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Last year Hezbollah received ~$700 million in funding
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 1: WoT Operations
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Page 2: WoT Background
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Page 3: Non-WoT
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Page 4: Opinion
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5 15:37 Sock Puppet of Doom [336090]
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Page 6: Politix
11 19:32 Lex [336115]
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4 16:59 Skidmark [336079]
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10 19:37 Lex [336108]
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6 16:15 Dron66046 [336071]
8 23:33 JohnQC [336089]
Afghanistan
8 Taliban Clashes Reported on First Day of Reduced Violence Pact
[ToloNews] The Taliban
...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
fought with Afghan cops in eight provinces of the country in the first day of the reduction in violence plan, according to reports sent by the public to TOLOnews.

The festivities were reported in Faryab, Uruzgan, Paktia, Balkh, Baghlan, Badghis, Helmand
...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan...
and Kapisa provinces.

With the start of the reduction in violence, TOLOnews asked the public across the country to text information about attacks to a WhatsApp number. 400 people sent messages, and many of them simply expressed support for the reduction in violence. However,
facts are stubborn; statistics are more pliable...
messages also came in reporting festivities between the Taliban and the Afghan cops in eight provinces of the country.

Meanwhile,
...back at the shootout, another bullet hole appeared in Butch's hat......
the Afghan acting Minister of Defense Assadullah Khalid confirmed that in the first 12 hours since the reduction in violence was in effect, the Taliban launched some attacks in various regions, and the Afghan forces defended themselves against those attacks.

"Violence has declined significantly. Only a few minor attacks were reported in some areas that are not serious," said Khalid.

The Taliban’s front man Zabihullah Mujahid on Twitter stated that the reduction in violence agreement places the following areas off limits: "The centers of all provinces, all corps (Afghan military corps), units, divisions (Afghan army divisions) and all foreign bases." In areas not on this list, Mujahid said, "any shelling and attacks by the (Taliban fighters) shouldn’t be taken as a violation, because this is not a nationwide ceasefire."

Details are not available about any casualties from the attacks today.

"When the two sides are still armed, there is a need for more caution, because even a small provocation by a commander or a soldier can affect the entire process," said military analyst Atiqullah Amarkhel.

This comes a day after the NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions...
Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed the announcement by the United States and Taliban about a reduction in violence.

He said that this is a critical test of the Taliban’s willingness and ability to reduce violence, and contribute to peace in good faith.

"This could pave the way for negotiations among Afghans, sustainable peace, and ensuring the country is never again a safe haven for terrorists," he said.

What is the reduction in violence agreement?

At 12:00 midnight (Afghan time) on Friday, Feb. 21 (the morning of Saturday, Feb. 22), a reduction in violence plan kicked off that is intended to last for seven days. Upon its successful completion, according to statements by the US and Taliban, a peace deal negotiated between the two sides over the past 18 months in Doha, will be signed. The expectation is that this signed agreement will lead to intra-Aghan talks between the Taliban on one side, and a delegation representing the Afghan republic's government and political and civil establishment, on the other.
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/23/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336106 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  Only eight?
Posted by: gorb || 02/23/2020 23:58 Comments || Top||


19 ISIS militants killed in Afghan Special Forces raid, airstrikes in Kapisa and Kunar
[KhaamaPress] The Afghan Special Forces
...established in 2007 with the intent of taking one conventional infantry kandak (battalion) from each of the regional ANA corps, giving them special training and equipment, and reorganizing based on the U.S. Army Rangers. Each battalion is assigned to one of the six regional corps. The commandos comprise 7% of the Afghan National Security Forces but conduct 70% to 80% of the fighting...
killed six faceless myrmidons 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....
of Iraq and Syria Khurasan (ISIS-K) in North-eastern Kapisa province.

The informed military officials said Friday the Special Forces also destroyed a small cache of weapons of the terror group during the same operation which they conducted in Nejrab district.

The officials further added that an Arclight airstrike
...KABOOM!...
killed additional 6 ISIS Khurasan faceless myrmidons in the same district.

Meanwhile,
...back at the pond, Gloria again dodged the questing tip of the giant frog's tongue and ran for her life...
the officials said an airstrike killed 7 faceless myrmidons of the terror group in Chawkai district of Kunar.

The ISIS sympathizers have not commented regarding the operations so far.
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/23/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336094 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Nearly 10,400 civilians killed, wounded in Afghanistan in 2019: UN
[KhaamaPress] The United Nations
...where theory meets practice and practice loses...
released its latest report on civilian casualties in Afghanistan which documents up to 10,400 civilian deaths and injuries during the year 2019.

The UN Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) in a statement said "The new report documents 3,403 civilians killed and 6,989 injured, with the majority of the civilian casualties inflicted by anti-government elements."

UNAMA further added "It is the sixth year in a row that the number of civilian casualties has exceeded 10,000."

"The figures outlined in the new report ‐ released jointly by UNAMA and the UN Human Rights Office ‐ represent a five per cent decrease over the previous year, mainly due to a decrease in civilian casualties caused by 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....
of Iraq and the Levant ‐ Khorasan Province (ISIS-KP)," the report stated.

It also added "Civilian casualties caused by the other parties increased, particularly by the Taliban
...Arabic for students...
(21 per cent increase) and the international military forces (18 per cent increase), mainly due to an increase in improvised bomb attacks and Arclight airstrike
...KABOOM!...
s."
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/23/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336098 views] Top|| File under:

#1  so ow much money do yall want
Posted by: Chris || 02/23/2020 10:50 Comments || Top||


Africa Horn
SNA Forces Carry Out An Operation Against Al-Shabaab
[RADIOSHABELLE] Two al-Shabaab
...... al-Qaeda's tentacle in East Africa...
ring leaders have been killed in the Middle Shabelle region following security operations by the Somali army.

The state media reported two al-Shabaab senior commanders and several others maimed during the military operation on the outskirts of Balad town. The forces also destroyed Shabaab based in the area.

This military operation is part of the huge efforts made by the national army to eliminate the turbans and secure the roads between the cities of Balad and Jowhar.

Shabaab control number villages in the region as it lost major towns including Qoryoolay, Afgooye, Marka, Janaale and other to SNA forces.
Posted by: Fred || 02/23/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336104 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab (AQ)


Africa North
Zuwara declares a state of high alert amid reports of a planned attack by Haftar’s armed groups on the city
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
Posted by: Fred || 02/23/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336073 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


#Libya’s Ambassador to Morocco refuses to surrender the embassy
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
Posted by: Fred || 02/23/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336086 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring

#1  You know, maybe it's just me but these Twit links are generally pretty useless, since the title of the article is generally the whole content. No context.
Posted by: Mercutio || 02/23/2020 9:17 Comments || Top||

#2  ^^^ agreed
Posted by: Chris || 02/23/2020 10:49 Comments || Top||

#3  It seems to be a Firefox problem. Using Chrome or Brave I get the tweet properly presented, with the picture and the article link.

I'll try to use more cut 'n' paste from now on, except for when I get lazy.
Posted by: Fred || 02/23/2020 13:41 Comments || Top||

#4  Fred, I also use Brave, but just get the basic tweet and maybe a pic - no related article. Could be my settings where I have security set high and don't allow Java scripts to run on my machine.
Posted by: Mercutio || 02/23/2020 13:51 Comments || Top||

#5  This is what I see:

Posted by: Fred || 02/23/2020 14:37 Comments || Top||

#6  If you can see the image, you can click on the tweet itself to get the article, if there is one — the headline goes to the twitter post. I think of bare bones tweets, those having no accompanying article, as akin to rumours awaiting soldi confirmation. Also, I personally don’t have the attention span to monitor twitter feeds for the needles of soldi information in the haystack, so I am grateful others are willing to sift that for us.

Posted by: trailing wife || 02/23/2020 14:44 Comments || Top||

#7  Clicking through on the Burg headline also takes you to the tweet.
Posted by: Fred || 02/23/2020 14:45 Comments || Top||

#8  That’s what I intended to say, Fred. Thank you for saying it more clearly.
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/23/2020 14:47 Comments || Top||

#9  "Click the title". Yep. A FF update appears to have deleted embedded tweets. If I go to IE (Ugh!) I can see em, AOSHQ also embeds a lot of tweets
Posted by: Frank G || 02/23/2020 15:22 Comments || Top||

#10  btw - the tweets show in Pale Moon Browser - a Mozilla-based like FF
Posted by: Frank G || 02/23/2020 15:49 Comments || Top||

#11  Fred, TW, I love everything you do!
Posted by: Skidmark || 02/23/2020 19:56 Comments || Top||

#12  I use the latest FireFox (73.0.1 (64-bit)) and see them fine, so it must be a configuration problem for some...
Posted by: jay-dubya || 02/23/2020 20:59 Comments || Top||

#13  Yep..73.01, but idea why my config doesn't allow it, and their mssg boards aren't helping
Posted by: Frank G || 02/23/2020 21:40 Comments || Top||

#14  NO idea
Posted by: Frank G || 02/23/2020 21:55 Comments || Top||

#15  I use Firefox and I have no problem reading tweets. I guess it's a setting thing or something. I checked and I don't allow twitter JavaScript, yet I can read and also see pictures on twitter.
Posted by: Seeking Cure For Ignorance || 02/23/2020 22:45 Comments || Top||


Three bodies of Turkish invaders were transported to Istanbul on February 18 on a Libyan commercial flight
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
Posted by: Fred || 02/23/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336086 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Several thousand people gather in the Algerian capital on the first anniversary of a protest movement
[TWITTER]
Posted by: Fred || 02/23/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336087 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


The Grand Turk
One Turkish soldier died after shelling by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime on the last opposition holdout of Idlib
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
Posted by: Fred || 02/23/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336074 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte


India-Pakistan
Pakistani sources report heavy damage to civilian infrastructure due to Indian cross-LoC firing today in Neelum Valley
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
Posted by: Fred || 02/23/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336099 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  The Neelum Valley is used for cross LOC infiltration by terrorists. The IA pounds the jihadi hideouts in the valley with 155 mm guns.
Posted by: John Frum || 02/23/2020 13:32 Comments || Top||

#2  All those jihadis magically turn into civilians after the Indians blast them.
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 02/23/2020 14:16 Comments || Top||

#3  Once we accept every Pakistainer as the jihadi he/she is, it becomes easier.
Posted by: Dron66046 || 02/23/2020 14:32 Comments || Top||

#4  The Neelum Valley is used for cross LOC infiltration by terrorists.

Nice of them to be consistent in their approach...
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/23/2020 14:46 Comments || Top||

#5  Neelum Valley residents have previously confronted the Pakistani army personnel chaperoning the jihadis and made them leave the area. Nothing like a few dozen 155mm guns firing to cause the residents to suddenly lose all support for jihadi activity.
Posted by: John Frum || 02/23/2020 20:21 Comments || Top||


Iraq
al-Sadr calls for mass protests in the case that a parliamentary session, meant to vote for a new Iraqi cabinet, gets canceled
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
Posted by: Fred || 02/23/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336099 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran Proxies


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Palestinian tries to stab cops in Jerusalem Old City terror attack, is shot dead
[IsraelTimes] A Paleostinian man in Jerusalem’s Old City tried to stab coppers on Saturday in an attempted terror attack before he was rubbed out by officers.

Police said the assailant was spotted with a knife by Border Police officers at the Lion’s Gate as he ran to carry out an attack.

"[The officers] called on him to stop and he turned around toward them with the aim of harming them. The police responded quickly while firing toward him, neutralizing him and preventing harm," a statement from police said.

Police did not provide details on the identity of the suspect, who was named by Channel 13 news as 33-year-old Maher Ibrahim Za’atara of East Jerusalem’s Jabel Mukaber neighborhood.

The incident comes a day after a Paleostinian woman tried to stab passerby at a popular promenade in Jerusalem. The woman, reported to be a Paleostinian from East Jerusalem, tried to stab people at the Armon Hanatziv promenade several times with a knife, United Hatzalah said in a statement. One man suffered very mild injuries and did not require medical treatment.
The Times of Israel has more on Friday’s attempted stab attack:
The Ynet news site interviewed Itzik Itach, who it identified as one of the people who grabbed the assailant.

“She shouted ‘Allahu Akbar’ (God is Greatest) and tried to stab a passer-by,” Itach said. “We jumped at her and I held her until a police car came.”

United Hatzalah paramedic Yechiel Maiberg said: “I was walking in the area when I heard shouts. Civilians were spooked by a woman brandishing a knife. I ran at her and knocked the knife out of her hand. With the help of civilians we subdued her until the police officers arrived.”
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/23/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336087 views] Top|| File under:


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
IDF Farsi account reporting last year Lebanon’s Hezbollah received ~$700 million in funding
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
Posted by: Fred || 02/23/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336124 views] Top|| File under: Hezbollah


International Coalition and the United States have sent a 100 Truck Convoy to Deir Ez Zor Countryside
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
Posted by: Fred || 02/23/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336092 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran Proxies

#1  On November 30, 2012, Syrian troops withdrew from Omar oil field, one of the last regime positions east of Deir ez-Zor city near the Iraqi border. This happened after Syrian troops lost the Conoco gas reserve on November 27.
Posted by: b || 02/23/2020 8:22 Comments || Top||


Bombardment by Tukish forces and their affiliated opposition groups on Koperlik village, Tal-Abyad
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
Posted by: Fred || 02/23/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336085 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte


Iranian coastguard says it detained a foreign vessel in the Gulf of Oman for smuggling oil
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
Posted by: Fred || 02/23/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336071 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran


Main highway between Damascus and Aleppo opens to the public
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
Posted by: Fred || 02/23/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336081 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria

#1  Road trip!
Posted by: Grunter || 02/23/2020 19:14 Comments || Top||

#2  Lead the way, Saul
Posted by: Lex || 02/23/2020 19:27 Comments || Top||

#3  In my convertible.
Posted by: Grunter || 02/23/2020 20:18 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
28[untagged]
5Arab Spring
4Sublime Porte
3Govt of Iran
3Govt of Iran Proxies
2Govt of Pakistan
2Narcos
2Hezbollah
1Moslem Colonists
1Taliban
1Tin Hat Dictators, Presidents for Life, & Kleptocrats
1al-Shabaab (AQ)
1Commies
1Govt of Iraq
1Govt of Qatar (MB)
1Govt of Syria
1Hamas
1Islamic State

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

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

Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has dominated Mexico for six years.
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Meet the Mods
In no particular order...
Steve White
Seafarious
tu3031
badanov
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Bright Pebbles
trailing wife
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Two weeks of WOT
Sun 2020-02-23
  Last year Hezbollah received ~$700 million in funding
Sat 2020-02-22
   Erdogan confirms the presence of pro-Turkish Syrian fighters in Libya
Fri 2020-02-21
  Missile intercept by #Saudi forces in #Yanbu
Thu 2020-02-20
  Turkey asks NATO to provide air support for the operation in Idlib
Wed 2020-02-19
  Ashraf Ghani declared winner of Afghan presidential poll, Abdullah rejects results
Tue 2020-02-18
  LNA claims to destroy Turkish arms ship in Tripoli harbor.
Mon 2020-02-17
  24 Killed In Brutal Terror Attack On Burkina Faso Church; Local Pastor Targeted
Sun 2020-02-16
  Switzerland Thwarts Major Islamic State Terror Attack
Sat 2020-02-15
  Six Cartel Kidnappers Busted with Mexican Border City Victim in Trunk
Fri 2020-02-14
  US navy ship seizes 150 Iranian-manufactured anti-tank guided missiles after boarding a vessel in the Arabian Sea
Thu 2020-02-13
  Hafiz Saeed sentenced to five-and-a-half years in prison for terror financing
Wed 2020-02-12
  Sudan will hand over Omar al-Bashir to the International Criminal Court
Tue 2020-02-11
  Russians bomb a joint Turkish & Jihadi column
Mon 2020-02-10
  Ehsanullah Ehsan sends greetings from Turkey, thumbs nose
Sun 2020-02-09
  Multiple US troops killed during shootout in eastern Afghanistan

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