[ToloNews] An investigation by TOLOnews has found that the Taliban ...the Pashtun equivalent of men... have been collecting taxes from the business community in Ghazni province over the past six months.
Reports indicate that Taliban officials even take tax from businessmen in the historic provincial capital.
Meanwhile a Taliban front man has said that the group successfully collected over three million AFs from Ghazni alone this year.
In addition local officials have said that the Taliban has nabbed Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit! dozens of locals after they refused to pay tax to the bully boys.
Ahmad Farid Omari is a local businessmen in Ghazni who was forced by the Taliban to pay 200,000 Pak rupees in illegal tax.
Omari was initially asked for 400,000 Pak rupees in tax. But he managed to convince the Taliban to accept 200,000 rupees.
"Taliban operate just five kilometers from the city which belongs to the capital of Ghazni, Taliban told us to pay the money in that place and said we will receive a slip for the amount paid, but we did not go there to pay the money; Taliban’s men came in from the city who we did not recognize and we paid the money," said Omari.
The business community is outraged over the issue, saying they are paying tax both to government and the Taliban.
But the Taliban have said the group collected the tax to ensure security of trade convoys on the highway.
"No businessmen are left in Ghazni who have not paid the tax, even there are claims that members of the provincial council have also paid the money," said Hassan Reza Yusufi, secretary of Ghazni provincial council.
"The majority of members of Taliban’s Quetta Shura ...Taliban's command center, located in Quetta, that the Pak govt hasn't been able to find since its establishment in November, 2001. Honest... (council) which is the biggest council in the Taliban leadership are from Ghazni," said Abdul Karim Mateen, governor of Ghazni province.
Local officials say that from the total of eighteen districts in Ghazni, Nawah, Zankhan, Gero, Ajristan, Gelan, Dahyak, Andar, Waeez and Khogyani are dealing with high security threats.
[Khaama Press] At least twenty one snuffies including foreign nationals were killed in the latest Arclight airstrikes conducted in western Farah province of Afghanistan.
The Ministry of Defense of Afghanistan in a statement said the new airstrikes were carried out in the vicinity of Khak-e-Safid district.
The statement further added that seven Pak nationals were among those killed and at least three vehicles and several weapons were also destroyed.
The anti-government armed holy warrior groups including the Taliban ...Arabic for students... Death Eaters have not commented regarding the report so far.
Farah is among the relatively restive provinces in West of Afghanistan where the anti-government armed holy warrior groups including the Taliban Death Eaters are actively operating in some of its districts.
A senior Taliban leader who was in charge of the Red Unit command of the group for western Farah province was killed during a counter-terrorism operation in the same district late last year.
The Ministry of Defense (MoD) front man Gen. Dawlat Waziri said the Taliban leader Daud Muzamil was initially injured in an airstrike conducted in Khak-e-Safid district and subsequently died of his wounds.
Gen. Waziri further added that Muzamil was in charge of the Red Unit command of the Taliban besides he was appointed as the military commission chief of the group for Farah.
He said at least eight people were killed in the airstrike and eight others including commander Muzamil were maimed.
According to Gen. Waziri, commander Muzamil died of the wounds he had sustained during the airstrike.
[Khaama Press] A suicide kaboom rocked Quetta city, the thriving provincial capital of Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... province of Pakistain, late on Tuesday night.
According to the local officials, several people were killed or injured after a jacket wallah detonated his explosives close to the vehicle of the security forces.
The incident took place in the vicinity of Zarghoon Road close to the General Assembly of Balochistan, leaving seven people dead and sixteen others maimed.
Balochistan’s Inspector General of Police Moazam Jah Ansari told news hounds that eight coppers were also injured in the attack.
It is believed that the Tehrik-e-Taliban ...Arabic for students... Pakistain (TTP) group has grabbed credit behind the attack.
In the meantime, Ansari claimed that he could "tell in advance" that the suicide bomber must have come from across the Afghan border.
He said DNA tests showed suicide bombers involved in previous attacks in Quetta were foreign nationals too, according to the local media reports.
This comes as several people were killed or maimed in a similar incident in Quetta city late in December last year.
The Afghan and Pak officials often blame the attacks on the anti-government armed elements having safe havens on the two sides of the Durand Line.
The Afghan officials often blame the Haqqani terrorist network for the large scale attacks in Kabul and other parts of the Afghanistan, claiming that the network uses its safe havens in Pakistain for orchestrating such attacks. A claim which has often been endorsed by US officials as well.
Anbar (Iraqinews.com) ‐ Iraqi troops destroyed on Wednesday four 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.... armored vehicles and seized three others during a military operation in Anbar province, a military commander was quoted as saying.
Speaking to Alsumaria News, Commander of Anbar Operations Major General Mahmoud al-Falahi said, "A joint force from Anbar Operations Command, al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces) and the Border Guards carried out a military operation in several desert areas in Anbar province on the Iraqi-Saudi borders."
"The military operation was backed by Iraqi warplanes and the U.S.-led international coalition," he said, adding that the troops destroyed four IS armored vehicles and seized three others during the campaign.
"In addition, four camps of Islamic State were completely destroyed in the military operation," Falahi pointed out, noting that the final tally of IS losses will be announced later as the military operation is still ongoing.
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01/11/2018 00:00 ||
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Bagdhad (Iraqinews.com) – Six people were killed and injured Wednesday in a bomb blast at al-Mada’n district in Baghdad, a security source was quoted as saying.
“An explosive charge went off near a line of supermarkets at al-Mada’n district in Baghdad, leaving a citizen dead and five others wounded,” a source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Baghdad Today.
“Security forces rushed to the blast site and carried the dead body to the forensic medicine department, and the injured to hospital for treatment.”
Baghdad (Iraqinews.com) – Security forces have seized a huge amount of explosive devices and mortar shells that were left by the defeated Islamic State group in different areas in Baghdad, a military command was quoted as saying Wednesday.
“Troops of the Baghdad Operations Command have found 25 bombs, a locally-made rocket and 39 mortar shells during military operations in the north, west and south of Baghdad,” the command said in a statement, quoted by Alghad Press.
“The explosive charges, left over by Islamic State, were detonated at the scene with no casualties reported,” the statement read.
“Our security forces will keep launching military operations on a daily basis to track down Islamic State cells and purge all Iraqi territories from their remnants,” the statement added.
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Diyala (Iraqinews.com) ‐ One civilian was injured Wednesday in a kaboom in southeastern Muqdadiyah, Diyala, a well-placed provincial official was quoted as saying.
"An explosive charge went off while a vehicle was passing by Muqdadiyah district in Diyala, leaving the driver injured," Head of Muqdadiyah City Council Adnan al-Tamimi told Alghada Press.
"The injured was carried to hospital for treatment and a probe was launched into the incident," he added.
Meanwhile, ...back at the chili cook-off, Chuck and Manuel's rivalry was entering a new and more dangerous phase... a military commander announced that a booby-trapped house and several hotbeds of 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.... were destroyed Wednesday during a military operation at Hawi al-Azim area in northern Diyala.
Speaking to Alghad Press, Commander of Tigris Operations Lieutenant General Mazhar al-Ezzawi said, "Security forces detonated a booby-trapped house and destroyed several IS hotbeds during a military operation that started on Monday to cleanse the western parts of Hawi al-Azim area in northern Diyala from Islamic State remnants.
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01/11/2018 00:00 ||
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Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) Twelve Islamic State members were killed as security troops foiled an attack, south of Mosul, military source said on Wednesday.
“Troops managed to repulse an attack by Islamic State against villages of Imam Gharbi and Kan’ous, south of Qayyarah town, before the militants targeted security personnel,” the source told Baghdad Today website. “All the weapons in the militants’ possession were confiscated.”
“Security troops launched a wide-scale campaign after cordoning off the two villages in search for the militants,” he added.
Mosul (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi troops will invade a village in south of Mosul, into which tens of Islamic State militants infiltrated, an officer from the Joint Operations Command said.
Speaking to BasNews website, Col. Falah Aref announced preparations to invade hawija village, which links between Qayyarah and Hammam al-Alil towns, south of Mosul, in the wake of infiltration of IS members, who are hiding there.
“Joint troops of army and police as well as Rapid Response forces are getting ready to invade Hawija village, which has wide areas of forests, helping militants to hide there,” he added.
“The invasion, will be backed by Iraqi fighter jets, after evacuating the residents through safe passageways,” Aref said. “The presence of IS members in the village endangers security of the south of Mosul.”
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Nineveh Operations Command has denied news circulated over releasing Islamic State mufti in Mosul in return for bribe.
“Newspapers and news agencies circulate every now and then fabricated news on sensitive cases in order to destabilize security,” the command said in a statement on Wednesday.
The Saudi Okaz newspaper, according to the statement, “published news on the release of Ezz Eddin Taha Ahmed, who was the IS leader (Wali) when Mosul was liberated.”
“We absolutely deny the release and urge the newspaper to stick to accuracy before publishing the news, in order not to be a source for circulating rumors that harms the Iraqi social security,” it added.
On Monday, the newspaper quoted Zuheir al-Jabouri, spokesperson of the mobilization forces in Nineveh, as confirming IS mufti’s release in return for US$7,000 as a bribe. He indicated similar cases of releasing the terrorists due to corruption.
The mufti, known as Abu Omar, was one of the militants who intimidated the residents. He was famous for stoning people to death.
The Daily Mail also carried that story, with pictures:
Abu Omer, notorious for stoning victims to death, was caught in Mosul, Iraq but then almost immediately freed after being tracked down when locals tipped off troops about his hideout
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[IsraelTimes] A bus driver is lightly injured by stone-throwers as he drove along Jerusalem’s Uzi Narkiss Road near Pisgat Ze’ev, police say in a statement. The driver is treated for light injuries by paramedics at the scene. The statement says coppers are searching the area for the perpetrators.
IDF and Shin Bet forces seized thousands of shekels in terror funds Tuesday night. Throughout the West Bank, 11 terror suspects were tossed in the clink Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please!
[Ynet] Vandals threw stones and Molotov cocktails at border police forces in the Arab east-Jerusalem neighborhood of Issawiya. There were no casualties but several vehicles were damaged. The police reported that a suspect had been arrested for involvement in the incident.
A suspected Abu Sayyaf bomb maker was nabbed in a raid on a pension house in Zamboanga City on Monday night. Benjar Idarus Engeng, alias Ben Akmad, a native of Isabela, Basilan, was arrested by operatives of the Zamboanga City police, regional police, Philippine Coast Guard, Philippine Air Force, Philippine Center for Transnational Crime and 84th Special Action Company.
... as well as the cast from the Broadway production of Hamilton, for no apparent reason.
An IED was allegedly recovered from the suspect, Zamboanga City police chief Vince Neri Ignacio said, "The type of the IED shows the expertise of this person…he has a lot of experience.”
However, Engeng said he only had a replica of an IED. He said his companion, identified only as Amilhasan, made the IED to take its photo and send it to their contact in Bongao town in exchange for P30,000. He said, "There is no explosive chemical inside. I did not make it…I was only tasked to fix the wirings using glue. It will not explode."
Engeng also denied being an Abu Sayyaf militant. He said he is a former member of the Moro National Liberation Front based in Basilan.
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[AFP] Islamist militants have killed a soldier and injured three civilians in bomb attacks in the southern Philippines, the military said Wednesday.
The soldier was fatally shot Tuesday while his unit was tracking Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters gunmen on a mountain trail near the town of Datu Unsay. Regional military spokesman Captain Arvin Encinas said, "The dead soldier was involved in a clearing operation (against the BIFF)."
A roadside bomb apparently intended for a military convoy in the neighboring town of Datu Hoffer injured three civilians instead, Encinas added. He said both military units were pursuing BIFF rebels who had clashed with security forces in the same region on Saturday, a gun battle that killed a soldier and five militants.
Encinas said some BIFF rebels had been trained in making improvised explosive devices by Zulkifli bin Hir, a Malaysian killed in a police operation two years ago.
"These are students of Marwan. There's quite a few of them," Encinas said of the bomb makers, referring to Zulkifli's alias.
[Bernama] Nine Thai army rangers were hurt, three of them severely injured, when a bomb exploded while they were traveling in a pickup truck in Pattani province.
Nongchik district police spokesman Akkarat Jiacharen said the incident occurred Wednesday morning while the rangers were heading to a primary school in Ban Saimo. They were on their way there to investigate an incident where two closed-circuit television cameras in front of the school were torched.
Akkarat said police think the 50kg bomb was planted on the road where the blast took place and activated using a walkie-talkie. The explosion caused a two-meter hole in the road, he said.
[IsraelTimes] Intelligence Ministry says security forces confiscated arms and explosives from 'safe houses' kept by detainees
Iran says it has jugged You have the right to remain silent... dozens on suspicion of "terrorist activities" during a recent wave of protests.
The official IRNA news agency on Wednesday carried a statement from the Intelligence Ministry saying security forces confiscated arms and explosives from "safe houses" kept by the detainees. It says some detainees had filmed the protests.
Demonstrations broke out across Iran last month fueled by anger at the lackluster economy and official corruption. The protests spread to several towns and cities, with some demonstrators calling for the overthrow of the government.
Clashes broke out at some of the protests, and at least 21 people were killed.
Iran has accused the US, Israel and other foreign powers of inciting violence to try and overthrow the Islamic Theocratic Republic.
Various figures were released previously by official sources over the number arrested over the recent unrest which hit several dozen towns and cities, with reformist politician, Mahmoud Sadeghi, putting the total at 3,700 on Tuesday.
Human rights activists outside of Iran told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named on Tuesday they weren’t surprised by the figure as authorities also allegedly carried out so-called "preventative arrests" of students not involved in the protests. Some 4,000 arrests followed the 2009 protests.
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01/11/2018 00:00 ||
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#1
Is there a blackout of news on msm regarding these protests?
#2
Is there a blackout? Pretty much, yes, because it would make President Obama’s phone’n’pen deal with Iran look incredibly stupid, or worse. But also at the Iran end, making it a lot harder to get any i formation about what is happening over there.
[IsraelTimes] A blast rocked a Syrian weapons depot, killing several people and causing damage, a Syrian watchdog group said Wednesday, a day after Israeli jets reportedly struck an arsenal near Damascus.
Syrian army regulars and fighters belonging to pro-regime militias were killed or injured in the kaboom, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported Wednesday.
The Britannia-based group did not say how many people had been killed or hurt in the blast, which occurred near the city of Slinfah.
The blast, whose cause remained unclear, could be heard around the whole region of Latakia in western Syria.
The area is considered the power base for Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Terror of Aleppo ... , and is home to a number of military installations. Russia also maintains a military presence in the area.
The reports come a day after the Syrian military said that Israel conducted Arclight airstrikes on a military base in the city of al-Qutayfah, outside Damascus, early Tuesday morning, reportedly on a weapons depot containing long-range missiles.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
A suspected Abu Sayyaf bomb maker was nabbed in a raid on a pension house in Zamboanga City on Monday night. Benjar Idarus Engeng, alias Ben Akmad, a native of Isabela, Basilan, was arrested by operatives of the Zamboanga City police, regional police, Philippine Coast Guard, Philippine Air Force, Philippine Center for Transnational Crime and 84th Special Action Company.
[AFP] Islamist militants have killed a soldier and injured three civilians in bomb attacks in the southern Philippines, the military said Wednesday.
[Bernama] Nine Thai army rangers were hurt, three of them severely injured, when a bomb exploded while they were traveling in a pickup truck in Pattani province.
