[Jpost] Taliban claims CIA agents were onboard downed plane but won’t verify who
Iranian media outlets claim “many CIA” officers were killed in a plane crash on Monday. The Taliban initially asserted large numbers of Americans were killed, while Russian media and Iranian media then said a senior CIA officer responsible for killing IRGC general Qasem Soleimani was on board. The claim has been greeted with skepticism.
Michael D’Andrea’s name began to appear in Farsi media in the wake of the Soleimani killing when articles at Mehr News and Radio Farda claimed he was involved in planning the US operation. Later on January 27, his name appeared again in rumors after the plane crash.
There are many who might have an interest in spreading conspiracies about the Taliban downing high-ranking US intelligence officers. Nevertheless, Iran’s Tasnim News Agency ran with the story, quoting Russian sources that said the “assassin of Soleimani was on the plane and [was] killed in the crash.” It claims that D’Andrea “is the most prominent figure in the US CIA in the Middle East. He has been in charge of operations in Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan.”
The Taliban was quoted as saying they had shot down the plane. Tasnim refers to D’Andrea as “Ayatollah Mike” and “the Prince of Darkness,” relying on old US newspaper clippings. Press TV of Iran has also included the report, claiming top CIA officers were killed and repeating rumors about D’Andrea. But the original reports from the Taliban only spoke of a plane being shot down and some CIA members allegedly being on it. The US says an American E-11A plane was shot down in Ghazni province. Ghazni is around 900 km. from the Iranian border.
Linking its downing to the Soleimani killing would be a major development and appear to show that Iran is active in Afghanistan with the Taliban, a claim that has been made in the past. Iran watches US movements in Afghanistan carefully and has met with the Taliban recently. Iran has also tried to down US drones that stray near Iran’s border.
The US has dropped a record number of bombs on the Taliban in the last year, as it also tried to push them toward the peace table.
Many social-media users are interested in the claim that D’Andrea may have been on the plane. One of the first users to report the claim noted that D’Andrea “masterminded the murder of Imad Mughniyeh, former Hezbollah chief of staff, back in 2008.” However, others have pointed out that while this could be big news, it could be disinformation, or designed merely to create the appearance that Iran had responded to the Soleimani killing. Iran has promised “hard revenge” against the US. Some Iranians on social media who support the regime in Tehran have been celebrating the downing of the plane.
#6
Because all the logistics and getting that platform into area, and all that training, to put a crew of Carls checking their facepage was the plan?
I'd guess that mission planning thought they were important. I'd guess everyone relying on that mission being successful thought they were important. Their instructors, maintenance crew, friends thought they were important. I'd guess their families thought they were important as well.
I would also guess the design team of the E-11 would be surprised to hear their platform referred to as simply a way for troopers to download cat memes. The Iranians, sticking their jaws out by taking credit for this crash, would be equally surprised to hear an E-11 is not much of a trophy.
[ToloNews] The Taliban ...Arabic for students... are seeking to take over some areas in the northern provinces, National Security Advisor Hamdullah Mohib said on Tuesday during a trip to the northern province of Jawzjan.
In a meeting with First Vice President Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum ...ethnic Uzbek warlord who distinguished himself fighting the Soviets and the Taliban. The story that he had a bad guy run over with a tank is an exaggeration. It was an armored personnel carrier... in Sheberghan city, the center of Jawzjan, Mohib said that the Afghan cops will not allow the Taliban to control more areas in the north.
Dostum pledged that the people will not allow the Taliban to infiltrate the north of the country.
"We will try to launch our clearance operations before the enemy makes any attempt to further spoil the situation, we are trying to be well-prepared for spring to avoid a bigger tragedy," said Mohib after the meeting with Dostum.
"God willing, we assure the Afghan people and our nation that we will demoralize the Taliban," said Dostum.
Mohib meanwhile said that civilian casualties are unacceptable.
"Civilian casualties are not acceptable at any cost, we don’t want mistakes to happen again," added Mohib.
Dostum said that talks were also held about the elections.
"We should have a political solution to this...on one side there is the government and on the other there are the political opponents, but the enemy is exploiting this political brawl. We also talked about this (the elections)," said Dostum.
[AlAhram] The acquittals include Aswan FC footballer Hamada El-Sayed. The sentences can still be appealed by the defendants
A Cairo Criminal Court handed life imprisonment sentences to eight people and acquitted seven others, including a footballer, over joining a group affiliated with the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... (ISIS) terrorist organization.
The court's terrorism division sentenced 28 others in the same case to prison terms ranging from three to 15 years.
The acquittals include Aswan FC footballer Hamada El-Sayed. The sentences can still be appealed by the defendants.
The defendants were referred to the criminal court by the general prosecutor in December 2018 and charged with leading a terrorist group inside the country during the period between 2015 and February 2018.
According to the prosecution, the defendants, based in several governorates, including Cairo and North Sinai, established cluster cells in cooperation with Wilayet Sinai terrorist organization, which aims to carry out terrorist attacks in the country, including against Egyptian Copts and places of worship, army and police members and headquarters.
Wilayat Sinai is the self-proclaimed name of the terrorist group formerly known as Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, which declared allegiance to ISIS in November 2014.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
01/29/2020 00:00 ||
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#1
Soccer = automatic immunity. I guess the "beautiful game" will have to be banned as terrorist activity.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
01/29/2020 10:37 Comments ||
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[AlAhram] The court convicted the defendants of the attempted murder of Alexandria's security director and the murder of two lower ranking coppers.
A Cairo criminal court handed preliminary death sentence ...the barbaric practice of sentencing a murderer to be punished for as long as his/her/its victim is dead... s on Monday to three defendants over the failed liquidation of Alexandria's security director in March 2018 ahead of Egypt's presidential elections.
The court referred the preliminary sentences to the Grand Mufti, which is a necessary, albeit non-binding, procedure before issuing a death sentence, as per the Egyptian penal code.
The court convicted the defendants, 11 in total, of charges including the attempted murder of Alexandria's security director Mostafa El-Nemr and members of his convoy and others in the Mediterranean city, and the murder of two lower ranking coppers in the attack.
The court is set to issue its final ruling on 21 March.
In March 2018, an improvised bomb placed under a car detonated as El-Nemr’s convoy was passing in El-Moaskar El-Romany Street. El-Nemr was unharmed in the attack; however, the blast killed the two coppers and injured several others.
The attack came days before Egypt held its 2018 presidential elections, which saw Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi win in a landslide victory.
Days later, the Egyptian police said they killed six Hasm
...Decisiveness or Determination, which along with Lewaa al-Thawra (The Revolution Brigade) are the “fighting arms” of the Muslim Brotherhood established in 2016 to punish Egypt for the overthrow of President Morsi. It is hypothesized that Hasm is also connected to the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Mourabitoun organization, founded in Libya by discharged Egyptian army officer Hesham El-Ashmawy...
terrorist group members believed to be behind the failed liquidation attempt on Alexandria's security chief.
The liquidation attempt was the first against a security official since late 2016, which witnessed a number of attacks that included a failed liquidation attempt on a senior judicial official in September 2016, and the October 2016 liquidation of an army brigadier general who had previously served in North Sinai, where the army’s war against terrorism is concentrated.
[AlAhram] The new amendments aim to broaden the scope of terrorist entities to include hostile television channels involved in inciting violence and promoting terrorist activities
The Egyptian parliament’s Legislative and Constitutional Affairs Committee began on Monday morning discussing new amendments to the so-called terrorist entities law (law no.8/2015).
The new amendments aim to widen the scope of entities labelled as terrorist or being involved in funding terrorist activities and operations.
Article 1 of the 2015 law will be amended to place Moslem Brüderbund-linked television channels broadcasting from The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the decaying remnant of the Ottoman Empire... and Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi... on the list of terrorist entities. The list will also include radio stations and social media accounts involved in inciting violence and terrorism.
"The last period showed that a number of television channels were involved in inciting violence and promoting terrorist operations, and so these channels should be placed on the list of entities designated as terrorist," said the amendment, adding that "this will include channels established by individuals, companies or institutions."
The amendments also state that individuals labelled Death Eaters will be stripped of all forms of government subsidies, primarily food subsidies.
"These, once labelled terrorist, will also lose all kinds of public memberships, including those in professional syndicates, boards of companies, sporting clubs, and unions," said the draft law.
In funding terms, the amendments state that all assets owned by "terrorist entities" will be frozen.
"The returns of these assets ‐ owned either directly or indirectly by a terrorist entity ‐ will be confiscated," said the draft law, indicating that "these assets could be financial or economic resources such as oil or natural resources, as well as all forms of property, documents, legal tools, national or foreign currency, financial or commercial securities, tourist and banking cheques, documentary credit, and all returns or profits generated by all these assets or others."
The amendments also state that entities publicly declared as terrorist will be banned from exercising any activities such as gathering money or holding meetings or having offices.
"All forms of promotion ‐ such as raising the slogans of terrorist activities ‐ will be also banned and incriminated," said the draft law.
The amendments also state that individuals listed as Death Eaters will be stripped of passports and barred from assuming public posts or joining parliament.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
01/29/2020 00:00 ||
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[FoxNews] Ahlam Ahmad al-Tamimi is the most wanted woman in the world, yet, she lives freely in Jordan despite U.S. extradition requests. Tamimi is the mastermind behind the Hamas terrorist attack that killed 15 – including eight children and two Americans, one of who was pregnant.
Ahlam Ahmad al-Tamimi is the most wanted woman in the world, with a $5 million bounty for information that leads to her arrest or conviction.
Tamimi is accused by U.S. officials of conspiring to use--and using--a weapon of mass destruction, and masterminding a brazen Hamas terrorist attack that killed 15 – including eight children and two Americans, one of whom was pregnant.
Despite being on the run from American authorities, Tamimi has been hiding in plain sight for years-- under the eye of one of the United States' longest and closest allies in the Middle East: Jordan.
Despite requests from Washington, the Kingdom has been publicly steadfast in its refusal to extradite Tamimi, who at just 20 years old masterminded the suicide bombing on the Sbarro pizza restaurant in Jerusalem three weeks before planes struck the U.S on Sept. 11, 2001.
The attack claimed the lives of two Americans, 15-year-old Malki Roth, and Shoshana Yehudit Greenbaum, who was five months pregnant with her first child at the time. In addition to the two murdered Americans and the unborn infant, four more U.S. nationals were among the some 122 injured. At least one of the victims remains in a vegetative state.
Two years after the Jerusalem attack, Tamimi pled guilty in an Israeli court for her pivotal role and received 16 life sentences and an additional 250 years behind bars.
U.S. federal laws also came into play because Malki Roth, who was born in Australia, held American citizenship at the time.
In 2011, Tamimi was part of a prisoner swap in which Israel released more than 1000 Palestinian prisoners – many of whom were serving life sentences for assaults on Israelis – for the return of one Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, who was captured by Hamas four years earlier.
“It was important to Israelis to show the importance put on that one soldier’s life, and how much we were willing to sacrifice to bring him home,” one Israeli intelligence official, who requested anonymity, told Fox News of the exchange.
Most of the Hamas operatives and sympathizers released were sent to Gaza and the West Bank. Tamimi and her husband were among a handful relocated to neighboring Jordan, under varying terms of restriction.
But seemingly no one anticipated the terrorist’s rise to public fame.
Tamimi, who is now 39, refers to herself as a journalist and was purportedly given free rein to host her own program on a local TV station broadcast from the city of Ramallah, focused on “occupation practices.” Moreover, she was left unencumbered to bolster a heroic image, of which she has dedicated fan pages, which claim that she “holds a medal of honor” for her “life imprisonment in Zion prisons.”
Tamimi has also given several interviews detailing and illuminating her role, admitting that she selected the restaurant because it was known to be a favorite for families, and expressing her delight that so many children were slain.
“I was really shocked at the American behavior,” Tamimi told an Al Jazeera reporter from her home in the Jordanian capital of Amman in 2017, detailing how she was suddenly arrested by a branch of Interpol and spent one night in jail before successfully fighting extradition through the Jordanian courts. “The U.S. government, who is always trying to solve the problems of the world, has decided to go after one woman for no obvious reasons.”
Several employees of Al-Quds TV told Fox News that they are no longer operating. The diplomatic spotlight on the case – and the hefty bounty on her head – has prompted Tamimi to slide under the radar in recent months.
“She doesn’t appear on TV. The last time she popped up was March 2019,” noted Yotam Feldner, director of Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) TV. “Last time her Facebook was active was in 2011.”
The U.S. government first filed under seal a criminal complaint against Tamimi in 2013. The criminal complaint was publicly unsealed in March 2017. But almost three years later, and she still remains free.
The Jordanian government has argued that Tamimi cannot be extradited on the grounds that there is no treaty with the U.S. While the late King Hussein, who died in 1999, is reported to have signed the extradition treaty on March 28, 1995, it was not signed into law by the Jordanian parliament.
“Legally, Jordan’s parliament has to ratify a treaty, much the same way that the U.S. Congress has to ratify any treaty signed by the president in order for it to have the force of law,” explained Josh Lipowsky, a senior researcher at the Counter Extremism Project (CEP). “Nonetheless, King Abdullah could choose to honor the extradition request as a goodwill gesture to the United States or if he believes it is in Jordan’s best interests.”
He stressed that even without a formally ratified treaty, King Abdullah “can override the courts’ decision not to extradite Tamimi” and that it is “a matter of weighing potential damage to the U.S.-Jordan relationship versus the threat of upsetting some on the Jordanian street."
“For now, the risk is low for King Abdullah to keep Tamimi in Jordan, but that could change if the United States were to threaten economic sanctions against Jordan,” Lipowsky continued. “The passage of the Omnibus Spending Bill in December threatens to sever financial aid to any country that ignores a U.S. extradition request of somebody indicted for a criminal offense that carries a life sentence. Tamimi’s 2017 U.S. indictment carries the penalty of life imprisonment or death, which means Jordanian aid could be threatened if her extradition is not carried out.”
Several sources in both the U.S. and Israel acknowledged that the extradition request does put the Hashemite Kingdom – a strong and necessary ally in the tumultuous region – in a difficult position given that an estimated 70 percent of those in Jordan are of Palestinian origin. Thus, King Abdullah needs to maintain popularity with the overwhelming majority both from a political and security standpoint.
Jordan has made extradition exceptions in years past. In 1995, Jordan allowed the U.S. to extract Eyad Ismoil, a Jordanian national, to stand trial over his role in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
The U.S. is Jordan’s single largest provider of assistance, “providing over $1.7 billion in 2017, including $1.3 billion in bilateral foreign assistance and over $200 million in Department of Defense support.”
According to the Israeli intelligence source, Tamimi is just one of many in a “well-known” family line accused of waging war in the bitter battle between Palestinians and Israelis.
Among the clan of cousins is said to be that of Ahed Tamimi, a 19-year-old Palestinian activist who has gained international notoriety in recent years for her bold confrontations with Israeli soldiers. In late 2017, she was detained for slapping a soldier and subsequently spent seven months in prison, her signature curls and youthful face becoming a symbol for the proclaimed Palestinian “freedom fight.”
Last April, her younger brother, Mohammed Tamimi, then 15, was arrested along with their cousin Muayyid in overnight raids in response to “rioting and other disturbances.”
[Washington Examiner] Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas denounced President Trump’s proposed peace plan between Israel and Palestinians.
Abbas called for resistance to the plan, which Trump dubbed the " Deal of the Century." The deal calls for a Palestinian state with its capital in east Jerusalem in return for the recognition of major Israeli settlements.
"After the nonsense that we heard today, we say a thousand noes to the Deal of the Century," Abbas said at a press conference on Tuesday. "We will not kneel, and we will not surrender."
He said that Palestinian resistance will be through "peaceful, popular means."
The plan proposes a two-state solution and includes a settlement freeze by Israel for a four-year period. The deal also includes a tunnel connecting the West Bank to Gaza. In order for statehood to come to fruition, Palestinians would have to meet multiple benchmarks, which include combating terrorism.
The plan would also allow Israel to maintain sovereignty over much the Jordan Valley, a portion of which is in the West Bank.
Hamas, the radical Islamist group controlling Gaza, also rejected the proposal. Khalil al Hayya, a senior official with the terrorist group, said that "all options are open" when responding to the plan.
#4
Darn. My prediction was that Abbas was going to say, "This plan is certainly worthy of our consideration, and we look forward to working with our Israeli colleagues toward a genuine peace." This shakes my faith in The Great Pumpkin.
Posted by: Matt ||
01/29/2020 9:02 Comments ||
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#5
Maybe the Paleostinians could propose something.
#10
They can't make a proper war because they would all die and they can't make peace because all they want to do is make war. So they live in limbo, misery and poverty. So be it.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
01/29/2020 11:44 Comments ||
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#13
Now if Saudi, Jordan, et al are tired of this crap, I see a change in the Paleo leadership (for their own good) and plausible deniability for Israel.
#14
I suspect all but Iranian aid will stop flowing to the Palestinian authority and by the time the US elections are over they'll start to reconsider.
[Jpost] Three years in the making, the “Deal of the Century,” US President Donald Trump’s peace plan, has finally been revealed.
A map of the thing with discussion, can be seen here.
Borders: Trump’s plan features a map of what Israel’s new borders will be, should it enact the plan fully. Israel will retain 20% of the West Bank and will lose a small amount of land in the Negev near the Gaza-Egypt border. The Palestinians will have a pathway to a state in the vast majority of territory in the West Bank, while Israel will maintain control of all borders. This is the first time a US president has provided a detailed map of this kind.
Jerusalem: The Palestinians will have a capital in east Jerusalem based on northern and eastern neighborhoods that are outside the Israeli security barrier – Kafr Akab, Abu Dis and half of Shuafat. Otherwise, Trump said Jerusalem will remain undivided as Israel’s capital.
Settlements: Israel will retain the Jordan Valley and all Israeli settlements in the West Bank in the broadest definition possible, meaning not the municipal borders of each settlement but their security perimeters. This also includes 15 isolated settlements, which will be enclaves within an eventual Palestinian state. Within those settlements Israel will not be able to build for the next four years. The IDF will have access to the isolated settlements. For the settlement part of the plan to go into effect, Israel will have to take action to apply sovereignty to the settlements, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he plans to do at the upcoming cabinet meeting on Sunday.
Security: Israel will be in control of security from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. The IDF will not have to leave the West Bank. No change to Israel’s approach to Judea and Samaria would be needed.
Palestinian state: The plan does not include immediate recognition of a Palestinian state; rather, it expects a willingness on Israel’s part to create a pathway toward Palestinian statehood based on specific territory, which is about 70% of Judea and Samaria, including areas A and B and parts of Area C. The state will only come into existence in four years if the Palestinians accept the plan, if the Palestinian Authority stops paying terrorists and inciting terrorism and if Hamas and Islamic Jihad put down their weapons. In addition, the American plan calls on the Palestinians to give up corruption, respect human rights, freedom of religion and a free press, so that they don’t have a failed state. If those conditions are met, the US will recognize a Palestinian state and implement a massive economic plan to assist it.
Refugees: A limited number of Palestinian refugees and their descendants will be allowed into the Palestinian state. None will enter Israel.
Triangle: The plan leaves open the possibility that Israel will swap the area known as the “Triangle” – consisting of Kafr Kara, Arara, Baka al-Gharbiya, Umm el-Fahm and more – into the future Palestinian state. According to the plan, “the Vision contemplates the possibility, subject to agreement of the parties, that the borders of Israel will be redrawn such that the Triangle Communities become part of the State of Palestine.”
It’s a solid plan. And since it depends on the Palestinians to do all the things they have thus far adamantly refused to do, there isn’t so much as an ice cube’s chance in Hell that it will happen. Quite probably the Palestinians will continue to reject it outright.
#1
...since it depends on the Palestinians to do all the things they have thus far adamantly refused to do, there isn’t so much as an ice cube’s chance in Hell that it will happen.
#4
One of the landmarks of US President Donald Trump’s diplomatic plan that was introduced Tuesday night is that it presents an actual map – a map that shows how the US administration envisions Israel’s final boundaries. This marks the first time any American Mideast plan has come with a map.
#5
that mega-tunnel from Gaza to the West Bank looks like a pie-in-the-sky construction project
which would probably be sabotaged throughout the build process and promptly blown up by the Paleostinians
Posted by: Bob Grorong1136 ||
01/29/2020 9:53 Comments ||
Top||
#6
Just don't remove any vehicular exhaust gasses
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/29/2020 10:30 Comments ||
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#7
mega-tunnel from Gaza to the West Bank looks like a pie-in-the-sky construction project
The mole people could have finished it by now if they'd done that instead of all their other digging.
[IsraelTimes] Paleostinian Authority President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ...aka Abu Mazen, a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial. While no Yasser Arafat, he has his own brand of evil, just a little more lowercase.... recently refused to take a phone call from US President Donald Trump ...His ancestors didn't own any slaves... , the state-run Ottoman Turkish Anadolu Agency reports, citing a high-ranking Paleostinian official.
The report comes ahead of separate meetings that Trump is slated to hold with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White chief Benny Gantz in Washington, DC, today to discuss the administration’s plan to resolve the Israeli-Paleostinian conflict.
"There were attempts by Trump to hold a phone call with Abbas, but the latter refused," the official, who was not named, told Anadolu, adding that they took place in the past couple of days.
PA Social Affairs Minister Ahmad Majdalani confirmed the Anadolu report to 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... -based Dunia al-Watan news site, saying that Abbas recently "refused a phone call from Trump."
Lebanon faces further economic disaster and is unlikely to secure international help due to the new government’s links with Hezbollah and inability to enact reforms, experts say.https://t.co/VhjLpNO4C5
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.
...Arabic for 
...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 
...the barbaric practice of sentencing a murderer to be punished for as long as his/her/its victim is dead...
...the decaying remnant of the Ottoman Empire...
[PUBLISH.TWITTER] 
