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Today: 59 articles and 113 comments as of 16:38.
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Area: WoT Operations    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix   
Islamic State Names New Leader of Boko Haram
Today's Headlines
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Afghanistan
Gen. Raziq’s ban on Pak Rupees and reduction in Dollar rates in Kabul
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The provincial police chief of the southern Kandahar province General Abdul Raziq has reportedly put a ban on Pak Rupees in southern Kandahar province of Afghanistan.

In the meantime the Dollar rates against the Afghani currency witnessed an unprecedented reduction in the main exchange market of Kabul
...the capital of Afghanistan. Home to continuous fighting from 1992 to 1996 between the forces of would-be strongman and Pak ISI/Jamaat-e-Islami sock puppet Gulbuddin Hekmayar and the Northern Alliance, a period which won Hek the title Most Evil Man in the World and didn't do much for the reputations of the Northern Alliance guys either....
city, Sarai Shahzada ‐ Shahzada Market, today.

There has been a reduction of almost 2 AFN against each Dollar in the main money exchange market in Kabul today as traders and merchants credit the reduction to Gen. Raziq’s move.

However the reduction in Dollar rates in Kabul followed as the main exchange market was closed for two days due to a protest by money exchangers regarding the growing instability in the country threatening the local traders.

There are also reports that the Dollar rate against Afghani currentcy has dropped by 3 AFN as the social media was rife with the report of reduction in Dollar rates in Afghanistan today.

A leaflet has started to circulate across Kandahar yesterday in three languages informing the traders and local residents in Kandahar regarding the ban on the use of Pak Rupees.

The leaflet was also shared on the main Facebook page of Kandahar police chief General Abdul Raziq.

The use of Pak Rupees in Afghanistan is normal in some southern and southeastern parts of the country since the Taliban regime in mid-90s.

Afghanistan has been struggling to prevent the use of Pak Rupees in the mentioned areas during the past several years but such attempts have proven to be fruitless.

The latest attempt to start ban on Pak Rupees from Kandahar province comes as the relations between Kabul and Islamabad witnessed an all time low during the recent months.

Tensions between the two neighboring countries started to escalate following Pakistain’s move to construct a gate in Torkham located along the Durand Line which the Afghan government calls as illegitimate and unilateral move.

The Afghan and Pak forces engaged in a deadly clash in Torkham last month over the construction of the gate last month that led to the death of numerous people, including a top Mighty Pak Army major.

Posted by: Fred || 08/04/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


How the Taliban helped the Islamic State’s rise in Afghanistan
[QZ] In IS terminology, its forces in Afghanistan are known as the Khorasan Province.

The ranks are made up of dissidents, holy warriors and defectors who have been squeezed out of the more established jihadi organizations and include Paks, Afghans and assorted international krazed killers. Its ameer, Hafiz Saeed Khan, hails from Pakistain’s tribal territory of Orakzai; he previously served as a particularly ruthless commander under Pak Taliban (TTP) leader Hakeemullah Masood, and has a track record of attacks on civilian targets and mosques.

As the TTP fell into disarray after Hakeemullah was killed in a drone strike, Saeed led a contingent of his Orakzai and Afridi tribal comrades into the Khorasan Province. Abdul Raheem Moslem Dost, an Afghan veteran of the US’s detention facility at Guantanamo Bay and one of the few figures to have cultivated an image as an intellectual, also joined Khorasan Province--but he recently parted company with the group once again, publicly rejecting its policy of targeting civilians.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 08/04/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Taliban denies Helmand’s shadow governor killed in US airstrike
[LONGWARJOURNAL.ORG]
Posted by: Fred || 08/04/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Africa North
U.S. strikes easing advance against Islamic State in Sirte, says commander
[REUTERS] U.S. air strikes are easing the passage of Libyan forces as they seek to clear 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....
from the holy warrior group's former North African stronghold of Sirte, a senior field commander said on Wednesday.

Mohammed Darat said the first strikes, which took place on Monday, had helped Libyan brigades under his command secure the Dollar residential neighborhood by targeting bully boyz who had been holding out on the district's edge.

Libya's U.N.-backed government requested the strikes nearly three months into a campaign that had slowed due to heavy casualties from sniper fire, mines and mortars.

"In the last two houses in this area we faced strong resistance so we asked (the U.S.) to hit that site," said Darat, speaking from a part of Dollar captured last week. "We moved back and they struck."

A U.S. defense official said there were five strikes on Monday and two on Tuesday. The Pentagon said the first targets included two tanks, construction and military vehicles and a rocket launcher.

The strikes were carried out by armed drones from Jordan and Marine Corps AV-8B Harriers from the USS Wasp, an assault ship located in the Mediterranean Sea, the U.S. official said, adding that intelligence-gathering drone flights were being operated from Sigonella air base in Sicily.

Losing Sirte would be a huge blow for Islamic State, which took control of the city midway along Libya's Mediterranean coastline last year. The group is already under pressure from U.S.-backed campaigns in Syria and Iraq.

Posted by: Fred || 08/04/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Arabia
Saudi UN envoy decries Houthi border attacks
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] 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...
's Ambassador to the United Nations
...an idea whose time has gone...
Abdallah al-Moallimi has said that nearly 500 Saudi citizens were killed following 1700 border attacks by Houthi
...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews ...
militias.

Moallimi noted the difference between the militias and Saudi-led coalition forces, who view all areas of 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...
as civilian populated areas.

The envoy’s comments came during a Security Council meeting where it was announced that the Saudi-led Arab coalition was removed from a blacklist of those causing the deaths of hundreds of children in Yemen.

The United Nations also requested to verify the information and sources and of their recent reports, noting that Saudi Arabia continues to provide aid for Yemeni refugees as well as the provision of humanitarian assistance in all parts of Yemen.

The Saudi-led coalition includes United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar
...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates...
, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Senegal
... a nation of about 14 million on the west coast of Africa bordering Mauretania to the north, Mali to the east, and a pair of Guineas to the south, one of them Bissau. It is 90 percent Mohammedan and has more than 80 political parties. Its primary purpose seems to be absorbing refugees...
and Sudan.

Posted by: Fred || 08/04/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under: Houthis


China-Japan-Koreas
US shifting Guam CB with B-1s
Posted by: Skidmark || 08/04/2016 01:04 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Hope Guam doesn't tip over.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia || 08/04/2016 8:55 Comments || Top||

#2  A wasteland. A statue stands, toeless.
Sand swallows him up, holus-bolus.
For mourning, it's early
(the old hurly-burly?),
But somewhere a Rantburg is Joeless.
Posted by: Zenobia Floger6220 || 08/04/2016 14:23 Comments || Top||

#3  Epic!
Posted by: Betty Dingle3997 || 08/04/2016 20:20 Comments || Top||


Down Under
Anti-Islam party wins four seats in Australian National elections
[SouthAfricaToday] Anti-Islam party One Nation has won four seats in the Australian upper house – the senate – giving it an important balance-of-power position, final election results confirmed Thursday.

Four weeks after the July 2 national election, results have been finalized by the Australian Electoral Commission.

The One Nation party is lead by Pauline Hanson who was first elected to the parliament 20 years ago and who in her first speech said she believed Australia was in danger of being “swamped by Asians”.

Some of Hanson’s policies include stopping Muslim immigration, installing CCTV in mosques and schools, and banning the wearing of women’s burqa and niqab veils in public.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was re-elected with a majority of just one seat in the lower house.

Turnbull is expected to face difficulties in passing legislation through the senate because he will need support from nine of the 11 senators who are either independents or belong to small parties like One Nation.
Posted by: SAT2014 || 08/04/2016 01:24 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:


Europe
Austrian Chancellor suggests ending EU accession talks with Turkey
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern said on Wednesday that he would start a discussion among European heads of government to quit talks with The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
about joining the European Union
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
because of the country’s democratic and economic deficits.

European leaders have voiced concern over Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s crackdown on suspected dissidents after a failed coup attempt month, identifying his idea of reintroducing the death penalty in Turkey as a red line barring accession to the EU.

Kern sharpened the critical rhetoric in an interview with Austrian broadcaster ORF.

"We are all well advised to now say we’re pressing the reset button," he said, calling accession talks a "diplomatic fiction".

"We know that the democratic standards are clearly not sufficient to justify (Turkey’s) accession ... The economic question is at least just as significant because the Turkish economy is too far from the European average."

When asked whether Austria will table a proposal to stop accession talks at a European council meeting on Sept. 16, Kern said Austria would "start a discussion about this. We will ask for an alternative concept."

Posted by: Fred || 08/04/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte


French Priest’s Final Words to Islamic State Terrorists Before They Slit His Throat
[THEBLAZE] The archbishop of Rouen led a solemn funeral Mass Tuesday for an elderly priest slain a week ago by two 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....
myrmidons. During the ceremony, attendees learned the last words that the Rev. Jacques Hamel said to his murderers as he tried to push them away with his feet.

"Go away, Satan!" the 86-year-old holy man commanded before the assailants slit his throat at the altar of his parish.

Hundreds of priests and bishops filled the sumptuous Rouen cathedral alongside several hundred people, including Moslems who have joined in the grieving since the brutal attack that occurred as the priest celebrated morning Mass.

The Islamic State group grabbed credit for the attack in which Hamel, two nuns and an elderly couple were held hostage before the killers slashed the priest’s throat and seriously maimed the other man. Another nun at the Mass slipped away and sounded an alarm. Police shot to death both attackers as they left the church.

The Christian Post reported that since the murder several French Moslem leaders have refused to bury the two 19-year old radicals.

Hamel’s grisly murder came less than two weeks after 84 people were killed in an attack in Nice, La Belle France, by a man who drove a truck into a crowd of Bastille Day revelers. The events sent shockwaves throughout a country rattled by a series of violent attacks carried out by Islamic myrmidons.

Muslim group in Denmark offers to bury French priest killer

[IsraelTimes] Danish Islamic Burial Fund held funeral for jihadist who murdered Copenhagen synagogue security guard Dan Uzan last year.
Posted by: Fred || 08/04/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  Bless him. May the memory of Fr. Hamel be eternal.
Posted by: GORT || 08/04/2016 8:34 Comments || Top||

#2  "Go away Satan." A brave man in the face of evil. God rest his soul. The Pope might consider p!ssing off the Islamists by putting up Fr. Hamel for sainthood. And if he can find it in his heart, a curse on the evil-doers throughout eternity.
Posted by: JohnQC || 08/04/2016 9:35 Comments || Top||

#3  Maybe Pope Francis can send ISIS more love.
Posted by: gorb || 08/04/2016 11:23 Comments || Top||

#4  The last of his days, and the shortest,
His cassock, no shell for the tortoise.
"To quote Saint Antoine,
'You poor Devil! Begone!',
For my soul and my God are my fortress."
Posted by: Zenobia Floger6220 || 08/04/2016 15:13 Comments || Top||

#5  The Pope might consider p!ssing off the Islamists by putting up Fr. Hamel for sainthood.

This Pope? The Commie Pope? Not a chance.
Posted by: Omoluper Lumplump1424 || 08/04/2016 15:14 Comments || Top||

#6  Update from The Times of Israel:

Danish Muslim group denies offering French jihadist burial

A Danish Muslim organization on Thursday denies media reports that it had offered to bury one of the jihadists who murdered a French priest, after the group was slammed by politicians.

Jyllands-Posten, one of Denmark’s main newspapers, on Wednesday reported that the Danish Islamic Burial Fund was willing to bury 19-year-old jihadist Adel Kermiche in Denmark after Muslim leaders in France had refused to do so.

“His remarks were not on behalf of the fund,” the head of the Danish group, Bashir Ahmad Nazmi, tells AFP in an email, referring to the interview with deputy chairman Kasem Said Ahmad, whom Danish media had referred to as the group’s chairman.

The Muslim cemetery outside Copenhagen was only “for Muslims in Denmark,” the fund says in a short statement.
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/04/2016 19:11 Comments || Top||


The Grand Turk
Turkey's purge continues: Thursday August 4th
Sweden won't return people linked to failed Turkey coup

[AlAhram] Sweden won't send back failed asylum-seekers from Turkey with "reliable connections" to the attempted coup in that country, authorities said Wednesday. Swedish migration agency Migrationsverket said that "these are supporters of opposition leader Fethullah Gulen," the U.S.-based Muslim cleric that Turkey blames for the July 15 coup attempt.

Turkish police raid science council, many detained, in post-coup purge - NTV

[AlAhram] Turkish police raided the offices of the national science research council on Wednesday, broadcaster NTV said, widening the investigation into followers of the U.S.-based cleric suspected of masterminding last month's coup attempt. Many people were detained in the raid of the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (Tubitak), NTV said.

Actors suspended from City Theaters after failed coup attempt
No stone to be left unturned, though it is but a grain of sand.
[Hurriyet] The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality has initiated an operation at the City Theaters, suspending actors Sevinç Erbulak, Mahberi Mertoğlu, İrem Arslan and Arda Aydın and directors Ragıp Yavuz and Kemal Kocatürk as part of an investigation launched following the failed July 15 coup.

Turkish police seize millions of liras in Gülen raids
No point in holding a purge if it doesn't show a profit for the leadership.
[Hurriyet] Istanbul police seized millions of Turkish Liras on Aug. 3, as part of the probe into the Fethullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) in the wake of the July 15 failed coup attempt.

According to security sources who spoke on condition of anonymity, officers from anti-smuggling and organized crime units raided different addresses in a number of Istanbul districts, including Güngören, Beylikdüzü, Sarıyer and Kadıköy. During the operation, police seized 3.5 million liras ($1.16 million) in currency, 50 million liras ($16.5 million) in checks, organizational documents and a number of American one dollar bills with an F serial number, which were believed to be used to show membership in FETÖ. The money was believed to have been collected as charitable donations from the followers of Fethullah Gülen, the sources said.

At least 11 people, including a purported leading fundraiser, were also held during the raid. The suspects were accused of having links to the organization.

Gülenist prosecutor’s confession a sigh of relief for former top Turkish soldier

[Hurriyet] Former Turkish Chief of General Staff Gen. Yaşar Büyükanıt has said he was happy about the fact that a prosecutor linked to Fethullah Gülen, the alleged mastermind of the July 15 coup attempt, has confessed to putting false charges against him a decade ago in a bid to ease the rooting of the group within the military.

Turkish pilot admits to bombarding parliament during failed coup attempt

[Hurriyet] Pilot Staff Cpt. Hüseyin Türk confessed in his testimony that Brig. Hakan Evrim, the commander of the Akıncı Air Base in the capital Ankara, gave him the order to bomb Turkey’s Grand National Assembly, saying that he dropped the bomb within the given orders. He also said that Staff Lt. Col. Hakan Karakuş and Staff Maj. Mustafa Azimetli held a meeting over the bombardment plan and gave him the coordinates.

“I bombarded the Grand National Assembly of Turkey as my target with the order of my commanders,” Türk said during a cross-examination in his interrogation.

A total of 105 pilots, who were discharged from the army according to a decree law, were detained as a part of the investigation into the Fethullahist Terror Organization (FETÖ), which was responsible for the coup attempt. Five pilots were later referred to court. Türk and First Lt. Halil İbrahim G. were arrested while the other three were released on probation.

Pregnant woman attacked for ‘wearing revealing clothes, supporting coup’ in Istanbul
How long until the tumbrils rumble through the streets?
[Hurriyet] A woman working as a secretary at Turkish daily Evrensel was attacked by a group of people who accused her of “wearing revealing clothes and supporting the July 15 failed coup attempt” on Aug. 2 in Istanbul. The attackers reportedly accused Hazal Ölmez, who was six months pregnant, of supporting the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), which was behind the failed takeover.

“Why are you wearing revealing clothes? You are a coup supporter and a Gülenist,” the group reportedly yelled at Ölmez, as they also called for people nearby to join them in beating her.

“You won’t get dressed this way anymore, you will get dressed the way we want you to and you will obey us,” the group also said, according to the report.

Speaking about the incident, Ölmez said that she was walking to her home in Istanbul’s Kocamustafapaşa neighborhood when three people, two of whom were burqa-wearing women, started to attack her.

“I got out of work and I was going home on a road that I use every day. Someone suddenly pulled my hair from behind. When I turned around I saw a woman wearing a burqa and asked her the reason why she pulled my hair, but she started to attack me,” Ölmez told Evrensel, adding that she was called a “traitor” by the group.

“They called for others to attack me. They wanted to lynch me there,” she also said.

Saying that a man aged 26 or 27 showed up at the scene a couple of minutes later, Ölmez added that he threatened to attack other people living in the neighborhood.

“A couple of minutes later a man with a long beard came over and shouted, ‘There are four others in the neighborhood that we marked, their turn will come.’ Then he kicked my ankle,” she said.
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/04/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte


Home Front: Politix
Morons DHS Gives Somali Muslims Special Airport Security Tours Because They Felt Harassed And Profiled
The Obama administration gave Somali Muslims behind-the-scenes tours at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport -- the nation's 17th busiest in terms of passenger traffic -- after the group "complained to Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson about feeling harassed and profiled." Johnson has been consistently failing in his department, which is a key part of U.S. counter-terrorism efforts; and engages our worst enemies in a well-practiced strategy of stealth jihadists of a victimology subterfuge.

"The special security tours not offered to any other group" followed round-table dialogue meetings with local Somali leaders to get their feedback for "modifications to practices that would allow for operations to be more culturally sensitive."
Maybe I should convert to Islam and have everyone bend over backwards to serve me.
Culturally sensitive? At the expense of public safety? Here's a little background about the Somalian community in Minnesota:

"The FBI and Congress have launched probes into the radicalization of the Somali American community in Minnesota. Al Shabaab recruits young men in local mosques and ships them off to train and fight in Somalia. Last fall the area's largest newspaper published a story confirming that Minnesota leads the nation in the number of people who have left or sought to leave the country to fight with terrorists aligned with ISIL or ISIS."

The round-table events and airport tours were organized by Abdirizak Farah, whose salary jumped from $89,033 to $130,453 in five years.
Posted by: gorb || 08/04/2016 15:04 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:


India-Pakistan
‘650 Pakistanis fighting in conflict zones abroad’
[DAWN] As many as 650 Paks are said to be fighting in the conflict zones of Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan and Central Asian states along with different foreign organizations.

Intelligence agencies have so far identified 132 of them and expressed the fear that their return after being defeated by international forces might add to sectarian strife in Pakistain.

After receiving the information, the National Crisis Management Cell (NCMC) of the federal government has alerted law enforcement agencies to take preventive measures besides tightening security on the borders of the country, especially in Balochistan
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 08/04/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  ...And the ISI pays 6,500 mercenaries to fight in Afghanistan.
Posted by: Tennessee || 08/04/2016 9:11 Comments || Top||

#2  I would suggest that this under-represents the Pak Pashto alone by a factor of (at least) ten.
Posted by: || 08/04/2016 9:57 Comments || Top||


Pakistan's comments on Burhan Wani reflect its attachment to terrorism: VK Singh
[FIRSTPOST] Amid continued tension in Kashmir, India on Wednesday said Pakistan's recent comments glorifying Hizbul 'commander' Burhan Wani reflected its continued attachment to terrorism and its usages as an instrument of state policy.

Replying to questions relating to Indo-Pak ties in Lok Sabha, MoS External Affairs VK Singh said Pakistan putting an end to "anti-India terrorism" emanating from its soil would allow it to move forward in ties with India.

Government has taken a number of initiatives for building a normal relationship with Pakistan and for addressing all outstanding issues, he said, adding progress in probe into Pathankot attack to bring the perpetrators to justice will contribute to a conducive climate.

Singh's comments came on a day Home Minister Rajnath Singh left for Pakistan to attend the Saarc Home Ministers' conference. The Minister said India has strongly rejected all attempts by Pakistan to interfere in its internal matters.

"Government has stated that Pakistan's recent official statements of glorification and support to the terrorist, who was a 'commander' in the banned terrorist organisation Hizbul Mujahideen and carried an amount of Rs 10 lakh on his head on account of heinous crimes, including murder of elected representatives of local bodies and security forces/personnel, reflect Pakistan's continued attachment to terrorism and its usages as an instrument of state policy," Singh said.

Posted by: Fred || 08/04/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Iraq
ISIS ‘weakening’ inside Iraqi city of Mosul: Pentagon
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] ISIS fighters inside the krazed killer group’s Iraqi stronghold of djinn-infested Mosul
... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn...
are "weakening" and showing signs of frustration ahead of a battle to recapture the city, a US military official said Wednesday.

Iraqi and Kurdish forces, backed by US-led coalition trainers and air power, have for months been edging toward Mosul, Iraq’s second city and home to two million people. ISIS has controlled it since June 2014.

"We see them weakening inside Mosul," said Colonel Chris Garver, a coalition front man. "We do see some indications that morale is lower."

For instance, senior commanders are executing subordinates for "failure on the battlefield," Garver said, adding that ISIS leaders are "not happy with where they are in Mosul."

Militants, concerned that city residents are communicating with Iraqi security forces, have started cutting off internet access.

The same thing happened in Fallujah and Ramadi before each of those cities was recaptured, Garver said.

Still, he cautioned, the eventual fight for Mosul ‐ which is expected to begin in the coming months - will not be easy.

"We still anticipate that somewhere between 5,000 or so fighters are inside Mosul," Garver said. "We’re still anticipating a tough fight."
Posted by: Fred || 08/04/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  "Weakening?" More like an oxidation or rusting process.
Posted by: JohnQC || 08/04/2016 9:23 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
New underground concrete barrier to encircle Gaza, stop terror tunnels
[Ynet] The Ministry of Defense has issued tenders to several companies to build a concrete barrier extending several stories below ground to mitigate the threat of terror tunnels; the barriers will have sensors to detect digging, and will completely encircle Gazoo.

An underground barrier to defend against Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, attack tunnels is on the way following a call from the Defense Ministry for companies to bid to construct the new defensive line around the Gazoo Strip.

The closed tender has been submitted to 20 Israeli contracting companies. The first part of the defensive underground barrier will go along 10 kilometers of the Strip, with plans to extend the barrier around the entirety of the 60 kilometer border with Israel ‐ thereby completely encircling Gazoo.

The concrete barriers will extend several stories underground and will include above ground sections as well. Besides being used as a physical barrier against terror tunnels which cross into Israel, the sophisticated barrier will also be able to detect tunnel digging close to it, something which will enable the IDF to destroy these terror tunnels before they pose a threat.

Due to the sophistication of the project and the depth to which they will have to dig, Israeli contractors will require assistance from foreign corporations with experience in erecting underground barriers.

Several international companies have already refused to work with the Israeli companies due to political issues. A representative of one of these companies who even took part in a tour of the area said that his company decided at the last minute not to cooperate on the project due to political sensitivities. The ministry of defense meanwhile announced that it doesn't know of any instances of companies refusing to work with Israel due to political considerations on this manner.

Work is set to begin on these underground barriers in October 2016. The work will be divided between four Israeli companies, including Solel Boneh.

The new defensive line will cost more that NIS two billion,
...US $570 million...
and the first tenders which are to be issued will be worth several million shekels.

The barrier is supposed to end the tunnel threat once and for all, much like how Iron Dome has helped significantly reduce the number of rockets being shot by Hamas at the Israeli home front.

Other companied who have issued tenders are Rafael, Israel Aerospace Industries, Elta, and Ampers.
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/04/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Hamas

#1  Quarantine is the best thing to do until the infection subsides.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 08/04/2016 4:07 Comments || Top||

#2  I don't understand why an underground barrier is needed if Israel has underground sensors.
Posted by: lord garth || 08/04/2016 4:38 Comments || Top||

#3  An underground wall; what an interesting idea. The should call it the flailing wall.
Posted by: Airandee || 08/04/2016 6:16 Comments || Top||

#4  Shovel ready jobs?

re:#2 ditto. What's the range on those sensors?
Posted by: AlanC || 08/04/2016 8:39 Comments || Top||

#5  Why not just fill the existing above-ground wall with sea water?
Posted by: gorb || 08/04/2016 8:43 Comments || Top||

#6  Didn't Ariel Sharon propose a trench filled with sea water?
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia || 08/04/2016 8:58 Comments || Top||

#7  Won't help much with a real threat, like airborne munitions. Alternatively it will help with preventing subsidence in new settlements. Perhaps they are anticipating deflecting a tidal surge.
Posted by: Skidmark || 08/04/2016 9:36 Comments || Top||

#8  lord garth -- correct me if I'm wrong here, but didn't South Korea have the same problem twenty years ago? I thought they used sensors to eliminate infiltration.
Posted by: Sheba Guelph2415 || 08/04/2016 10:02 Comments || Top||

#9  Maybe the Paleos wouldn't believe in 'sensors', but they can understand a wall. Should cut down on tunnel attempts, save lives, reduce the carbon footprint, etc.
Posted by: Bobby || 08/04/2016 13:16 Comments || Top||

#10  The wall could hold them until the troops get there, or force them to dig even deeper to get under it. The tunnel diggers have been busy recently: Hamas is digging six miles of tunnels per month.
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/04/2016 19:04 Comments || Top||

#11  Underground tunnels are great for storing H2S. So I hear
Posted by: Silentbrick || 08/04/2016 19:25 Comments || Top||

#12  The Egyptian barrier has had little effect.

I suspect this is mis-information, intended to get the Paleos to dig deeper and more likely to collapse tunnels.
Posted by: phil_b || 08/04/2016 21:05 Comments || Top||


Saudi visit to Israel angers Hamas
[al-Monitor] Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, has called on 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...
to prevent the normalization of relations with Israel. The appeal, which went up on Hamas' website July 31, raised eyebrows among those who understand Hamas' complicated situation and the importance of tightening relations with Saudi Arabia. The leaders of the movement, who only a year ago thanked Allah for their honorable reception at the palace of the Saudi king, now dare to rebuke the king for his relations with Israel?

Relations between Hamas and Saudi Arabia grew tighter in the past year following the nuclear agreement between six world powers and Tehran. Saudi King Salman
...either the largest species of Pacific salmon or the current Sheikh of the Burnin' Sands, Cutodian of the Two Holy Mosquesand Lord of Most of the Arabians....
bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, who succeeded his father, then decided on a surprising strategic move and invited the leaders of Hamas, who were then persona non grata in Riyadh, to a meeting at his palace. From the king's standpoint, tightened relations with Hamas -- after long years of hostility for its support by Tehran -- would enable the Saudis to get closer to the Sunni nations and allow it direct influence on the movement controlling Gazoo. Saudi Arabia already has a close relationship with the Paleostinian Authority, headed by President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas
... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial...
"This is Saudi Arabia's diplomatic path: to bring close any faction, movement, organization or state in the Arab world to distance them as much as possible from Tehran," one of the leaders of the Fatah movement in the West Bank told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity. According to him, the Saudi king has no interest in a foothold in the Paleostinian territories, but through monetary aid amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars to Gazoo and Ramallah, the Saudis hope to be able to serve as a fair and influential moderator in the Arab-Israeli conflict and that one day the two sides will be receptive to the 2002 Saudi initiative for resolving the conflict -- the Arab Peace Initiative, which is still on the table.

In recent years, Hamas has lost most of the sponsors that have helped it function and hold on to its rule in the Gazoo Strip by force. After the bitter disappointment in Qatar
...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates...
, which did not keep its extravagant promises to Hamas after the crisis with Iran, Hamas leaders discovered that even Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him...
is unreliable. The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
’s reconciliation agreement in June with Israel did not bring about the lifting of the siege on Gazoo, despite the promises made.
Posted by: Fred || 08/04/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Hamas


Southeast Asia
Jakarta proposes 3-nation land ops against Abu Sayyaf
[STRAITSTIMES] Indonesia has proposed joint security operations on land with Malaysia and the Philippines to pursue holy warriors who have taken Indonesian and Malaysian sailors hostage.

The Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, Mr Wiranto, yesterday said such joint land operations will complement the joint sea patrols the three countries have agreed to in their effort to tackle piracy and prevent other hostage-taking incidents.

Philippine-based Abu Sayyaf
...also known as al-Harakat al-Islamiyya, an Islamist terror group based in Jolo, Basilan and Zamboanga. Since its inception in the early 1990s, the group has carried out bombings, kidnappings, murders, head choppings, and extortion in their uniquely Islamic attempt to set up an independent Moslem province in the Philippines. Abu Sayyaf forces probably number less than 300 cadres. The group is closely allied with remnants of Indonesia's Jemaah Islamiya and has loose ties with MILF and MNLF who sometimes provide cannon fodder...
holy warriors are behind a rash of kidnappings of Indonesian and Malaysian sailors in the seas between the southern Philippines, Malaysia's north-east Sabah state and Indonesia's Kalimantan and northern Sulawesi island.

"(The bad boys) launched their attacks at sea before bringing their hostages to land. What will happen if we don't have cooperation on the ground?" said Mr Wiranto, a former general, on Tuesday.

Mr Wiranto - who was appointed to his post last week - said he had raised the idea to Defence Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu, who conveyed it to his Malaysian and Philippine counterparts at their trilateral defence ministers' meeting on maritime security in Bali, which ended on Tuesday.

Mr Wiranto admitted it would not be easy to carry out joint security operations on land as this would intrude on the Philippines' jurisdiction. But he said an agreement should be concluded first to ensure the "harmonious and well-coordinated implementation" of joint operations.

Posted by: Fred || 08/04/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Abu Sayyaf


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
US sent plane with $400 million in cash to Iran
[CNN] The B.O. regime secretly arranged a plane delivery of $400 million in cash on the same day Iran released four American prisoners and formally implemented the nuclear deal, US officials confirmed Wednesday.

President Barack Obama
It’s very rare that I come to an event where I’m like the fifth- or sixth-most interesting person....
approved the $400 million transfer, which he had announced in January as part of the Iran nuclear deal. The money was flown into Iran on wooden pallets stacked with Swiss francs, euros and other currencies as the first installment of a $1.7 billion settlement resolving claims at an international tribunal at The Hague over a failed arms deal under the time of the Shah.

A fifth American man was released by Iran separately.

The $400 million payment laundered via untraceable Swiss and Euro currency was sent to an acknowledged state sponsor of international terrorism, by persons unknown, under the objection of the DoJ (due to obvious illegalities), via an unmarked jet in the middle of the night, without the knowledge of Congress.

This funding transfer just happened to coincide with a sensitive, ongoing Obama administration nuclear deal and culminates a 37 year old financial transaction involving weapons transfers, and provides the U.S. taxpayer a significant financial savings over previous unspecified financial arrangements.

Did I mention the Swiss franks and Euros will go to a state sponsor of international terrorism and primary funding agent of Hezbollah, Hamas, the PLO, and Iraqi Shia terrorist groups ?

Why would anyone doubt the "there's no there there" response given by Admiral (Ret) John F. Kirby ? [sarc off]
Posted by: Fred || 08/04/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  Jeeze, we couldn't have put a check in the mail?
Posted by: Bobby || 08/04/2016 8:10 Comments || Top||

#2  From where, pray tell, did they procure said unmarked aircraft?
Posted by: Vast Right Wing Conspiracy || 08/04/2016 8:42 Comments || Top||

#3  Thought they would have at least run this money through the Clinton Foundation and labeled it "money for the children of Iran and the new baby milk factory."
Posted by: JohnQC || 08/04/2016 9:21 Comments || Top||

#4  $400M in Euros will fund a lot of missions in Europe. Merkel and the rest get what they deserve with their globalist multicultural ridiculous leadership.
Posted by: 49 Pan || 08/04/2016 10:12 Comments || Top||

#5  State Dept Claims Claims $400 Million Ransom Payment To Iran A “Benefit” For U.S. Taxpayers

Mr. Obama must like his Kirby.

Posted by: Vast Right Wing Conspiracy || 08/04/2016 10:18 Comments || Top||

#6  Geez, the Demicrits spent almost ten years trying to hang some kind of Iran Contra thing on Reagan and never found anything more interesting than Oliver North.

This makes all of those "hidden conspiracies" of the Reagan years look like chump change...and it won't make it above the fold on the WaPo fish wrap as they have to reserve that to bash Trump for everything from eating KFC with a fork to breathing oxygen
Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom || 08/04/2016 10:28 Comments || Top||

#7  #6 Geez, the Demicrits spent almost ten years trying to hang some kind of Iran Contra thing on Reagan

All I can say is that they are 2-faced hypocritical lying Cs'n, MF'n, SOB'n weasels. Strike weasels--I don't want to give them a bad name.
Posted by: JohnQC || 08/04/2016 10:34 Comments || Top||

#8  Obama is a liar. Textbook definition of materiel support to terrorism...um, disguised as a ransom payment...um, rationalized as a business settlement that "actually saved us money!

"US officials conceded that the Iranian negotiators involved in the prisoner exchange said they wanted the cash to coincide with the release of the Americans to prove a deliverable for the exchange" "It's not surprising that Iran would want to call this a ransom for domestic political reasons."
Posted by: Tennessee || 08/04/2016 10:44 Comments || Top||

#9 
Posted by: Vast Right Wing Conspiracy || 08/04/2016 10:52 Comments || Top||

#10  From where, pray tell, did they procure said unmarked aircraft?

They probably have a whole fleet of them to service the Mexican drug cartels.
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 08/04/2016 11:32 Comments || Top||


Hezbollah sees no immediate end to Syria war, partition in Iraq and Syria a possible outcome
[REUTERS] Leb’s Hezbollah said the partition of Iraq and Syria was a possible outcome of sectarian fighting across the region and there was no prospect of any end to the war in Syria until after November's U.S. presidential election.

Sheikh Naim Qassem
... the Grand Vizier of the Hezbullies...
, deputy leader of the Iran-backed group, whose forces are fighting alongside Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 08/04/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under: Hezbollah

#1  Not while the money keeps flowing.
Arms from Libyan warehouse, $400m from Iran.
Why would they stop?
Posted by: Skidmark || 08/04/2016 10:08 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
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Thu 2016-08-04
  Islamic State Names New Leader of Boko Haram
Wed 2016-08-03
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  Bangla:9 'militants' killed in Kalyanpur joint drive, 2 in custody
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Sat 2016-07-30
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Fri 2016-07-29
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Thu 2016-07-28
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Wed 2016-07-27
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