We read from time to time of the IDF catching drug smugglers at the Egyptian border or chasing them off, but less often that the Egyptians are paying attention to something other than jihadis in that part of the country. Though of course it could be the jihadis who are supporting their habit by selling drugs to the insufficiently pious...
[AlAhram] Egypt's Armed Forces announced on Wednesday that border guards have foiled an attempt to smuggle a large quantity of drugs in South Sinai governorate, Military Spokesman Gharib Abdel-Hafez said in a statement.
Abdel-Hafez said a border guards patrol was combing roads when the guards noticed a suspicious vehicle. Upon approaching the vehicle for inspection, its passengers opened fire.
The fire exchange, the army spokesperson said, resulted in the death of a smuggler, an officer, and the injury of an officer and a soldier.
The Armed Forces affirmed their continued efforts to completely eradicate smuggling activities, Abdel-Hafez said.
[HODHODYEMENNEWS] A prominent Saudi leader in al-Qaeda was killed in the city of Ma’rib, the last stronghold of the Islah party loyal to the Saudi-led coalition in northern 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... Activists from the city of Ma’rib said that Hamad Hammoud al-Othman al-Tamimi, a Saudi national judicial authority for 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... , was killed last Sunday, along with one of his lover companions, in the US strikes on the house al-Tamimi rented recently in Hosoun al-Jalal, east of the city.
The Saudi coalition forces in Ma’rib had refused to reveal the details of the raid and cordoned off the area targeted by the US raid last Sunday.
Previously, al-Qaeda has mourned many of its leaders who were killed in air strikes while they were in the coalition-held Wadi Abaidah area of Ma’rib, while they were fighting alongside coalition forces on Ma’rib fronts.
According to the organization’s video, al-Tamimi, who joined al-Qaeda in 2002, was arrested in 2007, and placed in al-Tarfiya prison in al-Qassim area of Saudi 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. Fifteen of the nineteen WTC hijackers were Saudis, and most major jihadi commanders were Saudis, to include Osama bin Laden. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman quietly folded that tent in 2016, doing terrible things to the guys running it, and has since been dragging the kingdom into the current century... The new operation may represent a blow to Saudi Arabia, which is using the organization to strengthen its grip on Ma’rib, in light of the resentment of the Islah party, the wing of the Moslem Brüderbund, at Riyadh’s measures to reduce its influence in the oil province.
Al-Tamimi joined al-Qaeda in Yemen after the Saudi authorities released him in 2012.
Hamad bin Hamoud al-Tamimi, a top leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which Washington regards as among the global jihadist network's most dangerous branches, died in the strike along with a bodyguard, a security official said, requesting anonymity.
The air strike, targeting a house in the northern province of Marib that al-Tamimi had recently rented, was "apparently American", the official said. A Marib government official, also speaking anonymously, confirmed the deaths.
Tamimi, a Saudi also known as Abdel Aziz al-Adnani, headed up AQAP's leadership council and acted as the militant group's "judge", the sources said. The "president of the consultative council and judge, known as Abdel Aziz al-Adnani, was killed with a Yemeni bodyguard", the Marib official said.
AQAP, and rival militants loyal to the Islamic State group, have thrived in the chaos of Yemen's civil war, which pits the Saudi-backed government against Iran-allied Huthi rebels. AQAP has carried out operations against both the Huthis and government forces as well as sporadic attacks abroad. Its leaders have been targeted by a US drone war for more than two decades, although the number of strikes has dropped off in recent years.
The attack comes a month after three alleged AQAP militants were killed in a suspected US drone strike on a car in Marib province.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
03/02/2023 02:08 ||
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[HODHODYEMENNEWS] A senior commander of the so-called "Bayda Resistance®" revealed new information about Saudi-led coalition bandidossnuffies joining the ranks of al-Qaeda in Bayda Governorate.
"The so-called legitimate resistance of Bayda, 70% of them joined the ranks of al-Qaeda, " said the Leader Mohammed al-Riyami, in interview with the UAE-funded channel al-Ghad al-Mashreq.
Al-Riyami, who lives in the Egyptian capital Cairo, said the Bayda resistance’s bandidossnuffies joined the ranks of al-Qaeda after they received orders from the government loyal to the coalition countries Saudi 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. Fifteen of the nineteen WTC hijackers were Saudis, and most major jihadi commanders were Saudis, to include Osama bin Laden. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman quietly folded that tent in 2016, doing terrible things to the guys running it, and has since been dragging the kingdom into the current century... and the UAE.
"The legitimacy sent the people of Bayda to be under the framework of terrorism and the bully boy party," he said, referring to the Islah party.
Al-Riyami’s confessions came after coalition button men and members of al-Qaeda and ISIS suffered heavy losses in the operation launched by the army and popular committees in August 2020, the Qaifah Radaa area, the main stronghold of terrorist elements, in addition to the districts of Walad Rabai and al-Qurashya in the province.
In July, during the two phases, the army and the popular committees were able to liberate the districts of al-Sawma’ah and al-Zaher, as well as Nati’ and Na’man districts.
During "Dawn of Freedom" operation, the army forces and the popular committees succeeded in completing the liberation of al-Sawma’a, Maswara and parts of Mukayras in September 2021.
Some areas of Bayda governorate have been a major stronghold for takfiri ...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who most be killed... elements since 2004, with direct US support, due to Bayda’s strategic location as it borders four southern governorates and four northern governorates, in-between the oil-rich provinces of Shabwah and Ma’rib.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
03/02/2023 01:51 ||
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[HODHODYEMENNEWS] The corpse count of the Saudi attacks on the border district of Shada in Saada province, rose on Wednesday to three deaths and one injury.
A medical sources confirmed the arrival of three deaders at Razih Rural Hospital, who were killed by the Saudi army’s fire in the border district of Shada.
Earlier today, a maimed citizen had arrived at Razih Rural Hospital as a result of artillery shelling of the Saudi enemy in the same district, and the Saudi enemy’s spy drones launched several raids on the al-Hajla area in the border district of Razih.
On Tuesday, a citizen was killed and five others were maimed, after the Saudi army shot up the popular markets in the al-Raqaw area of the border district of Munabbih.
It is worth noting that, in light of UN and international silence, the border areas in Saada province have been subjected to repeated attacks with missile and artillery shelling and direct targeting of civilians, in an escalating manner.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
03/02/2023 01:51 ||
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[Dawn] The police arrested 14 suspected bully boyz during an operation conducted on the Karamar Mountain here on Tuesday.
District police officer Najamul Husnain told mediapersons that drone technology was used to locate the movement of suspected persons on the mountain. He said since surge in murderous Moslem activities in the district the police had kept the Karamar Mountain under tight watch.
He said personnel of Elite Force, Rapid Response Force, bomb disposal squad, police’s security branch and lady constables participated in the operation. He said the mountain stood at the junction of Buner and Mardan districts.
Mardan District is in Mardan Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, so our militants are probably TTP.
He said often criminals took refuge on the mountain as it was a secluded place, which was locally known as Ster Baba.
DPO Husnain said it was the first time that drone was used for acquiring information about the suspects hiding in the mountain.
He said criminals won’t be allowed to take refuge on the Karamar Mountain.
In a separate development, two proclaimed offenders were arrested during an action on Tuesday.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
03/02/2023 01:38 ||
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Top|| File under: Pak Taliban (TTP)
[Rudaw] An gang affiliated to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) announced on Wednesday that one of its members was killed in a Ottoman Turkish drone attack in Shingal district. This comes two days after two PKK-affiliated commanders were killed in a similar assault in the town.
Ezidkhan Asayish, a security force affiliated to the PKK, said in a statement on Wednesday that a Ottoman Turkish drone hit one of its vehicles in the Yazidi heartland of Shingal, killing one of its members, Sherzad Shamo Qassim.
The aerial attack took place at 11:30am local time, according to the statement, reported by PKK media.
Erbil-based Kurdish counterterrorism forces said Qassim was the head of the Ezidkhan Asayish, adding that one of his guards was killed in the attack as well.
The Shingal Resistance® Units (YBS), which is also affiliated to the PKK, on Monday announced that two of its commanders were killed in a Ottoman Turkish drone attack in Shingal while going to a wake, adding that a fighter was injured too.
PKK is an gang struggling for the increased rights of Kurds in The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the decaying remnant of the Ottoman Empire... . Ankara has listed it as a terrorist group. The All-Yazidi YBS and Ezidkhan Asayish were formed by the PKK after ISIS controlled Shingal and killed and kidnapped thousands of Yazidis. They control parts of Shingal.
Turkey considers both Yazidi groups as offshoots of the PKK and has targeted their positions in Shingal numerous times, killing dozens of their members, including top commanders.
The presence of PKK-affiliated groups and several other forces in the district has been blamed for insecurity which has prevented thousands of its residents, who fled Shingal in 2014 due to ISIS war, from returning.
There have been no comments from Turkey regarding both attacks in Shingal.
On Wednesday, airstrikes struck the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in the Sinjar district of Nineveh Governorate. Two security sources told Shafaq News Agency.
A source reported that Turkish drones targeted a vehicle carrying PKK members near the Sinjar police station, killing all fighters, including a prominent leader.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/02/2023 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Sublime Porte
[IsraelTimes] Law enforcement officials say three minors among suspects held in connection with mob violence in Paleostinian town on suspicion of assault, arson, rioting; one later released
Police on Wednesday said officers detained another eight suspects allegedly involved in riots in the West Bank Paleostinian town of Huwara earlier this week, which saw hundreds of settler hard boyz set fire to homes, storefronts and cars in response to a deadly Paleostinian terror attack
According to a police spokeswoman, six suspects, including two minors, were detained in the predawn hours of Wednesday over their suspected involvement in the riots on Sunday night.
Later Wednesday, another two suspects, including one minor, were detained.
Police said the suspects were suspected of "rioting, setting fire to vehicles and buildings, assaulting Paleostinians, causing damage to property in Huwara."
The suspects were questioned and were to be brought before a Jerusalem court to request an extension of their remand.
One of the suspects detained in the morning hours was released after being questioned.
The Shin Bet security agency was also involved in the investigation of the rampage, which saw one Paleostinian killed, scores injured and dozens of Paleostinian homes and cars set on fire.
Hours after a shooting attack that killed brothers Hallel Yaniv, 21, and Yagel Yaniv, 19, from the settlement of Har Bracha, hundreds of hard boy settlers descended on the Paleostinian town in the northern West Bank, the site of the terror attack, and carried out what a top general called a "pogrom."
"What happened in Huwara was a pogrom carried out by lawbreakers," chief of the IDF Central Command, Maj. Gen. Yehuda Fuchs, told Channel 12 news in an interview Tuesday night. "We were not ready for a pogrom on the scale of dozens of people with flammable material and the means to set it on fire, heading to 20 or more places — as well as confronting soldiers and commanders and police at the junction — and setting random Paleostinian homes and cars on fire."
Security forces failed to contain the violence for hours despite early warnings of a planned violent mostly peaceful protest in Huwara. Troops were also preoccupied with searching for the gunman who killed the Israeli brothers, as well as dealing with settlers who had defiantly returned to the evacuated Evyatar outpost.
Eight Israeli suspects detained on the night of the rioting were released, three of them to house arrest, according to law enforcement officials.
[IsraelTimes] Military says two suspects behind killing of US-Israeli Elan Ganeles apprehended in Aqabat Jabr refugee camp, third suspect rubbed out while trying to flee
Israeli troops on Wednesday afternoon arrested the alleged bully boyz who carried out a deadly shooting attack two days earlier near the West Bank city of Jericho, as the victim was being buried. One Paleostinian suspect was killed during the raid.
The Israel Defense Forces said soldiers and Border Police officers entered the Aqabat Jabr refugee camp adjacent to Jericho, following intelligence information given to them by the Shin Bet security agency.
Two Paleostinian men suspected of carrying out the attack on Monday that left dual American-Israeli citizen Elan Ganeles dead were detained, the IDF said.
A third suspect who was with the two alleged button men was shot while attempting to flee, the IDF added. He was also detained by the troops, but later succumbed to his wounds.
Speaking to news hounds after the raid, Col. Meir Biderman, the commander of the 417th Regional Brigade, said that on Tuesday night the Shin Bet notified the army of a potential breakthrough in the hunt for the terrorists, and on Wednesday they were given their exact position.
Biderman said the troops began preparing on Tuesday evening and immediately began the operation when the terrorists’ location was confirmed.
The troops entered the camp, closed in on the building where the button men were holed up, and launched missiles at it, in a tactic known as a "pressure cooker," to flush the suspects out, he said.
Dark smoke was seen rising from a building in the camp.
"They came out with raised hands and showed us the location of the weapon with which they carried out the attack," Biderman said.
The IDF said troops seized the handgun, which was likely the one used in the attack on Monday.
The third suspect who was shot was taken to a hospital in Israel at death's door. He later succumbed to his wounds.
The Paleostinian Authority health ministry identified him as 22-year-old Mahmoud Jamal Hassan Hamdan.
Biderman said a fourth suspect who tried to flee the hideout apartment was also detained.
The Paleostinian Authority Health Ministry said one person was being treated for minor injuries amid festivities with troops in the camp.
Ganeles, 26, was being buried in the central city of Ra’anana as the operation took place.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a statement said he "salutes the IDF and the Shin Bet for locating the bully boyz in a short time and carrying out a precise operation."
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant also hailed the successful operation.
"Every terrorist should be aware of Israel’s defense establishment, we will get our hands on them," he said in remarks provided by his office.
Ganeles, who was visiting Israel for a wedding, was shot to death while driving near Jericho.
[NPASyria] The town of Tafas in the western countryside of Daraa Governorate, southern Syria, has witnessed tension since last night after Syrian government forces arrested three people, including a woman, at a military checkpoint.
This came on the background of arresting three people, including a woman by the government forces when returning from Damascus, a local source told North Press.
The government forces arrested Muhammad Khaled al-Bardan, his sister-in-law, and the car driver while returning from Damascus, the source said.
Late on Tuesday night, a group of local button men in Tafas raided a security post of the government forces and arrested all present members, the source added.
The government forces released the woman hours after her arrest, whereas both men are still in jug.
The local bandidosbandidos turbans said they would not release the detained government soldiers until the two men were set free, the source reported.
The source stressed that things might escalate if the two detainees remain in jug.
Since the government forces re-captured Daraa in 2018, the governorate has been in a state of insecurity, as daily liquidations target government soldiers, officials and officers. Thefts have surged, too.
In July 2018, opposition factions and Syrian government forces reached an agreement, mediated by Russia, for the opposition-held areas of Daraa.
According to the deal, the opposition bandidosbandidos turbans who agreed to hand over heavy weapons, were handed special cards to protect them from prosecution, and allowed to stay in Daraa. Those opposed the agreement were forced to leave for Idlib, which is under the control of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, formerly al-Nusra, before that it was called something else ...al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, from which sprang the Islamic State... (HTS — formerly al-Nusra ...formally Jabhat an-Nusrah li-Ahli al-Sham (Support Front for the People of the Levant), also known as al-Qaeda in the Levant. They aim to establish a pan-Arab caliphate. Not the same one as the Islamic State, though .. ... Front).
Posted by: trailing wife ||
03/02/2023 00:00 ||
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[NPASyria] For the fourth time in one week, a landmine explosion left by ISIS kills a man and injures his son in the southern countryside of Deir ez-Zor, eastern Syria.
Ramez al-Omar, 52, lost his life, and his son, Amer al-Omar, 31, was hit by shrapnel in different parts of his body in a landmine explosion left by ISIS while searching for truffles in the town of Harbisha in the south of Deir ez-Zor, a local source said.
The injured man was taken to al-Assad Hospital in Deir ez-Zor for treatment and is at death's door, according to the Hospital’s director.
The countryside of Deir ez-Zor witnessed three similar incidents in one week leading to the death of five people and the injury of three others.
Daily casualties increase in Deir ez-Zor countryside due to explosions of landmines and war remnants left by ISIS since it was its last stronghold.
Two days earlier, three civilians died in a landmine explosion left by ISIS in the town of al-Kamsha in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor while looking for desert truffles.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
03/02/2023 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Islamic State
[NPASyria] A commander of a military group affiliated with the Syrian government forces was killed on Wednesday in the city of al-Sanamayn in the northern countryside of Daraa, southern Syria.
A local source told North Press that unidentified button men directly shot Shadi Jawdet al-Rifaai, aka Shadi al-Jado, in his house in the city and fled.
Al-Rifaai was maimed by several shots and taken to the Public Hospital in al-Sanamayn in the northern countryside of Daraa, however, he died before reaching the hospital, according to a medical source.
"Al-Rifaai used to be a leader of a military group affiliated with the military security branch of the government forces in Daraa," the source added.
The leader survived multiple liquidation attempts, the last of which was by unknown button men in August 2022, according to the source.
Al-Rifaai was known for "drug dealing and abusing civilians," according to several sources and locals in the city.
On Feb. 4, two soldiers of the Syrian government forces Ossama Saleh al-Atma and Abdurrahman Marwan al-Halabi were killed after being shot by unidentified button men in al-Sanamayn.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
03/02/2023 00:00 ||
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[NPASyria] On Wednesday, Ottoman Turkish forces shelled with artillery a post held by the Syrian government forces in an area located between the village of Kharabisan Fouqani and Goran in Kobani eastren countryside, north Syria.
A local source told North Press, "The outskirts of a post held by Syrian army was shelled with three artillery shells close to the village of Kharabisan Fouqani in east Kobani."
"No human losses were reported by the shelling up to date," the source added.
This is the first shelling against areas in the eastern countryside of Kobani since the quake hit north Syria on February 6.
From time to another, Ottoman Turkish forces shell villages on the border including posts held by Syrian government forces, causing deaths and injuries among civilians and military personnel.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
03/02/2023 00:00 ||
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[IsraelTimes] Speaking at INSS conference, Maj. Gen. Oded Basiuk says ’Iran ...The nation is 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... poses a danger to the security and stability of the entire region’
The head of the military’s Operations Directorate, Maj. Gen. Oded Basiuk, revealed Wednesday that Iran had twice attempted to attack Israeli-linked vessels in the Arabian Sea in the past month.
His remarks came after Israel accused Iran of attacking an Israeli-linked tanker in early February, a strike that the ship’s operator said caused "minor" damage.
"Iran is not just Israel’s problem. And I’m not just talking about the nuclear threat. For example, the distribution of UAVs and the violation of international freedom of navigation in the region," Basiuk said at a conference hosted by the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv.
"In the last month, Iran tried twice to attack vessels in the Arabian Sea and failed, and it did so using drones, which we also see being used in the Ukraine-Russia war," he said. "Iran poses a danger to the security and stability of the entire region."
He didn’t provide further details on when exactly the incidents occurred or what had transpired that led to the failure.
On February 10, Campo Square, a Liberian-flagged product tanker, was "hit by an airborne object while in the Arabian Sea, approximately 300 nautical miles (555 kilometers) off the coasts of India and Oman," according to Eletson, the Greek company that manages the vessel.
"Both the vessel and crew are safe and proceeding as per planned passage. There is minor damage to the vessel," Eletson said in a statement a week after the strike, following a BBC report.
Campo Square belongs to Zodiac Maritime Company, owned by Israeli shipping magnate Eyal Ofer.
Citing a US military official and a regional military source, BBC Persian said the attack on the Campo Square involved several Iranian ships and likely the Shahed 136 drone, which Russia has been using in its invasion of Ukraine.
Iran’s government did not acknowledge the attack.
Tehran and Israel have been engaged in a years-long shadow war in the wider Middle East, with several drone attacks targeting Israeli-associated vessels traveling around the region.
In one such attack in July 2021, Mercer Street, an oil tanker owned by an Israeli businessman, was struck by a Shahed drone, killing a British and a Romanian crew member.
In November, Israel and the United States blamed Iran for a dronezap on a tanker off the coast of Oman. The vessel was operated by a company owned by Idan Ofer, Eyal Ofer’s brother.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
03/02/2023 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
...a 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. Fifteen of the nineteen WTC hijackers were Saudis, and most major jihadi commanders were Saudis, to include Osama bin Laden. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman quietly folded that tent in 2016, doing terrible things to the guys running it, and has since been dragging the kingdom into the current century...
...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. Fifteen of the nineteen WTC hijackers were Saudis, and most major jihadi commanders were Saudis, to include Osama bin Laden. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman quietly folded that tent in 2016, doing terrible things to the guys running it, and has since been dragging the kingdom into the current century...
...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who most be killed...
...the decaying remnant of the Ottoman Empire...
...al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, from which sprang the Islamic State...
...The nation is noted for 
