At least 45 insurgents were killed during clearing operations by security forces across the country in the past 24 hours, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in a statement on Monday.
In addition, 25 insurgents were injured during the operations.
The operations were launched in Kapisa, Uruzgan, Kandahar, Kunduz and Helmand province, reported the statement.
Security forces also seized some weapons during the operations, it said.
The Taliban have not yet commented about the statement.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] At least 21 bandidosturbans affiliated with the loyalists of 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.... of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group were killed in an Arclight airstrike conducted by the Afghan Air Force in Zabul province.
The provincial police commandment said late on Sunday that the Arclight airstrike was carried out in Dai Chupan Khak Afghan district.
According to the security officials, at least 7 ISIS bandidosturbans including a commander of the group were also maimed in the Arclight airstrike.
The anti-government armed bad boy groups including the ISIS loyalist have not commented regarding the report so far.
This comes as Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah ... the former foreign minister of the Northern Alliance government, advisor to Masood, and candidate for president against Karzai. Dr. Abdullah was born in Kabul and is half Tadjik and half Pashtun... said late in December last year that special military operations will kick off soon in southeastern Ghazni and southern Zabul provinces to suppress the loyalists of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group and Taliban turbans.
He made the remarks during a meeting with the elders of the two provinces which organized amid concerns that the fighters of the two group are attempting to expand foothold in some districts of the two provinces.
The elders of Zabul said the local residents in Khak-e-Afghan and Nawbahar districts have noted movements of the two groups to establish and strengthen their presence.
The Ghazni representatives also said the ISIS loyalists and Taliban turbans have started to expand their foothold in Nawa district.
The ISIS bandidosturbans have reportedly arrived with their families and are fully equipped with the area turning into an entry point for the foreign turbans.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/24/2017 00:00 ||
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[Khaama (Afghanistan)] At least 14 forces of Evil including a local commander of the Taliban were killed in the latest counter-terrorism operations, the Ministry of Defense (MoD) said Monday.
According to a statement by MoD, at least 13 forces of Evil were also injured during the joint operations conducted in the past 24 hours.
The statement further added that the operations were conducted with the support of the Afghan air force and artillery units of the Afghan army, targeting the forces of Evil in Kapisa, 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.. , Uruzgan, Kandahar, Kunduz and Helmand ...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan... provinces.
At least 5 of the forces of Evil were killed including a commander of the group identified as Mullah Ghafar in Pul-e-Manan area of Dehrawood district in Uruzgan, MoD said.
The ministry also added that 7 forces of Evil were maimed during the same operation and cache of weapons and ammunition belonging to Taliban was discovered and seized in Nakhooni district of Kandahar.
At least 6 forces of Evil were killed and 5 others were maimed during a separate operation in Sangin district of Helmand, MoD said, adding that 3 more were killed in Garamser district.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/24/2017 00:00 ||
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At least four Somali federal government soldiers were killed, and several wounded in a land mine blast at a military outpost in Afgoye district, about 30Km south-west of Mogadishu.
Local officials said the blast was caused by a bomb planted inside an army base in the town, which fell briefly to Al shabaab militants on Monday afternoon.
Several soldiers who have been wounded in the attack were rushed to a hospital in Mogadishu for treatment, according to an official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The official added Al shabaab has intensified ambush attacks on Afgoye over the past few weeks, in an attempt to show its presence and destabilize the town’s overall security.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/24/2017 00:00 ||
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[Libya Herald] The Benghazi Revolutionaries’ Shoura Council and its IS and Ansar al-Sharia ...a Salafist militia which claims it is not part of al-Qaeda, even though it works about the same and for the same ends. There are groups of the same name in Libyaand Yemen, with the Libyan versions currently most active. Tunisia's Shabaab al-Tawhid started out an Ansar al-Sharia and changed its name in early 2014. It still uses the old name now and then, probably because the stationery's not all used up and the web site hasn't expired yet... terrorist allies had until last year operated a camp near Misrata’s Libyan Iron and Steel Company (LISCO) and sailed regularly between the port city and Benghazi during the fight against the Libyan National Army.
The claim comes from former Ansar al-Sharia front man Naizar Jalal Atwier who was captured near Ajdabiya after the mass breakout from Ganfouda at the start of this month.
Atwier has given a broadcast confession during which he also said that the head of Tunisia’s Ansar al-Sharia, Saifullah Bin Hussein, known as "Abu Ayaz", was still in Ganfouda.
Atwier said that the camp near LISCO had been set up in 2014 and run until last year. He did not say why it had closed. He also said that he and other hard boyz had been able to travel by boat to Benghazi. On two occasions last year, craft believed to be used as terrorist supply vessels were blown up and sunk when they were moored alongside the loading dock at LISCO.
Atwier, dressed in an orange jumpsuit, told his TV interviewer that since Ganfouda had been cut off from supply by sea, conditions in the enclave had become bad.
When he was originally detained, Atwier had told his captors that Benghazi Death Eater leader Wissam Ben Hamid was dead, after being maimed in the chest and neck by shrapnel. Terrorist sources later denied Ben Hamid’s death.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/24/2017 00:00 ||
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[AlAhram] Five army personnel were killed late Sunday in a terrorist attack in Sinai, a brief army front man statement posted on his official Facebook page read.
"[The martyred] were killed by the hands of treacherous 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... sts, who are the enemy of the nation and religion," the statement added.
No further details were given on the location or details of the attack.
Military officials, speaking on condition of anonymity ... for fear of being murdered... because they weren't authorized to brief news hounds, said the hard boyz intercepted the men returning from monthly leave in a taxi, shooting them dead but sparing the driver.
[Al Jazeera] The Yemeni army said it has taken full control of Mokha, a port city southwest of the capital Sanaa which had been taken by 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 ... rebels in November 2014.
Brigade General Ahmed Seif al-Yafai said in press remarks on Monday that his forces entered Mokha, where dozens of families were seen fleeing days of festivities and bombardment.
Government forces were combing the port, an AFP news agency journalist accompanying the troops said.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/24/2017 00:00 ||
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Greek Islands Overwhelmed by Migrants, Say Officials
23 Jan 2017
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — The mayors of five eastern Greek islands used to limit the movement of refugees and migrants have called on the European Union to ease the restrictions amid continued problems created by winter weather and overcrowding.
‘Integrate or Leave’: As Wilders Surges in Polls Dutch PM Ramps Up Migrant Rhetoric
23 Jan 2017
Just one day after polls which gave Geert Wilders’s insurgent populist party a nine-point lead on the ruling conservatives, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has drifted again politically closer to the rival he last week ruled out a coalition with.
Pope Francis Says ‘Every Country Has the Right to Control its Borders’
22 Jan 2017
Despite his dislike of walls, Pope Francis declared Friday that “every country has the right to control its borders,” especially where the risk of terrorism exists. In an extended interview with the leftist Spanish newspaper El País, the Pope reaffirmed
Migrant Allegedly Murdered 70-Year-Old Because She Was An ‘Infidel’
22 Jan 2017
A migrant born in Saudi Arabia but claiming to have come from Pakistan, is accused of having murdered a 70-year-old pensioner in her home because she was an “infidel.” Police say that the 27-year old asylum seeker wrote religious
‘Merkel’s Migrants’: Germany’s Rejected Asylum Seekers Flood Paris
21 Jan 2017
Migrants rejected for asylum by Germany are flooding into the French capital Paris, leaving some migrant centres almost completely full. Between 50 and 100 rejected asylum seekers are entering France per day, according to figures from Europe 1 Le JDD,
Spain Sees 500 Southern Border Crossing Attempts in a Month
21 Jan 2017
Spanish police say migrants have attempted close to 500 illegal border crossings in just one month by trying to hide on passenger and cargo boats landing on its southern coast.
Migrants are caught by Spanish police ABSEILING down ropes from moored ferry in desperate bid to get to Europe
21/01/17
[DailyMail] A video shows the extreme lengths people are going to to get to the continent. The footage shows a teenager squeezing from under the base of a lorry as well as two men fleeing to land from a ship. In the last month alone, a special device of the National Police in Ceuta and Melilla has detected 500 attempts by foreigners to reach the Spanish mainland.
#2
Thank you, Besoeker. There are so many little things captured in mostly non-overlapping sets all over the place that this seemed the best way to keep from running up the article count while keeping track. The Breitbart and Daily Mail items are generally blurbs for much longer articles, but the details of this rape or that knife fight in a refugee hostel are not nearly as interesting -- except for the rare subject analyst -- as getting a sense of the general trend. Or at least as much of a sense as can be gotten when clearly so much of the information is suppressed. Still, Bretibart just announced they will be opening offices in Germany and France this year, so hopefully my filters will have more to catch.
Incidentally, if anyone has sources beyond the basic ones I'm aware of, or would like to take this on so that it is done more regularly than whenever I have time to spare, please let me know in the O Club.
#3
I like it as well. I think at some point we'll need to consider how to build these more efficiently at night. I know TW spends a fair bit of time on the Euro Desk, and Badanov on the Iraq desk, putting these together.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/24/2017 12:25 Comments ||
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#4
TW, I might have a webcrawler that could snag special topic URLs triggering on adjectives and nouns (Greek+migrants, Turkish+explosion, London+mayor, Russian+politics, ...). I can feed the query from two subject lists but would need to scrub the results for currency (SYSTEM-24).
#6
That sounds impressive, Skidmore. And more than a bit terrifying. I still worry that I'll accidentally do the thing that blows up the internet for everyone. Life was slightly less terrifying when it was only the university computer and punch cards.
[DAWN] At least eight security personnel were maimed in Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... 's Panjgoor district when a military convoy was ambushed, security officials told DawnNews.
"The security personnel were moving through the district's mountainous Gichak area to conduct a raid against miscreants when they were fired upon," said a security official.
The injured security personnel were rushed to a nearby hospital for medical treatment. Extra forces were called to the area after the ambush and started a search operation.
No arrests were reported after the incident.
There was no claim of responsibility for the attack. Chief Minister Balochistan Nawab Sanaullah Zehri strongly condemned the attack.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/24/2017 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] At least six security personnel were maimed in a blast in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... 's Tank district on Monday, security sources said. And so it resumes...
The Frontier Corps ...a provincial paramilitary force. Total manpower is about 80,000. They are tasked to help local law enforcement in the maintenance of law and order, and to carry out border patrol and a..the Antwerp-based Salafist organization that had campaigned to introduce Sharia law to Belgium before single-handedly making Belgium the highest per capita supplier of jihadis to Syria in Europe. There was a big trial in Antwerp in 2015, but most of those convicted were in absentia...nti-smuggling operations.... (FC) personnel were on a routine patrol when their vehicle was targeted through an improvised bomb (IED) planted on the roadside in Tank's Molazai Mor area.
The injured were rushed to the District Headquarters Hospital (DHQ) in Tank.
Security forces cordoned off the incident site and a search operation was started in the area.
There has been no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/24/2017 00:00 ||
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Posted by: anon1 ||
01/24/2017 07:02 ||
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#1
early in propaganda video there are some big explosions but I don't think these are caused by bombs from their UAV
later in the video there are some explosions from UAV carried bombs but they are fairly small - the kind that you might use against the front line of ground troops
Posted by: lord garth ||
01/24/2017 9:42 Comments ||
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#2
Site won't let me re-watch without some stupid survey, but I think those big boomers were car bombs.
The ISJV has been using drones for such purpose for a while now. They have also be experimenting with bomb dropping drones and suicide drones.
I point and laugh at the ISJV, but they are racking up many hours of small drone flight time.
Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi joint government forces stormed on Monday the last district hosting Islamic State militants in the eastern section of Mosul, with the total recapture of that region expected for announcement within hours.
Sputnik news agency quoted an Iraqi army captain as saying that forces from the 9th and the 16th divisions stormed al-Rashidiya district in the north of the city under an aerial cover by fighter jets from the U.S.-led international coalition against IS.
The source expected the government to declare the full recapture of eastern Mosul within hours, which would be the most remarkable victory over the extremist group since a campaign was launched to retake the city in mid October.
After retaking eastern Mosul, Iraqi generals hope to move immediately beyond the Tigris River towards Islamic State strongholds in the west, where military observers predict a tougher battle due to the higher density of the population.
IS militants have reportedly withdrew from the east to the west, with many reportedly killed upon crossing Tigris River to the other side. Many group leaders have been killed, according to news reports and military statements by Iraqi and international coalition commanders. Counter-Terrorism Forces said last week they had killed 3300 militants since the start of operations.
Sofian Abdulelah al-Hamadani, a commander at the 16th division, was quoted Monday as saying that IS deployed snipers above houses overlooking the western ban of Tigris River, also erecting concrete roadblocks and closed most of the streets at that region.
The conflict in Mosul has displaced at least 181.000 civilians, according to the Iraqi government, and the United Nations had said the conflict would threaten to displacement at least one million.
Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) A senior Islamic State leader responsible for recruiting foreign members was killed in an Iraqi airstrike in western Mosul, a security official was quoted as saying.
The strike, which was carried out three days ago, targeted al-Mazlomin village at the IS-held strategic town of Tal Afar, and killed Abbas Suleiman Ismail AlHaider, aka Abu Aesha, along with four other Azerbaijani nationals, according to a security source.
Iraqi government forces have approached the final districts in eastern Mosul where Islamic State militants locate. The liberation of that region after three months of operations would be the most remarkable victory over the extremist group since a campaign was launched to retake the city in mid October.
After retaking eastern Mosul, Iraqi generals hope to move immediately beyond the Tigris River towards Islamic State strongholds in the west, where military observers predict a tougher battle due to the higher density of the population.
IS militants have reportedly withdrew from the east to the west, with many reportedly killed upon crossing Tigris River to the other side. Many group leaders have been killed, according to news reports and military statements by Iraqi and international coalition commanders. Counter-Terrorism Forces said last week they had killed 3300 militants since the start of operations.
The conflict in Mosul has displaced at least 181.000 civilians, according to the Iraqi government, and the United Nations had said the conflict would threaten to displacement at least one million.
Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi joint government forces recaptured on Monday another district in northern Mosul from Islamic State militants, one in a handful of spots remaining within the extremist group’s grip.
The Ministry of Defense said in a statement forces recaptured the district of Qawsiyat and a few other neighboring villages. Its announcement comes a few hours after military sources told Sputnik News that troops had invaded the district of Rashidiya.
The ministry’s statement added that more than 50 islamic State militants were killed in the Monday battles, while six vehicles, a booby-trapping workshop and C4 jerrycans used by them were seized and destroyed.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said last week that troops had to free a few districts in northern Mosul to declare the eastern section of the city as totally IS-free, which would be the most remarkable victory over the extremist group since a campaign was launched to retake the city in mid October.
After retaking eastern Mosul, Iraqi generals hope to move immediately beyond the Tigris River towards Islamic State strongholds in the west, where military observers predict a tougher battle due to the higher density of the population.
A source at the Joint Operations Command said in a press statement on Monday that floating bridges had been extended above the Tigris River, preparing for the forces to move for battles at the western section of Mosul. He added that Iraqi fighter jets began to bombard IS locations in the west preparing for the battles, predicting a tougher battle there due to the density of the population residing narrow residential areas that are difficult to invade with military vehicles.
Posted by: badanov ||
01/24/2017 00:00 ||
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Anbar (IraqiNews.com) Airstrikes by fighter jets from the US-led coalition killed 38 members of the Islamic State militants in Anbar, some near the borders with Syria, on Monday.
Col. Walid al-Dailami, from the army’s Anbar Operations, said one of strikes targeted an IS location in al-Rabt, a region of the town of Qaem, near the Syrian borders, killing 33 at a training camp run by the group.
Meanwhile, Anbar’s top operations commander, Qassem al-Mohammadi, was quoted by AlMada Press as saying that five other militants were killed in coalition strikes at Wadi Muweil, west of the city of Ramadi. A booby-trapping workshop, a vehicle and a rocket launcher used by the group were also destroyed. he said.
IS has been holding Qaem, along with other few regions in western Anbar, since the group emerged in 2014 to proclaim a so-called “Islamic Caliphate”. Thousands of civilians are stranded under the group’s control and are barred from exiting.
The Iraqi army command in Anbar declared on the 5th of January the start of tribes-backed operations to retake IS remaining pockets in the province’s western regions. The operations lasted for a few days, recapturing a few villages, before halting again. Security sources said after the halt of operations that the government had decided to halt battles in Anbar until the end of operations in Mosul.
Iraqi and coalition fighter jets have, however, carried out regular strikes on Islamic State locations in the west. The group responded with stepping up several attacks in the past weeks that killed several security personnel.
On Sunday, Khalaf al-Jleibawi, a senior leader at al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Units), which fights IS with the government, said security forces had received confirmed information that several families of Islamic State militants had begun returning to the city of Ramadi, which security forces said they fully recaptured late 2015.
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Security forces from the Federal Police arrested two members of the Islamic State who attempted to assassinate a police officer in Abu Gharib area, west of Baghdad, a source told Al Ghad Press on Monday.
The source said, “Security forces from the Federal Police’s 5th intelligence brigade monitored three suspects in al-Kanisa Street in Abu Gharib area.”
“Security forces ambushed them and found that they were attempting to place an adhesive explosive device under the vehicle of a police officer in the area of Abu Gharib,” the source added.
Two of the suspects were arrested and then transferred to a security center, and after interrogation they confessed that they belong to the so-called Wilayat al-Janub of the Islamic State group.
Posted by: badanov ||
01/24/2017 00:00 ||
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Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Security forces in Baghdad killed on Monday a suicide bomber before he went on with an attack at the north of the capital.
A statement from the Interior Ministry’s Baghdad Operations said the forces received an intelligence tip about a suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt and moving between the districts of al-Salman and al-Boushallal.
The suspect was ambushed and shot dead at an unpopulated area, said the statement.
Violence surged in Iraq with the emergence of Islamic State militants who took over large areas of the country in 2014. Baghdad has been witnessing almost daily bombings targeting civilians and security personnel.
Islamic State militants have said they were responsible for several bloody explosions that hit the capital in the past weeks, bringing the governorate municipal and security officials under critics’ fire.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) said violence in the country left 19000 casualties in nine months of 2016.
Observers believe Islamic State have begun to escalate attacks outside the city of Mosul, where the group has been losing ground and personnel since October, so as to relieve pressure by government forces on that front and to divert attention from group losses.
While losing Mosul could be the severest blow to the group’s existence in Iraq, some observers believe attacks outside the province prove that the extremist group can still pose a security threat.
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) A police source revealed that a person was killed and six others were wounded in the explosion of a booby-trapped vehicle, east of Baghdad, Alsumaria News reported on Monday.
The source said, “A booby-trapped vehicle, parked on the roadside in Talibiyah area exploded, today, killing one person and wounding six others.”
“Security force imposed strict procedures in the area to prevent any further violations,” the source added on condition of anonymity.
Earlier today, Federal Police arrested two members of the Islamic State while attempting to place an adhesive explosive device under the vehicle of a police officer in the area of Abu Gharib.
[Ynet] IDF and Police forces of the Judea and Samaria Division arrest three Paleostinians suspected of throwng Molotov cocktails at settlements in the Gush Etzion area; 60 Paleostinian suspects have been detained in the past year for similar activity.
IDF forces from the Judea and Samaria Division along with Israel Police forces have tossed in the calaboose Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! three Paleostinians on suspicion of throwing Molotov cocktails at the entrance of Kibbutz Migdal Oz in Gush Etzion over the weekend. No injuries were reported.
In footage released by the IDF, the suspects are seen approaching the kibbutz at night and hurling several Molotov cocktails at the entrance before fleeing.
Utilizing Police and Shin Bet intelligence, Givati forces raided the homes of the suspects in Beit Fajjar and detained them for questioning.
The Renault vehicle used in the attack was seized as part of new security policy in which vehicles used in the commission of terrorist attacks are confiscated.
The IDF has recently increased anti-terror activities in the eastern sector of Gush Etzion following increases in Molotov cocktail and stone-throwing attacks on Israeli settlements and vehicles. Sixty Paleostinian suspects have been detained in the past year for such activity.
[IsraelTimes] An Israeli soldier was lightly maimed by a pipe bomb that went kaboom! next to him on a road in the northern West Bank on Monday night, the army said.
Earlier in the evening, the Israel Defense Forces had received reports of burning tires outside the village of Mughayir, northeast of Ramallah, a military spokesperson said.
A group of soldiers were called to the area to investigate. One of them approached a burning tire, but it "turned out to be an bomb" and detonated, the army said.
The soldier was lightly injured and was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.
The army began searching for those responsible for the pipe kaboom.
[Bangla Daily Star] Two Bangladeshis have been held in Malaysia for their suspected links 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.... (IS).
Malaysian Special Branch's Counter-Terrorism Division incarcerated Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! four people, including the two Bangladeshis, in separate raids between January 13 and 19 in Kuala Lumpur and Sabah, New Straits Times, a local English daily, reported yesterday.
The suspects included a 31-year-old Filipino man and a 27-year-old Malaysian woman.
The Bangladeshis, aged 27 and 28, worked as salesmen, and were arrested last Thursday in Kuala Lumpur. They were suspected of having ties to suspected IS forces of Evil in Bangladesh and planning to join Dr Mahmud's terror cell, according to the report.
Dr Mahmud was a former lecturer at University Malaya who had joined IS forces of Evil based in the southern Philippines.
Malaysian Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said the arrests meant that police had effectively destroyed a new IS cell which had planned to turn Sabah into a transit station for Southeast Asia and South Asia gunnies to join a Philippines-based IS group led by Dr Mahmud Ahmad and Isnilon Hapilon.
"Preliminary investigation revealed that the cell, led by Dr Mahmud, had combined with an Abu Sayyaf ...also known as al-Harakat al-Islamiyya, an Islamist terror group based in Jolo, Basilan and Zamboanga. Since its inception in the early 1990s, the group has carried out bombings, kidnappings, murders, head choppings, and extortion in their uniquely Islamic attempt to set up an independent Moslem province in the Philippines. Abu Sayyaf forces probably number less than 300 cadres. The group is closely allied with remnants of Indonesia's Jemaah Islamiya and has loose ties with MILF and MNLF who sometimes provide cannon fodder... group headed by Isnilon, which had pledged allegiance to IS leader Abu Bakar Al Baghdadi," he said in a statement.
Malaysia is a major destination for the Bangladeshi jobseekers. Around four lakh Bangladeshis are now working in the country.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/24/2017 00:00 ||
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[ABS-CBN] Malaysian police said on Monday they had arrested four people, among them three foreigners, with links to a Daesh cell based in the southern Philippines.
Malaysian Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar said in a statement that the cell, operating out of Mindanao, was led by a former university lecturer, Mahmud Ahmad, who is known to be a Malaysian Daesh member. The cell had planned to use the eastern Malaysian state of Sabah as a transit point for regional recruits looking to join Daesh in the Philippines.
Khalid said one of the arrested suspects, a Filipino, had been instructed to recruit new followers from Bangladesh, Malaysia and Indonesia, as well as Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar, and arrange for their travel to Mindanao. The suspect was arrested in Sabah along with a Malaysian woman who was planning to marry and travel with him to the Philippines.
Police also arrested two Bangladeshi men in Kuala Lumpur, who had allegedly been recruited by the Philippine suspect. Khalid said, "The two are suspected of having links with Daesh groups in Bangladesh."
Khalid said Mahmud's cell had joined up with the Abu Sayyaf and pledged its allegiance to the group's leader and the nation's most-wanted man, Isnilon Hapilon.
Last June, militants who claimed to be Daesh fighters said in a video they had chosen Isnilon to lead the group's Southeast Asian faction. The video, posted on social media, marked Daesh's acceptance of allegiance by Southeast Asian supporters and called for them to launch attacks in the region.
Malaysia has arrested more than 250 people between 2013 and 2016 over militant activities linked to Daesh.
Posted by: ryuge ||
01/24/2017 00:00 ||
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[AnNahar] Fierce festivities erupted Monday between the al-Nusra ...formally Jabhat an-Nusrah li-Ahli al-Sham (Support Front for the People of the Levant), also known as al-Qaeda in the Levant. They aim to establish a pan-Arab caliphate. Not the same one as the Islamic State, though .. ... Front and 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.... rival jihadist groups in the outskirts of the Bekaa border town of Arsal, state-run National News Agency reported.
"Rockets and medium-caliber weapons are being used in the fighting in the al-Malahi and al-Ajram areas in Arsal's outskirts," NNA said.
Deaths and injuries on both sides have been reported, the agency added.
Militants from the two groups are entrenched in Arsal's outskirts and in mountainous areas along the undemarcated Lebanese-Syrian border.
The Lebanese army regularly shells their posts while Hizbullah ...Party of God, a Leb militia inspired, founded, funded and directed by Iran. Hizbullah refers to itself as The Resistance and purports to defend Leb against Israel, with whom it has started and lost one disastrous war to date, though it did claim victory... and the Syrian forces have engaged in festivities with them on the Syrian side of the border.
The two groups overran the town of Arsal in 2014 before being ousted by the army after days of deadly battles.
#1
Arsal is in Lebanon, about 5 miles from the Syrian Border. There are a lot of refugees from Syria in the general area, certainly thousands, maybe more than 10k.
Posted by: lord garth ||
01/24/2017 10:16 Comments ||
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#2
We don't need to fight these people. All we need to do is let them fight each other.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
01/24/2017 11:04 Comments ||
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#3
Casualties? That's good. Doesn't matter which side, hopefully both.
[al-Manar] Six Russian Tu-22M3 long-range bombers have launched airstrikes on ISIL targets in Syria’s city of Deir ez-Zor, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that the Tu-22M3 long-range bombers took off from an airfield in Russia and flew over the territory of Iraq and Iran.
“On January 23, 2017, six long-range Tu-22M3 bombers that took off from a Russian airfield and flew over Iraq and Iran carried out airstrikes on ISIL’s command posts, arms and ammunition depots near Deir Ezzor populated area.” The ministry added that all targets have been destroyed.
“Su-30SM and Su-35S provided air cover to the Russian bombers from the Hmeymim airbase.” After successfully completing their combat mission in Syria, the Russian jets returned to Russia. On Saturday, Russian strategic bombers also targeted ISIL positions in Deir Ezzor.
Last week, ISIL terrorists surrounded the Deir Ezzor military airfield in Syria’s northeast. Deir Ezzor airbase remains the last line of defense of the Syrian army on the way to the city. Despite numerous terrorist attacks involving suicide bombers and military equipment, the Syrian Air Force managed not only to successfully defend the airfield, but also counterattacked terrorists fighting in nearby territories.
Posted by: badanov ||
01/24/2017 00:00 ||
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#1
Curious that they are flying strategic bombers from the Motherland rather than doing the work locally.
Security?
Need for a long runway?
Maintenance and loadout?
Training and practice for the next big one?
Because they can?
Inquiring minds....
[Hurriyet Daily News] Some 65 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) Death Eaters were "neutralized" in northern Syria over the last 24 hours as part of the Euphrates Shield operation, the Turkish military said Jan. 23.
Turkish authorities use the word "neutralized" in their statements to imply the Death Eaters in question were either killed, captured or surrounded.
The Turkish Armed Forces also hit 194 ISIS targets in northern Syria, a Turkish General Staff statement said.
Turkish jets hit 14 ISIS targets in the al-Bab and Bzagah regions, including six headquarters, seven shelters and an armored vehicle manufacturing facility.
Coalition forces also hit targets in Tadif, Abu Jabbar and Uvayshiah on the 153rd day of the operation.
Since the start of the operation, 3,113 handmade explosives and 55 mines have been neutralized under controlled conditions, the military statement added.
Operation Euphrates Shield began late August 2016 to tighten border security, eliminate terror threats along The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... ’s borders and support opposition forces in Syria. Turkey currently backs the Free Syrian Army ... the more palatable version of the Syrian insurgency, heavily influenced by the Moslem Brüderbund... (FSA) as a part of its operation.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/24/2017 00:00 ||
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[al-Monitor] Military operations are ongoing near al-Bab, northeast of Aleppo, between the Free Syrian Army ... the more palatable version of the Syrian insurgency, heavily influenced by the Moslem Brüderbund... (FSA) factions and special Turkish forces on the one hand, and 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.... (IS) on the other. The battles that the armed Syrian opposition is waging with Turkish air and land support in the framework of Operation Euphrates Shield that The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... launched on Aug. 24 face major challenges against IS. The organization is defending, ever so strongly, its main stronghold in the Aleppo countryside.
Al-Monitor accompanied FSA soldiers participating in the battle and closely watched the progress of the military operation that has been faltering for many reasons.
For one, bad weather conditions were far from helpful. Besides, IS’ strong resistance in al-Bab -- which the organization considers an important hub for moving men and military equipment -- did not make the battle any easier. The strong presence of civilians in the city also complicated the operation, as IS forbade them from leaving the city and is using them as human shields.
IS has also benefited from defenses it has built and planted around the city, such as tunnels and trenches and the sowing of mines of varying sizes and types. Some mines are anti-personnel, while others target armored and four-wheel drive vehicles. Euphrates Shield fighters lost many of their vehicles and men during IS’ ongoing raid attempts. Notably, IS relies on boom-mobileings and cycle of violencesuicide kabooms. A boom-mobileing targeting Euphrates Shield recently occurred in Jubb al-Barazi near al-Bab and killed seven people, including two civilians.
During al-Monitor’s field visit to Operation Euphrates Shield battlefronts near al-Bab, FSA leader Mohammed Haj Ali told al-Monitor, "Despite our repeated attempts to raid al-Bab city and open new battlefronts against IS, we have failed so far in breaking the organization’s defenses and its front lines surrounding the city from the north and west. We changed our military tactics several times by attacking Qabasin, Suflania and Bizaah towns in the east and northeast of al-Bab. The battles are ongoing on these axes to pave the way for besieging al-Bab and threatening it from the east, at the same time as the land attacks in the west and north."
He said, "Turkish air raids against IS locations, ammunition warehouses and military headquarters in al-Bab and its surroundings have increased lately. The Turkish tanks have also been increasingly targeting IS locations, but the shelling did not really weaken the organization, which is maintaining its fierce defense. IS has large amounts of weapons and ammunition, including anti-tank missiles."
Ali added, "IS has many local fighters in al-Bab and its surroundings, in addition to hundreds of foreign members who came to the aid of their fellows in the battles to deter Operation Euphrates Shield. IS has a remarkable amount of heavy weapons and ammunition and is using them in al-Bab battle. Perhaps those are part of its spoils of war in Palmyra city."
Operation Euphrates Shield forces failed to gain control of nearby Jabal al-Sheikh Akil and al-Farouq Hospital -- two strategic locations where IS members are positioned. Jabal al-Sheikh Akil is a key passage for controlling al-Bab. For that reason, IS increased its reinforcements there to protect the area from any land attack from Euphrates Shield forces. The forces also failed to take the town of Qabasin, located just northeast of al-Bab, despite violent battles with IS on Nov. 15, which resulted in the Euphrates Shield forces’ controlling the town for a few days.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/24/2017 00:00 ||
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Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) A senior Islamic State leader responsible for recruiting foreign members was killed in an Iraqi airstrike in western Mosul, a security official was quoted as saying.
The strike, which was carried out three days ago, targeted al-Mazlomin village at the IS-held strategic town of Tal Afar, and killed Abbas Suleiman Ismail AlHaider, aka Abu Aesha, along with four other Azerbaijani nationals, according to a security source.
Iraqi government forces have approached the final districts in eastern Mosul where Islamic State militants locate. The liberation of that region after three months of operations would be the most remarkable victory over the extremist group since a campaign was launched to retake the city in mid October.
After retaking eastern Mosul, Iraqi generals hope to move immediately beyond the Tigris River towards Islamic State strongholds in the west, where military observers predict a tougher battle due to the higher density of the population.
IS militants have reportedly withdrew from the east to the west, with many reportedly killed upon crossing Tigris River to the other side. Many group leaders have been killed, according to news reports and military statements by Iraqi and international coalition commanders. Counter-Terrorism Forces said last week they had killed 3300 militants since the start of operations.
The conflict in Mosul has displaced at least 181.000 civilians, according to the Iraqi government, and the United Nations had said the conflict would threaten to displacement at least one million.
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi judicial authorities executed on Monday 31 convicts linked to a massacre carried out by the Islamic State that left 1700 Iraqi air force cadets dead in 2014.
Anadolu Agency quoted Mahmoud Khalaf, the mayor of Samarra, Salahuddin, as saying that some of the convicts belonged to his city, while the rest were from other areas of the province. He said the dead bodies were transferred to the city’s public hospital preparing to hand them over to their relatives.
The massacre occurred at the Speicher air base in Tikrit, the capital of Salahuddin, when Islamic State militants executed 1700 Shia students at the air force. The victims were either shot at or beheaded before their corpses were dumped into the Tigris River, which cuts through Tikrit. The incident was one instance among many that ignited public discontent with the performance of former prime minister Nouri Al-Maliki.
On Sunday, security sources were quoted as saying that 89 bodies of the massacre’s victims were found at a mass grave in Tikrit. They were to be exhumed, subjected to a DNA test and handed over to their families, according to news reports.
Since its emergence in 2014, taking over large areas of Iraq to proclaim an “Islamic Caliphate”, IS militants have proudly posted videos of heinous executions it carried out against security personnel and civilians at areas under its control for multiple charges.
[ARA News] Raqqa – Islamic State’s (ISIS) jihadists on Monday executed two soldiers from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) who have been captured by the group during clashes in Raqqa countryside.
ISIS had taken two SDF fighters as captives subsequent to clashes west of Raqqa last week.
“The two SDF soldiers were publicly beheaded in the Tabqa town,” local media activist Khalid al-Husni told ARA News.
The radical group has executed the soldiers on charges of “opposing Allah’s Sharia and fighting the Caliphate’s rule”.
This comes amid continued military operations by the Kurdish-led SDF troops against ISIS in the vicinity of Raqqa.
The SDF announced that it has captured over 2500 km2 in western Raqqa Governorate as part of the second phase of the US-backed Euphrates Wrath Operation. The polyethnic alliance also confirmed that they had cleared 196 villages and dozens of farms.
During the first phase of Euphrates Wrath, which began on November 6, the SDF liberated roughly 560 km² in northern Raqqa. “Thus, since the beginning of the battle for Raqqa, 3200 square kilometers have been cleared, including 236 villages.”
The SDF launched the second phase of the Operation Euphrates Wrath with the objective of securing Raqqa’s western countryside and Tabqa Dam, which bridges the Euphrates River. The first phase of the operation focused on securing the banks of the Balikh River.
The SDF confirmed the that they had eliminated 620 ISIS militants during the course of the campaign, captured 18 others and destroyed “over 40 car bombs.” In addition, SDF troops seized “a great deal of ammunition and weapons,” as well as “a number of ISIS vehicles.”
The long-term objective of Euphrates Wrath remains the elimination of the Islamic State in its de facto capital –Raqqa city.
[Asharq Al-Awsat] Mosul- Iraqi forces used to facing deserted, explosives-rigged streets and booby-trapped buildings have not encountered as many bombs planted by jihadists in Mosul as they did in earlier battles against them.
ISIS has no qualms about killing civilians, but the presence of a large number of residents in Iraq’s second city discouraged the jihadists from extensively sowing it with explosives, officers say.
While previous urban battlefields in Iraq’s war against ISIS were largely depopulated by the time the country’s forces moved in, Mosul still sheltered a million-plus people when the offensive to retake it was launched three months ago.
If explosives had been widely planted by the jihadists ahead of the battle, they would have been at risk of being triggered before Iraqi forces arrived.
So while the systematic mining of roads and rigging of buildings with bombs has arguably been ISIS’ signature defense system against Iraqi forces, in Mosul, the jihadists had to change tack.
Iraqi forces have seen less booby-trapping in Mosul than in Anbar and Salaheddin provinces, where earlier key battles against ISIS took place, said Staff Lieutenant General Abdulghani al-Assadi, a top commander in the elite Counter-Terrorism Service.
“The reason is the families remained in their neighborhoods, in their houses,” Assadi told Agence France Presse.
Some residents of the city have ventured out of their homes just moments after the fighting died down, and in recaptured areas of eastern Mosul, stores are reopening, goods are displayed in front of shops, civilian cars and pedestrians move along some streets and children play outside.
Staff Lieutenant General Sami al-Aridhi, another senior CTS commander, said there was “no comparison” between the number of bombs planted in Mosul and those in Anbar province, where Iraqi forces retook the cities of Ramadi and Fallujah from ISIS.
There are fewer because “here in Mosul, the residents didn’t leave,” Aridhi said.
“Now, when we advance into any neighborhood, we don’t think that the street is booby-trapped; our vehicles move normally.”
ISIS needed civilians in Mosul to maintain at least the veneer of a functioning “state,” and extensively planting bombs that could be triggered by residents would have both reduced their defensive utility and risked stoking popular anger against the jihadists.
This does not mean that ISIS has completely forgone the use of bombs in Mosul.
It is a “change of strategy” for ISIS, said Captain Qaisar Fawzi, an officer in an Iraqi army engineering battalion.
“They did not rely on roadside bombs, they relied on explosives-rigged vehicles,” he added.
Vehicles rigged with bombs “are indeed the enemy’s weapon of choice in the battle of Mosul,” said Colonel John Dorrian, spokesman for the U.S.-led anti-ISIS coalition.
But, according to Assadi, in “important areas, the residents were displaced… and (ISIS) started to booby-trap them.”
Lise Grande, the U.N.’s humanitarian coordinator for Iraq, said that bombs planted by ISIS have still posed a threat to civilians.
“People who are trying to flee Mosul… have stepped on booby-traps and IEDs (improvised explosive devices),” killing some and wounding others, Grande said.
And “based on experiences from other occupied areas, we’re worried that IEDs have been planted by (ISIS) in schools, hospitals and other public buildings,” she said.
The large numbers of civilians in Mosul have also hampered Iraqi offensive operations.
Aridhi said that while security forces could previously strike ISIS from a distance, “here, we are not able to use any fire, because citizens are present.”
“We are delayed because people are present,” he said.
Assadi agreed, saying that there is “little booby-trapping, few bombs, but (many) citizens whom we must protect.”
Iraqi forces do however still use heavy weapons in Mosul: helicopters and warplanes have frequently carried out strikes inside the city, and artillery as well as large unguided rockets are fired inside it.
The combination of civilians staying in the city and the lower number of bombs planted inside it means life has returned to some recaptured areas in Mosul far quicker than in other cities retaken from ISIS.
Parts of Ramadi and Fallujah are still uninhabitable, but while some houses and buildings in Mosul have been wrecked and streets are cratered by bombs and strewn with rubble, other places have escaped largely unharmed.
“The booby-trapping began after the start of the Mosul operation,” said resident Raed Mohammed, speaking to AFP at a roundabout in the city’s east where street vendors were out selling goods, but which was still overlooked by an ISIS billboard and marred by damaged buildings.
People were going about their daily lives before that and, had the jihadists extensively planted bombs, “it’s likely that they themselves would have been exposed to explosions.”
Posted by: badanov ||
01/24/2017 00:00 ||
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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
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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.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] At least 14 
[ABS-CBN] Malaysian police said on Monday they had arrested four people, among them three foreigners, with links to a Daesh cell based in the southern Philippines.
[al-Manar] Six Russian Tu-22M3 long-range bombers have launched airstrikes on ISIL targets in Syria’s city of Deir ez-Zor, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
