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Helmand’s Sangin district has reportedly fallen to Taliban
Today's Headlines
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Afghanistan
Policeman kills his 9 comrades in an insider attack in North of Afghanistan
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] A policeman killed nine of his comrades in an insider attack in northern Kunduz province of Afghanistan, local officials said Thursday.

The incident took place late on Wednesday night after the assailant policeman belonging to the Afghan Local Police (ALP) forces opened fire on his comrades, leaving nine of them dead.

A front man for the 808th Spinzar Zone in North of Afghanistan Mahfuzullah Akbari confirmed that the incident took place on Kunduz-Aliabad highway.

According to the local officials, the assailant policeman likely had links with the Taliban group as he has beat feet from the post after the attack, taking with him the weapons available in the post.

The anti-government armed holy warrior groups have not commented regarding the incident so far.

This comes as at least eight coppers bit the dust in a similar attack carried out nearly two weeks ago in southern Zabul province.

Provincial governor’s front man Gul Islam Sayal confirmed the incident and said the two assailants managed to flee area after the attack.

He said the coppers belonged to the Afghan Local Police (ALP) forces and the assailants also managed to take several weapons from the check post with them.
Posted by: Fred || 03/24/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Helmand’s Sangin district has reportedly fallen to Taliban
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The control of the key Sangin district in southern Helmand
...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan...
province has reportedly fallen to Taliban control.

An Afghan army source with the 215th Maiwand Corps confirmed that the Afghan forces were forced to retreat from the district.

The source further added that the retreat was made after growing number f troops casualties and lack of supplies by the government.

The Taliban group in a statement said the group’s fighters have taken control of the district by issuing a statement.

However,
some people are alive only because it's illegal to kill them...
another source the security forces have only left a security post without any clash.

Helmand is among the relatively volatile provinces in southern Afghanistan where the Taliban turbans are actively operating in its various districts and often carry out insurgency activities.

This comes as the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces are busy conducting counter-terrorism and clearance operations against the Taliban turbans in some of the volatile districts of Helmand.

Defense Ministry and Local Govt rejects fall of Sangin to Taliban

The Ministry of Defense and the Local Government in Helmand
...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan...
have rejected the control of Sangin district has fallen to Taliban.

According to a statement by MoD, the Taliban claims regarding the capture of a military base in Sangin and fall of the district are baseless.

The statement further added that the brigade of the 215th Maiwand Corps is still based in Sangin as the district is active and there are no major security concerns.

MoD said the Lions of Islam are based in the outskirts of the district and the security forces are busy confronting the Lions of Islam who are sporadically conducting insurgency.

However,
there's no worse danger than telling a mother her baby is ugly...
the provincial military council in a statement said the security forces were forced to tactically retreat from the market of Sangin due to months of heavy fighting that incurred major losses to the local residents.

The source further added that nearly 300 Lions of Islam have been killed during the festivities over the past months and the decision to tactically retreat to around 2 kilometers away from the market was taken to prevent further losses to the residents of the area.
Posted by: Fred || 03/24/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1 
Posted by: Crinegum Ulaigum2776 || 03/24/2017 19:10 Comments || Top||


Africa North
Two actions against IS in north Sinai, 12 security forces and 15 jihadis killed
[AlAhram] A police officer and a conscript were killed on Thursday in North Sinai in a shootout with Death Eaters, Egypt's Ministry of Interior said in a statement. Police captain Moataz Abdel-Aziz and conscript Mahmoud Mohammed were killed in an exchange of fire between security forces and forces of Evil in El-Arish city. The police officer and conscript were part of a security patrol in the area.

This is the second deadly attack today by forces of Evil on security forces in North Sinai.

Earlier in the day, three army officers and seven soldiers were killed during a raid on a Death Eater hideout in central Sinai after "two improvised bombs detonated near their vehicles as they chased Death Eaters."

Fifteen forces of Evil were killed and seven were incarcerated
Into the paddy wagon wit' yez!
during the raid, the army said.

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....
Death Eater group has grabbed credit for the killing of the 10 army personnel.
Another Al Ahram article adds the following about that central Sinai raid:
Army front man Tamer El-Refai said the army also destroyed two storehouses, which were used to store half a tonne of TNT, IEDs, and subsistence and medical equipment used by the myrmidons.

Forces confiscated two four-wheel vehicles, explosives, 460 laptops, 640 cellphones, and several vehicle plates used by the myrmidons.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/24/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (IS)


Africa Subsaharan
French National Abducted in Chad:
A French national has been abducted in the central African nation of Chad, a French military source said Thursday.

“All means have been mobilized to secure the person’s liberation,” the source told reporters in Paris.
Posted by: badanov || 03/24/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Arabia
Yemeni's officials' son dies in al Qaeda attack in Abyan
SANAA: One person was killed and three others wounded in an attack apparently targeting a Yemeni official’s car on Thursday, a security source said.

The eldest son of deputy interior minister Ali Nasser Lakhsheh was killed when a rocket-propelled grenade hit the family’s car in the southern Abyan province, the official said.

His wife, another son and a daughter were wounded. It was unclear if the deputy minister himself was in the vehicle at the time of the attack.

The official said Al-Qaeda militants were behind the attack which was carried out when the family was en route from Aden, where the government of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi is currently based.

Abyan has been the site of attacks by Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in recent weeks. Five soldiers were killed by suspected militants there earlier this month.

Abyan has also been the target of a string of US air raids targeting AQAP, which Washington regards as the radical group’s most dangerous branch.

AQAP has exploited a power vacuum created by the war between the Hadi government and Iran-backed Houthi insurgents who control the capital Sanaa and number of major cities along the Red Sea coast.

More than 7,700 people have been killed and 40,000 wounded in the conflict, according to the United Nations.
Posted by: badanov || 03/24/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula


Houthi projectile kills toddler and injures father and brother in Najran
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] A toddler was killed Thursday when a projectile launched by the Houthi militia from Yemen territories hit a residential area in Najran, southwestern Saudi Arabia. The deputy spokesperson of the Directorate of civil defense said the victim’s brother - a 5-year-old - and his father were injured in the attack that targeted Sakam neighborhood in Najran.
Posted by: Fred || 03/24/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Houthis


Bangladesh
RAB arrests 5 New JMB militants in Jatrabari, Badda
[Dhaka Tribune] Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has detained five suspected members of a new faction of banned murderous Moslem outfit Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (New JMB) from Dhaka’s Jatrabari and Badda areas, on Monday night.

The detainees are Oliuzzaman alias Oli, 28, an engineer at a multinational company, Anwarul Alam, 29, a coaching centre teacher, Saleh Ahmed Sheesh, 22, Abul Kashem, 27, and Md Mohon Mohsin, 20.

The elite force claimed they foiled their attempt to attack a government building/establishment in Dhaka.

"The five had been planning to conduct an attack on a government establishment in the capital," said Additional Deputy General (Operations) Colonel Anwar Latif Khan of RAB at their headquarters, on Tuesday.

He, however, did not disclose the name or location of the targeted establishment to avoid public panic.

"We are looking for two more JMB men Munir and Salman who were instructed to carry out the attack," said Col Anwar.

RAB claimed Oliuzzaman was JMB’s IT expert and has allegedly been running JMB’s IT cell in Mirpur and Kafrul for about a year.

He also trained other JMB men in IT and how to use social media, said Col Anwar.

Oliuzzaman’s friend and another BUET graduate Anwarul is apparently an explosives specialist according to RAB ADG.

The arrestees during the initial interrogation admitted to their involvement with JMB while RAB found that they were actively spreading communal propaganda on social media, said RAB-10 Operation Officer Senior Assistant Superintendent of Police Kamrul Hasan.

According to RAB, the detainees belong to New JMB’s Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury and Sarwar Jahan faction.

"The absconding members of JMB’s Sarwar-Tamim faction is trying to regroup and conduct further subversive activities across the country," said Col Anwar. Books promoting religious extremism and explosives were recovered from their possessions.

A case has been filed against the five with the Kotwali Thana under the Anti-Terrorism (amendment) Act 2013 and a Dhaka Court has sent them to jail setting March 28 for their 10-day remand hearing.
Posted by: Fred || 03/24/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (IS)


Police arrest two militants in Bandarban
[Dhaka Tribune] Police arrested two suspected militants from Baishari area of Bandarban early on Thursday, within a week after the death of a militant couple hailing from the area during a raid in Sitakunda.

Md Alam, 45, and Md Rafiqul Islam, 26, of Baishari Union under Naikkhyangchhari, were picked up around 3am, Officer-in-Charge AH Towhid Kabir said.

The due were taken to the police station for interrogation.

Earlier, four members of a new faction of JMB including two from Baishari area – Kamal Hossain and Zubaira Yasmin – were killed during a drive in Sitakunda area of Chittagong on March 16. Their seven-month-old child was found dead.

Following the Sitakunda drive, people in Naikkhyangchhari have started searching for and contacting the persons who have remained missing for quite some time.

Police earlier announced that they were preparing a list of missing persons from the area, where the New JMB militants carried out two murders including one of a Buddhist monk last year.

Islamic State claimed responsibilities for the attacks.

“So far, the local authorities are in the dark about the trace of at least six persons,” Baishari Union Chairman Md Alam said.

“Police are investigating whether the six people have already got involved with any militant group,” Sub-Inspector of Baishari Investigation Centre Abu Musa said.

Locals have said that they support drives against the criminals and requested the police not to harass any innocent person.
Posted by: Fred || 03/24/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (IS)


Britain
4 UK men on trial over alleged attack plan
An entirely different story than the car-and-knife attack by Khalid Masood on Parliament the other day, dear Reader.
[Ynet] Four men have gone on trial in London accused of trying to make a pipe bomb and planning an attack inspired by Islamic extremism.

Naweed Ali, Khobaib Hussain, Mohibur Rahman and Tahir Aziz, all in their 20s or 30s, are charged with preparing terrorist acts.

Prosecutor Gareth Patterson told jurors at the Old Bailey court on Wednesday that the men were incarcerated
Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'!
last year after weapons were found in Ali's car, including shotgun cartridges, an imitation handgun and a meat cleaver with the word "kafir" -- infidel in Arabic -- scratched onto the blade.

Patterson said the men also had a "partially constructed pipe bomb."

The defendants, from central England, deny the charge.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/24/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Moslem Colonists


UK parliament attacker named as British-born Khalid Masood
[Dhaka Tribune] The attacker who killed three people near parliament in London before being rubbed out was named on Thursday as a 52-year-old British-born man, Khalid Masood, who was once investigated by MI5 intelligence officers over concerns about violent extremism.

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....
grabbed credit for the attack in a statement issued by its Amaq news agency, but did not name Masood and gave no details. It was not clear whether the attacker was directly connected to the jihadist group.

Police said Masood was born in the county of Kent in southeast England and was most recently living in the West Midlands region of central England.

"Masood was not the subject of any current investigations and there was no prior intelligence about his intent to mount a terrorist attack," the Metropolitan Police said in a statement.

"However,
today is that tomorrow you were thinking about yesterday...
he was known to police and has a range of previous convictions for assaults, including GBH (grievous bodily harm), possession of offensive weapons and public order offences."

Prime Minister Theresa May told parliament the attacker had once been investigated by the MI5 intelligence agency over concerns about violent extremism, but had been a peripheral figure.

Police said Masood had never been convicted of a terrorist offence. His first conviction was in 1983 for criminal damage and his last one in December 2003 for possession of a knife.

During five minutes of mayhem in the heart of London on Wednesday, Masood sped across Westminster Bridge in a car, ploughing into pedestrians. He then ran through the gates of the nearby parliamentary precinct and fatally stabbed an unarmed policeman before being rubbed out.
Eight tossed in the slammer
Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw!
in the UK

Police arrested eight people at six locations in London and Birmingham in the investigation into the attack, which May said was inspired by a warped Islamist ideology. All were suspected of preparing terrorist acts, police later confirmed.

The Enterprise rental car company said the vehicle used had been rented from its Spring Hill branch in Birmingham, which is in the West Midlands.

About 40 people were maimed, of whom 29 remained in hospital on Thursday evening, seven at death's door. May visited some of the maimed, her front man said.

The bloodshed took place on the first anniversary of attacks that killed 32 people in Brussels, and resembled Islamic State-inspired attacks in La Belle France and Germany where vehicles were driven into crowds.

The dead were Masood, two members of the public, and Keith Palmer, the 48-year-old policeman stabbed by Masood.

"He will be deeply missed. We love him so much," Palmer’s family said in a statement. He was married with a five-year-old daughter.

A minute’s silence was held in parliament and outside police headquarters on Thursday morning. A police Twitter account said it had been held at 0933 GMT because 933 was the shoulder number on Palmer’s uniform, but that tweet was later deleted and police released a different number.

As dusk fell, hundreds gathered in London’s Trafalgar Square in a vigil to remember the victims. With traffic diverted away, volunteers handed out candles in an eerie silence.

Helen Pallot, 26, from just outside London, was holding a bunch of flowers she planned to lay nearby.

"I have got a lot of friends and family that work five minutes away from there, so it just makes you think," she said. "It made me angry and sad and I wanted to come here and show that we can still all be here together."

Speaking at the United Nations
...an idea whose time has gone...
in New York, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson urged Internet providers and social media networks to do more to curb krazed killer propaganda.

"They’ve got to look at the stuff that’s going up on their sites, they’ve got to take steps to invigilate it, to take it down where they can," he said.

Eight held in UK on suspicion of preparing ‘terrorist acts’

[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] The eight people enjugged
You have the right to remain silent...
following the attack outside the British parliament are being investigated "on suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts," police said Thursday.

They also said that five people remained at death's door and two more had life-threatening injuries after the attacker ploughed into pedestrians on Wednesday before stabbing a police officer and being rubbed out.

Police named the attacker as 52-year-old Khalid Masood, who had a string of convictions but none of them terror-related.

The eight arrested included two women and five men arrested at three addresses in the central city of Birmingham and a woman arrested in London.

The police statement said that there had also been a raid in Wales in which no arrests were made.

"Detectives are continuing to search" the sites that were raided, the police said.

It said the seven arrested in Birmingham were being held under the Terrorism Act, which allows for longer detention times before charging.

The Telegraph's live feed is here.
The Guardian's live feed is here. Both inform us that a 75-year old man has died as a result of his wounds. The Telegraph reports Mr. Masood, a father of three, was born Adrian Elms of Kent; the Guardian is still investigating that claim.


Update at 10:10 a.m. EDT: The Guardian link above is closed. The new live feed can be found here. The killer is confirmed to have been born Adrian Elms. When his mother married he took his stepfather's name, becoming Adrian Russell Ajao. He may have converted to Islam and become radicalized during one of his prison stints. He was a charming boy, according to classmates, and grew into a superficially charming man, according to neighbours and the hotel staff where he stayed the night before driving off in the rented Hyundai and committing jihad, despite a long history of convictions for violence after leaving school at sixteen.


Update at 10:30: the Telegraph link above has also been closed. The new live feed is here. There were two arrests overnight, bringing the collection of miscreants up to nine, and police are going through the collected evidence, including computers, looking for insights and connections. Mr. Masood is now being described as "ISIS-inspired."
Posted by: Fred || 03/24/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


India-Pakistan
Militants attack MLA’s house, car
[Daily Excelsior] In two separate incidents, bandidos turbans today attacked the residence and official vehicle of MLA Shopian at Memander in Shopian district of South Kashmire.

Militants tonight attacked the residence of MLA Shopian Mohammad Yusuf Bhat at Memander in South Kashmire district of Shopian. However,
there's no worse danger than telling a mother her baby is ugly...
no one was hurt.

Police said that bandidos turbans fired several rounds at the residence of Bhat at Memander and the security guards deployed there retaliated. However,
it's easy to be generous with someone else's money...
no one was hurt in the attack. Security forces immediately cordoned off the area and searches are being conducted.

The MLA was not at his residence when the attack took place as he is putting up at highly guarded official residence.

Earlier in the day, bandidos turbans fired on his official bullet proof vehicle at Hajipora in Shopian. Several rounds of fire hit a police bullet proof vehicles and his ambassador car. However,
the difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits...
the MLA was not in his car at the time of attack. Police fired back but bandidos turbans escaped.

Security forces today cordoned off village Moshward in Keller area of Shopian district of South Kashmire after inputs about the presence of three Death Eaters.

However,
if you can't say something nice about a person some juicy gossip will go well...
the operation was later called off after no bandidos turbans were found in the village.
Posted by: Fred || 03/24/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistain Proxies


Iraq
IS burn western Mosul women who refused to slaughter co-civilians
[Iraq News] 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....
forces of Evil have burned three women who refused to slaughter fellow residents who had tried to flee areas held by the group in djinn-infested Mosul
... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn...
, eyewitnesses said.

Shafaaq news website quoted the witnesses saying that the group had sentenced a group of civilians to death for trying to flee Wadi Akab region. They ordered civilian women to execute the sentence, according to the sources. When three women declined, they burned them to death, they added.

News reports about atrocities affecting civilians under IS rule, though largely attributed to anonymous sources, have greatly been corroborated by accounts by civilians reported by aid agencies and U.N organizations.
Posted by: Fred || 03/24/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  When three women declined, they burned them to death, they added.

They shall be remembered among the just.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 03/24/2017 2:05 Comments || Top||

#2  IS burn western Mosul women who refused to slaughter co-civilians

Seems like a psychological trick to make the population, or at least these women, feel like they are guilty of something and therefore had better side with IS in order to survive.
Posted by: gorb || 03/24/2017 9:42 Comments || Top||


Five killed as Islamic State IEDs target civilians fleeing Kirkuk
[Iraq News] Five people died when two bombs planted by 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....
snuffies went kaboom! near civilians fleeing Kirkuk province, according to DPA.

The agency quoted Anwar al-Assi, chief of the Ebeid tribes of Iraq, saying five non-combatants were killed and four others were maimed at the Hamreen Mountains region when they were trying to escape Islamic State-held areas in Hawija, southwest of Kirkuk.

Assi said the civilians were trying to reach locations held by the pro-Iraqi government paramilitary groups, al-Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Units).
Posted by: Fred || 03/24/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Airstrikes kill 3 senior Islamic State leaders in Anbar
[Iraq News] Airstrikes by Iraqi army jets killed three senior 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....
leaders in western Anbar, according to a source within the Joint Operations Command.

The strikes targeted IS havens at the center of the city of al-Qaem, a major IS stronghold in the west of the province, Waradana website quoted the source saying.
City of al-Qaem, Anbar, Iraq (google maps)

The trio killed in the strike were identified as Zeidan (Abu Sufian) al-Sharqi, Dhaher Mekhlef and Bassem Awwad.

According to the source, the trio belong to the group’s "first generation"

Islamic State held Anbar’s western regions, close to the borders with Syria, since 2014. Those areas have sustained occasional bombardments by Iraqi and U.S.-led coalition fighter jets.

There has not been an officially-declared military campaign to free those regions, but the province’s military command launched a brief assault early January that managed to recapture some western villages before stopping again. The Iraqi government, currently focusing its full combat power in djinn-infested Mosul
... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn...
, IS’s largest bastion in Iraq, is expected to shift to other IS pockets in Iraq once the campaign in Mosul comes to an end.

Local officials believe Islamic State is holding thousands in those regions to use them as human shields against any future security offensive.

The province’s borders with Syria witnessed exchanges of attacks between IS and border guards earlier ths month.
Posted by: Fred || 03/24/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Iraqi forces recapture Yabessat, another district in western Mosul
[Iraq News] Iraqi government forces recaptured Thursday al-Yabessat district, another area in western Mosul as operations proceed to clear the region from Islamic State militants. The Joint Operations Command said Counter-Terrorism Forces took over the area and raised Iraqi flags above its buildings.
Posted by: Fred || 03/24/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Iraqi command says IS fabricates reports of civilian casualties in Mosul
[Iraq News] Iraqi military media denied Thursday that security operations against Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
in western djinn-infested Mosul
... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn...
leave civilian casualties, accusing the Death Eater group of fabricating reports in that respect.

"The terrorist ISIS (Islamic State) gangs practice the most heinous kinds of treatments to our people...They film and photograph innocent civilian victims whom they kill, presenting them as victims of strikes by the heroic Iraqi forces to mislead the public," said the statement by the Defense Ministry’s War Media Cell.

The statement reiterated that Iraqi forces remain committed to "engagement rules that ensure protection for civilians".

News reports suggested earlier Thursday that hundreds of civilians died in strikes by fighter jets from the Iraqi army and the allied U.S.-led coalition in western Mosul, where a security campaign has been running since mid February to eliminate Death Eaters.

Anadolu Agency quoted Cap. Ahmed al-Khazraji, from the Rapid Response Forces, saying that 43 people, mostly women and elders, were killed by mistake in Arclight airstrikes "probably" carried out by the coalition.

Rudaw also said aerial bombardments killed more than 200 people, with many others stranded under rubbles, in Mosul al-Jadida district.

Rudaw did not specify the source of the bombardment, but Iraqi forces, the allied U.S.-led coalition and Islamic State members have occasionally shared the blame for civilian deaths during exchanged bombardments in Mosul since security operations to retake the city from IS launched in October 2016.
Posted by: Fred || 03/24/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Israeli army chief: Hezbollah leader killed by his own men
JERUSALEM (AP) -- Israel has concluded that Hezbollah's top military commander was killed in Syria last year by rivals within the Shiite militant group, Israel's military chief said Tuesday.

The explosive announcement was the latest sign of an escalating feud between Israel and Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed group sworn to Israel's destruction.

Israel considers Hezbollah to be a potent enemy, with over 100,000 rockets and missiles aimed at the Jewish state. But it also believes the group has been weakened and demoralized after years of fighting alongside President Bashar Assad's forces in Syria.

Israel's military chief, Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot, told an academic conference on Tuesday that the death of Mustafa Badreddine last May illustrated "the depth of the internal crisis within Hezbollah."

He also said it reflected "the extent of the cruelty, complexity and tension between Hezbollah and its patron Iran."

An Israeli military official said Israel believes the order to kill Badreddine was given by Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah.
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/24/2017 01:33 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Hezbollah

#1  Revenge TM?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 03/24/2017 2:03 Comments || Top||

#2  I thought they only knew Dire Revenge.
Posted by: gorb || 03/24/2017 2:46 Comments || Top||

#3  The Saudi-owned Al Arabiya stated the same point.

Observers in the area said there was no artillery, pictures of the building show no artillery damage and no-one else was hurt.

It could only have been done by someone close to Badreddine
Posted by: BernardZ || 03/24/2017 6:24 Comments || Top||

#4  Nasrallah gave General Order 66

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09n0qd_n4c0
Posted by: lord garth || 03/24/2017 7:56 Comments || Top||

#5  Paging Doug Niedermeyer...
Posted by: Raj || 03/24/2017 8:23 Comments || Top||

#6  Nasrallah hearing footsteps behind him?
Posted by: AlanC || 03/24/2017 8:45 Comments || Top||

#7  Or Quds Force...
Posted by: Pappy || 03/24/2017 11:51 Comments || Top||

#8  GOAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: Iblis || 03/24/2017 14:30 Comments || Top||


Palestinian teen throwing firebomb killed by troops — IDF
[IsraelTimes] Army says soldiers opened fire on group hurling Molotov cocktails at West Bank settlement of Beit El; three others reported hurt.

Paleostinian teen was killed and three others were severely injured by IDF fire on a group of Paleostinians said to have been throwing Molotov cocktails in the central West Bank Thursday night.

According to the army, soldiers opened fire on the group after they exited a car and began hurling Molotov cocktails at the settlement of Eli, near Ramallah.

"Hits were confirmed. The vehicle then expeditiously departed at a goodly pace," the IDF said in a statement.

The Paleostinian Ma’an news agency identified the fatality as Mohammed Mahmoud Ibrahim Hattab, 17.

A picture of Hattab holding what appeared to be an assault rifle appeared on social media.

Ma’an quoted Paleostinian health ministry sources who said the three others were being treated at death's door in a Ramallah hospital.

According to reports, all four were hit in the head and chest.
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/24/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  According to reports, all four were hit in the head and chest

A warning shoot the the head.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 03/24/2017 2:04 Comments || Top||

#2  That may not be enough to grab their attention.
Posted by: Steven || 03/24/2017 3:00 Comments || Top||

#3  "Not fair! We wore body armor on our legs and feets!"
Posted by: Frank G || 03/24/2017 6:42 Comments || Top||

#4  The NY TIMES headline will probably read "Unarmed Arab Teen Killed by Bloodthirsty IDF Troops". Really, the didn't have GUNS, so they were "unarmed".
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia || 03/24/2017 8:58 Comments || Top||

#5  Good shooting. Good shoot.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike || 03/24/2017 17:41 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
Two Malaysian captives rescued from Abu Sayyaf
[Gulf Today] Two Malaysian sailors held hostage by the Abu Sayyaf for the past eight months have been rescued on the island province of Sulu.

Military spokesperson Jo-Ann Petinglay identified the Malaysians as Tayudin Andot and Abduramin bin Sumas. She said the two, who appeared "weak and sickly," were among the five crewmen of a Malaysian tugboat abducted by the Abu Sayyaf off the Malaysia’s island state of Sabah in July 2016.

Members of the elite Philippine Navy Marines launched an operation at dawn on Thursday after receiving information that the two hostages were seen in the company of about 30 militants in a mangrove swamp on Pata island off Sulu. Petinglay said, "The extremists abandoned the two hostages and fled without firing a shot when they saw the Marines approaching."
Posted by: ryuge || 03/24/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Abu Sayyaf (ISIS)


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
ISIS shoots dead man in western Daraa for ‘blasphemy’
[ALMASDARNEWS] ISIS shot dead a man in western Daraa countryside for the charge of cursing god.

The Jaish Khaled bin Al-Waleed terrorist group (an ISIS-affiliate) that are operating in western Daraa countryside, carried out the execution on Wednesday.

According to Amaq Agency, the media wing of ISIS, the execution occurred in Tasil village.
Posted by: Fred || 03/24/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  ISIS shoots dead man in western Daraa for ‘blasphemy’

seems like overkill, he's already a deader
Posted by: Frank G || 03/24/2017 6:43 Comments || Top||

#2  Corpse BLASPHEMY!
Posted by: al aSha-med || 03/24/2017 15:24 Comments || Top||

#3  seems like overkill, he's already a deader

heh, I had to check, it is ISJV so I wasn't sure.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 03/24/2017 18:00 Comments || Top||


Jihadist rebels mobilize in northeast Latakia for new offensive
[ALMASDARNEWS] The jihadist rebels of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham and Harakat Ahrar al-Sham
...a Syria jihadi group made up of Islamists and salafists, not that there's that much difference, formed into a brigade. They make up the main element of the Islamic Front but they don't profess adoration of al-Qaeda and they've been fighting (mainly for survival) against the Islamic State. Their leadership was wiped out at a single blow by a suicide kaboom at a crowded basement meeting in September, 2014...
have been mobilizing their forces in the northeastern countryside of Latakia for a new offensive against the government forces.

A military official told al-Masdar News on Wednesday night that Syrian Arab Army drones captured images of jihadist rebel reinforcements arriving to the Jabal al-Akrad (Kurdish Mountains) and Jisr al-Shughour regions along the Latakia-Idlib axis.

According to the military official, the Syrian Arab Army expects the jihadist rebels to launch offensives in both Jabal al-Akrad and Sahel al-Ghaab (Al-Ghaab Plain).

This latest mobilization of forces in northeast Latakia comes around the same time the jihadist rebels fired over 25 rockets towards the Russian military bases inside the southwestern part of the province.

With Spring descending upon the vast mountains of Latakia, the jihadist rebels will take advantage of the rain and poor visibility to attack the government forces.
Posted by: Fred || 03/24/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Nusra


No way out of Deir Hafer for ISIL as Syrian Army troops full besiege town
[ALMASDARNEWS] The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) gave 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....
(ISIS) turbans inside of Deir Hafer a short period of time to leave their stronghold of Deir Hafer; however, the terrorist group refused to abandon the town.

In response to the terrorist group’s obstinacy, the Syrian Arab Army seized the last two villages standing between their northeastern and southeastern flanks.

Led by their Tiger Forces, the Syrian Arab Army liberated the villages of Lalat Mohammad and Tal al-Sous Latsbah after a short battle with the Islamic State turbans at the eastern outskirts of Deir Hafer.
Posted by: Fred || 03/24/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Syrian Army destroys jihadist HQ in northern Homs
[ALMASDARNEWS] The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) carried out a special operation on Thursday that targeted the headquarters of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham in the northern countryside of the Homs Governorate.

Led by their Special Mission Forces, the Syrian Arab Army destroyed headquarters of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham in the town of Ghanto, killing several turbans during the short operation.

Following the destruction of the jihadist headquarters, the Syrian Air Force emerged in the northern countryside of Homs, striking Harakat Ahrar al-Sham
...a Syria jihadi group made up of Islamists and salafists, not that there's that much difference, formed into a brigade. They make up the main element of the Islamic Front but they don't profess adoration of al-Qaeda and they've been fighting (mainly for survival) against the Islamic State. Their leadership was wiped out at a single blow by a suicide kaboom at a crowded basement meeting in September, 2014...
’s positions in the al-Rastan Plain.
Posted by: Fred || 03/24/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Nusra

#1  Led by their Special Mission Forces

You had to know the S&M were involved.
Posted by: Besoeker || 03/24/2017 8:34 Comments || Top||

#2  It seems commonizing SMF across national armies reduces the remaining 'fighting force' to logistics specialization. A dangerous lack of flexibility when the second string is assigned to carry bags.
Posted by: al aSha-med || 03/24/2017 15:29 Comments || Top||

#3  Isn't a dangerous lack of flexibility the very definition of Arab armies?
Posted by: trailing wife || 03/24/2017 21:11 Comments || Top||


SDF capture Tabqa Dam from ISIS in spectacular behind enemy lines operation
[ALMASDARNEWS] The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) captured Tabqa Dam from ISIS after a spectacular attack that saw the fighters launch the multi-pronged attack behind ISIS frontlines.

The risky operation was supported by US war helicopters and artillery fire.

"The Coalition supported this offensive with air movement and logistical support, precision Arclight airstrikes, Apache helicopters in close air support, Marine artillery, and special operations advice and assistance to SDF leadership," the US-led coalition said in a statement.

"Over the last four months, the Coalition has conducted more than 300 Arclight airstrikes around Tabqah and near Raqqa that have killed hundreds of enemy fighters, destroyed more than 200 fortifications, and more than 50 ISIS vehicles," the coalition added.

"It takes a special breed of warrior to pull off an airborne operation or air assault behind enemy lines," said Col. Joe Scirocco of the coalition against ISIS. "There is nothing easy about this ‐ it takes audacity and courage. And the SDF has that in spades."

He then went onto claim that the SDF were the most effective fighting force against ISIS.

"The SDF and their local Syrian Arab Coalition fighters, have proven to be the most effective ground force against ISIS in Syria ‐ and they are proving that once again with this daring operation," said Scrocca.

"It is the SDF on the ground, putting their lives at risk, and violently engaging the enemy," said Scrocca. "And it is the SDF, like the Iraqi Security Forces, who are making the sacrifice so that other Coalition nations do not continue to suffer the threat of ISIS terrorism inside our own borders."
Posted by: Fred || 03/24/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  The Coalition supported this offensive with air movement and logistical support

As before: transport loggies and ground fighters.
Posted by: al aSha-med || 03/24/2017 15:32 Comments || Top||


Syrian Army storms jihadist-held Al-Qaboun in east Damascus
[ALMASDARNEWS] The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) shifted their attention from Jobar on Thursday to the jihadist-held suburb of al-Qaboun, striking Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham’s positions at a number of flanks.

Backed by heavy Arclight airstrikes, the Syrian Arab Army’s 42nd Brigade of the 4th Mechanized Division stormed the area around the Sadkop Soap Factory in al-Qaboun, inflicting heavy damage on the jihadist defenses this morning.

According to an al-Masdar field correspondent in Damascus, the Syrian Arab Army has not made any significant gains as of yet; however, this assault is meant to weaken the jihadist resolve before they launch the main assault.

Syrian Army Continues operations in Damascus’s Jobar

[AlManar] A military source said on Thursday the Syrian army units continued military operations successfully along several axes in Jobar neighborhood on the eastern outskirts of Damascus, inflicting heavy losses upon terrorists.

Earlier SANA reporter in Damascus said army units carried out military operations on al-Nusra Front and other Takfiri terrorist groups affiliated to it north of Jobar neighborhood and Eastern Gouta in the countryside of Damascus.

The military operations targeted the positions to which the terrorist groups infiltrated on Tuesday in the surroundings of the textile factories, north of Jobar neighborhood, inflicting heavy losses upon the terrorists in personnel and equipment.

The army operations on the terrorist positions north of Jobar neighborhood during the past two days left more than 157 terrorists dead, among them foreign terrorists and self-claimed leaders and hundreds others injured in addition to destroying three booby-trapped vehicles before arriving to the army posts, three tanks, four armored vehicles, 5 mortar launcher, 3 cannons and 15 machine gun-equipped vehicles.

The source added that the army shelled the terrorists’ movement axes and supply routes coming from the Eastern Ghouta towards north of Jobar neighborhood inflicting heavy losses upon them in personnel and equipment.
Posted by: Fred || 03/24/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Al-Qaeda approaches strategic towns in northern Hama
[ALMASDARNEWS] The al-Qaeda linked rebels of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham and their jihadist allies from Jaish al-Nasr and Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP) have seized more sites from the Syrian Arab Army (SAA), as they push towards the key towns of Qomhana and Ma’an.

Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham and their allies advanced from the recently captured village of Kawkab towards Ma’an, seizing the large hilltops of Tal Bizam and Tal ’Abadi after a short battle with the Syrian Arab Army.

With these points captured, the jihadist rebels are now within striking distance of Ma’an, which is likely to fall in the coming hours if the Syrian Arab Army doesn’t stabilize this front.
Posted by: Fred || 03/24/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Nusra


Elite Tiger Forces arrive in northern Hama to drive back Al-Qaeda
[ALMASDARNEWS] Much of the Syrian Arab Army’s elite Tiger Forces have reportedly arrived in the northern countryside of Hama, today, after a long deployment in east Aleppo.

According to al-Masdar’s Yusha Yuseef, most of the Tiger Forces arrived in northern Hama this morning after completing the battle of Deir Hafer.

The Tiger Forces will be tasked with leading the counter-offensive in the northern countryside of Hama against Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham and their jihadist allies.

Preliminary reports from northern Hama indicate that the Syrian Arab Army is advancing at Khattab; however, it is still too early to tell if they will seize this village.
Posted by: Fred || 03/24/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Nusra

#1  Hama rules?
Posted by: AlanC || 03/24/2017 8:48 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
22[untagged]
9Islamic State
6Sublime Porte
6Moslem Colonists
4al-Nusra
3Taliban
2Govt of Syria
2Houthis
2Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (IS)
1Govt of Pakistan
1Commies
1Hezbollah
1Abu Sayyaf (ISIS)
1Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (IS)
1Thai Insurgency
1Ansar al-Sharia
1PFLP
1al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
1Govt of Iran
1Govt of Pakistain Proxies

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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.

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

Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has dominated Mexico for six years.
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Meet the Mods
In no particular order...
Steve White
Seafarious
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badanov
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Two weeks of WOT
Fri 2017-03-24
  Helmand’s Sangin district has reportedly fallen to Taliban
Thu 2017-03-23
  It's worse: Jewish Israeli-American, 19, arrested in Ashkelon for phoning in dozens of JCC bomb threats
Wed 2017-03-22
  Jihadi car and knife attack: Parliament in lockdown
Tue 2017-03-21
  U.S. Bans Laptops, Tablets from Cabins on Flights from Middle East
Mon 2017-03-20
  Syrian regulars gain control of regions near Palmyra
Sun 2017-03-19
  Four wanted Maute militants nabbed in Lanao
Sat 2017-03-18
  Man shot dead at Paris Orly airport this morning after taking soldier's gun: official
Fri 2017-03-17
  Four Killed as Bangladesh Police Storm Islamist Hideout
Thu 2017-03-16
  Kommander Abdullah, 10 others die in airstrike in Paktika
Wed 2017-03-15
  Dozens killed in suicide bombing at Damascus "Palace of Justice" courthouse
Tue 2017-03-14
  Suspected ISIS gas attack hits Iraqi forces in west Mosul
Mon 2017-03-13
  Kenyan police nab 6 terror suspects in coastal town
Sun 2017-03-12
  Double suicide attack kills 40 in Damascus
Sat 2017-03-11
  Syrian force a ‘few weeks’ from Raqqa, U.S. Marines deployed
Fri 2017-03-10
   Ax attacker at Düsseldorf main train station arrested

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