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Over 800 migrants try to storm Channel Tunnel in France: Official
Today's Headlines
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Page 1: WoT Operations
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Page 2: WoT Background
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Page 4: Opinion
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Page 6: Politix
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10 14:04 Zenobia Floger6220 []
7 13:37 JohnQC []
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Afghanistan
Night Raids And Airstrikes In Kunduz To Eliminate Taliban
Afghan security forces officials from Speen Zar 808 Zone in Kunduz said on Thursday that the Taliban is no longer safe in the province as night raids and airstrikes have been launched in order to eliminate the insurgents once and for all.

According to Kunduz security officials, so far dozens of insurgents have been killed during these night raids and many tanks belonging to the Taliban have been destroyed.

Officials said foreign forces were also playing an effective role in the operation.

"Let me tell you night raids were stopped and the enemy was sure that at night there was no one to go after them. But we have started night raids again in Kunduz and so far the Taliban has suffered heavy casualties," said Sher Aziz Kamawal 808 Kunduz zone police chief.

Meanwhile provincial acting-governor Hamdullah Danishi also emphasized the importance of the operation in Kunduz province.

"The importance of night raids is that at night government forces suffer less casualties and the enemy suffers more and also bigger operations can be conducted," said Danishi.

Kunduz residents have welcomed the move but appeal to government to rid their province of the Taliban.

"Night raids are very good and the government must remove those Taliban who are still active close to the city and bring security back to the city," said Zamarai one of the residents.

"We ask the government to return security to the province because the situation is not good in the province and Taliban are active in every part of Kunduz," said Abdulhaq another resident.
Posted by: badanov || 12/18/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  Wasn't it that drug-addled Caped Taliban Crusader Karzai that had the night raids stopped?
Posted by: Frank G || 12/18/2015 9:53 Comments || Top||

#2  The Taliban have tanks? Maybe I haven't been paying very close attention but that is a surprise. Why are they allowed to have tanks? Where did they get tanks? The Paks?
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 12/18/2015 12:56 Comments || Top||

#3  Tanks of what, I might ask.
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 12/18/2015 21:47 Comments || Top||


Heavy Clashes Ongoing In Helmand
[Tolo News] Heavy festivities are ongoing in southern Helmand
...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan...
province between security forces and the Taliban with reports emerging that a number of outposts have fallen to the Death Eater group, local officials said on Thursday.

Clashes are reportedly taking place in Washir district -- the scene of fierce fighting on Wednesday night, said officials.

According to one source, who did not want to be named, about 20 security force members were killed in the clash and a further 20 have been captured by Death Eaters.

However,
nothing needs reforming like other people's bad habits...
local security forces have not yet confirmed the number of casualties among security forces nor that troops were captured.

Helmand has been the scene of increased violence in the past few months, especially in Sangin, Marjah, Nahar-e-Saraj and Washir districts of the province.

This comes after the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday reported that the United States and Britannia have deployed at least four special-operations teams to Helmand, stepping up their direct intervention in support of struggling Afghan government forces trying to fight off advances by Talibs.

The Taliban has taken control of at least four districts in Helmand, a major focus of U.S and U.K combat operations until late last year, and now threaten areas bordering the lovely provincial capital Lashkar Gah, local officials told the Wall Street Journal.

The newspaper reports that at least 2,000 Afghan forces have been killed or maimed in Helmand in the past year.

Preventing the lovely provincial capital from falling into the hands of the Taliban is a priority for U.S Army Gen. John Campbell, the commander of the NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions...
military coalition in Afghanistan, coalition officials said.

However,
nothing needs reforming like other people's bad habits...
local officials have refused to confirm or deny the reports of coalition troops being sent in to the province.
Posted by: Fred || 12/18/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


NDS detains Taliban weapon suppliers in Takhar
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The National Directorate of Security
...the Afghan national intel agency...
(NDS) -- Afghanistan's intelligence agency has detained five weapon suppliers of Taliban in northeastern Takhar province.

A statement released by the NDS on Thursday states that Abdul Samad S/O Haji Juldish, Hasibullah S/O Haji Noor Mohammad, Mohammad Gul S/O Juma Khan, Qurban S/O Sharif and Sediqullah were incarcerated
Drop the rod and step away witcher hands up!
during separate raids.

According to the statement, the arrested bandidos holy warriors were providing weapons and ammunition for the group who also had hand in planting landmines and a number of other terrorist activities.

A footage released by the NDS shows an undetermined amount of Afghanis confiscated from the arrested terrorists.

Posted by: Fred || 12/18/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Africa Horn
Shaboobs ambush Kenyan police, two dead
Armed terrorists militants ambushed police on patrol in the volatile area of Lamu County and opened fire on a vehicle, reportedly injuring several people including police officers.

Witnesses told The Standard last evening that two policemen were killed but state authorities discounted the claims asking for calm pending verification of conflicting reports from the scene.

There were conflicting reports of where the attack took place with some reports indicating the attack occurred at Milihoi, between Mpeketoni and Hindi townships at around 6.30p.m. James Ole Seriani, the top government official in charge of the joint task force leading operations against insurgents in Lamu County, told The Standard that “there was some shooting between Mkunumbi and Koreni and police officers have responded and the operation is still going on”.

He said he had little information but confirmed that he had received a report that “one person was injured and a vehicle burnt around 6.30 this evening”.

Ole Seriani said the vehicle was a civilian one but added that he has not received any reports of police deaths. Crispus Mutali, the head of anti-terrorist operations in Lamu who is also the county’s AP Commandant told The Standard that “I am still on scene and I cannot release a statement now.”

Sources on site alleged that at least two people were killed and shooting had spread southwards towards Mpeketoni where residents reported loud explosions and helicopter overflights.

The attack has occurred just hours after the state extended a curfew in the northern parts of Lamu for 90 days to allow a multi-task force operation against Jaysh Ayman, a militant offshoot of al Shabaab, which has been active in Mpeketoni and other parts of Lamu since mid-last year and is responsible for many attacks on civilians, police and military targets.

The group claimed responsibility for the June 14 2015 massacre of mainly 65 Christian men in Mpeketoni and the June 14 attack on a Kenya Defence Forces camp at Baure in northern Lamu.
Posted by: Steve White || 12/18/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Africa North
Libya's rival factions sign U.N. peace deal
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Members of Libya's rival parliaments on Thursday signed a landmark, U.N.-sponsored deal on forming a unity government that will strive to bring peace to the war-ravaged country.

Supporters of the agreement hope that rival political factions and militias will embrace the deal and agree on a cease-fire, so that they can fend off 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, which is expanding its gains in the North African country.

The document was signed in Morocco by Emhemed Shoaib, the deputy speaker of the internationally recognized Libyan parliament, and Salah al-Makhzoum, the second deputy of the Islamist-backed parliament based in the capital, 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...
, among others.

Libya slid into chaos following the 2011 toppling and killing of dictator Muammar Qadaffy
... who had more funny outfits than Louis XIV...
. Over a year ago, it was further torn - in addition to having two parliaments - between the internationally recognized government, based in the country's east, and the Islamist-backed government in Tripoli.

"This is just the beginning of a long journey for Libya," said U.N. envoy Martin Kobler, who attended the Morocco ceremony.

"Four challenges in particular will immediately test the abilities of the new government," he said. "First, to face immediately the dire humanitarian situation in the country. Second, an inclusive national security dialogue.

Third, the fight against Daesh [Islamic State] (the Islamic State group) and other terrorist groups, and fourth, a particular attention to Benghazi and other areas."

The agreement has detractors on both sides who seek a separate deal without U.N. involvement.

"We know well that the document of political accord in its current form is not the perfect thing that everyone wants, but at the same time, this political accord is a stage on the path to rescue Libya from collapsing and to ensure its unity," al-Makhzoum said.

Shoaib said the deal is meant to say "goodbye to weapons" that Libya is awash in. The agreement also established a nine-member named presidential council that will be tasked with choosing the Cabinet.

The speakers of the two parliaments - Tripoli-based Nuri A.M. Abusahmain and Aguila Saleh Issa from the east - were not at the Morocco ceremony. The two, who are seen by analysts as hard-liners, held talks on Tuesday in Malta to forge a separate deal without U.N. involvement.
Posted by: Fred || 12/18/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring

#1  Is it peace deal #1237 or #1238?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 12/18/2015 3:14 Comments || Top||

#2  #1238. Sell-by date in 3 days.
Posted by: Pappy || 12/18/2015 8:42 Comments || Top||


US special forces team told to go away
SAD forces?
Tripoli, 17 December 2015:

There was bemusement tonight following reports that a US special forces team landed unexpectedly at the Al-Wattiyah Airbase, controlled by troops loyal to the government and were told by local forces to go away.

The Libyan Air Force has claimed that 20 well-equipped Americans arrived at the airbase to the south-west of Tripoli with what appeared to be a dune buggy. Puzzled local commanders are reported to have told the foreigners that they had no knowledge of any mission and that they should leave.

It appears that after milling around and having their photographs taken, with assault rifles slung over their shoulders, the men agreed to depart in the aircraft that had brought them. Some sources say that their plane carried a UAE registration.

News agencies are reporting that Pentagon sources have confirmed that the men were on special mission with the agreement of the Libyan government. However, no official confirmation has yet come from either the Pentagon nor the US Defence Department.

The apparel of the Americans – some were wearing jeans and baseball caps – has cast doubt on the likelihood that they were serving soldiers. One military analyst told the Libya Herald this evening that among the many “odd features”, the men appeared to have no personal communications equipment, generally an essential for special forces units.

It has been suggested that this was a hit team tasked with striking at the IS base at Ajaylat outside Sabratha.

If these were indeed US special forces then the failure of their mission is reminiscent of the fate of six British SAS troops who were landed near Benghazi in March 2011, during the Revolution and promptly arrested. Their operation was never properly explained though it was believed that they were supposed to be a close-support detail for visiting UK diplomats.
Posted by: badanov || 12/18/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Combat tourism.
Posted by: Skidmark || 12/18/2015 0:41 Comments || Top||

#2  "You Americans did enough for our country."?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 12/18/2015 3:18 Comments || Top||

#3  A force of 20 personnel [plus crew] 'air landing' without solid pre-coordination, communications, and successful hand-off by reception committee comprised of one or two of their own? Going in blind without coordination with indigenous personnel fails doctrine and is clearly a recipe for a cock-up.

Sorry, fails the smell test. I wonder if it was actually SF or someone else ?

Posted by: Besoeker || 12/18/2015 3:58 Comments || Top||

#4  Actually, it does fail the smell test and thus signifies it is but another Pentagon screw-up.
Posted by: Spomong Bourbon8696 || 12/18/2015 6:27 Comments || Top||

#5  If it's a screw up its probably on purpose.
Posted by: gorb || 12/18/2015 15:59 Comments || Top||


Arabia
Rebels shell Taiz in violation of ceasefire
Iranian-backed rebels in Yemen continued to shell residential areas in the Southeastern Taiz city in violation of a UN-brokered ceasefire, prompting the national army and resistance to respond, a Yemeni news website reported on Thursday.

Two resistance fighters were injured in the artillery shelling by the Houthis and their coup allies in the besieged city on Wednesday, Masdar Online said.

It quoted military sources as saying artillery clashes erupted in various parts of the city after the legitimate army and resistance opened fire in response to Houthi shelling.

The report said the rebels also targeted Seena area in Western Taiz with artillery and machine gun fire on Wednesday.

It quoted the sources as saying one Grad rocket was also fired by the Houthis from their positions in Northwestern Taiz but there were no immediate reports of casualties.

The report said intermittent clashes also erupted in other areas but that there were no air raids by the Arab coalition in respect of the ceasefire which was announced on Monday midnight.
Posted by: badanov || 12/18/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Houthis


Caribbean-Latin America
Rio Police Dismantle Network Giving Fake Papers to Syrians
The Europeans can't possibly know who is coming in, because they're coming from all over the world, with all sorts of false and sort of true papers. Another way they differ from the Jews fleeing the Nazi Holocaust. Ditto for Obama administration claims about vetting, unfortunately.
[AnNahar] After an eight-month investigation, Rio police this week dismantled a network that had provided 72 Syrian immigrants with fake Brazilian identification documents, news reports said Wednesday.

The network had provided the Syrians with birth certificates, identity cards, voters' cards and passports, according to the government news agency Brasil.

The group was headed by a 71-year-old Syrian with a permanent visa in Brazil, Ali Kamel Issmael.
He's the only person in the world doing this, of course...
With the complicity of two civil-registry officials in Rio de Janeiro, the network ripped out pages from birth registries of the 1960s and 1970s and replaced them with new identities, the news agency said.
Always easier to fashion new identities when you have someone on the inside...
Brazil, which has a large Catholic Syrian community, has officially accepted 2,097 Syrian refugees since civil war broke out in that country in 2011. Most however have been unable to find work, speak no Portuguese, and would rather move to Europe.
Particularly to benefits-rich Germany...
A majority of the 72 "Syrian-Brazilians" were registered between 2012 and 2014. They include Issmael's wife, Basema Alasmar, who was incarcerated
You have the right to remain silent...
in the police crackdown.

As a legal resident of Brazil, Issmael has been released to appear on his own recognizance for a court hearing.
Wanna bet he skips town?
The Rio police believe that many of the Syrians have left Brazil because only 39 possessed the "Natural Persons Register" card known as the CPF, without which transactions as simple as purchasing a cell phone are difficult in Brazil.

According to the Globo news channel, 17 of the fake Brazilians used their falsified documents to apply for U.S. visas.
...and nobody knows how many have overstayed their legal visas, separate from those who'd arrived illegally.
Don't worry, I'm sure ICE and FBI vetted them carefully...
The documents scandal has given Brazilians yet a new source of concern as the country prepares to host the Summer Olympic Games next year.

Police commissioner Aloysio Falcao, who is leading the investigation, said the police were asking for the fake passports to be canceled, adding that national security was "at stake."
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/18/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Most however have been unable to find work, speak no Portuguese, and would rather move to Europe.

And they were shocked, SHOCKED, by the sights at Ipanema.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 12/18/2015 13:13 Comments || Top||


Europe
German State Raids, Shuts Mosque for 'Backing IS'
[AnNahar] German authorities Thursday raided, shuttered and banned a Muslim association and mosque they accused of supporting 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....
jihadist group in Syria and Iraq.

Police in the southwestern city of Stuttgart searched the site and delivered a notice that the center had been disbanded and its property confiscated, said the interior minister of Baden-Wurttemberg state, Reinhold Gall.

"We do not tolerate associations that advocate the use of violence to promote religious concerns and collect donations for terrorist groups," said Gall, without reporting any arrests.

He charged that radical preachers and fundamentalist Islamists, mainly from western Balkan states, had frequented the Islamic Educational and Cultural Centre Mesdschid Sahabe.

Of about 50 people who had traveled to Syria from Baden-Wuerttemberg to join the fighting, at least 10 had been visitors of the mosque, and three of them had since died, he said.

The center had previously been raided in March, when police confiscated computers, data storage devices, smartphones and documents as evidence, said the minister in a statement.

"The association supports, in the form of the so-called Islamic State, an Islamist group that carries out religiously-motivated attacks against persons and property," Gall charged.

"Through the association, donations have been collected for terrorist groups and fighters recruited for the conflict in Syria. In addition, the association and its members glorify jihad and religiously motivated terrorism."
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/18/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  Close, demolition, haul the rubble away, deport. Rinse, lather, repeat.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 12/18/2015 1:21 Comments || Top||

#2  Hat tip to Herr Gall. Faster please, with increased levels of vigor and enthusiasm. Perhaps others will learn from your determination and success.
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/18/2015 4:16 Comments || Top||

#3  They can't do that! President Obama will protest! The Lightbringer will send a strongly-worded protest! He'll bring in the Big Guns - the United Nations! The Germans will rue the day!

Yes, it's sarcasm.
Posted by: Bobby || 12/18/2015 13:38 Comments || Top||

#4  I think the French have discovered that mosques in their country are centers of un-French activities, and have shut down quite a few. Maybe the Germans caught a clue.
Posted by: Old Patriot || 12/18/2015 18:48 Comments || Top||

#5  See also LUCIANNE > GERMAN EX-ISIS MILITANT: COORDINATED ATTACKS PLANNED ACROSS EUROPE.

Amerika???

* RELATED ZERO HEDGE > ISLAMIC BLITZKRIEG COMING TO GERMANY, ARRESTED JIHADIST WARNS.

To roughly occur at or near the same time - ALL THATS NEEDED IS A KNIFE [or any available weapon of choice?], A LOVE FOR ISLAM, + A WILLINGNESS TO KILL LARGE NUMBERS OF INFIDELS.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 12/18/2015 21:41 Comments || Top||

#6  "German State Raids, Shuts Mosque armory for 'Backing IS'"

Fixed.
Posted by: Barbara || 12/18/2015 22:20 Comments || Top||


Over 800 migrants try to storm Channel Tunnel in France: Official
[AlAhram] Some 800 to 1,000 migrants tried Thursday to break into the Channel Tunnel near La Belle France's port city Calais in a desperate bid to reach Britannia, local officials said.

"We noted the presence of 800 to 1,000 migrants" near the tunnel, a local official told AFP, as a police source described the number seeking to cross the Channel as "unprecedented" for a single day.

"As they approached the tunnel, several migrants tried hard to slow down the flow of traffic so they could climb into the trucks," the source said.

An AFP journalist at the scene saw some people climb on top of trucks heading towards Britannia.

"Security forces were deployed... objects were being thrown at them, and they had to resort to using tear gas," police said in a statement.

Some 4,500 people fleeing war and poverty in Asia, the Middle East and Africa live in notoriously squalid conditions in a makeshift camp in Calais known as the "Jungle".
Why is this permitted?
Earlier this month a 16-year-old Sudanese boy was hit by a van on a motorway close to the Channel Tunnel, becoming the 18th person to die trying to reach Britannia from Calais since June.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/18/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  France hasn't even started dealing with the semi silent invasion. They cannot even stop the vanguard.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 12/18/2015 1:17 Comments || Top||

#2  Start mowing em down , they'll stop.
Posted by: chris || 12/18/2015 2:14 Comments || Top||

#3  I remember many years ago, Brits shaking their heads at the idea of a Channel Tunnel. Appears their fears were well grounded.
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/18/2015 4:21 Comments || Top||

#4  Easily remedied by flooding the tunnel, but rather costly and difficult to undo.

I suppose the Brits could mow 'em down at their end if the Frogs don't have the ... courage.
Posted by: Bobby || 12/18/2015 8:30 Comments || Top||

#5  If I were a Frenchman, migrants headed for the tunnel would be part of the solution, not the problem.
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/18/2015 8:31 Comments || Top||

#6  Will the Brits see 'boat people' from France?
Posted by: Skidmark || 12/18/2015 11:20 Comments || Top||

#7  #5 the Mexican Gambit (c)
Posted by: P2Kontheroad || 12/18/2015 17:59 Comments || Top||


The Grand Turk
Turkish Forces Kill 25 Kurdish Militants in Southeast Operation
[AnNahar] Turkish security forces have killed 25 Kurdish bandidos gunnies this week as they battle suspected members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) inside two flashpoint towns, security sources said on Thursday.

The operations conducted inside the towns of Cizre and Silopi in the southeastern Sirnak province, backed by curfews, mark a new escalation in five months of fighting with the PKK since a truce collapsed.

Twenty-four PKK members have been killed in Cizre since the operations began earlier this week, while one was killed in Silopi, security sources told AFP, increasing an earlier toll.

The authorities had already announced on Wednesday that eight PKK fighters had been killed in Cizre.

According to Turkish media, some 10,000 members of the police and army have been deployed in Cizre and Silopi in one of the biggest operations yet against the PKK, who have erected barricades and ditches inside the towns.

Although analysts have called for peace talks, the authorities led by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him...
have said Ankara must "eradicate" the PKK which in recent months has again built up a significant presence in urban centers.

"The bully boyz wanted to paralyse daily life in these towns by intimidating inhabitants who they had extorted," Interior Minister Efkan Ala told the state-run Anatolia news agency.

Cizre has a population of some 100,000, while Silopi has over 80,000 people.

He said the authorities had seized 2,240 weapons, ten tons of explosives and 10,000 Molotov cocktails from the myrmidons.

Images published by Anatolia showed heavily armed soldiers backed by tanks going house-to-house in the towns and firing from street corners.

The authorities also imposed blanket and open-ended curfews in the two towns, the latest in a succession of such measures across the southeast that have angered activists.

There have also been growing tensions over a curfew in the Sur district of southeastern Diyarbakir province -- also mainly Kurdish -- that has been in place almost uninterrupted since December 2.

There were new festivities early Thursday between police and pro-PKK sympathizers in Diyarbakir, an AFP correspondent reported.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/18/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Turkey arrests 2 ISIS suspects at airport, seizes 150 passports
[AlAhram] Turkish authorities detained two suspected 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....
Lions of Islam (ISIS) at Istanbul's main international airport carrying at least 150 original European passports, an official said Thursday.

Counter-terror police detained the suspects, a Syrian and a Turk, at Ataturk Airport after they flew in from a European country, finding they had stuffed the passports into pizza ovens, media reports said earlier.

"Airport police... found at least 150 fake passports among their personal belongings," a Turkish government official, who asked not to be named, told AFP.

The private Dogan news agency said the police seized a total of 148 European passports hidden inside "five mini-pizza ovens".

The suspects have been taken to the anti-terror headquarters of Istanbul police for questioning, it added.

Two hidden cameras, scores of memory cards and SIM cards were also seized, it added. Dogan had said that the passports were all original.

Long criticised for not doing enough to stem the flow of holy warrior fighters across its volatile border with Syria, The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
has stepped up fight after a number of deadly attacks on Turkish soil blamed on ISIS, which is also called ISIL or Daesh [Islamic State], making almost daily arrests of would-be holy warriors.

"Today's arrests exemplify how effective the anti-ISIS measures have been," said the official.

"We look forward to working more closely with source countries to keep ISIS fighters away from Syria."

Interior Minister Efkan Ala said Thursday that Turkey has imposed entry bans on 33,746 terror suspects from 123 countries since the Syria conflict began.

In addition, 2,783 holy warrior suspects from 89 countries have been detained in Turkey and deported.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/18/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  "They're mine. I have multiple personalities"
Posted by: Frank G || 12/18/2015 10:49 Comments || Top||


Great White North
Canadian teenager convicted of terrorist offense
GENEVA – Canadian authorities convicted a teenager of a terrorist offense for trying to travel overseas to join the extremist group of Islamic State (ISIS).

The 16-year-old boy, whose identity remained anonymous under the Canadian law of protecting minors, became radicalized through following ISIS’s propaganda videos and communicating with suspected jihadists.
So a 16 year old planning to go to where he can kill people is still a 'minor'...
The teenager was reportedly turned in to police by his parents, who suspected their son was radicalized and planned to go to Syria to join ISIS jihadists.

He was convicted by a Canadian court on charges of terrorism for trying to join a banned organization. The teenager was also prosecuted on a robbery case that took place in Oct. 2014 with the intention of using the C$2,200 stolen funds to fly overseas to Turkey and from there to Syria, where ISIS controls a large territory.

According to officials, the boy faces up to 25 years in prison. The sentencing is expected to take place in January.
Posted by: badanov || 12/18/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Jihadism, combined with the inherent Canadian sense of moral superiority...
Posted by: Pappy || 12/18/2015 12:43 Comments || Top||


Home Front: WoT
Harrisburg, PA man accused of supporting terrorists appears in court
We're going to get a lot of these stories as idiots on the internet get in on the action. As of last night:
[PennLive] A Harrisburg man accused of conspiring and attempting to support the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
of Iraq and the Levant -- commonly known as ISIL -- appeared in federal court in Harrisburg on Thursday afternoon.

Jalil Ibn Ameer Aziz, 19, was tossed in the clink
Drop the rod and step away witcher hands up!
at his home in the 1700 block of Fulton Street Thursday afternoon. His appearance before Magistrate Judge Martin C. Carlson marked the first court appearance for Aziz, a short man with a beard who couldn't be much more than 5 feet tall.

A soft-spoken man, Aziz, who wore a gray long-sleeved T-shirt and gray sweat pants and sandals, accepted the counsel of assistant federal public defenders, Lori Ulrich and Heidi Freese during the proceeding. Carlson read the charges Aziz is facing to him. Aziz answered the judge in mostly 'yes' and 'no' statements during the hearing that lasted about 15 minutes.

Carslson told Aziz he could face up to 15 years in prison and fines of up to $250,000, followed by three years of supervised release, if found guilty of the charges the U.S. Attorney's Office lodged against him.

The U.S. Attorney's Office maintains Aziz attempted to provide material support to ISIL by promoting hateful rhetoric to groups on social media and supporting individuals in their plans to travel overseas to join the foreign terrorist organization.
At least 57 twitter accounts since July, 2014, because Twitter shut down each one pretty quickly.
A search of Aziz's residence produced a tactical style backpack in his closet that contained high-capacity weapons magazines, ammunition, a knife and other survival items, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Aziz is next scheduled to appear in court for a combined preliminary and detention hearing at 3 p.m. on Dec. 23. Carlson said he set the date in hopes of giving counsel for Aziz and the U.S. Attorney's office enough time to fully grasp the complicated nature of the case. Aziz will be held in federal custody at least until the preliminary hearing date.

"(The case) involves an array of complexities for counsel, international in scope," Carlson said. "They should have time to prepare."
PennLive published a series of articles as the story evolved. Here's the round-up, updated as of 10:20 this morning.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/18/2015 11:05 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  Is there no end to the evil that is the Amish!?
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 12/18/2015 21:42 Comments || Top||


Marquez charged with conspiracy in San Bernardino terrorist shooting
A man who bought the assault rifles used by his friend in the San Bernardino massacre has been charged with terrorism-related counts.

Federal prosecutors say Enrique Marquez was charged Thursday with conspiring with Syed Rizwan Farook to commit terrorism in 2011 and 2012. Marquez also was charged with illegally purchasing two assault rifles used by Farook and his wife to kill 14 people at a holiday gathering of Farook's health department co-workers on Dec. 2.

Authorities previously said Marquez had legally purchased the high-powered guns. Marquez faces an additional immigration charge for a sham marriage with a member of Farook's family.
Sham marriage -- what, no nookie?
The 24-year-old Marquez was a neighbor and longtime friend of Farook's, and the two later became related through marriage. Marquez and Farook's brother are married to sisters from Russia.
Posted by: Steve White || 12/18/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The dots failed to be connected? Perhaps the Bureau was looking for yard signs.
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/18/2015 4:41 Comments || Top||

#2  Sham marriage -- what, no nookie?

have you seen this guy? He makes Rick Moranis in Ghostbusters look like a stud
Posted by: Frank G || 12/18/2015 10:50 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Two suspected militants killed in Awaran
QUETTA: Two suspected militants were killed in an `encounter’ with security forces in Awaran area of Balochistan on Thursday.

A spokesman for the Frontier Corps Balochistan said that FC personnel launched a search operation in hilly areas of Awaran on intelligence that armed militants were hiding there. The FC men cordoned the area on which armed men opened fire, he said.

A heavy exchange of fire continued for two hours, resulting in death of two suspected militants. A large quantity of arms and ammunition was seized.

Meanwhile, security forces arrested two suspects from Barkhan area who were identified as Noor Muhammad and Noor Ali. They were taken into custody during patrolling in Barkhan town and later handed over to the authorities concerned for interrogation.

Published in Dawn, December 18th, 2015
Posted by: badanov || 12/18/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


CTD apprehends six Lashkar-i-Jhangvi activists from Lahore
LAHORE: The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of Punjab police apprehended six suspected activists of the banned sectarian outfit Lashkar-i-Jhangvi (LeJ) from Lahore on Thursday.

The CTD spokesman claimed that the arrested activists were running the affairs of proscribed LeJ after the death of Malik Ishaq.

The police also claimed to have recovered a huge amount of explosives and electronic detonators from the arrested accused.

Three suspects were arrested from Khokhar Chowk area near College Road, while the other three were nabbed from Baidian Road, the CTD spokesman said.

The arrested accused are namely Umer sajid Jhangvi, Hidayatullah Farooqi, Muhammad Sadiq, Inamul Haque, Ataullah Usmani and Muhammad Yaseen.

Moreover, two separate First Information Reports (FIRs) were registered in CTD police station against the six suspects over possession of explosives.

In July this year, former LeJ chief Malik Ishaq along with his two sons Usman and Haq Nawaz was killed in an alleged exchange of fire with police personnel

A spokesman for CTD Multan at the time had said Ishaq and his two sons were taken to Muzaffargarh to aid in the recovery of arms and explosives.

As the police party was returning after making the recovery, it was attacked by some 12 to 15 gunmen following which an encounter ensued.

Ishaq and his sons were arrested by the CTD only a week before the alleged encounter took place.

The LeJ is also said to have links with Al Qaeda. The organisation was banned more than a decade ago by former president Pervez Musharraf.

Ishaq, who was the leader of the feared organisation, was implicated in dozens of cases, mostly murder.
Posted by: badanov || 12/18/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Lashkar e-Jhangvi


India police bust 'Al-Qaeda cell', three arrested
[AlAhram] Delhi police have busted a suspected Al-Qaeda cell and placed in durance vile
Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try!
a founder member of the Death Eater group's India wing, officials said Thursday.

Police said they had arrested "radical bad boy" Mohammed Asif, 41, who allegedly led the group's recruitment and training wing in India and was a founder member of Al-Qaeda on the subcontinent.

"Long and intense periods of deploying human sources in the vulnerable pockets of Islamic radicalisation led to the zeroing in on certain suspects," police said in a statement.

"A trap was laid and in a swift and professional operation, accused Mohd. Asif was apprehended" when he went to meet a contact at a flyover in New Delhi, the statement said.

Two others were also arrested in the case, one for allegedly attempting to radicalise students at a madrassa in Uttar Pradesh state and another for financing the group's activities, Press Trust of India reported.

All three have been remanded in jug, according to police and PTI.

In September 2014 Al-Qaeda announced it had set up a new branch on the Indian subcontinent seeking to invigorate its waning Islamist bad boy movement.

India placed several states on high alert after the group launched the new branch to "wage jihad" in South Asia.

Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri
... Formerly second in command of al-Qaeda, now the head cheese, occasionally described as the real brains of the outfit. Formerly the Mister Big of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Bumped off Abdullah Azzam with a car boom in the course of one of their little disputes. Is thought to have composed bin Laden's fatwa entitled World Islamic Front Against Jews and Crusaders. Currently residing in the North Wazoo area assuming he's not dead like Mullah Omar. He lost major face when he ordered the nascent Islamic State to cease and desist and merge with the orthodx al-Qaeda spring, al-Nusra...
said at the time the new operation would take the fight to Myanmar, Bangladesh and India, which has a large but traditionally moderate Muslim population.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/18/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent


Iraq
ISIS forces launch attacks in Samarra
(IraqiNews.com) Salahuddin – A security source in Salahuddin province announced on Thursday, that the ISIS has attacked Samarra south of Tikrit (170 km north of Baghdad) from the southern and western axes, taking advantage of the bad weather.

The source reported for IraqiNews.com, “The organization launched, at dawn today, an attack on Samarra (40 km south of Tikrit) from the southern and western sides, taking advantage of the bad weather conditions and thick fog.”

The source, who asked anonymity, added: “The organization began the attack with four booby-trapped vehicles driven by suicide bombers, followed by clashes and mortar fire,” noting that “The attacks were concentrated on the center of Sharif Abbas Street and the village of Haji Hussein.”
Posted by: badanov || 12/18/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Iraqi militia repels ISIS attack in Salahuddin province
(IraqiNews.com) Salahuddin – On Thursday, a security source in Salahuddin province stated that “Peace Brigades” had managed to foil an attack by ISIS west of Samarra.

The source said in a statement obtained by IraqiNews.com, “Peace Brigades repelled an attack by ISIS west of Samarra (40 km south of Tikrit,” adding that, “The Peace Brigades had inflicted heavy losses upon ISIS.”

Noteworthy, Iraq witnesses an extraordinary security situation with the continued military operations to expel ISIS from the areas under their control.
Posted by: badanov || 12/18/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


1 dead, 7 wounded in bomb attack in Baghdad
(IraqiNews.com) Baghdad – A source in the Iraqi Interior Ministry announced on Thursday, that eight people had been either killed or wounded in a bomb blast near shops southwest of Baghdad.

The source said in an interview for IraqiNews.com, “A bomb exploded, this morning, near shops in Bayaa neighborhood southwest of Baghdad, killing one person and wounding seven others.”

The source, who requested anonymity, added: “A security force rushed to the area and transferred the wounded to a nearby hospital for treatment and the body of the dead man to the forensic medicine department, while a raid and search operation was carried out to search for the perpetrators of the bombing.”
Posted by: badanov || 12/18/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Iraqis detain 119 in Kirkuk
(IraqiNews.com) Kirkuk – On Thursday, a security source in Kirkuk province stated that the security forces arrested 66 wanted and suspects during a raid and search operation in northeast of the province, while pointed out to the arrest of 53 refugees that do not have formal approvals for residence.

The source said in a brief statement received by IraqiNrws, “Today, a force from the emergency police raided Banja Ali neighborhood north-east of the province, and was able to arrest 66 wanted and suspects”.

The source, who asked to remain anonymous, added, “The force seized three stolen vehicles,” noting that, “They arrested 53 individuals, mostly refugees who do not have a formal residence approval.”

Noteworthy the security forces at the province of Kirkuk carry out raid and search operations from time to time which result in the arrest of several wanted people for criminal offenses and terrorism.
Posted by: badanov || 12/18/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iraq


Militants attack Kurd positions in Erbil
(IraqiNews.com) Erbil – According to a security source in the province of Erbil, an armed group shot the political bureau of Kurdistan Islamic Union in Erbil, noting that the authorities began an investigation to determine the causes of the incident.

The source said in a statement obtained by IraqiNews, “Unidentified militants opened fire, last night, at the political bureau of Kurdistan Islamic Union in Erbil,” while pointed out, “The attackers used machine guns.”

The source, who asked not to be identified, added, “The attack did not result in any casualties,” indicating that, “The security forces arrived in the area of the incident and opened an investigation to determine the causes”.

The Kurdistan Islamic Union is identified as one of the lead parties in Kurdistan region and has 10 seats in Kurdistan Parliament.
Posted by: badanov || 12/18/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Peshmerga repel renewed ISIS attacks, militant leader killed
[Rudaw] Peshmerga forces repelled an 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) assault Thursday on the Kaske font in western djinn-infested Mosul
... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn...
, killing 10 faceless myrmidons and wounding many others, a Peshmerga official said.

"ISIS myrmidon launched a two-pronged assault against Peshmerga bunkers in the village of Shindokha on the Kaske front by taking advantage of the bad weather, but they were defeated," Majid Khalid, a Peshmerga commander, told Rudaw by phone.

Khalid added that two ISIS armored vehicles were destroyed before they reached the Peshmerga frontlines.

The Peshmerga were attacked on multiple fronts on Wednesday and killed at least 70 myrmidons, the Kurdistan Region Security Council (KRSC) said.

In the confrontations at least six Peshmerga were killed by a group of ISIS jacket wallahs.

"At approximately 1600hrs on 16 December, Peshmerga forces repelled several ISIL attacks across Newaran, Bashik, Tl Eswed, Khazir and Zerdk Mountain," the KRSC added.

In coordination with U.S. air power they destroyed 11 incoming ISIS vehicles, foiling three car kabooms and killed several suicide bombers.

ISIS also fired a barrage of mortar shells on the Turkish training camp in Nineveh killing two members of the Sunni mobilization force, commanded by former governor Atheel Nujaifi, and wounding six others.

Nujaifi told Rudaw by telephone that Turkish trainers were unhurt. However The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
's official Anadolu Agency contradicted him when it reported that four Turkish soldiers were maimed in the attack.

Sarbast Trwanshi, commander of the Peshmerga forces on the Nawaran front, 10km northeast of the ISIS-occupied Mosul, confirmed the death of an ISIS leader known as Abu-Hamudia, who in festivities with Kurdish Peshmerga forces.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/18/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


After intense clashes with Peshmerga, ISIS pounded by coalition jets
[Rudaw] The US-led coalition hammered 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) bases on the Makhmour fronts by air late Thursday, a day after Peshmerga forces were involved in heavy festivities with the snuffies on multiple fronts, a Kurdish military official told Rudaw.

"Coalition warplanes heavily bombarded the Daesh [Islamic State] (ISIS) bases in the villages of Sultan Abdullah, Matantar and Kudila in the west, east and south of Makhmour," said the official, who added that an unspecified number of snuffies were killed or maimed.

He said that the air raids began at 5:30 pm.

Peshmerga forces repelled a series of intense ISIS assaults on Wednesday, and some on Thursday, on multiple fronts that included the Khazar front near Erbil and djinn-infested Mosul
... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn...
's Bashik military camp.

Kurdish forces killed at least 70 snuffies in Wednesday's fighting, the Kurdistan Region Security Council (KRSC) said. It also reported Peshmerga causalities estimated at six dead.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/18/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Shots fired at IDF amid violent clashes during overnight raids
[IsraelTimes] Soldiers met with barrage of stones, Molotov cocktails during Qalandiya operation, army says; total of 19 terror suspects placed in durance vile
Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'!
including 4 Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, members


IDF troops were shot at during clashing with Paleostinian protesters early Thursday morning during a raid in the West Bank town of Qalandiya, north of Jerusalem.

No soldiers were maimed in the incident, the army said in statement.

According to Paleostinian media reports, security forces raided dozens of homes and businesses in the town, including the Rajh Medical Center and the local youth center.

The army said soldiers from the Binyamin Brigade including the elite Duvdevan unit arrested two terror suspects and seized weapons stockpiles of knives, guns and ammunition during the operation but were met with violent protests from Paleostinian youths.

"The operation was accompanied by riots in which hundreds of Paleostinians threw stones, rocks, Molotov cocktails and other objects from roofs at the security forces. The soldiers responded with non lethal anti-riot measures [which can include rubber bullets, tear gas, water cannon]," the army statement read.

Thursday's raid came as part of a series of overnight operations across the West Bank. The IDF said a total of 19 Paleostinian terror suspects were arrested, including four men described as Hamas members. Ten of those arrested are suspected of direct involvement in recent attacks on civilians and security forces.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/18/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Hamas


Paleo 'yout' shot dead over knife attack bid
A Palestinian tried to attack Israeli soldiers with a knife in the West Bank on Thursday and was shot dead, the Israeli army claimed, the latest incident in more than two-months of violence.

"During routine security activity in Hawwara, forces spotted a suspect and approached in order to question him," the army said in a statement of the incident near Nablus in an area where Israeli settlers and Palestinians cross a military checkpoint.

It said the man ran towards the soldiers, who opened fire, "resulting in his death".

Palestinian security sources said Israeli authorities had taken the body of the Palestinian, as has occurred regularly. Members of his family identified him as 15-year-old Abdullah Nassara. He had been to school that morning for an exam, which he attended, but never returned, his family said.
Posted by: Steve White || 12/18/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  He had been to school that morning for an exam
Well, he learned something.
Posted by: Skidmark || 12/18/2015 0:43 Comments || Top||

#2  He had been to school that morning for an exam

Betcha he failed---hence "suicide by cop".
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 12/18/2015 3:21 Comments || Top||

#3  I guess he never learned the lesson about never bringing a knife to a gun fight.
Posted by: Sven the pelter || 12/18/2015 9:59 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
New Russian SA-17 system in Syria painting US planes, manned flights halted
Russia's military operations inside Syria have been expanding in recent weeks, and the latest Russian deployments, made without any advance notice to the U.S., have disrupted the U.S.-led coalition's efforts to support Syrian rebel forces fighting against the Islamic State near the Turkey-Syria border, just west of the Euphrates River, several Obama administration and U.S. defense officials told us. This crucial part of the battlefield, known inside the military as Box 4, is where a number of groups have been fighting the Islamic State for control, until recently with overhead support from U.S. fighter jets.

But earlier this month, Moscow deployed an SA-17 advanced air defense system near the area and began "painting" U.S. planes, targeting them with radar in what U.S. officials said was a direct and dangerous provocation. The Pentagon halted all manned flights, although U.S. drones are still flying in the area. Russia then began bombing the rebels the U.S. had been supporting. (U.S. manned airstrikes continue elsewhere in Syria.)

Inside the top levels of the administration, officials are debating what to do next. The issue is serious enough that Secretary of State John Kerry raised it with Russian President Vladimir Putin when they met on Tuesday, and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General John Dunford has discussed it with his Russian counterpart as well, a spokesman for U.S. Air Force Central Command told us.

There is a new crisis for the international effort to destroy the Islamic State, created by the Kremlin. The U.S. has stopped flying manned air-support missions for rebels in a key part of northern Syria due to Russia's expansion of air defense systems there, and the Barack Obama administration is scrambling to figure out what to do about it.

Russia's military operations inside Syria have been expanding in recent weeks, and the latest Russian deployments, made without any advance notice to the U.S., have disrupted the U.S.-led coalition's efforts to support Syrian rebel forces fighting against the Islamic State near the Turkey-Syria border, just west of the Euphrates River, several Obama administration and U.S. defense officials told us. This crucial part of the battlefield, known inside the military as Box 4, is where a number of groups have been fighting the Islamic State for control, until recently with overhead support from U.S. fighter jets.

But earlier this month, Moscow deployed an SA-17 advanced air defense system near the area and began "painting" U.S. planes, targeting them with radar in what U.S. officials said was a direct and dangerous provocation. The Pentagon halted all manned flights, although U.S. drones are still flying in the area. Russia then began bombing the rebels the U.S. had been supporting. (U.S. manned airstrikes continue elsewhere in Syria.)

Inside the top levels of the administration, officials are debating what to do next. The issue is serious enough that Secretary of State John Kerry raised it with Russian President Vladimir Putin when they met on Tuesday, and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General John Dunford has discussed it with his Russian counterpart as well, a spokesman for U.S. Air Force Central Command told us.

"The increasing number of Russian-supplied advanced air defense systems in Syria, including SA-17s, is another example that Russia and the regime seek to complicate the global counter-Daesh coalition's air campaign," said Major Tim Smith, using another term for the Islamic State.

The increasing number of Russian air defense systems further complicate an already difficult situation over the skies in Syria, and do nothing to advance the fight against the Islamic State, which has no air force, Smith said. He added that Russia could instead be using its influence with the regime to press President Bashar al-Assad to cease attacking civilians. "Unhelpful actions by Russia and the Syrian regime will not stop coalition counter-Daesh operations in Syria, nor will such actions push the coalition away from specific regions in Syria where Daesh is operating," said Smith.

Smith did not deny the administration officials' characterization of the situation in Box 4. Captain Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, told us that the U.S. continues to fly manned and unmanned strike missions in the areas of Syria where the Islamic State is active, including strikes Wednesday in the northeastern towns of Manjib and Mara. He also acknowledged that Russia's recent deployment of air defense systems have complicated U.S. air missions there.

In Washington, top officials are debating how to respond to Russia's expanded air defenses, said another administration official who was not authorized to discuss internal deliberations. The administration could decide to resume flights in support of the rebels fight Islamic State, but that could risk a deadly incident with the Russian military. For now, the U.S. seems to be acquiescing to Russia's effort to keep American manned planes out of the sky there and "agree to their rules of the game," the administration official said.

With U.S. planes out of the way, Russia has stepped up its own airstrikes along the Turkey-Syria border, and the Obama administration has accused it of targeting the rebel groups the U.S. was supporting, not the Islamic State. The Russian strikes are also targeting commercial vehicles passing from Turkey into Syria, the administration official told us. The Washington Post reported that the Russian strikes have resulted in a halt of humanitarian aid from Turkey as well.

These heightened tensions between the U.S. and Russia on the ground run counter to the public outreach Kerry has been pursuing as part of his effort to kick-start a peace process between the Syrian regime and the opposition. In remarks at the Kremlin Tuesday, Kerry said he was "grateful for President Putin" and looked forward to cooperating with Russia on the fight against the Islamic State. Kerry will meet with Russian leaders again Friday in New York.

Kerry also said the U.S. is not pursuing "regime change" in Syria, comments that were seen by many as another step away from the long-held U.S. call for Assad to step down. The latest U.S.-Russia talks didn't focus on Assad's status, Kerry said, adding that he was working to establish a political process that would allow Syrians to choose their own leadership.

While the diplomacy drags on, the Russian military continues to place Assad in a stronger position and constrain the coalitions' operations, said Matthew McInnis, a former Iran analyst for U.S. Central Command and now a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. "The Russians are trying to create zones where they would have to give permission for U.S. flights," he said. "The Russians are increasingly defining the military landscape by their actions."
Posted by: Thraling Hupoluns2819 || 12/18/2015 00:27 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Interesting. The Russians know who they support - ol' Pencilneck and the status quo. Champ supports the good guys, but he doesn't know who they are. Some of the targets of the Russians and Champ happen to overlap.

Oh, well. I think I'll stick a bag of popcorn in the microwave and await further developments.
Posted by: Bobby || 12/18/2015 8:27 Comments || Top||

#2  Might 'splain that story yesterday about the US F15s being pulled from Incirlik.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/18/2015 9:54 Comments || Top||

#3  I think ol' pencilneck was the only one who was protecting Christians, among others, the only one who was not radical Islamic. Unfortunately, he also was/is a butcher. It seems like Putin thinks like "the enemy of my enemy" is my friend -- a addition to a great power move to gather influence in a strategic area. (Since a once great power was purposefully, internally demoted and demeaned.) Main purpose -- no Islamic terrorists. Bottle them up; let them fight each other. Stop Americans from supporting them!
Posted by: pyromancer76 || 12/18/2015 10:06 Comments || Top||

#4  I thought that we have the AGM-88 HARM missile deployed, to deal with any surface to air radars that start painting our aircraft.

I wonder - can they be deployed on drones?
Posted by: Lone Ranger || 12/18/2015 10:28 Comments || Top||

#5  Yes they can Lone Ranger. Any weapon that can be fired from a fighter can be mounted on almost all our drones. We have some really big drones that could carry the smaller nukes if needed I would think. Their weight and size are similar to our bigger conventional bombs.
Posted by: DarthVader || 12/18/2015 12:36 Comments || Top||

#6  Given that a NATO member nation and erstwhile trading partner shot down one of their planes, the Russians would be idiots not to actively track anything in the air.
Posted by: SteveS || 12/18/2015 18:37 Comments || Top||

#7  There are some things missing from this article. Like, is the radar from the SA-17 actually locking on, or just tracking? They'd be stupid not to track, but locking on could be construed as an act of war. Also, do we want to share IFF information with the Russians? I'm sure they have it anyway, but maybe not a complete understanding. We could create something that would provide limited identification in the war zone without giving away the whole farm. Of course, Obumble WANTS to give away the whole farm, along with Syria and Iraq - the blowhard.
Posted by: Old Patriot || 12/18/2015 18:46 Comments || Top||

#8  Lay down a little "Israeli ECM." Let them track THAT coming in.
Posted by: Jatle Stalin3515 || 12/18/2015 19:13 Comments || Top||


US sends ammunition to Syrian forces ahead of offensive
[Rudaw] The United States has provided Syrian Arab forces operating within the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)
...the YPG's Arab, Christian, and other auxiliaries, given a name that sounds acceptable to Turkey's Kurd-hating President Erdogan...
weapons and ammunition ahead of an expected offensive against 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), in Hasakah province.

In an exclusive report late Wednesday Rooters wrote that the SDF forces are expected to launch an offensive against ISIS in Al-Shaddadah, a town south of Al-Hasakah province.

The majority of the SDF rank-and-file are members of the Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG) smaller numbers of Arabs, Assyrians and Turkmen are also fighting under the same umbrella.

This latest shipment of ammunition was, the US claims, directly delivered overland to the 5,000-strong Arab force within the SDF.

Similarly when it air dropped 50 tonnes of bullets and grenades to the YPG last October Washington said it was intended for Arab rebels but YPG leaders claimed they had picked up some of the ammunition.

Al- Shaddadah is a strategically important town for ISIS and it is the group's last foothold in Hasakah Province. Capturing it would further cut off that group from important highways and put more pressure on their so-called "capital", Raqqa.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/18/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Terror Networks
US-led coalition stages 18 air strikes against Islamic State
[Ynet] The United States and its allies on Wednesday conducted 18 air strikes 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 Iraq and Syria in its latest round of daily air attacks against the Lion of Islam group, the coalition leading the operations said.

In a statement released on Thursday, the US-led Combined Joint Task Force said 11 strikes near six Iraqi cities hit several tactical units, fighting positions and vehicles. Seven strikes near four cities in Syria also struck a training camp, a headquarters building and other targets, it said.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/18/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  Up to 23 extra 'strikes' available.
Posted by: Pappy || 12/18/2015 8:46 Comments || Top||

#2  That no doubt will continue to grow, now that the Russians are painting our planes.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/18/2015 10:00 Comments || Top||

#3  I can see a future headline; "Who knew that ISIL had HARM missiles?" :-)
Posted by: Sven the pelter || 12/18/2015 10:07 Comments || Top||

#4  That no doubt will continue to grow, now that the Russians are painting our planes

For the White House, that's not a problem - that's a convenience.
Posted by: Pappy || 12/18/2015 12:46 Comments || Top||



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

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

Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has dominated Mexico for six years.
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Two weeks of WOT
Fri 2015-12-18
  Over 800 migrants try to storm Channel Tunnel in France: Official
Thu 2015-12-17
  30 Dead in Boko Haram Attack on Three Nigeria Villages
Wed 2015-12-16
  Top Saudi, UAE Commanders among 150 Forces Killed in Yemen Tochka Attack
Tue 2015-12-15
  Breaking: L.A. School District shut down due to credible terror threat
Mon 2015-12-14
  40 die in Damascus airstrikes
Sun 2015-12-13
  Gambia now an Islamic republic, says President
Sat 2015-12-12
  US sez 3 ISIS Top Dawgs die in airstrikes
Fri 2015-12-11
  North Korea claims it has hydrogen bomb; experts skeptical
Thu 2015-12-10
  37 killed in Taliban siege at Khandahar airport
Wed 2015-12-09
  Daesh loses large part of Ramadi
Tue 2015-12-08
  Clash among the supporters of Taliban chief and Mullah Rasool leaves 24 dead
Mon 2015-12-07
  Yemen's Aden governor killed in car bombing claimed by Islamic State
Sun 2015-12-06
  AQIM shares responsibility for Mali hotel killings
Sat 2015-12-05
  Still No Confirmation On Reports Of Mullah Mansour's Death
Fri 2015-12-04
  They're here

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