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US targets leader of Al Qaeda in Yemen with CIA drone strike
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Afghanistan
Afghan, Taliban delegates attend Oslo talks on ending conflicts
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Representatives of the Afghan government and the Taliban attended an international conference on Tuesday in Norway on ways to end conflicts, but Oslo said there were no plans for formal peace talks between the two sides.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, Iranian vice President Masoumeh Ebtekar and Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi were also among about 150 people at the two-day meeting to exchange views about how to negotiate peace.

"There's no plan for formal peace talks (about Afghanistan) ... but if you are going to reach peace then those who disagree must talk together," Norwegian Foreign Minister Boerge Brende told news hounds at the start of the meeting.

A front man for the Afghan foreign ministry said 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....
had sent a six-member delegation to the conference at Losby, 20 kms (12 miles) east of Oslo.

Afghan Taliban front man Zabihullah Mujahid said a three-man delegation was attending. He denied media reports that the two sides would hold peace talks to end a conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people.
Posted by: Fred || 06/17/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Taliban warn IS leader Baghdadi not to interfere in Afghanistan
[HINDUSTANTIMES] The Taliban warned on Tuesday the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
group against waging a parallel insurgency in Afghanistan, after a string of defections and reported festivities with gunnies loyal to IS.

The IS, a West Asian group also known by its Arabic acronym Daesh, has never formally acknowledged having a presence in Afghanistan but fears are growing that the group is making inroads in the country.

In a letter addressed to IS leader His Supreme Immensity, Caliph of the Faithful and Galactic Overlord, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
...formerly merely the head of ISIL and a veteran of the Bagram jailhouse. Looks like a new messiah to bajillions of Moslems, like just another dead-eyed mass murder to the rest of us...
, the Taliban insisted that "jihad (holy war) against the Americans and their allies must be conducted under one flag and one leadership".

"The Islamic Emirate (Taliban) does not consider the multiplicity of jihadi ranks beneficial either for jihad or for Moslems," said the letter signed by the Taliban deputy leader Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor.

"Your decisions taken from a distance will result in (the IS) losing support of religious scholars, mujahideen... and in order to defend its achievements the Islamic Emirate will be forced to react," it added.
Posted by: Fred || 06/17/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  I.e. Stay the hell away from our opium operations.
Posted by: Muggsy Crairong2940 || 06/17/2015 6:20 Comments || Top||

#2  the IS would like very much to exterminate the shiite population in the western part of that country and this 'strongly worded' letter isn't going to even slow them down
Posted by: lord garth || 06/17/2015 8:25 Comments || Top||

#3  Or you'll get what the Brits and the Russians got?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 06/17/2015 15:01 Comments || Top||


Africa Horn
Uganda sends more troops to Somalia
About 2000 soldiers of the Uganda Defense Forces (UDF) have on Monday left for Somalia under the African Union Mission (AMISOM).

The soldiers, under battle group UGABAG 16, are to replace battle group UGABAG 13+ and UN Guard Unit that are scheduled to return to Uganda. The contingent will stay in Somalia for a year.

Uganda has since 2007 been supporting Somalia in its war against Al Shabaab militants and currently contributes over 6,000 troops to AMISOM.
Posted by: Steve White || 06/17/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Kenyan, Briton behind attacks on Kenya army camp
Two Kenyan commanders in Somalia’s Al-Shabaab and a British jihadist Thomas Evans, also known as Abdul Hakim – who joined the terrorists after converting to Islam at the age of 19 – are among 11 militants killed by Kenya Defence Forces ( KDF).
No big loss to Britain, eh...
Evans was allowed to travel abroad by British authorities who ignored warnings from his mother after she expressed her concern at his behaviour.

Among the Kenyan Al-Shabaab commanders killed is Luqman Osman Issa alias Shirwa from Mombasa, who led the attacks on Mpeketoni in Lamu County a year ago in which 65 people were massacred, KDF spokesman Colonel David Obonyo said yesterday.

Luqman’s mother lives in Mombasa. The late Ibrahim left Mombasa for Afghanistan in 1999 and is believed to have inspired Luqman’s conversion to violent extremism. According to a government report seen by The Standard, Luqman’s other brother Issa Osman Issa “was involved in the Kikambala bombing in 2002.”

“This is a big victory for us and also a major setback for Al-Shabaab because now there is no mainstream commander in Lamu,” Obonyo told Reuters, adding Shirwa’s body was in a morgue in Mpeketoni.

Obonyo said another man apparently of Caucasian or Arab origin was among the dead, while the others killed appeared to be from the region.

Britain, berated by the Jubilee government for issuing travel warnings in the recent past to its citizens against visiting Kenya’s coast, said it could not confirm whether Evans had been killed.

“We are aware of reports of the death of a British national in Kenya,” said a British government spokesman. “We cannot confirm these at this time.”

Two Kenyan soldiers died in the gunfight during the 5.45am raid on Buare, 39km north of Bargoni in Lamu East.

By midday yesterday, KDF soldiers were hitting forest positions where heavily armed militants are believed to be hiding, but were advancing cautiously in case Al-Shabaab militiamen had ringed roads and bushes with mines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

British authorities were informed about the terrorist links of Evans alias Abdul Hakim, 25, by his mother Sally Evans. On February 3, this year, three years after the slain terrorist reportedly joined Al-Shabaab in Somalia, the Home Affairs Committee took evidence from his brother Micheal Evans and mother who had wanted him jailed.
Posted by: Steve White || 06/17/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab


Africa North
Egypt extends opening of Rafah crossing for another two days
[AlAhram] Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi gave orders on Tuesday to extend the opening of Rafa border crossing between Egypt and Gazoo for another two days until Friday, state-owned MENA reported.

Egypt already decided to open the Rafah crossing for three days on Saturday to allow Paleostinians to move in both directions for the first time since three months ago.

The crossing was partially opened on 27 May for three days, but only for travellers from Egypt to Gazoo, when at least 560 Paleostinians were able to return home.

Egypt has kept the Rafah crossing closed to Paleostinians for most of the past two years, citing security concerns. Cairo has repeatedly accused Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,, the de facto rulers of the Gazoo Strip, of involvement in terrorist activities in the Sinai Peninsula.

Hamas leaders have distanced themselves from Islamist holy warrior attacks in Egypt, insisting that they have no armed presence outside Paleostinian areas.

In 2014, the Egyptian army also created a wide buffer zone along the border with Gazoo aimed at preventing infiltration by holy warriors.

Hamas smuggling thousands of tons of cement into Gaza through Egypt

[Ynet] Extended opening of Rafah border crossing allows Islamist group to smuggle in some 4,000 tons of cement a day to rebuild tunnels.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/17/2015 00:42 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Hamas

#1  I sit here hoping that this is a purposeful move to allow Team MB to get some more players on the fielf for the Morsi game, and squish them.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 06/17/2015 20:00 Comments || Top||


Mokhtar not listed among dead from U.S. airstrike in Libya
[CTVNEWS.CA] Al Qaeda and other militants in Libya on Tuesday released a list of names of those they say were killed in a U.S. airstrike over the weekend that does not include the raid's main target, al Qaeda-linked commander Mokhtar Belmokhtar.

The al Qaeda-linked Ansar al-Shariah released a list of seven names of fighters and residents it said were killed in the "crusader American strike" in the eastern town of Ajdabiya.

A second statement from an umbrella group for militias called the Shura Council of Ajdabiya and its Surroundings also did not include Belmokhtar among the dead.
Posted by: Fred || 06/17/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Mourabitounes


Muslim Brotherhood says verdicts against Mursi 'null', calls for popular uprising
[REUTERS] Egypt's Moslem Brüderbund said court verdicts in which former Islamist President Mohammed Mursi and others were sentenced to death on Tuesday were "null and void".
Unless there's a "popular uprising" pretty quick it's just another egg-on-your-face exercise. Probably they have clerics and agents and what have you in place to try and engineer a "popular uprising," but I'm guessing the Egyptian security forces will be busy rounding them up for a few days or weeks and the courts will be handing out death sentences in batches.
The group also called for a "popular uprising" on Friday in a statement on its Facebook page.

"The Brotherhood calls on the honorable among this nation to participate in a popular uprising next Friday against the death sentences, detentions, kidnappings, and forced disappearances," the group said.
Posted by: Fred || 06/17/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Muslim Brotherhood

#1  Hope El Sissi squashes these folks like the cockroaches they are. Egypt has no chance at all if these sorts aren't completely crushed.
Posted by: AlanC || 06/17/2015 14:22 Comments || Top||


Africa Subsaharan
S Africa gets one week to explain how Sudan prez Bashir left
[HINDUSTANTIMES] The South African government has a week to explain to judges why it defied a court order barring the Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir
Head of the National Congress Party. He came to power in 1989 when he, as a brigadier in the Sudanese army, led a group of officers in a bloodless military coup that ousted the government of Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi and eventually appointed himself president-for-life. He has fallen out with his Islamic mentor, Hasan al-Turabi, tried to impose shariah on the Christian and animist south, resulting in its secessesion, and attempted to Arabize Darfur by unleashing the barbaric Janjaweed on it. Sudan's potential prosperity has been pissed away in warfare that has left as many as 400,000 people dead and 2.5 million displaced. Omar has been indicted for genocide by the International Criminal Court but nothing is expected to come of it.
from leaving the country.
Because heads of state don't get arrested. Bashir is loathsome, but arresting him would set a precedent. The next guy arrested will be not quite as loathsome, and the one after and so on. Eventually you end up with heads of state somebody's got a grouch for getting tossed in the clink. Remember Bertrand Russell's Vietnam "tribunal," and the dipsy doodles who wanted to "arrest" G.W. Bush for "war crimes" in Iraq.
Bashir flew out of South Africa on Monday, before the end of the African leaders summit, despite an earlier ruling blocking him from leaving.

A court Monday ordered the government to disclose why he was allowed to leave, in a ruling criticised the authorities action as not consistent with the constitution.

Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court
... where Milosevich died of old age before being convicted ...
(ICC) for genocide and crimes against humanity in Darfur, arrived in South Africa on Saturday to attend the African Union
...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful...
summit, prompting a court bid by a rights group to have him locked away
I ain't sayin' nuttin' widdout me mout'piece!
.
Posted by: Fred || 06/17/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Sudan


Arabia
New AQAP chief Rimi: Veteran Qaeda fighter, recruiter
[AlAhram] Qassem al-Rimi, the new leader of Al-Qaeda's most feared branch, was among the Yemen-based group's founders and its military chief who has recruited a generation of fighters dedicated to jihad.
Also known as Abu Huraira al-Sanaani, the Yemeni was appointed military commander of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
...the latest incarnation of various Qaeda and Qaeda-allied groups, including the now-defunct Aden-Abyan Islamic Army that boomed the USS Cole in 2000...
(AQAP) on its formation in 2009 in a merger between its branches in 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...
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/17/2015 00:00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Arabia


Britain
In U.K., two husbands urge return of nine children they fear are Syria-bound
[THEGLOBEANDMAIL] Two men in Britannia appealed for the return of their wives and nine children on Tuesday, saying they feared they were traveling with another woman to Syria, where 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....
bully boyz have seized swaths of territory.

British Moslems and sisters Khadija Dawood, Sugra Dawood and Zohra Dawood and their children, aged between three and 15, were reported missing five days ago.

A lawyer for two of the husbands said the group, who all live in northern England, disappeared after traveling to 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...
and there are concerns they may have tried to join a brother who is suspected of fighting with IS bully boyz in Syria.

"Please, please contact with me, please, please call me at least," Akhtar Iqbal, the husband of Sugra Dawood and the father of five of the children, told a news conference.

"I love you a lot, I can't live without you. Please call me," he said, holding his head and crying.
Posted by: Fred || 06/17/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Russia Prepares to Counter Daesh Threat: Russian Defense Minister
[Tolo News] Russia's Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said on Tuesday that the Russian military and that of Kyrgyzstan must be prepared to counter any threats to the security of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in the region in connection with the withdrawal of international forces from Afghanistan.

"We consider cooperation with Kyrgyzstan in the military sphere to be a priority. Our cooperation is an important factor of preserving stability in the Central Asian region," Russian media quoted the minister as telling his Kyrgyz counterpart Abibulla Kudaiberdiyev, reports Pajhwok news.

The meeting took place in the framework of the Army-2015 international military and technical forum. "The armed forces of our countries must be ready for any scenario, including the negative one."

To that end, it is necessary to boost the combat capabilities of the Russian military base and the Kyrgyz army, Shoigu noted. He recalled that "contracts had been signed to transfer modern Russian weapons and equipment to the Kyrgyz side, their deliveries were under way."

In addition to that, personnel for Kyrgyzstan's army will undergo training free of charge at the universities of the Russian Defense Ministry. "At present 316 service members are undergoing training, we are ready to admit more than 150 people in 2015," Shoigu added.

This comes just days after former Afghan president Hamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai
... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use...
said in a Russia Television (RT) interview that Daesh in Afghanistan would threaten neighboring Russia and China, but it won't be possible without the jihadist group receiving foreign backing.

Daesh is "quite alien" to Afghanistan, Karzai said when asked how much of a threat he thinks jihadists pose to his country.

Reports earlier this week suggested that between 10 and 12 Taliban fighters had been beheaded by Daesh in Nangarhar
The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country..
province.
Posted by: Fred || 06/17/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  Old new poundy grounds may not all be forgetful from the last Russian move.

Russia acts like it all but owns Kyrgyzstan and they spoke of late as if they may face the Soviet shell game in foreign affairs of the future. Many are frightened.
Posted by: newc || 06/17/2015 0:49 Comments || Top||

#2  The Taliban leadership is warning the ISIS/ISIL not to interfere in Afghanistan, as doing so may end up confusing the Hard Boyz.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 06/17/2015 3:07 Comments || Top||

#3  Ah, the ebb and flow of the tides of war.
Posted by: Skidmark || 06/17/2015 4:19 Comments || Top||


The Grand Turk
Turkey's Prime Minister calls on opposition parties to bury the hatchet
[Hurriyet Daily News] "Honest, we're much easier to get along with now... No, getting trounced isn't the reason. We're just... nice."
Posted by: Fred || 06/17/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Translation: "Come out here in the open and let us have a clean shot at you."
Posted by: ed in texas || 06/17/2015 7:17 Comments || Top||


Turkish Prime Minister: No debate on presidency in coalition talks
[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
's prime minister said on Tuesday he would not tolerate any attempt to undermine President Tayyip Erdogan's authority during the AK Party's talks to form a coalition government.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has said his ruling AK Party, which lost its overall majority for the first time in 13 years in June 7 elections, would exhaust all options to form a government before it would consider an early election.

But such negotiations would not include a debate on the role of the presidency, Davutoglu said, which may give pause to opposition parties concerned about Erdogan's outsize political influence.

"Anything that targets the presidency or the president also targets us," Davutoglu said in a televised speech. "We will not allow the legitimacy of our president to be questioned and secondly, we will not allow the title of the presidency to be harmed."

Erdogan stepped down as prime minister last year and assumed the presidency with the aim of transforming a largely figurehead position into a powerful executive post. Over the last year, he has played an active role in government that his opponents say violates the constitution.
Posted by: Fred || 06/17/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Turkey fears 'ethnic cleansing' by Kurdish fighters in Syria
[HINDUSTANTIMES] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
accused Kurdish militia in northern Syria of persecuting civilians on Tuesday and said it saw signs of "a kind of ethnic cleansing", drawing a parallel to the actions 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....
faceless myrmidons and forces loyal to Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Light of the Alawites...
.

Syrian Kurdish-led forces captured the town of Tel Abyad from IS on the Turkish border on Monday, driving the jihadists away in an advance backed by US-led air strikes.

Turkey is uncomfortable with the gains by Kurdish militia, which now controls almost half of the Syrian side of Turkey's 900km border, fearing it could inflame separatist sentiments among its own Kurdish minority.

"Daesh (Islamic State) attacks and kills those it captures. PYD/PKK (Kurdish militias) seize certain regions and force people living there to migrate," Mevlut Cavusoglu, a Turkish politician told state broadcaster TRT during a trip to 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...
.

"It doesn't matter who comes; the regime, Daesh, the PYD, they are all persecuting civilians."

He said the latest fighting had triggered a new influx of refugees to Turkey, already hosting 1.8 million Syrians, and that more than 23,000 people had crossed in the past week.
Posted by: Fred || 06/17/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Home Front: Politix
Issa escorted out of Benghazi deposition
[TheHill] Former House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) tried to crash former Hillary Clinton adviser Sidney Blumenthal's deposition before the House Select Committee on Benghazi on Tuesday.

Issa marched into the closed-door deposition and remained inside for about a minute before he was escorted out by the panel's chairman, Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.).

The pair briefly exchanged hushed words in a nearby hallway before Issa stormed off, throwing an empty soda can into a nearby trash bin.
Golly. That's some reporting by that The Hill journalist.
NBC News producer Frank Thorp posted a video showing Gowdy and Issa.
Posted by: Blossom Unains5562 || 06/17/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


India-Pakistan
John Kerry lauds Pakistan's counter-terrorism policy
[DAWN] US Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry
Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State...
telephoned Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif
... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf...
on Tuesday evening and appreciated Pakistain government's counter-terrorism policy, lauded its strong resolve to defeat the menace.

According to a statement issued by the PM House, Kerry called Nawaz and conveyed the US administration's best wishes and regards.

Secretary Kerry also commended the state of relations between America and Pakistain, saying both countries had made remarkable progress in cooperation in all fields.

During their warm and friendly exchange on the regional situation, Kerry praised the prime minister's commitment towards establishing a peaceful neighbourhood in South Asia.
Posted by: Fred || 06/17/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  During their warm and friendly fluid exchange
Posted by: Skidmark || 06/17/2015 10:53 Comments || Top||


Pakistan's struggle to rein in rogue seminaries
[DAWN] Pakistain pledged to crack down on religious seminaries suspected of fostering extremism following a Taliban school massacre in December that left more than 130 children dead, but the move faces stiff resistance from conservatives.

Amid a wave of outrage after the attack at the school in Beautiful Downtown Peshawar
...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire.
, the government announced a "National Action Plan" to fight back against the hard boys.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 06/17/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Iraq
US to deliver Iraqi F-16s by end of summer
[Rudaw] The US will deliver F-16 warplanes to the Iraqi military and promised to supply separately arms to nine Iraqi army brigades and three Peshmerga brigades by the end of the summer, according to US Ambassador to Iraq Stuart Jones in comments to journalists in Baghdad Tuesday.

Jones added that the US does not plan to open new military bases in Iraq, but said the Balad airbase would be prepped to receive the promised jets. Balad is located in the Sunni Triangle 40 miles (64 kilometers) north of Baghdad.

On Monday, Jabar Yawar, a front man for the Kurdistan region's Ministry of Peshmerga, announced at a presser in Erbil the ministry had "started distributing registration forms for those who want to voluntarily join the Peshmerga forces and until now thousands of volunteers have signed up to join."

"The USA has decided to arm the three volunteer brigades of the Peshmarga," Yawar added.

In 2011 the Iraqi government reached an agreement with the US to buy 36 F-16s, but because of security concerns about the ongoing ISIS war, none of the warplanes have been sent to Iraq yet.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/17/2015 00:00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iraq

#1  The DoD has to figure out which airbases are going to be overrun by ISIL at that time, so that the deliveries can be made to the 'right' places.
Posted by: ed in texas || 06/17/2015 7:16 Comments || Top||

#2  The deliveries were delayed at the end of last year because of attacks on the receiving base (Balad).
Posted by: Muggsy Crairong2940 || 06/17/2015 7:22 Comments || Top||

#3  ...The good news is that even though the F-16 is a relatively 'simple' bird, ISIL will only be able to use them as high-tech paperweights.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 06/17/2015 7:46 Comments || Top||

#4  I'll worry when they start shipping A2As.
Posted by: Skidmark || 06/17/2015 8:25 Comments || Top||

#5  So, Iran will be able to upgrade from F-14 tomcats to F-16s soon.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 06/17/2015 8:47 Comments || Top||

#6  I see I'm not the only one that thinks these will be in the hands of our enemies by fall.
Posted by: DarthVader || 06/17/2015 9:41 Comments || Top||

#7  well its worth it if we actually supply the Kurds too
Posted by: lord garth || 06/17/2015 14:04 Comments || Top||

#8  Balad (Formerly LSA Anaconda, AKA "Mortaritaville") was close to being overrun by AqI and then ISIS. Best facilities in Iraq, but absolutely the worst location: lots of Saddam's finest and most loyal pilots and troops and their families were located there. These jets would be far better off in Erbil - the airport there has one of the longest runways on the planet, and plenty of room for quick concrete buildings to go up as aircraft shelters and an operational air wing if they want to rebuild the Saddam-era stuff nearby. The area is very civilianized, but the airport is well away from the city. And the Kurds have kep the area pacified quite well, with a good civil economy.

Makes too much sense, empowers the Kurds and nobody in the central government gets any boodle, so of course it will never happen. But that's where these jets should go if we want to see them operated, and not end up in Iran's airforce, or parted out by ISIS.

As for arming the Kurds? About time - but are they giving them artillery? That will tell if they are finally serious. Send over some 105's and 155s and a pile of ammo, and a few firefinders for counterbattery - then I know were taking it seriously.
Posted by: OldSpook || 06/17/2015 15:47 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Pentagon: 'Unacceptable' if Kurds displacing local Syrians
[AA.TR] The Pentagon said Tuesday it's "unacceptable" if Syrian Kurdish fighters push Arabs and Turkmens out of their lands amid a fight against Daesh.

Thousands of Syrian Arabs and Turkmens began flowing into The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
last week as Kurdish fighters conducted an offensive against Daesh in Tell Abyad, a stronghold of Daesh, giving rise to claims that the fighters are ethnically cleansing local communities by forcing their displacement.

"We certainly have seen these reports, and it is something that we are watching for," said Pentagon front man Col. Steve Warren. "Without question it is something that we'll find out unacceptable, if true."

The Kurdish fighters, known as People's Protection Units (YPG), have been backed by U.S.-led coalition Arclight airstrikes that have contributed to the fleeing of civilians.

According to the coalition unit leading anti -Daesh operations, at least 90 Arclight airstrikes have been conducted in the al-Raqqah, al-Hassakah and Kobani regions whereKurds are fighting the myrmidons.

"As the Kurdish forces have moved to west [from al-Hassakeh northeastern Syria to Tell Abyad) the Arclight airstrikes have moved with them," Warren said, noting that it was a part of the coalition's strategy to cut off Daesh's supply lines to al-Raqqah -- Daesh's self-declared capital.

Warren also said the capture of Tell Abyad was a strategic gain in terms of closing an important route for the fighters and there are still several other routes that could be used to access al-Raqqah.
Posted by: Fred || 06/17/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  great. Just great. et's handcuff the only respectable party here with our ROE and Proggy Morals
Posted by: Frank G || 06/17/2015 11:17 Comments || Top||

#2  Did whoever wrote this ever stop and think that the ones running from the Kurds were the same ones supporting ISIS - that's why they are being pushed out? Duh.
Posted by: OldSpook || 06/17/2015 16:03 Comments || Top||

#3  The Brass Hats apparently had someone else in mind.
Posted by: Blossom Unains5562 || 06/17/2015 19:59 Comments || Top||


Islamic State forces routed from stronghold on Syria-Turkey border
[WASHINGTONPOST] If the Kurdish-led force consolidates its hold over Tal Abyad, “it will be a major setback for the Islamic State and a major strategic victory,” said Jennifer Cafarella of the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War.

The militants may be planning a counteroffensive, “and it will be interesting to see what they do in the coming week,” she added.

But there were also signs that at least some Islamic State fighters had simply given up.

Photographs posted on social media by local activists showed groups of Islamic State fighters surrendering to Turkish forces and being led away after fleeing across the border. Syrians who had fought with the Islamic State were among more than 10,000 refugees who scrambled across the border in recent days to escape the battles, according to a Syrian aid worker who said he had been contacted by several seeking assistance.
It seems all those Lions of Islam streaming into Syria from all over the world are better at massacring people than they are at fighting a disciplined force.
Posted by: Fred || 06/17/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State



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