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Today: 73 articles and 261 comments as of 11:20.
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Heavy fighting between Turkish/SNA and YPG/SDF
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 1: WoT Operations
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Page 4: Opinion
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Page 6: Politix
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Afghanistan
62 Killed In Nangarhar Mosque Bombing
[ARIANANEWS.AF] At least 62 people were killed and 36 others were maimed in a kaboom inside a mosque 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 on Friday, local officials confirmed.
"Very Islamic"
Attaullah Khogyani, a front man for the provincial governor told Ariana News that the incident took place in the Haska Mina district of the province.

Khogyani added that the explosives were placed inside the mosque and went kaboom! when worshipers were at the Friday prayers, causing the roof of mosque to collapse on them.

He said the maimed individuals were transferred to the local hospitals.

No individual or group has immediately grabbed credit for the attack.

The Taliban
...Arabic for students...
murderous Moslem group in a statement condemned the attack, accusing Afghan government or ISIS
...embracing their inner Islamic Brute...
fighters of carrying it out.
Update from Ynet at 10:45 p.m. EDT:
Both the Taliban and the Islamic State group are active in eastern Afghanistan, especially Nangarhar province.
Posted by: Fred || 10/18/2019 14:53 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The Nangarhar Peer Review - an explosive monthly on cutting edge islamic ideas.
Posted by: Dron66046 || 10/18/2019 19:17 Comments || Top||


Airstrikes kill 33 Taliban and ISIS militants in 7 provinces
[KhaamaPress] A series of Arclight airstrike
...KABOOM!...
s killed 33 Taliban
...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
and ISIS
...embracing their inner Islamic Brute...
turbans in seven provinces of Afghanistan in the past 24 hours.

The military officials said Thursday airstrikes in Dasht-e Archi district of Kunduz killed 17 Talibs and destroyed a small cache of weapons.

The officials further added that airstrikes in Rashidan and Qarah Bagh districts of Ghazni killed 6 Talibs and destroyed a weapons cache of the group.

An airstrike in Chak-e Wardak district of Wardak province killed 2 Talibs and destroyed a cache of weapons, the officials said, adding that a similar airstrike in Sharan district of Paktika
...which coincidentally borders South Wazoo...
killed 2 Talibs.

Meanwhile,
...back at the shootout, Butch shot Ike through the elbow. Take that, Ike! he yelled......
airstrikes in Pachir Wa Agam and Deh Bala districts of 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..
killed 3 ISIS krazed killers, the officials added.

The officials also added that airstrikes in Shah Wali Kot of Kandahar and Day Chopan districts of Zabul killed 2 Talibs besides destroying a cache of weapons.
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/18/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Large Scale Operation Launched In Baghlan
[ToloNews] Afghan cops launched operations in northern Baghlan province on Wednesday night to clear bully boys, the Ministry of Defense said in a statement on Thursday.

The operation took place in Dand-e-Shahabuddin, Dand-e-Ghori and the Kela Gai areas of Baghlan province, the statement said, adding: "Previously, forces launched operations in Badakhshan, Takhar and Kunduz provinces and many areas of these provinces were cleared of bully boys."

Dozens of Taliban
...Arabic for students...
bully boys, including commanders and shadow district governors, have been killed during the operations in Badakhshan, Takhar and Kunduz provinces, according to the statement.

However,
there's no worse danger than telling a mother her baby is ugly...
the MoD did not provide further details.

The Taliban have not yet commented on the operations.
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/18/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


NDS Special Forces kill facilitator of Taliban explosions in Takhar province
[KhaamaPress] The Special Forces of the National Directorate of Security
...the Afghan national intel agency...
(NDS) killed the controller of Taliba kabooms in North-eastern Takhar province.

According to a statement released by NDS, the NDS Special Forces killed Salahuddin alias Ibrahimi, the controller of Taliba kabooms in Takhar.

The statement further added that Salahuddin had recently visited Taloqan city to carry out a series of assassinations against the tribal elders.

However,
man does not live by words alone, despite the fact that sometimes he has to eat them...
the National Directorate of Security identified and eliminated Salahuddin in Taloqan city before he could carry out the attacks.

Furthermore, the National Directorate of Security said the NDS Special Forces arrested a group of 9 Talibs during a separate operation in Takhar province.

The Taliban
...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
group has not commented in this regard so far.
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/18/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Govt Employee Killed In Rocket Attack In Kabul
[ToloNews] Zinat Zabe, a government employee, was killed in a rocket explosion in the Paghman district of Kabul province on Wednesday night, Zabeh’s family said Thursday.

The incident happened in the Arghani area of Paghman district. As Zabeh was on his way home, unidentified button men attacked him, according to his family.

"The Taliban
...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
pulled him out of his vehicle but then put him back inside and shot him with a rocket," the family said.

Zabe worked for the Ministry of Finance for the past several years and was married two years ago.

The family said that the Taliban sometimes are in the area but previously there was no tension.

The Taliban have denied involvement.

Afghan cops have not yet commented on the incident.
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/18/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Logar: 23 Talibs toes up, Afghan SF destroy tunnel, caches, compounds and more, Talibs start winter vacation


Special Forces kill 11 Taliban militants, destroy weapons caches in Logar

[KhaamaPress] The Afghan Special Forces killed 11 Talibs during an operation in central Pashtun-infested Logar province of Afghanistan.

The military officials said Thursday the Special Forces conducted the operation in Charkh district of Pashtun-infested Logar province.

The officials further added that the Special Forces also destroyed a cache of weapons belonging to Talibs.

The Taliban
...Arabic for students...
group has not commented regarding the operation so far.

Pashtun-infested Logar is among the relatively volatile provinces in central parts of Afghanistan where Talibs are active in some of its and often attempt to carry out terrorist related activities.

Special Forces foil large scale attack on Charkh district by destroying Taliban tunnel

[KhaamaPress] The Special Forces of the Afghan military foiled a large scale attack on Charkh district of Logar by discovering and destroying a Taliban tunnel.

According to a statement released by Special Operations Corps, the Taliban militants had dug the tunnel in a bid to carry out an attack on Charkh district.

The statement further added that the security forces also destroyed 3 bomb making facilities of Taliban, 2 compounds and a training camp of the group.

The Special Forces also killed 12 Taliban militants during the operation and confiscated a large quantity of weapons, munitions and a vehicle, the statement added.

The Taliban group has not commented in this regard so far.

Taliban Close 29 Government-Sponsored Madrasas in Logar

[ToloNews] Residents in the eastern province of Logar on Thursday claimed that the Taliban have shut down at least 29 Madrasas in the province.

The Taliban have also warned faculty to stop teaching at these centers, which are run by the Afghan Ministry of Education.

“It’s very unfortunate that we are not allowing someone to go the mosque or Madrasa, or to read the Holy Quran or to teach. It’s now three months that all Madrasas have been closed in areas under the government control,” said Sayed Farhad Akbari, a tribal elder in Logar.

“The move can have several reasons: either they don’t want the government to have control of religious centers, or the Taliban’s recruitment has been reduced there,” said Sayed Qaribullah Sadat, a member of Logar’s provincial council, suggesting that the closures might be punitive.

A Taliban spokesman said that the group shut these centers down after determining that they were not in line with the Taliban’s doctrine.

Local officials in Logar have said that efforts are underway to reopen these Madrasas.

“We assure you that efforts are underway to open these centers in the coming days; we are in contact with the tribal elders,” said Abdul Wakil Kaliwal, head of Logar’s Education Department.

The closure of the religious schools has deprived over 2600 students from learning, among them 900 girls.
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/18/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Africa North
Haftar’s UAE-backed airforce has conducted an airstrike on a location for the Ministry of Interior in Ben Ashour Street in #Tripoli
[TWITTER]

Posted by: Fred || 10/18/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Counterterrorism Force confirms arrest of an ISIS operative in Sirte
[Libya Observer] Spokesman of the Counterterrorism Force, Abdul Basit Tikka has confirmed the arrest of an ISIS
...embracing their inner Islamic Brute...
operative in Sirte and referring him to the Public Prosecution.

"The force received information indicating that an ISIS operative had recently entered Sirte after fleeing the city in 2000, following its liberation from ISIS," Tikka said in a statement Wednesday.

"A well-executed ambush set up in cooperation with the Protection and Security Force of Sirte has led to the successful arrest of the suspect," he added.
Posted by: Fred || 10/18/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


The Grand Turk
Heavy fighting between Turkish/SNA and YPG/SDF. Erdogan's word not worth a wooden nickle.
[Twitter]


More from FoxNews here.

Posted by: 3dc || 10/18/2019 02:52 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte

#1  Well, just remember that any steps authorized against Turkey will be subject to Pentagon's objections. So, to take significant steps, you must make significant case. Fortunately, Recep is way around the corner.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 10/18/2019 4:09 Comments || Top||

#2  Incendiaries are not chemical weapons. Idiot journalists.
Posted by: Rob Crawford || 10/18/2019 6:26 Comments || Top||

#3  All explosives are chemicals. So the "journalist's" point is?
Posted by: M. Murcek || 10/18/2019 7:36 Comments || Top||

#4  Looks like a file photograph
Posted by: Uleck Spererong9442 || 10/18/2019 7:40 Comments || Top||

#5  lots of updates on the Turkey/Kurd/Syria situation here

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/10/turkey-military-operation-syria-latest-updates-
191018073856826.html
Posted by: lord garth || 10/18/2019 8:42 Comments || Top||

#6  It is a sad day when we get better information in the USA from Aljazeera than the Dem-controlled MSM.
Posted by: JohnQC || 10/18/2019 9:09 Comments || Top||

#7  ^ Shitshow, Part 136
Posted by: Lex || 10/18/2019 9:12 Comments || Top||

#8  There is a very high motivation to lie about this. They'll create fake news because to them, it's worth it because they hate Trump so much.
Posted by: Herb McCoy || 10/18/2019 9:54 Comments || Top||

#9  There is a very high motivation to lie about this. They'll create fake news because to them, it's worth it because they hate Trump so much.

True. Also consider the very low downside, which creates a very favorable risk-return calculus.

How many "journalists" lost their jobs for reporting the latest round of blatant lies about Kavanaugh? About the Covington boys?

Lying about Trump and anyone associated with him is more than a good risk. It's totally within the investor-"journalist's" efficient frontier. Professional gold.
Posted by: Lex || 10/18/2019 10:03 Comments || Top||

#10  Have at last three bullshit flags for the photo; one gigantoturd especially for the descriptor. Looks like the morning after Knob Creek shoot with crying girl layer.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 10/18/2019 10:46 Comments || Top||

#11  The press routinely lies about white phosphorous, because they're still peddling Soviet propaganda.
Posted by: Rob Crawford || 10/18/2019 11:00 Comments || Top||

#12  Erdogan's word not worth a wooden nickle.

Where did I leave that Master of the Obvious pic???
Posted by: Mercutio || 10/18/2019 13:41 Comments || Top||

#13  How can you look at that picture and not be moved, you heartless bastiges? An barren landscape, columns of dense black smoke rising in the background, an unexploded barrel bomb, and in the foreground, a young girl tearfully wiping a speck of burning phosphorus from her eye.

Quite artistic. Sure, it's probably fake, but fake is such a harsh word. Let's just say it is doubtful that all the elements in the photo existed at the same place and time.
Posted by: SteveS || 10/18/2019 13:46 Comments || Top||

#14  This sudden flareup of indignation has a bad smell to it. Sounds too manufactured. I shall pause and reflect upon other issues closer to home.
Posted by: Dale || 10/18/2019 14:20 Comments || Top||

#15  Looks more like "I'm very shy and modest, but ..." to me.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 10/18/2019 14:23 Comments || Top||

#16  It should be noted that the Kurds reported they were burning tires to confuse the Turkish bombers, which would explain the columns of black smoke in the photo.
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/18/2019 14:48 Comments || Top||

#17  That is correct TW. That is a smoke screen. Phosphorous is white. Artillery is brief smoke cloud. The Kurds covering their movements with tar smoke to hinder Turk eyes overhead.
Posted by: Phaick Uneretle6310 || 10/18/2019 14:55 Comments || Top||

#18  More to come in this masters game of chess;
Posted by: Dale || 10/18/2019 15:00 Comments || Top||

#19  Smokes also plays hell with the work of snipers.
Posted by: Besoeker || 10/18/2019 15:00 Comments || Top||

#20  A worthwhile link, Dale.

Thank you for explaining what I would have meant if only I knew more, Phaick Uneretle6310 — teamwork works! ;-)
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/18/2019 16:32 Comments || Top||

#21  The Kurds covering their movements with tar smoke to hinder Turk eyes overhead.

This is an environmental disaster caused by the heathen Trump. No doubt will raise the oceans Four feet by 2021, scientist state.
Posted by: bbrewer126 || 10/18/2019 22:28 Comments || Top||

#22  scientist state.

*Snicker*
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/18/2019 22:38 Comments || Top||


Pence: Turkey, US agree to hudna in Syria, Kurds agree
[PRESSTV] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor...
has agreed to end the military offensive in northern Syria after Kurdish fighters withdraw from a safe zone, US Vice President Mike Pence has said.

Ankara’s incursion "will be halted entirely on completion" of the withdrawal, Pence told news hounds following more than five hours of negotiations between a US delegation and Ottoman Turkish President His Enormity, Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First
...Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him. It's a sin, a shame, and a felony to insult the president of Turkey. In Anatolia did Recep Bey a stately Presidential Palace decree, that has 1100 rooms. That's 968 more than in the White House, 400 more than in Versailles, and 325 more than Buckingham Palace, so you know who's really more important...
in Ankara on Thursday.

He said that Turkey will suspend its military operation for 120 hours to allow Kurdish YPG bully boyz to pull out from the designated safe zone along the Ottoman Turkish and Syrian border.

"Today the United States and Turkey have agreed to a ceasefire in Syria, in order to allow from YPG forces to withdraw from the safe zone for 120 hours," Pence said.

Turkey's military will primarily enforce a "safe zone" in northern Syria, according to a joint US-Ottoman Turkish statement.

"The safe zone will be primarily enforced by the Ottoman Turkish Armed Forces," the statement said.

Ottoman Turkish Foreign Minster Mevlut Cavusoglu Turkey's military was only "pausing" operations so that the Kurdish YPG forces could leave the zone.

He added no guarantees were made in the talks on the flashpoint Syrian border town of Kobani.

Syria Kurds say willing to abide by ceasefire

[AlAhram] The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said Thursday they are willing to abide by a ceasefire announced by Washington and Turkey, after nine days of fighting along Syria's northern border.

"We are ready to abide by the ceasefire," covering the area from Ras al-Ain to Tal Abyad, SDF chief Mazlum Abdi told a Kurdish TV station.

He spoke after Turkey said it had agreed to suspend its offensive for five days if Kurdish-led forces withdraw from areas near the border.
Posted by: Fred || 10/18/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte


Iraq
Prominent Iraqi Blogger Snatched from Home
[AnNahar] Armed men in uniform seized a prominent Iraqi blogger from his home on Thursday, one of his relatives told AFP, after a wave of deadly anti-government protests earlier this month.

The authorities have not confirmed reports of Shujaa al-Khafaji's arrest. The gunnies who allegedly snatched him from his home did not identify themselves or hand over an arrest warrant.

Khafaji uses his Facebook page al-Khowa al-Nadifa (Those Who Have Clean Hands in Arabic) to publish posts on political and social issues. The page has some 2.5 million readers in Iraq.

Last month, he had faced cyber harassment after a string of attacks on military bases the Hashed al-Shaabi, the paramilitary force dominated by 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 a cognate form of Stürmabteilung (or SA), the term Supreme Guide is a cognate form of either Shah or Führer or maybe both, and they hate Jews Zionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
groups.

"On Thursday, at 5:30 am (0230 GMT), a group of men in special forces uniform broke into his house and took him in the direction of the al-Muthanna airport prison," in central Baghdad, a relative of the blogger told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Iraq was gripped by anti-government protests between October 1 and 6, during which 110 people, mainly demonstrators, were killed in festivities with the security forces.

At the time, unidentified gunnies in uniform raided several local television stations, destroying their equipment and intimidating their staff.

Journalists and activists also received threats, mostly by phone.

The authorities say they are probing these incidents, but some in Iraq accuse the state of complicity.

Influential Shiite leader Moqtada Tater al-Sadr
... the Iranian catspaw holy man who was 22 years old in 2003 and was nearing 40 in 2010. He spends most of his time in Iran, safely out of the line of fire, where he's learning to be an ayatollah...
, who has called on the government to resign, wrote on Twitter that "any act of aggression (against journalists or activists)... by the state constitutes an attack on freedom of speech".

"It is impossible to silence the free media... The attackers must be held accountable for their actions," he added.

Citing Khafaji's disappearance, prominent blogger Ali Wajih said in a Twitter post that Iraq was "on a highway to a new republic of fear".

He also claimed to have lost touch with another online activist, Maytham al-Helu.

"I don't know where the state wants to go with this kind of messages, especially when it claims it is not targeting bloggers, journalists and activists," Wajih said.

Khafaji's friends said on Facebook that before he was snatched "he had been followed and all the phones and computers at his home seized."
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/18/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iraq


Iraq detains ISIS militants fleeing SDF prisons
[Rudaw] Iraq has detained a number of 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
...embracing their inner Islamic Brute...
) Lions of Islam and ISIS-affiliated families inside within its borders after they escaped Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) prisons in Syria, Yehia Rasool, Iraq’s defense ministry spokesperson, told Rudaw English on Thursday.

Some ISIS Lions of Islam sneaked across the border and were detained in Anbar province over the last two days. It is not clear how many ISIS Lions of Islam entered Iraq and Rasool declined to say how many have been caught.

"Iraqi forces with the help of the Iraqi intelligence department have detained a number of ISIS Lions of Islam inside Iraqi territory during the last two days," Rasool said. "The ISIS Lions of Islam have sneaked into Iraq after they escaped prisons in Syria."

"Iraqi forces are stationed on the Iraqi-Syrian border line to prevent further ISIS Lions of Islam from entering Iraqi territory," Rasool added.

Iraq is worried about the threat from ISIS Lions of Islam detained across the border after The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire...
launched its Operation Peace Spring last week, aimed at clearing northern Syria of Kurdish forces and resettling up to three million Syrian refugees from Turkey.

At least 750 ISIS affiliates escaped SDF-held Ain Issa camp after Ottoman Turkish shelling close to the camp and detainees rioted. There are fears that more ISIS fighters and supporters could escape if Turkey’s operation continues and the SDF’s focus is diverted to the frontlines.

Iraqi Defense Minister Nijah al-Shimari visited the Iraqi-Syrian border on Wednesday to inspect the security situation.

"Iraqi minister of defense has visited Iraq-Syrian border areas in Nineveh and Anbar [provinces] to check up on the security situation on the Iraqi-Syrian border line," his ministry stated in a Facebook post on Wednesday.

The day before, the ministry announced it had deployed additional troops to reinforce the border.

ISIS Lions of Islam have stepped up their attacks on the SDF’s southern flank in Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor provinces, taking advantage of Turkey’s onslaught to the north.

The International Crisis Group warned that Turkey’s offensive, coupled with instability in Iraq, could enable a resurgence of the terror group.

The Pentagon has stated that ISIS is attempting to expand its influence over populations in Iraq’s Sunni-majority provinces north and west of Baghdad, and has reorganized its leadership and established safe havens in rural Sunni-majority areas.

"ISIS is rebuilding in remote territory, which is hard for Iraqi forces to secure," read a report from the Pentagon Inspector General covering April to late June. ISIS is "able to recruit in these areas using family and tribal connections."

ISIS seized control of swathes of territory across in Iraq 2014. The group was declared defeated by former Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi in December 2017. However,
Caliphornia hasn't yet slid into the ocean, no matter how hard it's tried...
remnants of the group have returned to earlier insurgency tactics.
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/18/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
3 Palestinians nabbed in West Bank with explosives — Border Police
[IsraelTimes] Israeli security forces have arrested three Paleostinians in the West Bank for suspected terror actives, Border Police say.

The three were arrested this week in Beit Liqya, a town near Ramallah, and were in possession of bombs, according to a Border Police statement.

Border Police say the explosives were likely to be used for "terror purposes."

Their remand is extended by 12 days by the Ofer Military Court.
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/18/2019 00:17 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


IDF downs drone flown in from Gaza Strip
[IsraelTimes] Israeli forces brought down a drone on Thursday as it was flying in the area of the border fence along 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 an iron fist by Hamaswith 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...
Strip, the Israel Defense Forces said.

The drone was detected in the area of the southern Gaza Strip and "was brought down by IDF troops," the army said in a statement.

The army did not give details on the size or design of the drone, or how it was stopped.

There were no injuries in the incident. It was not clear from the IDF statement if the drone came down in Israeli territory or not.

Security forces were investigating if the drone was carrying explosives.
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/18/2019 00:08 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Hamas


Driver tries to ram IDF troops in West Bank; is shot, badly injured — police
[IsraelTimes] Alleged assailant from East Jerusalem subdued after colliding with Border Police armored vehicle following raid in refugee camp near Ramallah; officers say he brandished a knife.

A driver from East Jerusalem attempted to carry out a car-ramming attack against Israeli troops operating near Ramallah in the early hours of Thursday morning before he was shot and seriously injured, Border Police said in a statement.

There were no Israeli injuries reported.

In a statement, Border Police said the force had during the night raided the al-Am’ari refugee camp near Ramallah and arrested two wanted terror suspects.

As the troops were leaving the area, a car sped up to the officers’ armored vehicle and collided with it "with the intention of running over the combat fighters," the statement said.

The troops then "identified the terrorist making a suspicious movement and holding a suspicious object in his hand that turned out to be a knife." They subsequently shot and subdued him.

The statement identified the alleged assailant as a 20-year-old resident of East Jerusalem. It quoted medical officials as saying he had been seriously injured and taken to Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem.

The Paleostinian Prisoner Club, a Ramallah-based NGO, later identified the suspected assailant as Firas al-Halaq, 25, from the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Hanina.

After the attempted ramming, Paleostinians arrived at the scene and rioted, throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails at the troops, the Border Police statement added. The officers responded with riot control means, it said.

On Saturday, an Israeli military position in the West Bank came under fire from a passing vehicle. There were no reported injuries in that incident near the Paleostinian city of Tulkarem, the Israel Defense Forces said.

Earlier this month, an bomb exploded next to an IDF position near the town of Beit Ummar in the West Bank. A second device was discovered at the army post and was neutralized by sappers.
An Nahar adds:
In May 2018, an Israeli special forces soldier was killed during an arrest operation in Al-Amari after being hit on the head by a stone thrown from a rooftop.
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/18/2019 00:01 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  taken to Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem.

If they have any sense, he'll succumb to injuries.
Posted by: Dron66046 || 10/18/2019 5:40 Comments || Top||

#2  Credit where due--at least he wasn't trying to run down civilians. Unlike some others recently...
Posted by: james || 10/18/2019 22:46 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Syria Kurds call for civilian exit as Turkey encircles Ras Al-Ain
[AlAhram] Kurdish authorities in northeastern Syria on Thursday called for a humanitarian corridor to evacuate civilians from a flashpoint border town encircled by Ankara's forces, as The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...Qatar's satrapy in Asia Minor...
's offensive entered its ninth day.

Ottoman Turkish troops and their Syrian proxies have fully encircled Ras al-Ain, a key border town where Kurdish fighters have been putting up stiff resistance.

"It is the first real advance of the Ottoman Turkish forces inside the city, following fierce resistance by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)," the Britannia-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said.

Massively outgunned by the Ottoman Turkish army and its airforce, the Kurdish administration pleaded to allow civilians to exit the town that Turkey aims to capture.

It called for "urgent intervention to open a safe humanitarian corridor to evacuate dead and maimed civilians trapped in Ras al-Ain".

Ankara's Syrian proxies -- mostly Arab and Turkmen former rebels they use as a ground force -- hit a hospital in the town on Thursday, trapping patients and staff inside, the Observatory said.

The monitor said the extent of damage in the facility was not yet clear.

The attack came as violent festivities raged inside the town, according to the Observatory and Syrian rebel fighters.

"The battles are at their most intense," said Abu Imran al-Homsi, a rebel commander fighting alongside Ankara's forces.

"We have surrounded (Ras al-Ain) from all sides and cut off supply lines," another rebel commander told AFP.

Observatory head Rami Abdul Rahman said that Ankara's forces had taken about half of the town by Thursday morning.

"There have been intensive air strikes on Ras al-Ain over the past three days," he said.

Kurdish-led SDF forces quickly lost a long stretch of border when Turkey launched its assault on October 9.

They organised a defence of Ras al-Ain, however, with a network of tunnels, berms and trenches that held off Ottoman Turkish forces and their proxies for about a week.

An AFP correspondent on the Ottoman Turkish side of the Ras al-Ain front line said there was constant gunfire and blasts from artillery and air strikes.
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/18/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte


Al-Nusra terrorists launch 22 attacks on safe areas in different provinces
[SANA.SY] Hmeimim-based Russian Coordination Center announced that Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist organization on Wednesday launched 22 attacks on safe areas in the provinces of Aleppo, Lattakia, Idleb and Hama.

Head of the Center Major General Alexei Bakin, in statements to journalists, said that Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist organization has intensified its destructive practices in Lattakia northern countryside.

Bakin indicated that the terrorist organization, sent from its positions from the direction of Jisr al-Shughour city in Idleb countryside, “towards the area of Kabbanieh in Lattakia countryside at least five armored vehicles and two rocket launchers.”

Terrorist groups affiliated to Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist organization spread in Idleb city and its countryside and in Lattakia northern countryside, and they attack the residential houses in the safe villages and towns and the posts of the Syrian Arab Army.

Posted by: Fred || 10/18/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: al-Nusra

#1  In coordination with the Turk?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 10/18/2019 4:11 Comments || Top||


Pro-Turkey factions shell positions of Kurdish forces in conjunction with renewed clashes on areas west of Al-Bab
[SYRIAHR] The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored violent festivities on the areas of Hazawan west of al-Bab city, between the Kurdish forces against The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the decaying remnant of the Ottoman Empire...
-loyal factions, accompanied by artillery shelling whose source is positions of the pro-Turkey factions on areas where the Kurdish forces are deployed north of Aleppo, and the SOHR published today morning, that it monitored sporadic festivities accompanied by artillery shelling; between the Kurdish Forces deployed north of Aleppo and the Turkey-loyal factions, in "Mar’anaz" area west of Azaz city in the northern countryside of Aleppo, but no information about casualties yet, and the Syrian Observatory published today that the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored an infiltration operation carried out by the Kurdish Forces after midnight of yesterday; on one of the positions of Turkey-loyal factions in Twees area southeast of Marea city in the northern countryside of Aleppo, then they clashed with members of the factions and were able to kill 6 fighters and injured more than 9 others
Posted by: Fred || 10/18/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte


Rockets target a civilian car in the north of Hama in conjunction with aerial bombardment by barrel bombs
[SYRIAHR] The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights documented the death of 2 citizens after the regime forces had targeted their car by a guided missile in Kura village in Jabal Shashaboo.

Separately, helicopters bombarded Kabani area in the northern countryside of Latakia by barrel bombs, along with the overflight of reconnaissance drones over the area, and in the same context, it rose to 190, the number of artillery and rocket shells that targeted new places in the area of Abu al-Duhur, Kafr Nubl, Hass, Kafrumah and Maarrat Hurmah in the south and east of Idlib province, Khalseh village in the southern countryside of Aleppo, Kabani area in the northern countryside of Latakia, and the area of Jabal Shashaboo in the northern countryside of Hama.
Posted by: Fred || 10/18/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte


About 20 citizens were injured by gunsex against the backdrop of celebrations of the deal between U.S. and Turkey
[SYRIAHR] The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored rocket shelling carried out by the Ottoman Turkish forces and their loyal factions on the city of Ras al-Ayn (Sere Kaniye) at the border strip, despit the American ‐ Ottoman Turkish agreement of halting the military operations in the whole area of east Euphrates.

Cautious and relative calm is prevailing the frontlines in the countryside of Ayn Issa town north of al-Raqqah city, after Ottoman Turkish warplanes had bombarded villages in the area before the U.S. ‐ Ottoman Turkish deal, which left casualties.

20 citizens were maimed with varying severity, after being hit by stray gunshots during celebrations in the cities of al-Hasaka, al-Qamishli and others, of the deal reached between the U.S. and The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor...
, while it rose to 5, the number of casualties of the regime forces of those who have been killed since Tuesday in targeting and shelling carried out by the Ottoman Turkish forces and their loyal factions.
Posted by: Fred || 10/18/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte


SDF will not hand over ISIS detainees to Syria, Turkey: commander
[Rudaw] The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) will not handover thousands of detained 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
...embracing their inner Islamic Brute...
) forces of Evil and their families to any force, including the Syrian regime, commander of the force Mazloum Kobani Abdi said late Wednesday.

"The fate of ISIS [ISIS] detainees and families is in our hands. We arrested them, they are held by us and we will determine their fate," Abdi told the SDF-affiliated Ronahi TV.

Abdi said they also will "not accept" The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...Qatar's satrapy in Asia Minor...
or the Syrian regime taking control of the ISIS detainees, even if they invade SDF-controlled area.

There are about 12,000 suspected ISIS fighters detained by the SDF in northern Syria, including some 2,000 foreigners. There are also about 70,000 family members and supporters being held in camps in the region.

Turkey launched its Operation Peace Spring last week. The fighting is largely concentrated in the towns of Sari Kani (Ras al-Ain) and Gire Spi (Tal Abyad) where the Ottoman Turkish army and its Syrian proxies claimed to have seized control, but the SDF says it has retaken lost ground.

At least 750 ISIS affiliates escaped the SDF-held Ain Issa camp after Ottoman Turkish shelling close to the camp and detainees rioted. There are fears that more ISIS fighters and supporters could escape if Turkey’s operation continues and the SDF’s focus is diverted to the frontlines.

The multi-ethnic SDF announced an eleventh-hour "military" deal with the regime in Damascus on Sunday that will see Syrian army troops deployed to key towns like Manbij and along the border with Turkey.

Abdi told Ronahi TV that the agreement with Assad was "necessary," but stressed it was a "military" one only. Further negotiations will take place once the Syrian border is cleared of Ottoman Turkish forces.

The Kurdish commander spoke with US President Donald Trump
...Oh, noze! Not him!...
by phone on Monday when he reportedly promised to keep the ISIS detainees under control.

SDF commanders and Kurdish officials in northern Syria have previously warned that if Turkey attacks their region they would no longer be able to prioritize the war against ISIS.

Now under attack, Abdi told Ronahi TV that the protection of their people and territory is the priority of the SDF, but that they remain committed to fighting ISIS.

"Our agreement with the US in the framework of the fight against ISIS [ISIS] continues. At least, it has not officially ended," he said, but they have suspended their military offensive against the terror group.

"The US wants the agreement against ISIS [ISIS] to continue. However,
you can observe a lot just by watching...
we prioritize the protection of our people and Rojava [northern Syria]. In other words, we have frozen our actions against ISIS. We do not to anything practical. We are in a defensive position against ISIS," he said.

The SDF is the key ally of the US-led coalition against ISIS in northern Syria.

In the past week, the coalition and Iraqi Security Forces conducted five operations against ISIS in Iraq ‐ carrying out Arclight airstrike
...KABOOM!...
s on ISIS hideouts, eliminating members of the leadership, and reinforcing the border with Syria. During the same time in Syria, the only anti-ISIS activity the coalition reported was a training exercise with local forces in the At Tanf base in the south of the country.

IS Says It 'Freed' Women Held by Syrian Kurds

[AnNahar] The Islamic State group said Thursday it had "freed" women held by Syria's Kurds, the latest in a series of reported breakouts since The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the decaying remnant of the Ottoman Empire...
launched a cross-border offensive last week.

In a statement released on the Telegram messaging application, IS said it had stormed a security headquarters west of its former stronghold of Raqa on Wednesday, "freeing Moslem women kidnapped" by Kurdish forces. It did not give a number or say if the women were IS members or wives of jihadists.

Separately three former IS fighters originally from 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 an iron fist by Hamaswith 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...
Strip escaped a Kurdish detention center near Tal Abyad close to the Syrian-Ottoman Turkish border, a source in a political faction in Gaza said. The three, two of whom were members of the military wing of Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas, the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood, before joining the more murderous Moslem IS, called their families Wednesday following their escape but said they did not intend to return home, the source said.

According to the Kurds hundreds of IS relatives have already tried to escape since Ankara launched its offensive on October 9.

At least three French women who had left Ain Issa camp have since joined up with IS, according to messages they sent to their lawyer, seen by AFP.

Five IS jihadists beat feet from a prison near the northeastern city of Qamishli last week, according to Kurdish forces.

On Tuesday, a breakout attempt was foiled in the infamous al-Hol camp, which is so overcrowded that wardens are struggling to control riot.

At least 2,500 of IS fighters are non-Iraqi foreigners of more than 50 different nationalities. Tunisia is thought to have the biggest contingent.
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/18/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  if I were the SDF I would welcome the chance to unload ISIS detainees to Syria

Syria would probably kill them all
Posted by: lord garth || 10/18/2019 5:18 Comments || Top||

#2  If I were the SDF, I'd put them all in a mass grave and quickly build a mosque over it.
Posted by: Dron66046 || 10/18/2019 5:35 Comments || Top||


Syrian Kurds accuse Turkey of using banned weapons against civilians
Specifically napalm and Willie Pete (white phosphorus).
[Rudaw] Kurdish military and politicians and health officials have accused Ottoman Turkish forces of using internationally outlawed weapons in its offensive in the northern Syrian town of Sari Kani (Ras al-Ain) and have asked for an international investigation.

"There are a lot of fears that prohibited weapons are being used in Sari Kani. Wounds we treat at the hospitals are not normal injuries at all," Dr. Manal Mohammed, head of the Rojava Health Board, told Rudaw on Wednesday night.

"Our health board is currently investigating to find out what type of weapon is being used against us. Like I said, wounds we treat are not normal at all," the doctor said.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/18/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte


Turkey’s Syria incursion displaces over 300,000
[PRESSTV] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...Qatar's satrapy in Asia Minor...
's offensive against Kurdish-controlled areas of northeastern Syria has displaced over 300,000 people, a report says.

Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Thursday that the rise in the number of people forced to flee was due to a fresh wave of displacement over the past few days from areas around Tal Abyad and Kobane and in Hasakeh province.

He said that most displaced people tried to move in with relatives in safer areas, some were sleeping rough in orchards and others in some of the 40 schools that have been turned into emergency shelters.

On Thursday, the ninth day of the onslaught, Ottoman Turkish forces heavily pounded areas in the border town of Ras al-Ayn. The UK-based group also said that Ottoman Turkish forces had taken control of half of the Kurdish town.

"There have been intensive Arclight airstrike
...KABOOM!...
s on Ras al-Ain over the past three days," Abdel Rahman said.

Posted by: Fred || 10/18/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte


Home Front: Culture Wars
Border Patrol Arrests Sex Offender ‐ Living in Escondido but Ilegal
Changed "Undocumented" to Illegal for factuality
[Times of San Diego] Border Patrol agents arrested a convicted sex offender who lacked documentation to be in the U.S. but who had been living in Escondido for 19 years, the agency reported Thursday.

Around 8 a.m. Wednesday, Border Patrol agents approached and questioned the 34-year-old Guatemalan man about his immigration status after locating him in an unspecified northern San Diego County community, Border Patrol officials said.

The man ‐ who had previous convictions for lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 and sex with a minor ‐ admitted he had no documentation that allowed him to be in the U.S., according to the Border Patrol.

He was arrested and taken to a nearby Border Patrol station for processing.

The man, whose name was not released, faces federal charges for being illegally present in the U.S., officials said.
Posted by: Frank G || 10/18/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Is woke California a psycho?
Do Mexican drivers like Maaco?
"Hey, kid! What's your name?
Take a ride. Play a game.
It's called 'hiding the Guatelmalteco!'"

With apologies to Mexicans. All the Mexicans I actually know are sober, conscientious drivers disproportionately likely to do their own body work and painting. Poetic license, wot?
Posted by: Snumble Phosh3957 || 10/18/2019 8:15 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
33[untagged]
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Two weeks of WOT
Fri 2019-10-18
  Heavy fighting between Turkish/SNA and YPG/SDF
Thu 2019-10-17
  Pence announces ceasefire at the US Embassy in Turkey.
Wed 2019-10-16
  Spain, Sweden, Canada, UK halting sales of military material to Ankara
Tue 2019-10-15
  Notre-Dame plot: Five women jailed over foiled car bomb attack
Mon 2019-10-14
  Trump tells Pentagon to begin withdrawing remaining troops from northern Syria
Sun 2019-10-13
  Syria now considers itself at war with Turkey!
Sat 2019-10-12
   Palestinians riot on Gaza border; 49 said wounded
Fri 2019-10-11
  Orange Man confirms bomb maker and terrorist Ibrahim al-Asiri is Tango Uniform
Thu 2019-10-10
  2 ISIS 'Beatles' transferred from Syrian prison to US military custody
Wed 2019-10-09
  Possible terror attack with automatic guns in Halle (Germany)
Tue 2019-10-08
  Turkey starts bombing Kurds
Mon 2019-10-07
  Iraqi premier rejects resignation of seven ministers, Baghdad governor steps down
Sun 2019-10-06
  91 protesters killed by Iraqi police over week of demonstrations
Sat 2019-10-05
  Masked gunmen attack TV stations reporting the protests in Iraq
Fri 2019-10-04
  At least 35 Russian mercenaries killed fighting for Haftar in Libya

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