Officials said Wednesday that British troops fired 46 million rounds of ammunition at the Taliban during eight years of combat in Afghanistan.
The bullets and artillery shells used cost the taxpayer a total of nearly £200 million ($300 million USD).
Sources on condition of anonymity have told TOLOnews that the Afghan security forces have meanwhile fired 9.6 million rounds of ammunition at Taliban militants in three months in Helmand.
"I shot 9.6 million bullets in the air
they came to ground I know not where... but at least seven hit their targets."
In a leaked document it states that up to three tons of weapons and equipment was also sold off by security forces.
"Now the Taliban have the same equipment which is available to security forces, Taliban get a lot by using this equipment and weapons. Because weapons available to government forces are not used properly, sometimes this equipment is exploited for corruption," said MP Abdul Hai Akhondzada.
Meanwhile, UN officials have pushed for an investigation into the issue to detect corrupt elements and convict them.
"I am not an expert in the war, if people are corrupt, they need to be investigated after detection by the bodies under the constitution and they need to be prosecuted," said Michael Hartmann, Chief of the Rule-of-Law Unit of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) .
"If you spread nine million bullets on the ground, it covers the whole of Helmand, government forces' reporting is nothing except an exaggeration, this indicates that they have reported on their embezzlement," said military analyst Atiqullah Amarkhail.
Ministry of interior and ministry of defense have confirmed that a high volume of bullets were fired in the Helmand war, but vows to probe the reports.
"When there is movement of the enemy, firing occurs, because when you have weapons in hand, you must use it for the sake of your country and we are doing this," said Mohammad Radmanish, deputy spokesman to MoD.
"We are prepared to take actions against the misuse of police assets in Helmand," said Sediq Sediqqi, spokesman to ministry of interior, referring the reports.
The new development takes place just weeks after the residents in Helmand criticized the lack of good governance in parts of the province, declaring the issue the main reason behind the rising threats.
#2
Meanwhile, UN officials have pushed for an investigation into the issue to detect corrupt elementsand convict them so they could take over the racket and rake in the money themselves.
Afghanistan's National Journalists Union (ANJU) Wednesday pushed for more steps to be taken by the Afghan government to ensure the security of local media outlets and journalists in Helmand province, a Taliban heartland in southern Afghanistan.
Helmand has been the scene of fierce battles in the past few weeks between security forces and the Taliban.
According to the union, journalists and media in the province have come under serious threat amid a fresh wave of violence and battles between security forces and Taliban.
Local and international journalists are reporting on the situation in Helmand under serious threats and their problems need to be addressed by the government, the journalist union said in a statement on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, a number of journalists reporting from the volatile region have reaffirmed their commitment to continue their journalistic mission, asking for robust action by the government to ensure their safety.
"We urge national and international organizations defending freedom of press to help us in providing security for journalists and media groups working in Helmand," the statement read.
It is said that the Taliban insurgents, by focusing their insurgency in Helmand, want to keep their influence in their traditional stronghold in the south in a bid to secure their finances through drug smuggling.
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Afghan forces, backed by the United States, have killed an estimated 300 ISIS fighters in an operation mounted two weeks ago, the top US and NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the cut of the American pants... commander in Afghanistan said on Wednesday, calling it a severe blow to the group.
General John Nicholson said the offensive in the eastern province of 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.. was part of US operations to degrade the capabilities of ISIS wherever it raised its head, whether in Iraq and Syria or in Afghanistan.
The group, believed to be confined to three or four of the more than 400 districts in Afghanistan, last month grabbed credit for bombing a demonstration by the Shiite Hazara minority in the capital, 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.... , in which at least 80 people were killed.
Nicholson, in New Delhi for talks with the Indian military which has provided training and some arms to Afghanistan, said Afghan forces supported by the United States had just carried out a counter-terrorism operation against ISIS.
"They killed a number of top leaders of the organization and up to 300 of their fighters," he told news hounds.
"Obviously it’s difficult to get an exact count, but what this amounts to is about 25 percent of the organization at least, and so this represents a severe setback for them."
ISIS first appeared in Afghanistan at the beginning of 2015, and had about 3,000 fighters at the height of the movement, many of them former members of myrmidon groups such as the Pak Taliban and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/11/2016 00:00 ||
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[Khaama (Afghanistan)] A prominent Pak politician and former politician Afrasiab Khattak has said the Pak security establishment’s support to the Afghan Taliban is an open secret as he joined several other politicians and critics in slamming the slamming the security establishments of the country for their ’good’ and ’bad’ bandidosDeath Eaters approach.
The remarks by Khattak came after a deadly attack on a hospital in Quetta city, the picturesque provincial capital of Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... province of Pakistain.
Critics accusde Pakistain’s powerful security institutions of aiding and protecting the "good" snuffies -- those who launch attacks in India and Afghanistan -- while going after the "bad" bandidosDeath Eaters whose attacks have killed more than 60,000 civilians and soldiers since 2004.
"It is also public knowledge that non-state actors find no obstacles to their agenda," Khattak was quoted as saying in a report by Gandhara/RFERL.
He said "Proscribed organizations not only indulge in public activities but also give themselves the right to determine Pakistain’s regional policy," he said.
Khattak, a longtime critic of Islamabad’s support for hard-line Islamist groups, said he sees no benefit to the current approach. "Our country is at daggers drawn with three out of four neighbors and faces growing international isolation," he concluded.
Another politician, Maulana Muhammad Khan Sherani, said "Does the security establishment exist to protect Pakistain, or does Pakistain exist to [perpetuate] the security establishment?"
"We deserve to know the truth. Powers within this country are backing the terrorists. These people attacking us are from among us," he told the National Assembly or lower house of Pak Parliament, where he represents Balochistan.
Sherani rejected claims by a senior Balochistan official that India’s main foreign intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), orchestrated the attack. Barely an hour after the attack on August 8, Balochistan’s most senior elected official, Chief Minister Sanaullah Zehri, blamed RAW for the attack. Pak officials frequently blame its regional archrival for the country’s domestic security woes.
"There is no RAW in Balochistan," Sherani told politicians. "They are the same people we nurtured," he said, referring to Pakistain’s decade-old support for Afghan Death Eaters and Islamist factions often blamed for launching attacks in India.
"Blaming RAW for everything will not work," politician Mahmood Khan Achakzai told the Pak National Assembly in an impassioned speech on August 9. "Our [intelligence] agencies can find a needle in a haystack, and now they should also do this [unmasking the perpetrators of the Quetta attack]."
Achakzai’s Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party is part of the provincial administration in Balochistan, yet he has consistently criticized the alleged covert support Pak intelligence services extend to factions of the Afghan Taliban and Salafist factions such as Lashkar-e Taiba, which New Delhi and Western government blame for attacks in India.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/11/2016 00:00 ||
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[Libya Herald] In a fresh joint statement expressing their concern about rising tensions in the eastern oil terminal of Zueitina, the governments of La Belle France, Italia, Spain, the UK and the US have said that all the facilities there must be transferred "unconditionally and without preconditions or delay" back to the what they said were the "legitimate national authorities recognized as such by UN Security Council Resolution 2259".
This is deemed to the National Oil Corporation (NOC) headquartered in Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... and headed by Mustafa Sanalla, although the Presidency Council has not formally named him as the organizations’s chairman.
There were fears that there would be fighting over the terminal this week after a 150-man-strong Libyan national Army (LNA) unit moved to just 10 kilometres away from the terminal. It is currently guarded by Petroleum Facilities Guards loyal to Ibrahim Jadhran, an inveterate foe of LNA leader General Khalifa Hafter.
Calling on all parties to refrain from hostilities and avoid any action that could damage or disrupt Libya’s energy infrastructure, the five governments noted that restoring oil exports was vital to providing the income needed to deliver essential services such as electricity, healthcare and infrastructure.
"It is in the interests of all Libyans that they fully support the efforts led by the GNA to provide these key services to the Libyan people," a statement read.
The western allies also insisted that the Government of National Accord work with the NOC to restore oil production.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/11/2016 00:00 ||
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[Libya Observer] The defense minister-designate of the UN-proposed government, Mihdi Al-Barghathi, ordered to move the Brigade 204 Tanks from the command of Khalifa Haftar ... served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all... ’s Dignity Operation to the command of the Defense Ministry of the UN-proposed government.
The Brigade 204 Tanks has been therefore tasked to secure the office of defense ministry in Benghazi and be ready to follow its orders, Al-Barghathi’s order, which was issued Tuesday, reads.
It is noteworthy that Brigade 204 Tanks was fighting alongside Haftar’s militias in Benghazi under the command of Al-Barghathi.
This decision follows Hafatr’s order to rename the Brigade 204 Tanks to Brigade 298 Tanks and to move it to the command of Benghazi Military Zone with a new commander, Abdel Kareem Al-Barghathi, instead of Mihdi Al-Barghathi.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/11/2016 00:00 ||
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#1
Note: this law is already in force in Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania and now the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) where the capital is and national Parliament.
This affects news reporting specifically any news on Islamist theocrat terrorism will be censored so as not to offend or vilify the "muslim community" by which they mean Islamist theocrats (the people who are killing both secular Muslims and non-Muslims alike)
This is the sharia demand of the 57 nations of the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation that has been pushed at the UN for the last 20 years persistently
this is the sharia demand of the Charlie Hebdo murderers.
They have ruled now that criticism of Islam is "hate speech" which is illegal and anybody can be dragged through the courts
whether innocent or guilty the process is the punishment, resulting in financial ruin as people would have to stump up hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees and fight drawn out cases spanning 3 to 4 years.
#2
also law would ban vilification of Jews and Christians
so when the Koran says (thrice) that Jews are descendants of Apes and Pigs, how is that not vilification
and when the Koran says (of Christians) that their declaration of the messiah as the son of God is blasphemy, how is that not vilification
Posted by: lord garth ||
08/11/2016 21:28 Comments ||
Top||
#3
It isn't vilification if the law is not enforced.
Now if I say mo wears underpants on his head and a goat for underpants, and I am arrested, what I expressed is vilification.
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[EXPRESS.CO.UK] The Turkish president slammed the West saying leaders had "not done enough" to offer support to Ankara following the coup which left 294 people dead. He said: "We are struggling against a coup attempt, against terrorists. The Western world must understand what we are dealing with." How is that Obama threat working out so far ?
Turkish media has also accused Obama’s administration of being behind the coup attempt, even claiming a Washington think tank played a part.
But State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau described Erdogan's comments as "inflammatory rhetoric" that is "absolutely not helpful".
She told Politico: "We’re very focused on lowering the temperature.
"We understand that this was a serious situation, but at the same time the rhetoric doesn’t help advance the situation."
Erdogan has also expressed his fury that US Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State... had not visited the country following the failed coup on July 15. Speaking after hearing Kerry would visit the country this month, the Turkish president said: "It is late, too late.
"This makes us sad. What more do Americans need? Their strategic ally is facing a coup and it takes them 45 days before sending anyone over? This is shocking."
The warning comes as the Turkish president continues to fall out with EU leaders over Ankara's possible reintroduction of the death penalty. Erdogan said: "If the nation makes such a decision, I believe political parties will abide by this decision."
This has led to EU bosses claiming The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... will not be given access to the bloc if it introduces capital punishment.
[AnNahar] A Turkish rear admiral on a NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions... assignment in the U.S. has sought asylum in the country after Ankara sought his detention following the failed July 15 coup, state-run media said Wednesday.
Turkish authorities have ousted thousands of military personnel including nearly half its generals and admirals since a rogue military faction tried to oust President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him... from power.
Rear Admiral Mustafa Zeki Ugurlu is the subject of a detention order in The Sick Man of Europe Turkey and has been expelled from the armed forces, the Anadolu news agency reported.
He has requested asylum from U.S. authorities, it added, without giving its source. He had been stationed at NATO's Allied Command Transformation in Norfolk, Virginia, the news agency said.
Ugurlu had not been heard from since July 22 when he left the base, Anadolu said. Izmir's chief prosecutor Okan Bato told Anadolu he was not able to get a statement from Ugurlu after seeking the prosecution of two admirals from the chief of staff.
NATO said on Wednesday that Turkey's membership of the military alliance was "not in question", despite the tumult in the country.
Not at the moment, at least. The future remains opaque.
Anadolu did not say whether the United States had accepted Ugurlu's claim, believed to be the first of its kind since July 15, which comes at a time of strained relations between Washington and Ankara.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/11/2016 00:00 ||
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#1
"We understand that this was a serious situation, but at the same time the rhetoric doesn’t help advance the situation."
[DAWN] LAHORE: The management of the PakTurk Schools has removed the Turkish principals of 28 schools and colleges of the chain besides dissolving the board of directors (BoD) having representation of Turkish nationals.
The drastic change is being seen to thwart the likely handing over of the control of the school system to any organization by the government.
A source in the federal government told Dawn that the Turkish government had suggested handing over of the chain to an international NGO having links with the Erdogan administration.
The Turkish nationals, earlier serving on administrative posts, will now work as teachers, according to a bigwig of the schools system and familiar with the developments.
PakTurk schools are no more registered under the international NGO (PakTurk International Education Foundation). They will work under a locally-registered PakTurk Education Foundation.
The official said a new six-member BoD with complete local representation had been formed to run the affairs of the schools.
Last week, Pakistain had promised The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... ’s visiting Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu that it would investigate the network of schools Ankara wanted shut for its alleged links with the US-based holy man, Fethullah Gulen ... a Turkish preacher living in Pennsylvania whom the current govt of Turkey considers responsible for all the ills afflicting Turkey and possibly the entire world... , it blames for last month’s coup attempt.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/11/2016 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan ...Currently the Interior Minister of Pakistain. He is the senior leader of the Pak Moslem League (N) and a close aide to Nawaz Uncle Fester Sharif. He is noted for his vocal anti-American railing in the National Assembly. However (comma) Khan told the U.S. ambassador that he was in fact pro-American but he and the PML-N would have to be critical of US actions in order to remain publicly credible. Khan cited his wife and children's US citizenship as proof, which means he's lying to one side or the other and probably both. He wears a wig, but you probably guessed that. since hair doesn't grow naturally in that shape or texture... took to the floor to enlighten the house on some key issues discussed in high-level huddles after the Quetta attack.
Nisar said while most political parties were against the introduction of harsh laws, stricter laws were needed to reign in those "who do not ascribe to any religion or law".
Without naming anyone, the interior minister also voiced his displeasure over Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai's address in the house a day ago, in which he demanded that the prime minister sack officers from the security and intelligence agencies if they fail to trace out elements involved in the deadly Quetta attack.
The PkMAP chief had termed the Quetta attack an intelligence failure and had demanded to fix the responsibility of the blast in a debate held on the subject in the National Assembly.
Nisar termed the use of "such words and remarks for intelligence agencies and armed forces as condescending".
"Is it not my duty as a Pak to stand with our armed forces?" questioned Nisar, adding that giving such a statements at a critical juncture was "unacceptable".
"Instead of criticising Pak security agencies, RAW ... India's Research and Analysis Wing, Pakistain's equivalent of the Boogie Man... and NDS should be condemned".
Posted by: Fred ||
08/11/2016 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... on Wednesday said Pakistain's intelligence agencies are working day and night to defeat designs of the country's enemies.
Addressing the National Assembly two days after the carnage at Quetta Civil Hospital, the premier said Pakistain's military and politicianship are on the same page to eradicate the menace of terrorism.
Nawaz said the mindset behind the Quetta attack was the same one that had targeted Paks in numerous terrorist attacks in the past.
"This incident [Quetta attack] was properly planned," said the PM, adding that "such a mindset does not want peace in the country, especially in Balochistan." ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... "We will put to rest all these challenges."
The premier went on to say that Operation Zarb-e-Azb ..the Pak offensive against Qaeda in Pakistain and the Pak Taliban in North Wazoo. The name refers to the sword of the Prophet (PTUI!)... is a unanimous national agenda that will be completed at all costs.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/11/2016 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
[DAWN] At least 70 people were killed and over 100 others maimed in a suicide kaboom on Monday at the emergency ward of Quetta’s Civil Hospital, where scores of people had gathered to mourn the death of Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... Bar Association (BBA) president Bilal Anwar Kasi in a gun attack earlier in the day.
The Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a splinter group of the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain, grabbed credit for the assassination'>assassination of Advocate Kasi and the subsequent blast.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
08/11/2016 00:00 ||
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#1
as the lawyers use civil law instead of strictly using Sharia, they are, per the Taliban, guilty of perverting justice --
I'm not sure what the lawyers could do in response.
Posted by: lord garth ||
08/11/2016 17:36 Comments ||
Top||
[DAWN] Top military commanders believe that the terrorist threat is transforming because of a growing nexus between hostile actors in the neighbourhood and ’controllers’ within the country.
At a corps commanders’ conference held at the General Headquarters on Tuesday, the generals reviewed the threat perception and discussed measures for countering the imminent security challenges.
"Participants of the conference were given detailed briefings on ongoing military operations and overall external and internal security situation in the country with particular reference to counterterrorism domain," the ISPR said in a statement.
The meeting, a monthly feature, gained added significance because of the terrorist attack in Quetta a day earlier, which left at least 70 people dead, and an upcoming high-level security meeting that is expected to take important decisions with regards to future direction of counterterrorism operations.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/11/2016 00:00 ||
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[ARA News] MANBIJ – Coalition Commander Army Lt. Gen. Sean McFarland said on Wednesday that soon ISIS will be finished in the Syrian border city of Manbij, and that this will set the stage for taking Raqqa [the de facto capital of the Islamic State], reported the official website of the US Department of Defence.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) made progress by pushing out ISIS from Shaddadi, Hasakah, and Tishreen. “And soon [the SDF] will finish the fight in the important city of Manbij,” he said.
Retaking Manbij will set the stage for the eventual attack to seize Raqqa,according to McFarland, who stressed that retaking ISIS-controlled Raqqa will “mark the beginning of the end for [ISIS] in Syria.”
“During these operations, [US-led] coalition aircraft have conducted about 50,000 sorties against [ISIS] in the past year,” he said. “During those sorties we’ve dropped more than 30,000 munitions on the enemy with approximately two-thirds of those in Iraq and about one-third in Syria. Our artillery has conducted more than 700 fire missions.”
The American commander estimated that in the past 11 months, 25,000 ISIS fighters have been killed, added to the 20,000 estimated killed prior to his arrival.
Nevertheless, McFarland said that a territorial defeat of ISIS will not be the end of the group.
“Military success in Iraq and Syria will not necessarily mean the end of [ISIS],” he said. “We can expect the enemy to adapt, to morph into a true insurgent force and terrorist organization capable of horrific attacks like the one here on July 3 in Baghdad and those others we’ve seen around the world.”
Speaking to ARA News, Ziyad Sinjar (31), a former prisoner of ISIS, said that the radical group “will not be finished soon”.
“They might be finished in Raqqa and in Syria, but their ideology not, and they will go to other countries,” he said.
He spent more than six months in ISIS prisons in al-Bab, Manbij, and Aleppo.
“They will travel to other countries in the Middle East and Africa. They have their ideology spread among children and they can carry weapons,” he added.
Posted by: badanov ||
08/11/2016 00:00 ||
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[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] Russia said on Wednesday there would be daily three-hour ceasefires in Syria's Aleppo starting Thursday to allow humanitarian convoys to enter the city safely, a proposal which the United Nations ...boodling on the grand scale... said it would consider.
Aleppo is split into rebel- and government-held . The rebel-held east, where about 250,000 people are thought to be living, came under siege in early July after government forces cut the Castello Road, the main supply route into the district.
On Friday rebels staged a major assault southwest of Aleppo to break through this siege. Fighters did manage to pierce the ring of government-controlled territory, but a safe corridor for civilians and aid has not yet been established as fierce fighting continues.
Speaking at a televised briefing, Lieutenant-General Sergei Rudskoi, a senior Russian Defense Ministry official, said the pause in fighting would run from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. local time.
Rudskoi said the question of joint control over delivery of humanitarian aid via Castello Road was being discussed with the United Nations and the United States.
He said "all military action, air and artillery strikes" would be halted for the three-hour periods.
"This is to ensure that all interested organizations have the opportunity to deliver their humanitarian assistance to the residents of Aleppo," Rudskoi said.
He added that Russia, an ally of Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Horror of Homs... against rebels in Syria's five-year-old civil war, would work with Damascus to ensure safe delivery of the aid.
A front man for a major rebel group fighting inside Aleppo told Rooters it was skeptical of the Russian plan.
"Is this publicity that Russia is a neutral party? What is three hours? In those three hours they will just be bombing (rebel-held) Idlib!" said Abd al-Salaam Abd al-Razzaq, military front man for the Nour al Din al-Zinki Death Eater group.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/11/2016 00:00 ||
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] About 45,000 bandidosholy warriors have been killed in Iraq and Syria since the US-led operation to defeat the ISIS group began two years ago, a top general said Wednesday.
"We estimate that over the past 11 months, we’ve killed about 25,000 enemy fighters. When you add that to the 20,000 estimated killed (previously), that’s 45,000 enemy (fighters) taken off the battlefield," said Lieutenant General Sean MacFarland, who commands the US-led coalition campaign against ISIS.
MacFarland said estimates for the overall remaining strength of ISIS vary from about 15,000 to 30,000 but said the jihadists are having increasing difficulties replenishing their ranks.
"The number of fighters on the front line has diminished. They’ve diminished not only in quantity but also in quality -- we don’t see them operating nearly as effectively as they have in the past, which makes them even easier targets for us," MacFarland told Pentagon news hounds from Baghdad via a video call.
"As a result their attrition has accelerated here of late," he added.
Officials also estimate ISIS has lost 25,000 square kilometers (9,650 square miles) of the territory it once held in Iraq and Syria, or about 50 percent and 20 percent respectively in each country.
The US-led military effort against ISIS started exactly two years ago, aimed at halting the bandidosholy warriors as they swept across Iraq and Syria.
MacFarland was upbeat about the eventual recapture of djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... in Iraq and Raqa in Syria, saying it would herald the "beginning of the end" of the campaign.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/11/2016 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[AnNahar] A Turkish rear admiral on a 
Currently the Interior Minister of Pakistain. He is the senior leader of the Pak Moslem League (N) and a close aide to Nawaz 
[DAWN] Top military commanders believe that the terrorist threat is transforming because of a growing nexus between hostile actors in the neighbourhood and ’
