Hi there, !
Today Sun 06/12/2016 Sat 06/11/2016 Fri 06/10/2016 Thu 06/09/2016 Wed 06/08/2016 Tue 06/07/2016 Mon 06/06/2016 Archives
Rantburg
531718 articles and 1856011 comments are archived on Rantburg.

Today: 67 articles and 107 comments as of 15:55.
Post a news link    Post your own article   
Area: WoT Background    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix   
Daesh blows up ancient monuments in Iraq
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 1: WoT Operations
6 20:15 Pappy [1] 
4 07:44 AlanC [1] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [1] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [2] 
0 [1] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [1] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [1] 
0 [1] 
0 [1] 
0 [1] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
4 15:45 Grins Snese4215 [1] 
0 [] 
0 [1] 
0 [] 
0 [1] 
0 [] 
0 [1] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
7 16:30 Grins Snese4215 [2] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
Page 2: WoT Background
0 []
0 []
0 []
2 18:03 rjschwarz []
0 []
0 [1]
0 []
1 12:25 AlanC []
1 11:03 Iblis []
4 16:35 Barbara [1]
0 []
1 15:03 Skidmark [1]
Page 3: Non-WoT
4 19:33 Charles [1]
7 19:26 james []
13 22:27 Besoeker [2]
0 []
0 [1]
3 13:41 Ebbang Uluque6305 []
0 []
1 11:16 Skidmark []
0 []
Page 4: Opinion
13 23:26 anon1 [1]
0 []
0 []
2 15:15 Skidmark []
5 16:47 trailing wife [1]
Page 6: Politix
3 20:35 Frank G [1]
8 15:49 swksvolFF [1]
3 09:28 Spinesing Gray3122 []
15 19:21 swksvolFF []
Good morning
Posted by: Fred || 06/09/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I sense a theme this week....
Posted by: Pappy || 06/09/2016 0:09 Comments || Top||

#2  Low CoG beachettes?
Posted by: Skidmark || 06/09/2016 0:58 Comments || Top||

#3  Surf Zumba ?
Posted by: Besoeker || 06/09/2016 1:18 Comments || Top||

#4  Guys, you're missing the caption.

That's Yemen breaking through!!!!
Posted by: AlanC || 06/09/2016 7:44 Comments || Top||


-Lurid Crime Tales-
Hezbollah moving 'tons of cocaine' in Latin America, Europe to finance terror operations
[Wash Times] Hezbollah's terrorism finance operations are thriving across Latin America months after the Drug Enforcement Administration linked the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group to drug cartels in the region, U.S. lawmakers were told Wednesday.

Former DEA operations chief Michael Braun said Hezbollah is "moving [multiple] tons of cocaine" from South America to Europe and has developed "the most sophisticated money laundering scheme or schemes that we have ever witnessed."

The agency announced in February that it had arrested several Hezbollah operatives accused of working with a major Colombian drug cartel to traffic drugs to Europe and launder money through Lebanon. Those arrests come against a backdrop of rising fears in Washington about smuggling connections between Middle East terrorist groups and the Western Hemisphere.

Hezbollah has "metastasized into a hydra with international connections that the likes of [the Islamic State] and groups like al Qaeda could only hope to have," Mr. Braun told the House Financial Services Committee.

Adding to concerns about security threats from Central and South America, intelligence reports have also tracked how smugglers managed to sneak illegal immigrants from the Middle Eastern and South Asia straight to the doorstep of the U.S. -- including helping one Afghan who U.S. authorities say was part of an attack plot in North America.
Posted by: Besoeker || 06/09/2016 09:42 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Didn't Champ just give Iran billions to help these guys out?
Posted by: Iblis || 06/09/2016 11:01 Comments || Top||

#2  How capitalistic!

Do you think the turbans understand that?
Posted by: Bobby || 06/09/2016 13:10 Comments || Top||

#3  A Shiite Mafia.
Posted by: Pappy || 06/09/2016 13:12 Comments || Top||

#4  Wonder what SOCSouth has been up to.
Posted by: Skidmark || 06/09/2016 14:53 Comments || Top||

#5  Amnesty would totally solve this, because then they could come out of the shadows or something.
Posted by: charger || 06/09/2016 19:30 Comments || Top||

#6  Don't forget "legalize drugs."

They'll all become libertarians, or start reading Adam Smith...
Posted by: Pappy || 06/09/2016 20:15 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan
Taliban kidnap more passengers from Kunduz highway
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Talibs have once again kidnapped scores of passengers from a highway in northern Kunduz province of Afghanistan.

The incident took place earlier today after the Taliban gunnies stopped a vehicle from Kunduz-Takhar highway.

Provincial police front man Mahfuzullah Akbari said at least 47 passengers were kidnapped from the center of Kunduz in Malraghi village as they were on their way to Takhar province.

Earlier, a local official said at least 30 people have been taken hostage but the Talibs group has not commented regarding the report so far.

This comes almost a week after the Taliban gunnies kidnapped at least 185 passengers from the same highway and killed at least 17 of them.

The Taliban gunnies kidnapped the passengers from several buses, vans and cars as they were travelling in the highway between Kunduz and Takhar but majority of them were released after they were interrogated.

It is believed at least eight of the kidnapped passengers are still in Taliban captivity as the security officials are saying efforts are underway for their release.

Posted by: Fred || 06/09/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Taliban commander, al-Qaeda affiliates killed in Wardak and Paktika airstrikes
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] A commander of the Taliban group was killed in an Arclight airstrike in central Maidan Wardak province of Afghanistan, the defense officials said Wednesday.

The Arclight airstrike was carried out by the Afghan Air Force in the vicinity of Shashgaw area targeting the Talibs.

Dawlat Waziri, front man for the Ministry of Defense, confirmed that the Taliban capo was identified as Mansoor who was killed in the air raid.

He said at least 5 al-Qaeda affiliates were also killed during a separate Arclight airstrike conducted in the southeastern Paktika
...which coincidentally borders South Wazoo...
province.

Waziri further added that a vehicle packed with explosives was also destroyed in the air raid.
Posted by: Fred || 06/09/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Grenade attack on local radio station in Jalalabad city, no casualties reported
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] A relatively heavy kaboom rocked Jalalabad city the bustling provincial capital of eastern Nangarhar
The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country..
province.

A security official confirmed that the incident took place after unknown gunnies hurled hand grenade on the local radio station.

The official further added that incident did not incur any casualties to the civilians or media workers.

Posted by: Fred || 06/09/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Taliban militants execute at least 12 hostages in Ghazni province
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Taliban turbans have executed at least 12 people the group kidnapped from Ghazni-Paktika
...which coincidentally borders South Wazoo...
highway recently, local officials said Wednesday.

A security official in Ghazni confirmed that the dead bodies of 12 people rubbed out by the Taliban turbans have been found in Andar district.

The official further added that the identities of the dear departed individuals have not ascertained so far.

This comes as reports suggest that some of the hostages were members of the security institutions and were rubbed out by the Taliban turbans on Tuesday night.

In the meantime, provincial govenror’s front man for Paktika, Pir Khel, said at least five coppers went missing from the highway on Tuesday and it is yet not clear if they are among those executed by the Taliban holy warriors.
Posted by: Fred || 06/09/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


7 terrorists killed in an airstrike in Ghazni province, MoD says
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Ministry of Defense (MoD) said Wednesday at least 7 bad boyz were potted in an Arclight airstrike in the restive Ghazni province of Afghanistan.

According to MoD, the Arclight airstrike was carried out in the vicinity of Geru district and at least six cycle of violences belonging to the forces of Evil were also destroyed.

In a separate operation in Moqor district, at least five suspected faceless myrmidons were incarcerated
Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please!
by the Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers.

The anti-government armed Lion of Islam groups have not commented regarding the report so far.

Ghazni is among the volatile provinces in southeastern Afghanistan which falls on the main highway connecting Kabul
...the capital of Afghanistan. Home to continuous fighting from 1992 to 1996 between the forces of would-be strongman and Pak ISI/Jamaat-e-Islami sock puppet Gulbuddin Hekmayar and the Northern Alliance, a period which won Hek the title Most Evil Man in the World and didn't do much for the reputations of the Northern Alliance guys either....
with the southern provinces.

Posted by: Fred || 06/09/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


ISIS commander Mullah Bozorg killed with his 5 fighters in Nangarhar
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] A commander of the loyalists of 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 was killed during an operation in eastern Nangarhar
The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country..
province.
Mullah Bozorg was also reported killed on May 27th. He was also killed last August, when he was a Mawlawi belonging to the Taliban.
The Ministry of Defense (MoD) said at least five other ISIS loyalists were also killed during the operation conducted in Kot district.

Kot is a key district in eastern Nangarhar province where the ISIS loyalists started their operations.

The Afghan cops have been busy in clearing the district from the presence of ISIS loyalists during the past several days.

At least 5 loyalists of the terror group were killed in an Arclight airstrike carried out by the Afghan Air Force on Monday in Kot district, while 11 of them were killed and 14 others were maimed in a similar raid in this district earlier.

Posted by: Fred || 06/09/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Africa Horn
Kenyan forces intensify security operations in Garissa, Mandera
The Kenyan security agencies in collaboration with the military have launched massive surveillance operations in Mandera and Garissa counties. The intensified patrols in surrounding localities come just days after a deadly attack on a security convoy that subjected three police officers to minor injuries suspected to be caused by the Al-Shabaab militia.

According to a source within the military that sought anonymity, the operation is meant to hunt down the dangerous attackers believed to be hiding along the Kenya-Somalia border with intentions of conducting more attacks on the adjacent areas.

Residents of Mandera town said they saw lorries ferrying heavily armed offers patrolling across the villages of Mandera district and even conducting massive searches on the suspected areas.

On Saturday morning, a police convoy was hit by an improvised explosive along the Lafey-Fino road. The injured officers are said to have been in a patrol mission when the attack happened. However, Mohammed Saleh, the North Eastern regional security coordinator confirmed that the injured officers were treated and discharged.
Posted by: Steve White || 06/09/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab


Africa North
IS being squeezed in Sirte in three-way pincer movement
The IS/DAESH forces occupying the central Libyan city of Sirte since February 2014 are slowly being squeezed in a three-way pincer movement from the west, south and east, the Tripoli-based Bunyan Marsous Operation Room reports. They report that IS are on the retreat.

The three-pronged attack is by forces now allied to Faiez Serraj and his Presidential Council (PC)/Government of National Accord (GNA). They represent in the west the Misratan-led forces and from the east the Petroleum Facilities Guards (PFG), who have recently allied themselves with the Misrata-led forces.

The Misratan-led forces today report that they are now just over 5 km from central Sirte, which is 450 km from the capital Tripoli, after reaching the Zafaran roundabout.

The Operations Room today put up videos purporting to show them at Abuhadi roundabout in the south and Aljaalet barracks south of that. They claim they have progressed as far as Gharbiat bridge in the south west and Taghreft barracks.

On the coastal road western front, the Operations Room reports that fighting is continuing today at the Zafran roundabout involving ground forces, the airforce and the navy which has involved the heavy bombardment of ISpositions

The effort has come at a cost in terms of loss of life with at least 150 deaths reported. Only today, 6 deaths and 30 wounded were reported by Misrata hospital.

The GNA-allied forces made up of various militias groups led by those from Misrata, reported having to constantly deal with booby-trapped/IED by left by retreating IS, including in vehicles.

The Operation Room’s Media Centre had previously reported that air support has helped ground troops reach the Gulf Power Station, Wadi Jarf and surrounding village where residents welcomed them. They reported that IS had fled the fighting arena. The Media Room said that IS were unable to resist the heavy artillery and air bombardment, resorting to booby-traps/IEDs.
Posted by: badanov || 06/09/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Libya intercepts 117 Europe-bound migrants
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Libya’s coasties on Tuesday intercepted 117 migrants colonists on a boat bound for Europe, including six pregnant women, before taking them back ashore, an official said.

The group had set out from a beach near Garabulli, a town about 60 km (40 miles) to the east of Tripoli
...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn...
, said Col. Ashraf al-Badri.

More than 10,000 people have died crossing the Mediterranean to Europe since 2014, the United Nations
...an organization which on balance has done more bad than good, with the good not done well and the bad done thoroughly...
said on Tuesday, as the European Union
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
unveiled fresh plans to stem the migrant flow from Africa.

Those intercepted on Tuesday were received by medics in Tripoli, before they were taken to accommodations in the center of the Libyan capital.

"The 117 migrants colonists, including six pregnant women, were intercepted off Garabulli and brought to a port in Tripoli by the coasties’s speedboats," Badri told AFP.

Badri did not disclose their nationality, but an AFP photographer said most were of African origin.
Posted by: Fred || 06/09/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Africa Subsaharan
Chad sends 2,000 troops to Niger for counterattack on Boko Haram
[DAILYMAIL.CO.UK] Chad has sent 2,000 troops to Niger to prepare a counterattack against Boko Haram
... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality...
after the Death Eater group seized a Nigerien town, two senior military sources said on Wednesday.

The sources, one at Chadian military command in N'Djamena and another in the Lake Chad region where Boko Haram operates, told Rooters the troops arrived on Tuesday and were advancing on Bosso, a town near Lake Chad that has been the scene of festivities in recent days.

Boko Haram killed 30 soldiers and forced 50,000 people to flee when it took Bosso on Friday, its deadliest raid in Niger in over a year.

"About 2,000 soldiers with tanks went into Niger yesterday. They should link up with the Nigerien forces in Diffa and advance on Bosso," said one of the Chadian military sources.

A security source in Niger confirmed that about 2,000 troops were heading to Bosso on Wednesday.

Clashes have continued in Bosso in recent days. Niger troops briefly regained control of Bosso on Saturday, according to the defense ministry, but the murderous Moslems retook it on Sunday, Bosso Mayor Mamadou Bako said.

Boko Haram has been trying to establish an Islamic state adhering to strict Sharia, Islamic law, in northeast Nigeria
... a particularly crimson stretch of Islam's bloody border...
since 2009. About 2.1 million people have been displaced and thousands killed during the insurgency.

Chad's intervention comes after Niger President Mahamadou Issoufou flew to Chad for talks with President Idriss Deby on Tuesday.
Posted by: Fred || 06/09/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Boko Haram


Boko Haram attacks Yobe town, 2 security men missing
[DAILYTRUST.NG] Suspected Boko Haram
... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality...
forces of Evil attacked and maimed three security operatives in Kanamma, the headquarters of Yunusari Local Government Area of Yobe State.

A resident who fled to neighbouring Niger Republic told our correspondent on Tuesday that the attackers stormed the town on four cycle of violences, each carrying three gunnies.

"They shot sporadically and everyone scampered for safety. They burgled soft drinks shops and loaded them onto two vehicles they seized from security operatives and fled," he said

Police Public Relation Officer, ASP Toyin Gbadegesin, who confirmed the attack, said three coppers were maimed during the encounter while two were still missing.

"No human casualty was recorded. But three coppers were maimed while two others got missing. It’s difficult to ascertain the security personnel involved because there’s no mobile network in the area," he said.
Posted by: Fred || 06/09/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Boko Haram


Arabia
Houthis suffer losses in Asailan
Houthi rebels suffered heavy losses in the battle with the army in Al Safra’a area in Shabwa as they attempted to progress towards a mountain in Haid bin Aqeel in Asailan, reported Emarat Al Youm.

The national army sources confirmed that with the help of the Resistance Forces they were able to stop the rebels from approaching Jebel Haid bin Aqeel and Wadi Bel Harith in Asailan directorate.

Rebels used rockets to bombard the areas.

Meanwhile, Brigadier Jahdal Al Awlaki Mika survived of an assassination attempt while visiting the national army in Al Safra area. He was injured and is hospitalized.

In Ta’aiz, rebels continue shelling residential neighbourhoods.
Posted by: badanov || 06/09/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Houthis


Bangladesh
Ex-Shibir man held over Mitu murder
[Dhaka Tribune] Police have tossed in the slammer
I ain't sayin' nuttin' widdout me mout'piece!
a former Shibir activist in connection with the gruesome killing of Superintendent of Police (SP) Babul Akter’s wife Mahmuda Khanam Mitu.

Chittagong Metropolitan Police’s (CMP) Additional Commissioner (Crime and Operation) Debdas Bhattachariya told news hounds yesterday that the suspect was Abu Nosor Gunnu, 40, son of late Mofazzel Hossen. He was arrested from Farhadabad area of Hathazari upazila yesterday.

Additional Commissioner Debdas said: "Gunnu was a former Shibir activist and also accused in an abduction and murder case filed with Sitakunda cop shoppe."

"We have learned that Gunnu went to Middle Eastern countries on several occasions. At first he was involved with Shibir and later he got mixed up in crimes. He used to look after a shrine in the Farhadabad area," said Debdas.

Gunnu returned home from Middle East five-six years ago and started working at a local shrine.

Police will produce Gonnu in court in the murder case seeking time for interrogation, the commissioner said.

Mahmuda Khanam Mitu, wife of SP Babul Akter, was stabbed and shot to death by three unidentified cycle of violence-riding assailants in front of her son Akter Mahmud Maheer in Chittagong city’s GEC area near her home last Sunday.

Microbus found

CMP Commissioner Iqbal Bahar told Dhaka Tribune over phone around 7:52pm that a black microbus that was seen at the scene of the crime had been seized in Chittagong city yesterday evening.

The microbus was seen in CCTV footages leaving the scene of the crime following the cycle of violence and is believed to be a backup force for the killers.

The CMP chief did not disclose any detailed information about the seizure, saying: "Details will be revealed tomorrow (today) at CMP headquarters."

Investigators have confirmed that several other people apart from the three assailants took part in the premeditated killing operation.

The team likely collected detailed information about the target and scouted CCTV positions.

Responding to a question about the possible connection between the recent assassination'>assassination
s across the country and Mitu’s murder, Debdas said: "Mitu’s murder is also a assassination'>assassination. But there are some similarities and dissimilarities. Police are trying to unearth the mystery and arrest the killers."

’Motorcycle stolen last month’

The cycle of violence used in the crime was stolen from its last owner’s home in Boalkhali upazila in Chittagong last month, police said.

Police detained the owner Shahidullah on Tuesday.

"The cycle of violence has exchanged hands several times and the police are quizzing its last owner," a senior police official said.

It was stolen from Shahidullah’s home in Boalkhali upazila in May 8, the official added.

Shahidullah, who is a cook by profession, is still detained.

Earlier police found that the vehicle was registered to one Delwar Hossain of Jamalkhan, Chittagong city and detained the man. He told police he had sold it off in 2011.

Mitu’s mobile still missing

The additional commissioner said the victim’s mobile phone was yet to be found, but police have tracked its last location before it was switched off.

"The last call made from Mitu’s mobile was from the same place where the cycle of violence was found, in city’s Badurtala area," said Debdas.

Reports published in the media have claimed that the victim was out of her home sometime before scheduled time because of a text she received from her son’s school. The phone was not found on her person or at home.

Police have also collected information from the mobile phone operator but there was no record of an SMS like that, said Debdas.

"There seems to be no authenticity in this matter," he added.

Taking the militancy issue into consideration as Babul has a number of successful anti-militancy drives, police are investigating and working their best to identify and arrest the perpetrators, said Debdas.

Following the murder, SP Babul Akter filed a case accusing three unknown and their cohorts with Panchlaish cop shoppe.

DB police have been investigating the sensitive murder case while teams of RAB, Police, PBI and CID are jointly working on it, said police.
Posted by: Fred || 06/09/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Jamaat-e-Islami


Alleged Shia mosque attacker killed in ‘gunfight’
[Dhaka Tribune] A member of banned bully boy group JMB, who had allegedly been involved in the attack on a Shia mosque in Bogra last year, was killed early yesterday in a "shootout" with the law enforcers in Shibganj upazila in Bogra.

Victim Kawser, 25, is son of Amir Ali of Komorgram in Joypurhat sadar.

Police said that a detained JMB member had mentioned about Kawser’s involvement in the November 26 attack while giving confessional statement before a court.

On Tuesday, three JMB leaders and members were killed in separate "shootouts" with the police in Dhaka and Rajshahi. One of them was Sultan Mahmud alias Rana alias Kamal. Police claimed that Sultan was one of the youths who had attacked on the devotees of the Shia mosque at Shibganj.

International terrorist group 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 that killed the mosque’s muezzin and injured three others, but the government maintains that it was an act of the members of Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB).

Earlier, two people named Mohsin and Yasin from Kawser’s village were enjugged
Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try!
in connection with the attack. Locals said that they were suspicious about Kawser’s activities as he used to ride cycle of violences despite being a day labourer.

Police claimed that they had ambushed under Jamtoli bridge in Atmul area of Shibganj around 3:30am on information that a gang of holy warriors would pass the area.

"At one point, several persons were crossing the bridge. They threw hand bombs and also opened fire on the law enforcers when asked to stop. Police retaliated with shots from pistols and shotgun in self-defence," Bogra Senior Assistant Superintendent of Police Gaziur Rahman said, adding that two constables received splinter injuries.

After the holy warriors expeditiously departed at a goodly pace, plice recovered the bullet-ridden body of Kawser. He was then taken to Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College Hospital where the duty doctors declared him dead.
He's dead, Jim!
around 6am.

They also recovered a foreign-made pistol, two rounds of bullets, a magazine, five hand bombs, two knives and a machete from the spot, Gaziur said.

Meanwhile,
...back at the cheese factory, all the pieces finally fell together in Fluffy's mind...
Kawser’s sister Nur Banu claimed that he had been picked up by plainclothes police on April 15 from Teghar Rail Gate area of Joypurhat.

Local UP Member Khairul Alam Mithu said that police earlier raided the area to arrest Kawser but failed. "Later I heard that Kawser was picked up by plainclothes police," he added.
Posted by: Fred || 06/09/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh


Crackdown after Hindu priest killed in Bangladesh
[DAWN] Bangladesh police on Tuesday launched a deadly crackdown on Islamist bandidos gunnies as a 70-year-old Hindu priest became the latest victim in a series of gruesome killings by suspected murderous Moslems.

Two "high-ranking" members of the Jamayetul Muj­a­hideen Bangladesh (JMB) were rubbed out in a gunbattle with security personnel in Dhaka and another was killed in a north-western district, police said.

The two JMB members killed in the capital had roles "in most of the recent attacks" including the bombing of a Shia mosque and the murder of a liberal professor, said deputy commissioner of police M.R Khaled.

The third victim was killed in a shootout in the town of Godagari in the north-western district of Rajshahi, said local police chief Abu Forhad. The authorities have bla­med homegrown Islamists for the recent attacks, rejecting claims of responsibility from the murderous Moslem 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) group and a South Asia branch of Al Qaeda.

IS grabbed credit for murder of the latest victim, Hindu priest Ananda Gopal Ganguly, whose head was nearly severed. The group, through its Amaq news agency, said it "assassinated" the priest, according to the SITE monitoring group, as he was walking to prayers.

Farmers discovered Ganguly’s body in a rice field near his home in the village of Noldanga in the western district of Jhenidah.
Posted by: Fred || 06/09/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
EgyptAir jet lands in Uzbekistan after hoax bomb threat
[BBC] An EgyptAir plane that was forced to land in Uzbekistan due to a hoax bomb threat has been cleared to resume its journey from Cairo to Beijing.

All 118 passengers and 17 crew on board the Airbus A330-220 were evacuated at Urgench International Airport.

The aircraft was searched by Uzbek security forces but no bomb was found, Egyptian officials said.

Three weeks ago, an EgyptAir flight from Gay Paree to Cairo carrying 66 people crashed into the Mediterranean Sea.

The cause of the crash remains a mystery, although Egyptian officials have said an act of terrorism is more likely than a technical failure.

French Sherlocks said last week that signals from one of the plane's black boxes had been detected about 290km (180 miles north) of the Egyptian coast.

'Anonymous caller'

The chairman of EgyptAir, Safwat Mussallam, told the AFP news agency that Flight MS955 left Cairo at 21:55 GMT (23:55 Cairo time) on Tuesday and was scheduled to land in Beijing at 07:34 GMT (15:34 Beijing time) on Wednesday.

During the flight, an anonymous caller telephoned security agents in Cairo to say a bomb was on board the aircraft and the pilot was told to land at the nearest airport.
Posted by: Fred || 06/09/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


The Grand Turk
Car bomb targets Turkish police station on Syria border
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] A cop shoppe at a town near the border with Syria has been hit by a boom-mobile on Wednesday, The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
's state-run news agency
...and if you can't believe the state-run news agency who can you believe?...
said, killing three people and wounding 30.

The Anadolu Agency said several ambulances have been sent to the scene of the blast in the town of Midyat, in southern Mardin province.

Television images from the scene showed thick smoke rising from the site of the attack, which seemed to have destroyed the facade of a building

The attack comes a day after a boom-mobile hit a police vehicle in Istanbul, killing 11 people during the morning rush hour.

Turkey has been hit by a series of attack in the past year. Rebels of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, have targeted police and military personnel since July, when a fragile grinding of the peace processor between the rebels and the government collapsed. ISIS has also been blamed for a series of deadly bombings in Turkey, which is part of the US-led coalition against ISIS.
Posted by: Fred || 06/09/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte


India-Pakistan
College principal shot dead in Quetta
QUETTA: The principal of University of Balochistan's law college, Barrister Amanullah Achakzai, was shot dead by unknown assailants on Spini Road here on Wednesday, police sources said.

Police said the barrister was severely wounded when his vehicle was sprayed with bullets by unknown gunmen. Achakzai succumbed to his wounds while he was being taken to Civil Hospital Quetta.

Police and Frontier Corps personnel reached the scene and an investigation into the incident went underway.

There have been no claims of responsibility for the attack.

Chief Minister Balochistan Sanaullah Zehri severely condemned the academic's killing and demanded police arrest the culprits and submit a report.

A number of lawyers reached the Civil Hospital and announced a boycott of courts in protest of the barrister's killing.
Posted by: badanov || 06/09/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Pro-govt elder escapes unhurt, two guards killed in IED blast
[DAWN] GHALANAI: A pro-government tribal elder narrowly escaped while his two security guards were killed and another was injured after an improvised explosives device (IED), planted by suspected Taliban terrorists, went kaboom! at the Ziarat area of Safi tehsil in Mohmand Agency
... Named for the Mohmand clan of the Sarban Pahstuns, a truculent, quarrelsome lot. In Pakistain, the Mohmands infest their eponymous Agency, metastasizing as far as the plains of Peshawar, Charsadda, and Mardan. Mohmands are also scattered throughout Pakistan in urban areas including Karachi, Lahore, and Quetta. In Afghanistan they are mainly found in Nangarhar and Kunar...
on Tuesday morning.

Officials said that Malik Ayaz Khan, along with his three security guards, was on his way to Ziarat Masood area at Safi tehsil from his home. When he reached Ziarat road, an IED, planted by suspected Taliban Death Eaters, went off at 8:30am.

As a result of the blast, security guards, Ibrahim Khan, Amjad Khan and Siraj Khan, were seriously injured. Malak Ayaz, however, escaped unhurt.

The injured guards were taken to a hospital in Nawagai area of Bajaur Agency, aka Turban Central
...Smallest of the agencies in FATA. The Agency administration is located in Khar. Bajaur is inhabited almost exclusively by Tarkani Pashtuns, which are divided into multiple bickering subtribes. Its 52 km border border with Afghanistan's Kunar Province makes it of strategic importance to Pakistain's strategic depth...
where Amjad and Siraj died.

Confirming the report, Tehsildar Miraj Khan said that soon after the blast, security personnel conducted a search operation in adjoining areas but no arrest was made till late in the night.
Posted by: Fred || 06/09/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: TTP


Iraq
3 Iraqi militiamen die in bomb attack in Diyala
(IraqiNews.com) Diyali – Three members of al-Hashed al-Asha’ari were killed while three others were seriously injured in a bomb blast that rocked Hanbas village to the northeast of Baqubah on Wednesday. This was informed by a local source in Diyali province.

IraqiNews.com was further informed by the source that, “An explosive, which was emplaced in the orchards of Hanbas village (45 km northeast of Baqubah), went off while a patrolling team of the al-Hashed al-Sha’bi was carrying out cleansing operations. The blast triggered wide spread chaos and three members of the patrolling party were killed while three others were seriously injured.”

Adding further the source said, “Security personnel transferred the injured to a nearby hospital and the bodies of the deceased were sent for forensic investigation. The blast is being now investigated upon.”
Posted by: badanov || 06/09/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


Iraqi militiaman dies dismantling bomb in Kirkuk
(IraqiNews.com) Kirkuk – On Wednesday, a Kirkuk police source revealed that a member of al-Hashd al-Shaabi was killed while he was trying to dismantle an improvised explosive device in southern Kirkuk (250 km north of Baghdad).

The source, in a statement received by IraqiNews.com, said, “An improvised explosive device emplaced by the ISIS exploded at noon today in the center of Bashir village. In the blast, one member of al-Hashd al-Shaabi was killed while the member was trying to dismantle the bomb.”

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, added, “Security forces rushed to the blast area and transferred the body of the deceased member to the forensic department.”
Posted by: badanov || 06/09/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Salahuddin Kombat Kourier: 4 die
ISIS prepares attack on Alas and Ajil oilfields

(IraqiNews.com) Salahuddin – On Wednesday, Salahuddin Provincial Council revealed, that the so-called ISIS is preparing to launch an attack on Alas and Ajil oil fields east of Tikrit, while called the Iraqi Armed Forces to reinforce the security troops in these areas in order to foil the attack.

The Head of the security committee in Salahuddin Provincial Council, Jassim Jabbara, said in a press statement obtained by IraqiNews.com, “ISIS has finished its preparations to attack Hamrin Mountains east of Tikrit, in an attempt to retake Alas and Ajil oil fields,” pointing out that, “ISIS prepared a number of booby-trapped vehicles and weapons.”

Jabbara added, “ISIS will start the attack by sending booby-trapped vehicles to target the important headquarters of the security forces.”

Jabbara also called the Iraqi Armed Forces to reinforce the security troops in the area of Hamrin Mountains in order to be prepared for the attack.

4 Iraqi kops die in ISIS attack in Baiji District

(IraqiNews.com) Salahuddin – On Wednesday, a security source in Salahuddin Province revealed, that four policemen, including a regiment commander, were killed in an attack launched by the so-called ISIS in northern Tikrit.

The source reported for IraqiNews.com, “Yesterday evening, ISIS members open fire on a police patrol near the thermal station northeast of Baiji District (40 km north of Tikrit), killing four policemen,” pointing out that, “The dead policemen included a regiment commander in the Federal Police.”

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, added, “A police force rushed to the incident area and transferred the dead bodies to the forensic medicine department.”
Posted by: badanov || 06/09/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Ninevah Nightmares: 20+ die
20 turbans turned into a fine, red mist by Iraqi warbirds

(IraqiNews.com) Nineveh – On Tuesday, Patriotic Union of Kurdistan in Nineveh Province announced, that 20 ISIS militants were killed and 5 headquarters belonging ISIS were destructed by an air strike carried out by the international coalition aviation in central Mosul.

The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan media officer in Mosul, Gayath al-Surji said in a press interview followed by IraqiNews.com, “Today the international coalition aircraft bombarded five headquarters belonging to ISIS in the areas of Mosul, including Sumar, al-Araby, al-Zohour and Danadan.”

Surji added, “The bombardment resulted in the killing of more than 20 ISIS militants, as well as destroying the five headquarters completely.”
Posted by: badanov || 06/09/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Anbar Antics: 10+ die
10 ISIS Bad Guys die in separate attacks

(IraqiNews.com) al-Anbar – The commander of Anbar Operations Command, Maj. Gen. Ismail al-Mahalawi, announced on Tuesday the killing and wounding of 10 ISIS members during an artillery shelling north of the city of Ramadi.

Mahalawi said in a statement obtained by IraqiNews.com, “The army artillery shelled a [site] for ISIS north of Albu Ziyab area north of the city of Ramadi,” adding that, “The shelling resulted in the destruction of the [site], in addition to killing four elements of the [ISIS] and wounding six others.”

Earlier today, Anbar Operations Command announced killing six ISIS elements during an aerial bombing by the international coalition aviation west of Fallujah.

Iraqi forces capture 2nd area in al-Shuhada

(IraqiNews.com) Anbar – On Wednesday official journalists from the Ministry of Defense informed that the anti-terrorism forces were successful in completely liberating the second neighborhood of al-Shuhada, south of Fallujah, from ISIS control. The forces also managed to raise the Iraqi flag over the buildings there.

The journalists, in a press statement issued to the media, said, “Anti-terrorism troops were successful to fully liberated the second Shuhada neighborhood, south of Fallujah and they also raised the Iraqi flag over its buildings.”

The statement added, “The security forces are now advancing towards the other areas of the province.”’
Posted by: badanov || 06/09/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Daesh blows up ancient monuments in Iraq
[Iran Press TV] A recent video, purportedly released by the ISIS Takfiri
...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who must be killed...
terrorists, shows the destruction of several ancient monuments in northern Iraq by the terrorist group.

In the video, a bully boy dressed in black vows to destroy the 2,500-year-old temple of Nabu in the ISIS-held Iraqi ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud before a massive blast reduces a building to rubble. Information signs on the Nabu temple wall before the kaboom are also shown from a number of different angles.

It is not known when the ISIS gunnies targeted the Nabu temple.

The footage also shows the destruction of the reconstructed Adad and Mashki Gates and a large portion of Nineveh’s fortification wall.

Takfiri bandidos forces of Evil have demolished several holy shrines and mosques belonging to Shia and Sunni Moslems in the militancy-riddled regions of Nineveh province.

ISIS has destroyed several ancient monuments in northern Iraq and neighboring Syria.

Earlier this year, shocking pictures showed how ISIS gunnies had destroyed ancient monuments in the Syrian city of Palmyra. The gunnies sparked a global fury when they started destroying Palmyra's treasured monuments.
Posted by: Fred || 06/09/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  Crimes against humanity rocks?
Posted by: Skidmark || 06/09/2016 10:55 Comments || Top||

#2  Crimes against humanity rocks?

Crimes against history. If history is destroyed, your traditions become whatever they tell you. This is a more extreme form of the "politically correct" movement censoring history.

For ancient history, this is important because so few ancient artifacts have been recovered, and even fewer were recovered in a scientific way so that we can understand the artifacts in context.

P.S. Nimrud is in the Bible as the city of Calah
Genesis 10. ISIS has been destroying and looting the site since April, 2015.

Al
Posted by: Frozen Al || 06/09/2016 11:30 Comments || Top||

#3  This is a more extreme form of the "politically correct" movement censoring history.
Certainly more direct.

Did you see Google's filtering of Hilarity, or the mugshot controversy from yesterday?
Posted by: Skidmark || 06/09/2016 14:58 Comments || Top||

#4  Another nail in the coffin of Islam
Posted by: Grins Snese4215 || 06/09/2016 15:45 Comments || Top||


Spats among Iraqi forces delay Fallujah advance
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] After securing the southern edge of murderous Moslem-held Fallujah,
... the City of Mosques, which might have somthing to do with why it's not called Center of Prosperity or a really nice place to raise your kids...
seven battalions of Iraqi Special Forces units have been unable to advance for two days -- a delay that commanders say isn’t due to counterattacks or difficult terrain, but rather to disagreements about battlefield strategy among the disparate Iraqi forces fighting ISIS.

Unlike previous anti-ISIS operations, the fight for Fallujah involves an array of Iraqi security forces. A battle plan that was initially cast as an example of how those fighters can work together has instead revealed just how fractured Iraq’s security forces are.

"I wouldn’t say the different forces in the Fallujah operation are cooperating: They’ve just divided up the battlefield," said Patrick Martin, an Iraq analyst with the Institute for the Study of War, a think tank based in Washington.

Since ISIS overran djinn-infested Mosul
... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn...
in the summer of 2014, two groups have come to dominate the fight against the murderous Moslem group in Iraq: The country’s elite counterterrorism special forces and the government-sanctioned, largely Shiite militias known as the Popular Mobilization Forces.

Once highly centralized under former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki
... Prime Minister of Iraq and the secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party. Maliki imposed order on Basra wen the Shiites were going nuts, but has proven incapable of dealing with al-Qaeda's Sunni insurgency. Reelected to his third term in 2014...
, Iraq’s security forces have splintered under the weight of the political and security crises that were unleashed by the ISIS blitz across Iraq two years ago.

Iraq’s military largely disintegrated in the face of that assault, and in the days that followed, a number of largely Shiite militia groups took up arms against ISIS and stopped their advance north of Baghdad.

While rebuilding Iraq’s military has been a slow process with mixed results, Iraq’s Shiite militias have quickly grown in strength. More powerful than the country’s own military, the militia fighters were formally incorporated into the Iraqi government force under command of the prime minister. But most maintain a large degree of autonomy under leaders with greater political and military clout than the increasingly embattled prime minister, Haider al-Abadi.
Posted by: Fred || 06/09/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
4 killed in Tel Aviv terror attack; 2 arrested
[CNN] Four people were killed Wednesday night when gunnies shot up a popular market complex in Tel Aviv, Israeli authorities said.

Two Paleostinian suspects were captured, Israeli police front man Micky Rosenfeld said, with one shot and the second tossed in the clink
... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not...
at the scene. The attackers dressed as Hasidic Jews, according to a law enforcement source briefed by Israeli officials.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the killings "a savage crime, murder in the heart of Tel Aviv."

"We will take the necessary steps to attack the attackers and defend those who need to be defended," he said.

The dead are Israelis, Rosenfeld said on Twitter.

Five people were maimed, said Dr. Gil Fire, deputy director of Ichilov Hospital. The injured suspect also is at the hospital.

Information about a motive wasn't immediately available. No intelligence suggested an attack was imminent, Rosenfeld said.

Surveillance footage from a cafe near the shooting scene showed a scene of chaos, as panicked customers scrambled and rushed to escape.

The shooting occurred about 9 p.m. local time at Sarona Market, a mixed-use development with a food hall, upscale retail, playgrounds, green space and residences on a central highway. CNN's Elizabeth Cohen described it as hip and trendy destination that's popular among tourists and locals.

The area was cleared while officers searched for explosives, Rosenfeld said, adding that the situation had come under control.

The market is across the street from Israel's Defense Ministry and main army headquarters.

U.S. State Department deputy front man Mark Toner issued a statement condemning "today's horrific terrorist attack in Tel Aviv in the strongest possible terms."

"We extend our deepest condolences to the families of those killed and our hopes for a quick recovery for those maimed," he said. "These cowardly attacks against innocent civilians can never be justified. We are in touch with Israeli authorities to express our support and concern."
The Jerusalem Post adds:
The two attackers were relatives from Yata in the South Hebron Hills and were said to be in their twenties. The Hebron area is a known Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, stronghold.
And The Times of Israel waxes dramatic:
A little after 9:00 p.m., the two men -- cousins, according to police; brothers, according to Paleostinian media reports -- were seated at an outdoor table in Max Brenner’s, a fashionable international restaurant chain known for its rich chocolate desserts, in Tel Aviv’s upscale Sarona Market.

The young Paleostinian men wore black suits, white shirts and black ties. They looked "like lawyers," Yusef Jabbarin, a bartender at the restaurant, told journalists after the attack. Some initial reports claimed the two had dressed up as ultra-Orthodox Jews, but Jabbarin put that rumor to bed.

"One of the waitresses is also Arab. She said, ’They’re Arab. They look attractive. I’ll take their orders,’ said Jabbarin, who is originally from the Arab city of Umm al-Fahm. "I told her, they’re from the West Bank. You can see from how they are dressed."

Barely five minutes after he made that claim -- and hours after the attack -- police confirmed what Jabbarin had realized the moment he saw the two gunnies. They two men were from Yatta, a small village in the hills near Hebron in the West Bank, police said.

Approximately 15 minutes after they walked in, the two men took out Carl Gustav-style submachine guns
...a popular design made in machine shops across the West Bank. In Gaza they favour Kalashnikovs, for some reason...
and indiscriminately shot up the restaurant’s patrons.
Posted by: Fred || 06/09/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  WATCH: IDF raids West Bank village of terrorists in Tel Aviv attack
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 06/09/2016 5:16 Comments || Top||

#2  Is this somehow related to the easing of the travel restrictions between the West Bank and Gaza?
Posted by: gorb || 06/09/2016 9:35 Comments || Top||

#3  They had crossed from the West Bank illegally, so probably not. The increased travel is by Israeli permit only, which is strictly regulated, as I understand it.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/09/2016 11:21 Comments || Top||

#4  those sub machine guns

how did they get them to Tel Aviv?

Posted by: lord garth || 06/09/2016 13:34 Comments || Top||

#5  How does any contraband make it into a control zone? Money changes hands.
Posted by: Skidmark || 06/09/2016 14:59 Comments || Top||

#6  those sub machine guns

how did they get them to Tel Aviv?


There are 2.5 - 3 millions of them. And they all have Inalienable Human Rights. In particular, tens of thousands have entry permits to Israel - because it's an Inalienable Human Right.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 06/09/2016 15:07 Comments || Top||

#7  Yet another nail in the coffin of Islam.
Posted by: Grins Snese4215 || 06/09/2016 16:30 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
Top Maoist leader nabbed in Surigao del Norte
[Manila Times] A top communist insurgent leader in Surigao del Norte and two others were captured by Philippine security forces on Monday afternoon during a pursuit operation in a remote village in Claver town.

Police spokesman Michael Lozada identified the arrested New People's Army leader as Jonathan Cadaan Peñaflor alias "Jojo Peñaflor." The spokesman said Peñaflor was captured by a joint security team during a manhunt operation in the town.

Lozada said that Peñaflor, along with two others, identified as Lurkan and Albert, were captured when government forces swooped down on Peñaflor's rented home. He said Peñaflor was the commanding officer of the Sangay sa Partido Platoon 21C, Guerilla Front Committee 21 of the North Eastern Mindanao Committee of the Communist Party of the Philippines-NPA.

Lozada said the suspect had been under surveillance for a year, and they received information a week ago that he was in Claver town before he was taken into custody. He said the raiding team reported that Peñaflor, who had been linked to several rebel atrocities in the region, did not resist arrest.

Peñaflor’s arrest comes a few days after security forces captured two high profile NPA leaders during an operation by police and military forces in Butuan City in Agusan del Sur. Arrested there were Rodolfo Bungolto alias Itom/Loloy, Danilo Acania, Jek-jek Borja and Tata Borja, alias Anatalio Pison.

Bungolto is the commanding officer of the Militia ng Bayan and team leader of Guerilla Front Committee 4A Sparu unit, while Acania is the former deputy secretary of GFC 4A and commanding officer of the Policard NPA platoon.
Posted by: ryuge || 06/09/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Commies


Four Malaysian Abu Sayyaf hostages released
[Reuters] Four Malaysian sailors kidnapped by Filipino gunmen in April were freed on the southern Philippine island of Jolo on Wednesday. The sailors, part of a tugboat crew traveling between Malaysia and the Philippines, were seized by members of the Abu Sayyaf off the eastern Malaysian state of Sabah.

It is not clear if any ransom had been paid. The Philippines rarely publicizes such payments, but it is widely believed captives are not released without them.

Philippine military spokesman Filemon Tan said the Malaysians were released on Jolo and then sent by speedboat to Sabah. He said, "We have yet to confirm whether ransom money was paid in exchange for the safe release of the victims," adding that the kidnapping was led by Abu Sayyaf leader Madjan Sahidjuan, also known as Apuh Mike.
Posted by: ryuge || 06/09/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Abu Sayyaf


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Syrian rebels open MSR near Aleppo
Syrian rebel forces broke through an ISIS siege around an opposition-held town in northwestern Syria on Wednesday, reopening their main road to the Turkish border, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

According to an opposition source and a monitoring group, ISIS fighters withdrew from frontlines with Syrian rebel forces north of Aleppo on Wednesday as the rebel groups besieged in the town of Marea had launched a counter attack against ISIS.

The sudden withdrawal from villages around the rebel-held town of Marea points to the pressure ISIS is feeling from offensives being waged by other enemies further east, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said.

ISIS had managed to besiege the rebel-held town of Marea in a significant advance late last month, stranding thousands of civilians there and prompting a U.S.-led coalition to air drop weapons to rebels, rebel sources said.

Rebel fighters in Marea broke the siege on Wednesday when they captured the village of Kafr Kalbin on the road linking Marea with Azaz, 20 km (12 miles) to the northwest at the border with Turkey. The advance was preceded by a rebel statement saying they were uniting their ranks.

“It seems they (ISIS) can’t keep several fronts open at the same time. It is a strategic area, they were on the verge of entering Azaz,” Observatory Director Rami Abdulrahman said. The opposition source said ISIS had quickly pulled back from the area, and Free Syrian Army factions had filled the void.

FSA rebels fighting Islamic State north of Aleppo have received military assistance from states opposed to President Bashar al-Assad.

Their battle with ISIS is separate to one being waged further east by a U.S.-backed group, the Syria Democratic Forces, which includes the Kurdish YPG militia.
Posted by: badanov || 06/09/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Syrian rebels commence assault on Manbij
MANBIJ – Under heavy shelling by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), hundreds of militants from the Islamic State (ISIS) have evacuated their headquarters in the city of Manbij in the northern countryside of Aleppo province, military sources reported on Wednesday.

The Western-backed SDF troops closed most of the roads leading to Manbij after taking over dozens of villages to the north, east and south of Manbij city.

The only route that ISIS militants could use to escape was the western exit towards Aleppo.

The ISIS evacuation movement started on Tuesday, when dozens of ISIS vehicles were seen exiting the city through the western suburb of Manbij towards Aleppo.

“Those were most likely defectors who escaped the fighting fronts in the south and east of the city. Also, a number of Sharia officials are believed to have escaped Manbij under the ongoing offensive by the SDF against ISIS there,” media activist Alwan Halabi told ARA News.

The SDF-led Manbij Military Council reportedly broke into several ISIS security centres in Manbij city on Wednesday, and engaged in clashes with ISIS militants.

“The clashes have eventually reached the city itself after more than a week of fighting ISIS in the countryside of Manbij,” SDF officer Habun Osman told ARA News. “A large number of ISIS terrorists have already escaped the city, using the western exit. This means that the collapse of the group in Manbij is very near.”

“We, the SDF, will soon announce the full liberation of Manbij from ISIS,” the Kurdish official said, adding that the US-led coalition’s air forces have played a key role in enabling the SDF fighters to advance on the ground.

Also, the Syrian Democratic Forces have facilitated the evacuation of nearly 200,000 civilians from Manbij and its surroundings.

“After retaking key areas near Manbij, such as Al-Qaraa, Muhtaraq and Buzkej, the SDF troops were able to help more than 200,000 civilians evacuate the area and head to more stable towns. This was to prevent the terror group from using the people as human shields in the ongoing clashes,” a spokesman for the SDF told ARA News.

Manbij constitutes a key pocket of 98-kilometers for ISIS militants. “As to why the Manbij pocket is important, it represents a major border crossing point where foreign fighters can cross into Syria from Turkey,” US-led coalition spokesman Colonel Christopher Garver told ARA News.
Posted by: badanov || 06/09/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Syrian rebels cut ISIS MSR near Manbij
[ARA News] MANBIJ – The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Wednesday continued to advance against the Islamic State (ISIS) and cut off the key supply route of Jarablus from the north, almost completely isolating ISIS in Manbij.

“SDF forces continue rapid advance on Manbij and have now cut the supply road to Jarabulus from the north. ISIL [ISIS] increasingly isolated,” US anti-ISIS envoy Brett McGurk said on Wednesday.

The official added that the ISIS attack on Marea and Azaz in the northern countryside of Aleppo have collapsed after the Manbij offensive, and increased support to opposition rebels on the Marea line.

“ISIL terrorists facing pressure on multiple fronts collapse on Marea line overnight. Supply line from Marea to Azaz reopened,” he added.

Christopher Garver, spokesperson for the US-led coalition, said on Wednesday that the the SDF campaign included reopening the Euphrates River Bridge near Manbij to provide humanitarian supplies and to push the attack on ISIS.

“The goal is to keep the enemy under pressure by making Daesh [ISIS] fight in many places at once. We’re keeping that pressure on,” he said.

The Kurdish-led SDF forces have almost cleared out every village near Manbij and encircled Manbij over the part few days. It is expected that the battle for inside the city of Manbij will soon start.
Posted by: badanov || 06/09/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Syrians flee ISIS-held town as US-backed group approaches
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Thousands of civilians fled a northern Syrian town in anticipation of a final push by US-backed forces to liberate it from ISIS rule Wednesday, as Arclight airstrikes pounded rebel-held districts in Aleppo, killing 15 civilians and damaging 3 hospitals.

The Syrian Democratic Forces have all but encircled Manbij, a key waypoint on an ISIS supply line between the Turkish border and the turban group’s de-facto capital, Raqqa, according to an SDF adviser.

Nasser Haj Mansour said the ISIS group was allowing families to flee the town to nearby Jarablus and al-Bab. Some civilians fled to liberated villages and to the advancing forces, the adviser told the AP by messaging service from his position near the front line. He estimated some 15,000 civilians had fled.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 06/09/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Syria reports IAF attack
[Ynet] Syrian newspaper claims Israel launched Arclight airstrike against Hezbollah targets; Lebanese army also discovers surveillance device on mountain; unclear whether it was planted by Israel or not.

The Syrian website ’Zaman Al Wasl,’ which identifies with the opposition forces, quoted a military official from the Syrian regime who claimed that the Israel Air Force had carried out an Arclight airstrike against military targets close to a village 13 kilometers north of Homs.

According to the claims, the attack took place two days ago after midnight during which the IAF took out Hezbollah weapons caches in areas also containing antennas for Syrian radar systems, in addition to an air defense battalion that secures the area. The same official also claimed that the attack only inflicted damage on the caches and not on the other facilities. He said that kabooms could be heard and that the fire could be seen from afar. The Syrian report further stated that in March 2015, the same stockpiles were attacked by Israel

Ynet News commentator and analyst, Ron Ben-Yishai posits that if such an attack did, indeed, take place, it will have been on Hezbollah targets as claimed by the Syrian report. In addition, reports from Syria pertaining to Israel are often exaggerated even when there is only a grain of truth to the story. This notwithstanding, if the reports are credible, the attacks would be the first to have taken place since Avigdor Lieberman replaced Moshe Ya’alon as defense minister.

In addition to the Syrian reports, the Lebanese newspaper El-Nashra reported that a listening device was discovered by Lebanese security forces on Tuesday evening which was disguised as a rock on a mountain. The same report claimed that Lebanese military engineers were destroying the device. Nevertheless, the claim made no specific mention that the device was Israeli.

The Lebanese army later published an official statement on the matter claiming that it had found spying and surveillance equipment which was connected to a speaker also hidden on the rocks. Moreover, they said that they had found three bags nearby.

In December 2015, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that Israeli military forces were operating in some capacity in Syria: "We are operating in Syria periodically in order to prevent the country from becoming a front against Israel. We are taking action against another terror front which Iran is attempting to build in the Golan to prevent the transfer of deadly weapons from Syria to Leb. We will continue to do this," said Netanyahu.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/09/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Hezbollah


Terror Networks
The Beatings Will Continue: Mosul Edition
50 flee ISIS control in Mosul

(IraqiNews.com) Nineveh – A security source in Nineveh Province revealed on Tuesday, that 50 people had resorted to the Peshmerga forces north of the province, after fleeing from the areas controlled by ISIS in Mosul.

The source said in a statement obtained by IraqiNews.com, “50 youths fled from the city of Mosul, which is controlled by ISIS, and resorted to the Peshmerga forces that were stationed in al-Khazer axis north of the province.”

The source, who requested anonymity, added, “The fugitives managed to escape from Mosul because ISIS tightened the noose on them.”

ISIS destroys antiquities in Ninevah

[ARA News] ERBIL – Extremists of the Islamic State (ISIS) on Wednesday destroyed an ancient temple in Iraq’s northwestern Nineveh province.

The radical group published a footage showing the destruction of the Nabu temple in the historical city of Nimrud of Nineveh province.

In a new propaganda video, ISIS considered the ancient temple of Nabu as a “symbol of apostasy”, urging its jihadis to destroy any such temple “that have been previously used by the enemies of Allah”.

Nabu, originally a Babylonian deity, was the god of wisdom at the time of the Assyrian kingdom in the 1st millennium BC.

“The Nabu temple was one of the most renowned archeological sites in Nineveh, before the ISIS jihadis destroy it,” head of Nineveh media office Raafat al-Zarari told ARA News.

“This barbaric group is trying to eliminate the historical and cultural identity of Nineveh province through destroying such archeological sites,” al-Zarari said.

Last April, ISIS militants demolished the Gate of God [Eia] which dates back to the 7th century BC, the time of the Assyrian king Sennacherib.

Speaking to ARA News in Mosul, media activist Zuheir Mousilly said that since its control over the city of Mosul in 2014, ISIS have destroyed much of Iraqi historic sites and monuments, including the Assyrian city of Nimrud, the Winged Bulls, and the Mosul National Museum, after stealing the removable pieces for smuggling.

The expert on the Iraqi Antiquities Affairs Yasser Hatami condemned the destruction of the historic monuments, blaming Iraqi authorities for the inability to protect Nineveh archaeological sites.

“ISIS views historic shrines and temples they destroy as sacrilegious and a return to paganism,” Syrian antiquities chief Abdul Maamoun Abdulkarim told ARA News in an earlier report.

Last year, ISIS extremists bombed the renowned Yezidi ancient minaret of the Shingal district (120 km west of the city of Mosul), in northern Iraq.

In April 2015, the terror group blew up the church of Virgin Mary in the Assyrian village of Tel Nasri near the town of Tel Temir (50 km west of Hasakah) in northeastern Syria.

Also, the radical group blew up two monuments in the ancient city of Palmyra in central Syria in June, 2015, according to local sources.
Posted by: badanov || 06/09/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State



Who's in the News
23[untagged]
16Islamic State
5Taliban
4Commies
3Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh
3Houthis
2Sublime Porte
2Boko Haram
1Jamaat-e-Islami
1TTP
1Abu Sayyaf
1al-Shabaab
1Ansarullah Bangla Team
1Govt of Pakistan
1Govt of Saudi Arabia
1Govt of Syria
1Hezbollah

Bookmark
E-Mail Me

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

Merry-Go-Blog











On Sale now!


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

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

Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has dominated Mexico for six years.
Click here for more information

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

Two weeks of WOT
Thu 2016-06-09
  Daesh blows up ancient monuments in Iraq
Wed 2016-06-08
  Five dead, eleven maimed in Karbala kaboom
Tue 2016-06-07
  US-backed Syria force closes in on Manbij
Mon 2016-06-06
  Attack on Logar Appellate Court leaves 7 dead, over 20 wounded
Sun 2016-06-05
  Iraqi forces say they have secured southern edge of Falluja
Sat 2016-06-04
  Syrian army opens new front against ISIS, edges towards Raqqa province
Fri 2016-06-03
  48 militants killed, 36 wounded in Paktika airstrikes
Thu 2016-06-02
  Air Strikes in North Syria Kill at Least 42 Civilians
Wed 2016-06-01
  Taliban kill 17 passengers after kidnapping around 185 in Kunduz
Tue 2016-05-31
  Ninevah Nightmares: 158 ISIS Bad Guys die
Mon 2016-05-30
  Thousands of Peshmerga move on ISIS in major offensive
Sun 2016-05-29
  Anbar Antics: 190+ die
Sat 2016-05-28
  Iraq forces fire tear gas to disperse protesters
Fri 2016-05-27
  Iraqi forces, militias retake al-Karma from ISIS
Thu 2016-05-26
  Mullah Haibatullah new Taliban supremo

Better than the average link...



Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
3.239.239.71
Help keep the Burg running! Paypal:
WoT Background (12)    Non-WoT (9)    Opinion (5)    (0)    Politix (4)