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Area: WoT Background    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix   
US kills more than 100 Assad regime fighters in largest deliberate strike against Syrian government forces
Today's Headlines
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Page 1: WoT Operations
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Page 3: Non-WoT
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Page 4: Opinion
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Page 6: Politix
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Afghanistan
9 Taliban insurgents killed in Maiwand-11 operations in Helmand
[Khaama Press] At least nine Taliban
...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
turbans were killed during the Maiwand-11 military opera rations in souther Helmand
...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan...
province of Afghanistan.

The Helmand governor’s office in a statement said Tuesday that the Afghan national defense and security forces have launched a counter-terrorism operation, Naveed-11 operations, for the elimination of the terror groups and security of the province.

The statement further added that the operations are currently being conducted in Nad-e-Ali, Garamser, and Sangin provinces with the support of the Afghan Air Force.

At least 9 turbans were killed and another Death Eater was maimed during the operations in the past 24 hours, the statement said.

According to Helmand governor’s office, at least two vehicles were also destroyed during the same operations and 27 improvised bombs were discovered and defused.

The anti-government armed Death Eater groups including the Taliban turbans have not commented regarding the reports so far.

Helmand is among the relatively volatile provinces in southern parts of the country where the Taliban turbans are active in a number of its districts and often carry out insurgency activities.
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/08/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336072 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Burqa-clad kidnapper arrested in Nangarhar province
[Khaama Press] A kidnapper who was attempting to escape under the guise of Burqa was locked away
Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out!
by the Afghan cops in eastern 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.

The governor’s office in Nangarhar in a statement said the suspect has been identified as Lal Agha who was involved in a number kidnapping cases in this province.

The statement further added that the suspect was attempting to escape from Behsud district under the guise of Burqa but was identified and arrested by the operatives of the national directorate of security

This comes as there has been a sharp rise in kidnapping cases in the key cities and provinces of the country including Nangarhar during the recent years.

In the meantime, the provincial government said the NDS operatives have arrested two suspects having links with the Taliban
...Arabic for students...
group.

According to the governor’s office, the suspects have been identified as Abdullah and Mohammad Halal and were arrested from Sra Rod district.

The detaind individuals were allegedly involved in the destructive activities in Nangarhar province and are currently in the custody of the security forces for further investigations.

The anti-government armed bad boy groups including the Taliban snuffies have not commented regarding the report so far.
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/08/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336078 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


US conduct airstrikes near Tajikistan and China border with Afghanistan
[Khaama Press] The US Air Force has carried out a series of Arclight airstrikes on Taliban
...Arabic for students...
hideouts near the border with Tajikistan and China as efforts are underway to suppress the Taliban-led insurgency across the country as part of the ongoing massive air campaign.

Over the past 96 hours, U.S. forces conducted air operations to strike Taliban training facilities in Badakhshan province, preventing the planning and rehearsal of terrorist acts near the border with China and Tajikistan by such organizations as the East Turkistan Islamic Movement and others, according to a report by NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions...
-led Resolute Support Mission.

The strikes also destroyed stolen Afghan National Army vehicles that were in the process of being converted to vehicle-borne improvised bombs.

The report further adds that during these strikes, a U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress dropped 24 precision guided munitions on Taliban fighting positions, setting a record of the most guided munitions ever dropped from a B-52. The aircraft has played a leading role in Air Force operations for decades, and was recently reconfigured with a conventional rotary launcher to increase its reach and lethality.

Continued U.S. strikes disrupt Taliban support networks in Helmand
...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan...
province, as well as destroy their sources of revenue such as illegal narcotics, the report adds.

According to the Resoute Support, ongoing strikes in Helmand continue to degrade Taliban revenue sources and safe havens. U.S. strikes and ASSF raids have resulted in the removal of more than $30 million of Taliban revenue since the campaign began in November, 2017.

"The Taliban have nowhere to hide," said General John Nicholson, commander, USFOR-A. "There will be no safe haven for any terrorist group bent on bringing harm and destruction to this country."
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/08/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336080 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  NOCK'EM OUT JOHN, One of us has got to have some relief!
Posted by: ranture || 02/08/2018 10:56 Comments || Top||


B-52 bombers target ISIS hideouts in North of Afghanistan
[Khaama Press] The US Air Force has carried out a series of Arclight airstrikes on ISIS hideouts using the B-52 bombers in northern Jawzjan province of Afghanistan.

The 209th Shaheen Corps of the Afghan military in a statement said the airstrikes were carried out in the vicinity of Darzab district home to several ISIS fighters.

The Shaheen Corps said more than ten murderous Moslems including foreigners were killed in the airstrike carried out in Sar Dara area.

The anti-government armed bully boy and terrorist groups have not commented regarding the report so far.

In the meantime, the Shaheen Corps says this is the second time the US and Afghan forces have been jointly carrying out airstrikes on ISIS targets in this province during the past two weeks.

According to Shaheen Corps, at least 70 gunnies have been killed during the counter-terrorism operations so far and around 40 others have sustained injuries.

The latest airstrikes on ISIS hideouts in Darzab take place amid ongoing efforts by the ISIS and other Death Eater and terror groups to expand their foothold in the northern parts of the country.
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/08/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336075 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Africa North
ICC-Wanted Libya Commander 'Hands Himself In' to Strongman's Forces
[AnNahar] A Libyan commander wanted by the International Criminal Court on war crimes charges announced he has handed himself in to the allied forces of strongman Khalifa Haftar
...Self-proclaimed Field Marshal, served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all...
Mahmoud al-Werfalli -- who commands the Benghazi-based al-Saiqa Brigade loyal to Haftar -- has been under an arrest warrant for the past six months over the cold-blooded executions of at least 33 people in 2016 and 2017.

Calls for Werfalli to face justice have grown since he was accused of personally shooting dead some 10 jihadist prisoners last month at the scene of a deadly kaboom on a mosque in Benghazi, Libya's second city.

In a video posted on Facebook overnight Tuesday to Wednesday, the commander announced "I am handing myself in to military police" under the command of Haftar, whose forces dominate the east of the country.

The claim could not be independently verified.

In the footage Werfalli insisted on his "innocence" and justified the executions as "sentences" against jihadist "killers."

This is not the first time that Werfalli has reportedly been held by Haftar's forces.

When his arrest warrant was issued in August 2017 Haftar's forces insisted he was in their custody and would face a military trial.

The United Nations
...aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society...
in late January reiterated its demand for "the handing over of Mahmoud al-Werfalli immediately to the ICC in The Hague" after the latest reported killings in Benghazi.

The U.N. said it had documented "at least five similar cases, in 2017 alone, carried out or ordered by Werfalli."

Libya has been mired in chaos and violence since longtime dictator Muammar Qadaffy
...The late megalomaniac dictator of Libya, admired everywhere for his garish costumes, funny hats, harem of cutie bodyguards, and incoherent ravings. As far as is known, he is the only person who's ever declared jihad on Switzerland...
was ousted and killed in a NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all....
-backed uprising in 2011.

A U.N.-backed unity government based in the capital Tripoli
...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn...
has struggled to assert its authority outside western Libya. Haftar supports a rival administration based in the east.

The U.N. is currently trying to negotiate an end to the current political turmoil by agreeing parliamentary and presidential elections later this year, but there is deep skepticism over whether they will take place.
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/08/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336073 views] Top|| File under:


Africa Subsaharan
Boko Haram: Shekau appears again, says ‘we’re in Sambisa, police wives with us’
[DAILYPOST.NG] Boko Haram
... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality...
leader, Shekau has appeared in a new video, days after the military said the sect has been completely defeated.

Maj.-Gen. Rogers Nicholas, the Theatre Commander, Operation Lafiya Dole, had made the claim last weekend.

He disclosed that hundreds of bully boyz surrendered, several others fled their enclave, while over 100 civilians were rescued.

"My soldiers are in the heart of Boko Haram enclave that is Camp Zairo, the gallant troops have taken total control of Sambisa Forest.

"We have broken the heart and soul of Shekau’s group, taking over the camp and its environs.

"They are on the run and we are pursuing them to wherever they go. This time around there is no place for escape anywhere.

"We had earlier asked those of them that want to surrender to do so and we are still asking them to come out and surrender otherwise they are going to meet it the hard way", he said.

But in a new footage, Shekau threatened more violence in the region, insisting that his men were still in Sambisa, if not, "where are the police wives that ’are being tossed in the clink
Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages!
by us'".

Ahmad Sakilda, a journalist known for his coverage of the sect, also confirmed the new video on Twitter.

"Abubakar Shekau
... the lunatic leader of Boko Haram who has been reported dead at least eleven times, pledged his body and soul to ISIS, told his fighters to hang it up once or twice, and been fired by the Caliph and refused to step down ...
looks and sounded weary in his latest video, but is he really the trouble now? The insurgency has developed beyond his reach. No doubt, #ISWAP is the future of the insurgency that we all have to contend with in the upcoming years", he tweeted.

Posted by: Fred || 02/08/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336096 views] Top|| File under: Boko Haram (ISIS)


Boko Haram: Troops uncover bomb making factory in Sambisa
[DAILYPOST.NG] Troops of operation Deep Punch, supported by the Nigerian Air Force, on Tuesday continued their raid on Camp Zairo in Sambisa Forest.

They carried out an offensive against Boko Haram
... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality...
murderous Moslems defending a major Improvised Explosive Device (IED) making factory.

Colonel Onyema Nwachukwu, Deputy Director Public Relations, Theatre Command, Operation LAFIYA DOLE, in a statement said troops successfully engaged the murderous Moslems, demobilized their vehicle borne IED, neutralized a number of the murderous Moslems and captured a bomb making factory.

The troops also recovered 88 Gas Cylinders, 1 Laptop computer, one 100m Ultra High Frequency Hand-held Radio (UHF HH Radio), 1 Motorola GP 180, Theodolite and 2 Global Positioning Systems (GPS).

They further destroyed 22 Motorcycles, 18 Bicycles and provisions store.

Posted by: Fred || 02/08/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336091 views] Top|| File under: Boko Haram (ISIS)


Arabia
Bahrain accuses Iran of training oil pipeline bombing suspects
[IsraelTimes] Manama arrests four men who allegedly blew up pipe connecting country to Soddy Arabia, claims Revolutionary Guards instructed them

Bahrain said Wednesday that it had nabbed
Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please!
four men suspected of bombing a Saudi Aramco oil pipeline, accusing Iran of training and arming two of the suspects.

The blast on November 10 of last year cut off the pipeline linking Bahrain’s Bapco refinery with oil giant Aramco’s main pumping station in neighboring Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
’s Dhahran province.

Authorities at the time blamed "terrorists" for the kaboom.

The interior ministry said Wednesday that four Bahraini men, aged 23 to 27, had been arrested for "plotting" and "remotely bombing" the pipeline outside the capital Manama.

Two of the four had received "intensive training at the Iranian Revolutionary Guard camps with the help of the leading runaway forces of Evil living in Iran," it said in a statement.

Three others remain on the lam, according to the statement.

The interior ministry accused all seven of belonging to the "February 14 Coalition" ‐ a reference to a protest movement that emerged in 2011 against the al-Khalifa dynasty, which has ruled Bahrain for more than two centuries.

Protests have continued to rock the Sunni-ruled, Shiite-majority kingdom, as authorities escalate their clampdown on political dissent, frequently accusing opposition figures of links to Shiite Iran.

Since 2011, hundreds of Bahrainis have been stripped of their citizenship and protesters and opposition leaders enjugged
Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un!
or driven into exile.

Bahrain accuses Tehran of supporting the opposition in a bid to overthrow the government, but Tehran denies involvement.

Manama has drawn harsh criticism from leading rights groups, including Amnesia Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, over its treatment of the opposition.

A key ally of Washington located between regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran, Bahrain is home to the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet.
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/08/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336068 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran Proxies


Home Front: WoT
College student is jailed for 18 years after helping ISIS plot a pressure-cooker bomb attack on New York City
[DailyMail]
  • Munther Omar Saleh was sentenced on Tuesday in federal court in Brooklyn

  • The 22-year-old pleaded guilty last year to charges that he planned to help ISIS

  • 'I'm in NY and trying to do an Op,' Saleh told a confidential source in an intercepted conversation

  • In March of 2015, a police officer observed Saleh on successive days on foot at the George Washington Bridge seemingly looking around

  • The behavior prompted officers to interview Saleh, who denied sympathizing with ISIS
The one thing the article neglects to mention: Mr. Saleh was in contact with Junaid Hussain (also cleverly known as "Abu Hussain"), the young former Birmingham, Englander who was briefly the proud husband of middle aged, former punk rocker Sally Jones and one of ISIS' long-distance jihad coaches. Mr. Hussain was killed at age 21 by a drone in Raqqa in August 2015. So our villain is not nearly the remorseful naif he is presented to be.

This article starring:
Munther Omar Saleh
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/08/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336112 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  They are all over the country. This one really pisses me off. We have family there. Again, What jihad mosque did she go too!?

Woman (Muslim) Set Fires At Minneapolis College For US sought to encourage fellow students to "join the jihad in fighting" and to "(j)oin Al Qaeda, Taliban, or Al Shabaab." Now Facing Federal Terrorism Charges.

Hassan also said "you guys are lucky that I don't know how to build a bomb, because I would have done that."
Posted by: Woodrow || 02/08/2018 18:25 Comments || Top||


US arrests Saudi with Qaeda ties who sought pilot license
[AlAhram] US authorities said Tuesday they had locked away
... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not...
a longtime Saudi resident of Oklahoma who had trained with al-Qaeda and sought flying lessons.

The Department of Justice said Naif Abdulaziz Alfallaj, 34, applied in 2000 to attend the same al-Qaeda camp in Afghanistan, called al-Farouq, where several of the September 11 hijackers had trained.

He came to the United States in 2011 on a non-immigrant visa, traveling with his wife, who was a student. In 2016, he took pilot lessons at an Oklahoma flight school, the Justice Department said.

He was only discovered recently after Sherlocks matched 15 fingerprints found on a document recovered by the US military from an al-Qaeda safe house in Afghanistan in 2001 with his fingerprints in official US records.

The document was an application to the al-Farouq camp, and included an emergency contact number in Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
that was linked to Alfallaj's father.

Other than attending the same bully boy training camp, officials did not claim any links between Alfallaj and the September 11, 2001 plot in which 15 of the 19 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia.

Several of them took flight training inside the United States before launching their attack.

Alfallaj was arrested in Weatherford, Oklahoma on Monday and charged with two counts of visa fraud -- for not reporting his links to al-Qaeda -- and one count of lying to the FBI about his past with the myrmidon group.

He faces up to 10 years in prison on each count.
The New York Times has more, much as I hate to link to them.
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/08/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336096 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda


India-Pakistan
Gunmen Kill Officers, Free Militant in Kashmir Hospital Raid
[AnNahar] Two button men opened fire Tuesday in a hospital in India-administered Kashmire where a Pak holy warrior was brought for treatment, escaping with the high-profile prisoner and killing two coppers.

A manhunt is underway after the attackers stormed the Shri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital in Srinagar and opened fire on police guarding Naveed Jutt, a Pak rebel imprisoned in the restive province since 2014.

One officer died at the scene while another later departed this vale of tears in hospital, deputy inspector general of police Ghulam Hassan Bhat told AFP.

The trio escaped on a cycle of violence and were still on the lam. Police have set up roadblocks and fanned out in search teams across Srinagar, the capital of Indian Kashmire.

Jutt was second in command of the Lashkar-e-Taiba
...the Army of the Pure, an Ahl-e-Hadith terror organization founded by Hafiz Saeed. LeT masquerades behind the Jamaat-ud-Dawa facade within Pakistain and periodically blows things up and kills people in India. Despite the fact that it is banned, always an interesting concept in Pakistain, the organization remains an blatant tool and perhaps an arm of the ISI...
(LeT) holy warrior group at the time of his arrest.

The Pakistain-based group is active in Indian Kashmire, regularly staging armed assaults on the roughly half a million Indian soldiers deployed in the divided Himalayan territory.

India accuses Pakistain of arming, training and deploying holy warrior groups, including LeT, to foment unrest in the part of Kashmire controlled by New Delhi, where many support the rebel cause.

Islamabad denies the allegations, saying it only provides diplomatic and moral support to the Kashmiri struggle for self-determination.

Pakistain and India both control parts of Kashmire but claim the whole of the territory and have fought two of their three wars over it since independence in 1947.

LeT has been blamed for a string of deadly attacks inside India, most notably the Mumbai carnage in November 2008 that left more than 160 people dead on the streets of the financial capital.
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/08/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336071 views] Top|| File under: Lashkar e-Taiba


Tribesmen set ablaze offices of ‘militant group’ in DI Khan
[DAWN] DERA ISMAIL KHAN/WANA: Reacting to the killing of a youth from South Wazoo Agency, enraged mob stormed the offices of an alleged krazed killer group and set on fire two compounds and vehicles in Dera Ismail Khan
... the Pearl of Pashtunistan ...
on Tuesday, sources said.

Family members of the dear departed, Idrees Wazir, alleged that he had quarrelled with a krazed killer commander belonging to Mehsud tribe after a road accident in the city two days ago.

They said that both sides agreed to a patch up following the accident. They said that krazed killers, who had offices in the main city, killed Idrees on February 4. Following the killing of Idrees, the rustics of Ahmadzai Wazir residing in Tank and Dera Ismail Khan held a protest and set up a camp.

Their fellow rustics from Wana, the administrative headquarters of South Waziristan Agency, also rushed to Dera Ismail Khan and joined the protest. The killing of Idrees sparked anger among his fellow rustics in Wana and other parts of South Waziristan Agency.

Sources told Dawn that the angry rustics blocked the Bannu Road to every kind of traffic. They said that the ’pro-government peace committee members’ opened fire on an inn, owned by a local businessman Ghazi Khan, that killed Idrees Wazir.

Sources said that following the murder, Wazir rustics took the body of Idrees to GPO Chowk and staged protest. However,
a poor excuse is better than no excuse at all...
they dispersed peacefully after the authorities assured them of action.

On Tuesday, the rustics again erupted into the streets and attacked the compounds of the so-called peace committee in Madina Colony. Unruly mob torched two compounds and two vehicles on the occasion.

Militant groups in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fata have changed their modus operandi to initiate their activities in the name of peace committees.
Posted by: Fred || 02/08/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336087 views] Top|| File under: TTP


2 martyred, 3 injured as security force vehicle comes under attack in North Waziristan
[DAWN] Two men belonging to the security forces bit the dust while three others were maimed on Wednesday when their vehicle was targeted in Mir Ali tehsil of North Wazoo.

According to sources, the three injured men have been transferred to a Combined Military Hospital (CHM) nearby.

The political administration of the area claimed that Lions of Islam fired rockets on a vehicle carrying members of the security forces in Edak area of Mir Ali tehsil.

The area where the attack occurred has been sealed and a search operation for the arrest of the perpetrators of the attack is underway.

The uptick in attacks targeting security forces raises questions over the efficacy of counter-terror operations in different parts of the country, including North Waziristan where the army was said to have cleared the area of the presence of Lions of Islam under Operation Zarb-e-Azb
..the Pak offensive against Qaeda in Pakistain and the Pak Taliban in North Wazoo. The name refers to the sword of the Prophet (PTUI!)...
which was launched in June 2014.

Posted by: Fred || 02/08/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336081 views] Top|| File under: TTP


Iraq
Three Islamic State members, hiding among refugees, arrested in Anbar
Anbar (IraqiNews.com) Security troops have tossed in the slammer
Drop the rod and step away witcher hands up!
three Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
members during an operation, east of Ramadi, a local source from Anbar province said on Wednesday.

"Troops carried out a campaign at refugee camps at al-Habbaniya region, east of Ramadi, after intelligence authorities gathered information that some bully boyz sneaked into the camps," the source told SNG website.

"Three bully boyz were arrested during the campaign. They were able to infiltrate into the camps after counterfeiting their identity cards," the source added. "The forces transferred the detainees, under tight measures, to one of the detention cells for investigations."
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/08/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336075 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Four Islamic State militants killed, injured in Diyala aerial bombardment
Diyala (Iraqinews.com) ‐ Four Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
holy warriors were killed and injured Wednesday as an intensified aerial bombardment targeted the Lion of Islam group’s hotbeds in Baqubah, the capital of Diyala province, a security official was quoted as saying.

Speaking to Basnews website on Wednesday, Awwad al-Rabei, the head of Abu Saida’s security committee, said, "An Arclight airstrike was launched Wednesday on Islamic State strongholds at al-Makhisa village, east of Abu Saida, leaving two IS holy warriors killed and two others injured."

"There are still Islamic State sleeper cells in different parts in Diyala," Rabei said, warning that such cells pose a serious threat to the province’s security and stability.

Earlier this week, a joint force made up of the Iraqi army, police and al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces) launched a wide-scale military operation, tracking down Islamic State remnants in the eastern part of Diyala.
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/08/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336072 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Baghdad Bomb & Bullets Bulletin: 2 bombs, 7 injured, and a dead boomerette wouldabeen

Female suicide bomber shot dead inside Baghdad school

Dhi Qar (Iraqinews.com) – A female suicide bomber was killed early on Wednesday as she was trapped by Iraqi troops inside a Baghdad school before blowing herself up, the Baghdad Operations Command said.

In a statement, a copy of which was obtained by Basnews website, the command said, “Security forces foiled a terrorist attack by a female wearing an explosive belt inside a school in al-Tarmia area, north of Baghdad.”

“The troops opened fire at the terrorist after she refused to give herself up, causing the explosive belt to explode immediately,” the statement read.

It added that the woman had spent the night at the school with an intention to go out in the wee hours of Wednesday to blow herself up at any crowded place in Baghdad but security forces foiled her plot.

Seven people injured in two bomb blasts in Baghdad

Baghdad (Iraqinews.com) – Seven people were wounded Wednesday in two bomb explosions in the north and southeast of Baghdad, security sources were quoted as saying.

Speaking to Alghad Press, the sources said that a bomb went off near a busy street market at al- Hussainiya district, north of Baghdad, leaving three people injured.

“A security force cordoned off the blast site and opened a probe into the incident,” the source added.

In another terrorist attack, four people were wounded when a bomb exploded at a village in al-Mada’in district, southeast of Baghdad, according to Baghdad Today news website.

Ambulances rushed to the blast sites and carried the injured to the nearest hospital for treatment, the sources added.
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/08/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336075 views] Top|| File under:


Iraqi troops liberate three villages in Salahuddin from White Flags group
Does anyone know who this White Flags group is? They seem to have suddenly appeared.
Salahuddin (Iraqinews.com) – Security forces liberated on Wednesday three villages in Tuz Khurmatu, Salahuddin, from the White Flags group and destroyed a booby-trapped vehicle that was planned to be used for targeting security forces, a paramilitary force announced on Wednesday.

In a statement, a copy of which was obtained by Alghad Press news website, al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces) said that its troops, along with a joint force from the Iraqi army, police and Salahuddin Operations Command “launched a military operation early on Wednesday to purge the eastern part of Tuz Khurmatu from the White Flags group.”

“The troops have so far liberated three villages east of Tuz Khurmatu in Salahuddin province from the White Flags group and destroyed a booby-trapped vehicle that was meant to target security forces,” the statement read.

It added that many tunnels and premises used by the group “have been put under control just one hour after the start of the operation, which was launched from five axes.”

“The operation mainly aims at eliminating outlaws, IS remnants and White Flags militants in Tuz Khurmatu, in addition to securing the road between Baghdad and Kirkuk,” the statement read.

The White Fags group, whose members always carry a white banner with a lion’s head in the middle, began appearing in Iraqi in late-2017, especially after the worsening situation between Baghdad and Erbil and the elimination of IS in most of Iraq’s territory.

According to Al- Arabiya, members of the White Flags are estimated at hundreds, and the group’s main bases are in mountains and highlands.

Iraqi officials have always been condemning the group’s terrorist activities and blamed the Peshmerga for not taking proper action against it.

Three servicemen injured as military operation underway in Iraq’s Tuz Khurmatu

Salahuddin (Iraqinews.com) – Three army personnel were wounded Wednesday in a bomb explosion in Salahuddin’s multi-ethnic district of Tuz Khurmatu, security and medical sources were quoted as saying.

“An armored vehicle manned by troops from the army’s 9th armored brigade was targeted by a bomb blast during a military operation to eliminate Islamic State and White Flags militants in the eastern part of Tuz Khurmatu,” the sources told Shafaq News.

“Three servicemen were wounded in the explosion and carried to a nearby hospital for treatment,” the sources added.
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/08/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336076 views] Top|| File under:


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Israel Briefs: more troops in W. Bank, 3 arrests, 1 surrender

More troops sent to West Bank following uptick in attacks

[IsraelTimes] Forces to operate primarily in areas near Nablus and Jenin, as manhunt for Ariel stabber continues; several battalions also to be placed on stand-by.

Palestinian caught entering military court with suspected pipe bomb

[IsraelTimes] Security forces arrest man who had what appeared to be an improvised explosive device hidden in his clothes. It was the third such incident in the past two months at the Samaria Military Court in the northern West Bank.

Palestinian who tried sneaking into settlement in army uniform turns himself in

[IsraelTimes] Suspect arrives at Civil Administration headquarters after evading capture in Itamar last week. On January 28, soldiers near the settlement of Itamar spotted men dressed in army uniforms trying to enter the north West Bank community. The troops detained one of the suspects, but the second one managed to evade capture. During searches of the area, forces uncovered binoculars, when the captured the first suspect. Later, they found several prepared Molotov cocktails as well.

Palestinian mother, daughter suspected of planning terror attack

[Ynet] A Palestinian mother and daughter, aged 48 and 16, were arrested on suspicion they planned to carry out a terror attack, it was cleared for publication on Tuesday. They are also suspected of incitement to terrorism and the possession of weapons. The mother allegedly attacked police officers who came to arrest her.
Posted by: Fred || 02/08/2018 00:05 || Comments || Link || [336076 views] Top|| File under:


Israeli troops raid home of terrorist who stabbed security guard
[IsraelTimes] Clashes break out as soldiers descend on slain assailant's house in Halhul, north of Hebron
...Hamas Central in the West Bank...
interrogate his family.


Clashes broke out between Paleostinians and Israeli soldiers in the southern West Bank town of Halhul on Wednesday, as troops raided the home of a terrorist who stabbed a security guard and then was rubbed out earlier that morning.

"As they entered [Halhul], a riot broke out in which rocks were thrown at the soldiers. The IDF troops responded with riot dispersal means and enjugged
Please don't kill me!
one of the demonstrators," the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.

"The forces arrived at the home of the terrorist and interrogated members of his family," the army said.

Early Wednesday morning, Hamzeh Yusef Zamaareh, 19, stabbed a civilian security guard in the palm of the hand in a guard post at the entrance to the Karmei Tzur settlement, just outside Halhul in the Etzion bloc.

A second guard shot the assailant and killed him, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

Officials said the terrorist arrived at the scene with a car. Security forces were scanning the area.
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/08/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336075 views] Top|| File under:


Egypt allowed Israeli airstrikes on terror targets in Sinai
[LI] The relationship between Israel and Egypt has often been referred to as a "cold peace", marked by various levels of mistrust and antagonism from Cairo toward its treaty partner.

However, it appears that the relationship is now far warmer than is widely known. David Kirkpatrick, Cairo bureau chief and a Middle East correspondent for The New York Times, reports that there has been a "secret alliance" between the two nations, as Israeli has hit terror targets in the Sinai at the behest of Egypt’s leaders.

Posted by: Besoeker || 02/08/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336087 views] Top|| File under: Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (IS)


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
US kills more than 100 Assad regime fighters in largest deliberate strike against Syrian government forces
[Telegraph] The US-led coalition killed more than 100 Assad regime fighters in eastern Syria on Wednesday, officials said, in the largest deliberate strike carried out by Western forces against pro-Syrian government troops.

The coalition said it struck regime fighters with airstrikes and artillery after they launched an "unprovoked attack" against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the Western-backed rebels fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) in Syria.

"We estimate more than 100 Syrian pro-regime forces were killed while engaging SDF and coalition forces," a US military official said.

The strikes took place in the Euphrates River valley in the province of Deir Ezzor, where Isil still holds scraps of territory but is under intense pressure from both Syrian regime forces and the SDF.

The US said that around 500 pro-regime troops, backed by tanks and artillery, had launched what appeared to be coordinated attack on an SDF headquarters.
Posted by: Flimp Ulavinter9261 || 02/08/2018 11:06 || Comments || Link || [336122 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria

#1  Something to do with the alleged Chlorine attacks the other day?
Posted by: gorb || 02/08/2018 12:31 Comments || Top||

#2  My guess is that Assad/Putin wanted to test limits. It is SecDef Jim Mattis; what were they thinking?
Posted by: C. Dark Lord of the Hatfields8922 || 02/08/2018 13:21 Comments || Top||

#3  Not sure what they were thinking then. I'm pretty sure what they are thinking now, however.
Posted by: gorb || 02/08/2018 13:32 Comments || Top||

#4  The SDF is comprised of a Kurdish core and various Arab and other auxilliary units. American trainers are embedded with them, as Bashar Assad and his generals well know. He is testing to see if he can attack with impunity, like Turkey against the Kurdish forces in Afrin, it seems to me.

Guess he found the answer.
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/08/2018 15:04 Comments || Top||

#5  This is simultaneously a warning to Turkey. I think Assad was checking to see if Uncle lacked the will/ability or simple desire to stop the Turkish incursion. He's found that that it is simple desire that's missing, not will or ability. Erdogan will be taking notes re his warnings about Manbij. And if Uncle goes after his troops in Afrin, he will see thousands of Turkish dead, given that their highly mechanized nature means big (and highly-visible to strike aircraft) targets.
Posted by: Zhang Fei || 02/08/2018 16:15 Comments || Top||

#6  Am I correct that the vics were not actual Syrian Army but some combination of the various pro-regime gangs?

On the radio (the Beeb, I think) they said Russia had promised the US these guys would play nice. Obviously they didn't. I wonder if Russia cares.
Posted by: SteveS || 02/08/2018 17:22 Comments || Top||


Pro-US Syrian Fighters Leave ISIS Fight To Counter Turkey in Afrin
Members of a U.S.-backed force of Syrian fighters who played a critical role in the collapse of Islamic State have begun leaving that operation to counter Turkey’s offensive against Kurds along its border with Syria, according American officials and Syrian fighters.

U.S. officials have voiced repeated concerns about Ankara’s assault in recent weeks against Kurds in the northwestern Syrian city of Afrin, warning it could become a security distraction that would draw the U.S.-backed force away from the fight to defeat remaining pockets of Islamic State militants.


Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Ulaigum Ebbineng7056 || 02/08/2018 00:34 || Comments || Link || [336109 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte

#1  now are gearing up to battle Turkey, an ally and fellow member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

"ally"
Posted by: Frank G || 02/08/2018 8:27 Comments || Top||

#2  I wonder if things are being said sotto voce by Uncle to these people, i.e. we're not technically supporting you, but if you go there, you'll get all the tactical intel, weapons and ammo you need.
Posted by: Zhang Fei || 02/08/2018 18:53 Comments || Top||


Rantburg Exclusive: Powerful Arab Al Shammar Tribe Arrives in Afrin
Al Shammar tribe are in Afrin
«We came to support our brothers in Afrin to defend our land and to emphasize the national cohesion among all the components of the N Syria.
We have come from the far east of Syria to show to the world the coexistence among the peoples of the region»

pic.twitter.com/GuMiqdR6Aa

— Claudia (@ClaudiaAlMinah) February 7, 2018
Wikipedia
The Shammar is a historically powerful and prestigious tribal group, though their number and influence in Syria has dwindled since the independence of Syria. After the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War and the almost complete retreat of the Syrian Army from the al-Hasakah Governorate in mid 2012, Humaydi Daham al-Hadi soon aligned himself with the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and in 2013 set up the Army of Dignity (Jaysh al-Karama), which later transformed into the al-Sanadid Forces. The alliance with the Kurds and the formation of the Army of Dignity were Humaydi's response to the growing power of Jihadi groups like ISIL in the region. By aiding the PYD's YPG and YPJ in capturing much of the al-Hasakah Governorate, and especially securing the local oil fields, the militia managed to grow in size and power.
Posted by: Ulaigum Ebbineng7056 || 02/08/2018 00:06 || Comments || Link || [336071 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Slapping down the Ottomans. Defending tribal-family lands always proves to be steel backbone motivators. And these are not the unarmed Christian Armenians

Afrin Geo-map.
Posted by: Woodrow || 02/08/2018 3:24 Comments || Top||

#2  Turkey will not have such an easy time of it. Quagmire time.
Posted by: Dale || 02/08/2018 8:08 Comments || Top||

#3  ..we will know soon when the lost old American equipment is replaced by more Russian models.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 02/08/2018 8:35 Comments || Top||

#4  Gotta wonder if this is Uncle not showing his hand, while tacitly giving the Kurds tactical intel, and not throttling their money, food, ammo and equipment resupply. But also holding back on the airstrikes against Turkish forces.
Posted by: Zhang Fei || 02/08/2018 16:20 Comments || Top||


Coalition warplanes carpet bomb ISIS forces in Iraq
[ALMASDARNEWS] Declassified footage from the targeting cameras of US-led coalition warplanes operating over Iraq during 2017 has been publicly released. The footage shows anti-ISIS coalition aircraft conducting attacks against the terrorist group’s positions and underground bases in the north of the country.

The Arclight airstrikes by US-coalition airpower were in support of Iraq forces on the ground who themselves conducted a major and ultimately successful offensive against Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
gunnies throughout the Hawija region over the course of September-October 2017.

Coalition warplanes were particularly fixated on hitting ISIS positions and underground bases throughout the Hamrin Mountains at the time of the Iraqi operation across Hawija.

To this end, the footage available at the end of this article shows anti-ISIS coalition warplanes (mostly likely American) carrying out a heavy carpet bombing of terrorist positions and underground bases throughout the Hamrin range.

Posted by: Fred || 02/08/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336073 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Death Toll Soars as Syria Regime Pounds E. Ghouta Rebel Enclave
[AnNahar] Fresh regime strikes killed 15 civilians Wednesday in a rebel-held enclave near Damascus where overwhelmed medics were still treating the survivors of the Syrian conflict's bloodiest day in months.

The district of Eastern Ghouta, controlled by jihadist and rebel factions, suffered some of its worst bloodshed in years Tuesday and the toll continued to mount overnight.

"The civilian toll is now 80. Two maimed people died after midnight," said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

"This was the highest civilian toll in Syria in nearly nine months, and one of the bloodiest days for Eastern Ghouta in several years," the head of the Britannia-based monitoring group told AFP.

Nineteen children and 20 women are among the dead, and around 200 were maimed.

There was no respite for Ghouta residents as regime warplanes returned on Wednesday morning and carried out strikes that killed 15 civilians and maimed dozens.

Eight were killed in the town of Hammuriyeh, four in the town of Beit Sawa, and three in the main town of Douma, the Observatory said.

Civilians had been bracing for more raids as the regime appeared intent on ratcheting up the pressure on Eastern Ghouta, a rebel pocket on the capital's doorstep.

"Please break up all gatherings and clear the streets," blared an announcement from mosque minarets in Douma.

Surrounding areas and villages had been heavily battered by raids on Tuesday, flooding Douma's hospitals with maimed children.

Home to an estimated 400,000 people, the Eastern Ghouta region has been included in a de-escalation deal that was meant to bring calm to several zones across the country.

- 'Chlorine' use in Syria -
But bombardment there has increased in recent days, including with suspected chlorine-filled munitions.

On Wednesday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said that "all indications" pointed to the Syrian government's use of chlorine weapons in Syria.

"All indications... tell us today that chlorine is being used by the regime at present in Syria," he told BFM television.

Chlorine is suspected of having been used on two occasions this month alone on Eastern Ghouta.

The U.S. State Department said on Monday it had recorded six suspected chemical attacks in Syria in the past 30 days.

Syria has repeatedly denied using chemical weapons. On Wednesday, Syria's army intercepted an Israeli attack on a military position in Jamraya, northwest of Damascus.

Jamraya is home to several military positions and a branch of the Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Center (SSRC), suspected of playing a leading role in chemical weapons production.

An Israeli air strike hit the facility in May 2013.
Posted by: trailing wife || 02/08/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336075 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria



Who's in the News
33[untagged]
8Islamic State
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2TTP
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1Govt of Iran Proxies

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Two weeks of WOT
Thu 2018-02-08
  US kills more than 100 Assad regime fighters in largest deliberate strike against Syrian government forces
Wed 2018-02-07
  Israelis kill Ahmad Nasser Jarrar, terrorist behind murder of Rabbi Raziel Shevah
Tue 2018-02-06
  Chlorine gas dropped in rebel-held territory of Idlib, Syria
Mon 2018-02-05
  Russian, Syrian warplanes unleash all-out attack on ISIS in northeast Hama as army prepares to eliminate pocket
Sun 2018-02-04
  Bomb blast kills top military commander in S. Yemen Zoom
Sat 2018-02-03
  Ahrar Al-Sham’s top commander in northern Idlib has been assassinated
Fri 2018-02-02
  Four Migrants Critical after Being Shot in Calais Brawl
Thu 2018-02-01
  Robert Mueller Requests Postponement of General Mike Flynn Sentencing… It was a set up
Wed 2018-01-31
  Southwest State Confirms The Death Of Burhakabo Military Commander
Tue 2018-01-30
  Iraqi court sentences Al-Qaeda member to death over executing eight civilians in 2007
Mon 2018-01-29
  McCabe Resigns
Sun 2018-01-28
  Top Houthi leader killed in Sanaa by unknown individuals
Sat 2018-01-27
  Taliban kill 40 63 90 95 with ambulance bomb in Afghan capital Kabul
Fri 2018-01-26
  Mosul clean up continues: 21 turbans permanently unwound, 9 more jugged
Thu 2018-01-25
  Double car bombing kills 33 in Benghazi

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