Hi there, !
Today Wed 10/21/2015 Tue 10/20/2015 Mon 10/19/2015 Sun 10/18/2015 Sat 10/17/2015 Fri 10/16/2015 Thu 10/15/2015 Archives
Rantburg
533187 articles and 1860395 comments are archived on Rantburg.

Today: 68 articles and 126 comments as of 19:49.
Post a news link    Post your own article   
Area: WoT Background    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix   
Senior al-Nusra commander killed in Syria airstrike
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 1: WoT Operations
2 20:43 chris [3] 
4 22:14 SteveS [10] 
5 23:28 JosephMendiola [8] 
2 14:07 Frank G [3] 
0 [1] 
3 18:57 M. Murcek [2] 
2 12:15 Sven the pelter [] 
2 16:07 Redneck Jim [7] 
1 21:41 Sven the pelter [5] 
0 [2] 
0 [4] 
0 [4] 
1 12:19 Sven the pelter [4] 
1 00:19 Pappy [6] 
0 [2] 
0 [3] 
0 [2] 
0 [6] 
1 12:27 Sven the pelter [4] 
0 [2] 
0 [2] 
0 [2] 
25 23:28 remoteman [1] 
Page 2: WoT Background
8 23:51 JosephMendiola [2]
9 15:09 Barbara []
0 []
7 22:37 KBK [1]
2 15:29 trailing wife []
3 20:38 Sven the pelter [1]
0 [1]
3 22:31 3dc [5]
0 [6]
2 21:43 Sven the pelter [5]
3 09:37 Skidmark [2]
1 21:45 Sven the pelter [5]
0 [2]
3 13:23 Pappy []
1 04:10 newc [1]
1 12:34 Sven the pelter [1]
2 16:00 Redneck Jim []
0 []
0 []
3 12:08 Barbara []
0 []
0 [3]
6 23:56 JosephMendiola [7]
0 [4]
0 [2]
1 21:51 Sven the pelter [5]
4 01:38 Zenobia Floger6220 [7]
1 03:15 g(r)omgoru [1]
Page 3: Non-WoT
5 15:53 SteveS [1]
1 10:39 Canuckistan sniper []
9 19:12 CrazyFool [2]
0 []
0 [6]
1 09:43 Skidmark [5]
0 []
4 21:47 Sven the pelter [1]
0 [7]
0 [6]
1 16:11 charger [4]
5 14:42 trailing wife [4]
Page 4: Opinion
1 20:13 Sven the pelter [5]
0 [2]
3 23:11 Caesar Hupomoque7314 [9]
Page 6: Politix
6 20:17 Sven the pelter [6]
4 18:28 whitecollar redneck []
--Tech & Moderator Notes
Mods Note: “Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum”
“If you want peace, prepare for war”
— Flavius Vegetius Renatus. Roman Military strategist. C. 390 A.D.

We at Rantburg, want peace. That’s why we read here to keep us informed of the happenings around the world. It’s what we do to add to the mission. We gather facts and knowledge as we prepare for war, keeping the peace.

But..... preparing for war cost money.... big money.....

And Mayor Fred needs some BIG money to keep our mission alive. It’s been awhile since we filled his coffers, and those coffers are dry (with my tracking, have probably been dry a couple of months).

Next week will see Mayor Fred having surgery (that’s all I know) – I mention it because he doesn’t need the stress of keeping Rantburg University in business. Support his recovery by helping to remove stress.

Dig deep, my fellow Rantburgers ---- this is a must bleg....

Donating is easy.... PayPal and credit cards make it easy. Scroll down, looking at the right side of the screen and find that Donate button. Just clicking will lead you to PayPal or a choice of credit cards.

Need to mail a check? Just ask in comments and a Mod will response.

However you do it... do it.....

Dig deep Rantburg. Mayor Fred needs you to keep Rantburg.com available to all of us, wanting peace by preparing for war.... Yes, Rantburg is that important.....

You’ve got your orders in this preparing for war. Go do what you know you need to do.

Oh, and you can help if in comments you encourage your Rantburgers to donate....
Posted by: Sherry || 10/18/2015 00:41 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I'll send something when I get paid again on the 21st.

Keep up the good fight Fred. We'll need you and this site for the future.
Posted by: DarthVader || 10/16/2015 1:27 Comments || Top||

#2  Is Rantburg really *needed* any more, though? I had a look at 2004 from the Suha Arafat article and wow, things were different back then. WoT articles and real news, Rantburg was 24 hours ahead of the media. But now? Eh, it's more of a "what exploded in the world today" blog. Comments and hits are both down. I'm not saying Rantburg's not valuable, or not worth keeping, but it's not the irreplaceable aggregator it once was, due to the WoT declining in importance.
Posted by: Thraling Hupoluns2819 || 10/16/2015 4:52 Comments || Top||

#3  Done, thanks Fred. You do a good job. Rantburg is a great place
Posted by: anon1 || 10/16/2015 5:04 Comments || Top||

#4  Done earlier this week. Best wishes for Fred and Gloria next week
Posted by: Frank G || 10/16/2015 8:46 Comments || Top||

#5  Flailing Hupoluns, the WoT is the latest phase of Islam's war with humanity, now in it's 14th century. The tactic of individual, random acts of terrorism is spreading worldwide. An invasion of Europe is underway. If you think this is "declining in importance" - well, maybe "think" is the wrong word, here.
Posted by: Grunter || 10/16/2015 8:54 Comments || Top||

#6  due to the WoT declining in importance.

Yeah, what with the End of History and all, it's just lambs and bunnies frolicking in the peaceful meadows of Westphalian states. I'd argue that knowing what exploded in the world today is a useful indicator of what is going to explode tomorrow. Besides, all those Pakistaini newspapers ain't gonna read themselves.
Posted by: SteveS || 10/16/2015 9:11 Comments || Top||

#7  Get well soon, Fred. And yes, it is still worth it. I can't even read the local newspaper any more. I gotta stay informed somehow.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 10/16/2015 11:51 Comments || Top||

#8  Rantburg is most valuable
Posted by: newc || 10/16/2015 12:01 Comments || Top||

#9  Thraling Hupoluns2819 asks a good question. There are a great many more people and websites bending their attention the the issues of this war we are stuck with until it has been finally lost or won than there were in the early days. We link to some of the others now and again, as their output seems useful to us, and some of them likewise quote Rantburg from time to time.

One hopes that if Thraling Hupoluns2819 finds other sites and services more valuable, he will donate to their support, as those who value Rantburg highest do here, be it ever so small an amount, though I am pleased he appreciates Rantburg as a supplement to those others. For myself, Rantburg is my primary source, giving as it does a better feel for the various parties in play than I can get from summaries and analyses filtered through the minds of others, not to mention the commentary of our many experts on the stories of the day... And of course the wonderful snark and poetry. ;-)

As fot the War on Terror declining importance, I strongly disagree. Our current president and his party have may have disengaged from the world, which only means the next occupant of the White Hoise will not have that option, in spades.
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/16/2015 15:18 Comments || Top||

#10  Done
Posted by: KBK || 10/16/2015 15:54 Comments || Top||

#11  Hookay, me too.
Posted by: Bobby || 10/16/2015 16:17 Comments || Top||

#12  A few alms for the needy sent. Without Rantburg the immortal Shuttergun will lie dusty and forgotten....
Posted by: magpie || 10/16/2015 16:29 Comments || Top||

#13  Done!

And yes it's worth it. Not to mention Rantburg U!

And as for the War on Terror. Well the Terror has been going on for the past 1400+ years. I'm afraid the 'War o Terror' won't end anytime soon.
Posted by: CrazyFool || 10/16/2015 17:56 Comments || Top||

#14  Shutter guns and poetry - you won't find that at a mere news aggregator. Do it for the children.
Posted by: SteveS || 10/16/2015 18:10 Comments || Top||

#15  Scored some overtime in the paycheck I just received - it will all be in a check going to Fred tomorrow morning when the Post Office opens.

Could use PayPal or a credit card, but with a check Fred gets ALL of the money.

Get well soon, Fred!

And thanks to you and all the mods for keeping Rantburg going.
Posted by: Barbara || 10/16/2015 20:14 Comments || Top||

#16  I cannot do without rantburg,
But don't to rag Fred out.
This community has been so valuable....
Posted by: newc || 10/17/2015 1:13 Comments || Top||

#17  Done
Posted by: phil_b || 10/17/2015 4:53 Comments || Top||

#18  Done and done! Use it wisely, my son.
Posted by: AlmostAnonymous5839 || 10/17/2015 10:05 Comments || Top||

#19  Fred, please setup a Bitcoin option to donate, so those of us (soon to be) abroad can chip in.
Posted by: Gomez Wheanter9464 || 10/17/2015 12:26 Comments || Top||

#20  Done and thanks for being the first website I check each day.
Posted by: Airandee || 10/17/2015 12:27 Comments || Top||

#21  I get more and more irritated when I go to "news" sites and see nothing but the next election, starting the day after the last election. Meanwhile, people who're literally insane are chopping people's heads off and intending (like madmen always do) to rule the world. The fact that the West isn't paying attention doesn't mean the threat's not there. It means we're not ready to handle it. Readership goes up when there's a serious scrape, but then drops off again.

By the way, we do it here, too. There are usually a lot more comments on Page 3 and Page 6 -- non-WoT and Politix. The daily corpse counts get monotonous for us all and we really want to think about something else, but we know the head choppers and the closely interbred and the other mental defectives and would-be Supermen are there.

They'll be there until we get serious about them. Until then we'll keep tracking them until I either peg out from natural causes or chop another significant digit off. When I do I hope badanov keeps it going.
Posted by: Fred || 10/17/2015 12:58 Comments || Top||

#22  'burg is cheaper than the psychiatrist that is the only alternative to keeping my sanity.
Posted by: AlanC || 10/17/2015 15:05 Comments || Top||

#23  Done!
Posted by: Steve White || 10/17/2015 23:32 Comments || Top||

#24  Will get this done. Double if I catch a fish.

Thank you badanov for yesterday's TWIG, and also your coverage of Russia.

Is Rantburg really *needed* any more, though?

Blue Jays/Royals ! Cubs/Metros

One of these teams will win the World Series. End of days my friend. Now, more than ever.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 10/18/2015 10:29 Comments || Top||

#25  Done. Hope all goes well Fred.
Posted by: remoteman || 10/18/2015 23:28 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan
Unknown Gunmen Kill Tribal Elder in Kandahar
[Tolo News] A number of unknown gunnies rubbed out a tribal elder in southern Kandahar province on Friday, local officials said.

The incident took place in Yakh Kariz area of Kandahar city while Haji Habibullah Barakzai, the tribal elder was on his way to his home, a Provincial Governor front man, Samim Ikhpelwak said.

No one has been jugged
Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try!
over the incident yet and the police has started investigations.

No group including the Taliban has grabbed credit for the attack.
Posted by: Fred || 10/18/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Africa North
Egyptian policeman killed by Al-Arish roadside bomb
[AlAhram] A low-ranking Egyptian coppers was killed by a bomb planted on the side of a road in the restive North Sinai city of Al-Arish, a security source said Saturday.

A first lieutenant and a cadet were also injured and hospitalised, reported Al-Ahram's Arabic website.

The decade-long holy warrior insurgency in North Sinai has intensified in the past two years, with hundreds of army and police personnel killed.

The army has also announced the killing of hundreds of holy warriors.

Islamist holy warrior group Sinai Province, formerly known as Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis, has grabbed credit for most of the attacks in the peninsula.
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/18/2015 00:00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (IS)


Arabia
New IS Branch Claims Saudi Shooting That Killed 5
[NYTIMES] A previously unheard of Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
group branch with links to Bahrain has purportedly grabbed credit for a deadly shooting Friday targeting Shiite worshippers in eastern 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...
Saudi Arabia's Interior Ministry said in a statement five citizens were killed in the shooting, among them a woman, and nine more people were maimed. The ministry did not immediately confirm the shooter's identity or offer details about the motives.

State television in Saudi Arabia reported that a gunman wearing an explosives' belt opened fire on Shiites at a prayer hall as they took part in evening worship. State TV reported the gunman was rubbed out before he could detonate the explosives.

In a statement posted online, the purportedly new IS branch calling itself "Bahrain Province" claimed its gunman, named Shuja al-Dosari, used a Kalashnikov rifle to attack Shiites in their place of worship. The statement said the gunman killed Shiites as "they finished their polytheist rituals" and described them using the derogatory term "rafida", meaning those who reject the Sunni path.

This is the third IS branch to appear in the Arabian Peninsula this year. Two other branches in Saudi Arabia have grabbed credit for previous attacks on Shiites and security forces that killed nearly 70 people. The last attack before Friday's was on Aug. 6, when a jacket wallah hit a mosque inside a police compound in western Saudi Arabia and killed 15 people.

The name of the so-called Bahrain Province branch of the IS appears to be in reference to the historic area of Bahrain, which once encompassed the current island-state and parts of what is now the oil-rich eastern region of Saudi Arabia. The kingdom's eastern region and Bahrain are predominantly Shiite, though Saudi Arabia is majority Sunni and Bahrain's rulers are Sunni.
Posted by: Fred || 10/18/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Russian security forces kill four militants in Dagestan
[PressTV] Russia's National Anti-terrorism Committee said security forces have killed at least four militants during clashes in the Republic of Dagestan. The committee said in a statement issued on Saturday that Russian security forces engaged the militants in a gun battle in the Khasavyurt region, which borders Chechnya.

The statement said a special forces officer was injured in the firefight near the village of Kurush. Those killed were "involved in the September murder" of a moderate cleric in the area.

Last month, masked militants killed cleric Magomed Khidirov, who was shot by men as he went to morning prayers. Khidirov was known for warning young people against joining the Daesh terrorists and al-Qaeda-linked groups.
Posted by: ryuge || 10/18/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:


Home Front: WoT
Abu Hamza Aide Given 20 Years on U.S. Terror Charges
[AnNahar] A Briton convicted over an attempt to set up a jihad training camp in the U.S. on orders from hate preacher Abu Hamza was sentenced to 20 years in prison Friday in New York.

Haroon Aswat, who suffers from paranoid schizophrenia, cut a despondent figure in the Manhattan federal court, dressed in a faded prison shirt and wearing his long dark hair plaited in braids.

The 41-year-old has already spent 11 years in jug meaning that he could qualify for early release in six years. His lawyer said he would apply for Aswat to serve out his sentence in Britannia.

First tossed in the calaboose
Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'!
in Zambia in 2005, Aswat was extradited last year to the United States where he pleaded guilty in March to one count of providing material support to Al-Qaeda and one count of conspiring to support the terror group.

In a brief statement, Aswat apologized for breaking U.S. law and causing "distress" to friends and family, and said he looked forward to finding a wife, and settling down.

He said he opposed violence against innocent people and recited a prayer learned in childhood, opening his statement in Arabic in the name of God and closing with a simple "amen."

In 1999-2000, Aswat spent about two months in Seattle and Bly, Oregon at the behest of the radical London holy man Abu Hamza as part of a plot to set up a training camp for recruits wanting to fight in Afghanistan.

Following his return to London, he traveled to Afghanistan and Pakistain in mid-2001 in order to attend a training camp.

Prosecutors depicted Aswat as a man "at the right-hand of Abu Hamza" with a thirst for violent jihad who kept "a host of disturbing literature" on his computer.

The 41-year-old has already spent 11 years in jug meaning that he could qualify for early release in six years.
Aswat came to the United States "at the direction of one of the world's most dangerous terrorist leaders" and could pose a danger when he is released, prosecutors argued on Friday.

Aswat was previously held at Broadmoor, a high-security British psychiatric hospital.

His lawyer Peter Quijano told the court his client never tried to join Al-Qaeda, describing him as a "child-like" individual who embraced a "hippy lifestyle" and "self-medicated" with marijuana.

After the 9/11 attacks and the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan, Aswat fled to South Africa, where he had family, and embarked on a life as an itinerant salesman of pirated CDs of Islamic chants and prayer, said the defense lawyer.

Quijano told news hounds he would request his client's transfer to Britannia, where Aswat's parents are based.

U.S. District Judge Katherine Forrest said it was "of the greatest importance" that he receive specialist psychiatric care and that the court would support him serving out his sentence in Britannia.

The defense called for Aswat's immediate release given that he has already spent a quarter of his life in prison.

Quijano said Aswat was held at least three times in isolation in the United States, despite promises to the contrary, including one five-day period in which he did not receive medication.

Aswat's lawyer told the court his client never aligned himself with violence but had "felt sorry" for the one-armed Abu Hamza, becoming his assistant "doing day-to-day chores."

Quijano called the Bly plot "pathetic and laughable" and said all his client had done was teach Islam, Arabic and the Koran.

"What did he do there? It was minimal," he said.

American government officials say Aswat was included on a list of people associated with Al-Qaeda recovered from a safe house used by 9/11 plotter Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in Pakistain.

Forrest sentenced Abu Hamza to life behind bars in January for the fatal kidnapping of Western tourists in 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...
and on a slew of terror charges, calling him "evil" and his crimes "barbaric."
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/18/2015 00:00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda

#1  His lawyer Peter Quijano told the court his client never tried to join Al-Qaeda, describing him as a "child-like" individual who embraced a "hippy lifestyle" and "self-medicated" with marijuana.

"I request house arrest with an ample supply of halal Doritos and Ho-Ho's"
Posted by: Frank G || 10/18/2015 7:39 Comments || Top||

#2  Forrest sentenced Abu Hamza to life behind bars

To what purpose?
Posted by: Skidmark || 10/18/2015 9:25 Comments || Top||

#3  ...hook him, Danno...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 10/18/2015 18:57 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Terror suspect held; vehicle recovered
[DAWN] LAHORE: Police claimed on Saturday to have tossed in the slammer
Book 'im, Mahmoud!
a terror suspect and recovered a vehicle which was likely to be used in some terrorism activity.

Intelligence agencies had earlier alerted the law-enforcement agencies about the presence of three bandidos snuffies in the city to carry out suicide kabooms in different areas by using a car.

The security alerts prompted the police to carry out search operations in different city areas and they arrested the suspected terrorist and recovered the car.

Factory Area SHO Sheikh Hammad said search operations were started in different areas after receiving information about the presence of suicide attackers.

He said a raid was conducted on a house in Chungi Amar Sidhu area from where a member of the banned holy warrior organization was arrested and a car which was likely to be used in the terrorist activity was recovered.

He said the suspected terrorist was handed over to the CIA police which shifted him to some undisclosed location for interrogation.

He said the vehicle recovered from the man was mentioned in the security alert issued by the home department.
Posted by: Fred || 10/18/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under: TTP

#1  "And the worst part is that the car now smells of garlic."
Posted by: Sven the pelter || 10/18/2015 21:41 Comments || Top||


Policeman shot dead in Azizabad
[DAWN] KARACHI: A policeman was rubbed out in a suspected assassination in Azizabad on Saturday evening, police said.

They added that Constable Tabish Ali was performing his duty at the Gosht Market in Karimabad when gunnies on a cycle of violence attacked him. He sustained multiple bullet wounds and was taken to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, where doctors declared him dead.
He's dead, Jim!
on arrival.

Azizabad SHO Haseebullah Qureshi said the police were trying to ascertain the exact motive for the murder.
Posted by: Fred || 10/18/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


Two detained for financing Safoora Goth bus carnage
[DAWN] KARACHI: Two suspects belonging to the business community were placed under 90-day preventive detention on Saturday for allegedly financing the attackers who killed 45 Shia Ismaili community members, including 18 women, in a bus near Safoora Goth.

The counter-terrorism department (CTD) of police informed an antiterrorism court about the three-month detention of the two suspects, Mohammad Saleem and SLearned Elders of Islamn, belonging to the business community of Punjabi Saudagaran.

The CTD claimed to have jugged
Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit!
the two suspected financiers on Oct 16. In an application, the police informed Judge Saleem Raza Baloch of the ATC-III that the suspects had been placed under the preventive detention for an inquiry as provided under Section 11-EEEE of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.

In compliance with Section 11 EEEE (3) of the ATA, the detainees were produced along with their detention orders and jail warrants for the information of the court, they added.

Earlier, Fishermen Cooperative Society vice chairman Sultan Qamar Siddiqui, his brother Hussain Qamar Siddiqui and Sajid Naeem had also been booked for allegedly facilitating the deadly attack.

The Pakistain Rangers had detained the FCS vice chairman and other officials in June for three months for an inquiry and he was handed over to police just last month in the bus carnage case.

The police produced the three suspects before an ATC-I on Oct 16 and sought further extension in their custody on the ground that investigation was still under way. The court had allowed 10-day extension in their physical remand, but expressed displeasure over lack of progress in the investigation against the detained suspects despite being in police custody for a month and directed the police to come up with a progress report on next hearing.

Saad Aziz alias Tin Tin, Tahir Hussain Minhas alias Sain, Asad-ur-Rehman alias Malik, Hafiz Nasir alias Yasir and Mohammad Azhar Ishrat alias Majid have already been charge-sheeted for killing the 45 people, including many women, in the assassination on their bus near Safoora Goth on May 13.
Posted by: Fred || 10/18/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent


Four 'Hizbut Tahrir activists' arrested from Peshawar
[DAWN] Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central...
(KP) police's special unit on Saturday jugged
Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'!
four people in 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.
with alleged links to banned outfit Hizbut Tahrir
...an al-Qaeda recruiting organization banned in most countries. It calls for the reestablishment of the Caliphate...
(HuT).

Police sources told DawnNews that the four were activists of the proscribed HuT and were campaigning to bring more people into the organization's fold.

The law enforcement personnel also claimed to have confiscated pamphlets, leaflets, news magazines and Compact Discs (CDs) aimed at promoting HuT agenda.

A personal computer, cellphones and few pistols were also recovered from the suspects who were moved to some holy man's guesthouse an undisclosed location for interrogation after registration of a First Information Report (FIR) of their arrest.

Banned in Pakistain in November 2003, HT is believed to be a global organization that has organizational structure in several countries with main concentration in Muslim states.
Posted by: Fred || 10/18/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: Hizb-ut-Tahrir


Iranian forces fire eight mortar shells into Pakistani territory
[DAWN] The Iranian border guards on Saturday morning fired eight mortar shells inside Pak territory, security sources said.

A security official who requested anonymity told Dawn that Iranian forces fired at least eight mortar shells that landed in a village in Panjgur district of Balochistan
...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it...
The security official added that no human loss of life or damage to civilian structures was reported as a result of the shelling.

Frontier Corps
...a provincial paramilitary force. Total manpower is about 80,000. They are tasked to help local law enforcement in the maintenance of law and order, and to carry out border patrol and anti-smuggling operations....
, Levies and other law enforcement personnel reached the spot and security was tightened following the border violation by Iranian border forces.
Posted by: Fred || 10/18/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  The player retaliating is the one always caught.
Posted by: Sven the pelter || 10/18/2015 12:19 Comments || Top||


Eight suspected militants killed in Karachi 'encounter'
[DAWN] KARACHI: Eight suspected Lions of Islam were rubbed out by police in an 'encounter' in the outskirts of 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...
Saturday evening, officials said.

Contingents of police, on a tip off provided by a held bully boy, raided an alleged hideout off the Northern Bypass in Manghopir area.

On seeing the coppers, the suspects resorted to firing, injuring Manghopir SHO Ghulam Hussain Korai and constable Altaf, said SSP Rao Anwar, who led the police party.

During the exchange of fire, eight suspects were bumped off, Anwar said.

The SSP identified the dear departed suspects as Irfan Munir, Saddam Hussain, Sharifullah and Ismail Mehsud.

The other four deceased suspects have not been identified as yet.

The senior police official claimed the suspects were involved in the recent killing of coppers in Karachi, the Abbas Town kaboom, and other assassinations.

Police also claim to have seized kaboom and arms and ammunition from their custody.

Posted by: Fred || 10/18/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  This is a first.
Posted by: Pappy || 10/18/2015 0:19 Comments || Top||


Iraq
US airstrikes hit ISIS camps in Shingal
[Rudaw] A wave of US coalition Arclight airstrikes were carried out 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....
bases in Shingal Friday, causing heavy casualties, a Peshmerga commander has told Rudaw.

Brigadier General Ezadeen Saddo said the US coalition continuously targeted ISIS military bases to the east and west of Shingal for more than an hour.

"Due to the coalition's intensified Arclight airstrikes, ISIS holy warriors started to get worried," Saddo said.

The official said due to night conditions they could not assist ISIS casualties.

ISIS forces overran the Shingal district on August 3, 2014, forcing thousands of Yezidi Kurds to flee to the mountains. Hundreds of Yezidis were killed and thousands more taken into captivity, mostly women and maidens of tender years.
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/18/2015 00:00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  Sounds like there were forward observers, if it went on for that long.
Posted by: Pappy || 10/18/2015 13:19 Comments || Top||

#2  The official said "due to night conditions they could not assist ISIS casualties *snicker*".
Posted by: Frank G || 10/18/2015 14:07 Comments || Top||


Iraqi forces push north after advances in Baji
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Iraqi forces pressed Saturday their biggest offensive in months to resume their long-stalled northward advance and disrupt jihadist lines, security officers said.

After recapturing parts of Baiji and the huge nearby refinery complex from ISIS, security and allied paramilitary forces thrust further northward up the main highway leading to djinn-infested Mosul
... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn...
They reached the town of Zawiyah and vowed to push on to Sharqat, the northernmost town in Salaheddin province before the border with Nineveh province, of which Mosul is the capital.

"Iraqi forces are besieging the villages of Msahaq and Zawiyah," about 25 kilometers (16 miles) north of Baiji, a senior officer in Salaheddin operations command said.

Reclaiming control of that stretch of road and the villages along it would contribute to isolating ISIS strongholds east of the Tigris, such as Hawijah, from the self-proclaimed caliphate's heartland on the other side of the river.

"Retaking Zawiyah would divide the battlefield; Daesh [Islamic State] will be in an awkward position," retired general and security analyst Abdel Karim Khalaf said, using an Arabic acronym for ISIS.

"Their transport towards Tikrit and Ramadi will be complicated, the secondary itineraries are long and difficult," he said.

Iraqi forces, including thousands of fighters from the Popular Mobilization organization dominated by Tehran-backed Shite militias, were still battling ISIS in and around Baiji Saturday.

They were also securing Sinniya, a nearby town which commands access to the road leading to the western Anbar province, where thousands more forces were closing in on the capital Ramadi.
Posted by: Fred || 10/18/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Muslim Medical Staff Didn't Save Rabbi Stabbed To Death Next To Clinic
[FrontPage] The medical team did not go out to provide treatment to the wounded.
Posted by: Blossom Unains5562 || 10/18/2015 13:18 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Because they are not doctors. They are terrorist scum just like the rest of their ilk.

Bomb the clinic, deny terrorists another source of supply and aid and call it a day.
Posted by: DarthVader || 10/18/2015 14:44 Comments || Top||

#2  Kill all of these son of bitches. They don't give a shit about anyone but themselves..
Posted by: chris || 10/18/2015 20:43 Comments || Top||


Firebombs hurled near Tomb of Patriarchs in Hebron among other Israeli adventures
It was a busy day, one in which Palestinians and Israeli Arabs made clear their opinions, albeit without achieving their murder and mayhem goals.
[IsraelTimes] No injuries reported after five Molotov cocktails target checkpoint next to holy site; bomb thrown at IDF patrol in Hebron Hills

Several Molotov cocktails were thrown near Hebron’s Tomb of the Patriarchs, and an explosive device was hurled at an IDF patrol nearby Saturday night, as violence continued to rock the area after a day which saw three stabbing attacks in the flashpoint city.

No injuries were reported at the Tomb of the Patriarchs after at least five firebombs were thrown at a military checkpoint next to the pilgrimage site, according to media reports.

The shrine, revered as the final resting place of the Biblical patriarchs and matriarchs, is the second holiest site in Judaism and is also revered by Muslims as the Ibrahimi Mosque.

The attack came days after Palestinian rioters set fire to Joseph’s Tomb in the Palestinian city of Nablus, seriously damaging the biblical pilgrimage site revered by Jews and Muslims and drawing wide condemnation.

An IDF patrol in the Hebron Hills outside the city also came under fire Saturday night from an improvised explosive device. There were no injuries reported in that attack.

The incidents came after a particularly bloody weekend in Hebron, which is split between a Jewish community and larger Palestinian population and has become a center of Israeli-Palestinian tensions.

Hours before the Molotov attacks, an Israeli solder suffered light-to-moderate wounds when he was stabbed by a Palestinian boy, 16. The attacker was shot and evacuated to an Israeli hospital in serious condition, according to Israel Radio. Other Hebrew-language news outlets reported the attacker died of his injuries after arriving at the hospital.

Jewish residents of Hebron briefly blocked access for the military ambulance that was evacuating the Palestinian stabber, puncturing one of the wheels on the vehicle.

Saturday morning saw two separate stabbing attempts by Palestinians. In the first incident, a Palestinian man, 18, was shot dead as he tried to stab an Israeli civilian in a Jewish neighborhood, police said. Hours later, a Palestinian girl, 16, was shot dead as she knifed a border policewoman near the Tomb of the Patriarchs. The policewoman suffered light wounds to her hands.

On Friday, a Palestinian man posing as a press photographer stabbed an Israeli soldier in the same area, moderately wounding him. The attacker was shot dead by security forces at the scene.

Saturday also saw attempted stabbings against Israeli security forces in Jerusalem and at the Qalandiya checkpoint outside the capital. The attackers in both incidents were killed. There were no reported injuries in either attempt.

Saturday’s incidents were the latest in a spate of near-daily attacks against Israeli civilians and security forces across Israel and in the West Bank.

Since October 1, seven Israelis have been killed and dozens injured in 30 separate stabbing or attempted stabbing attacks by Palestinian assailants. On the Palestinian side, 40 have been killed so far, including 18 attackers. The rest died in clashes with IDF troops either in the West Bank or along the Gaza border. Two of the casualties, a pregnant woman and her two-year-old daughter, were killed in Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip on October 11, which came in response to an earlier rocket attack.
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/18/2015 00:00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  stabbed by a Palestinian boy, 16. The attacker was shot and evacuated to an Israeli hospital
-or-
a Palestinian girl, 16, was shot dead as she knifed a border policewoman

I vote for the terminal resolution.
Posted by: Skidmark || 10/18/2015 9:29 Comments || Top||

#2  Immediate negative feedback is a good training technique. Have enough "snipers" equipped with pain rays. As soon as someone throws a rock/petro-bomb irradiate them.

I doubt that snipers want to shoot to kill kids even if they are misbehaving.

Now knife attacks are a different matter. Legitimate self-defense says take them out.
Posted by: Sven the pelter || 10/18/2015 12:15 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
Two soldiers gunned down by Maoist militants in Mindanao
[Inquirer] Two Philippine soldiers were killed in an ambush by suspected New People's Army militants in Batangas province on Friday evening. Major Angelo Guzman said the two soldiers were riding a motorcycle in Calaca when the militants fired upon them. Both troopers died at the scene.

Guzman said the attack was believed to be in retaliation for the death of five NPA guerrillas who were killed in an clash with troops in Batangas on Wednesday. The slain Maoist militants were part of a guerrilla unit from Mindoro Island that had moved to Batangas in preparation for the collection of permit to campaign fee from election candidates.

Lieutenant General Ricardo Visaya on Wednesday said the military would deploy additional forces to Batangas to stop the communist insurgents from regaining their lost base in the province. He also said security forces were ready to provide security for political candidates in next year's elections against harassment and extortion by the NPA.
Posted by: ryuge || 10/18/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Commies


Policeman gunned down by suspected Abu Sayyaf militants
[SunStar] Gunmen believed to be Abu Sayyaf militants gunned down a police officer in Sulu province. Joint Task Group Sulu commander Alan Arrojado identified the slain policeman as Espaldon Tingkahan.

Arrojado said Tingkahan was assassinated early Saturday morning near an airport in the village of Liang, Patikul. He said Tingkahan was on his morning jog when repeatedly shot by two alleged Abu Sayyaf militants among the other joggers. The runway that runs from Jolo town to Patikul serves as the jogging place for local residents.

Arrojado said troops stationed nearby responded and engaged in a gun battle with the suspects, who managed to escape.
Posted by: ryuge || 10/18/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Abu Sayyaf


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
ICYMI: Russia intercepts Israeli jets on Syrian border
[IsraelMatzav] "More: Officials say as Israeli jets blocked Russia told Israel entering Syria in its controlled airspace would be 'pretext for opening fire'"
Would not take much for Syria to quickly get out of hand.
Posted by: Blossom Unains5562 || 10/18/2015 12:37 || Comments || Link || [10 views] Top|| File under:

#1  24 hour rule.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 10/18/2015 17:39 Comments || Top||

#2  I agree. I don't think that the Israeli AF is afraid of Putin. What Russia has deployed in Syria is outmatched and out numbered.
Posted by: Sven the pelter || 10/18/2015 20:34 Comments || Top||

#3  As Safir is a Lebanese newspaper. As it is not one of the ones we follow, I assume it is fairly excitable. 24 Hour Rule most definitely.
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/18/2015 21:50 Comments || Top||

#4  I get the impression that Putin and the Israelis have come to an understanding.
Posted by: SteveS || 10/18/2015 22:14 Comments || Top||


Russian air force makes 36 sorties, hits 49 targets in Syria
[Ynet] Russia's air force has made 36 sorties, hitting 49 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 Syria in the last 24 hours, the Russian Defence Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

The targets were hit in Hama, Idlib, Latakia, Damascus and Aleppo regions, it said.
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/18/2015 02:09 || Comments || Link || [8 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  When "NATO" make sorties, do they report how many targets they've hit?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 10/18/2015 3:01 Comments || Top||

#2  19
Posted by: Frank G || 10/18/2015 7:44 Comments || Top||

#3  Sounds like a couple of the targets were close together.
Posted by: Sven the pelter || 10/18/2015 12:38 Comments || Top||

#4  Nah sounds like they dont have lawyers stuck up their ass while doing what needs to be done.
Posted by: chris || 10/18/2015 20:45 Comments || Top||

#5  OTOH FARS NEWS AGENCY > MOSCOW: SENDING
"STINGER" MISSLES [ManPads] TO ISIL WOULD MEAN WEST SIDING WITH TERRORISTS, forcing Moscow to refer the offending country(s) to the UNSC for action.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 10/18/2015 23:28 Comments || Top||


Senior al-Nusra commander killed in Syria airstrike
[IsraelTimes] Saudi national, two other top Nusra officials targeted in hits by US or Russian warplanes west of Aleppo

Activists say a top commander in al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, 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, has been killed in an Arclight airstrike.

The Britannia-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says Sanafi al-Nasr was killed Thursday in an Arclight airstrike near the northern Syrian town of Dana.

Al-Nasr was listed as an alias for Abdul Mohsen Abdullah Ibrahim al-Sharikh, a Saudi national listed as a "specially designated global terrorist" by the US Treasury Department in 2014.

The designation accused him of having served as a "senior ANF (Al-Nusra) and al-Qaeda controller based in Syria."

The Observatory said two other senior Nusra figures going by the names of Abu Yasser al-Maghrebi and Abu Mohammed al-Jazrawi were also killed in the strike.

Al-Nusra's official Twitter account for Aleppo posted a photo of a mangled car it said had been targeted in an Arclight airstrike in Al-Dana in western Aleppo.

"The planes of the Crusader-Arab coalition targeted one of the cars of the fighters in Al-Dana city in west Aleppo," the account said.

The Observatory's chief Rami Abdurrahman said Saturday it was not clear if al-Sharikh was killed by US or Russian warplanes.

Jihadi activists on social media say he was killed by a US drone strike.

Al-Sharikh was one of six men that the UN Security Council imposed sanctions on last year.

He has been erroneously reported dead in the past. US officials had no immediate comment on the reported deaths.

His death came three months after the US killed top al-Qaeda official Muhsin al-Fadhli. Al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate is led by Abu Muhammed al-Golani.
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/18/2015 00:00:00 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under: al-Nusra

#1  Where are the dancing girls? :-)
Posted by: Sven the pelter || 10/18/2015 12:17 Comments || Top||

#2  It's like an anthill, but you can only kill them one at a time.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 10/18/2015 16:07 Comments || Top||


Hezbollah attack kills five "ISIS" fighters in north Lebanon: Source
[AlAhram] Lebanese Lion of Islam group Hezbollah fired rockets and mortars at what it said were ISIS fighters in the north of the country on Friday, killing five of them, a security source said.

Sunni Islamists have regularly infiltrated Leb's border with Syria in the north during its neighbour's four-year-old civil war, clashing with both Shia Hezbollah and the Lebanese army.

The Shia movement's al-Manar TV also reported the incident, which took place in the northern Bekaa Valley. It was not followed by further violence, the security source said.

ISIS, which holds vast areas of territory in eastern Syria, has a much smaller presence in the west of the country and near the Lebanese border. Other Islamist groups including al Qaeda's Syrian branch Nusra Front are more active in western Syria.

Syria's civil war has spilled over into Leb, which is still rebuilding after its own 15-year civil war. There have been festivities between gunnies loyal to opposing sides in the Syrian conflict, as well as strikes on the army and cross-border attacks by Syrian rebels.
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/18/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under: Hezbollah


Syrian army advances south of Aleppo
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Syrian troops backed by Hezbollah and Iranian fighters made advances on Saturday in their offensive to retake territory around the northern city of Aleppo from snuffies and jihadist fighters, a monitoring group said.

The campaign around Aleppo, which the army launched on Friday, is one of several assaults it has waged against rebel fighters since Russian jets began carrying out air strikes on Sept. 30 in support of Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Light of the Alawites...
It has concentrated so far on clearing rebel areas south of Aleppo rather than the city itself, which is home to 2 million people and divided between government forces and rebels.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the army and its allies retook three villages amid fierce fighting in which at least 17 Islamist fighters and eight soldiers or allied forces were killed.

Troops are also trying to advance to the east of Aleppo towards Kweires military airport, aiming to break a siege on the base by ISIS and other holy warriors, the UK-based Observatory said.

Hezbollah's Al-Manar television said the army had captured the village of Huwaija, on the way to Kweires. The Observatory said it the army was advancing in Huwaija, one of several villages where heavy fighting was continuing.

The army and its allies have also been fighting to retake parts of the northern provinces of Hama, Idlib and Latakia seized by rebels in recent months, as well as holy warrior areas north of Homs city, around the capital Damascus, and in the southern province of Deraa near the Jordanian border.
Posted by: Fred || 10/18/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria

#1  Syrian troops backed by Hezbollah and Iranian axis of evil fighters ...

Syrian Observatory for Human Rights; can't be observing much in the way of human rights Now the Syrian Observatory of war crimes I would believe.

I wonder how long Russia can keep the logistics pipe flowing.
Posted by: Sven the pelter || 10/18/2015 12:27 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
31[untagged]
7Taliban
7Islamic State
6Govt of Pakistan
2Govt of Iran
2Govt of Syria
1Arab Spring
1Commies
1al-Qaeda
1Hezbollah
1Hizb-ut-Tahrir
1Houthis
1al-Nusra
1Muslim Brotherhood
1Palestinian Authority
1Abu Sayyaf
1al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent
1TTP
1Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (IS)

Bookmark
E-Mail Me

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

Merry-Go-Blog











On Sale now!


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

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

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

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

Two weeks of WOT
Sun 2015-10-18
  Senior al-Nusra commander killed in Syria airstrike
Sat 2015-10-17
  Saudi forces kill gunman after Shiite site attack
Fri 2015-10-16
  Taliban Shadow District Governor Killed In Takhar
Thu 2015-10-15
  Champ to keep troops in Afghanistan beyond 2016, officials say
Wed 2015-10-14
  ISIS confirms killing of number two in U.S. air strike
Tue 2015-10-13
  Four terrorist attacks rock Jerusalem over 12 hours
Mon 2015-10-12
  22 'militants' killed in N. Waziristan air strikes
Sun 2015-10-11
  ISIS leader al-Baghdadi's convoy hit by air strike in Iraq
Sat 2015-10-10
  Stabbing attack at Damascus Gate in Jerusalem, 3 policemen wounded
Fri 2015-10-09
  Military Begins House-To-House Searches in Kunduz
Thu 2015-10-08
  Russia Fires Cruise Missiles in Syria as Assad Begins a Ground Attack
Wed 2015-10-07
  Five arrested in western Sydney over terrorist attack outside police HQ
Tue 2015-10-06
  IS destroys ancient Palmyra Arch of Triumph
Mon 2015-10-05
  Israel bars Palestinians from entering Old City after deadly attacks
Sun 2015-10-04
  Sar-e-Pul's Kohistanat District Falls to Taliban


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.
13.58.39.23
Help keep the Burg running! Paypal:
WoT Background (28)    Non-WoT (12)    Opinion (3)    (0)    Politix (2)