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Iraqi airstrike kills ISIS Top Dawgs
Today's Headlines
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Afghanistan
4 die in roadside bomb attack
[Khaama] A roadside bomb blast has claimed four lives in the capital city of restive Helmand province.

Officials say those killed include two policemen and two civilians.

The bomb went off as police were on routine patrol in 3rd PD of Lashkargah this morning.

No group has immediately claimed responsibility for the blast but Taliban have carried out this type of attacks targeting security forces in Helmand province in the past.

This also comes amid heavy clashes between Taliban and security forces in parts of the southern province.

The group lost at least 50 fighters, including a key commander Mullah Nasir, in Sangin District last week.

Sediq Sediqi, spokesperson for the Ministry of Interior said during a press conference that Mullah Nasir was a close aide to the group’s supreme leader Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansoor.
Posted by: badanov || 12/28/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Gunmen Affiliated To Nangarhar MP Behead 4 Daesh Fighters
[Tolo News] Gunmen affiliated to Zahir Qadir, the first deputy speaker of the Wolesi Jirga (Lower House of Parliament), reportedly killed nine Daesh [Islamic State] fighters and allegedly beheaded four of them in Achin district in Nangarhar
The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country..
on Saturday.

After beheading the Daesh [Islamic State] fighters the gunnies reportedly placed their decapitated heads on piles of rocks on a busy road for motorists to see, TOLOnews news hound Ziar Khan reported.

He said alleged Daesh [Islamic State] fighters raised their flag in Deh Sarak village in Achin on Saturday and took five gunnies affiliated to Zahir Qadir hostage before beheading them.

The two groups reportedly clashed with each other from 9am to 12am on Saturday.

In a bid to reportedly take Dire Revenge for the killing of their colleagues, Ziar reported the gunnies affiliated to Qadir started clashing with Daesh [Islamic State] fighters at around 12pm on Saturday night which resulted in the death of nine Daesh [Islamic State] fighters.

The gunnies who recently took up arms to fight Daesh [Islamic State] bully boyz in the area said they did this to avenge the killing by the Lions of Islam of four of their own members.

"We came here and attacked them ... our members were martyred," said one of the gunnies.

Another gunman said: "They took our colleagues and beheaded them and we attacked them and beheaded them [Daesh [Islamic State] fighters]."

Meanwhile,
...back at the laboratory the smoke and fumes had dispersed, to reveal an ominous sight...
Haji Ghalib, district chief for Achin, criticized the move and said it was the job of the courts to punish the alleged Daesh [Islamic State] fighters.

"If they were criminals then they had to be punished by judicial organizations but they punished them like a kangaroo court. This should not have happened," the district chief said.

Qadir meanwhile hailed the move by the gunnies and said this act was done by members of a public uprising.

"Government is not aware of a public uprising. The conflict started at 9am and ended at around 12am [Saturday]," he asked.

But a number of senators in the Meshrano Jirga have criticized the incident.

"It was better if they were jugged
Please don't kill me!
. It is good to fight against them," said Senator Jawed Rauf.

"Those anti-government elements that are arrested by government or security forces should be sent to judicial organizations and they should decide about their fate," Abdul Rauf Nahzat, anther senator said.

The Interior Ministry and Independent Human Rights Commission meanwhile would not comment on the incident.
Posted by: Fred || 12/28/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Two Police, Eight Insurgents Killed in Zabul Clashes
[Tolo News] At least six bandidos bully boys and two coppers were killed in festivities with security forces in southern Zabul province on Saturday, local officials said.

The festivities took place in Qalat city, the capital of the province, after bandidos bully boys attacked a construction company and clashed with security forces, security police chief Ghulaam Jilani Farahi said.

"Six bandidos bully boys and two coppers were killed in the festivities. Security forces also discovered a vehicle full of bully boys," he said.

However,
there's more than one way to stuff a chicken...
he did not provide more details about the festivities.

The Taliban has not yet commented on the incident.
Posted by: Fred || 12/28/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Gunmen Kill Six Members Of One Family In Kunar
[Tolo News] Local officials said Sunday that six members of one family have been killed by unknown gunnies in Nari district in eastern Kunar province
... which is right down the road from Chitral. Kunar is Haqqani country.....
A front man for the provincial governor Abdul Ghani Musamim said the incident took place on Saturday night after a group of gunnies entered a house in Nari district and started shooting at members of the family. All residents were killed, including two children, two women and two men.

He said the attackers fled the area and police have started investigations into the incident.

Local officials said the motive for the attack is not known.

This comes after a number of unknown gunnies killed eight members of one family in eastern Nangarhar
The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country..
province two weeks ago.
Posted by: Fred || 12/28/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Africa Horn
Shaboobs claim deadly ambush in northeastern Kenya
The Somali Islamist group al Shabaab said it ambushed a Kenyan security vehicle in remote northeastern Kenya on Sunday, killing four members of the security forces. The Kenyan Red Thingy Cross said in a post on Twitter that two police officers had been killed and two others injured, while a Kenyan police spokesman said he was unaware of the attack.
Clearly somebody is right. No doubt later we will discover which one.
“Security has been beefed up in the region. Tension remains high,” the Red Cross said.

Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, al Shabaab’s military spokesman, told Reuters the militants had ambushed the car on the main road in Mandera County, on the Somali border, killing four Kenyan soldiers, and seizing their weapons. The statement made no mention of police.

Al Shabaab and officials often given conflicting details and death tolls.
No, really?
Al Shabaab, which seeks to overthrow Somalia’s Western-backed government and impose a strict version of Sharia law, has carried out regular assaults in neighbouring Kenya in retaliation for Kenya contributing troops to an African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia.

The attack in Mandera County came two days after al Shabaab, which has links to al Qaeda, targeted two Kenyan security vehicles in Lamu County, killing at least one police officer.
An Nahar adds:
Earlier this week, Kenyan police warned of the risk of fresh attacks by Shebab insurgents, claiming they had split into rival factions inside Kenya, with some shifting allegiance from Al-Qaida to Islamic State.

Those now loyal to IS operate in the Mandera region, while the Al-Qaida force is based in the southeastern Boni Forest district, police said.
I vote they fight until one group is the clear winner...or all are dead. Allah shows his favour by awarding victory, after all.
Posted by: Steve White || 12/28/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab


Africa North
Egypt's army says killed militant who was involved in murder of police captain
[AlAhram] Egypt's army announced on Sunday that security forces have killed a murderous Moslem in North Sinai allegedly involved in the murder of a police captain in January 2015.

In a statement issued Sunday on his official Facebook page, Egyptian army spokesperson Mohammed Samir said army forces in North Sinai hunted down two murderous Moslem suspects in Al-Arish city. They managed to kill one of the forces of Evil reportedly involved in the murder of police captain Ayman Desouki earlier this year. According to the statement, the personal weapon of the late police captain was found with the dear departed suspect.

Security forces also killed another suspected murderous Moslem near Mount Halal, the stronghold of murderous Moslem and terrorist groups in North Sinai.

Police captain Desouki was kidnapped while travelling on a bus in North Sinai in January 2015 and was found dead days later. Sinai-based murderous Moslem group Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis released a video claiming responsibility for the killing of Desouki.

The ISIS-affiliated group has grabbed credit for most of the killings of Egyptian security forces in North Sinai.

Egypt's security forces have been facing a decade-long jihadist insurgency based in North Sinai, with murderous Moslem attacks taking place in the past 18 months and expanding into Cairo and the Nile Delta, killing hundreds of army and police personnel.
Ynet adds:
The military front man says in a Sunday statement on his official Facebook page that security forces chased two bandidos Death Eaters as they fled on a cycle of violence, killing one and wounding another in the lovely provincial capital of el-Arish. In another incident, military forces pursued a third Lion of Islam near Mount Halal, leading to his death amid a shootout.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/28/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (IS)


Africa Subsaharan
Boko Haram attacks northeast Nigerian city, many killed
[IsraelTimes] A dozen jacket wallahs may have been involved in Jihadist group's assault on Maiduguri, the city where it was founded

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...
Islamic bully boyz struck the northeast Nigeria
... a particularly crimson stretch of Islam's bloody border...
n city of Maiduguri for the first time in months Monday with rocket-propelled grenades and multiple suicide bombers, witnesses said. At least 15 people were killed but the toll was feared many times higher.

Nigerian troops "intercepted and destroyed" 10 suicide bombers, according to PR Nigeria, an agency that disseminates government news.

Maiduguri, the city under attack, is the birthplace of Boko Haram, which emerged as a much more radical entity after Nigerian security forces attacked their compound there, killing 700 people in 2009.

Militants firing indiscriminately from the back of three trucks attacked the outlying village of Dawari, soldiers engaged them, and as people were fleeing, a woman ran into a suburb yelling "Boko Haram, Boko Haram." When people gathered, she detonated herself, according to village head Bulama Isa.

As the chaos reigned and a rocket-propelled grenade went kaboom!, setting alight grass-thatched huts, a second woman blew herself up, according to Isa. The village chief, 10 of his children and others were killed in Duwari, an outlying suburb of Maiduguri, according to residents Ahmed Bala and Umar Ibrahim.

"The troops laid ambush on the terrorists' suspected routes. ...The suicide bombers were intercepted in three different locations approaching the city," PR Nigeria said, quoting the military.

The area is close to Giwa Barracks, a major military base attacked several times in the past by the murderous Moslems. In January 2014, Boko Haram attacked the base and freed hundreds of detainees. Nigeria's military is accused by human rights
One man's rights are another man's existential threat.
groups of killing thousands of detainees there.

The attack comes as Nigeria's government says it has contained the Islamic uprising that has killed 20,000 people in six years and driven 2.3 million people from their homes.

The government claim is impossible to ascertain in an area where access is dangerous and restricted by the military.

But the report of the attack, a few dozen murderous Moslems in three trucks, is a far cry from previous attacks by hundreds of snuffies including tanks stolen from the military.

It could bear out the government's report that most terrorist hideouts have been destroyed and they are reduced to seeking "soft targets" through suicide kabooms.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/28/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Boko Haram


Boko Haram Kills at Least 14 in Christmas Day Attack in Nigeria
[AnNahar] At least 14 people were killed and several others injured by 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...
gunnies in a Christmas Day attack on a village in northeastern Nigeria, vigilantes said Saturday.

Attacking astride bicycles, the jihadists invaded Kimba village in flashpoint Borno state around 10:00 pm on Friday, opening fire on residents and torching their homes.
Note: image is not intended to reflect reality.
"The gunnies killed 14 people and burnt the whole village before they fled," Mustapha Karimbe, a civilian assisting the military in fighting Boko Haram, told AFP.

"Not a single house was spared in the arson," another vigilante, Musa Suleiman, said after visiting the razed village.

Hundreds of Kimba residents fled to Biu nearby, where they were put up in a refugee camp already brimming with people running from Boko Haram.

The attack comes just days before Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari's self-imposed deadline to stamp out the group expires on December 31 and in the same week he said that Nigeria has "technically" defeated the jihadists.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/28/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Boko Haram


Arabia
Yemeni Forces Hit Saudi Base in Najran
[AlManar] The Yemeni army, backed by Popular Committees loyal to the Houthi Ansarullah movement, has hit a military base in Saudi Arabia’s southwestern border city of Najran with a ballistic missile.

Yemen (archive)Yemen’s al-Masirah news channel reported on Sunday that the Qaher 1 missile caused huge explosions by hitting armories of the base, located in the al-Arissah district of Najran.

Yemeni forces also launched missile attacks on a convoy of Saudi mercenaries moving from Yemen’s central province of Ma’rib to the northern province of Jawf. Three vehicles were destroyed in the attacks.

Military forces of Yemen also fired over 80 Katyusha rockets at Saudi bases in Najran in retaliation for Riyadh’s incessant strikes against Yemen.

Dozens of mercenaries fighting for the regime in Riyadh were killed after Yemeni fighters fired missiles at a presidential palace in Ma’rib and the al-Amri district of the southwestern province of Taez.

According to the latest reports, heavy clashes continue between Ansarullah fighters and Saudi-backed militants loyal to the fugitive former Yemeni president, Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, in the Dhubab district of Taez.

Similar clashes are underway in the northeastern part of the Yemeni capital, Sana’a.

In a separate development on Sunday, Saudi warplanes repeatedly bombarded Yemen’s border regions. The jets also pounded the Kataf district in the northern province of Sa’ada.
Posted by: badanov || 12/28/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Houthis


Houthis kill more civilians in Taiz, block aid
[ArabNews] ADEN: Six civilians were killed and 16 were wounded when Houthi and Salah militias launched artillery shelling on residential neighborhoods in the Yemeni city of Taiz on Saturday.

The shelling targeted the neighborhoods of Esefrah, Edh-ha and Thaabat, as the militia continues its siege of all the key city outlets and prevented the entry of medical and relief supplies to civilians.

The shelling took place despite a verbal commitment for their leaders and delegates to provide safe passage for relief efforts.

The rebels have been besieging Taiz for months and have prevented the delivery of essential aid to the city for months.

According to AFP, military sources in Aden said Yemeni loyalists killed at least 20 Iran-backed rebels Saturday in a pushback against Houthis seeking to retake positions to the northeast of Sanaa.

“The Houthis (rebels) on Friday launched an offensive in the direction of Jabal Al-Salb in Nihm” district of Sanaa province, “but were repelled on Saturday morning,” a loyalist commander told AFP.

“At least 20 Houthis were killed” since Friday night, another military source said.

Last week, pro-government forces captured the Jabal Al-Salb area 40km outside Sanaa.

Forces loyal to President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi and the Saudi-led military coalition supporting them have sent troops, armored vehicles and tanks to reinforce the district.

Meanwhile, coalition fighter jets led dawn raids on rebel positions in Majzar area in neighboring Jawf province to the north, which is mostly under loyalist control, a spokesman for the pro-government Popular Resistance militia said.

Loyalist forces advanced in Ghayl area in the same province, around 20 km northeast of Majzar, Mohamed Al-Behaih added.

Air strikes also targeted rebel positions in Baqim and Kitaf areas in Saada province, the Houthis’ stronghold in northern Yemen, loyalist military sources said.

The rebels seized Sanaa last year and then advanced south to Aden.
Following territorial gains by loyalists, President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi returned to Aden in November after six months in exile.
Posted by: badanov || 12/28/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Houthis


Soddi Air Force says it intercepts rebel missile from Yemen
The Saudi-led coalition battling rebels in Yemen says Saudi Arabia's Air Force has shot down a ballistic missile directed at the kingdom's southern border.

The coalition statement said on Sunday that Houthi rebels fired the missile overnight from Yemen's capital city of Sanaa toward Saudi Arabia's southwestern border city of Najran. The coalition said the Saudi Air Force reacted immediately and destroyed the launching pad inside Yemen. It was the second time in under a week that Saudi Arabia says Houthis have fired scud missiles toward its territory.

Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies in the Gulf have been bombing the Houthis since late March after the rebels overran the capital and other major Yemeni cities, forcing the internationally-backed government to temporarily flee the country.
Posted by: Steve White || 12/28/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Houthis

#1  Intercepted, you say? The way any target 'intercepts' a missile? Or did they 'intercept' the second missile on the launch pad? English can be such a tricky language!
Posted by: Bobby || 12/28/2015 13:01 Comments || Top||


Europe
Three Held after Fight in Dutch Refugee Center
[AnNahar] Dutch police said three men were in detention Sunday after a late-night brawl at a refugee center in the city of Arnhem left four people slightly hurt.

The Saturday night fight was the latest of a series of incidents which have flared in the Netherlands as it copes with a record influx of asylum seekers this year amid a Europe-wide crisis which has sharply divided public opinion here.

The three men under arrest were aged 24, 25 and 26. One came from Tilburg and two from Arnhem.

About 15 people were involved, the Dutch police said in a statement, adding the incident was being investigated and "the reason for the fight is not yet known."

Contacted by AFP, a police front man said no further information was immediately available.

The Dutch news agency, ANP, said one of the injured might have to be operated on for a broken nose. He also suffered an injury to his eye.

Arnhem, in the eastern Netherlands, is just one of the places where tens of thousands of refugees are being housed as their request for asylum is processed.

The Netherlands took in a record 54,000 refugees in the first 11 months of 2015 fleeing conflicts in the Middle East and Africa.

But tensions have at times spilled over into violence in local and national debate
... an expenditure of personal wind at the national level that leads to face-making and other histrionics but can't be shown to have ever solved an issue ...
s about the issue.

Earlier this month, police fired warning shots to break up a riot in the central village of Geldermalsen, which erupted over plans to open a refugee center for some 1,500 migrants.

In a Christmas Day message, King Willem-Alexander called on his people to stand by those in need and not to let fear about their future overwhelm them.

"Of course we want to protect what is dear to us. We can't stop or deny feelings of fear. But we mustn't hand it (fear) the reins of our life and allow it to dominate our society," the king warned.

The Dutch people "cannot crawl back into our shell" but need courage and dignity to work together "in turbulent times" and to show "solidarity with those who really need our help."
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/28/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


The Grand Turk
Syrian anti-IS film-maker assassinated in Turkey after waiting for asylum visa for France
Posted by: anon1 || 12/28/2015 10:26 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I'm sure he would've been much safer in Paris. Or San Bernardino.
Posted by: Bobby || 12/28/2015 13:05 Comments || Top||

#2  LOL, Bobby.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 12/28/2015 15:11 Comments || Top||

#3  Saves all that messy paperwork. I hate bureaucrats. Hate.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike || 12/28/2015 22:16 Comments || Top||

#4  It was the Internet video.
Posted by: Skidmark || 12/28/2015 22:19 Comments || Top||

#5  This sounds more like a hit by a government agency - like the Turks rather than an ISIS operation.
Posted by: Super Hose || 12/28/2015 23:19 Comments || Top||


Kurd Kommies attack Turkish Konvoy in Cizre
[ARA] CIZRE – At least three Turkish soldiers were killed and two others wounded in an attack by rebels of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) on an army convoy in the Kurdish town of Cizre in the southeastern province of Şırnak.

The Turkish army said in a statement on Sunday that PKK fighters bombed a military vehicle, killing three soldiers and injuring two more.

“The terrorists (in reference to PKK members) detonated an explosive device under an army vehicle in Cizre on Sunday, in an attempt to prevent the Turkish forces from carrying out their duty,” the statement said.

This comes amid a curfew imposed by the Turkish army on the town of Cizre.

Last week, the army shelled residential neighborhoods, schools and infrastructure in the Kurdish town, causing the displacement of thousands of civilians from Cizre, according to local sources.

“The Turkish forces are bombing civilians and destroying Cizre under the pretext of pursuing few PKK rebels,” a media activist in the town told ARA News, on the condition of anonymity.

“The government does not care about the citizens affected by the military campaign on Cizre. The situation is disastrous. We appeal to the international community to stop the Turkish offensive on the town,” he said.

Turkish state media confirmed last week that some 10,000 military forces are participating in the ongoing operation against the PKK in the towns of Cizre and Silopi in Şırnak province.
Posted by: badanov || 12/28/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Baby Killed in Clashes between Turkish Forces, Kurdish Rebels
And so, day by day, the Neo-Ottoman meatgrinder grinds on toward spring, when perhaps it will decide the effort was pointless.
[AnNahar] A three-month baby and her grandfather were killed in crossfire in festivities between Turkish security forces and Kurdish holy warriors in the southeast, medics said on Sunday.

The family's house in the southeastern town of Cizre came under shelling on Friday night as festivities intensified between Turkish security forces and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

The baby, identified as Miray, was shot in the head, doctors said.

But the family called the ambulance when they saw Miray was breathing. Her 73-year-old grandfather Ramazan Ince was caught in the crossfire while he was carrying Miray to the ambulance, witnesses told AFP.

But it was already too late for her and her grandfather died in hospital, medics said.

The family claims that the fire came from the direction of the state hospital in Cizre, which is controlled by Turkish security forces.

Tensions are rising throughout The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
's restive southeast, where curfew has been in place in a number of towns due to festivities.

The operations mark a new escalation in the over three decade conflict with the PKK after a fragile truce collapsed in July after just one-and-a-half years.

The army said on Saturday nearly 200 PKK holy warriors were killed in the operations since the offensive began in mid-December.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/28/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Syria anti-IS documentary maker 'assassinated' in Turkey
He's dead now.
[Beirut Daily Star] A Syrian activist who produced documentaries hostile 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....
group was assassinated in The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
Sunday, according to the group with which he worked, "Raqa is Being Slaughtered Silently".

"Film maker Naji Jerf, father of two children, was assassinated... today in Gaziantep", on the border with Syria, with a silencer-equipped pistol, the group said in a statement on Twitter.

RBSS is a group of citizen journalists who work to expose human rights
When they're defined by the state or an NGO they don't mean much...
abuses in Raqa, the northeastern city that IS uses as its de facto capital in Syria.

A friend of Jerf's said he had been "supposed to arrive in Gay Paree this week after receiving, along with his family, a visa for asylum in La Belle France".

Jerf was also editor in chief of Hentah, a Syrian magazine that reports on the "daily lives of Syrian citizens", said the publication's website.
Posted by: Fred || 12/28/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


India-Pakistan
Two injured in Barkhan clash
QUETTA: Two persons were injured in a clash between two groups in Barkhan. Levies said on Sunday that two groups developed a dispute over a petty issue and attacked each other.

“Two men received injuries in a clash,” it said adding that the injured were shifted to hospital. The injured were identified as Mushtaq Ahmed and Sher Zaman. The levies force has been investigating into the incident. Further probe is underway.
Posted by: badanov || 12/28/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Rockets fired from Iran land in Kharan
[Dawn] QUETTA: Rockets fired from across the Iranian border exploded in Mashkel tehsil of Kharan district on Sunday, official sources said.

However, no casualty was reported.

They said several rockets exploded near some houses in the Aahogo area, creating fear and panic among residents. Panicked people ran out of their houses as rockets were exploding at brief intervals, they added.

Soon after the attack personnel of Frontier Corps and Levies Force reached the area.

A Levies official said Pakistani officials had registered protest with Iranian border authorities over the rocket attack.
Posted by: badanov || 12/28/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Panicked people ran out of their houses as rockets were exploding at brief intervals, they added.

Doesn't seem, ummmm wise. Perhaps they thought earthquake? I would cower in place and dig in with my runcible spoon.
Posted by: Shipman || 12/28/2015 13:28 Comments || Top||

#2  By the Dolomphious Duck1, Ship?

1-Obscure 'Lear' Reference
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 12/28/2015 14:34 Comments || Top||

#3  Damn that is obscure. :)
Posted by: Shipman || 12/28/2015 23:21 Comments || Top||


Troops use robotic arm to defuse powerful TNT filled cooker IED
[Daily Excelsior] Troops of Rashtriya Rifles battalion of Counter Insurgency Romeo Force today averted major tragedy when it detected and defused powerful TNT filled Improvised Explosive Device (IED), fitted by the turbans under a bridge at Saglet in Sakhi Maidaan area of Mendhar tehsil in Poonch district.

The turbans had planted the IED to blast the bridge and cause casualties of security forces and civilians but the alert troops foiled their designs by recovering the IED well in time and defusing it.

The troops used robotic arm to defuse the IED to ensure that there were no casualties of the security personnel by defusing it manually.

Official sources said the troops of Rashtriya Rifles battalion of Counter Insurgency Romeo Force spotted a cooker IED fitted under Saglet bridge in Sakhi Maidaan area of Mendhar tehsil in Poonch district at 7.30 am today and immediately stopped traffic on Mendhar-Poonch road via Mankote.

The troops called Bomb Disposal Squads of police and Army. Senior coppers rushed to the spot and stopped movement of civilians in the area.

The troops used robotic arm to defuse the IED to ensure that there were no casualties of Bomb Disposal Squad while defusing very powerful bomb. The cooker was filled with five kilograms TNT bomb, which was capable of blasting Saget bridge and causing extensive damage to vehicles crossing over it.

Sources said target of the turbans by planting the IED under bridge was vehicles of security forces and civilians as they intended to cause casualties by carrying out major subversive activity to make their presence felt in the border district of Poonch, where they were presently lying very low.

"The IED was successfully defused at 1.15 pm," sources said, adding the traffic on Mendhar-Poonch road via Mankote was restored only after Army and police sanitized the area and declared it fit for traffic.

Though there has been no major presence of turbans in the border district, some turbans and Over Ground Workers were reportedly active and in possession of bombs. Sources said the IED might have been fabricated and planted by one such group.

"The analysis of the bomb indicated presence of about five kilograms of powerful TNT kaboom inside the pressure cooker," sources said, adding the vigilant and timely action by the troops has averted what could have been a major catastrophe.

They pointed out that blasting of the bridge would have de-linked Mendhar with Poonch via Mankote. The IED was capable of blasting the bridge and disrupting the vehicular movement.

Posted by: Fred || 12/28/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  Some background:

Poonch (Urdu: ضلع پونچھ ‎) is one of the eight districts of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Poonch district borders Indian-administered Kashmir and is part of the greater dispute between India and Pakistan. The capital of the district is Rawalakot with the Sudhan and Awan tribes being the dominant groups in the district. After independence in 1947, Pakistan and India fought a war over Kashmir. As a result of the war, Poonch was split between the two nations. The city of Poonch now forms the capital of Indian-controlled Poonch district.
Posted by: Pappy || 12/28/2015 11:05 Comments || Top||

#2  The Washstriya Wifles of Womeo. How womantic.
Lilly von Schtupp

I guess Pakistan's Poonch days are about over.
John Kennedy
Posted by: JHH || 12/28/2015 15:28 Comments || Top||


JKLF chairman, others sent to jail
[Daily Excelsior] Senior separatist leader and Jammu Kashmire Liberation Front (JKLF) chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik
...chairman of one of the two factions of Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front. JKLF is a Kashmiri nationalist organization founded in Birmingham, UK in 1977. Branches weren't actually established in Kashmir for another ten years. It has the usual demands for separation of J&K from secular India so it can become an independent Islamic rathole. It seems to have no interest in Pak Kashmir breaking away to join it. In 1994 Malik renounced violence after he was released from jail and from that point he and his organization pursued peaceful means to impose their will on the region...
along with other Front leaders has been sent to Central Jail on the charges of attempt to murder and waging war against the State.

Malik, along with his eight of party associates, were detained on Friday last week when they attempted to take out a rally towards Lal Chowk against the killings in Rajouri district by Village Defence Committee (VDC) gunnies. The police action had triggered violent protests in Maisuma, where the JKLF protesters rallied, which left Kothi Bagh SDPO Fahad Tak critically injured in eye and face, and he was airlifted to Delhi for specialized treatment.

"Police have charged Yasin and others under acts of attempt to murder and waging war against State. Police after three days today produced Yasin Malik and others before a Magistrate and the Court ordered to send them on 10 day-judicial remand to Central jail Srinagar," said a JKLF front man here in a statement.
Posted by: Fred || 12/28/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Iraq
Iraqi airstrike kills ISIS Top Dawgs
(IraqiNews.com) Anbar – On Sunday, the Iraqi Ministry of Interior announced, that the Commander of the so-called ISIS military council was killed, in addition to dozens of the organization’s leaders in Anbar.

The Falcon Intelligence Cell said in a press release obtained by IraqiNews.com, “A number of operations were carried out in coordination with the Joint Operations Command in Anbar.”

The statement added, “The Iraqi Air Force was provided with accurate information about a gathering for ISIS leaders,” indicating that, “The criminal Abu Ahmad al-Alwani, who is also known as the Commander of ISIS military council was killed, along with dozens of the organization’s leaders.”

Noteworthy, the Iraqi forces achieved a notable progress in the liberation of Anbar Province from ISIS elements, while the advance of the forces had been hampered by the improvised explosive devices.
Posted by: badanov || 12/28/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Turkish troops withdraw from Ninivah
(IraqiNews.com) Nineveh – Nineveh Provincial Council announced on Sunday, that the Turkish forces are withdrawing gradually from Ba’shiqa District, while pointed out that the number of those forces does not exceed 100 soldiers.

The deputy president of the council, Noor al-Deen Qablan, said in a press statement obtained by IraqiNews.com, “The Turkish forces are gradually withdrawing from Zalikan Base in the district of Ba’shiqa,” noting that, “The withdrawal of The Turkish force outside Iraq continues since the declaration of withdrawing previous patches.”

Qablan pointed out, “The number of the remaining Turkish personnel in Ba’shiqa is about 100 soldiers, including trainers.”
Posted by: badanov || 12/28/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


25 ISIS troops die in airstrikes in Anbar
(IraqiNews.com) Baghdad – On Sunday, a source in the Joint Operations Command announced, that 25 ISIS elements were killed in an aerial bombardment west of Anbar (110 km west of Baghdad).

The source said in a statement received by IraqiNews.com, “The Iraqi Air Force carried out an air strike on ISIS sites in al-Qa’im District west of Anbar, killing 25 elements and destructing 2 hideouts for the organization.”

The source added, “The air strike was carried out under the supervision of the Joint Operations Command, and in coordination with Falcon Intelligence Cell.”
Posted by: badanov || 12/28/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Baghdad bomb attack inflicts 8 casualties
(IraqiNews.com) Baghdad – On Sunday, a source in the Iraqi Ministry of Interior announced, that eight people had been either killed or wounded in a bomb blast east of Baghdad.

The source said in a statement followed by IraqiNews.com, “This morning, a bomb exploded near a popular market in al-Amin area east of Baghdad, killing one person and wounding seven others.”

The source added, “A security force rushed to the area and evacuated the wounded to a nearby hospital for treatment and the dead body to the forensic medicine department, while an operation was carried out to search for the perpetrators of the bombing.”
Posted by: badanov || 12/28/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


8 ISIS element die in north Ramadi battles
(IraqiNews.com) Anbar Operations Command announced on Sunday the killing of eight ISIS elements as well as the dismantlement of 260 explosive devices north of the city of Ramadi.

The commander of Anbar Operations, Maj. Gen. Ismail al-Mahalawi, said in a brief statement received by IraqiNews.com, “A force from Anbar Operations, with support from the international coalition aviation, had managed to destroy two booby-trapped vehicles and kill the suicide bombers inside them in the northern axis of the city of Ramadi,” adding also that, “A force from the army had killed eight elements of the ISIS and dismantled 260 explosive devices during an operation to advance into the Euphrates River as well as the international road near Albu Faraj Bridge north of Ramadi.”
Posted by: badanov || 12/28/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


44 ISIS Bad Guys die near Fallujah
(IraqiNews.com) Baghdad – On Saturday, Baghdad Operations Command announced, that 44 ISIS elements were killed in the south of Fallujah cleansing battles, while a number of improvised explosive devices and booby-trapped houses were dismantled.

Baghdad Operations Command said in a statement received by IraqiNews.com, “The security forces in Baghdad Operations and the associated teams are advancing to liberate south of Fallujah areas,” indicating that, “44 terrorists were killed in the operation, while other elements were injured.”

The statement added, “The security operation resulted in the destruction of 3 vehicles equipped with machine-guns, in addition to dismantling 85 explosive devices and 12 booby-trapped houses.”
Posted by: badanov || 12/28/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Iraqi forces surround ISIS-held complex in Ramadi
[Beirut Daily Star] Iraqi forces have totally encircled the government complex in Ramadi, the last stronghold of ISIS bandidos forces of Evil in the western city, and are about to enter it, joint operations command front man Yahya Rasool told Rooters.

"We're clearing the buildings and streets around the complex of bombs in preparation to go in," he said. "I expect we will go into the complex in about an hour," he added.

Recapturing Ramadi, which fell to the bandidos forces of Evil in May, would be one of the most significant victories for Iraq's armed forces since ISIS swept across a third of the country in 2014.

The bandidos forces of Evil "seem to have fled the complex, we're not encountering any resistance," said Sabah al-Numani, a front man for the counterterrorism units that are leading the fight on the government side.
ISIS is awfully fond of digging tunnels...
"We're seeing lots of Daesh [Islamic State] (ISIS) bodies, killed in the air strikes on the compound," he told Rooters.

The Iraqi government forces are backed by air support from an international coalition led by the United States.

Shiite militias backed by Iran, which have played a major role in other offensive against ISIS, have been kept away by the Iraqi government from the battlefield in Ramadi to avoid sectarian tensions.

If the offensive in Ramadi succeeds, it will be the second main city to be retaken from ISIS after Tikrit, in April. Officials said it would be handed over to the local police and to a Sunni tribal force once secured.
Al Ahram explains how ISIS fighters managed to leave:
Ali Dawood, the head of the neighbouring Khaldiya council, said IS fighters used civilians as human shields to slip out of the government complex.

"Daesh [Islamic State] fighters forced all the families living around the compound to go with them in order to flee towards Sichariyah, Sufiya and Jweiba," on the eastern outskirts of Ramadi, he said.

He had said on Saturday that more than 250 families had managed to escape the combat zones since the start of the operation and had been escorted to safety by the army. Some of them were in camps with other displaced people in Anbar, while others headed to Baghdad or the northern autonomous Kurdish region.

According to the International Organization for Migration, Anbaris account for more than a third of the 3.2 million Iraqis who have been forced from their homes since January 2014.
And from An Nahar:
The U.S.-led coalition, which was heavily involved in supporting Iraqi forces in Ramadi, also congratulated them on the success of an operation that began soon after they lost the city in May.
"It is the result of many months of hard work by the Iraqi Army, the Counter Terrorism Service, the Iraqi Air Force, local and federal police and tribal fighters all supported by over 600 coalition air strikes since July," front man Colonel Steve Warren said.

According to medical sources, 93 members of the security forces were brought in with injuries on Sunday alone.

"The dead bodies are taken directly to the main military hospital" near the airport, said one hospital source.

At least five government fighters have been killed over the past two days alone, but no official has divulged any overall toll for the operation.
Posted by: Fred || 12/28/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Iraqi Kurdish forces join anti-ISIS commando raid near Hawijah
[ARA] Iraqi Kurdish forces carried out a commando operation near Hawijah in which several senior members 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....
of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) were captured or killed, local and security sources said Saturday.

The operation involved helicopters and bore similarities with a joint raid elite Kurdish troops conducted in October with U.S. special forces also near Hawijah, the sources said.

Local Iraqi security officials said the raid took place overnight in the town of Riyadh, south east of ISIS-held Hawijah and south-west of Kurdish-controlled Kirkuk.

"The operation targeted a Daesh [Islamic State] (ISIS) hideout," said Sarhad Qadir, a police brigadier general in Kirkuk district.

"A fight erupted between the two sides which led to the death of several Daesh [Islamic State] members and the arrest of another group of them," he told AFP.

Qadir and other officials said a local ISIS leader called Hussein al-Assafi was among those killed in the operation.

Some sources said the raid was a joint operation with U.S. commandos but the U.S.-led anti-ISIS coalition's front man, Colonel Steve Warren, denied any involvement.

Rokan Mekhlef Jassem, a police captain from Hawijah, said nine IS members were detained and 12 killed, but no confirmation was immediately available from the government of the autonomous Kurdish region.

Ibrahim al-Juburi, an official in the Hawijah mayor's office before the area was taken over by ISIS last year, also confirmed a raid on a jihadist hideout.

He said Assafi was a member of the Islamic Army from 2003 to 2010 and then of the Ansar al-Sunna Lion of Islam group.

He pledged allegiance when ISIS took over in June 2014 and was made a bad boy chief in Riyadh, Juburi said.

Iraqi forces, including fighters from the Popular Mobilisation paramilitary organization and from the Kurdish peshmerga, have been slowly closing in on Hawijah in recent months.

Kurdish anti-terrorism forces and U.S. special forces conducted a raid on October 23 during which 70 captives described as facing imminent execution were freed.

A U.S. serviceman died of wounds sustained during the brazen operation, which seemed to mark a break from Washington's declared "no boots on the ground policy."

The U.S. defense secretary, Ashton Carter, said the next day that he expected more such raids in the future.
Posted by: Fred || 12/28/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Iraqi army controls admin complex in Ramadi
Iraq's army declared victory over Daesh fighters in a provincial capital west of Baghdad on Sunday, the first major triumph for the US-trained force since it collapsed in the face of an assault by the militants 18 months ago. After encircling the city for weeks, the Iraqi military launched a campaign to retake it last week, and made a final push to seize the central administration complex on Sunday.

"By controlling the complex this means that we have defeated them in Ramadi," said Sabah Al Numani, a spokesman for the force leading the fight on the government side. "The next step is to clear pockets that could exist here or there in the city."

State television broadcast footage of troops, Humvee vehicles and tanks advancing through Ramadi streets amid piles of rubble and collapsed houses. Some districts appeared to have been completely destroyed by the advance.

Television also showed nighttime celebrations in mainly Shia cities south of Baghdad for the victory in Anbar, with people dancing in the streets and waving Iraqi flags from cars.

Officials did not give any immediate death tolls for the battle. The government says most civilians were able to evacuate before it launched its assault.

Anbar provincial council member Falih Al Essawi called on the government to restore services to Ramadi quickly and start rebuilding the city to allow the return of the displaced.

Ramadi was the first major city recaptured by the army itself, without relying on the militias, who were kept off the battlefield to avoid sectarian tension with the mainly Sunni population.

The government, led by a Shia Prime Minister, Haider Al-Abadi, said Ramadi would be handed over to local police and a Sunni tribal force once it was secured, a measure meant to win over the community to the fight against Daesh.

"We have trained hundreds of tribal fighters, their role will be holding the ground," said Brigadier-General Yahya Rasool, spokesman for the joint operations command.

"Seeing their own tribes responsible for security will be a relief for the civilians" and will help convince those who have been displaced to return to the city, he added.
Posted by: Steve White || 12/28/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iraq

#1  Looks like they had to destroy Ramadi to save it.
Posted by: Claising Flavimble5530 || 12/28/2015 13:57 Comments || Top||

#2  Official line from the Iraqis now is that "significant parts of the city remained under ISIS control."
Posted by: Pappy || 12/28/2015 15:16 Comments || Top||

#3  Color me schocked
Posted by: Shipman || 12/28/2015 23:23 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Three soldiers wounded in West Bank, J'lem attacks
[Ynet] Two soldiers hurt in stabbing near Hawara checkpoint; two bully boyz rubbed out; in early morning attack, soldier stabbed near J'lem's Central Bus Terminal, and fought off his attacker; terrorist was overpowered, incarcerated.
Drop the rod and step away witcher hands up!

Two soldiers were maimed on Sunday afternoon in a stabbing attack at Hawara checkpoint in the West Bank, hours after another soldier as lightly maimed in a stabbing attack in Jerusalem.

Givati Brigade soldiers were in the middle of a routine operation on Highway 60 near the town of Hawara, south of Nablus. They spotted two suspicious men and got out of their jeep to ask for their papers. The bully boyz took out their papers, then began to stab the soldier who was checking their papers. The soldiers shot and killed both attackers. )

One soldier was moderately maimed in the knee from the stabbing, while the other was lightly-to-moderately maimed in his face from friendly fire. Both were taken to the Beilinson Hospital at Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva.

The bully boyz were Muhammad Sabana,17, and Noor al-Deen Sabana, 23, from Qabatiya in the northern West Bank.

Early Sunday morning, a 21-year-old soldier was stabbed near Jerusalem's Central Bus Station. He was lightly maimed. A security guard nearby neutralized the terrorist.

Magen David Adom medics treated the soldier who was suffering from a stab wound to his upper body. He was taken to Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem's Ein Karem.

The terrorist, about 30 years old, was on Tzvi Street in Jerusalem and saw a soldier on his way to the Central Bus Station. He stabbed the soldier in the back and then tried to stab him a second time but the soldier fought back and pushed his attacker to the ground.

A security guard who witnessed the attack overcame the terrorist. Police at the bus station ran to the scene and arrested him.

The stabbed soldier recounted to his parents what happened: "I was walking to the Central Bus Terminal when I felt a blow on my back. I thought it was a friend from behind saying hello and it took me a moment to realize that it was a terrorist attack and that I had been stabbed. I saw someone continue walking and then stop, he looked at me and started to run.

"All of a sudden I noticed he was carrying a knife. Everything happened so fast, I did not understand what was happening. I chased after him and grabbed his hand holding the knife and we both fell backwards. Luckily I fell on his hand so he could not stab me. I grabbed his face with my other hand and screamed for help and a security guard came and took control of him."

The soldier enlisted in the Artillery Corps three weeks ago. He was discharged from the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem's Ein Karem and will be able to participate in the inauguration of his unit in about a week. His parents, who made aliyah a few years ago, were happy that their son was only lightly maimed. "Thank God he's alright and we're happy that he's coming home," said his mother.

Also on Sunday, a Paleostinian woman armed with a knife was spotted on the road to Ma'ale Shomron. She dropped the knife and tried to escape when the settlement's head of security drove towards her, but was caught. Another Paleostinian woman was caught with a knife as she was passing by a checkpoint in Hebron. She was detained and questioned.

A police officer was lightly maimed from stone-throwing at HaOkfim Junction near Kiryat Arba on Sunday morning.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/28/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Three up, three down.
Posted by: gorb || 12/28/2015 2:25 Comments || Top||

#2  Five up and down, gorb, if one counts the two women wannabes.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/28/2015 7:46 Comments || Top||

#3  I missed that. Yep, they can kill someone just as dead.
Posted by: gorb || 12/28/2015 11:59 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Kurdish-Arab join forces advance against ISIS north Aleppo
Continuing the battle reported yesterday.
[ARA] KOBANE – Subsequent to fierce clashes with militants of the Islamic State (ISIS), western-backed alliance of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) recaptured two towns in the northern countryside of Aleppo, military sources confirmed on Sunday.

The Kurdish-Arab joint forces of SDF regained control of the towns of Tishreen and Sakaniya in the suburbs of Manbij city north of Aleppo.

At least 15 militants of ISIS were killed in Sunday’s clashes with the SDF units, which include Kurdish, Arab and Christian fighters.

This comes just one day after the SDF units expelled ISIS militants from the Tishreen Dam on the Euphrates River, which has for long served as a supply line for the extremist group between its de facto capital of Raqqa and the northern countryside of Aleppo.

“After liberating Tishreen Dam, our forces were able to regain the towns of Tishreen and Sakaniya on the western bank of the Euphrates River,” Kurdish member of the SDF Sarhad Abbas told ARA News.

“ISIS is unable to support its operations near Manbij after we cut off its main supply route,” Abbas said.

The SDF member added that their units, supported by the U.S.-led coalition’s air cover, are currently combating ISIS in Hasakah, northern Raqqa and northern Aleppo.

“The operations of our joint forces will continue until eliminating the terror group,” he said.

The SDF has recaptured more than 220 towns and villages in Hasakah province over two months since its establishment. After announcing a new anti-terror campaign last week, the alliance regained control of several areas in the northern countryside of Aleppo, beside recapturing the strategic Tishreen Dam and a large deal of weapons subsequent to clashes with ISIS.
Posted by: badanov || 12/28/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


US war birds hit ISIS convoy in Hasakah
[ARA] HASAKAH – Warplanes of the U.S.-led coalition bombed on Sunday a convoy for the radical group of Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria’s northeastern province of Hasakah, military sources reported.

An ISIS convoy, consisting of four vehicles, were heading towards headquarters of the Kurdish forces near Mount Abdulaziz in Hasakah, before being hit with an airstrike by the western coalition.

“The radical group was preparing to launch car bomb attacks on our security headquarters in Mount Abdulaziz, but the cars were hit by a U.S.-led strike before reaching their targets,” a spokesman for the Kurdish forces of the People’s Protection Units (YPG) told ARA News in Hasakah.

The source confirmed the death of the entire crew of the ISIS convoy.

“There is a high level of coordination between our leadership and the U.S.-led coalition,” he concluded.

Kurdish forces of the YPG regained Mount Abdulaziz in northeastern Syria after fierce clashes with ISIS militants in May.
Posted by: badanov || 12/28/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Trying to keep up with the Ivanovs?

Hint to 0bean: Start with the oil convoys. That's where the money's at.
Posted by: gorb || 12/28/2015 2:24 Comments || Top||

#2  Hint to 0bean: Start with the oil convoys. That's where the money's at.

"But, but, but, my friend Recep told me"
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 12/28/2015 2:34 Comments || Top||


Hundreds of Syrian rebels join western-backed SDF alliance to combat ISIS
[ARA] More than 200 rebels deserted the Raqqa Revolutionary Brigade and joined the ranks of the western-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

Backed by the U.S.-led coalition's air cover, the Kurdish-Arab-Chrsitian alliance of the SDF is considered the main Syrian force fighting the radical group 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....
(ISIS) in northern Syria.

The SDF leadership confirmed on Saturday that some 200 rebel fighters from the Raqqa Revolutionary Brigade have joined its ranks over the past few days.

"We welcome our brothers from all revolutionary brigades and battalions to join our (SDF) alliance in order to unify the efforts and liberate our land from Daesh [Islamic State] terrorists," the SDF leadership said in a statement, using an Arabic acronym for ISIS.

Speaking to ARA News in Tel Abyad city north of Raqqa, SDF front man Ayman Ghanim said that the number of the new SDF members is increasing in the northern countrysides of Raqqa and Aleppo.

"Given the clear message of the Syrian Democratic Forces as a unified anti-terror umbrella, rebel fighters from various groups are seeking to join our ranks," Ghanim said.

"The SDF reflects the social mosaic of the Syrian people, as it includes Kurdish, Arab and Christian members fighting side by side against ISIS terrorists," the front man said. "This unity guarantees our victory over radical and suppressive groups in Syria."

The SDF, which has earlier recaptured more than 220 villages and towns in Hasakah province from ISIS, announced three days ago the start of a new military campaign against the hard boy group south of Kobane. Since then, the joint forces have regained several villages and farms near Kobane after bombing ISIS headquarters there. On Saturday, SDF fighters also seized the Tishreen Dam, a main supply route for ISIS bandidos bandidos holy warriors between Raqqa and Aleppo.
Posted by: Fred || 12/28/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Syrian rebel group responds to the killing of its leader by bombing regime headquarters in Damascu
[ARA] Rebel fighters of Jaish al-Islam
...Liwa al-Islam (Brigade of Islam) was established by Zahran Alloush, the son of Saudi-based religious scholar Abdullah Mohammed Alloush, after Syrian authorities released him from prison in mid-2011 where he had been serving time for his Salafist activism. The group claimed responsibility for carrying out the July 2012 Damascus bombing that killed Defense Minister Dawoud Rajiha, Deputy Defense Minister Asef Shawkat, and Assistant Vice President Hassan Turkmani. It was a driving force behind actions in the Damascus region. It cooperated and conducted joint operations with al-Nusra. In Sptember 2013 Saudi Arabia engineered Liwa al-Islam's merger with fifty other more or less Salafist groups as a counterweight to al-Nusra, which the Learned Elders of Islam considered was growing too powereful...
(Islam Army) bombed on Saturday Syrian regime's security headquarters in the capital Damascus, killing dozens of pro-Assad troops, military sources reported.

"At least 28 pro-Assad security forces were killed and dozens more maimed in a strategic operation by fighters of Jaish al-Islam," the group said in a statement on Saturday.

"Forces of Jaish al-Islam have infiltrated into security headquarters of pro-Assad troops in Joubar neighborhood in Damascus and detonated a large amount of explosives," the leadership of Jaish al-Islam said.

This comes only one day after a Russian Arclight airstrike, coordinated with Syrian regime's intelligence, hit a building in Damascus suburb where leading members of the rebel group were meeting. The top leader and founder of Jaish al-Islam Zahran Alloush was among those killed in the Arclight airstrike on Friday.

Speaking to ARA News in Damascus, media activist Zuher al-Ghoutani said that the bombardment of the regime's security headquarters in Joubar comes in response to the killing of Alloush.

"A state of alert hit the ranks of pro-Assad troops in Joubar and other areas of Damascus after the operation of Jaish al-Islam, that claimed lives of dozens of security forces," al-Ghoutani said. "The regime's troops imposed a curfew on several districts across Damascus in a bid to minimize the chance for the rebels to move or infiltrate into other regime headquarters in the capital."

On Friday, a Russian Arclight airstrike hit rebel headquarters in the Eastern Ghouta of Damascus countryside. "The Russian Arclight airstrike hit a building near Misraba district of Eastern Ghouta, where major rebel commanders of al-Islam Army were holding a meeting, including the prominent leader of the group Zahran Alloush," media activist and rebel front man Jihad Mustafa told ARA News in Damascus.

The raid has also claimed lives of several leading members of the group, including the deputy of Alloush.

Zahran Alloush is the founder of al-Islam Army, the largest rebel group in Damascus province. He had led rebel operations against pro-Assad army in Damascus and its countryside for nearly three years after deserting the Free Syrian Army
... the more palatable version of the Syrian insurgency, heavily influenced by the Moslem Brüderbund...
(FSA) and establishing his own rebel group. Regime-held districts of Damascus have been repeatedly exposed to bombardment by the rebels of al-Islam Army.
Posted by: Fred || 12/28/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Jaish al-Islam (MB)


Syrian army kills 17 militants in country's south
[Beirut Daily Star] Syrian activists say government forces set off explosives planted at a farm where Islamic rebel factions were gathering, killing 17 bully boys.
That was clever.
The Britannia-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the kaboom took place late Saturday in the village of Kfar Shams in southern Deraa province.

Ahmad al-Masalmeh, a Deraa-based opposition activist, said Sunday that a farm in the village was booby trapped and the explosives were detonated once the bandidos bandidos holy warriors had gathered there.

Syria's state news agency reported that several fighters of the Islamic Muthana Movement were killed and two of their "dens were demolished at Kfar Shams."

The latest killings deal another blow to Syria's Islamic rebels, just days after the liquidation of a powerful rebel leader.

Posted by: Fred || 12/28/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Terror Networks
US hits Islamic State group with 17 Christmas Day airstrikes
Now that Russia expanded to a second air field, it is harder for our side's planes to stay out of their way.
[Ynet] The Pentagon says the United States hit 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 targets in Iraq and Syria with 17 Arclight airstrikes on Christmas Day.

The strikes targeting Islamic State fighters, facilities and vehicles were carried out by fighter aircraft, bombers and remotely controlled aircraft. The Pentagon said Saturday that five of the strikes were carried out in Syria and 12 in Iraq.

The strikes targeted Islamic State tunnels, explosive manufacturing sites and other targets such as bridges and Islamic State fighting outposts.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/28/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  Merry Christmas from the U.S. Air Force!
Posted by: Raj || 12/28/2015 0:18 Comments || Top||

#2  Up to 36 extra strikes available.
Posted by: Pappy || 12/28/2015 11:10 Comments || Top||

#3  Up to 36 extra strikes available

New Year fireworks?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 12/28/2015 12:03 Comments || Top||

#4  :) Can the surplus strikes be redeemed for a 9 hole golf course?
Posted by: Shipman || 12/28/2015 13:33 Comments || Top||

#5  New Year fireworks?

For when the Federal Reserve raises interest rates, and/or the US economic numbers come out.
Posted by: Pappy || 12/28/2015 15:34 Comments || Top||

#6  Merry Christmas! (At least for us.)

Now do this every day.
Posted by: Barbara || 12/28/2015 16:08 Comments || Top||

#7  17 airstrikes.
How many targets neutralized?
Any?
Posted by: Skidmark || 12/28/2015 22:21 Comments || Top||


800 Tunisian jihadists killed fighting for ISIS in Syria

[ARA] At least 800 Tunisian nationals were killed in Syria since the outbreak of the war there in 2011, Tunisia's interior ministry said on Friday.
Cleaning up the shallow end of the gene pool...
Hundreds of Tunisian young men have joined the ranks of the radical groups in Syria, mostly fighting for the al-Qaeda affiliated 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 and the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
(ISIS).

"Most of the Tunisian jihadists have joined the ranks of ISIS after the group proved its success in taking over large areas in Syria and Iraq," an informed source told ARA News.

The ministry confirmed the death of 800 Tunisian jihadists in Syria so far, adding that hundreds others are still fighting for ISIS in Syria and Iraq.

The front man of the Tunisian interior ministry Waleed Allouqini said in a statement that the authorities are prepared to take strict security procedures against returning jihadists, "as they may pose threat to the national security of Tunisia".

"Security units in cooperation with special forces have recently captured several pro-ISIS recruiting cells across the country," Allouqini said, adding that the authorities are pursuing other suspects "to prevent further radicalization of Tunisian youth".
Posted by: Fred || 12/28/2015 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State



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