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Rebels seize Assad's last stronghold in Idlib
Today's Headlines
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Africa Horn
Leading Shebab figure dies in Somalia
[AlAhram] A leading figure in the Somali-based Al-Qaeda-affiliated Shabaab movement has died in Somalia, the Islamic myrmidon group said Thursday.

In a death announcement and obituary carried by jihadist media, the Shabaab said Sheikh Hassan Abdulahi Turki, known as Hassan Turki, died on Wednesday evening in the Middle Juba region south of the capital Mogadishu. Turki was in his 70s and suffered from poor health.

"Sheikh Hassan Abdulahi Turki died last night in Hargeysa Yarey township. We pray to God to give him his mercy and accept his long-term good deeds," Shabaab front man Ali Mohamud Rage said in an audio message.

Rage said Turki "was one of Somalia's greatest scholars" who had met "Al-Qaeda leaders, led by the late Osama bin Laden
... who is now sometimes referred to as Mister Bones...
, twice in Afghanistan and another time in Sudan" and had fought against US soldiers in Mogadishu in 1993, the year 18 US soldiers were killed in the so-called Black Hawk Down incident during an ill-fated intervention.

The Æthiopian-born former soldier was a veteran Islamist who played a series of leading roles in Somalia's civil war.

Turki was a founding member of Al-Itihaad Al-Islami in the early 1990s alongside Hassan Dahir Aweys, often regarded as the godfather of Islamic militancy in Somalia. Together they also formed a successor group called Hizbul Islam.

Turki played a key role in the Islamic Courts Union, which briefly controlled Somalia in 2006, and helped establish the Shabaab which emerged in the wake of the US-backed Æthiopian invasion that ended its rule.

In 2004 the US put Turki on its list of global Al-Qaeda leaders after accusing him of involvement in the US embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania six years earlier. In 2008 he survived a US air strike targeting him and other myrmidon leaders in southern Somalia.

In recent years Turki's influence and importance waned as old age and ill-health took their toll.
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/29/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab


Africa North
Police brigadier killed by an IED device in North Sinai
[AlAhram] The kaboom happened near Al-Arish city in North Sinai Wednesday

A police brigadier was killed and a police colonel injured when an IED (improvised bomb) detonated Wednesday in North Sinai, MENA news agency reported.

According to a statement published by Egypt's Ministry of Interior, Brigadier Ahmed Ibrahim from the Criminal Investigations unit in North Sinai directorate was killed while Colonel Moataz Radwan, the head of Vice Investigation in the directorate, was injured on the highway near Al-Arish city, on their way back from a security raid.

Egypt's army is currently fighting a campaign against a decade-long murderous Moslem insurgency in North Sinai.

Militants have killed hundreds of police and army personnel in the past year and a half in North Sinai, while the authorities have announced that hundreds of Death Eaters have been killed in military campaigns in the governorate.

The Islamist group Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis has grabbed credit for most attacks against security forces in Sinai.
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/29/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis


Tunisia arrests 2nd Morocco suspect in Bardo attack: ministry
[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] Tunisia has tossed in the clink
... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not...
a second Moroccan suspect over a deadly attack in March on the Bardo museum in Tunis, the interior ministry said Thursday.

Noureddine al-Naibi was arrested on Sunday at Ras Jedir border post on the frontier with Libya on suspicion of indirect involvement in the attack, ministry front man Mohammed Ali Aroui told AFP.

Last week, a young Moroccan man was arrested in Italia for allegedly helping in the March 18 attack carried out by two Tunisian gunnies in which 21 tourists and a policeman were killed before the assailants were also rubbed out.
Posted by: Fred || 05/29/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Arabia
Riyadh Announces Death of Two Guards on Yemen Border
[ALMANAR.LB] 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...
announced two border guards have been killed and five others maimed by shellfire on the frontier with Yemen.

The deaths occurred when "military missiles from Yemen" struck their position at Zahran South in the Asir border region on Wednesday, Riyadh's interior ministry said in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.Saudi soldiers

Yemen
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic...
has been since March 26 under brutal aggression by Saudi-US coalition.

Thousands of Yemenis have been martyred and injured in the attack, with the vast majority of them are civilians.

However,
if you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to be a horrible warning...
Yemeni army, backed by popular committees and tribal fighter has been responding to the Saudi aggression, with several border areas in the Saudi Arabia are under the fire of those fighters.
Posted by: Fred || 05/29/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Saudi Arabia


Yemeni Army & Popular Committees Advance
[ALMANAR.LB] The Yemeni army, backed by the Popular committees, advanced in Maareb province, reaching the central hospital.

The Yemeni army, backed by the Popular committees, also achieved a major field advance after Fierce festivities with the takfiri
...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who most be killed...
terrorists.

The Soddy warplanes launched 12 raids on Saada and Hijja provinces, killing scores of civilians.

Yemen
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic...
since March 26 has been under attack by Soddy-US coalition. Thousands have been martyred and injured in the attack, with the vast majority of them are civilians.

However,
if you can't say something nice about a person some juicy gossip will go well...
Yemeni army, backed by popular committees and tribal fighter have been responding to the Soddy military attacks, with several border areas in the 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...
are under the fire of those fighters.
Posted by: Fred || 05/29/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Saudi Arabia


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Chief of elite Tajik police unit defects to Islamic State, vows jihad against enemies
[JPOST] The US-trained commander of Tajikistan's elite police force has defected to 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....
, he said in a YouTube video, and his former unit will issue a statement condemning him, media said on Thursday.

Colonel Gulmurod Khalimov commanded the Central Asian nation's special-purpose police known as OMON, used against criminals and holy warriors. He disappeared in late April, prompting a search by Tajik police.

He reappeared Wednesday, vowing to bring jihad to Russia and the Unites States as he brandished a cartridge belt and sniper rifle, in a professionally made, 10-minute video clip posted in social networks.

"Listen, you dogs, the president and ministers, if only you knew how many boys, our brothers are here, waiting and yearning to return to Tajikistan to re-establish sharia law there," he said, addressing Tajik President Imomali Rakhmon.

Rakhmon has run Tajikistan, the poorest post-Soviet nation that neighbours Afghanistan, since 1992. He used Russian support to crush Islamist guerrillas in a 1992-1997 civil war and tolerates little dissent in his country of 8 million.

"We are coming to you, God willing, we are coming to you with slaughter," said Khalimov, a 40-year-old native of the Tajik capital Dushanbe. He spoke in Russian, sitting in front of a palm tree, and sported a new beard. It was not clear which country he was in.

Tajik police could not be reached for comment. OMON police plan to issue a statement condemning Khalimov, several officers who had served with him told the Tajik service of US-funded Radio Liberty.

Khalimov said he had been trained by elite Russian "spetsnaz" forces in Moscow and US special forces in America.

"Listen, you American pigs, I've been three times to America, and I saw how you train fighters to kill Moslems," he said, patting his rifle. "God willing, I will come with this weapon to your cities, your homes, and we will kill you."

He lambasted Tajiks working in Russia. "You have become the slaves of infidels," he said.

Both Russia and NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A single organization with differing goals, equipment, language, doctrine, and organization....
, alarmed by the threat of radical Islam to predominantly Moslem Central Asia, have stepped up military drills with the region's post-Soviet nations.

The International Crisis Group think-tank estimates around 4,000 Central Asians fight for Islamic State.

But Khalimov's defection shows that some local security units cannot be trusted if threats can come from insiders, not just holy warriors, said Kazakhstan-based Central Asia analyst Alexander Knyazev.

"I think Islamist propaganda will now exploit Khalimov's example in full," he said, warning that volatile neighbouring Kyrgyzstan faced similar problems.
Posted by: Besoeker || 05/29/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  Was he trained in one of USA universities?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 05/29/2015 4:43 Comments || Top||


Home Front: WoT
US Young Man Arrested over Fake Threat Alerts
[ALMANAR.LB] An American youth who appeared in MTV reality show "Catfish" last year was tossed in the clink
Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un!
on Wednesday for making a series of bogus "terrorist threats" against metro stations, trains and buses in the US capital.

Jerez Nehemiah Stone-Coleman, 20, nicknamed "Kidd Cole", is accused of making 11 crank 911 calls between December last year and May, warning of bomb threats or hostage situations on the Washington transport network.

"The threat information provided in each of the 911 calls turned out to be 'wholly false,' a police statement citing court documents said.

Each hoax resulted in an emergency response and caused disruptions to transit service in some cases.

The calls included a January 20 threat claiming that people "from La Belle France" planned to assassinate President Barack Obama
We're gonna punish our enemies and we're gonna reward our friends who stand with us on issues that are important to us...
in an ambush on his motorcade and that the same group were plotting to bomb the Potomac Avenue Metro Station.

Two days later the same caller claimed he and his friends were planning to hijack a bus and kill hostages if they were not paid $15 million.

Police linked Stone-Coleman to the threats after analyzing cell-phone records, digital video surveillance from stations and buses, and telephone audio, a statement said.

"We have no greater responsibility than protecting Metro's customers and employees," Metro Transit Police Chief Ron Pavlik said in a statement.

"This case demonstrates the seriousness with which we take all threats and the lengths to which we will go to bring those responsible to justice."

Stone-Coleman appeared in MTV show "Catfish" in May last year. The show centers around individuals who post fake biographical information on social media sites.
Posted by: Fred || 05/29/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


India-Pakistan
Seven children hurt in grenade blast
[DAWN] TANK: Seven children were maimed when a hand grenade they were playing with went off here on Wednesday.

Reports said that children found a hand grenade from a rainwater drain in Shiekh Otar village and brought it along mistaking it with a toy.

As soon as the children reached Mohallah Skeikhanwala they tried to snatch the grenade from each other. As a result, its pin got opened, causing it to explode. Seven children were maimed in the kaboom, who were taken to district headquarters hospital, Tank. Later, two of the injured were referred to DHQ hospital, Dera Ismail Khan
... the Pearl of Pashtunistan ...
in precarious condition.

The injured children were identified as Saqib, Mudassar, Kashif, Wajid, Fanoos, Alfah Bibi, and Shafana.
Posted by: Fred || 05/29/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Two Hazara men killed in Quetta
[DAWN] Two people belonging to the Shia Hazara community were bumped off here on Wednesday evening.

The two were sitting in their cloth shop in a shopping plaza in MeCongi road area when they were rubbed out. Another person was injured in the attack.

Soon after the incident, markets and business establishments were closed and panic gripped the area. Traffic vanished from the roads.

According to sources, the unidentified attackers entered the cloth shop in the plaza, located in front of the City Police Station, and started firing with automatic weapons, killing the two men on the spot.

Police quoted eyewitness as saying that the gunnies had attacked one man on the stairs of the building when he tried to escape. "Both the victims received multiple bullet injuries," police said. The assailants fled on a cycle of violence.
Posted by: Fred || 05/29/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Lashkar e-Jhangvi


Iraq
U.S. Saw Islamic State Coming, Let It Take Ramadi
[Bloomberg View] The U.S. watched Islamic State fighters, vehicles and heavy equipment gather on the outskirts of Ramadi before the group retook the city in mid-May. But the U.S. did not order airstrikes against the convoys before the battle started. It left the fighting to Iraqi troops, who ultimately abandoned their positions.

U.S. intelligence and military officials told me recently, on the condition of anonymity, that the U.S. had significant intelligence about the pending Islamic State offensive in Ramadi. For the U.S. military, it was an open secret even at the time.

The Islamic State had been contesting territory in and around Ramadi for more than a year and had spoken of the importance of recapturing the city. The U.S. intelligence community had good warning that the Islamic State intended a new and bolder offensive on Ramadi because it was able to identify the convoys of heavy artillery, vehicle bombs and reinforcements through overhead imagery and eavesdropping on chatter from local Islamic State commanders. It surprised no one, one U.S. intelligence official told me.

Other observers were willing to speak on the record about how many had seen the Islamic State's assault on Ramadi coming. "The operations on Ramadi have been ongoing for 16 months," said Derek Harvey, a former intelligence adviser to David Petraeus when he commanded the counterinsurgency strategy in Iraq. Harvey said many observers had seen the Islamic State's series of probing attacks and psychological operations aimed at the Iraqi army and local tribes: "Everyone knew that Ramadi for some reason was a major focus." He conceded that he did not know the exact timing of the Ramadi offensive beforehand and acknowledged that he was surprised at how effective the operations were.
Champ regime washes it's hands. WH spokesman Josh Earnest: US won't be 'responsible' for 'security situation' in Iraq.
Posted by: Besoeker || 05/29/2015 02:34 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  Could it be, Obama is not a total idiot?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 05/29/2015 2:50 Comments || Top||

#2  The build up of ISIS vehicles and equipment on the outskirts of Ramadi would have provided clear tactical intent and represented a highly lucrative target.

The regime's notional war against ISIS continues. Each passing day and ISIS advance confirms the regime's intent to leave the next administration and the Congress a costly, ready-made disaster along with a fragmented Iraq.

Global ISIS advances also provide a massive media diversion as Iranian nuclear weapons issues slip to the back page.
Posted by: Besoeker || 05/29/2015 2:58 Comments || Top||

#3  How far is Baghdad from Ramadi again?

Why are we doing anything if we don't want to do everything? Is the traitor-in-chief deliberately trying to keep the pot simmering as Besoeker suggests,for those or other reasons?
Posted by: AlanC || 05/29/2015 8:37 Comments || Top||

#4  It should be evident by now, to all who pay attention, that Obama intends to let IS fight it out.
This serves the purpose of putting pressure on Russia, China and most importantly, Iran. We will soon confirm that the wealthy sunni oil states are supporting IS financially.
Most likely, the ultimate goal for Obama is to pass the war onto the next President. Which is probably a better option than boots on the ground now. Why would you want Obama and his political hacks running a war? It's much better having him do "nothing".
Posted by: jvalentour || 05/29/2015 9:03 Comments || Top||

#5 
Posted by: || 05/29/2015 9:50 Comments || Top||

#6  It almost is like Obumble WANTS ISIS to win.
Posted by: DarthVader || 05/29/2015 11:16 Comments || Top||

#7  It almost is like Obumble WANTS ISIS to win.

More likely he just doesn't care.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 05/29/2015 11:46 Comments || Top||

#8  The headline here is a bit deceiving. It insinuates that intentional disregard of specific targets allowed the IS offensive of Ramadi to succeed. Perhaps it’s a difference without distinction but Lakes' analysis suggests that, in general, current ROE has prevented engagement of numerous identifiable targets. Frankly, it’s a larger indictment of the overall strategy (or lack thereof) then the fall of an individual city.
Posted by: DepotGuy || 05/29/2015 13:49 Comments || Top||

#9  "intentional disregard of specific targets"is pretty much the same as "current ROE has prevented engagement of numerous identifiable targets" Obama's resistance to ISIS is fake, just for show.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 05/29/2015 14:03 Comments || Top||

#10  Current authorization to hit targets has US pilots frustrated.
Posted by: DarthVader || 05/29/2015 14:39 Comments || Top||

#11  “Nobody really has the control in the tactical environment.”

Reminds me of Jimmuh controlling the hostage rescue or LBJ in Viet Nam.
Posted by: AlanC || 05/29/2015 15:56 Comments || Top||

#12  See also FREEREPUBLIC > [BreitBart] WHITE HOUSE: UNITED STATES "NOT RESPONSIBLE" FOR DEFENDING IRAQ.

Great news for IRAN, RUSSIA, CHINA, + US-LED ANTI-US OWG + MARXIST-GLOBALIST WORLD ORDER - NOT good news for NATO-EU, ME Allies, East Asia Allies, GUAM-WESTPAC + even HAWAII, etal.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 05/29/2015 19:35 Comments || Top||

#13  NOT Iraq or ME but similar Bammer, Globalist principle(s) applies ...

* MANILA TIMES > CHINA: NO ONE TELLS US WHAT TO DO.

China FM SpoxBabe Hua Chunying.

CHINA DOING A "PUTIN/RUSSIA" DOING AN "IRAN"???

* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > CHINA TURNING MICHIEF REEF INTO HEART OF SOUTH CHINA SEA [Sansha/Sashi Province].

* WAFF > CHINA TO ENGAGE US IN SPRATLYS | [WantChinaTimes] WEAPONS SENT TO CHINA'S HAINAN FOR POTENTIAL [US-China] SOUTH CHINA SEA CONFLICT.

* WORLD NEWS > CHINESE ARTILLERY VEHICLES SPOTTED ON ARTIFICIAL SLAND CREATED IN SOUTH CHINA SEA.
| [Reuters] US SAYS CHINA HAS PLACED MOBILE ARTILLERY ON RECLAIMED ISLAND.

Beijing is denying any placement of Arty on disputed islands, while on its partUS INTEL is now repor that the Arty may had been removed by China to a new locale???

VERSUS

* WORLD MILITARY FORUM > RUSSIAN THINK-TANK: US READY TO SACRIFICE TERRITORY(S) FOR PEACE WITH CHINA LIKE UKRAINE DID WITH CRIMEA, AND WHILE JAPAN PM SHINZO ABE THROWS CONTRARY DIPLOMATIC BALLS.

Moscow Institute for International Relations.

A LOUD, MIGHTY, HOMER SIMPSONIAN "DOH"! MAY YET STILL BE RIGHTEOUSLY HEARD OVER WESTPAC FROM A MADONNA FAN IN GUAM.

* TOPIX > NEW CHINA WHITE PAPER OUTLINE HINTS AT BUILDUP OF ITS NAVAL POWER IN WATERS CLAIMED BY VIETNAM, PHILIPPINES, AND IN OPEN OCEAN.

Again, China's "white ships" off Guam.

OBAMA + GUAM'S "CAMEL ROCK" TO SURRENDER LIKE FRANCE TO CHINA + PLAN.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 05/29/2015 20:47 Comments || Top||


Baghdad: Iraqi forces have Ramadi 'surrounded'
[Rudaw] The Iraqi Defense Ministry has issued a statement claiming Iraqi joint forces have besieged ISIS Death Eaters in Ramadi, cutting off supplies and reinforcements from other myrmidon-held areas in Anbar province.

"Our intelligence information shows that ISIS can no longer receive military assistance in Ramadi and Iraqi forces have surrounded the city in all directions," Qais Al-Robai, media officer of the ministry, told news hounds in Baghdad on Wednesday.

A security official also told Rudaw on Wednesday that an estimated 17 ISIS Death Eaters were killed in Ramadi by Iraqi fighter jets.

ISIS took control of Ramadi, capital of Anbar province, on May 17, raising their black flag over the governor's compound and setting it ablaze hours later.

The retreat of the Iraqi forces recalled the collapse of Iraqi police and military forces last summer, when the 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....
group's initial blitz into Iraq saw it capture about one-third of the country.
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/29/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iraq

#1  I think ISIS put the skeer on Iraqi "army".
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 05/29/2015 2:26 Comments || Top||

#2  The biggest problem for the IA is that the few they have that do fight have been hung out to die by the cowards/runners. I know of a couple that died in Ramadi trying to hold a position when the units around them simply vaporized, leaving heavy weapons in place for ISIS to use against the units that held.
Posted by: OldSpook || 05/29/2015 19:08 Comments || Top||


Daesh kills 17 Iraqi soldiers
Baghdad -- Daesh extremists unleashed a wave of suicide attacks targeting the Iraqi army in western Anbar province, killing at least 17 troops in a major blow to government efforts to dislodge the militants from the sprawling heartland, an Iraqi military spokesman said on Wednesday.

Brig. Gen Saad Maan Ibrahim, the spokesman for the Joint Military Command, told on Wednesday that the attacks took place outside the Daesh-held city of Fallujah late the previous night.

The militants struck near a water control station and a lock system on a canal between Lake Tharthar and the Euphrates River where army forces have been deployed for the Anbar offensive, he said.

Ibrahim added that the Daesh extremists used a sandstorm that engulfed most of Iraq on Tuesday night to launch the deadly wave of bombings. He said it was not clear how many suicide attackers were involved in the bombings but they hit the military from multiple directions.
Posted by: Steve White || 05/29/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Over 32 ISIL Terrorists Killed in Iraqi Army Operations in Samarra
[ALMANAR.LB] The Iraqi Army raided ISIL's positions in Samarra, in Salahuddin province, which resulted in the killing of at least 32 fighters, the Iraqi Defense Ministry announced.

"The Iraqi army men killed 32 ISIL turbans by destroyed their ammunition depot in the Eastern province," the ministry said.

The ISIL Takfiri
...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who must be killed...
bully boyz currently control shrinking swathes of Syria and Iraq. They have threatened all communities, including Shiites, Sunnis, Kurds, Christians, Ezadi Kurds and others, as they continue their atrocities in Iraq.

Senior Iraqi officials have blamed 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...
, 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...
, and some Persian Gulf Arab states for the growing terrorism in their country.
Posted by: Fred || 05/29/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Car bombs outside two Baghdad hotels kill at least 10, Iraqi authorities say
[ABC.NET.AU] At least 10 people have been killed as car bombs exploded in the parking lots of two heavily fortified five-star hotels in central Baghdad, Iraqi police and medical sources have said.

A further 30 people were wounded in the blasts on Thursday night, which were about seven minutes apart.

The explosions occurred just before midnight (local time) and were heard across the city centre.

The first explosion went off near the Babylon hotel, a swanky and recently refurbished hotel overlooking the Tigris river, where government officials often hold meetings and news conferences.

The second car bomb exploded in an area close to the Meridian hotel and a popular club which is usually crowded at that time.

Iraqi authorities lifted a decade-old night-time curfew on Baghdad early this year, seeking to restore a sense of normality to the capital as security forces battle Islamic State militants who have overrun large parts of the country.
Posted by: Fred || 05/29/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  And they blame Baghdad for not wanting to let in Sunni refugees.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 05/29/2015 4:46 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
Man gunned down, wife injured in southern Thailand
[Bangkok Post] A man was killed and his wife injured seriously by a motorcycle gunman in Pattani province on Thursday morning.

Pol Col Chamlong Suwannalak, the Nong Chik district police chief, said while Pornpipat Yodying and his wife were heading to work on a motorcycle, thiy were followed by two men on another motorcycle. The pillion rider of that motorbike shot at them with a handgun. Pornpipat was hit three times and died at the scene, and his wife was struck in the left arm.

Police suspect insurgents are responsible.
Posted by: ryuge || 05/29/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Syrian Army Destroys Terrorist Organizations' Strongholds in Different Areas
[ALMANAR.LB] Units of the Syrian army and armed forces on Thursday carried out military operations against terrorists’ gatherings and hideouts in many areas across the country, inflicting heavy losses upon them in personnel and equipment.

Daraa

The army targeted terrorists’ positions on the southern outskirts of Kafer Shams village in the northwestern countryside of Daraa province, southern Syria.

Many terrorists were killed and two mortars and various types of vehicles were destroyed in the operations, a military source confirmed to SANA .

More terrorists were killed in a special operation against their hideouts positioned on the northern hill overlooking Zimrin village in the northwestern countryside.

Quneitra

In the western countryside of the neighboring Quneitra province, an army unit targeted groups of Israeli-backed terrorist organizations in al-Hamidiyeh village, leaving many of them dead and their weapons destroyed.
Posted by: Fred || 05/29/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Lebanon arrests 2 Syrians accused of belonging to ISIS
[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] Military Investigative Judge Fadi Sawan Thursday issued arrest warrants for two Syrians accused of being ISIS members.

The men, who are already in jug, allegedly planned to carry out terrorist attacks, Sherlocks concluded after interrogating them.

A judicial source told The Daily Star the two men were also charged with taking part in festivities against the Lebanese Army in the northeastern border town of Arsal last August.
Posted by: Fred || 05/29/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Rebels seize Assad's last stronghold in Idlib
[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] A rebel coalition led by Al-Qaeda's Syria affiliate Thursday seized Ariha, the last remaining government-held city in the northwestern province of Idlib, activists said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Nusra Front and its allies captured the city after fierce festivities with pro-government forces, including Hezbollah fighters, who were then seen pulling out.

"Jaish al-Fatah has taken full control of the city of Ariha after a lightning offensive that ended with a heavy pullout of regime forces and their allies Hezbollah from the western side of the city," Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.

Jaish al-Fatah, or Army of Conquest, is the name of the coalition which comprises the Nusra Front and its allies - mostly Islamist rebel groups.

The Britannia-based monitor said dozens of Syrian military vehicles were seen pulling out of Ariha.

Ariha, which was home to 40,000 people before the conflict began, was the last remaining government-held city in Idlib province which borders The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
.

The Army of Conquest coalition has won a string of victories in Idlib, including taking the scenic provincial capital on March 28 and the key town of Jisr al-Shughur on April 25.
Posted by: Fred || 05/29/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Syrian army pulls out of Ariha city in north western Syria: state TV
[REUTERS] The Syrian army withdrew from the strategic city of Ariha, its last remaining stronghold in the north western province of Idlib, after heavy battles waged with al Qaeda's Syrian offshoot Nusra Front, an army source said on Thursday.

The source quoted on state television
... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
was the first admission that the city of Ariha, the last bastion of government forces in the province that borders The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
, had fallen to krazed killer groups whom it says are financed and equipped by Turkey.
Posted by: Fred || 05/29/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Terror Networks
EXCLUSIVE: Peshmerga hunt down ISIS artillery ace
[Rudaw] For some time, an ISIS artilleryman had been harassing Peshmerga positions on the Makhmour front.

His advanced skill at hitting targets forced Kurdish forces to launch an attack on Kharbani village where he was located.

Known as Abu Ismail, the Death Eater set up in a garden and used unique methods to hit his targets. In the end, he was located and bumped off by the Peshmerga.

This exclusive video tells the tale of the manhunt for the ISIS ace.
Short (3:26) video at link with English subtitles. Just click on the headline. Enjoy!
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/29/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  AN/TPQ-53 (EQ-36) Firefinder counter-battery radar system [or similar system] would be a very big help.
Posted by: Besoeker || 05/29/2015 3:12 Comments || Top||

#2  Convince Obumble, his sycophant nutless Flag Officers, and the idiots at State to give the Kurds real artillery - and a couple of those, then we're talking business. Of course it would piss off the Iranians so ValJar tells Obama No and he just nods his head and obeys his Manchurian handler.
Posted by: OldSpook || 05/29/2015 19:06 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
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2Govt of Saudi Arabia
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1al-Nusra
1Boko Haram
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.

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

Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has dominated Mexico for six years.
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Two weeks of WOT
Fri 2015-05-29
  Rebels seize Assad's last stronghold in Idlib
Thu 2015-05-28
  Airstrikes kill at least 80 in deadliest bombings of Yemen war
Wed 2015-05-27
  Shiite militia claims ISIS leader killed near Fallujah
Tue 2015-05-26
  Suicide bomber blows himself up during Rangers operation in Karachi
Mon 2015-05-25
  Syria: IS executes hundreds in Palmyra
Sun 2015-05-24
  Prayer leader explodes in mosque
Sat 2015-05-23
  Kunar Drone Strike Kills Four Taliban
Fri 2015-05-22
  Air strikes kill 15 militants in North Waziristan
Thu 2015-05-21
  Kurds advance against Islamic State in northeastern Syria
Wed 2015-05-20
  IS Attacks Syria Druze Village, Battles for Palmyra
Tue 2015-05-19
  US drone strike in North Waziristan leaves six 'militants' dead
Mon 2015-05-18
  ISIS confirms Ramadi capture
Sun 2015-05-17
  US special forces kill senior IS leader in Syria: Pentagon
Sat 2015-05-16
  Jury sentences Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to death for marathon attack
Fri 2015-05-15
  Belmokhtar's Jihadist Group in N. Africa Pledges Allegiance to IS

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