Badakhshan officials said on Tuesday that Taliban has seized security forces' equipment and weapons in the province and are now using these against government troops.
Badakhshan provincial governor said that in the past year, the Taliban has managed to seize the equipment, including light and heavy weapons as well as armored vehicles – which has become an increasing problem for security forces.
"In 2015 a number of Afghan forces' armored vehicles were seized by the enemy in Wardoj, Jurm and Yamgan valley and there is no doubt that those vehicles need to be destroyed so that they cannot be used against them (troops)," said Faisal Bigzad, the provincial governor.
Bigzad has urged foreign forces to help them destroy this equipment.
"We have asked the ministry of defense and Resolute Support to destroy these vehicles," Bigzad said.
Meanwhile former Afghan spy chief Rahmatullah Nabi said that just in the past two months more than 200 vehicles belonging to the Afghan security forces have been seized by the Taliban.
"We lost 200 Humvees and Rangers in two or three months as the result of incompetence. Imagine what has happened to the people in those two or three months," said Nabil.
Meanwhile Badakhshan civil society activists welcomed the governor's call for the destruction of equipment.
"When government takes a resolute decision and especially when NATO gets involved, I am sure the strongholds that the Taliban has built will not be strong enough to destroy," said Shir Ali Qasimi, a civil society activist.
Currently, the Taliban controls much of Wardoj and Yamgan districts and are widely active in eleven other districts in the province.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The provincial police chief of southern Kandahar General Abdul Raziq has said he will not return to Kandahar until Tarinkot city is fully cleared of Taliban turbans.
Tarinkot city is the placid provincial capital of southern Uruzgan province which witnessed heavy festivities last week as the Taliban Death Eaters launched a coordinated to capture its control.
According to reports, sporadic festivities still continue in parts of Tarinkot city despite the local officials said the Taliban Death Eaters were pushed out of the city.
The growing threats by the Taliban Death Eaters to capture the city forced Gen. Raziq to visit Tarinkot and join the Afghan forces in the front line to coordinate counter attacks.
Gen. Raziq is one of the prominent security officials of the country and rose to prominence after 2001 when he was serving as the police chief of Spin Boldak district with his activities prompting dread among the Taliban fighters.
He has imposed an uneasy peace in Kandahar province which was the birth place of the Taliban group.
Being a prized target for the Taliban group, Gen. Raziq ordered the Afghan forces earlier in August last year to execute Taliban detainees who are incarcerated Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages! during the military operations.
Gen. Raziq has escaped a number of coordinated attacks planned by Taliban to assassinate him. He was slightly injured following a suicide kaboom nearly three years ago, while Talibs launched coordinated attack on his family home in Spin Boldak district back in July last year.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/14/2016 00:00 ||
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[BELLANAIJA] This is contained in a statement issued by Army front man, Colonel Sani Usman in Abuja on Monday.
Usman said thejacket wallah'> exploding trollop female suicide bomber was killed while two soldiers and a civilian were maimed in the incident.
He said the incident occurred on Sunday evening near the Kara cattle market in Dikwa.
The front man said:
On Sunday 11th September 2016, evening, a suspectedexploding trollop female suicide bomber was seen approaching troops check point located at Kara Cattle market axis, towards Antul and Mukdala, Dikwa Local Government Area, Borno.
She was challenged from afar by the vigilant duty sentry, she refused to stop claiming to be coming from Monguno to see her parents in Dikwa.
Troops sensing the direction of approach, was suspicious and abnormal, fired a shot at her and the gallant sentry was proven right.
She was carrying an bomb which went kaboom!, killing her instantly and causing minor injury on two soldiers and a Civilian JTF assisting them.
Usman said the injured soldiers and the civilian were treated and have since continued with their duties.
He said the incident had shown that a few of the remaining turbans were determined to carry out criminal acts to create panic and insecurity in some areas.
Usman added that there was reliable information that remnants of the 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... forces of Evil now disguised as mad men or women in order to gain access to some locations, especially in Maiduguri.
"Consequently, all should be very wary of any seemingly mentally unstable or mad men or women found wandering and report same. Therefore, it is imperative for all to be more security conscious and vigilant, especially during the Eid festivities and public holidays," Usman added.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/14/2016 00:00 ||
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[RUDAW.NET] Hamed Kamal Muhammad bin Haydara disappeared into the labyrinth of Yemen’s National Security Bureau three years ago. His crime: being a Baha’i. His wife says the last time she called him and spoke to him was in December 2013.
Since his disappearance, Haydara has been accused of "apostasy", "insulting Islam", and calling on Moslems to "embrace the Baha’i religion".
New York-based Human Rights Watch ... During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2011, HRW received a pledge from the Foundation to Promote Open Society, of which George Soros is Chairman, for general support totaling $100,000,000. The grant is being paid in installments of $10,000,000 over ten years.Through June 30, 2013, HRW had received $30,000,000 towards the fulfillment of the pledge.... says that the prosecution in Haydara’s trial has asked for the death penalty for him. It says that. "Most of the charges against Haydara relate to his practice of the Baha’i faith."
Yemeni authorities allege that Haydara is an Iranian citizen who entered the country in 1991 under a false name while working for Israel.
"We reject this accusation" his wife, Elham Muhammad Hossain Zara’i, told Rudaw.
"We have lived in Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic... for decades. The father of my husband was the first doctor on Socotra island. His name is Dr. Kamal. But they always link us to that issue (of Israel) because the Baha’i administration body is in Israel, and our holy site is based in Israel. That is why they link us to the state of Israel."
Haifa, in present-day Israel, has been the Baha’i faith’s administrative headquarters since Ottoman Rule in 17 century.
The writer is confused about how one numbers centuries from the year of the date. Since the Bab was born in 1819 and was executed in 1850, that would be the 19th century. His remains were reburied on Mt. Carmel 50 years later, in the 20th century. His successor, the Baha'ullah, was banished to Akko in 1868, dying there in 1892. Like the Muslims go to Mecca, Baha'i are supposd to make pilgrimage to Haifa at least once.
In Moslem Yemen, the law does not recognize any other minority religion except Judaism. Embracing any other religion is a punishable crime.
"The Baha’i faith is not recognized in the constitution, the tradition or by Islam. Therefore, it is a forbidden religion. If a Yemeni renounces his religion and declares himself a Baha’I, this is a crime to be tried at court." an official from the ministry of justice said.
"But if the person is from a foreign country and visits us, they can practice their religion at home in private, and this is not a crime and will not be punished," he explained.
Yemen has ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) since 1987, safeguarding the freedom of religion.
"Yemeni authorities have committed an injustice by prosecuting Haydara for his religious beliefs and compounding that injustice by seeking to execute him," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director of HRW. "The charges should be dropped and Haydara should be released."
HRW, which has published a detailed report on Haydara's case, says the judiciary system has been slowed down by the war in Yemen.
"The authorities have to deal with the issue, even if that means in contradiction to the law. We shall not allow the war to affect our humanity." a rights activist from the local Mwatana Organization for Human Rights, which has monitored Haydar's case closely, told Rudaw
According to Baha'i estimates, there are about 2,000 Baha'is in Yemen. Their appearance in a protest in April for the first time amounted to declaring their religion as part of Yemeni society.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/14/2016 00:00 ||
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[TheSun] The 19-year-old from Hounslow was incarcerated Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages! on Thursday after allegedly trying to obtain weapons and explosives online
A PLOT to nail bomb crowds at an Elton John gig and at Buckingham Palace would have been on the scale of 7/7, a court heard yesterday.
Student Haroon Ali Syed’s terror plan was allegedly inspired by IS and is also said to have targeted London’s busy Oxford Street and military bases. The 19-year-old allegedly intended to strike at a concert by Sir Elton in London’s Hyde Park on the anniversary of 9/11. Police believe he originally planned to be a jacket wallah, and wanted to buy machine guns or pistols to carry out a "lone wolf" killing spree.
Prosecutor Thomas Halpin told Westminster magistrates’ court: "It is alleged Haroon Syed was planning a terrorist attack in the UK.
"This defendant was attempting to carry out a terror attack on the scale of 7/7 or something like that."
He allegedly discussed his plans online before meeting a man at a shopping centre with £150 to pay a bomb maker. Cops believe he planned to set off a bomb with a remote timer.
Syed claimed he knew a number of people who were willing to help carry out the attack, although none have emerged.
The gangly student only spoke to confirm his name, date of birth and address. During a 15-minute hearing he fiddled with his thin beard and appeared to smirk as details of the allegations against him were made by Mr Halpin.
The prosecutor said: "What started out as professed intent to become a suicide bomber crystallised into a plan to kill as many ’Kuffar’ (unbelievers) as possible with a nail bomb."
Syed allegedly made a number of applications for loans worth £8,000 to finance the attack but all were declined. Last month it is believed he applied for the money online, variously claiming it was for a cycle of violence, a wedding and home improvements.
It is claimed he spent most of the month watching IS beheading videos and propaganda before settling on his target.
Syed, of Hounslow, West London, is charged with preparing acts of terrorism between April 12 and September 9, contrary to section five of the Terrorism Act 2006.
The former IT student at West Thames College was arrested last Thursday at his home, along with two other men who have since been released on police bail pending investigations.
His solicitor Tony Lodge indicated a bail application would be made in the future but did not argue the case in court. The judge told Syed he would be remanded in jug until the next hearing at the Old Bailey on September 19.
North Korea spent an estimated US$5 million on its fifth nuclear test on Friday, the National Intelligence Service here said Sunday.
And how many lives? How many put into the Nork gulag?
The estimate was leaked by a lawmaker on the National Assembly's intelligence Committee, which was briefed by the NIS right after the test. The lawmaker added, "Given intensity of the test, that was a very small amount of money."
Most of the money was apparently spent on acquiring the raw materials and on manufacturing the device.
The NIS said there are two or three more tunnels at the Punggye-ri test site that can be used at any time to conduct more nuclear tests, according to another lawmaker.
A government source here explained that North Korea spent around W1 trillion digging several tunnels in Punggye-ri, so it can now conduct more nuclear tests quite cheaply (US$1=W1,102).
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/14/2016 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Commies
#1
I won't believe it until I see the pallet of cash that paid for it by the Obama administration.
North Korea is ready to conduct another nuclear test any time, the Defense Ministry here said Monday.
"Assessment by South Korean and U.S. intelligence is that the North is ready for an additional nuclear test in the Punggye-ri area whenever it wants," Defense Ministry spokesman Moon Sang-gyun told reporters.
"North Korea has a couple of tunnels where it can conduct an additional nuclear test," Moon added.
There are thought to be three main tunnels at the Punggye-ri site, each with branch tunnels that lead to other test areas. Tunnel No. 1 was sealed after the first test in 2006, while the second to fifth nuclear tests took place in tunnel No. 2. According to Moon, the additional tests could take place in the remaining branch shafts of tunnel No. 2 or tunnel No. 3.
Earlier, National Intelligence Service chief Lee Byung-ho was summoned to the National Assembly after the spy agency was taken by surprise by the latest test on Friday. Lee told lawmakers he "would not be surprised" if the North conducts a sixth and even seventh nuclear test.
Kim Hwang-rok, head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, met with the heads of ruling and opposition parties and also said North Korea could conduct more nuclear tests judging by the existence of "two to three more tunnels."
The intervals between the North's nuclear tests have shrunk from over three years to eight months. The North claimed the fourth test in January was of a hydrogen bomb, but that seems unlikely. The latest and most powerful test so far was of a "warhead" for a missile, North Korean state media have claimed.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/14/2016 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Commies
[Jpost] The Obama Administration plans to increase the number of refugees admitted to the United States by 30 percent in fiscal year 2017, according to the Wall Street Journal, which cited an annual refugee report submitted to Congress.
Secretary of State John Kerry presented the new target of 110,000 in the 2017 fiscal year starting Oct. 1, up from 85,000 in 2016, during a closed session to members of the House and Senate judiciary committees on Tuesday, according to the newspaper.
Kerry has said repeatedly over the past year that the United States would admit at least 100,000 refugees in fiscal 2017 and try to admit more if it were able. Helping Hillary get elected?
#6
All these SOBs who are advocating this national suicide should be exiled to one of these refugee countries to never return. Count me in one of those Hillary baskets of the deplorable and very pi$$ed off.
The imprisoned US soldier Chelsea Manning has ended a hunger strike after the army said she would be allowed to receive gender transition surgery, the American Civil Liberties Union has announced.
Manning, 28, who is serving a 35-year prison term for passing classified files to WikiLeaks, began the hunger strike on Friday.
Manning’s treatment would begin with the surgery that was recommended by her psychologist in April, said the ACLU, which represented Manning, who is held in Kansas.
Manning criticised the government in a statement for taking “so long” but said: “I am unendingly relieved that the military is finally doing the right thing. I applaud them for that. This is all that I wanted – for them to let me be me.
The army private formerly known as Bradley Manning revealed after being convicted of espionage that she identified as a woman.
No transgender inmate had ever before received such surgical treatment in prison, the ACLU said.
Manning in July attempted suicide over what her representatives said was the government’s denial of appropriate treatment for her gender dysphoria, a condition in which a person feels their physical gender is the opposite of the one he or she identifies with.
The army announced later that month that it would investigate Manning for misconduct in connection with the attempt to take her own life, a probe that could lead to indefinite solitary confinement, reclassification into maximum security or additional prison time.
According to Manning’s representatives, doctors have recommended that as part of her treatment for gender dysphoria the soldier, who began hormone therapy in 2015, be allowed to follow “female hair grooming standards”.
ACLU staff attorney Chase Strangio said in Tuesday’s statement that the government planned to still enforce the male hair standards.
Manning, a former intelligence analyst in Iraq, was sentenced in 2013 to 35 years in prison after a military court conviction of providing more than 700,000 documents, videos, diplomatic cables and battlefield accounts to the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks. The case ranked as the biggest breach of classified materials in US history.
Among the files Manning leaked in 2010 was a gunsight video of a US Apache helicopter firing on suspected Iraqi insurgents in 2007, an attack that killed a dozen people including two Reuters news staff.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/14/2016 00:00 ||
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#1
The imprisoned US soldier Chelsea Manning has ended a hunger strike after the army said she would be allowed to receive gender transition surgery, the American Civil Liberties Union has announced.
Why the hell do we have to pay for it? Why the hell does your next door neighbor not get asked such a question? He's crazy. He's a man. The fact that he doesn't want to live as one means he needs therapy, not surgery to obliterate him.
#3
used to be post, blindfold, cigarette - justice done and million$ saved
Posted by: Bov Flimbers ||
09/14/2016 3:08 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Tell it to get a Kickstarter account to pay for it. I'm sure if there are any real sympathetic individuals out there, it'll be covered. Otherwise, you're yesterdays news.
Sheldon Cooper point of order - they core it and invert it into the body cavity, using 'left over' to plastic surgery the appearance. Avoid Brazil and Thailand if your interested in more than Kodak tourism, the docs have gotten too good.
#6
Heck, I'll do it for free and save the taxpayers the $$. Win-win. Understand though, to keep operational costs low, I don't use anesthesia of any kind.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
09/14/2016 12:07 Comments ||
Top||
#8
The fact that he doesn't want to live as one means he needs therapy, not surgery to obliterate him.
True. But I am not a nice person, so am willing to let him go through the lifelong regret -- and rejection by former supporters -- that generally erupts about five years after surgery.
#9
True. But I am not a nice person, so am willing to let him go through the lifelong regret -- and rejection by former supporters -- that generally erupts about five years after surgery.
A true humanitarian! The milk of human kindness flows through your veins! ;-)
[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 the occasion of Eid paid tribute to the people of India-held Kashmire 'who have sacrificed their third generation at the hands of Indian forces', Radio Pakistain reported.
PM Nawaz's statement on Tuesday comes as anti-India protesters clash with security forces in IHK despite imposition of a curfew in the region on Eid for the first time in nearly three decades.
The Foreign Office condemned the "unjustifiable" killing of Kashmiris, adding that the United Nations ...the Oyster Bay money pit... Human Rights head confirmed "continuing reports of excessive use of force by Indian authorities in IOK".
"The UN HR head Zeid also confirms that Pakistain has accepted a mission in tandem with a mission to IOK, with no response from India," FO Spokesman Nafees Zakaria tweeted.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/14/2016 00:00 ||
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#1
Still pretending to be in the Great Game
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/14/2016 19:36 Comments ||
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[DAWN] The army pledged on Monday to dispense justice as it launched an investigation into a reported scuffle between its officials and police patrolling staff on a motorway and ensuing events.
"Law will take its course in disposing the case and justice will be done," a military front man said in a statement on the Saturday incident.
The Inter-Services Public Relations described the incident as "sad" and said that an inquiry was being conducted into the matter.
According to police, Captain Qasim and Captain Danial were signalled to stop on Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. -Islamabad motorway near Attock on Saturday by a motorway patrol for alleged "reckless driving". The two officials driving their private vehicles did not pay heed to the signal and sped away. The patrol team chased them and brought them to a halt.
The drama started as Capt Qasim alighted from his car pointing his pistol at the patrol party while Capt Danial made a phone call and sought help from a nearby army unit. Four vehicles carrying some 25 soldiers led by Maj Zafran arrived at the place and assaulted the coppers.
Later the army men took the coppers to Attock Fort where they were kept in "wrongful confinement" till intervention by higher police officials, police said.
"On the written complaint of Sub-Inspector Atif Khattak, an FIR has been registered under Sections 279, 186, 353, 506, 365, 342, 148 and 149 of the Pakistain Penal Code at Akora Khattak cop shoppe in Nowshera district," an incident report by police said.
The charges relate to rash driving, obstructing a public servant in discharge of his duty, assault on a public servant, criminal intimidation and threatening to cause death or grievous hurt, kidnapping and rioting while armed with a deadly weapon. Most of the charges are non-bailable offences.
The military has not come up with its account of the incident.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/14/2016 00:00 ||
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[RUDAW.NET] The Shabak minority in Nineveh province wants only the Peshmerga to liberate their homes from the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... (ISIS), saying that the operation of Iraqi forces in their areas will create decades of strife.
"Participation of any other Iraqi forces will open the hostile and Dire Revenge front for tens of years with the Shabaks," Salim al-Shabaki, a representative of Shabaks in the Iraqi parliament, told Summaria news on Tuesday.
"The Shabaks won’t accept participation of any other forces except the Peshmerga to liberate their villages from ISIS, despite their respect to all other security forces under different names," he added.
Al-Shabaki said that the Peshmerga have liberated some Shabak villages recently and he believes they will liberate the remaining villages soon.
He emphasized that Shabaks are ethnically Kurdish and want their areas in Nineveh annexed with the Kurdistan Region after the war with ISIS, noting that "we have moved 6,700 Shabak families from the southern provinces to the Kurdistan Region."
"The Shabaks are part of the Kurdish nation, and they will enjoy same rights like their Kurdish brothers in all Nineveh soon, and like the residents of Kurdistan, our areas will return to Erbil, Dohuk, and Sulaimani provinces. Shabaks support establishing a new province in their area to become part of the Kurdistan Region," he said.
The Shabak representative earlier in July told Rudaw that there should be a road map before the djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... offensive that all entities in the province agree to, one in which the Shabak minority become part of the Kurdistan Region.
"So far we have 1,384 deaders and 208 Shabaks who are still held captive by ISIS and their fate is unknown," he said. "Therefore we won’t stay with Mosul. We want to incorporate with the KRG [Kurdistan Regional Government] and become the fifth province of the Kurdistan Region."
There are 56 Shabak villages in Nineveh which are in Qaraqush, Nimrud, Bartle, Tel Kaif and Bashiqa. The Shabak are an ethnic and cultural minority living in northern Iraq.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/14/2016 00:00 ||
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#2
In October 2013 Masoud Barzani, President of the Iraqi Kurdistan, basically created a Peshmerga protectorate over thirty Shabak villages in the Mosul region. Elsewhere in the north, the Shabak have little love for Sunnis as they were uprooted from their homes in southern Iraq during the Saddam Hussein epoch.
The US will will give the Israeli military $38bn over the next decade in what Washington described as the biggest package of military assistance in its history.
The military deal which will be signed in Washington on Wednesday includes an estimated $5bn for missile defence. Under the previous deal, the US provided Israel with $30bn over a 10-year period, although the actual funds delivered over that time period were about $35bn as Israel sought additional funds from the US Congress. Congress had previously funded Israel’s missile defence spending.
Something that has benefited us and our allies, but it's impolite to say that...
Under the new deal, Israel would not be able to solicit extra money from Capitol Hill. In other conditions placed on the new memorandum of understanding, Israel would no longer be allowed to spend over a quarter of the military aid on home-produced weaponry, and would instead be required the full amount on US arms. Nor would it be able to spend any of the aid on fuel for its armed forces.
Disagreements over these limitations delayed completion of the new deal, which has been under negotiation for 10 months.
Talks were also prolonged when the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, suspended discussions in protest at a nuclear deal the US and other major powers agreed with Iran last July.
Netanyahu had asked for a total of $45bn, and floated the idea of waiting to seal the agreement until a new president was in office, but in the end opted to make a deal with the Obama administration that was anxious to secure its legacy and combat accusations that its foreign policy had been detrimental to Israel.
Hate to say it but I think Bibi made the right call here: if Hillary wins (and survives) aid to Israel almost certainly will become more difficult.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/14/2016 00:00 ||
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#1
As long as it all don't have to be spent on F-35s.
[AlArabiya] Twenty aid trucks crossed from Turkey into the divided Syrian city of Aleppo Tuesday after a ceasefire went into effect, state media said, although the UN could not confirm the report.
The trucks carrying UN humanitarian supplies crossed through the Cilvegozu border gate in the southern province of Hatay, Anadolu news agency said, citing security sources. At least 40 trucks are expected to cross the border by the end of the day, it added.
No confirmation could be immediately obtained from UN officials in Turkey. Turkey has said it was already making preparations to deliver humanitarian aid to Aleppo, where some 250,000 people in the rebel-held east are under government siege.
A spokesman for the Turkish Red Crescent told AFP the aid group would start sending aid trucks to Aleppo from Wednesday, in coodination with the United Nations.
Syria’s government on Tuesday warned that all aid going to Aleppo, particularly assistance sent by Turkey, must be coordinated with Damascus and the United Nations.
[ARA News] HOMS – Islamist rebel factions threatened to attack the Druze minority in Syria’s southern Quneitra Governorate, after accusing them of supporting the Syrian regime, local sources reported on Tuesday.
Islamist rebels of the Qadissiyat al-Janoub coalition vowed in a statement to attack the Druze-populated town of Hadir if the residents refused to support the fight against the Syrian army forces in the Quneitra Governorate.
“The pro-Assad forces have imposed a siege on rebel-held areas in Quneitra, where thousands of civilians are suffering starvation. Our fight against the regime will continue until breaking this siege and defeating pro-Assad militias in the governorate. Thus, we call on the Druze community to cooperate with us and allow our fighters to enter al-Hadir town and create a supply route; otherwise, we’ll be obliged to open the route by force,” rebel factions of the Qadissiyat al-Janoub said in a statement.
Since the outbreak of the Syrian conflict in 2011, the Druze religious minority in southern Syria has taken a neutral position towards all parties to conflict. Yet, hundreds of Druze soldiers are still fighting alongside the Syrian regime’s army against the armed opposition.
President Assad doesn't require them to convert, pay crippling jizya, or die, so the choice is easy.
“We are a peaceful minority group, and we tried to remain neutral throughout this conflict to protect our families. However, the Islamist groups accused us of supporting the Assad regime,” Druze citizen and rights activist Wissam al-Amir told ARA News in Quneitra.
“We’ve received many threats from the Islamists. The people of al-Hadir town are now terrified after the recent threat from the Qadissiyat al-Janoub’s fighters,” al-Amir said.
A war for oil, as only the US can prosecute it..
[ARA News] ERBIL – The US-led coalition destroyed more than 110 oil tanker trucks for the Islamic State (ISIS) radical group in one week, Lieutenant General Jeffrey Harrigian, head of the U.S. Air Forces Central Command, said on Tuesday.
“Last week alone, we destroyed more than 110 [ISIS] oil tanker trucks,” the coalition general said. “In September, coalition aircraft also destroyed 42 tanker trucks in the vicinity of Raqqa [ISIS de facto capital].”
“This war requires increased persistence and ability to remain vigilant in efforts to capitalize on Daesh’s tactical errors, as we have done with several of the recent large oil tanker strikes in a large VBIED production facility in Mosul,” Harrigian said, using another acronym for ISIS.
According to the head of U.S. Air Forces Central Command, ISIS is using innocent civilians as shields. “Daesh fled Manbij, hiding among the civilian populace,” he said.
The US commander said they will continue airstrikes while they move towards Mosul and Raqqa –major ISIS bastions in Iraq and Syria.
“Using the complement of airpower available to us, we will continue to deliver more destruction to Daesh’s command-and-control than they can absorb,” the coalition general said
“We have gathered lessons from Manbij [former ISIS border pocket liberated recently by the coalition-backed SDF] and will leverage them in coordination with our partnered ground forces to allow us tools of terror from the battlefield,” he said.
Harrigian also stressed that the coalition will work on taking out ISIS drones. “As we discover new or evolving Daesh capabilities, such as small unmanned aerial systems, you can be sure we’ll take off the battlefield,” he stated.
Posted by: badanov ||
09/14/2016 00:00 ||
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#1
In what has been one of the more stupid policies enforced by the White House, until recently the bombing of oil tankers was off limits for fear of creating civilian casualties. Thus, month after month ISIS was able to continue funding its operation unhindered. Why the policy changed, and who was really responsible for it, is a question that awaits resolution.
As to why it changed, I suspect it was a concerted effort by the Klingons and the Puzzle Palace. The administration may not understand warfare, but it does understand how money flows.
#5
As I recall, wasn't it the Russians who shamed us into doing it? As I recall, they basically outed us for letting the oil trucks go and maybe even started bombing them themselves, making us look feckless, weak and not serious about fighting ISIS.
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.
[RUDAW.NET] Hamed Kamal Muhammad bin Haydara disappeared into the labyrinth of Yemen’s National Security Bureau three years ago. His crime: being a Baha’i. His wife says the last time she called him and spoke to him was in December 2013.
[TheSun] The 19-year-old from Hounslow was 
[Jpost] The Obama Administration plans to increase the number of refugees admitted to the United States by 30 percent in fiscal year 2017, according to the Wall Street Journal, which cited an annual refugee report submitted to Congress.
The imprisoned US soldier Chelsea Manning has ended a hunger strike after the army said she would be allowed to receive gender transition surgery, the American Civil Liberties Union has announced.
The Wadsworth XL Bander, fully loaded. 
[DAWN] Prime Minister 
