increased in key provinces, including 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..
, 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...
, and Kunduz.

The minister also added that the government is planning to further boost the intelligence capabilities of the security forces.

In other parts of his briefing, Jahid said the Afghan police forces have managed to discover and deal with 14,972 criminal incidents and 600 terrorist related plots have been thwarted as 2,600 suspects have been placed in durance vile
Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'!
overall.

He also briefed the politicians regarding the ongoing efforts to bring reforms in the ministry and step up fight against corruption.

The security officials were summoned after recent deadly incidents in capital 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 major cities, districts and provinces during the recent months.

Posted by: Fred || 03/28/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Africa North
Presidential Council scraps oil ministry, shares its authorities with NOC
[Libya Observer] The UN-proposed government's Presidential Council (PC) has issued a new order that divides the authorities and specialties of the Oil and Gas Ministry between the Prime Ministry and the National Oil Corporation (NOC).

According to the order, the PC will be the supervisor of investments into the oil resources in Libya as well as of developing it and proposing the necessary legislations in this regard, not to mention approving the projects and plans that aim at boosting the oil production in the country.

The PC will also be responsible for contracting as well as issuing investment licenses and issuing or canceling contracts to extract oil, let alone pricing crude oil and gas.

The NOC will take up, in addition to its specializations, the executive plans in the field of oil industry and projects in oil and gas sectors, besides supervising the execution stages after the plans had been approved. In addition, it will bes tasked with using state-of-the-art methods to better invest in Libya's oil fortune.

"The NOC will monitor the production and exportation processes, name Libya's representatives to attend meetings and conferences in the Arab world and all over the world, after consulting the Prime Minister. It will also suggest giving or taking away investment licenses, and specifying the daily oil and gas production in the country." The order reads.

The order strips Mustafa Sanallah of the authorities of the Minister of Oil, which he has been practicing since the deputy minister Omar al-Shakmak resigned in 2014.

Meanwhile,
...back at the revival hall, the congregants were being herded into the paddy wagon...
when Fayez al-Sirraj was appointed a PM for the UN-proposed government, he did not appoint a minister for the oil and gas ministry.

The order of the PC will practically undermine the authorities the NOC has in the oil sector and will be a big blow to the efforts the Tobruk-based House of Representatives is exerting to control the Libyan oil production, especially after the the declaration of separation 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...
-based NOC and the parallel NOC in east Libya and after Khalifa Haftar
... served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all...
had put his grip on the entire oil crescent region.

Posted by: Fred || 03/28/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Gunono: IS militants have secret movement in southern Sirte
[Libya Observer] The front man of the air emergency operations room, Mohammed Gunono, said the statement of the US Africa Command commander Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, who stated that IS turbans are trying to regroup its forces in southern Sirte and that they are not fully eradicated, are relatively true as the air emergency operations room as well as Libyan air force are still working around the clock to get their jobs done.

He also said that after liberating Sirte they were tasked with fighting off the remnants of the terror groups that are still on the run, adding that they covered the central region from western Sirte to eastern al-Khums city and from Sirte coast to al-Jufra southward.

"We have been doing reconnaissance on demand in those areas and we assure that the remaining turbans are still on the lam." Gunono added.

He also said that the reconnaissance flights are done in coordination with Bunyan Marsous
...(al-Bunyan al-Marsous, Solid Base) An operation carried out by Misratan forces loyal to the Libyan Goverenment of National Accord to dislodge ISIS forces from Sirte. 2,500 turbans were reported killed in the operation, which lasted from May through December.GNA's Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj officially announced the end of military operations on 18 December 2016...
that is appointed to secure Sirte and with the residents that report to the room about any dubious moves around them.

"IS Lions of Islam are moving around secretly and are altering their strategies upon the statements we make on the media that is why we avoid appearing on any media platform." Gunono indicated, pointing out that the desert nature of the area helped IS remnants a lot as they are using the open air, where no residents come, to move around at night and before sunrise.

"It is a highly technical and critical operation to be done." Gunono said, referring to depicting the movement of IS diehards on the run, adding that all residents must be aware and ready to assist the security personnel in all areas, where IS Lions of Islam could be active.

He concluded that IS Lions of Islam won't have a foothold in Libya again and it is a fact, especially that Bunyan Marsous operation was a roaring success that uprooted the terror group's biggest bastion outside Syria and Iraq.

Posted by: Fred || 03/28/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  Yeah, it was a "secret movement" but you could still smell it.
Posted by: Steven || 03/28/2017 23:50 Comments || Top||


Arabia
White House ‘considering potential attack’ to liberate al-Hudaydah port
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] US official sources have confirmed to Al Arabiya a White House meeting is set this week to discuss the situation in Yemen, specifically the port of al-Hudaydah.

The meeting is set to be attended by key members of the US government in which they will discuss the situation in Yemen
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic...
since the Arab Alliance requested their participation in the battle to control the port.

The proposal dates back to last year when the United Arab Emirates presented a plan to the B.O. regime, which included an attack on the port and the nearby city to remove the Houthis and their allies from the coastal area.

The hope is that a counter-attack would prevent the militias from threatening navy and fat merchantmen on international waters in the Red Sea and from receiving weapons supplies from Iran or members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and Hezbollah.

Obama’s administration rejected the plan because it was seen as a direct engagement of US troops in Yemen. The former president called for a halt to the military campaign against the Houthis and Saleh and was an advocate for a political solution in Yemen rather than a military one.

Two plans to tackle the Houthis
US officials have revealed that there are two plans to engage in Yemen against the Houthis and their allies, one sponsored by Central District Commander General Joseph Votel, and the other by Defense Secretary James Mattis.

US President Donald Trump
...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States...
will have to decide which plan to proceed with. In any case, the US troops will have a larger role in Yemen alongside the alliance and against Iran's allies.

US officials and non-officials have leaked some details of the UAE plan to liberate Hudaydah. The evidence points that some UAE forces would land at the port while the United States assists with Special Forces, air and sea backup and surveillance. The biggest challenge will be to maintain the liberated lands from counter-attacks by the Houthis and their allies.

Americans in the meantime do not seem too eager to send their troops to the battlefield, especially given the potential of ground troops exposed to high risk situations. The experience of joint action during a limited operation, as in the case of al-Bayda in the attack on an al-Qaeda stronghold in Yemen, remains an option to help the coalition achieve a military victory. The current administration has declared that much of what happened in Bayda should be avoided. Nevertheless, the death of one soldier from the special navy forces should not stop these operations.

How American military support would look like
US Defense Secretary James Mattis did not include US ground troops or US special units on his battle plan. The US plan appears to be a bigger support for a regional force, a US official said.

The proposal of the secretary of state include planning, providing coordinates and fuel for the fighters. Furthermore, the US naval vessels deployed in the region will continue to prevent the infiltration of aid to the Houthis and their allies. It can also bomb sites on the coast and land with Tomahawk missiles and destroy sites in and around the port.

Perhaps the most important factor in US involvement in Yemen is that military leaders demand greater freedom to act on the ground. Former President Barack Obama
They get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them...
was reluctant to act and support the coalition. He made it clear that any military intervention on the ground can only be allowed by the White House. The Current Defense Secretary James Matisse is now asking that field commanders, especially the Central Command, be given a broad margin to act and manage the battle without going back in detail to the White House.
Posted by: Fred || 03/28/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Houthis

#1  The US plan appears to be a bigger support for a regional force(farce?), a US official said.

Ergo, last week's discussion of the L3 plan for Kenya.
Posted by: Skidmark || 03/28/2017 3:56 Comments || Top||

#2  Fred is an asset that all Nations should hear.
I think we are all broken or scratched records on repeat.
Posted by: newc || 03/28/2017 4:01 Comments || Top||

#3  I kind of like applying Reagan's Iran-Iraq plan to Yemen - make sure whoever's losing gets resupplied with ammo.
Posted by: Glenmore || 03/28/2017 9:57 Comments || Top||


Britain
London attacker interested in jihad but no evidence of IS link: police
[DAWN] British police said on Monday they had found no evidence that Khalid Masood, who killed four people in an attack on Britannia's parliament last week, had any association with the bad boy Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
(IS) group or Al Qaeda, but he was clearly interested in jihad.

Masood drove a car through a crowd of pedestrians on Westminster Bridge, killing three and injuring about 50, then ran through the gates of parliament and fatally stabbed a police officer, before he was rubbed out by police.

Neil Basu, senior national coordinator for UK counter-terrorism policing, said there was no evidence that Masood had been radicalised in prison in 2003 and it was pure speculation to suggest that had happened.

Masood, 52, was British-born and had several previous convictions for offences such as grievous bodily harm, possession of a knife and public order offences. He had not been convicted of any terrorism offence.

"His attack method appears to be based on low sophistication, low tech, low cost techniques copied from other attacks, and echo the rhetoric of IS leaders in terms of methodology and attacking police and civilians, but at this stage I have no evidence he discussed this with others," Basu said in a statement.

"I know when, where and how Masood committed his atrocities, but now I need to know why," he said, appealing to anyone who may have been in contact with him on the day of the attack to come forward.

Masood was born Adrian Russell Ajao, and on Monday his mother Janet Ajao issued a statement saying she was "shocked, saddened and numbed" by his actions.

"I do not condone his actions nor support the beliefs he held that led to him committing this atrocity," she added.

Interior minister Amber Rudd said on Sunday that technology companies should cooperate more with law enforcement agencies and should stop providing "a secret place for snuffies to communicate" using encrypted messages.

Media have reported that Masood sent an encrypted message moments before the attack.

"There has been much speculation about who Masood was in contact with immediately prior to the attack," Basu said. "All I will say on this point is that Masood's communications that day are a main line of enquiry."

Posted by: Fred || 03/28/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  The thought occurs to me: given the very dead miscreant's habits, was the trigger at his advaced age (for such things) the news that he had in the usual way acquired an embarrassing fatal disease?
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/28/2017 6:59 Comments || Top||

#2  Great. Now they don't have to be radicalized by the professionals. They can go all jihadi all by themselves. All they need is Islam.
Posted by: Richard Aubrey || 03/28/2017 9:54 Comments || Top||

#3  advanced. PIMF!!
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/28/2017 9:58 Comments || Top||


China-Japan-Koreas
US quietly deploying assets to Korean peninsula
The original headline had 'secret' in it, but if the Daily Caller knows about the deployments it's not exactly a secret...
The U.S. is deploying strategic assets to the Korean peninsula with greater secrecy to “maximize fear in the North,” military officials revealed Sunday.
I think the dial has been turned to '11' for quite a while...
The U.S. has, in recent weeks, been regularly sending bombers and fighters, aircraft carriers and submarines, and troops to the peninsula for training exercises with South Korean forces, yet the announcements concerning their deployments have been delayed, with some coming after the units had already left Korea.

“Surprise dispatch of strategic weapons is effective in maximizing fear in the North as it sends a message that such weapons can be mobilized any time in case of a contingency,” a military official told The Korea Times.

Earlier in March, two B-1B Lancers were sent to South Korea from Anderson Air Force Base in Guam. The media received no prior notification, and even afterwards, the United States Forces Korea refused to offer confirmation. The deployment was reported by the state-run Korean Central News Agency, which said that the bombers participated in drills in preparation for a possible preemptive strike on North Korea.

The nuclear-powered submarine the USS Columbus arrived in the waters off the coast of South Korea a few days after the bombers, yet the arrival announcement was belated.

Furthermore, multiple U.S. Marine Corps F-35 fighter jets participated in a bombing drill early last week, but the deployment of the fifth-gen fighters was not reported until Saturday, at which point the jets had already returned to Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Japan.

The new U.S. administration is still formulating its North Korea policy; however, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said during his recent trip to Asia that military action is “on the table.”
The era of "strategic patience" is at an end. I don't fault the Obama administration too much on trying patience; we all know that the NKors are as crazy as rabid skunks, and no one wants a war on the Korean peninsula. But what we have now is a North Korea that is more dangerous than in 2009, and with Pudgy as a leader, much more unpredictable...
While the U.S. may ultimately choose to adopt a less risky policy — one focused more on sanctions and diplomatic pressure — the secret deployment of military assets to and around the Korean peninsula is certain to agitate the North Koreans. The move follows President Donald Trump’s past criticisms of U.S. statements telegraphing U.S. strategic plans to foreign rivals and adversaries.
We're not exactly telegraphing this one either...
The ongoing Foal Eagle drills in South Korea have provoked the North,
...as it does every year...
leading them to test-fire multiple ballistic missiles and make numerous threats against the U.S. and its allies.
Posted by: Steve White || 03/28/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  There is secret secret and there is newspaper headlines secret.

And oh, by the way, did you notice we snuck a sub armed with land attack missiles onto the board? Over to you, Sea of Fire.
Posted by: SteveS || 03/28/2017 0:52 Comments || Top||

#2  The problem with nice shiney (or even old rusty) hammers is they are fun to carry, look at and show your friends but just to validate your budget, it actually must be used.

Does anybody really think the G. could survive world opinion should they hammer a place smaller and more primitive than Iceland?

Been pretty effective in Syria, eh?
Posted by: Skidmark || 03/28/2017 2:41 Comments || Top||

#3  Oh look, a shiny Democraut.
Posted by: Jeasing Creque5352 || 03/28/2017 6:58 Comments || Top||

#4  Does anybody really think the G. could survive world opinion should they hammer a place smaller and more primitive than Iceland?

Until they had to, and didn't.

Posted by: Pappy || 03/28/2017 8:50 Comments || Top||

#5  NK is a challenge. They are dangerous - mainly because of nukes, unpredictable - because of Kim, and desperate. Then throw in the China relationship. Damned if we act against them, damned if we don't. But being more prepared than in 1950 is certainly worthwhile.
Posted by: Glenmore || 03/28/2017 10:05 Comments || Top||

#6  I heard we're practicing overflying Pyongyang every night with our new top-secret bomber that doesn't make any sound.
Posted by: gorb || 03/28/2017 10:22 Comments || Top||

#7  Simple enough to cut the lights and stop feeding them JC.
Posted by: Skidmark || 03/28/2017 12:01 Comments || Top||


Europe
Hungary Says Ready to Detain All Migrants
[AnNahar] Hungary said Monday it was ready to begin detaining asylum-seekers in camps on its southern border with Serbia after passing a law this month that has drawn criticism from rights groups and the U.N.

Hungary's parliament approved on March 7 the systematic detention of all asylum-seekers in camps on the border composed of converted shipping containers.

The move was part of policies by hardline anti-immigration Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a strong admirer of U.S. President Donald Trump
...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States...
From Tuesday, asylum-seekers entering Hungary as well as those currently in the country will be confined in camps at the its southern borders while their applications are processed.

"The border protection agencies are fully prepared for the entry into force of the reinforced legal border closure on March 28," said a statement by the interior ministry.

"The police, the defense forces and the Immigration and Asylum Office have made the necessary preparations for the implementation of the required measure," said the statement.

The ministry said the purpose of the restrictions is to "prevent migrants colonists with an unclear status from moving freely around the territory of the country and the European Union
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
, and to thereby reduce the security risk of migration."

According to the government 324 shipping container homes have been installed at two separate locations called "transit zones" built into a fence that Hungary erected along the 175-kilometer-(110-mile)-long border in 2015.

EU member Hungary previously systematically detained all asylum applicants but suspended the practice in 2013 under pressure from Brussels, the U.N. refugee agency and the European Court of Human Rights.

Rights groups like Amnesia Amnesty International have condemned the new rules for failing to meet Hungary's international obligations to asylum-seekers.

The UNHCR also said that systematic detention will "have a terrible physical and psychological impact on women, children and men who have already greatly suffered."

According to refugee rights group the Hungarian Helsinki Committee (HHC) some 400 asylum-seekers are currently housed in the country's internal camp network, and now face relocation to the border camps.

A second "smart fence" complete with night cameras, heat and movement sensors, and multilingual megaphones warning against crossing the barrier is also under construction, with completion scheduled by May.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/28/2017 01:49 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Moslem Colonists

#1  The only European country with the distinction to take up arms against the Soviet Union and resist invasion by Islamism. Oddly, the smallest country in Europe in 1956.
Posted by: Jack Salami || 03/28/2017 8:43 Comments || Top||

#2  A second "smart fence" complete with night cameras, heat and movement sensors, and multilingual megaphones warning against crossing the barrier

Does the US Secret Service know such things exist? Time for a little subcontracting, maybe.
Posted by: SteveS || 03/28/2017 9:12 Comments || Top||

#3  to thereby reduce the security risk of migration

Someone that 'gets it'.
Posted by: Skidmark || 03/28/2017 11:09 Comments || Top||

#4  "smart fence" complete with night cameras, heat and movement sensors

SteveS - not only does the Secret Service know of such things, they are using them at the White House, except when they are removed or turned off for some reason.
Posted by: Glenmore || 03/28/2017 11:21 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Raheel Sharif may assume command of Saudi-led force next month
[DAWN] Retired army chief Gen Raheel Sharif
..Pak chief of army staff, meaning he pulls the strings on the Nawaz Sharif puppet to make it dance and sing and not do much at all....
is likely to assume in April the command of a yet-to-be-formed Saudi-led, 39-country Islamic Military Alliance to Fight Terrorism (IMAFT), which is being dubbed as a ’Moslem NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all....
It certainly is a concept...
The government had issued a no-objection certificate for Gen Sharif to join the alliance after an understanding was reached between Pakistain and Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
on the matter, retired Maj Gen Ijaz Awan, a defence analyst and close associate of the former army chief, told Dawn on Saturday.

He said the former army chief would be taking charge ahead of a consultative meeting of the defence ministers of the alliance’s members, scheduled for May, in which the participating countries would decide about the force’s structure, their contributions in terms of personnel and armaments, the coalition reserve and other modalities.

Posted by: Fred || 03/28/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Saudi Arabia

#1  He was pretty good in Doctor Zhivago. Or was that his brother?
Posted by: Glenmore || 03/28/2017 10:12 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Hamas eases Gaza closure, allowing patients and ministers to leave strip
[Ynet] Hamas, a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth", decided on Monday to ease its self-imposed blockade on Gazoo, allowing three ministers in the Paleostinian unity government, families of security prisoners, and patients in need of medical treatment in Israel to leave the strip.

The Hamas Interior Ministry said, however, that men aged 15-45 are still barred from leaving.
That punishes Gazans, not Israel, it seems to me.
PA working with Shin Bet to prevent Hamas revenge attack in Israel

[IsraelTimes] The head of the Paleostinian Authority’s intelligence agency said that the PA will work to thwart any Dire Revenge attacks by Hamas, the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood, operatives in the West Bank against Israeli targets, in the wake of to the recent liquidation of one of the terror group’s leaders.

"We will not allow the West Bank to serve as a base for any type of response," Channel 10 quoted Majed Faraj as saying in an interview with the German daily Der Spiegel.

Faraj also said that the Paleostinian intelligence services are working with Israel’s Shin Bet security agency to ensure Hamas is unable to retaliate for the killing of Hamas military official Mazen Faqha, in accordance with security agreements between the PA and Israel.

"No one is authorized to violate these agreements, no matter what," he said.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/28/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Hamas

#1  The Hamas Interior Ministry said, however, that men aged 15-45 are still barred from leaving.

That would reduce the involuntary conscription pool.
Posted by: Pappy || 03/28/2017 12:40 Comments || Top||


Hamas upgrading naval commando unit
[Ynet] With tensions rising and Egypt and Israel both enforcing blockades of the Gazoo Strip, Hamas, a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth", is investing more resources in equipment and weaponry for their naval commando unit in preparation for the next round of fighting with Israel.

Hamas has begun upgrading its naval commando unit as part of a general buildup of armaments in preparation for the next round of expected fighting with the IDF.

The upgrade has not gone without notice by the IDF. In recent months, Israeli naval forces have recorded several incidents in which sailors deployed underwater hand grenades after suspicions of Hamas divers approaching ships were raised.

Several of the instances occurred in the maritime zone between the northern Gazoo Strip and Zikim Beach.

In addition to frequent diving training along Gazoo's coast, Hamas has begun producing its own diving systems in light of tunnel closures along the Egyptian border. The closed breathing system allows divers to remain underwater for several kilometers, while maintaining a low signature and few identifying signs.

As soon as Hamas divers are suspected, the navy's 916th division--the division responsible for the southern maritime zone--uses a variety of lethal countermeasures, including specialized anti-personnel underwater grenades and depth charges with large kill zones.

In addition to lethal countermeasures, the IDF has also deployed several specialized underwater detection systems along the coast.

According to a senior naval officer, "The progress of the Hamas commando unit is exponential and nonlinear, but we have a large target bank against them and we know how to destroy their coastal infrastructure if need be."

The IDF has also begun to upgrade the defensive systems of surface vessels in light of the new unconventional threats.

Many in the defense establishment believe that in the next round of armed conflict with Hamas or Hezbollah, terrorist forces will utilize Kornet missiles against smaller and mid-sized ships.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/28/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Hamas

#1  Everybody gather 'round, new swim trunks!!
Posted by: Steven || 03/28/2017 1:47 Comments || Top||

#2  See, Israel has a neighbor the regional community actively wishes they would stomp. Why would the US get engaged If Israel chooses not to protect (different from Defend) their citizens.

Same, same with ROK and DPRK.
Posted by: Skidmark || 03/28/2017 2:45 Comments || Top||

#3  Sharks, sharks with fricken lazers.
Posted by: AlanC || 03/28/2017 7:39 Comments || Top||

#4  "Delivery from Toys R Us!"
Posted by: Grunter || 03/28/2017 12:24 Comments || Top||

#5  So it was naval commando (Israeli) who whacked the scrote on Sunday.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 03/28/2017 12:37 Comments || Top||


Israeli Arab indicted for sending money to ISIS fighter
[Ynet] Fadel Tzaber Knaneh was in contact with his brother, who fought with ISIS in Syria and was killed, and with another Israeli Arab, who convinced him to transfer NIS 5,000 to him in Iraq.

Fadel Tzaber Knaneh, a 25-year-old Israeli Arab from Yafa an-Naseriyye, was indicted on Monday for having had contact with ISIS fighters and transferring money to one of them.

A Shin Bet investigation found that Knaneh, an ideological supporter of ISIS, was in contact with his brother, Muhammad Knaneh, who left for Syria in 2014 to fight with ISIS and was killed in combat.

In 2016, another Israeli national, Muhammad Keilani, who is currently fighting with ISIS in either Syria or Iraq, contacted Knaneh to notify him about his brother's death.

In March 2017, after telling Knaneh that he was injured in battle, Keilani asked Knaneh for money. Keilani transferred NIS 5,000 ($1,300) to the ISIS fighter in Iraq with the help of a moneychanger in Jenin and even called Keilani to make sure he received the money.

Knaneh was placed in durance vile
Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'!
on March 2, 2017, in a joint operation of the Shin Bet and Israel Police.

The Shin Bet said in a statement on Monday: "The Shin Bet views with utmost gravity contacts between Israeli citizens and terrorist elements, which constitute a serious threat to the security of the State of Israel and the peace of its citizens. Transferring funds to forces of Evil abroad abets the perpetration of attacks; therefore, the Shin Bet will continue to use all means at its disposal to counter this threat and deal with those involved to the fullest extent of the law."
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/28/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  Bus tickets home?
Posted by: Skidmark || 03/28/2017 2:46 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Israeli report: Thousands of Chinese jihadists are fighting in Syria
[Ynet] According to an Israeli intelligence report, 3,000 members of the Uyghur Moslem minority joined al-Qaeda and ISIS in the war in Syria. China fears their return, which led them to cozy up to Assad to ensure their elimination.

A report by the Israeli Foreign Ministry found that thousands of Chinese Moslems are fighting in the ranks of jihadi organizations in Syria. China is very concerned about their return and their influence on the security of its citizens and its worldwide interests, which is why they have recently increased their involvement in Syria, and have pushed to strengthen their ties with the Assad regime.

Traditionally, China attributed little importance to Syria, but current circumstances are changing the situation. The report of one of Israel's three intelligence assessment bodies, along with Military Intelligence and the Mossad, stated, "The arrival of tens of thousands of Chinese citizens fighting and living in the country raises the need for monitoring them. China is interested in as much data that can be collected on them, and it is our understanding that they would prefer to liquidate them on Syrian soil, in order to prevent their return to their region."
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/28/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  liquidate them on Syrian soil, in order to prevent their return to their region."


Do the Chinese read da 'burg?

There seems to be something wrong with anyone that doesn't think this way.
Posted by: AlanC || 03/28/2017 7:28 Comments || Top||

#2  See? Even Commies want to fight Islamic Terrorists "over there" instead of "at home".
Posted by: ptah || 03/28/2017 10:38 Comments || Top||

#3  I say the way out of Afghanistan is to give it to China.

Posted by: 3dc || 03/28/2017 16:52 Comments || Top||

#4  I guess that's one way to get rid of your excess male population...
Posted by: CrazyFool || 03/28/2017 17:24 Comments || Top||


Terror Networks
Former Egyptian Islamic Jihad leader Nabil Naeem: Zawahiri himself is ignorant
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Nabil Naeem, a former leading figure in the al-Jama'a al-Jihadiya (Egyptian Islamic Jihad
...created after many members of the Egyptian Moslem Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat. They worked out of Gaza until they were exiled to Lebanon in 1987, where they clove tightly to Hezbollah. In 1989 they moved to Damascus, where they remain a subsidiary of Hezbollah...
) gang, confirmed in an interview with Al Arabiya that al-Qaeda operatives were "Egyptians, whether they adopted the Sayed Qutb doctrine or the Islamic Brotherhood doctrine."

"The doctrine of Abdullah Azzam and the late Osama bin Laden
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 03/28/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda



Who's in the News
27[untagged]
16Islamic State
4Taliban
3Arab Spring
3Houthis
2Govt of Pakistan
2Govt of Saudi Arabia
2Hamas
2al-Qaeda
2Govt of Iran
2Moslem Colonists
1Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (IS)
1Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (IS)
1Govt of Syria
1Sublime Porte
1Hizbul Mujaheddin

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Two weeks of WOT
Tue 2017-03-28
  33 ISIS troops die in Nangarhar airstrike
Mon 2017-03-27
  Leading member of Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis killed in North Sinai raid: Egyptian army
Sun 2017-03-26
  Police clash with anti-Christian mob in southern Egypt
Sat 2017-03-25
  ISIL withdrawing fighters from southern Syria to concentrate on Raqqa
Fri 2017-03-24
  Helmand’s Sangin district has reportedly fallen to Taliban
Thu 2017-03-23
  It's worse: Jewish Israeli-American, 19, arrested in Ashkelon for phoning in dozens of JCC bomb threats
Wed 2017-03-22
  Jihadi car and knife attack: Parliament in lockdown
Tue 2017-03-21
  U.S. Bans Laptops, Tablets from Cabins on Flights from Middle East
Mon 2017-03-20
  Syrian regulars gain control of regions near Palmyra
Sun 2017-03-19
  Four wanted Maute militants nabbed in Lanao
Sat 2017-03-18
  Man shot dead at Paris Orly airport this morning after taking soldier's gun: official
Fri 2017-03-17
  Four Killed as Bangladesh Police Storm Islamist Hideout
Thu 2017-03-16
  Kommander Abdullah, 10 others die in airstrike in Paktika
Wed 2017-03-15
  Dozens killed in suicide bombing at Damascus "Palace of Justice" courthouse
Tue 2017-03-14
  Suspected ISIS gas attack hits Iraqi forces in west Mosul

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