[Ayepee] An Army officer stripped of a medal for heroism under fire and his right to call himself a Green Beret is fighting for his military career after accusations he tracked down and killed a suspected bomb-maker in Afghanistan.
Though a criminal investigation failed to find remains of his alleged victim and didn't result in charges against Maj. Mathew Golsteyn, he's been targeted for possible dismissal from the Army and the consequent loss of veteran's benefits with a less-than-honorable discharge.
A Fort Bragg hearing before three, higher-ranked Special Forces officers could meet later this month to weigh arguments from Golsteyn's attorney why he should remain on active duty.
"My hope is that Golsteyn will receive a fair and impartial hearing. Based on the Army's actions and decisions thus far, I regret to say this won't be the case," one of the soldier's defenders, U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., wrote Wednesday to Army Secretary John McHugh. Army brass have kept Hunter updated on the case.
Others believe the Army is obligated to act because the Geneva Conventions governing warfare forbid arbitrary killings by troops, said Jeffrey K. Walker, a St. John's University criminal law professor. We have a Klingon drone program and WH directives for this type of activity. Please stay in your lane MAJ Goldsteyn.
"That's a minimum protection anybody gets at any time, no matter how you categorize them or how you categorize the conflict. That is the basic floor below which nobody can drop as far as protections go," said Walker, a retired Air Force officer and former military lawyer. "Arbitrary deprivation of life is at the top of the list of things you cannot do." St. John's University and a bearded old former USAF lawyer? Besides personal opinion, what connection with the process does this statement represent ?
Golsteyn's roller-coaster military career from battlefield hero to whispers of a war crime is rooted in the deadly month of February 2010, when American-led allied forces seized the Taliban stronghold of Marjah in Afghanistan's Helmand province.
Insurgent snipers unleashed fire on Forward Operating Base McQueary. A patrol of about 80 troops headed out across muddy poppy fields to find the gunmen. Over a four-hour firefight, Golsteyn repeatedly exposed himself to enemy fire as he helped evacuate a wounded Afghan soldier and directed repeated airstrikes onto the enemy, according to the Army's narrative of why he was awarded a Silver Star medal.
Then, about two months before being promoted from captain to major in November 2011, he had an poly interview with the CIA. He talked about something he'd done during the 2010 deployment before the battle near Marjah. A Klingon interview? Yet another very telling lapse in judgement.
Golsteyn "claimed to have captured and shot and buried a suspected IED bomb maker. He further went to comment that he went back out with two others to cremate the body and dispose of the remains," according to a memo summarizing the Golsteyn case. "Capt. Golsteyn stated that he knew it was illegal but was not remorseful as he had solid intelligence and his actions protected the safety of his fellow teammates." Patrol report? Contact report? EKIA? SALUTE? GRID? Graves registration? Memory loss? Selective PTSD, Fit of rage? Accidental Discharge? No interest in interrogation? Book deal? WTF Major? Did you consult a shrink ?
The Army's Criminal Investigative Division, acting on the CIA's tip, could find no one who corroborated Golsteyn's claim to have hunted the bomb-maker after an attack that killed two Marines. Nor could they find any cremated remains of the Afghan. Despite that, investigators said "Golsteyn committed the offenses of murder and conspiracy based on the interview provided by the CIA," according to the Sept. 29 memo first published by the web site The Intercept. Lt. Col. Christopher Kasker, a spokesman for McHugh, confirmed the memo is authentic. The Klingon's said it, so it must be true. No solid legal evidence required as they are the ultimate source of the knowledge of good and of evil.
#1
Wars are not going to be won with ROEs that don't permit taking out an enemy bomb maker who killed two Marines. We would have never won WWII with what's going on today. We'd all be speaking German or Japanese if we weren't dead.
#5
...I never saw combat, and the closest I ever got to a combat zone was Korea and Saudi Arabia. Having said that, it's still my take here that MAJ Golsteyn - with motives and feelings anyone can understand - went free-lancing and tried to cover it up. There are lines you don't cross, and this appears to be one of them.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
05/17/2015 9:48 Comments ||
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#6
Some of the Men, his peers have said he has gotten a bad rap and it's too political.
I tend to agree. This guy has done too many things right for this snub.
Check his record out.
[AnNahar] Afghan Taliban justified targeting foreigners after a brazen hours-long siege on a Kabul guesthouse that killed 14 people, saying people from "invading countries" do not count as civilians.
Four Indians, two Paks, an American, an Italian and a British-Afghan dual national were among those killed in Wednesday's attack on Park Palace, located in downtown Kabul and popular with international aid agency workers.
"Every foreigner from an invading country especially 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... is considered an invader. We don't classify any of them as civilian," Taliban front man Zabihullah Mujahid said in a Twitter posting on Friday.
"The occupying forces should realize that.. as long as they have a military presence inside our country... their civilian efforts will not find security," he said, without referencing the Afghan civilians killed in the overnight attack.
The assault, which rattled the international community in the Afghan capital, came as NATO on Wednesday formally announced plans to retain a small military presence in Afghanistan after 2016 to help strengthen local security forces.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the future mission would be led by civilians and "will have a light footprint, but... (with) a military component".
Strongly condemning the announcement, Mujahid tweeted: "@NATO announced its mission after 2016 is 'civilian', so we're not supposed to kill them anymore? while thousands of troops still remain".
Kabul-based think tank Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU) mourned the loss of their American colleague Paula Kantor, who was killed in the guesthouse attack.
"Paula gave her life here --- like many other selfless heroes --- to make sure millions of people, especially women, get a chance at a better life," AREU said in a statement.
"While we grieve her loss, we shall never forget the cause she gave her life to."
The guesthouse attack sparked strong condemnation from Amnesia Amnesty International, which said it was a "stark reminder of the Taliban's contempt for human life" and reflected "a worrying new surge in the gang's targeting of civilians around the country".
The Taliban have stepped up attacks on government and foreign targets since they announced their annual spring offensive late last month, vowing to "safeguard and protect the lives of civilians".
But it is Afghan civilians who are overwhelmingly paying the price for a surge in Taliban attacks, according to the United Nations ...the Oyster Bay money pit... Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).
In the first four months of 2015, civilian casualties from growing attacks jumped 16 percent over the same period last year, a recent UNAMA statement said.
"These deliberate attacks on civilians are atrocities," said the Georgette Gagnon, UNAMA's Human Rights Director.
"Taliban statements on avoiding civilian casualties ring hollow when we set them against the latest killings. The Taliban should abide by their commitments and immediately stop deliberately attacking civilians."
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/17/2015 8:13 Comments ||
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#2
...well, they closed GITMO so no more room at the inn. Works for me. The old adage was 'those who give no quarter should expect none in return'. Basic SOP for SS soldiers confronted by Americans after Malmedy, though the Canadians had picked up the practice after Normandy.
#3
Because it's important that the Taliban have a pseudo rationalized excuse for who they kill. They've been killing other Moslems for more than a decade.
At this point it's basically, whoever.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
05/17/2015 13:26 Comments ||
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[Shabelle] Marka, Somalia-African Union in Somalia convoy was targeted huge roadside kaboom in Marka town lies approximately 109 km (68 miles) to southwest of Mogadishu.
A resident told Shabelle Media in Mogadishu that an AMISOM armored personnel carrier travelling through Marka town was hit by an kaboom, adding that the AU vehicle was damaged.
Meanwhile, ...back at the saw mill, Scarface Al had tied Little Nell to the log and was about to turn on the buzz saw... Mohammed Osman, Somalia's Marka District Commissioner confirmed to Shabelle Media Network that the roadside kaboom hit AU convoy, declining to comment on the casualties.
He added that Somalia forces launched an operation to strength the overall security of Marka town, detaining dozens on suspicion of insecurity cases that have been reported in the coastal town of Marka.
Marka a port town of south of Somalia's lower Shabelle region is under control of Somalia National Army, along with African Union ...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful... forces.
[Shabelle] Mombasa, Kenya-Mombasa County Police Commander Robert Kitur said the police nabbed a 45-year-old Abdalla Salim Bindo for alleged association with funding and recruiting youth to join the Death Eater group in Likoni and Kwale towns in the coastal region. Kitur said Bindo was picked for questioning from a restaurant near Kenya Ferry Services and driven to his house where the officers ransacked for vital documents.
"We are interrogating him over terror related activities. More details will be shared later," Kitur told Xinhua in Mombasa. Sources within Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU) said the suspect is operating terror cells within Likoni and Kwale towns.
According to police Salim is the chairman of Likoni Community Development Sacco that was registered last year. Police believe the Sacco is used to lure youth to join the Al- Shabaab group.
His mobile phone has been handed over to specialists to analyze the contents following reports that he had made several international calls. The suspect will be charged in court on Monday for engaging in terrorism activities on Monday.
The security forces said Al-Shabaab ... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord... members who include Kenyans from Mombasa, Lamu, Kwale and Malindi regions in the coast are now back following the defeat of the group by Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) under the Amison forces in Somalia.
The bully boyz are believed to behind a spate of unresolved murder incidents in the coastal region including the killing of coppers in Mombasa.
There are also intelligence reports that Somalia Death Eaters, Al- Shabaab returnees who have sneaked into the country from Somalia are planning attacks on unspecified dates and locations.
Meanwhile, ...back at the chili cook-off, Chuck and Manuel's rivalry was entering a new and more dangerous phase... police have released names of main suspect behind the shooting of woman informer in the coastal city Friday.
The suspects identified as Ismael Shosi is a brother of slain suspect Idris Shosi killed last year in Bondeni residential estate in Mombasa by coppers.
National Intelligence Service (NIS) say Shosi had accused Ruwaid Abdulmajid of setting up his brother and had vowed to retaliate. Ruwaida and a male friend are admitted at the hospital after they were shot on Thursday night by Shosi gang who escaped in a private car.
He had escaped by climbing out of the roof of a house, scaled the perimeter wall and disappeared when police raided their house and killed his brother.
The two brothers were Al-Shabaab returnees behind the shooting of Germany and Russian tourist in the coastal city.
[AlAhram] Three Egyptian judges and their driver were killed on Saturday when gunnies opened fire on their vehicle in the North Sinai city of Arish, sources told Al-Ahram Arabic news website.
A fourth judge in the microbus was severely maimed.
The judges were on their way from the city of Ismailia on the Suez Canal to attend court sessions in Arish when gunnies in three cars attacked the judges' microbus.
The attack comes hours after a Cairo court issued a preliminary death sentence against former president Mohammed Morsi and 105 other defendants on a range of charges, including murder.
In a separate case also on Saturday, the court issued a preliminary death sentence against leading Moslem Brüderbund figures Mohammed El-Beltagy and Khairat El-Shater, as well as 14 others, on charges of conspiring with foreign groups to destabilise Egypt.
Islamist hard boys, who have primarily targeted security forces since the Islamist's removal, have also attacked several judges in the past two years.
On Sunday, three improvised bombs went kaboom! near the home of judge Moataz Khafagi who had given out death sentences and lengthy jail terms to Islamist defendants.
The blast damaged the building's facade and broke the windows of three cars.
The judge escaped the kaboom unharmed but four other people were maimed.
In March, a small bomb was left in front of the house of judge Fathi Bayoumi, who investigated the corruption charges against Mubarak-era interior minister Habib El-Adly. The words "a gift for El-Adly's acquittal" were ascribed on a wall near the device.
In January, a kaboom targeting judge Khaled Mahgoub, who is acting for the general prosecution in one of the trials brought against Morsi over the jailbreak charges, caused damage to the windows and walls of his house.
In a statement, Egypt's presidency offered condolences to the families of the victims, expressing faith that such incidents "will not deter Egypt's honourable judges from their noble mission."
An improvised bomb went kaboom! outside the walls of a church in the Egyptian city of Fayoum on Saturday, causing no injuries but damaging part of the building's facade, Al-Ahram's Arabic news website reported.
Explosives experts have dismantled another bomb at the site.
Fayoum is around 100 kilometres southwest of Cairo.
Bombs targeting the security forces and state infrastructure are commonplace; attacks on churches by forces of Evil have also been reported.
Earlier in the day, three judges and their driver were killed when gunnies attacked their minibus in Arish in North Sinai
[Ynet] A jacket wallahwent kaboom! and killed four hawkers Saturday at a bustling bus station in the northeast Nigeria ... a particularly crimson stretch of Islam's bloody border... n town of Damaturu, witnesses said of the latest in a string of attacks this week by Nigeria's home-grown 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... krazed killers.
Five bodies were brought to the hospital mortuary and 15 maimed people are being treated, according to a nurse who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not allowed to speak to news hounds. Most victims are women and kiddies from among hawkers who sell smoked fish and packets of water at the exit gate to Damaturu Central Motor Park.
A girl about 12 years old carried out a suicide kaboom at a bus station in northeastern Nigeria on Saturday, killing seven and injuring 31, witnesses said, shortly after officials revealed that Boko Haram Islamists had recaptured a strategic town in the region.
"A girl aged about 12 detonated an explosive under her clothes as she approached the station's perimeter fence," said Danbaba Nguru, a shopkeeper who witnessed the attack in the town of Damaturu.
The head of the local Sani Abacha hospital, doctor Gara Fika, said six bodies and 32 injured had arrived there with one person dying after being admitted.
The Damaturu bus station has been repeatedly targeted in a string of previous suicide attacks.
"I was in the station when I saw the young girl arrive," said bus driver Musbahu Lawan. "I think she noticed the guards checking people at the gates and she decided to detonate the explosives in the middle of the crowd outside the gates."
No claim of responsibility for the attack has been made but Islamist group Boko Haram has frequently used young girls to carry out suicide attacks.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
05/17/2015 00:00 ||
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[AnNahar] 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... Islamists have recaptured the strategic town of Marte in northeastern Nigeria's restive Borno state, a regional official said early on Saturday.
"It is sad as we have been made to understand that Marte has today completely fallen under the control of the Death Eaters, which to us is a very huge setback," said Mustapha Zannah, vice governor of the Borno state.
The town, located along a strategic trading route between Nigeria and neighboring Cameroon ...a long, narrow country that fills the space between Nigeria and Chad on the northeast, CAR to the southeast. Prior to incursions by Boko Haram nothing ever happened there... and Chad, has traded hands between the jihadists and government troops numerous times since 2013.
A regional military coalition of Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon has claimed a series of major victories against Boko Haram since launching sweeping offensives against the jihadists in February.
But the Islamist fighters, which recently pledged allegiance to 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.... holy warriors who've captured swathes of Iraq and Syria, have been pushing back.
The jihadists killed at least 55 people in two raids on villages near Maiduguri, the first assault on the northern city in three months.
"Even if 90 percent of our communities have been liberated, the war is not yet over," Zannah cautioned early on Saturday.
Boko Haram's six-year insurgency has claimed some 15,000 lives and displaced about 1.5 million people.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
05/17/2015 00:00 ||
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[AnNahar] Fierce festivities between rebels and pro-government forces killed dozens across south Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic... on Saturday, threatening to derail a humanitarian ceasefire drawn up to bring vital aid to the war-wracked country.
The five-day truce initiated by a Saudi-led coalition that has bombarded the Iran-backed rebels for more than six weeks expires late Sunday, and Riyadh has already warned it was "ready to act" against any ceasefire violations.
In the latest violence, at least 12 non-combatants were killed and 51 maimed when the Shiite Houthis shelled several neighbourhoods in Yemen's third city of Taez, military and local sources said.
The festivities came after overnight fighting killed 26 Houthis and faceless myrmidons loyal to former president President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it... as well as 14 pro-government forces, military sources said.
The United Nations ...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships... has expressed deep concern about the civilian corpse count from the Saudi-led bombing as well as the humanitarian impact of an air and sea blockade imposed by the coalition.
It says more than 1,500 people have died in the conflict since late March.
Some aid has begun to trickle into Yemen since the pause in fighting, but residents of areas where festivities persist complain they remain without the most basic supplies.
The fighting in Taez overnight forced many to flee to the countryside.
"Humanitarian aid hasn't reached Taez, where we haven't received fuel, food or medical equipment," said a government official in the city.
The United Nations has called for the Saudi-led coalition to simplify import inspections after warning that supplies were still blocked.
UN coordinator Johannes van der Klaauw warned that the inspections, introduced under an arms embargo slapped on the Houthis last month, were hampering aid deliveries.
"The arms embargo and its inspection regime results in commercial goods, be it by air or by ship, no longer reaching the country," he said.
- Soldiers captured -
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir has accused the Huthis of repeatedly violating ceasefire terms, but the rebels have pledged to honour the truce.
"We are hoping that the Huthis will abide by the terms of the ceasefire and stop their aggressive behaviour if they want the ceasefire to hold," he said.
But festivities rocked Aden on Saturday, an Agence La Belle France Presse correspondent said.
Heavy artillery, including tank shells, fell on the northern sector of the city, where rebels and Hadi loyalists continue to fight over territory, including a main road giving access to central Aden, military sources said.
West Aden was also hit by shelling, they added.
And in southern Daleh province, five Huthis were killed overnight when their convoy was ambushed, an official said.
The chaos in Yemen has been exploited by gangs, including the country's branch of al-Qaeda, which is viewed by the United States as the world's most dangerous.
A local official said 36 Yemeni soldiers were kidnapped by suspected al-Qaeda members overnight in the southern port of Mukalla.
The myrmidon group has controlled Mukalla, the capital of Yemen's vast desert Hadramawt province, since April and has for months claimed deadly attacks against Yemen's government-controlled armed forces.
The official said al-Qaeda Lions of Islam seized the soldiers late Friday after accusing them of supporting the Huthis.
In nearby Shabwa province, armed rustics took control of an oil producing region after two days of festivities with rebel fighters, tribal and military sources said.
A conference on Sunday in Riyadh is set to bring rival Yemeni factions around the table in a bid to end the crisis, but the Huthis, who want talks to be held in Yemen, are boycotting the meeting.
Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... has vowed to continue military action in Yemen until Hadi's government is restored.
[Shabelle] Bonn, Germany-According to German magazine, about 15 German nationals are fighting for the Somali gang Al-Shabaab ... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord... Munich-based magazine "Focus" reported on Saturday that about 15 Germans are currently fighting in Somalia alongside the Al-Shabaab.
The magazine reported the number after federal prosecutors indicted six residents of the western German city of Bonn, following their return from Somalia.
According to an investigation, between 2008 and 2014 about 30 Germans traveled to the Horn of Africa to join Al-Shabaab, which has carried out numerous deadly attacks in Somalia and neighboring countries such as Kenya.
"Focus" reported that five of the accused in Bonn attended a month-long Al-Shabaab training camp in which they learned how to use heavy firearms and hand grenades. Then, according to the magazine, they were sent to the front to fight against troops from Somalia's army. Some of them apparently planned to die in suicide kabooms and had recorded farewell videos.
After a year, "Focus" reported, with Al-Shabaab threatened by US drone attacks -- including one late last summer that killed their leader -- the defendants fled the group and the fighting, but were captured in Nairobi, Kenya, in August 2014 and sent back to Germany, which has also tried alleged returned fighters for 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.... ".
[AnNahar] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... has placed under arrest the powerful former police chief of the southeastern city of Diyarbakir and nine others as part of a case into eavesdropping of brass hats, reports said Saturday.
Recep Guven, who headed police in Turkey's biggest majority Kurdish city, is accused with abuse of office in bugging the communications of dozens of politicians, presidential advisers and journalists without observing proper procedure.
He was remanded in jug late Friday by an Ankara court along with nine other former senior police officials from all over Turkey, reports said.
Guven denied the charges, saying before his arrest: "The police in the past were proclaimed as heroes, now they are accused of treason."
Seventeen police had been incarcerated Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un! earlier in raids, but seven were allowed to go free under judicial control ahead of trial.
Dozens of people have already been arrested as part of a wide-ranging probe into alleged police eavesdropping of brass hats, including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him... .
The government believes the bugging sparked the stunning corruption allegations against Erdogan and his circle that broke in December 2013, claims the authorities vehemently deny.
Erdogan blamed the scandal on his former ally turned arch foe, the preacher Fethullah Gulen, who lives in exile in Pennsylvania in the United States.
But rights groups and Turkey's Western partners have expressed concern ...meaning the brow was mildly wrinkled, the eyebrows drawn slightly together, and a thoughtful expression assumed, not that anything was actually done or indeed that any thought was actually expended... s over the crackdown against allies of Gulen in the judiciary and police forces.
[Hurriyet] An operation was launched on May 15 in Istanbul and Ankara as a part of the investigation into the halting of Syria-bound National Intelligence Organization (MIT) trucks in January 2014.
At least 10 active officers have been detained in the operation, accused of illegal wiretapping, espionage, violation of privacy, recording of personal data, forgery of official documents, and forming a terror organization.
But really all they did was embarrass the government by revealing in the light of day that the government was arming ISIS.
Last month, the Istanbul 2nd Criminal Court of Peace had incarcerated ... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not... 17 active soldiers as a part of the same investigation. An arrest warrant was also issued for four prosecutors and a former commander on May 6.
A crisis erupted in 2014 after MIT trucks bound for Syria were stopped and searched by the authorities on Jan. 1, 2014 in the southern province of Hatay. Another group of trucks was searched by the gendarmerie in the southern province of Adana on Jan. 19.
In the subsequent investigation into the searches, top security personnel have been detained and accused of attempting to overthrow the government.
The government had slammed the prosecutors and soldiers involved in the operations, arguing that both the truck and its personnel were protected by the MIT's legal immunity.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
05/17/2015 00:00 ||
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[Hurriyet] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... has announced that Turkish jets on May 16 shot down a Syrian helicopter violating its airspace, while Syrian state TV reported that it was a surveillance drone that was
shot down.
A Turkish F-16 that took off from the Incirlik airbase in the southern province of Adana shot down the Syrian aircraft with two Sidewinder air-to-air missiles on May 16, military officials told daily Hurriyet.
It was not immediately clear what kind of aircraft was shot down. "The area is being searched for the downed aircraft. It will soon be seen if it was a plane or a helicopter," the source said.
Turkish locals told daily Hurriyet that a Syrian military plane violated the Turkish border twice in the Dursunlu-Emek area of the southern border province of Hatay. They added that the aircraft fell into the Syrian side of the border in three pieces.
Syrian state media said that what had been shot down was a small, remotely controlled surveillance drone, according to Rooters.
In the evening, Turkish Defense Minister Ismet Yilmaz said a Syrian helicopter that entered Turkish airspace shortly after 2 p.m. (1100 GMT) and flew seven miles inside, over a period of five minutes, was fired upon and shot down.
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu later confirmed that the aircraft was a helicopter.
"It is an important incident for Turkey to show its decisiveness," Davutoglu said, adding that the move was in accordance to Turkey's rules of engagement. "I hope that the message is taken and nobody will ever dare to violate our borders."
The brief statement of the Turkish Armed Forces, on the other hand, said it shot down an aircraft, without specifying its type, and noted that its pieces fell into the Syrian side of the border.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
05/17/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
two Sidewinder air-to-air missiles
not immediately clear what kind of aircraft was shot down
its pieces fell into the Syrian side of the border
So the first missile missed,
the pilot didn't know what his target was,
and it was in Syria airspace?
[DAWN] The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) claimed to have placed in durance vile Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un! two campaigners of the self-styled 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) from Notia Bazaar Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. late on Friday.
Leaflets and pamphlets calling for support for proscribed IS Lion of Islam organization were also recovered from the arrested suspects.
The arrested men are affiliated to a Lion of Islam organization and were preaching for IS in Peshawar's Notia Bazaar area when they were arrested, according to CTD officials.
Cases have been registered under the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 against the campaigners.
According to initial intelligence information both the suspects were trained in Afghanistan.
Security in Peshawar was put on high alert after the incident.
Daesh -- or Islamic State -- had recently announced it was setting itself up for operations in Pakistain and Afghanistan.
Attackers of the Safoora Goth carnage in Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... last week had also left an IS pamphlet at the scene of the crime before fleeing on cycle of violences.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/17/2015 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] KARACHI: At least four suspected bad boyz were potted and six others were locked away Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un! on Saturday when Sindh Rangers conducted an intelligence-based operation in Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... 's Old Golimar area, an official blurb said.
The operation was conducted against 'criminals' who were allegedly affiliated with the banned Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and who were also said to have been engaged with gangs operating in the city's Lyari ...one of the eighteen constituent towns of the city of Karachi. It is the smallest town by area in the city but also the most densely populated. Lyari has few schools, substandard hospitals, a poor water system, limited infrastructure, and broken roads. It is a stronghold of ruling Pakistan Peoples Party. Ubiquitous gang activity and a thriving narcotics industry make Lyari one of the most disturbed places in Karachi, which is really saying a lot.... Town.
According to Sindh Rangers, the suspects resorted to indiscriminate firing during the operation, which was met by retaliation from members of the paramilitary force.
The crossfire led to the death of four suspected snuffies -- Babul Baloch, Chota Sajid, Khalid Mandhi and Rafique.
The blurb added that the criminals were involved in anti-state activities with the BLA. They were engaged in extortion, kidnapping for ransom and were allegedly behind a number of assassinations.
Along with weapons, a large quantity of narcotics was also recovered from the suspects' possession.
Law enforcement agencies have been actively seeking to rid Karachi -- Pakistain's commercial hub-- of terrorism and violence via operations in the city's troubled areas for well over a year now.
Both police and Rangers have raided plenty of areas and have arrested thousands of suspects and criminals to ensure peace in the city, which has been hit by a wave of law and order problems.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/17/2015 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] A US drone strike late on Saturday left five suspected Lions of Islam dead and two others injured in North Wazoo Agency, sources told DawnNews.
It further said that two missiles were fired that hit two houses in Warokey Mandi area of Shawal Tehsil of North Waziristan Agency, a tribal region where the military has since June been battling Lions of Islam linked to the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.
Meanwhile, ...back at the secret hideout, Scarface Al sneeringly put his proposition to little Nell... official sources claimed that those suspected Lions of Islam killed in the US drone strike were Uzbek nationals.
The area is generally off-limits to journalists, making it difficult to independently verify the number and identity of the dead.
"The US drone fired two missiles targeting a krazed killer compound, killing four rebels," a security bigshot said on condition of anonymity.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/17/2015 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Pakistan
[AnNahar] 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.... fighters closed in on the last government-held positions in the Iraqi city of Ramadi Saturday after Baghdad vowed an air and ground counter-offensive.
After seizing the Anbar provincial headquarters on Friday, the jihadist organization said it unleashed another fleet of suicide boom-mobiles on key positions in Ramadi.
"Three suicide kaboomers in armored vehicles tried to break into the 8th Brigade base. The attack was repelled using armor-piercing rockets," said Ramadi Mayor Dalaf al-Kubaysi, one of the last officials still in the city.
He said five soldiers were maimed.
Most of the Iraqi government forces and Sunni rustics fighting alongside them are concentrated in that base and in the Anbar Operations Command across the Euphrates river.
Civilians fled en masse as the jihadists took over several central neighborhoods on Thursday and Friday and looked on the brink of claiming full control of the city.
The loss of the capital of Anbar province, which Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi had said would be the next target of government forces after wresting back Tikrit last month, would be a major setback.
After meeting top security officials in Baghdad on Friday, Abadi vowed his government would not abandon Ramadi.
The army sent reinforcements from Baghdad and elsewhere in Anbar, with local officials saying Iraqi and U.S.-led coalition aircraft were also in action, but there was little sign of a major counter-offensive inside the city on Saturday.
"Security forces in Ramadi are taking position against the attacks of Daesh, mainly in the areas of Malaab and Operations Command," Kubaysi said, using an Arab acronym for IS.
"There are no military operations to take back the areas that were captured by Daesh," he said.
Jessica Lewis, research director at the Institute for the Study of War, said the government could not afford to let Ramadi fall completely.
"The Iraqi security forces will not let Ramadi go to ISIS (IS) without a massive fight," she said.
"It is key terrain. Not only is it Anbar's capital city, but it is also a military gap in ISIS's control line in Anbar," Lweis said.
Ramadi lies about 100 kilometers (60 miles) west of Baghdad. IS holds 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... about halfway between the two, and several key towns in western Anbar between Ramadi and the Syrian border.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
05/17/2015 11:11 ||
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Top|| File under: Islamic State
* See FREEREPUBLIC > [McClatchy] ISLAMIC STATE ROUTS LAST ELITE IRAQ UNITS FROM RAMADI IN HUGE DEFEAT FOR BAGHDAD.
FYI CNN AM repors that Ramadi per se has now fallen to the ISIS, although the Iraqi Govt. claims there still pockets of Anti-ISIS armed Iraqi resistance in the city. THE ISIS IS REPOR IN FULL CONTROL OF RAMADI.
IIRC/IIHC, CNN AM > IRAQ = getting ready to allegedly counter-attack in new offensive to eliminate the ISIS from Ramadi.
The Battle for Ramadi has cost the Iraqi Army-Govt THREE of their best-trained or elite Regiments.
[Rudaw] Iraq's Ministry of Defense released footage on Friday that it says shows air strikes on 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.... targets in Anbar province.Thursday night saw ISIS take hold of most of Ramadi, the province's capital, including a security compound that houses the police headquarters and governor's office. Anbar, Iraq's largest province, is strategically placed as it stretches from the Syrian border almost to Baghdad.
Video at link -- click on the headline as usual.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
05/17/2015 10:11 ||
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#1
As per DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS + TWITTER, the KSA-led Coalition is mulling to strike at the ISIS in a newly captured Iraqi Milbase in Anbar in order to destroy captured Iraqi Army weapon stocks + prevent the ISIS from using them.
[Rudaw] An Iraqi military front man says reinforcements have been dispatched to Ramadi, a city now largely held by 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.... group.
The front man of the Joint Operations Command, Brig. Gen. Saad Maan Ibrahim, told Iraqi state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
Saturday that the U.S.-led coalition was supporting Iraqi troops with "painful" Arclight airstrikes since late Friday.
Ibrhaim didn't give details on the ongoing battles, but vowed that the Islamic State group would be pushed out of the city "in the coming hours."
On Friday, the turbans swept through Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, seizing the main government headquarters and other key parts of the city. The gains marked a significant setback for the Iraqi government in its long fight to dislodge bad boys, who hold about a third of the country.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
05/17/2015 00:00:00 ||
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[HINDUSTANTIMES] 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.... hard boyz raised their black flag over the local government headquarters in the Iraqi city of Ramadi on Friday and claimed victory through mosque loudspeakers after overrunning most of the western scenic provincial capital.
If Ramadi were to fall it would be the first major city seized by the turbans in Iraq since security forces and paramilitary groups began pushing them back last year.
The turbans attacked Ramadi overnight using six suicide boom-mobiles to reach the city centre, where the Anbar provincial government compound is located, police sources said.
Fighting continued in one district of Ramadi, 100 km (60 miles) west of Baghdad, and government forces were still in control of a military command centre to the west of the city.
"The situation in Ramadi is dire, but the city has not fallen and the battle against criminal Daesh is still ongoing," Anbar governor Sohaib al-Rawi said on Twitter, using an Arabic name for Islamic State.
Ramadi has been fought over for months, but the turbans renewed their offensive there in April, crushing government forces' efforts to retake Anbar, Iraq's largest province, and move north to the Islamic State stronghold of djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... .
An army major whose regiment is positioned near the Anbar operations command described the situation as critical and said the hard boyz had taken control of the only major supply route into the city, making it difficult to send reinforcements.
Most army and police units have retreated to the area around the operation command to protect it, he said, but some elite counter-terrorism forces were "fighting for their lives" in the Malaab district of central Ramadi, where they were surrounded.
"If the government does not send any reinforcements and the coalition air force does not rescue us, we will lose all of Ramadi by midnight," the major said.
"A massacre will take place and all of us will be slaughtered. We have been defending the city for months and we don't deserve to end like this. It's humiliating."
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi met with military and security leaders as well as the heads of the air force and counter-terrorism on Friday and pledged to intensify efforts to "expel the terrorist gangs from Ramadi".
Posted by: Fred ||
05/17/2015 00:00 ||
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[HINDUSTANTIMES] Jihadists from the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... (IS) group seized control of the northern part of Syria's ancient desert city of Palmyra on Saturday after fierce festivities with government forces, a monitoring group said.
"IS advanced and took control of most of northern Palmyra, and there are fierce festivities happening now," said Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
He said 13 jihadist fighters were killed in ongoing festivities near the Islamic citadel in the city's west.
Abdel Rahman had no details on regime casualties.
Most of Palmyra's renowned ruins, including colonnaded streets and elaborately decorated tombs, lie to the southwest of the city.
IS began its offensive on Palmyra on Wednesday and inched closer to the ancient metropolis on Thursday and Friday, executing at least 49 civilians over those two days according to the Observatory.
Rahman said family members of babus government employees were among those murdered.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/17/2015 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] US special operations forces killed a senior Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... (IS) leader, who helped direct the group's oil, gas and financial operations, during a raid in eastern Syria, the Pentagon and White House said on Saturday.
The White House said President Barack Obama Pot had helped, and booze; maybe a little blow when you could afford it. Not smack, though.... ordered the raid that killed the man identified as Abu Sayyaf ...also known as al-Harakat al-Islamiyya, an Islamist terror group based in Jolo, Basilan and Zamboanga. Since its inception in the early 1990s, the group has carried out bombings, kidnappings, murders, head choppings, and extortion in their uniquely Islamic attempt to set up an independent Moslem province in the Philippines. Abu Sayyaf forces probably number less than 300 cadres. The group is closely allied with remnants of Indonesia's Jemaah Islamiya and has loose ties with MILF and MNLF who sometimes provide cannon fodder... . US officials said his wife, Umm Sayyaf, was captured in the raid and was being held in Iraq.
White House National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said in a statement that US personnel based out of Iraq conducted the operation in al-Amr in eastern Syria.
"During the course of the operation, Abu Sayyaf was killed when he engaged US forces," Meehan said.
"The president authorised this operation upon the unanimous recommendation of his national security team and as soon as we had developed sufficient intelligence and were confident the mission could be carried out successfully and consistent with the requirements for undertaking such operations," Meehan said.
Meehan said the operation was conducted "with the full consent of Iraqi authorities" and "consistent with domestic and international law".
Posted by: Fred ||
05/17/2015 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Islamic State
#1
boots were on the ground
in syria
Posted by: lord garth ||
05/17/2015 7:54 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Deep penetration 'prisoner snatch' missions may be successful a time or two, but an Extortion-17 scenario becomes an increasing risk. These people are not stupid. Evil bastards yes, but not stupid.
#4
I would have credited the elite forces of President Bashar al Assad Assad, and left JSOC the fok out of it.
Of course that would have provided Assad a political victory which actually belongs to the Champ. Regardless of future blow-back and retribution, we can't have that now can we ?
Types of infiltration platforms used, overhead surveillance, names of mission participants....Watch News at 11.
#6
The question is - why didn't they just drone him?
To get the names of his foreign financiers. Who will nave their property seized and meet mysterious deaths at the hands of the gulf emirate secret police.
[DAWN] At least 48 civilians, including nine children, were killed on Saturday in regime air raids on Syria's northwest province of Idlib, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.
"Air strikes by regime aircraft on Idlib city and the towns of Saraqeb and Kafr Awid," all controlled by rebel forces, killed 48 civilians, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.
It also said dozens of people were maimed, and some were in a critical condition, after Arclight airstrikes by forces loyal to Syria's Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Light of the Alawites... hit the area.
Meanwhile, ...back at the cheese factory, there was only one thought in the mouse's mind: I can do this! I can do this! Then the trap sprung... Turkish armed forces shot down a Syrian helicopter that violated The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... 's airspace in the south of the country, the Turkish defence minister said.
"A Syrian helicopter was downed that violated the border for a period of five minutes within a seven mile limit," Defence Minister Ismet Yilmaz was quoted as saying by the Dogan news agency.
Syrian state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
had earlier indicated the aircraft was a drone.
"Having rightly fulfilled their duty, I congratulate the armed forces and kiss the eyes of them all," Yilmaz said, using a traditional Turkish expression.
He did not give any further details on the helicopter.
NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... member Turkey, an outspoken critic of Syrian President Bashir al-Assad, has a 560-mile border with Syria and frequently scrambles jets to its frontier worried about territorial violations.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/17/2015 00:00 ||
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[AnNahar] The army locked away Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit! on Saturday morning a prominent member of the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... group, reported the National News Agency.
It said that he was arrested in Ain al-Shaab between the towns of al-Labweh and Arsal as he was fleeing the region to the North.
NNA later revealed his name as Abdul Rahman al-Bazerbashi, 21, also known as grandson of al-Baghdadi.
NNA later revealed his name as Abdul Rahman al-Bazerbashi, 21, also known as grandson of al-Baghdadi.
He took part in festivities against the army in the northern city 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... and northeastern border town of Arsal.
Several suspected IS members have been arrested in recent months throughout Leb.
In August, IS and al-Nusra ...formally Jabhat an-Nusrah li-Ahli sh-Sham (Support Front for the People of the Levant), also known as al-Qaeda in the Levant. They aim to establish a pan-Arab caliphate. Not the same one as the Islamic State, though .. ... Front groups overran Arsal where they engaged in battles with the army.
They withdrew after a short round of fighting, but kidnapped in their wake a number of servicemen.
A few were released, four were executed, while the rest remain held.
Since the conflict in neighboring Syria broke out in 2011, Leb has faced mounting spill-over threats, first from the millions of refugees pouring across the border and increasingly from jihadists.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
05/17/2015 00:00 ||
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[ALMANAR.LB] Hezbollah mujahidin detected a booby-trapped car, rigged with 500 kilograms of explosives by the terrorists in al-Fatleh crossing in Qalamoun. The loud explosion was heard across the area.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/17/2015 00:00 ||
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[Ynet] The United States and its allies conducted six air strikes in Syria and 15 in Iraq since early on Friday targeting 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.... krazed killers, the Combined Joint Task Force carrying out the operations said on Saturday.
In Syria, air strikes using bomber and fighter aircraft hit near Al Hasakah, the task force said in a statement. In Iraq, air strikes using attack, fighter aircraft and drones hit near Al Hawijah, Bayji, djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... , Ramadi, Sinjar and Tal Afar, it said.
The statement said the air strikes took place between 8 am local time on Friday and 8 am on Saturday.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
05/17/2015 00:00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
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.
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Wazoo
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
