Hi there, !
Today Tue 01/17/2017 Mon 01/16/2017 Sun 01/15/2017 Sat 01/14/2017 Fri 01/13/2017 Thu 01/12/2017 Wed 01/11/2017 Archives
Rantburg
531704 articles and 1855995 comments are archived on Rantburg.

Today: 65 articles and 138 comments as of 15:01.
Post a news link    Post your own article   
Area: WoT Background    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix   
Islamic State supporters face jail after infiltrated in undercover police sting
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 1: WoT Operations
6 20:29 trailing wife [1] 
0 [1] 
0 [] 
3 18:54 Skidmark [] 
2 18:57 Skidmark [1] 
0 [] 
0 [1] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [1] 
1 10:24 Pappy [1] 
0 [3] 
0 [] 
0 [1] 
0 [1] 
0 [1] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
Page 2: WoT Background
9 23:37 gorb []
0 []
0 []
0 []
0 [1]
0 []
1 01:59 Skidmark []
0 [1]
0 []
6 18:59 Skidmark []
0 []
0 []
0 []
0 []
0 [1]
0 []
1 03:21 newc [1]
3 13:08 Dave D. []
2 11:22 Pappy []
Page 3: Non-WoT
4 23:43 Abu Uluque []
6 19:59 Barbara []
3 23:47 gorb []
0 []
8 19:02 Skidmark [1]
0 []
0 []
14 18:57 Chantry [1]
Page 4: Opinion
3 21:23 Fred []
13 21:56 newc []
1 08:32 g(r)omgoru [3]
2 21:41 Zenobia Floger6220 []
2 14:42 Pappy [1]
1 01:18 Skidmark []
5 18:19 gorb []
4 18:57 JHH []
Page 6: Politix
8 15:37 Raj []
2 03:16 newc []
7 13:17 rjschwarz []
4 11:33 DepotGuy []
2 11:31 rjschwarz []
0 []
2 10:12 DarthVader []
7 22:03 Regular joe [2]
6 15:23 Nero White 3083 []
Afghanistan
Taliban suffer heavy casualties as 2 major IED factories destroyed in Nimroz
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Talibs suffered heavy casualties during an operation of the Afghan cops in western Nimroz province of Afghanistan, the Ministry of Interior (MoI) said Thursday.

According to a statement by MoI, at least 80 Taliban forces of Evil were killed and two large Improvised Explosive Device (IED) factories were destroyed during the operation.

The statement further added that the gunnies suffered casualties during the operations which were launched ten days ago in Khashrud district.

According to MoI, a compound used by the shadow district governor of the Taliban was also destroyed during the operations and at least 20 foreign forces of Evil were killed.

Posted by: Fred || 01/14/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Africa Horn
Obama eases sanctions against Sudan
[Iran Press TV] Outgoing US President Barack Obama
It’s very rare that I come to an event where I’m like the fifth- or sixth-most interesting person....
has eased some of the economic sanctions imposed against Sudan, aiming to improve relations with the Islamic country.

Obama signed an executive order on Friday to ease but not eliminate some trade and investment sanctions against Khartoum, arguing that the East African country has shown "a marked reduction in offensive military activity, culminating in a pledge to maintain a cessation of hostilities in conflict areas."

The outgoing president expressed determination that the situation which led the US to impose and continue 20-year-long sanctions had changed in light of Sudan's "positive actions" over the last six months.

"These actions include a marked reduction in offensive military activity, culminating in a pledge to maintain a cessation of hostilities in conflict areas in Sudan, and steps toward the improvement of humanitarian access throughout Sudan, as well as cooperation with the United States on addressing regional conflicts and the threat of terrorism," Obama said.

Posted by: Fred || 01/14/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Sudan

#1  Wondering if it's an unintentional adjunct to this from a year ago:

Israel is trying to drum up support for Sudan within the international community, after the African country, which has faced severe criticism for its human rights record, severed its ties to Iran. Israeli and American diplomats met last week to discuss the issue. [I]in January (2016), Sudan joined Sunni Bahrain and Saudi Arabia and severed its ties with the Islamic Republic. At the time, the country also appeared to make overtures toward Israel.

Sudan had been hostile to the Jewish state since gaining independence from Britain in 1956, claiming that Israel occupies Arab lands. However, speaking on January 14 (2016) about an American move to demand Sudanese normalization of ties with Tel Aviv as a precondition for lifting sanctions on Khartoum, Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour said Sudan was open to the idea.


Posted by: Pappy || 01/14/2017 10:24 Comments || Top||


Africa North
Algeria says it has uncovered Israeli spy ring — report
[IsraelTimes] Algeria has reportedly uncovered a spy ring, including members of several nationalities, working for Israel, media reports said Friday.

According to Arab media reports cited by Hebrew language media, the spy network included 10 people and was uncovered in the city of Ghardaïa in southern Algeria. Among members of the network were people with passports from Libya, Mali, Æthiopia, Liberia, Nigeria and Kenya.

The Algerian reports came a month after Israel was accused by Hamas, a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth", of assassinating a Tunisian drone engineer who was working for the terror group.

In the new incident, Ynet said Algerian security forces claimed to have uncovered sophisticated communications systems used by the spies to transfer information.

The detainees were being held under arrest and accused of espionage, conspiring to create anarchy and harm the state and damaging state security.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/14/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Egypt kills 10 Daesh-linked terrorists in Sinai
[Iran Press TV] Egypt says 10 Death Eaters linked to the ISIS 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...
terrorist group have been killed during a raid on one of their hideouts in the Sinai Peninsula.

The Egyptian Interior Ministry said in a statement that the Death Eaters opened fire on security forces as they drew nearer to their hideout in a deserted house in the city of el-Arish, the historic provincial capital and the largest city of North Sinai, on Friday.

According to the statement, the Death Eaters were linked to a holy warrior leader from Ansar Beit al-Maqdis who formed groups to attack security forces.

Ansar Beit al-Maqdis is the former name of ISIS's local affiliate Velayat Sinai Takfiri terrorist group. In 2014, the outfit pledged allegiance to ISIS, which is mainly active in Iraq and Syria.

Jihadist killed in raid on ‘dangerous terrorist hideout’ in North Sinai: Army spokesman

[AlAhram] Egyptian army forces killed one "jihadist" and placed in durance vile
You have the right to remain silent...
another during a raid on "one of the most dangerous terrorist hideouts" in North Sinai, army front man Tamer El-Rifaei announced in a statement on Friday.

El-Rifaei said thon the lam amounts of explosives were stored hideout, which was destroyed by army forces.
Posted by: Fred || 01/14/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (IS)


Africa Subsaharan
3 suicide bombers kill 2 on market day in northeast Nigeria
[Ynet] Three jacket wallahs went kaboom! at a checkpoint where scores of people were being searched for a bustling weekly market Friday in Nigeria's northeastern town of Madagali, witnesses said. The blasts killed two self-defense fighters who wanted to search them.

Their challenge likely saved many lives. In December, two women suicide bombers killed 57 people and maimed 177, including 120 children, at Madagali market. Last week, three girl suicide bombers were killed on the outskirts of the same town.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/14/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Boko Haram


Arabia
Saudi-backed mercenaries have Yemeni forces, Houthis on the retreat
[ALMASDARNEWS] Yemeni forces including the Houthi
...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews ...
militia, clashed with Saudi mercenaries as the latter seized the al-Zabab region of southern 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...
and hilltops that overlook the al-Amri military base, Yemen 24 reported.

In the ensuing battle, at least 11 Houthi fighters and eight turbans loyal to the former Yemeni government were killed, resulting in the Saudi-backed forces advancing towards Mokha, an imperative Red Sea port city on Bab al-Mandab Strait.

Bab al-Mandab Strait is an imperative choke hold that links the Suez Canal to the Indian Ocean.

Posted by: Fred || 01/14/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Houthis

#1  Saudi-backed forces advancing imperatively towards Mokha
Posted by: Frank G || 01/14/2017 9:46 Comments || Top||

#2  From where does Saudi recruit mercs?
Posted by: AlanC || 01/14/2017 17:05 Comments || Top||

#3  From where does Saudi recruit mercs?

Playing on traditional culture conflicts.
Possibly Somali land pirates.
Posted by: Skidmark || 01/14/2017 18:54 Comments || Top||


2 Saudi soldiers killed in Yemen retaliatory attack on Najran
[Iran Press TV] Yemen's army and popular committees have killed at least two Saudi troops in the kingdom’s southern province of Najran, in retaliation for Riyadh's ongoing aggression against the impoverished country.

Yemen's Arabic language al-Masirah news channel said the soldiers were killed in firing by Yemeni forces at al-Sudais military site on Friday.

In another retaliatory rocket attack, Yemeni forces destroyed at least one Saudi army tank at al-Ash military base in the same province.

Yemeni forces also targeted several Saudi military bases and strategic positions in the southern province of Jizan.

Meanwhile,
...back at the mall, Clarissa suddenly spied Mr. Bartlett at the checkout counter. He was buying Grecian Formula!...
Saudi warplanes carried out multiple Arclight airstrikes on Yemen's provinces of Sana'a and Hudaydah.

In the southern port city of Mokha, one Yemeni civilian was killed and three others were maimed when Saudi jets struck a residential area.

Posted by: Fred || 01/14/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Houthis


U.S. Airstrike Kills Al Qaeda Senior Leader in Yemen
[NBCNEWS] A U.S. Arclight airstrike in 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...
killed a senior al Qaeda leader in the Arabian peninsula, the Department of Defense said in a statement on Friday. Abd al-Ghani al-Rasas, a terrorist leader in the region, died during an Arclight airstrike in a remote area of al Bayda Governorate in Yemen, Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said in a statement.
Posted by: Fred || 01/14/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Arabia


Britain
Islamic State supporters face jail after infiltrated in undercover police sting
[TELEGRAPH.CO.UK] An undercover officer smashed a terror cell drumming up support for 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....
Death Eaters after he spent nearly two years infiltrating meetings to record their inflammatory speeches.

The officer identified only as Kamal forged close relationships with the Luton chapter of a banned group linked to hate preacher Anjem Choudary
...Self-proclaimed holy man who used to work for Omar Mohammed Bakdri as spokesman for al-Muhajiroun. Anjem is a loathesome little attention prostitute who is to be heard cheering for the home team anytime anybody with a turban manages to slaughter a group of unarmed infidels. Anjem was born in the UK in 1967 and is, as you would expect, of Pakistaini descent. The Ghost of Dante is of the opinion that when he goes to hell his knees will be broken once a month...
as he collected evidence, a court heard.

In one rant, one of the gang spoke of 40 truck bombs "driving down Oxford Street", the Old Bailey was told.

Speeches were delivered to up to 100 people, including young children, and the group praised Isil and urged others to travel to Syria to fight.

Zaiur Rahman, 39, was convicted of arranging meetings after putting up a marquee in his back garden to host the Luton chapter of al-Muhajiroun
...formerly Omar Bakri Muhammad's spin off group from Hizb ut-Tahrir in Britain, where the detestable lunatic Anjem Chaudry got his start. More recently the name adopted by al-Qaeda in East Africa for operations in Kenya and Tanzania. It is subordinate to al-Shabaab but will probably be strong enough to fly on its own, given an uninterrupted flow of petrodollars, should the Shaboobs collapse....

What if the flow of petrodollars is interrupted?
Meetings were also held in a nearby Methodist church hall.

Mohammed Choudry, 23, was found guilty of encouraging support for Isil, while Mohammed Istiak Alamgir, 37, Rajib Khan, 38, and Yousaf Bashir, 36, were convicted of similar offences last summer.

The invitation-only gatherings in June and July 2015 featured speeches calling for gay people to be thrown from buildings, the court heard.

One was held on the anniversary of the London Tube bombings while in another Choudry spoke of "40 trucks driving down Oxford Street full of explosives".

Choudry, who is married with a young child, told his audience: "My brothers, there is a wave coming. Either you be part of it or you drown. Either you like it or you don't like it.'
"The arc of history is bending in our direction, O my brothers. Grab your surfboards, and haaaaannnnggg tennnnnnn!!!"
Anjem Choudary, who was last year tossed in the calaboose
Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un!
for five-and-a-half years, spoke at one of the meetings in Rahman's garden.

Those attending the speeches included Shazib and Junead Khan. Junead Khan is serving a life sentence for plotting to kill a US soldier in the UK, while Shazib Khan is serving a 13-year jail term for plans to fight alongside Isis in Syria.

Rahman, from Luton, was convicted of three counts of arranging meetings in support of a proscribed organization, while Choudry, from Maidenhead, Berkshire, was convicted of one count of encouraging support for a proscribed organization.

Judge Michael Topolski QC told the pair they had been convicted "of arranging meetings and speaking at a meeting in support of a vicious terrorist organization, who's members and supporters, just like you two, have hijacked and corrupted the principles and practices of an ancient and revered religion for its own purposes".

Kamal accompanied Rahman and Choudry to a meeting where the speaker praised the massacre of 12 journalists at French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo
...A lefty French satirical magazine, home of what may well be the majority of the active testicles left in Europe...
The court heard a secret recording where the speaker says: "It's a great day, it's excellent news."
Posted by: Fred || 01/14/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Europe
Spain arrests three accused of connections to Islamist militants
[Ynet] Spanish police have locked away
Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw!
three people accused of connections with Islamist krazed killers, the Interior Ministry said on Friday, two in Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta and a third in the northern town of Figueras.

The two detained had been through a long radicalisation process and formed part of a group which was thought to be at an advanced stage of preparation for potential attacks, it said. Police, searching six locations in relation to the arrests, found one gun and three non-firing weapons, the ministry said, though it did not elaborate.

Separately, the ministry said later on Friday that police had detained a Moroccan man with Dutch papers accused of belonging to ISIS and who may have returned to Spain from a conflict zone within the last couple of days.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/14/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


#2  Thank you for the heads up, Bright Pebbles. The Daily Mail has an article started -- it'll be posted for tomorrow. Hopefully by then more will be known.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/14/2017 18:12 Comments || Top||

#3  So, if the Europeans spend all this effort trying to fight Islamic terrorism, why do they put so much diplomatic effort into hammering Israel?
(Just curious if there's a logical reason here...)
Posted by: ed in texas || 01/14/2017 18:20 Comments || Top||

#4  Belgian police detained three people for questioning after carrying out house searches in Brussels that were related to an anti-terrorism investigation, prosecutors said on Saturday.

The house searches were carried out in the Brussels district of Molenbeek, which gained international attention when locals with links to Syria took part in the November 2015 attacks that killed 130 people in Paris.

"The searches were carried out as part of an investigation by Brussels prosecutors," a spokeswoman for Brussels prosecutors said. "While nothing was found, three people were taken in for questioning."

The area where the searches took place was closed off to traffic as special police forces with machine guns moved in, a Reuters journalist said.
Posted by: Pancho Snore8829 || 01/14/2017 18:44 Comments || Top||

#5  "why do they put so much diplomatic effort into hammering Israel?"

Anti-Semitism, #3 ed. Otherwise known as business as usual. But you knew that.
Posted by: Barbara || 01/14/2017 20:02 Comments || Top||

#6  Thank you for the update, dear Pancho Snore8829. Rantburg is the result of such teamwork. :-)
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/14/2017 20:29 Comments || Top||


The Grand Turk
Turkish court arrests 2 Uighurs in relation to Istanbul attack
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Two Chinese nationals of Uighur origin were tossed in the calaboose
I ain't sayin' nuttin' widdout me mout'piece!
on Friday for suspected links to the mass shooting in an Istanbul lounge on New Year's Eve, state-run Anadolu agency said.

Two suspects, Omar Asim and Abuliezi Abuduhamiti, who are Chinese citizens, were remanded in jug on charges of being members of an armed terrorist organization, and aiding in 39 counts of murder.

Turkish authorities last week said the man who killed 39 people in an attack on an Istanbul lounge was probably an ethnic Uighur.

ISIS has grabbed credit for the attack, saying it was Dire Revenge for Turkish military involvement in Syria.

Anadolu news agency also said 35 people were tossed into the calaboose so far in relation to the attack. Uighurs were among those detained, local media reports said.

The Uighurs are a largely Moslem, Turkic-speaking minority in far western China with significant diaspora communities across Central Asia and The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
The suspect, who authorities have not named, shot his way into exclusive Istanbul lounge Reina and opened fire with an automatic rifle, throwing stun grenades to allow himself to reload and shooting the maimed on the ground.

Among those killed in the attack were Turks and visitors from several Arab nations, India and Canada.

Posted by: Fred || 01/14/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


India-Pakistan
Kashmir: Infiltration bid by 6 militants foiled; one killed, 5 retreat
[Daily Excelsior] The Border Security Force (BSF) tonight foiled major infiltration attempt by a group of four to six bully boys, trying to infiltrate into the Indian territory, along the International Border in Samba sector by killing one of them and forcing others to retreat to Pakistain.

With the thwarting of intrusion bid, a major terror attack has been foiled along Jammu-Pathankot National Highway as the faceless myrmidons were believed to be heading towards the Highway to target security forces installations.

Official sources said the BSF troops observed the movement of four to six bully boys, who were moving towards the Indian territory along Tarnah Nullah between Samba and Hiranagar sectors on the International Border, at about 9 pm tonight.

As the alert BSF troops challenged the bully boys, they opened firing with automatic weapons targeting the security personnel deployed at the Naka mounds and made determined attempt to sneak into this side.

The BSF jawans brought down heavy volume of firing on the bully boys, sources said, adding that after heavy exchange of firing one of the faceless myrmidons was killed on spot while others were reported to have retreated to Pakistain taking cover of darkness in the area.

The BSF didn’t suffer any casualties in the encounter.

Sources said body of the slain bully boy was lying on the IB and efforts would be made to retrieve it tomorrow morning.

The BSF has intensified patrolling all along the International Border in Jammu sector anticipating that the faceless myrmidons could make infiltration attempts from some other places. The security personnel were keeping strict vigil along the IB round-the-clock.

Sources said the sophisticated gadgetry installed along the International Border also helped the troops to spot the movement of faceless myrmidons towards the Indian territory.

According to sources, the weaponry in possession of the faceless myrmidons clearly indicated that they were infiltrating into this side with a view to carry out major terror attack on security or civilian installations along the National Highway.

"There had been inputs also, which suggested that the faceless myrmidons were planning to infiltrate into the Indian territory and carry out major terror attack along the National Highway," sources said.



Posted by: Fred || 01/14/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistain Proxies


Two kidnapped men found shot dead in Kech, Panjgur
[DAWN] GWADAR: Bullet-riddled bodies of two people, kidnapped from Kech and Panjgur districts last week, were found on Thursday.

According to official sources, one of the corpses was found in the Kathreenz area near Mand of Kech district.

Personnel of the local administration and Levies force inspected the place and oversaw the transfer of the body to a government hospital.

The man was identified as Azad, son of Chakar.

"The victim was kidnapped last week by some gunnies," a senior Levies officer said, adding that bullets were pumped into his head and chest.

The other body was found in the Keelkaor area of Panjgur.

Levies personnel shifted it to the district hospital. He was identified as Behram, son of Khuda Bakhsh. "Behram was kidnapped by gunnies a week ago from Panjgur," Levies officials said, adding that multiple bullet wounds were found on the body.

The cause of the killing could not be known. No one grabbed credit for their kidnapping and killing.

The Levies began an investigation into the incidents.

Posted by: Fred || 01/14/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:


Iraq
ISIS burns alive mother, 4 children in Iraq
[ALMASDARNEWS] The so-called "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....
" (ISIS) reportedly carried out the execution of a woman and her four children in Iraq's Kirkuk this week, a security source al-Manar today.

According to al-Manar, the Islamic State terrorist set fire on the mother and her four children for the "crime" of attempting to the leave the "caliphate."

Media reports confirmed that ISIS bully boyz locked away
Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un!
the family, composed of a mother, three girls and one boy, on the Himreen Highway in northwest Iraq, and burnt them in front of other displaced civilians.

This heinous execution is just one of the documented crimes committed by the Islamic State this year and one of the many committed in Iraq and Syria.

Posted by: Fred || 01/14/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  ISIS IS El Shatan
Posted by: newc || 01/14/2017 1:06 Comments || Top||

#2  Not heinous enough to rise en masse and destroy ISIS I guess.
Posted by: Skidmark || 01/14/2017 18:57 Comments || Top||


Iraqi forces reach Nineveh govt building in Mosul
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Iraqi forces fighting ISIS in djinn-infested Mosul
... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn...
reached the Nineveh province governance building and raised the Iraqi flag there on Friday, a senior US defense official said.

Elissa Slotkin, the acting assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, also told a Pentagon briefing on the fight against ISIS that a US liaison team is in talks with The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
about helping its forces near al-Bab in Syria and has provided air support and surveillance in the past.

"We are engaged on an hourly basis with the Turks on counter-ISIS campaign in Syria," Slotkin said. "We have a liaison team that’s resident in Ankara. They are engaging every single day on the full spectrum of coalition support to the campaign."

Posted by: Fred || 01/14/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Iraqi forces make rapid gains against Islamic State in Mosul
[REUTERS] Iraqi special forces stormed a sprawling university complex in northeast djinn-infested Mosul
... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn...
on Friday and pushed 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....
back in nearby areas to reach two more bridges across the Tigris River, the military said.

The faceless myrmidons were fighting back at Mosul University, which they seized when they took over the city in 2014. A Rooters news hound saw heavy festivities inside the campus.

Iraqi forces have now recaptured most districts in eastern Mosul, nearly three months into a U.S.-backed offensive, which accelerated at the turn of the year with new tactics and better coordination.

They aim to take full control of the eastern bank of the Tigris, which bisects Mosul from north to south, before launching attacks on the western side still fully in Islamic State hands.

Driving the ultra-hardline Islamist group out of its Mosul stronghold will probably spell the end for the Iraqi side of the caliphate it declared in 2014 which stretches into Syria.

By late on Friday, elite Iraqi forces had taken control of part of the university complex and reached two more of the five bridges that link east and west Mosul, said Sabah al-Numan, front man for the counter-terrorism service (CTS).

"God willing, in a very short while we will announce the clearing of the entire left bank ... There are not many areas left (under IS control) on this bank," he told state television
... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
Iraqi forces have now reached Mosul's three southernmost bridges, having battled their way to the Fourth Bridge several days ago.

The U.S.-led coalition that is backing the offensive with air strikes, training and advice praised Friday's advances.

"Work still needs to be done, but ISIS's days in Mosul are quickly coming to an end," U.S. Air Force Colonel John Dorrian said in a statement, using an acronym for Islamic State, which is also known as ISIS and ISIS.

Posted by: Fred || 01/14/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Russian trained ‘5th Legion’ arrives in west Palmyra
[ALMASDARNEWS] The Syrian Arab Army's newly formed 5th Legion has arrived in the western countryside of Palmyra, a military source told al-Masdar News on Friday.

The 5th Legion will be participating in the long-awaited east Homs offensive to liberate the gas fields north of Palmyra from the so-called "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....
of Iraq and al-Sham" (ISIS).

According to an al-Masdar field correspondent in Damascus, this east Homs offensive will be led by the 800th Battalion of the Elite Republican Guard and Shaheen Group of the Tiger Forces; these units are already at the T-4 Military Airport.

The 5th Legion was formed several months ago by the Russian military in order to fulfill a manpower need for the Syrian Arab Army.

With the nationwide ceasefire mostly holding around the country, the Syrian Arab Army can now concentrate on the Islamic State turbans occupying much of the eastern countryside of Syria.

Posted by: Fred || 01/14/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Syrian Army advances inside East Ghouta amid Jaysh Al-Islam collapse
[ALMASDARNEWS] Jaish al-Islam
...Liwa al-Islam (Brigade of Islam) was established by Zahran Alloush, the son of Saudi-based religious scholar Abdullah Mohammed Alloush, after Syrian authorities released him from prison in mid-2011 where he had been serving time for his Salafist activism. The group claimed responsibility for carrying out the July 2012 Damascus bombing that killed Defense Minister Dawoud Rajiha, Deputy Defense Minister Asef Shawkat, and Assistant Vice President Hassan Turkmani. It was a driving force behind actions in the Damascus region. It cooperated and conducted joint operations with al-Nusra. In Sptember 2013 Saudi Arabia engineered Liwa al-Islam's merger with fifty other more or less Salafist groups as a counterweight to al-Nusra, which the Learned Elders of Islam considered was growing too powereful...
(Army of Islam) refused to send reinforcements to bail out their comrades under attack in Hawsh al-Zriqiyah on Friday night, resulting in the Syrian Arab Army's (SAA) subsequent capture of this village just 24 hours after they launched the assault.

Led by the 105th Brigade of the Elite Republican Guard, the Syrian Arab Army attempted to divert Jaish al-Islam's forces from the strategic town of Hazrama to the small village of Hawsh al-Zriqiyah; however, the aforementioned Islamist group did not take the bait.

The Syrian Arab Army's capture of Hawsh al-Zriqiyah on Friday paved the way for their forces flank the strategic hilltop of Tal Ferzat in the East Ghouta region.

If Tal Ferzat falls to the Syrian Arab Army in the coming hours, then Jaish al-Islam will be forced to retreat from al-Nashabiyah because they will be in range of Syrian Army artillery.

As of now, the Syrian Arab Army is storming Tal Ferzat from two different sides, while their allies from the Paleostine Liberation Army (PLA) attempt to advance towards al-Nashabiyah.
Posted by: Fred || 01/14/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Jaish al-Islam (MB)


Intelligence officer killed in Damascus blast
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] News websites affiliated with al-Assad regime, based in Lattakia, Homs, Tartus and Damascus, reported the death of Colonel Munther Salah Haider, an officer in the military intelligence, who was killed in the bombing that hit the Kafr Sousa municipality in the Syrian capital, Damascus, on Thursday.

Sources close to the Syrian regime affirmed that the suicide kaboom targeted the famous security and intelligence center, Kafr Soussa, which includes the headquarters of several security, intelligence and police agencies. The attack resulted in the death of several military personnel including Colonel Haider and national defense officer Haytham Ismail, famed for taking a picture with Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Scourge of Qusayr...
, and also appearing in a short video with the President during his visit to eastern Ghouta in Damascus. Ismail had asserted that meeting the al-Assad had given him great moral support.

Colonel Haider was a resident of the Oued Ed Dahab valley in the Syrian province of Homs. It is still unknown whether the blast targeted him personally, due to his rank in the intelligence wing of al-Assad. However,
today is that tomorrow you were thinking about yesterday...
no party has grabbed credit for the bombing that resulted in the death of 8 to 11 people.

Social media pages loyal to the Assad regime, paid tribute to the dead Colonel, noting that he has been promoted posthumously to Brigadier.
No promotion ceremony is planned. No cake, no punch, no two-hour lunch. It's just not the same.
Posted by: Fred || 01/14/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


41 ISIL militants ‘neutralized’ in northern Syria
[Hurriyet Daily News] At least 41 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....
of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) snuffies were "neutralized" in northern Syria over the last 24 hours as part of the ongoing Euphrates Shield Operation, the Turkish military said Jan. 13.

Turkish authorities often use the word "neutralized" in their statements to imply the Death Eater in question was either killed or captured.

A total of 177 ISIS targets including shelters, defense positions, command control centers, weapons and vehicles were hit with the help of target detection systems, said a Turkish General Staff statement.

Separately, Turkish jets destroyed 10 other ISIS targets in air raids on the Suflaniyah and Bzagah regions, the statement added. Targets included four shelters, four headquarters and two weapon-mounted vehicles.

The Turkish army is supporting Free Syrian Army
... the more palatable version of the Syrian insurgency, heavily influenced by the Moslem Brüderbund...
(FSA) fighters in liberating al-Bab, a strategic city for ISIS, from the jihadist group. Jan. 13 marks the 143th day since the city was surrounded in order to liberate it.

The operation is part of the Turkish-led Euphrates Shield operation, which began in late August to improve security, support coalition forces, and eliminate the terror threat along The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
’s border.
Posted by: Fred || 01/14/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Osama Bin Laden associate and al-Qaeda veteran Kattab al-Qahtani killed in Syria
[ALMASDARNEWS] Kattab al-Qahtani, an associate of the late Osama bin Laden
... who is no longer with us, and won't be again...
and a veteran al-Qaeda leader, has been killed in a dronezap with eight others in Syria.

Qahtani, who fought with al-Qaeda in Afghanistan alongside the architect of the 9/11 attacks, was killed as he travelled through north-west Syria in a convoy with a Syrian al- Qaeda commander and a holy warrior belonging to the Turkistan Islamic Party, a faction of Chinese jihadis.

The jihadi stalwart, originally from the Arabian peninsula, was killed on 1 January in a wave of Arclight airstrikes that has targeted al-Qaeda's affiliate in Syria at an unprecedented rate, the News Agency that Dare Not be Named reported.

With its explosive expansion across Syria and later Iraq in 2014 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....
, formerly linked to al-Qaeda, eclipsed the older group. However,
today is that tomorrow you were thinking about yesterday...
Syria has one of the largest and most active concentrations of al-Qaeda gunnies in the world.

The impetus behind the increased targeting of al-Qaeda operatives is not immediately clear. For years Washington has targeted the Lion of Islam group and particularly its internal Khorasan structure which plans attacks against the West and its interests abroad.

Posted by: Fred || 01/14/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Nusra



Who's in the News
26[untagged]
9Islamic State
4Arab Spring
4Govt of Syria
2Taliban
2Boko Haram
2Govt of Pakistan
2Houthis
2Sublime Porte
1Palestinian Authority
1Govt of Sudan
1Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (IS)
1Hamas
1Hezbollah
1al-Nusra
1al-Qaeda in Arabia
1Jaish al-Islam (MB)
1Muslim Brotherhood
1Commies
1Govt of Iran
1Govt of Pakistain Proxies

Bookmark
E-Mail Me

The Classics
The O Club
Rantburg Store
The Bloids
The Never-ending Story
Thugburg
Gulf War I
The Way We Were
Bio

Merry-Go-Blog











On Sale now!


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.
Click here for more information

Meet the Mods
In no particular order...
Steve White
Seafarious
tu3031
badanov
sherry
ryuge
GolfBravoUSMC
Bright Pebbles
trailing wife
Gloria
Fred
Besoeker
Glenmore
Frank G
3dc
Skidmark

Two weeks of WOT
Sat 2017-01-14
  Islamic State supporters face jail after infiltrated in undercover police sting
Fri 2017-01-13
  Belgium charges pair over fake papers for jihadist in Paris, Brussels attacks
Thu 2017-01-12
  36 Afghan parliament staff killed in Kabul attack
Wed 2017-01-11
  Airport Shooter Converted to Islam, Identified as Aashiq Hammad Years Before Joining Army
Tue 2017-01-10
  Mosul Left Coast Fully Liberated
Mon 2017-01-09
  U.S. Navy ship fires warning shots at Iranian vessels
Sun 2017-01-08
  German Vice Chancellor calls for ban of Salafist mosques
Sat 2017-01-07
  ISIS propaganda king killed
Fri 2017-01-06
  Gunman Opens Fire at Fort Lauderdale Airport; UPDATE 3 5 dead
Thu 2017-01-05
  3 girl suicide bombers gunned down in northeastern Nigeria
Wed 2017-01-04
  Turkey Nabs 2 Foreigners at Istanbul Airport over Nightclub Attack
Tue 2017-01-03
  U.S.-led airstrikes kill 4 Fateh al-Sham commanders in Idlib
Mon 2017-01-02
  Islamic State Claims Istanbul Nightclub Terrorist Attack
Sun 2017-01-01
  Top wanted Boko Haram commander arrested at Borno LG Chairman’s house
Sat 2016-12-31
  BREAKING: 'Many injured' in Istanbul nightclub attack

Better than the average link...



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.
34.229.173.107
Help keep the Burg running! Paypal:
WoT Background (19)    Non-WoT (8)    Opinion (8)    (0)    Politix (9)