#3
I've got a technical question. What is the little pencil-mark graphic at the end of the articles for? Does it serve a function or just look cool? :-)
#7
"Who was she? She was born Ellen Loretta Callahan around 1860 in New York. She was the fourth of at least 10 children, all of them girls except one boy. Her parents were from Ireland, and her father was a longshoreman who died when she was still young. Her mother had to go to work to support the family. Dolly, who was reportedly willful to begin with, grew up with little supervision and became a wayward and independent young girl. She lost her virginity when she was 16 and became a prostitute in a New York parlor house. The madam of this house introduced her to another madam, Mary Ellis, who along with San Francisco madam Diamond Carrie Maclay, persuaded Dolly to come with them to San Francisco in 1878 when she would have been about 18 years old.
Gentry said that sometime during her youth she had become a good swimmer and had developed the ability to hold her breath under water for very long periods of time (Well, she certainly seems to have the lungs for it. - VRWC). However, she herself said that she got her start at The Aquarium at Broadway and Thirty-fifth Street in New York in the late 1870s, when it first opened. The management of this venue let a group of girls learn to dive and hold their breaths underwater, undoubtedly with a view towards training a pool of inexpensive performers. Miss Adams said she was singled out by Captain Beach, another performer there, as having a special aptitude for this kind of performance, and was given:"
... Continued
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] At least eight Taliban faceless myrmidons were killed in a premature kaboom triggered by suicide kaboom vests in eastern Nangarhar The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country.. province of Afghanistan.
The Ministry of Defense of Afghanistan (MoD) said the incident took place in Ghani Khel district as the forces of Evil were busy preparing the suicide attack vests.
MoD further added that another Taliban Lion of Islam was also maimed in the kaboom.
The anti-government armed holy warrior groups including the Taliban faceless myrmidons have not commented regarding the report so far.
This is not the first time the anti-government armed forces of Evil have been killed by their own explosives.
At least two forces of Evil were killed in an kaboom triggered by own explosives in eastern Nangarhar province of Afghanistan last week.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/29/2016 00:00 ||
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[Khaama (Afghanistan)] A top leader of the loyalists of Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group was killed along with at least 43 other forces of Evil in eastern Nangarhar The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country.. province of Afghanistan.
The Ministry of Defense (MoD) said the forces of Evil were killed during the joint military operations conducted by the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces.
MoD further added that the operations were conducted in Pacher Agam district of Nangarhar and Deh Bala.
According to MoD, a shadow judge of the terror group was among those killed and has been identified as Muftauddin.
In the meantime, the provincial police commandment, said over 30 forces of Evil of the terror group were killed and several weapons and ammunition were destroyed.
The loyalists of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group have not commented regarding the report so far.
The ISIS loyalists have been attempting to gain foothold in the strategic Pacher Agam district in a bid to expand their presence and operations in this province.
The deputy house speaker of the Afghan parliament Zahir Qadir earlier warned that the loyalists of the terror group are attempting to establish the Khurasan Caliphate in Afghanistan and are busy expanding their presence in some of the difficult terrains of the country.
Speaking during a session of the parliament late last month, Qadir warned that the group will become successful in establishing the caliphate if they managed to seize control of Tora Bora in Nangarhar.
He said the loyalists of the terror group have managed to take control of a strategic area in Pacher Agam district.
According to Qadir, the area is a few hundred meters away from Tora Bora and the loyalists of the terror group will become successful if their attempts if they managed to expand foothold in Tora Bora.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/29/2016 00:00 ||
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Long, long piece, and worth it: a clear explanation for the current policy and how it got to be that way.
The escalating American military engagement in Somalia has led the Obama administration to expand the legal scope of the war against Al Qaeda, a move that will strengthen President-elect Donald J. Trump’s authority to combat thousands of Islamist fighters in the chaotic Horn of Africa nation.
The administration has decided to deem the Shabab, the Islamist militant group in Somalia, to be part of the armed conflict that Congress authorized against the perpetrators of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, according to senior American officials. The move is intended to shore up the legal basis for an intensifying campaign of airstrikes and other counterterrorism operations, carried out largely in support of African Union and Somali government forces.
The executive branch’s stretching of the 2001 war authorization against the original Al Qaeda to cover other Islamist groups in countries far from Afghanistan — even ones, like the Shabab, that did not exist at the time — has prompted recurring objections from some legal and foreign policy experts.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/29/2016 00:00 ||
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#2
“Because the threats and enemies we face evolve and adapt,” she continued, “we must be flexible in confronting them where they are — always doing so consistent with our laws and our values.”
Blah blah blah, excuses excuses. If you'd just killed them first time around we wouldn't have an evolving enemy to deal with.
[AnNahar] Algerian myrmidon Mokhtar Belmokhtar, one of al-Qaeda's key allies in North Africa, is thought to have been killed in a French air strike, a U.S. official said Monday.
The official, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, confirmed a report in the Wall Street Journal that U.S. intelligence had helped La Belle France target the jihadist.
Belmokhtar, notorious commander of an al-Qaeda-linked faction of the al-Murabitoun jihadist group, has been reported killed on several previous occasions.
But the official told AFP the latest strike is believed finally to have killed the elusive one-eyed myrmidon, known for kidnapping European citizens for ransom.
According to the Wall Street Journal report, citing experts and unnamed officials, the strike reflects closer U.S. and French intelligence cooperation.
Belmokhtar became one of the world's most desperados in January 2013 after a spectacular assault on the In Amenas gas plant in Algeria left at least 38 hostages dead.
This year, his group grabbed credit for an attack on luxury a hotel in Burkina Faso ...The country in west Africa that they put where Upper Volta used to be. Its capital is Oogadooga, or something like that. Its president is currently Blaise Compaoré, who took office in 1987 and will leave office feet first, one way or the other... that killed another 20 people, most of them foreigners.
And reports he had arrived in Libya have fuelled concern that jihadists will take advantage of the political turmoil there to establish a base of operations.
Washington put a $5 million bounty on the 44-year-old's head, dubbing him the leader of the Khaled Abu al-Abbas Brigade, also known as the "Signatories in Blood."
In May last year, he insisted al-Murabitoun remained loyal to al-Qaeda, despite another of its leaders pledging allegiance the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... group.
Belmokhtar was born on June 1, 1972 in the ancient desert city of Ghardaia, 370 miles (600 kilometers) south of the Algerian capital.
- 'Mister Marlboro' -
In a rare 2007 interview he said he joined the mujahideen rebels fighting the Soviet forces in Afghanistan in 1991 when he was barely 19 years old.
In Afghanistan, he claimed, he lost an eye to shrapnel and had his first contact with the group that became al-Qaeda, eventually rising to a senior position.
He returned to Algeria in 1993, a year after the Algiers government sparked civil war by cancelling an election that an Islamist party was poised to win.
He joined the Armed Islamic Group (GIA), and thrived thanks to his intimate knowledge of the remote deserts of southern Algeria, northern Mali and Niger.
In 1998 the "Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat ... now known as al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb... " (GSPC) broke from the GIA and Belmokhtar went with them.
Nine years later, GSPC formally adopted the global ideology of Saudi-born jihadist kingpin the late Osama bin Laden ... who is now sometimes referred to as Mister Bones... and renamed itself al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.
Belmokhtar was best known as a smuggler, known by some as "Mister Marlboro" for trafficking cigarettes.
But in 2013 he emerged as the hardline leader of the "Signatories in Blood," blamed for attacks across the Sahara and the Sahel in Algeria, Mali, Chad and Niger.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
11/29/2016 00:00 ||
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#2
"In a rare 2007 interview he said he joined the mujahideen rebels fighting the Soviet forces in Afghanistan in 1991 when he was barely 19 years old."
Soviet troops departed Afghanistan in 1988.
Jeddah- Coup militiamen in Yemen stopped two medical cargoes from entering the war-torn country, sending them back to Djibouti, sources said.
Two jets packed with humanitarian relief were also denied access despite that the Saudi-led coalition granting them the green light for landing in Sanaa. The denial of access of relief and medical aid exacerbated the humanitarian conditions for civilians trapped in Yemen’s warzones.
Coup militants, namely composed of Iran-allied Houthis and former president Ali Abdullah Saleh supporters, have laid siege to many Yemen cities in their aim to push forward with their plans to overtake government and topple the constitutionally elected authority.
Saleh loyalists and Houthis insurgents have shown no responsiveness or cooperation towards humanitarian shipments, flown cargoes or land convoys. In the aftermath, many Yemenis now face starvation, spread of disease and high risks of mortality.
Putschists have been using civilians as a pressure card to advance their political and military agenda.
Insurgency sources confirmed that Houthis gunmen have intentionally zeroed in and locked their grip on humanitarian missions sent to lockdown areas—the coup chooses to be selective with granting access to humanitarian aid, allowing only a few governments to send aid, such as chief ally, Iran.
Iran-aligned Houthis impose full control over aid as an extension to the insurgency’s domination over the country.
More so, coup militias control incoming aid as a smuggling mechanism to regulate receiving Iran-sent arms support.
The turn down of aid comes only days after the earth-shattering expository United Nations report on the humanitarian situation in Yemen resting on an alarming low, which warns also the deteriorating humanitarian conditions in Houthi-controlled areas such as Hajjah, Saada and Taiz.
The coup has led to a civil war now responsible for the death of over a thousand children, and leaving over a million facing death with no basic survival essentials.
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] 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 and forces loyal to deposed president President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it... continue to push their members towards missions that resemble suicide missions.
For instance, in the governorate of Hajjah northwest of Yemen, the Midi-Hard front witnessed violent festivities during the past 24 hours - on Sunday - and the militias suffered from serious human and materialistic losses.
According to the media center of the fifth military zone, 22 Death Eaters were killed and 17 others were maimed in the confrontations against the army and resistance forces which are supported by the Arab coalition in northeastern Midi.
Meanwhile, ...back at the shouting match, a new, even louder, voice was to be heard... in Hard, more than 25 militiamen, including commanders, were either killed or injured after army forces targeted them during a meeting.
The coalition targeted a camp for the militias in al-Jar farms, west of the Abs district in Hajjah, and killed 16 rebels and injured 17 others. The coalition’s fighter jets also targeted the militias’ reinforcements, posts and arms caches in Hard and Midi.
In Taiz, the militias failed to regain control of posts they lost in the past few days although Saleh resorted to elite and special forces.
The militia’s failure can be seen in the human losses they’re suffering from in Taiz, particularly in the eastern and western fronts, as the army and resistance forces have deterred their violent attacks particularly in al-Maklkal surrounding and Sala, east of the city.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/29/2016 00:00 ||
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[AlAhram] Spain's Interior Ministry says police have placed in durance vile Book 'im, Mahmoud! four people suspected of having links to an illegal migration network believed to have been used by the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... group to move holy warriors to Europe, including those involved in last year's Gay Paree attacks.
A ministry statement said the four had links with the so-called "Syrian refugee route" that the Islamic group is thought to have used to get the Gay Paree attackers to Europe via the Greek island of Leros in October 2015.
Police believe the four arrested Monday had contacts with two gunnies arrested in Salzburg, Austria, shortly after the November 2015 attacks.
Two were arrested in towns in northwestern Spain and two others in the southeastern city of Almeria.
No details on their identities were released.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
11/29/2016 02:00 ||
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Security forces on Monday claimed to have killed two suspected militants in Balochistan's Dera Bugti district.
The suspected militants were killed in an exchange of fire in the Sartaf area of Dera Bugti district.
"Frontier Corps forces launched an operation against miscreants in Sartaf area of Dera Bugti district," said the spokesperson for the FC.
He added the security forces also demolished five 'safe havens' being used by the 'miscreants' in the area.
"Security forces also recovered weapons and explosions from the possession of the miscreants and they were involved in attacks on national institutions in the area," added the FC spokesperson.
In a separate search operation, rocket launchers and explosives were recovered from the Sangan area of Sibi district.
Balochistan has been experiencing incidents of violence and targeted killings for over a decade. The largest province of the country by area, is home to a insurgency by ethnic Baloch separatists.
Al Qaeda-linked and sectarian militants also operate in the region. The province shares borders with Afghanistan and Iran.
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) More than 3000 civilians have left Mosul over the past two days, fleeing violent battles between Islamic State militants and Iraqi government forces and militias, according to a relief official.
Iyad Rafed, a member of the Iraqi Red Crescent Society, told Anadolu Agency that 3200 civilians moved out of Mosul, both from the liberated and ISIS-occupied districts. They were admitted to al-Jadaa and Hassan Sham refugee camps south and east of Mosul.
The society said Monday that the total of refugees at the camps of Hassan Sham and Khazer stood at 35.600.
On Saturday, the Ministry of Migration and Displacement said the overall number of refugees since Mosul liberation battles launched in October has reached 76.461.
The United Nations had predicted at least one million refugees before the launch of security operations.
Posted by: badanov ||
11/29/2016 00:00 ||
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Kirkuk (IraqiNews.com) A member of the Kurdish Peshmerga forces was wounded by the fire of an ISIS sniper south of Kirkuk, Alsumaria News reported on Monday.
The Peshmerga fighter was wounded by an ISIS sniper’s fire in al-Atshana village, in the axis of the district of Daquq, the media outlets said.
Security forces evacuated the wounded to a nearby hospital to receive treatment,” Alsumaria News added.
The province of Kirkuk is witnessing a semi-continuous violent acts against civilians and security members. The province is now controlled by Iraqi Police and Kurdish Peshmerga forces, after the latest developments in Mosul and Salahuddin.
Posted by: badanov ||
11/29/2016 00:00 ||
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Salahuddin (IraqiNews.com) Two policemen were killed and 11 civilians were wounded late Sunday in a mortar attack in Sharqat, Salahuddin, a security source said Monday to AlMada Press.
The bombing occurred near the precinct’s police station, according to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, blaming Islamic State militants, who control the eastern section of the province, for the attack.
The Iraqi Joint Operations Command said in June that the whole region of Sharqat was liberated from ISIS. But it has become a group tactic to target areas it was forced to give up since Iraqi government forces and volunteer militias launched a campaign to free Iraqi cities from the group’s hold.
Violence surged in Iraq since ISIS occupied wide regions of the country in 2014. But the group is currently losing ground and is fighting a decisive battle to defend its last bastion in Iraq at the city of Mosul.
Some observers and security officials say the group tends to attack areas other than Mosul in an attempt to divert security forces attention from the city and make up for defeats there.
Salahuddin (IraqiNews.com) Four police agents were killed on Monday in an attack by Islamic State militants in Samarra, Salahuddin, said a government official.
The officers were killed in the “attack that targeted a checkpoint near the Malwiya (Sprial) Minaret ancient site in Samarra,” Gamal Akkab, media official at Salahuddin council, told Rudaw agency.
“Security forces imposed a curfew in the area immediately,” he stated.
Since 2014, violence surged in Iraq with the Islamic State militants taking over wide areas of the country, and the United Nations said earlier this month that 58000 people died since then. UN statistics say 3150 Iraqis were either killed or wounded in violence during October alone.
Late Sunday, also in Salahuddin province, two policemen were killed and 11 civilians were wounded in a mortar attack in Sharqat, which was again blamed on ISIS.
ISIS is currently struggling to defend Mosul, its last strategic foothold in Iraq, against continuous, successful advancements by Iraqi security forces and popular militias. With attacks carried out at several areas other than Mosul, observers and security officials believe the extremist group is trying to divert attention from its defeats in Mosul as well as to distract the focus of the assaulting security troops.
Salahuddin (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi security forces killed all members of the Islamic State extremist group who sneaked into Samarra district, in southern Salahuddin, and a number of police officers were either killed or wounded while repulsing the attack, Alsumaria reported on Monday.
The media outlet stated, “Security forces managed to foil the attempt of the Islamic State to sneak into the district of Samarra, in southern Salahuddin Province,” pointing out that, “The [security] forces were able to kill all the militants, including two suicide bombers.”
“The incident also resulted in the killing and wounding of a number of police officers and the guard of Salahuddin MP Sheikh Kamel Abbas,” the outlet added.
Earlier today, a number of ISIS members tries to sneak into al-Malweya area, north of Samarra in Salahuddin Province, in order to approach the center of the district, but their attack was foiled by security forces in the district.
Posted by: badanov ||
11/29/2016 00:00 ||
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Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) Al-Hashd al-Shaabi militias said Monday they they recaptured two villages near the strategic town of Tal Afar as operations continue to free it from Islamic State militants.
The militia’s media service said the forces liberated the villages of al-Salam and Southern Torkomaniya south of Tal Afar after dealing ISIS losses in life and equipment.
The advancements come as part of the militia’s fifth phase of operations seeking to enter the center.of Tal Afar. So far, al-Hashd al-Shaabi regularly declare the liberation of villages surrounding the town. It recently celebrated the takeover of Tal Afar’s military airport, a major step that it says denied ISIS a vital supply route between Iraq and Syria.
Al-Hashd’s involvement in battles for Tal Afar has been controversial since the launch of operations to retake Mosul in October. Tal Afar has been a concern for Turkey which had said it feared that the Shia-led militia could carry out retaliatory measures against Sunni Turkmen residents of the town, a notion dismissed by a-Hashd. Turkey had called in the government in Baghdad to limit the role if al-Hashd to besieging the region.
But an Iraqi parliament highly divisive vote on Saturday to incorporate al-Hashd al-Shaabi in the country’s national armed forces could represent an impetus to the militia’s quest to get deeper in the town.
Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi joint forces recaptured on Monday another village on its way to the heart of the city of Mosul as part of an operation that launched in October to liberate the city from Islamic State militant.
Commander of operation “We Are Coming, Nineveh”, Lt. Gen Abdul Amir Yarallah, said the forces’ 9th division recaptured the village of al-Kasr, east of Tigris river. He added that the forces raised the Iraqi flag at the village.
The army said recently its forces were aiming at the eastern shore of Tigris River which cuts through Mosul. US-led international coalition air strikes recently destroyed bridges linking both sides of the river, denying ISIS a vital supply route.
Mosul is ISIS’s last outstanding foothold in Iraq, and the group has suffered consecutive defeats since the start of operations, with its members reportedly retreating towards the Syrian borders, while some reports tell of retaliatory shelling by the militia on the liberated areas.
Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) We Are Coming, Nineveh Operations Command announced on Monday liberating the areas of Nineveh Plain from the control of the Islamic State extremist group completely.
Commander of the Operations, Major General Abdel Amir Yarallah, said in a brief statement, “Today, security forces managed to liberate the areas of Nineveh Plain, south of Mosul, completely.”
“Security operations are ongoing until the full liberation of the entire province,” Yarallah added.
Joint Iraqi security forces, backed by Army Aviation and international coalition, continue the battle to retake the city of Mosul from the ISIS grip, after the operations being launched in October by General Commander of Armed Forces Haider al-Abadi.
Iraq’s Popular Mobilization forces liberated three villages in Western Mosul and evacuated scores of families from the area, inflicting heavy human and materialistic losses upon ISIL terrorists.
The Iraqi forces also managed to kill five suicide bombers in Samarra and announced that the security situation across the city is under control.
Nineveh (Reuters) The Iraqi government has asked civilians in Mosul to stay at home during the offensive, as humanitarian organizations say they can not cope with an influx of hundreds of thousands of people displaced from the city.
More than one million people are believed to remain in the city, the largest in northern Iraq.
Defeating Islamic State in Mosul, Islamic State’s last major bastion in Iraq, is seen as vital to destroying the “caliphate” declared by the group’s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, from the pulpit of Mosul’s Grand Mosque in July 2014.
But commanders have said the battle could take months. Dozens of districts must be taken in the east before attacking forces reach the Tigris River which splits Mosul into east and west. U.S. air strikes have taken out four of the five river bridges used by the militants.
Major General Najm al-Jubbouri, one of the army’s top commanders, told Reuters that the western part of the city could be the more dangerous.
To the south, Iraqi army brigades are now advancing slowly on the remaining Islamic State-held villages before reaching the city limits. To the west, the mostly Iranian-backed Shi’ite militias known as al-Hashd al-Shaabi have cut off the highway to Syria, but they have yet to close in on the city.
“The force left in front of us is small, unable to stop our advance. Their spirit is broken,” Major General Abdul Ghani al-Asadi, one of the commanders of the Special Forces said.
“We have killed more than 992 fighters on our front plus more wounded … Their supplies and communications to the outside world are cut. They stage fewer suicide bombings.”
Iraqi military estimates initially put the number of insurgents in Mosul at 5,000 to 6,000, facing a 100,000-strong coalition force. But Asadi said the figure for the Islamic State presence may have been too high.
Iraqi authorities have not released estimates of civilian casualties but the United Nations says growing numbers of injured, both civilians and military, are overwhelming aid groups.
Posted by: badanov ||
11/29/2016 00:00 ||
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] ISIS has enjugged Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un! dozens of djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... shop owners accused of raising food prices in the nearly besieged city, to tamp down discontent as a US-backed offensive closes in on the group’s last major stronghold in Iraq, residents said on Monday.
The arrests took place on Sunday morning in Bursa, a commercial district in the western part of the city, said a witness who asked not be identified as ISIS punishes with death those caught communicating with the outside world.
About 30 shop owners in the area were arrested and taken away blindfolded to unknown destinations, he said.
The Sunni hardline group is relentlessly cracking down on people who could help the biggest ground offensive in Iraq since the US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.
Most of the people executed previously in Mosul were former police and army officers, suspected of disloyalty or plotting rebellions against the murderous Moslems’ rule. The arrest of the shop owners is meant as a warning to retailers to refrain from price hikes that would cause unrest in the city.
Some 100,000 Iraqi government troops, Kurdish security forces and mainly Shiite snuffies are participating in the assault on Mosul, with air and ground support from a US-led international military coalition.
Six weeks into the campaign, troops have so far entered about a quarter of the city on its eastern outskirts, but are moving slowly to avoid civilian casualties and have yet to enter the half of the city on the west bank of the Tigris River.
More than a million people are still believed to live in parts of Mosul under the control of the fighters, who seized the largest city in northern Iraq as part of a lightning advance across a third of the country in 2014.
Retail prices rose in Mosul last week after Popular Mobilization, a force of mainly Iranian-backed pro-government Shiite paramilitaries, cut the road linking the Iraqi and Syrian parts of the "caliphate", Mosul’s main supply route.
The Shiite groups are attacking Death Eaters deployed between Mosul and Tal Afar, 60 kilometers (40 miles) to the west, trying to complete Mosul’s encirclement, with the army and Kurdish security forces controlling access from the other three sides.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/29/2016 00:00 ||
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] The Iraqi military estimates there are 5,000-6,000 murderous Moslems in djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... , dug in amid civilians to hamper air strikes, resisting the advancing troops with suicide boom-mobiles and sniper and mortar fire that also kill civilians.
ISIS leader His Supreme Immensity, Caliph of the Faithful and Galactic Overlord, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi ...formerly merely the head of ISIL and a veteran of the Bagram jailhouse. Looks like a new messiah to bajillions of Moslems, like just another dead-eyed mass murder to the rest of us... , believed to be somewhere near the Syrian border, has told his fighters there can be no retreat from the city.
Iraqi special forces have killed nearly 1,000 Lions of Islam so far, Major General Abdul Ghani al-Asadi, a commander of elite counter-terrorism troops told Rooters.
Some 74,000 civilians have fled Mosul so far, and the United Nations ...an idea whose time has gone... is preparing for a worst case scenario which foresees more than a million people made homeless as winter descends.
A Rooters correspondent in eastern Mosul saw civilians fleeing fighting in one of the districts.
"ISIS fighters are going around on foot from house to house while the army fights them," said a man called Bashar.
"All civilians are leaving the area, shops are closed," he said, standing next to his two veiled wives, seven children and 70-year-old mother.
In the nearby Aden district, recently recaptured by the elite counter terrorism troops, people came out of their house to greet officers, the Rooters correspondent reported.
"We are so glad that ISIS is gone," said a retired civil servant standing in front of his house, referring to ISIS by an acronym.
"We will stay here but we haven’t had water or electricity for two weeks," he said, echoing a general concern among residents about shortages adding to their hardship.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/29/2016 00:00 ||
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Israel’s air force targeted gunman linked to the ISIS group in Syria overnight, the army said Monday, after they fired on an Israeli soldier in the occupied Golan Heights.
"Overnight the (Israeli air force) targeted an abandoned UN building that has been used by the ISIS as an operations center along the border in the southern Syrian Golan Heights," an army statement read.
It said the building was the "base for yesterday’s attack," which was believed to be the first such direct assault by jihadists on Israeli soldiers in the Golan Heights since Syria’s civil war began in 2011.
The army said Israeli soldiers were targeted Sunday with machinegun fire and mortars and shot back. The air force then bombed the vehicle carrying the gunnies, identified as members of the Yarmouk Martyrs ...a rebel group in southern Syria. They gained attention when they abducted 21 Filipino UN soldiers in early March 2013, releasing them on 10 March 2013. The group has been accused by other Syrian rebel groups of being affiliated with the Islamic State, which it denies. Their leader is Abo Ali al-Baridi, who denies they're takfiris. They just want to apply God’s rule and Sharia. They have been attacked by al-Nusra and other groups allied with it, probably because they're so pious... ’ Brigade, a Syrian rebel group that pledged allegiance to ISIS.
Four of the holy warriors were killed, with no Israeli soldiers injured.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the soldiers who "successfully repelled an attempted attack."
"Our forces are prepared on our northern border, and we won’t let ISIS elements or other hostile elements use the cover of the war in Syria to establish themselves next to our borders," he said in remarks relayed by his office.
Israel seized 1,200 square kilometers (460 square miles) of the Golan from Syria in the Six-Day War of 1967 and later annexed it in a move never recognized by the international community.
The two countries are still technically at war, though the border had remained largely quiet for decades until 2011.
Since then regular stray missiles have landed in Israeli border areas, but rebel groups and Syrian government forces have largely avoided directly targeting Israeli forces.
Israel attacks Syrian military targets when fire, even unintentional, spills over the demarcation line.
The Israel Air Force attacked an abandoned ISIS military facility in the Syrian Golan Heights early Monday, dropping 10 one-ton bombs on the target.
The target, an outpost in Wadi Sirhan not far from the border with Israel, was previously used by the UN. International forces [who] abandoned the outpost two years ago after fighters from Shuhada' al-Yarmouk (the Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade), which is affiliated with ISIS, kidnapped UN peacekeepers.
It has since been taken over by the militants and serves as a base of operations near the border with Israel. The outpost is used for training and to store arms.
The secondaries must have been fun.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/29/2016 00:00 ||
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#1
Since then regular stray missiles have landed in Israeli border areas, but rebel groups and Syrian government forces have largely avoided directly targeting Israeli forces.
See? Fair play and all that there Etonian playing fields stuff, that or massed howitzers.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that the Turkish Army entered Syria to end the rule of President Bashar Assad, whom he accused of terrorism and causing the deaths of thousands.
"We entered [Syria] to end the rule of the tyrant al-Assad who terrorizes with state terror. [We didn’t enter] for any other reason," the Turkish president said at the first Inter-Parliamentary Jerusalem Platform Symposium in Istanbul, as quoted by Hurriyet daily.
Erdogan said that Turkey has no territorial claims in Syria, but instead wants to hand over power to the Syrian population, adding that Ankara is seeking to restore "justice."
He went on to say that "in his estimation" almost 1 million people have died in the conflict in Syria, although no monitoring group has provided any similar figures. The latest UN estimate stands at 400,000 people killed in the five-year civil war.
Erdogan said that Turkey could not "endure" the unending killing of civilians and "had to enter Syria together with the Free Syrian Army." This puts Turkey on a collision course with Russia. Or does it? Egypt now supporting Assad. It's getting very interesting.
#2
I have to think Erdogan has some deal with the Russians, likely involving screwing the Kurds, because otherwise it seems a quick route to a full blown war via the Bosphorus.
An Iranian vessel pointed its weapons [ed: "machine guns"] at a US Navy helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz at the weekend, it has been revealed.
The move was described as an "unsafe and unprofessional" action by two US defence officials who spoke to Reuters. The officials, who were not identified, said the SH-60 helicopter had flown within half a mile of two Iranian vessels in international waters when one of the vessels pointed its weapons. May I suggest a Mach+ overflight at very low altitude by an FA18? Shockwave might be educational. Just saying...
Posted by: OldSpook ||
11/29/2016 00:27 ||
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#1
I can't wait until President Trump gives specific instructions that our troops in harm's way are *ordered* to defend themselves.
Is this the way US defence thinks these days? Is this a symbol of the PC/bureaucratic mindset that has developed over the Clinton - Bush - Obama time frame?
#3
I remember back in the day (1970s) hearing stories about how the Soviet pilots used to make mock attacks on Navy ships in the Med. Apparently that stopped after one of the ships illuminated them with her missile fire control radars.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
11/29/2016 9:11 Comments ||
Top||
#4
So would it be unsafe and unprofessional to point our weapons in their direction?
I suppose that'd be 'provocative'.
Posted by: Bobby ||
11/29/2016 9:52 Comments ||
Top||
#5
The "Do not fire unless fired upon" ROE need to be scrapped.
My ROE would be, "You feel threatened by the target. Engage it."
#6
During Operation Earnest Will, an aluminum overcast of Tomcats escorting fully loaded Intruders alongside the oil tankers kept the bad guys at bay. Something about external ordnance loadouts or Harpoon missiles having tangible deterrence.....
[Al-Manar] Five trucks boarding food and medical stuffs entered on Monday entered Foaa and Kefraya towns in Idleb northern countryside as Madhaya town in Damascus countryside received similar aid batches.
67 aid trucks are scheduled to gradually and simultaneously enter Madhaya and Zabadani towns on one hand and Foaa as well as Kefraya on the other.
[ALMASDARNEWS] The jihadist rebels of Fatah Halab are crumbling inside the eastern pocket of Aleppo tody, as they continue to lose district-after-district to the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and their allies.
Approximately two hours after announcing the capture of the Haydariyah Neighborhood, the Syrian Arab Army broke-through Fatah Halab's front-lines at Sakhour, resulting in the complete seizure of this strategic district and longtime jihadist stronghold.
Reports from Aleppo City indicate that several jihadist rebels from Harakat Nouriddeen al-Zinki have surrendered to the Kurdish-led People's Protection Units (YPG) near the Sheikh Maqsoud District; this was done so that they could avoid capture by the Syrian Arab Army.
As a result of today's advance, the Syrian Armed Forces have now secured 45 percent of the Aleppo pocket that was originally under the control of the jihadist rebels.
From Al-Manar: Syrian Army, Allies Control Entire Northeastern Aleppo
The Syrian army and allies managed on Monday to regain control over the northern part of Aleppo eastern neighborhood, liberating seized the Sakhur, Haydariya and Sheikh Khodr districts from the terrorists who fled the battlefield.
Syrian Army and allies have also advanced in their operations against positions of Takfiri terrorist organizations and have restored security and stability to the Scientific Research Housings and are continuing to advance in the Youth Housings area in eastern Aleppo as terrorists’ ranks collapse.
More than 3,000 civilians have left the eastern part of the besieged Syrian city of Aleppo in the last 24 hours, the Russian Center for Reconciliation said. It later reported that about 40 percent (20 out of 45 square kilometers) of the militant-held part of the city has been liberated.
Some 3,179 people, including 1,519 children – among them 138 newborn babies – have left Eastern Aleppo through the ‘humanitarian corridors’ set up by Syrian government forces, Russian Reconciliation Center said on Monday.
The center reported that 12 neighborhoods, comprising roughly 40 percent of the territory previously controlled by the militants, have been cleared.
The operations resulted in killing sores of the terrorists and destroying their weapons, adding that the army units are chasing the fleeing terrorists in the area.
It clarified that engineering units dismantled mines and explosives planted by the terrorists in the squares and streets of al-Haidaria and al-Sakhour neighborhoods.
Hezbollah Military Media Center posted an aerial footage which shows the liberated area:
Later, Aleppo Governor Hussein Diab told SANA’s correspondent that an army unit, in cooperation with supporting forces, established control over Sleiman al-Halabi water station, and that technicians have entered the station to begin repairs in order to bring it back.
On Monday, government forces seized the Sakhur, Haydariya and Sheikh Khodr districts, while Kurdish fighters took the Sheikh Fares neighborhood from the terrorists, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said. Video report at the link
Posted by: Fred ||
11/29/2016 00:00 ||
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[ALMASDARNEWS] The jihadist rebels of Jabhat Fateh al-Sham ...formerly al-Nusra, the current false nose and mustache of al-Qaeda in the Levant... (formerly al-Nusra ...formally Jabhat an-Nusrah li-Ahli al-Sham (Support Front for the People of the Levant), also known as al-Qaeda in the Levant. They aim to establish a pan-Arab caliphate. Not the same one as the Islamic State, though .. ... Front) and Harakat Ahrar al-Sham ...a Syria jihadi group made up of Islamists and salafists, not that there's that much difference, formed into a brigade. They make up the main element of the Islamic Front but they don't profess adoration of al-Qaeda and they've been fighting (mainly for survival) against the Islamic State. Their leadership was wiped out at a single blow by a suicide kaboom at a crowded basement meeting in September, 2014... agreed to finally surrender the strategic West Ghouta town of Khan al-Sheih to the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) after 4 long years of battle.
According to a military source from the 7th Armored Division, the jihadist rebels have begun packing the buses in Khan al-Sheih, as they prepare to be transported to the Idlib Governorate by the government.
Initially, the jihadist rebels requested to be transferred to the Dara'a Governorate before surrendering the town; however, the Syrian Arab Army's High Command declined this offer because it would allow them continue their war in southern Syria.
Once terms were accepted by both sides, the date for the jihadist transfer to Idlib was set for November 27th, but this was later postponed to November 28th due to some problems with Jabhat Fateh al-Sham members that refused to surrender.
Khan al-Sheih is Jabhat Fateh al-Sham's last stronghold in the West Ghouta region of rural Damascus; its loss will free-up thousands of soldiers from the Syrian Arab Army.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/29/2016 00:00 ||
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[ARA News] Manbij – Militant fighters of the Islamic State (ISIS) launched on Monday an offensive on the Syrian northern city of Manbij, targeting positions of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Manbij was liberated by the US-backed SDF forces in August after heavy fighting with ISIS militants. Since then, the SDF-led Manbij Military Council has been in control of the city and the surrounding villages.
“Daesh militants attacked the town of Hawdan in Manbij suburb with mortar shells in an attempt to hit our defences and infiltrate into the city,” the media office of Manbij Military Council told ARA News, using an Arabic acronym for ISIS.
Scores of SDF fighters were reportedly injured in the attack.
“Subsequent to the offensive, fierce clashes broke out between our forces and ISIS militants. We were eventually able to repel the attack on Monday evening, after shelling the group’s fighting positions with heavy artillery,” the Manbij council said.
At least 11 ISIS militants were killed in the clashes, before the rest of the group’s fighters withdrew from the area.
The city of Manbij has served for over two years as a main ISIS jihadi pocket on the Syrian-Turkish border. Supported by the US-led coalition, the SDF liberated the city and its countryside in mid-August.
Posted by: badanov ||
11/29/2016 00:00 ||
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[ARA News] Deir ezZor – The Syrian Army forces and Islamic State (ISIS) militants on Monday exchanged shelling in the eastern city of Deir ez-Zor.
ISIS fighters targeted the regime-held neighbourhoods of al-Qusur and al-Joura in western Deir ez-Zor with dozens of mortar shells.
“More than ten people were killed in the ISIS-led bombardment, including at least four civilians and six army soldiers,” human rights activist Khalil Bakker reported, speaking to ARA News from al-Qusur neighbourhood.
“The shelling also caused a massive destruction in residential buildings in the targeted neighbourhoods,” the source added.
In response, the Syrian regime’s army forces hit several ISIS-held districts in Deir ez-Zor city, including al-Hamidiya and Sheikh Yassin.
“The regime bombardment killed and wounded over 20 people, mostly civilians,” local media activist Ahmed Ramadan told ARA News.
Western Deir ez-Zor is a Syrian government enclave, encircled on all size by ISIS jihadists. Clashes between the Syrian Army and ISIS have recently increased in both size and frequency as the latter has repeatedly attempted to storm the regime-held areas in Deir ez-Zor City and its military airport.
Russian Airstrikes
This comes just one day after Russian warplanes launched several airstrikes on Syria’s eastern Deir ez-Zor Governorate, targeting headquarters of the Islamic State (ISIS).
The air raids hit ISIS fighting positions and tactical units in the city of al-Bukamal and the Susa town in Deir ez-Zor.
“At least 31 ISIS militants were killed in the airstrikes launched by Russian Air Force on Sunday evening,” local media activist Samer al-Khalaf told ARA News.
A source close to ISIS also confirmed the death of dozens of the group’s fighters in the raids.
“The national hospital in Deir ez-Zor City received more than 30 corpses of Islamic State members subsequent to the airstrikes,” a doctor in the national hospital told ARA News, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Posted by: badanov ||
11/29/2016 00:00 ||
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[ALMASDARNEWS] The Lebanese Army tossed in the slammer Book 'im, Mahmoud! another Syrian national tied to the so-called "Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... of Iraq and al-Sham" (ISIS) on Monday morning after conducting a raid in the 'Arsal Barrens.
The General Security Directorate announced on Monday that a Syrian has been arrested on charges of being affiliated with Da'esh (ISIS)", the Lebanese National News Agency reported".
"Interrogations showed he collaborated with a Lebanese national in providing logistical support to Da'esh elements in Arsal mountains" NNA added.
TThe Syrian national was transported to the competent authorities in the Beqa'a Governorate.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/29/2016 00:00 ||
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[ALMASDARNEWS] The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) continued their advance inside the East Ghouta region of rural Damascus on Monday, targeting the town of al-Mayda'ani that is mostly under the control of Jaish al-Islam ...Liwa al-Islam (Brigade of Islam) was established by Zahran Alloush, the son of Saudi-based religious scholar Abdullah Mohammed Alloush, after Syrian authorities released him from prison in mid-2011 where he had been serving time for his Salafist activism. The group claimed responsibility for carrying out the July 2012 Damascus bombing that killed Defense Minister Dawoud Rajiha, Deputy Defense Minister Asef Shawkat, and Assistant Vice President Hassan Turkmani. It was a driving force behind actions in the Damascus region. It cooperated and conducted joint operations with al-Nusra. In Sptember 2013 Saudi Arabia engineered Liwa al-Islam's merger with fifty other more or less Salafist groups as a counterweight to al-Nusra, which the Learned Elders of Islam considered was growing too powereful... (Army of Islam).
According to a field report from a local correspondent, the Syrian Arab Army's 105th Brigade of the Republican Guard, alongside the Paleostine Liberation Army (PLA) and National Defense Forces (NDF), managed to capture more buildings inside of al-Mayda'ani, resulting in another retreat for the Salafist tough guys.
The local correspondent added that Jaish al-Islam is attempting to rally their forces for another counter-assault; however, their first-line of defense has already been compromised as a result of the Syrian Arab Army's powerful attack.
Jaish al-Islam cannot afford to lose another town to the Syrian Armed Forces after conceding the strategic hilltop village of Tal Kurdi near their stronghold of Douma.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/29/2016 00:00 ||
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[ALMASDARNEWS] On Sunday, Liwa al-Quds (pro-government Paleostinian paramilitary) lost one of its most prominent commanders during festivities in northeastern Aleppo. Colonel 'Mohammed Rafi' was killed while leading his Paleostinian Sunni fighters on the frontline during initially tough urban warfare with Islamist rebel factions on the perimeter of the Hanano district.
Mohammed Rafi, sometimes refered to as the 'Godfather', was personally decorated by the Russian military in early October following the liberation of the Handarat camp, a battle the colonel himself helped plan and which lay the groundwork for more recent advances.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/29/2016 00:00 ||
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#1
Ag! Thanks for the appetite suppressant graphic.
[ALMASDARNEWS] The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) is on the verge of direct military conflict with the Turkish Armed Forces in Aleppo province after Syrian government troops seized a village from Turkish supported rebel forces on Monday evening.
Pushing eastwards from a batch of recently captured villages on the outskirts of Aleppo city, the SAA's Republican Guard and the newly formed 'Syrian National Resistance' (SNR) were able to wrestle control of Azraq village, thus advancing the SAA's forward units to positions just five kilometers from al-Bab city.
The SNR is formed out of the 'Kafr Saghir Martyrs Brigade', a predominately Kurdish pro-government unit which spearheaded the capture of Aleppo Infantry School exactly one month ago. Notably, the SNR is a key player in improving regional relations between the SAA and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
In fact, the SDF provided fire support for the SAA's capture of Azraq.
Meanwhile, ...back at the wine tasting, Vince was about to start on his third quart... Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army ... the more palatable version of the Syrian insurgency, heavily influenced by the Moslem Brüderbund... (FSA) factions seized yet another village from ISIS on the eastern outskirts of al-Bab; namely Zurzur. The FSA and SDF are also clashing with each other nearby although neither side could yield any sustainable gains.
With the SAA and FSA gradually advancing towards al-Bab, ISIS fighters are bracing themselves for the coming assault. Turkish tanks have shelled the city heavily over the past few weeks while the SDF now seems unlikely to be able to mount an offensive towards 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.... stronghold.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/29/2016 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.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] At least eight Taliban 
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] A top leader of the loyalists of 
[AnNahar] Algerian
Jeddah- Coup militiamen in Yemen stopped two medical cargoes from entering the war-torn country, sending them back to Djibouti, sources said.
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] 
Security forces on Monday claimed to have killed two suspected militants in Balochistan's Dera Bugti district.
Salahuddin (IraqiNews.com) Two policemen were killed and 11 civilians were wounded late Sunday in a mortar attack in Sharqat, Salahuddin, a security source said Monday to AlMada Press.
Salahuddin (IraqiNews.com) Four police agents were killed on Monday in an attack by Islamic State militants in Samarra, Salahuddin, said a government official.
Salahuddin (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi security forces killed all members of the Islamic State extremist group who sneaked into Samarra district, in southern Salahuddin, and a number of police officers were either killed or wounded while repulsing the attack, Alsumaria reported on Monday.
Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) Al-Hashd al-Shaabi militias said Monday they they recaptured two villages near the strategic town of Tal Afar as operations continue to free it from Islamic State militants.
Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi joint forces recaptured on Monday another village on its way to the heart of the city of Mosul as part of an operation that launched in October to liberate the city from Islamic State militant.
Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) We Are Coming, Nineveh Operations Command announced on Monday liberating the areas of Nineveh Plain from the control of the Islamic State extremist group completely.
The Iraqi army and Mobilization forces continued on Monday striking the terrorists in Mosul, liberating the entire Nineveh plain in the south of the city.
Nineveh (Reuters) The Iraqi government has asked civilians in Mosul to stay at home during the offensive, as humanitarian organizations say they can not cope with an influx of hundreds of thousands of people displaced from the city.
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] ISIS has 
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] The Iraqi military estimates there are 5,000-6,000 
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Israel’s air force targeted gunman linked to the ISIS group in Syria overnight, the army said Monday, after they fired on an Israeli soldier in the occupied Golan Heights.
An Iranian vessel pointed its weapons [ed: "machine guns"] at a US Navy helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz at the weekend, it has been revealed. 
Manbij – Militant fighters of the Islamic State (ISIS) launched on Monday an offensive on the Syrian northern city of Manbij, targeting positions of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
...Liwa al-Islam (Brigade of Islam) was established by Zahran Alloush, the son of Saudi-based religious scholar Abdullah Mohammed Alloush, after Syrian authorities released him from prison in mid-2011 where he had been serving time for his Salafist activism. The group claimed responsibility for carrying out the July 2012 Damascus bombing that killed Defense Minister Dawoud Rajiha, Deputy Defense Minister Asef Shawkat, and Assistant Vice President Hassan Turkmani. It was a driving force behind actions in the Damascus region. It cooperated and conducted joint operations with al-Nusra. In Sptember 2013 Saudi Arabia engineered Liwa al-Islam's merger with fifty other more or less Salafist groups as a counterweight to al-Nusra, which the Learned Elders of Islam considered was growing too powereful...
[ALMASDARNEWS] On Sunday, Liwa al-Quds (pro-government Paleostinian paramilitary) lost one of its most prominent commanders during 
