[THEPOSTMILLENNIAL] A human trafficking sting called Operation Autumn Sweep nabbed 157 suspects, including three Disney employees and 25 illegal immigrants colonists in Polk County, FL. Police also rescued four potential victims of human trafficking in the process, Fox13 reported Thursday.
Those charged were allegedly soliciting hookers or offering to commit prostitution. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd told a news conference Thursday that, of those arrested, 47 were hookers, 96 were clients, 1 was a human trafficker, and 14 had other charges pending. Judd noted that the eldest client was 61 and the youngest was only 15. He said the group had a total of 327 prior felony and 400 misdemeanor charges.
"16 percent of these total arrests were people who should not even have been in this country, but they were here, and they were here because we have a federal government that enabled these criminals to come into the country, and then treated them very well after the criminals came here illegally," said Judd.
Judd said that two of the potential victims of human trafficking were illegal immigrants colonists who had to pay off their debt to cartel smugglers by having sex up to 20 times a day. If they balked at this order, Judd said their handler would slap and choke them.
The sheriff noted that, of the accused, 26 are married and numerous engaged. The Polk County Sheriff's Office said that three of those charged work at Disney World.
Three suspects in addition to the 157 have been charged with soliciting sex online from three individuals that they believed to be children. They were charged with traveling to meet a minor, attempted lewd and lascivious battery on a minor, and using a computer to seduce a child. A Disney World employee is one of those suspects, a second is working in Florida but from another state, and the third is an undocumented Democrat. Judd said, "What would any of our undercover operations be - where we're dealing with human trafficking, prostitution, child predators - without Disney? We always arrest Disney employees."
The arrests come as reports of sex trafficking of immigrant children have more than tripled during the Biden-Harris administration's open border policies. Customs and Border Protection agents have warned that many children being smuggled across the border are ripe for exploitation, often as hookers or sex slaves.
[Daily Mail, sjere America gets its news] A Colorado property manager was allegedly beaten to a pulp by a Venezuelan gang who took over his building.
Shocking video captured the brutal attack at the complex in Aurora, which left the manager needing hospital treatment.
The apartments have garnered national attention in recent months amid reports they have been occupied by Tren de Aragua, a violent Venezuelan gang.
The manager's employers, CBZ Management, shared footage of the 2023 beating as evidence of the crisis, which they blame on the government.
CBZ said the manager was attacked because he refused to take a $500 bribe after discovering a group of migrants squatting in a vacant apartment.
In the clip the manager, dressed in a white shirt, is seen talking to a group of three men in the hallway.
Suddenly they launch themselves at him, unleashing a flurry of punches and kicks.
At one point, one of the men can be seen repeatedly stamping on the manager who lies in a heap on the floor.
A photo taken after the horrific ordeal shows the manager covered in blood and sporting a black eye.
CBZ said the horror continued after the attack, with the manager sent threatening text messages.
'We also frequently found people illegally occupying newly vacated apartments during scheduled tours,' they said in a statement.
'This was initially attributed to an influx of migrants exploiting squatter laws.
'We even received a call from a tenant returning from vacation, only to find strangers living in his apartment. This legitimate tenant was forced to find a new home after police couldn't help him. '
The company hit out at officials for attempting to discredit reports of the gang activity or blaming them for the problem.
Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman called CBZ 'out-of-state slumlords' as he flatly denied the claims.
'I just don't think they're credible,' Mayor Coffman said. 'I mean, I think that prior to the migrant crisis, they were not maintaining these buildings, and we were in court with them prior to the migrant crisis.'
The allegations were also dismissed by ABC News host Martha Raddatz during an interview with Vice Presidential hopeful JD Vance.
However, as DailyMail.com revealed earlier this week, the gang has also terrorized other American cities.
CBZ claim they have been left to fend for themselves, with no assistance provided at city, state or federal level.
'We were left helpless, watching as violence, bullets, and destruction overtook our buildings,' the company said. 'Many of our legitimate tenants fled out of fear.
'Despite the obvious crisis, several city officials refused to acknowledge the reality.
'Instead, they blamed us, citing "code violations" as the reason for shutting down our property—violations we couldn’t resolve for tenants who weren’t even ours.
'Despite clear evidence, many still deny the reality of the situation, sometimes using us as scapegoats. That’s why we are no longer staying silent.
'We will continue to counter falsehoods with simple facts and evidence.'
#1
It's time to send these animals where they belong -- the morgue. Why do we even BEGIN to tolerate this? This is an invasion of foreign militants. They should be "eliminated with extreme prejudice".
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
10/19/2024 12:22 Comments ||
Top||
The Sudanese army launched a major military operation on Friday from the Al-Faw axis in Gederaf state, eastern Sudan, to advance towards Wad Madani, the capital of Al Jazirah state. This offensive coincides with the arrival of the army's assistant commander, Shams al-Din… pic.twitter.com/dB5t9W0yci
…more formally Lieutenant General Ibrahim Shams al-Din or Shams al-Din al-Kabbashi — though as he is said to be legally illegitimate as well as a vicious bastard, nobody is quite sure what he is entitled to be called. A dear friend of National Congress Party (NCP) frontman Nafi ali Nafi the butcher (they go in for imaginative names over there), the current false nose and mustache of the old National Islamic Front, the good general currently amuses himself by masquerading as a moderate favoured by Iran. His history, however, shows otherwise: charter member of the military Council of Forty that ruled Sudan following the 1989 coup, he was given the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) to run, which he used to torture dissidents and ethnic minority leaders both in the north and south with equal enthusiasm…
on the Al-Faw front.
https://sudantribune.com/article292211/
Video 1: Two months after a horrific massacre by the RSF, Wad Al-Noura village in Al-Jazirah state is finally free. This video shows an army officer speaking to the residents who survived the tragedy after taking control of the area on October 18.
Video 2: Sudanese forces at al-Shabarqa area of Al-Jazirah state.
Picture : A
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2024 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11133 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Sudan
#1
Ibrahim Shams al-Din, then a major, was the most vicious of the Islamist military that made their way forward with the Sudan military coup of June 1989. He was a charter member of the "Council of Forty" that governed the Sudan for years. Gained his spurs by contacts with Libya's Colonel Yunis Jabir in Tripoli and then with military in Cairo. A ruthless Islamist he was a leader of the military IS-SOR (generic term for National Islamic Security apparatus). For years led activity against Southern Sudanese and was responsible for various atrocities. Then became a favorite of the Iranian mullahs. A generally very evil man.
#2
Is Ibrahim Shams al-Din the also known as Shams al-Din Kabbashi or Shams al-Din al-Kabbashi? I took a look at the rest of the tweet, and that’s the gentleman’s full name in this instance. We have no Ibrahim etc. in the archives going back to 2002, but we do have both Kabbashi variants starting in 2020. See here.
#3
This is the same Shams al-Din:
"Letter to President Obama رسالة الى الرئيس أوباما
Posted on April 29 2013 by GIRIFNA
النسخة العربية في نهاية الصفحة
Nafie the butcher. The recent invitation by the United States government to a senior delegation of the National Congress Party (NCP) headed by Nafie Ali Nafie, to attend talks in Washington, DC is a big mistake.
The man the Obama Administration will be speaking with has blood on his hands, quite literally. As one of the most brutal members of the National Islamic Front regime and head of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) in the 1990′s, Nafie masterminded a savage campaign of torture and killing in compounds known as “Ghost Houses.” Thousands of people were tortured and hundreds disappeared in a campaign that saw the annihilation of voices of dissent. Leaders of civil society and professional and student unions were persecuted under his direct orders. He himself is known to have tortured individuals directly.
The US government must understand that the NCP has lost all legitimacy and has never represented the Sudanese people..., and continues to commit mass atrocities and crimes against humanity until this day. The regime of Omar al-Bashir has proved itself unwilling to accept the rule of law..."
In Sudan itself, Shams al-Din was thought to be of illigitimate parentage. Thus the confusion over the name he used, and apparently is using today.
#4
Sorry, I truncated the report. Nafi ali Nafi and Shams al-Din worked hand in hand for years. Reporting on one was generally equal to reporting on the other. They were both cruel oppressors not only of South Sudanese but of Darfur's many ethnic minorities.
#5
To further claify the present situation in the Sudan, note Times of Israel report on Shams, dated July 23, 2024:
"Lieutenant General Shams al-Din Kabbashi’s journey from military spokesman to pivotal figure in Sudanese politics has been marked by a calculated deception: presenting himself as a moderate force for peace while actively undermining Sudan’s democratic transition. His alliances with Islamist factions, coupled with his double-dealing diplomacy and military maneuvers, paint a troubling picture of Sudan’s future under his influence. As Sudanese citizens continue to demand genuine reform and civilian governance, Kabbashi’s true intentions serve as a stark reminder of the nation’s enduring challenges on its path to democracy and stability." Shams al-Din is indeed Shams al-Din Kabbashi.
#8
Forget the Kabbashi business. Everyone in Sudan and neighboring states knows Shams al-Din. He was really very young when he jumped the Al-Bashir bandwagon in the Sudan. It's amazing, but he certainly is a survivor. Because he is truly a very stupid inidividual it is important to try and determine who is pulling his strings. Best.
#10
We love you always, my dear, whoever you might be. ;-) Rantburg will give you a new nym every time you clear your cookies. Feel free to type in something you prefer in the Your Name box, should you have a preference.
Operatives of the Enugu State Police Command in a sustained war against kidnapping have killed two suspected kidnappers during a raid on their hideout on Thursday.
The operatives also rescued one victim and recovered their weapons, according to a statement on Friday, by the Command's spokesperson, DSP Daniel Ndukwe.
Ndukwe said, "On October 17, 2024, around 8pm, operatives from the Enugu State Police Command's Anti-Kidnapping, Distress Response and Special Intervention Squads, raided a kidnappers' hideout in Nokpa-Nike, Enugu East Local Government Area, following a diligently gathered actionable intelligence.
"Upon the operatives' arrival, the kidnappers opened fire, prompting a return of fire. In the process, two of the suspects were neutralised, while others fled with varying degrees of gunshot injuries."
He revealed a manhunt for the fleeing suspects and others linked to the syndicate had been launched, noting that Enugu State would no longer be safe for the criminals and their collaborators.
He added, "A male victim, identified as the personal assistant (PA) to a public figure (names withheld), kidnapped by the gang on September 27, 2024, in Trans-Ekulu, Enugu, was rescued unharmed.
"During the operation, the police recovered one G-3 rifle, two AK-47 rifles, three magazines, and one hundred and twenty-five rounds of live ammunition.
"Preliminary investigations reveal that this criminal group had demanded a ransom of N40,000,000 for the release of the victim. The group is also found to be responsible for several kidnappings within Enugu metropolis and its environs.
"Some of their members had previously been arrested and arraigned in court, with firearms and ammunition recovered from them."
Ndukwe also disclosed that the buildings the criminals used for the criminal acts, including the present one, had been destroyed by the Enugu State government.
[HODHODYEMENNEWS.NET] A new military force was deployed 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... 's southern city of Aden to strengthen the powers of the President of the ''Leadership Council,'' Rashad al-Alimi, in light of the tensions taking place in the city between the UAE and Saudi Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat Frational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start... Informed local sources reported Thursday that Saudi Arabia deployed new factions of the ''military police'' with what is called a ''southern identity'' in the streets of Aden to control members of the Southern Transitional Council (STC) factions loyal to the UAE to ensure control of the city and prevent any acts of chaos.
The sources explained that the ''military police'' factions set up armed checkpoints in the city's streets to verify the identity of the STC members wearing military uniforms.
Saudi Arabia's new moves in Aden seek to strengthen its security control over the city with the widening differences between al-Alimi and the STC president, Aidaroos al-Zubaidi, according to the sources.
The sources pointed out that the Saudi moves were met with annoyance from the leaders of the STC factions in Aden.
It is likely that the STC factions will be removed from the city in implementation of the so-called ''Riyadh Agreement'' signed in November following the confrontations that Aden witnessed during August of 2019.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2024 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11139 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Saudi Arabia
#1
Control of Aden is no joke. It sits, as it did for more than a century in a strategic juxtoposition, between the bifurcated crazies of the north, and the Hadrahmautis who would like to have never heard of the Bin Laden family. The Saudi's want to control Aden, and for good reason.
Just in: An East African Muslim man has been convicted by a jury in London for brutally r—ping and killing an English woman following a three-week trial.
Mohamed Noor Iidow repeatedly r—ped Natalie Shotter in July 2021. Shotter was unconscious in a park during the attack. She… pic.twitter.com/2rDT7s6c16
[FoxNews] A large group of illegal immigrants was spotted in Texas near the southern border, including some from Iran and Africa, authorities said.
Video footage captured from a drone shows 134 migrants in Maverick County on Thursday, which sits on the Texas-Mexico border, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) said.
The group included 32 unaccompanied children and minors and seven special interest immigrants from Iran and Angola. Special interest immigrants are those who potentially pose a national security risk to the U.S.
The designation means that the travel and behavior patterns of such individuals could indicate a possible nexus to nefarious activity, including terrorism, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) states.
Earlier this month, dozens of illegal immigrants from countries linked to extensive terrorist activity were caught at the southern border in Texas.
Some hailed from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Egypt and India.
"It is this type of activity, these attempted illegal crossings between the ports of entry by people coming from areas that are hot spots for terrorist activity that clearly highlight the concerns of Governor Abbott and the state of Texas," DPS Director Steven McCraw said at the time.
"These are not illegal immigrants seeking asylum — these are people trying to cross into the United States undetected who may also be trying to do us harm," he added.
The DHS issued its annual threat assessment earlier this month warning of migrants with terrorist ties.
"Over the next year, we expect some individuals with terrorism ties and some criminal actors will continue their efforts to exploit migration flows and the complex border security environment to enter the United States," the assessment states.
"Individuals with potential terrorism connections continue to attempt to enter the Homeland at both the US-Mexico and US-Canada borders and also through the immigration system," it continued.
[ShabelleMedia] Michael Sam Teekaye Jr., a 21-year-old from Hanover, Maryland, was arrested on charges of attempting to provide material support to ISIS-Somalia, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland announced on Wednesday.
The arrest was the culmination of a covert operation that disrupted Teekaye’s plans to travel abroad to join the terrorist group.
According to court documents, Teekaye had been in contact with a Somali member of ISIS since early 2023, discussing his desire to fight in Africa. His intended route was through The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire... and Æthiopia before reaching Somalia.
Court filings also revealed that Teekaye had a secondary plan to carry out an attack in the United States targeting supporters of Israel, in case his international venture was not successful.
An FBI agent, under cover, had been monitoring these communications, where Teekaye expressed his commitment to joining ISIS.
Teekaye’s arrest occurred as he was about to depart from Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. If found guilty, he could face up to 20 years in prison for attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization.
A 21-year-old Maryland man was in custody Thursday after an undercover operation revealed he was trying to work with a terrorist group. He even spoke with an undercover officer about a plot to carry out a terrorist attack against Jewish people and Israel supporters in the United States.
According to Erek L. Barron, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland and Special Agent in Charge William DelBagno of the FBI, Michael Sam Teekaye Jr. of Hanover was been charged with attempting to provide material support to ISIS. Teekaye was arrested on Monday and has been detained since then.
On three occasions in May and June 2024, Teekaye purchased ammunition and range time at a shooting range in Severn, Maryland, which he later told the undercover officer was partly in order to "train."
Then, documents say in July 2024, Teekaye tried to buy a Kalishnikov rifle, but the purchase was denied because Teekaye was on probation.
In later conversations with the undercover officer between August and October 2024, Teekaye said he was in contact with a Somali ISIS fighter about his plans to travel there to join ISIS. Teekaye explained that he would fly first to Turkey, then travel to Ethiopia and cross the border into Somalia. Teekaye sent the officer screenshots of an Ethiopian e-Visa he had obtained from the ISIS fighter. He also sent screenshots of his itinerary that showed him departing from Baltimore Washington International Airport (BWI) on Oct. 14.
On Oct. 10, he sent undercover agents a picture of himself in a black mask and holding a machete.
Last Friday, the officer asked if Teekaye was sure he wanted to join ISIS. Teekaye responded, “I am sure I did a lot of research and had to accept something’s [sic] that they are the only group that has the most true and sincere intentions,” according to the documents.
FBI agents arrested Teekaye on Monday at BWI. After being advised of his right to remain silent, Teekaye told the arresting officers, "I’ll just get out in 20 years and do something here. Okay? Okay? You will never stop me. Jihad will never stop . . . I’ll be like 40 when I get out, then I’ll just do it. I don’t care. You will never stop me."
The FBI first learned of Teekaye in December 2019 when the agency saw one of his social media accounts expressing extremist Islamist ideology.
Michael Teekaye first got on the FBI’s radar as a teenager in December 2019, when agents say he expressed an interest in extremist Islamic ideology on social media.
Teekaye, a 21-year-old from Hanover, is being held without bond on a charge of providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization. The federal public defender’s office has been appointed to represent him, but no attorney has made an appearance in the case as of Wednesday afternoon.
Teekaye is on probation until September 2025 on a misdemeanor charge. Two years ago, Teekaye showed up at an elementary school in Columbia, holding a large fixed-blade knife and wearing a black face mask, Howard County Police reported. Teekaye was there to fight a classmate, he told the officers later, with whom he was having a conflict. It’s unclear who the classmate was. He had a pocketknife with him as well.
The affidavit, filed in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, lays out how the FBI says Teekaye, who as a 16-year-old, was forcibly hospitalized after the Howard County Police Department reported in 2019 that he said he wanted to “cut the head off” of a classmate, went down the road that led to his arrest at the airport Tuesday.
The FBI’s affidavit is based on chats between Teekaye and undercover FBI employees on Instagram, Telegram, WhatsApp and in conversations with undercover agents. The affidavit lays out a series of chats about Teekaye joining various branches of the Islamic State in Africa and, at one point plotting to attack Jews or supporters of Israel living in Maryland.
Teekaye’s social media account was disabled in 2019 for posts where he expressed support for extremist views.
Teekaye was forcibly hospitalized a second time. A Psychiatric Institute of Washington admission assessment found Teekaye was “obsessed with Muslim culture, posting social media with terrorist material, threatened to kill all Americans, threatened to kill [his] parents. His outpatient psychiatrist was concerned about his homicidal ideation and increasing aggression.”
Teekaye acknowledged he was a “danger” to himself and others, that he had said he wanted to kill his parents because he was angry at them.
“They kept getting me mad and angry,” he told his outpatient psychiatrist. “They were screaming at me and stuff … I guess because of what happened with the FBI and stuff … They found stuff on my phone … like radical Islam stuff.”
Earlier this summer, Teekaye, who worked a several restaurants in Anne Arundel County, tried to purchase a gun, but he was denied due to being on probation. He had been going to Cindy’s Hot Shots, a shooting range in Severn, and had been able to buy ammunition.
Michael Teekaye Jr., 21, was arrested on Monday after he went through security.
The FBI alleges a terrorist organization paid for his flight.
Teekaye has a history of mental health issues.
"The facts will have to play out so we understand completely what was going on here," said Professor Michael Greenberger, who founded the Center for Health and Homeland Security at the University of Maryland. "At the present time, there is enough information for all of us to be concerned, but we need more information to determine whether this would have happened but for him being lured by the FBI or whether he was inclined to do this from the get-go."
TROUBLING PAST
Court records show a diagnosis of schizophrenia and a past incident where Teekaye stood outside an elementary school in Columbia, Howard County, masked and holding a knife. He told police he wanted to fight a classmate.
Teekaye is still on probation for that incident.
And because of that, he was unable to buy a weapon when he tried to do so.
Teekaye had been hospitalized twice for his mental health issues under emergency petitions.
AIRPORT ARREST
The FBI alleged a Somali ISIS fighter booked a ticket for Teekaye and planned to meet him in Africa.
Police said Teekaye was combative at his BWI arrest and told them, "You will never stop me. Jihad will never stop."
Professor Greenberger noted the FBI has been under fire to make more progress against terror organizations and said this arrest may not be the most consequential.
"There is an expectation that the FBI is going to be going deeper and finding people who are more of a threat from the get-go to the United States than someone such as this. I want to make clear, this kind of person if the facts are correct, can't be ignored, but this is not the big fish that all of us are hoping the FBI will be able to capture," Greenberger said.
Thereby confirming the contention...
[IsraelTimes] Supporters of pro-Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... gangs in Iraq stormed and ransacked the offices of a Saudi television channel in Baghdad early Saturday, a security source says, after the broadcaster aired a report referring to Iran-backed commanders as "terrorists."
Between 400 and 500 people attacked the Baghdad studios of Saudi broadcaster MBC after midnight. "They wrecked the electronic equipment, the computers, and set fire to a part of the building," the interior ministry source tells AFP on condition of anonymity, adding the fire had been extinguished and the crowd dispersed by police.
Update at 10:30 a.m. ET: How Rudaw is reporting it today. Note there are only dozens of protesters now, instead of hundreds:
Dozens of protesters attacked the office of MBC in the capital Baghdad late Friday, hours after the Saudi broadcaster labeled pro-Iran figures as “terrorists.”
The MBC published a video on Friday entitled “Millennium of deliverance from terrorists,” depicting pro-Iran figures who have been killed in US or Israeli strikes in recent years, notably Hamas Leader Ismail Haniyeh, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, and top Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani. The video report also featured assassinated leaders of internationally-designated terrorist groups like the Islamic State (ISIS) and al-Qaeda.
“In this millennium, the world got rid of many terrorist figures who terrorized the world and shed blood,” read a text on the footage.
Hours later, dozens of protesters holding flags of pro-Iran militia groups stormed the MBC office in Baghdad and later set parts of it on fire, according to footage obtained by Rudaw.
Mustafa Sanad, an outspoken Iraqi lawmaker, warned in a post on X that “the issue does not end with destruction or burning,” adding that they will seek the cancellation of the broadcaster’s license in the country.
The Palestinian Hamas movement condemned MBC for the “provocative report against the movement and its leaders,” labeling it a “professional downfall and decline.”
Hamas called on MBC to apologize and delete the video.
MBC Group, formerly known as Middle East Broadcasting Centre, is based in Riyadh and consists of several channels in regional languages.
[Rudaw] The US military announced on Friday that Iraqi-led strikes with the support of the US-led international coalition killed four members of the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really 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 western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... (ISIS) including the "Wali of Kirkuk" during an operation in the province earlier this week.
"Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) conducted precision Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... s in Northeastern Iraq on Oct. 14 that killed four members of the terrorist organization ISIS, including a big shot," US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement.
The leader, according to the statement, was known as "Abu Issa" (aka Shahadhah 'Allawi Salih 'Ulaywi al-Bajjari). The "Wali of Kirkuk, ... a thick stew of Arabs, Turkmen, Kurds, and probably Antarcticans, all of them mutually hostile most of the time... " he led the krazed killers' cell in Kirkuk.
On Tuesday, Iraq's Security Media Cell had stated that Iraqi F-16 aircraft conducted "two successful strikes" at 1:30 am within Kirkuk Operations Command, and Iraqi counterterrorism forces a few hours later recovered the bodies of four suspected ISIS holy warriors, including an "important leader."
"The Iraqi-led strikes were conducted to disrupt and degrade ISIS attack network in Iraq," CENTCOM stated, detailing there "is no indication of civilian casualties."
"U.S. Central Command, alongside our coalition and Iraqi partners, will continue to aggressively pursue these terrorists," US General Michael Erik Kurilla, CENTCOM's commander, said in a statement.
Strikes in territories disputed between the federal Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) are part of ongoing efforts to rid the country of ISIS cells, in areas where a security vacuum allows them to operate.
Iraq's Joint Operations Commacnd announced on Friday that warplanes targeted a suspected ISIS hideout in disputed Kirkuk province. However,
Switzerland makes more than cheese... as Kurdish security forces (Asayish) conducted a sweeping operation in Shwan district, one of their members from Sulaimani province was killed in festivities with remnant ISIS fighters.
[Rudaw] After Iraqi warplanes targeted a suspected Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really 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 western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... (ISIS) hideout in Kirkuk, ... a thick stew of Arabs, Turkmen, Kurds, and probably Antarcticans, all of them mutually hostile most of the time... a member of the Kurdish security forces (Asayish) was killed during a sweeping operation in the disputed province on Thursday.
"After the bombardment, a force from the Sulaimani Asayish operations, in cooperation with Iraqi forces, went to the site of the bombing for a sweep [operation], leading to festivities that resulted in the martyrdom of one of our members," a senior Asayish official told Rudaw.
During festivities with ISIS in Kirkuk’s Shwan district, Mohammed Zhalla Mamlaha, an Asayish member, was killed. He was from the district of Chamchamal in Sulaimani province.
Earlier in the day, the Iraqi Joint Operations Command (JOC) announced Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... s targeting four suspected ISIS members of the group during a joint operation with Sulaimani’s Asayish.
"The strike targeted an important hideout belonging to the terrorists, which was a cave housing an ISIS cell consisting of four members in areas of mutual concern between the provinces of Kirkuk and Sulaimani," the JOC said in a statement.
The strike took place after the suspected faceless myrmidons infiltrated Kirkuk’s Shwan area, according to a statement from the General Directorate of Operations of the Kurdistan Region's security forces.
The Sulaimani-based Asayish said the faceless myrmidons were killed during the operation; however, pockets of the murderous Moslems remain in the area.
The strike in territories disputed between the federal Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is the latest in an ongoing effort to rid the country of ISIS cells, in areas where a security vacuum allows them to operate.
A joint operation between Iraqi counterterrorism forces and Asayish in Sulaimani on Thursday, captured a man in the province who was charged with being an ISIS leader in Iraq's western Anbar province; concurrently, Iraqi counterterrorism units apprehended another ISIS turban in Anbar.
On Tuesday, an Iraqi airstrike killed four suspected ISIS members including an "important leader," in Kirkuk province.
In August, a joint operation by the Iraqi army and US forces in the western Anbar province killed 16 suspected ISIS turbans, and the US military later said that the operation killed four ISIS leaders.
Earlier this month, the Iraqi army announced that more than 100 ISIS members have been killed since the beginning of the year.
[NYPost] A drone was launched towards Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s home in the northern Israeli town of Caesarea on Saturday, his spokesman said, adding that the premier was not in the vicinity and there were no casualties.
Earlier, the Israeli military said that a drone was launched from Lebanon and that it had hit a building. It was not immediately clear what the building was.
Two more drones that crossed into Israeli territory were intercepted, the military said.
There were no casualties reported, according to the Israeli ambulance service and police said explosions had been heard in Caesarea, coastal town where Netanyahu has a holiday home.
The drone attack was not immediately claimed by the Lebanese Iran-backed group Hezbollah, which has been trading fire with Israel since last October, or any other militant group.
Cool customer:
[X]
🚨Netanyahu's response to the drone attack that hit his private residence earlier today: pic.twitter.com/dCm2uJuFMT
[GEO.TV] At least 33 people were killed and 85 maimed in Israeli strikes that hit several houses on Friday in Jabalia, the largest of Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... 's eight historic refugee camps, medics said, where residents said tanks blew up roads and houses.
The Hamas ..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,... -run Gaza government media office said the corpse count from the strikes could rise because some people were believed to be trapped under the rubble, and the Paleostinian official news agency WAFA said children were among those killed. There was no immediate Israeli comment.
Other Israeli strikes killed at least 39 Paleostinians across Gaza on Friday, 20 of them in Jabalia, the Gaza health ministry said.
Residents of Jabalia said Israeli tanks had reached the heart of the camp after pushing through suburbs and residential districts. They said the Israeli army was destroying dozens of houses daily, from the air and the ground, and by placing bombs in buildings then detonating them remotely.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2024 01:00 ||
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The usual Catch-22. The war won't end until the hostages are freed, and the hostages won't be freed until the war ends...
[IsraelTimes] As terror group warns it won’t soften its stance on a deal, Netanyahu consults on campaign’s future; Israel ‘cautiously optimistic,’ but White House says talks yet to restart
Hamas ..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,... on Friday confirmed that its leader Yahya Sinwar had been killed by the Israel Defense Forces on Wednesday.
At the same time, it sought to pour cold water on Israeli hopes of an easier path to a hostage release deal now that the terror leader is gone, saying the 101 hostages still held in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... would not be freed until the war ends and Israel fully withdraws from the enclave.
Both Jerusalem and Washington, meanwhile, expressed cautious optimism that Sinwar’s death could yet hasten the release of the hostages. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was reported by Hebrew media outlets to be holding consultations Friday on the future of the Gaza war in the wake of the demise of Sinwar.
At the same time, the White House said long-stalled truce-hostage talks had yet to be renewed.
An Israeli official also warned that Sinwar’s brother and possible successor Muhammad was no less of a hardliner than the slain terror chief, and suggested Israel could pursue smaller hostage deals with disparate Hamas factions if no central leadership emerges quickly.
Also on Friday, the army released footage of a tank firing at the building where Sinwar was hiding. One of the tank’s shells killed Sinwar, who had been spotted moving through the neighborhood with two bodyguards.
Channel 12 reported that Sinwar’s nephew, who was one of the men killed with him, was carrying many documents relating to the Hamas leader’s affairs, and that these could supply key intelligence to Israel.
In a video statement Friday, Khalil al-Hayya, deputy leader of Hamas’s Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi... -based politburo, said Israel would come to regret killing Sinwar, adding that his "martyrdom" would only strengthen the terror group.
The hostages "will not return... unless the aggression against our people in Gaza stops," the senior Hamas official said.
Hamas’s armed wing vowed, in its own statement, to keep fighting Israel until the "liberation of Paleostine," as it mourned the death of the group’s chief.
Hailing the killing in a video statement Thursday, Netanyahu pledged to press on in Gaza and Leb ...an Iranian satrapy until recently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else? It is the home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers... . He also addressed Paleostinian holy warriors holding hostages in Gaza, saying the captors would be spared if they laid down their arms and released the hostages.
The Prime Minister’s Office said US President Joe The Big Guy Biden ...46th president of the U.S. Old, boring, a plagiarist, fond of hair sniffing and grabbing the protruding parts of women, and not whatcha call brilliant.... called Netanyahu on Thursday night to congratulate him on Sinwar’s killing, and that the two leaders agreed to pursue the new opportunity to release the hostages.
White House spokesperson John Kirby told news hounds in Washington that Sinwar had been a key obstacle in talks to secure the hostages’ release and a ceasefire in Gaza, and that his killing was an "inflection point" in reaching those goals. However,
if you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to be a horrible warning... Kirby noted, talks had yet to be renewed.
An Israeli official told The Times of Israel that Jerusalem was now "cautiously optimistic" that a hostage-ceasefire deal could be reached, but warned that Muhammad Sinwar, Yahya’s brother and potential successor, "is no less extreme than his brother," and that Hamas remains "a murderous terror organization."
There has been no comment from Hamas’s remaining leadership on speculation that Muhammed Sinwar is preparing to take the reins of the terror group. The Israeli official said Jerusalem is considering seeking separate, smaller deals with various Hamas factions that hold some hostages if there is no central leadership to negotiate with.
The Israeli military said Sinwar was killed in a chance firefight in southern Gaza’s Rafah on Wednesday, with forces only discovering who they had killed after the fact.
The Times of Israel understands the IDF believes that the terror leader was hiding in Khan Younis earlier in the war, but was driven out by Israeli military pressure, which left him feeling boxed in and forced him to move locations, staying underground as much as possible.
After spending some time in Rafah, the military believes he was likely trying to reach the al-Mawasi humanitarian area by the coast when he ran into Israeli forces.
Channel 12 reported Friday that Israel believes IDF operations in Rafah’s Tel Sultan neighborhood increasingly denied Sinwar more and more locations in which to hide, forcing him to flee.
Forces spotted three terror operatives Wednesday night, firing at them and injuring them. Two headed into one building, and the third, who it later emerged was Sinwar, went into another, the military said. IDF tanks and other forces then opened fire on both buildings.
Sinwar then went up to the second floor. A tank fired another shell at the building, and an infantry platoon moved up to search it. Sinwar threw two grenades, one of which went kaboom!. The soldiers withdrew, and a drone flew in to search the room. It found a man with his arm injured and his face covered — Sinwar — who threw a wooden stick at the drone. A video published by the army on Thursday showed this moment.
Another tank shell was then fired at the building, killing the Hamas leader.
Sinwar was the architect of the October 7, 2023, Hamas onslaught, when thousands of holy warriors stormed southern Israel to kill nearly 1,200 people and take 251 hostages, sparking the war in Gaza.
The Walla news site reported Friday that Sinwar’s body had been moved to a secret location inside Israel after undergoing an autopsy at the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute overnight.
According to the report, the autopsy confirmed that Sinwar had been killed by a bullet to the head and shell fire.
Walla added that the forensic institute is waiting for the findings of additional tests to determine whether there were drugs or other unusual substances in his blood at the time of his death.
According to the IDF, Hamdan was responsible for guarding Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and the six Israeli hostages who were murdered by their captors in Rafah in late August.
“A few weeks ago it was determined that [Hamdan] was most likely eliminated, following intelligence information. Today we understand that the intelligence finding on which his death was based was not accurate enough,” the IDF says.
The army says Hamdan continued to guard Sinwar since then, and earlier today, troops of the Bislamach Brigade killed him in an exchange of fire, around 200 meters from the site where the Hamas leader was killed on Wednesday.
Troops said to find cache of letters written and received by Sinwar
[IsraelTimes] Troops searching in homes near where Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed found a cache of the slain terror leader’s correspondence, including with his 10-year-old son, Channel 12 reports. The report says the letters, both those that he received and sent, are providing Israel with valuable intelligence, but gives no details.
The report also says that among the letters were those between Sinwar and his son, in which Sinwar tried to imbue his son with a hate for Israel. Among the letters sent by the boy were his drawings of dead Israeli soldiers, the report says. The son also asked Sinwar when the war would end.
[IsraelTimes] Ibrahim Al Ramadi, 22, from Sheikh Jarrah, contacted terror operatives in the West Bank with intent to kill demonstrators at weekly Tel Aviv rally, was arrested September 17
A Paleostinian resident of East Jerusalem was arrested and indicted after he was found to be planning a terror attack against a protest calling for the return of Israelis and foreigners held hostage by Hamas ..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,... in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... , the Israel Police and Shin Bet announced on Friday.
According to the indictment, filed by the Jerusalem District Attorney’s Office, Ibrahim Al Ramadi, a 22-year-old from Sheikh Jarrah, planned to attack civilian demonstrators at one of the weekly Tel Aviv rallies calling on the government to reach a hostage deal.
The rallies, led by families of hostages, have been held weekly since the Hamas terror group launched its October 7, 2023, attack, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages into Gaza.
Al Ramadi was arrested at his home on September 17, a month before news of the arrest became public.
An image posted to social media by an anti-Israel account days after the suspect’s arrest appeared to match his description.
According to the security forces, the suspect made contact with a Hamas operative for help planning the attack, meant as Dire Revenge for Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas.
He also met with a member of the Tulkarem Brigades terror group for help with the attack, Hebrew media reported, citing the indictment.
The suspect also considered carrying out a shooting attack against soldiers, targeting public transportation, or kidnapping Israelis, Hebrew media reported.
He had written a will and opened a group on social media called "Soldiers of God," for those seeking to carry out terror attacks.
The statement from the police and Shin Bet came just over a week after they announced another foiled plot, in which five Israelis linked to the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really 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 western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... group sought to bring down the iconic Azrieli Mall in Tel Aviv.
On Tuesday, a policeman was killed and four people were maimed when a terrorist opened fire along the Route 4 highway north of the coastal city of Ashdod.
And last week, a stabbing attack in the central city of Hadera killed six and maimed several more.
Hamas in recent months has also called for a renewal of suicide kabooms, a tactic that killed hundreds of Israelis during the Second Intifada in the early 2000s but has become rare in the decades since, following the construction of a security barrier around the West Bank.
[IsraelTimes] Army says manhunt on for possible 3rd assailant; one soldier moderately hurt, another lightly injured; Muslim Brotherhood says the assailants were members
Two button men who breached the border from Jordan into Israel Friday morning, south of the Dead Sea, were killed shortly after crossing the border by troops who scrambled to intercept them, in a clash that also injured two soldiers.
Soldiers were conducting searches for a possible third assailant, the Israel Defense Forces said, but intelligence officials and trackers believed that there were only two infiltrators.
The Moslem Brüderbund in Jordan said the two button men were members of the Islamist group. The attackers were "members of the group and always participated in events in solidarity with Gazoo and in support of the resistance," Moslem Brüderbundfront man Moath al-Khawaldeh told AFP.
In the morning, IDF observation soldiers spotted suspects near the Jordanian border cutting through the fence. Troops headed to the area where the shootout erupted, according to the IDF.
The incident occurred south of Neot HaKikar, a moshav on the border with Jordan, where the border fence consists of coils of barbed wire piled on each other.
Clearly working as a first line of defence slowing the invader, as opposed to an actual barrier.
The button menshot up troops with pistols, lightly injuring an active-duty soldier and moderately injuring a reservist from the Home Front Command before being rubbed out. They had crossed no more than a few meters beyond the border and into Israeli territory when they were neutralized, the military said.
Which is fine when the invader is only a small party and the guards are not distracted by other concerns.
The two maimed Israeli soldiers were evacuated to a hospital.
The attacks were found to be carrying a map as well as an Arabic-Hebrew conversation book.
”Hello, what is your name? My name is Avraham. It is nice to meet you. Where are you from, [name]? I am from Petra. Hey — there’s Lod Airport Ben Gurion Airport! Goodbye. Happy New Year until we meet again!”
(Taken from the first dialogue in the first year Hebrew textbook used by my very Zionist Hebrew school. One never forgets one’s first foreign language dialogue.)
The IDF and police blocked roads in the area and carried out ground and air searches in a manhunt for a possible third assailant. The army asked the public in the area to adhere to instructions from security forces and remain in their homes.
Though the search continued for hours after the clash, it seemed increasingly likely that the two acted alone. Nonetheless, search efforts were to continue till late afternoon.
Images from the scene posted on social media showed a gunman lying on the roof of a bullet-ridden vehicle and another on the ground near a security fence
The attackers were wearing military uniforms, apparently those of the Jordanian army, but were apparently not Jordanian soldiers.
Yes, but did they have friends in the Jordanian army willing to lend out uniforms?
Nir Wagner, head of the Tamar Regional Council, told media that military presence in the area had been boosted recently, which enabled a swift response in dealing with the infiltration along the notoriously mostly non-existent border.
Minister Gideon Sa’ar, a member of the security cabinet, told the Kan public broadcaster: "On the Jordanian border we have known for some time that there is significant smuggling of weapons into [the West Bank]. The Iranians seek to undermine the regime in Jordan. We need to invest money to build a [more robust] fence there, and I know there is an intention to do that."
The incident came during the week-long Sukkoth holiday that began on Wednesday night, a period when many Israelis go on vacations, with the Dead Sea area a top destination.
Earlier this week, Channel 12 reported that residents in the Arava region south of the Dead Sea had raised concerns about the poor state of the boundary with Jordan and said they had noticed four-wheel drive vehicles approaching the border on the Jordanian side.
The situation carried particular resonance as Israel marked the first anniversary of the ongoing war against the Paleostinian terror group Hamas ..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,... in the Gaza Strip. The conflict began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas led a devastating cross-border attack on the south of the country, leading thousands of holy warriors to breach the boundary and kill 1,200 people, mostly civilians.
Many of the attackers drove into the country in pickup trucks that they then used to roam along roads or overrun border communities, slaughtering those they found.
In the months leading up to that attack, soldiers on the border had voiced their concerns about Hamas movements in the area that they suspected were part of preparations for an attack, but their concerns were reportedly ignored by senior commanders.
Channel 12 reported Sunday that according to local authorities in the Arava, the vehicles seen near the border belong to Jordan’s military and their movements are routine.
The IDF told the network in a statement that "there are means of observation that alert of any suspicious movement in the area."
"The IDF forces deployed in the sector are prepared for any scenario and act according to the situational assessment and changing threats," it said.
The Friday border incident followed a separate attack on September 8, when a gunman from Jordan killed three Israeli civilians at the Allenby Bridge border crossing in the West Bank before security forces shot him dead.
Anti-Israeli sentiment runs high in Jordan, and the Allenby Bridge attack was the first of its kind along the border with Jordan since the October 7, 2023 attacks.
Israel and Jordan signed a peace treaty in 1994 and have close security ties, but cool diplomatic relations.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
10/19/2024 00:00 ||
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[IsraelTimes] Halevi says numbers are a ‘conservative’ estimate, adds Hezbollah forces are surrendering; rockets continue to target northern Israel; four soldiers seriously injured in fighting
Does that include the beeper crew, or is this just straightforward shooting and airstrikes?
Israel’s military chief said Friday that at least 1,500 Hezbollah operatives are believed to have been killed in Leb ...an Iranian satrapy until recently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else? It is the home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers... since the start of the conflict there, while adding that the numbers could be higher.
"We have taken out their entire command layer," Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi told commanders of the Golani Brigade, referring to Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... s that killed terror leader His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah ...The late, lamented satrap of the Medes and the Persians in Leb...> and many other top leaders. "And you are taking out the local command structure."
Hezbollah "continues to shrink and shrink," he said.
At the same time, Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati voiced rare criticism of the terror group that has a stranglehold over his country, saying during a meeting with Italia’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni that "what is happening today is a lesson for all Lebanese to stay out of regional conflicts."
Both agreed that a diplomatic solution must take precedence over violence.
Hezbollah began attacking northern Israel a day after Hamas ..a regional Iranian catspaw,... ’s October 7, 2023 attacks on the country’s south, saying it was doing so in support of the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... -based terror group. But after suffering nearly a year of cross-border attacks, Israel launched a major offensive against Hezbollah in September with catastrophic consequences for the group, decimating its leadership and crippling much of its capabilities.
This month it launched a ground offensive in southern Lebanon to dismantle terror infrastructure that threatened communities near the border.
"We are very determined to hit Hezbollah as hard as possible," Halevi said during a visit to troops in southern Lebanon.
"Hezbollah is hiding casualties, hiding dead commanders. We estimate that we have killed some 1,500 Hezbollah operatives, and our estimates are conservative. I imagine there are more that we don’t know about from dozens of strikes."
The army said some 60 Hezbollah operatives had been killed in the past day in fighting in southern Lebanon and in airstrikes, and that troops fighting in villages in southern Lebanon had found and destroyed large caches of weapons.
Halevi said Hezbollah forces continue to surrender. "It says a lot about their morale and the level of fighting."
He also asserted that the terror group’s Iranian backers "don’t understand what is happening here to Hezbollah. And [Hezbollah] are their main arm that they have been counting on, and that is very important."
At the same time, the military said it was sending another reserve brigade to join forces in southern Lebanon. The brigade "will enable the continuation of the combat effort against the Hezbollah terror organization and achieving the goals of the war, including returning the residents of the north safely to their homes."
Also Friday the army said four soldiers had been seriously hurt in fighting in Lebanon the previous day, three of them as a result of friendly fire. The three, from the elite Maglan unit, were mistakenly hit by a shell fired by an Israeli tank. The IDF said it was investigating the incident.
Another officer, a reservist, was maimed in fighting on the border, the IDF said.
Hezbollah said it was entering a new phase in its fight against Israeli troops, adding that it had introduced new weapons over the past few days. A statement from the group’s operations room said Hezbollah’s fighters had used new types of precision-guided missiles and explosive drones for the first time. It said its fighters were working according to "plans prepared in advance" to battle invading Israeli troops in several parts of south Lebanon.
Rocket and drone sirens sounded in northern communities throughout the day Friday, including in the Haifa area. The IDF intercepted several rockets and drones. There were no reports of casualties or damage.
In Lebanon, Mealoni called for the strengthening of the UN peacekeeping mission to Lebanon, known as UNIFIL.
"Only by strengthening UNIFIL while maintaining its impartiality, we will be able to turn the page," Meloni said alongside Mikati.
"I repeat that I consider targeting UNIFIL is unacceptable," Meloni added, in reference to recent incidents in which the mission’s troops were hit by Israeli fire or had a confrontation with Israeli troops. Israel has said it does not target UNIFIL and has urged the peacekeepers to evacuate south Lebanon, saying Hezbollah operatives sometimes fire at troops from beside UN posts. UNIFIL has resisted calls to pull out.
On Thursday the army said that five soldiers from Golani’s reconnaissance unit had been killed in the ground offensive. The soldiers were named as company commander Maj. Ofek Bachar, 24, from Nes Ziona; team commander Capt. Elad Siman Tov, 23, from Tzofim; squad leader Staff Sgt. Elyashiv Eitan Wieder, 22, from Jerusalem; Staff Sgt. Yakov Hillel, 21, from Jerusalem; and Staff Sgt. Yehudah Dror Yahalom, 21, from Hebron.
A number of other soldiers were seriously hurt during battles in southern Lebanon.
During a presser Thursday night, IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Golani soldiers captured Hezbollah operatives during the battle in which the five troops were killed.
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Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
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...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat Frational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start...
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire...
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for 
...
...
..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,...
..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,...
..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,...
..a regional Iranian catspaw,...
