A senior commander of the Taliban group was killed along with at least 20 other militants during the counter-terrorism operations in the past 24 hours, the Ministry of Interior (MoI) said Sunday.
According to a statement by MoI “In past 24 hours, Afghan National Police launched four Counter-Terrorism joint operations to clear some of the areas from terrorists and enemies of peace and stability of Afghanistan.”
The statement further added that the operations were conducted in Kapisa, Parwan, Oruzgan and Khost provinces.
“As a result 21 armed militants were killed including a senior commander of armed Taliban,” MoI added.
According to MoI, Afghan National Police discovered and confiscated light and heavy rounds of ammunition and an explosives-laden vehicle during the operations.
The anti-government armed militant groups including the Taliban insurgents have not commented regarding the report so far.
This comes as the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) are busy conducting their annual counter-terrorism operation to suppress the insurgency activities of the militant groups.
The annual, Shafaq, military operation was launched in response to Taliban’s spring offensive which was launched earlier in April this year.
The security officials are saying that the annual ANDSF operations aim to eliminate the key leaders of the anti-government armed militant groups.
At least seven civilians were killed in an explosion in eastern Nangarhar province of Afghanistan earlier today.
The Ministry of Interior (MoI) said the incident took place in Pachiragam district, targeting a vehicle carrying civilians.
MoI further added at least two civilians also sustained injuries in the incident.
Condemning the attack in strong words, MoI said “The enemies of peace and stability committed another unforgivable and shameful crime in Nangarhar province.”
The Ministry further added “Today early morning, a roadside bomb which was placed by enemies of peace and stability of Afghanistan hit a civilian vehicle in the Bargholi village, Pachiragam district of Nangarhar province.”
No group including the Taliban insurgents has so far claimed responsibility behind the incident.
Nangarhar is among the relatively calm provinces in east of Afghanistan but the anti-government armed militant groups including the Taliban insurgents and ISIS loyalists are active in some of its districts.
Taliban militants and insurgents belonging to other militant groups are frequently using Improvised Explosive Device (IED) as the weapon of their choice to target the security forces and government officials.
However, in majority of such attacks, the ordinary civilians are targeted as the anti-government armed militants are accused of incurring the most casualties to the civilians.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said late in October last year that the mission has documented 8,397 conflict-related civilian casualties (2,562 deaths and 5,835 injured) between 1 January and 30 September, representing a one per cent decrease compared to the same period in 2015.
Ground engagements remained the leading cause of civiliancasualties, followed by suicide and complex attacks, and improvised explosive devices (IEDs), UNAMA said, adding that the anti-Government Elements caused 61 per cent of civilian casualties – 1,569 civilian deaths and 3,574 injured (5,143 total civilian casualties).
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] A senior government official was rubbed out by unknown gunnies in northern Baghlan province of Afghanistan, local officials said.
The incident took place earlier today after gunnies riding cycle of violence opened fire on Abdul Safa Sanayi, the acting provincial chief of the Sectoral Department.
Local security official said the incident took place around 8 am local time when Mr. Sanayi was on his towards his office.
The officials further added that Mr. Sanayi received a bullet in his head and the gunnies managed to flee the area.
Provincial police front man Zabiullah Shuja confirmed the incident and said an investigation is underway regarding the incident.
The Talibs group grabbed credit behind the incident with the group’s front man Zabiullah Mujahid saying the liquidation was carried out by the group’s fighters.
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[Khaama (Afghanistan)] Hashim Karzai, the cousin of former Afghanistan's Caped PresidentHamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai ... A former Baltimore restaurateur, 12th President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in an attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use... , has succumbed to injuries he sustained in a deadly bombing in Kandahar last week.
Sources close to the victim’s family have said Hashim died of his wounds while receiving treatments in a hospital in India.
Hashim Karzai was a trader and his death has been confirmed by the provincial government.
Over 10 people bit the dust including five UAE diplomats after explosives planted in governor’s guesthouse went off last Tuesday.
No group including the Taliban gunnies has so far grabbed credit behind the incident.
The Taliban group rejected their involvement in the attack and blamed the local officials for having internal disputes that led to the incident.
However, it's easy to be generous with someone else's money... the Afghan security officials said the attack was plotted outside the country as an investigation is underway.
A delegation of the UAE officials have also reportedly arrived in Kandahar to probe the deadly incident.
The kaboom last Tuesday took place as the UAE ambassador and diplomats had visited the province for the inauguration of a humanitarian project.
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01/17/2017 00:00 ||
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[IsraelTimes] Gunmen killed eight coppers late Monday in an attack on a checkpoint in el-Wadi el-Gedid province in southwest Egypt, the interior ministry said.
Two of the attackers were killed when security forces fought back, and three other security personnel were maimed, the ministry said in a statement.
The attack took place on al-Naqab checkpoint, about 80 kilometres (50 miles) from el-Kharga city, the capital of the province, the ministry said.
There has been no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which bore the hallmarks of Islamic myrmidons.
The attack was in the remote Wadi al-Jadid province and came a week after eight other coppers were killed by jihadist holy warriors in the northern part of the Sinai Peninsula.
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.... terror group said on January 10 it was behind a boom-mobile assault on a police checkpoint in the Sinai that killed eight people a day earlier.
[AlAhram] One civilian was killed and two were maimed when an improvised bomb (IED) detonated in the North Sinai city of al-Arish on Monday, al-Ahram Arabic news website reported, citing medical sources. According to al-Ahram, the IED was planted in piles of garbage on Ahmed Oraby Street in the city's center.
No group has yet grabbed credit for the attack, which comes a day after Egyptian police said they were able to kill a leading figure in the terrorist group Ansar Beit al-Maqdis during a house raid in al-Arish.
In a separate incident, a security source told al-Ahram that unknown gunnies seized on Monday a general tax authority car at gunpoint in the North Sinai city. The security source said the car was taken to an unknown location.
They added that security forces were currently combing the area to arrest the culprits.
[Libya Herald] Streets in several areas of western Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... remained blocked today for the third day running today as a local militia continued to try to force the release of their commander, Adel Sifau. Locally known as "Shita", he was enjugged Please don't kill me! on Friday by the Rada ("Deterrence") forces following a series of raids in Gargaresh apparently aimed at cracking down on drug and alcohol dealers, as well as illegal immigration rackets and prostitution in the area.
The largely Amazigh 12th Brigade, which also calls itself the "Hay Andalus Defence Operations Room", set up sand barriers and checkpoints from Hay Andalus to Ghut Shaal, Serraj and Janzur and are said to be arresting anyone from Suq al-Juma.
Sifau, said to come from the Jebel Nafusa town of Kabaw, was grabbed by Rada forces on Friday and Rada has accused him of being involved in various criminal activities. In a statement, it said that he had been arrested while trying to protect his illicit businesses in Gargaresh. A source close to Rada has since claimed that under interrogation, Sifau had confessed to several crimes. These, he told the Libyan Herald, had included kidnapping for ransom.
In its own statement on social media, the 12th Brigade subsequently threatened to retaliate, saying that it would join forces with other militias opposed to Rada. These include those under Misratan militia commander Salah Badi ...a Misrata militia commander, self-appointed colonel and a member of the Wafa Islamist bloc. He was cashiered from the Libyan army in 1992 because he was nuts... . There are now reports that the 12th brigade is receiving encouragement from Tripoli and Misrata hardliners.
It already has close links to the Janzour-based Mobile Forces.
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[Libya Observer] The commander of the Third Force that is securing the southern region, Jamal al-Triki, said fuel and cooking gas arrived in Sabha oil stock, pointing out that the operation was secured by the Third Force personnel.
Talking to the press, al-Triki said Monday that the fuel started arriving in the city on last Saturday while the trucks loaded with cooking gas cylinders have resumed the journey to Sabha this morning.
"The road between Misrata and Sabha is safe. There are no security violations on the road. The Third Force secured the fuel tanker trucks from Misrata to Sabha oil stock." al-Triki added.
He also denied what he called the rumors that said the Third Force prevented the trucks laden with gas cylinders and fuel to enter the southern region, stressing that it was some fighters of Mohammed Ben Nayel’s force who set up checkpoints on some roads that lead to the south and then stopped the trucks and disallowed them to reach southern oil stocks.
Libya’s southern districts have been suffering from an acute shortage of fuel and cooking gas for days due to the hurdles put in the way of the trucks disallowing them to arrive to the oil stocks.
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[MIDDLE-EAST-ONLINE] Forces loyal to Marshal Khalifa Haftar ... served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all... on Monday retook a district in Libya's Benghazi from jihadists after fighting that killed nine soldiers in two days, a military source said.
Marshal Haftar sure has a lot of campaign ribbons. I'm waiting for him to start wearing sprockets...
"We now control the district of Abu Sneib" in the southwest of the city, said a commanding officer in the army headed by Haftar, who backs the parliament in the country's east.
"Our forces now completely surround the Qanfuda area" nearby, the same source said.
The source said 52 troops had died in fighting since January 1 in and around Benghazi.
Haftar has managed to retake a large part of the eastern coastal city from jihadists since Benghazi came under their control in 2014. But jihadists still control the central districts of al-Saberi and Souq al-Hout.
These jihadist groups include the Revolutionary Shura Council of Benghazi, an alliance of Islamist militias that includes the al-Qaeda-linked Ansar al-Sharia ...a Salafist militia which claims it is not part of al-Qaeda, even though it works about the same and for the same ends. There are groups of the same name in Libyaand Yemen, with the Libyan versions currently most active. Tunisia's Shabaab al-Tawhid started out an Ansar al-Sharia and changed its name in early 2014. It still uses the old name now and then, probably because the stationery's not all used up and the web site hasn't expired yet... Benghazi was the cradle of the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed dictator Moamer Qadaffy.
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[AnNahar] At least two people were killed in a suspected suicide kaboom on a university campus in northeast Nigeria ... a particularly crimson stretch of Islam's bloody border... , a local resident, a lecturer and emergency services told AFP on Monday.
The blast happened at 5:25 am (0425 GMT) at a mosque in the staff quarters area of the University of Maiduguri and is thought to have been carried out by a teenage girl.
Suspicion will likely fall on the Islamist group 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... , which has repeatedly used young women and girls as human bombs to target worshippers.
There were reports locally of a separate kaboom but details were not immediately available.
"At exactly 5:25 am, while I was leaving the mosque in my neighbourhood, I heard two kabooms," said one local resident, who asked not to be identified. "I rushed to the university, which is not far from my house. On entering, I saw the mosque in a mess. Three people lay dead, including a maiden, whose body was badly mutilated.
"Thirteen other worshippers were maimed."
A university lecturer who lives on site confirmed the resident's account.
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) tweeted: "A #bomb went kaboom! at the #mosque at the University of #Maiduguri during early morning prayers. Rescue operations ongoing..."
Access to the university campus has been strictly controlled, with checkpoints and searches at the gates. But the site, on one of the main thoroughfares leading in to and out of the city, is vast and most areas are badly lit.
Witnesses say two bombs have went kaboom! at Nigeria's northeastern University of Maiduguri, killing five people.
One student said the first blast destroyed the mosque where professors were saying dawn prayers and many are feared among the victims. A university worker said the second bomb went off at an entrance gate. Both spoke on condition of anonymity for their safety.
Police front man Victor Isuku confirmed Monday's kabooms but said rescuers are still ferrying the maimed to hospitals and evacuating bodies, making it difficult to give a toll.
Maiduguri has been attacked many times but this is the first attack on the university blamed on Boko Haram.
Boko Haram has said it was behind Monday's twin suicide kaboom at a university in north eastern Nigeria which killed two people.
A video featuring an audio recording purporting to be leader Abubakar Shekau ... the lunatic leader of Boko Haram who has been reported dead at least eleven times, pledged his body and soul to ISIS, told his fighters to hang it up once or twice, and been fired by the Caliph and refused to step down ... was posted on social media late on Monday. Rooters was unable to verify if the voice was indeed his.
"The bomb that went kaboom! on Monday morning, it's our brothers responsible for it," the recording said.
A professor at the University of Maiduguri and a child were killed and 17 people maimed in a twin suicide kaboom, officials said on the day of the attack.
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01/17/2017 01:44 ||
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[al-Manar] Units of Yemeni army and Popular Committees fought off Sunday night two major advances by the Saudi-led coalition militiamen in Shabwa province from Asilan side.
A Yemeni military source stated that the aggression militiamen tried to advance from two axes under heavy aerial coverage by the Saudi-US aggression warplanes.
The source confirmed that “a large number of the aggression mercenaries were killed or wounded in Asilan,” adding that “the dead bodies were left on the battlefield.”
“The militiamen crawl lasted for hours and was covered by more than 10 air strikes, four of them threw cluster bombs,” the source said.
[ALMASDARNEWS] The president of Yemen’s Supreme Political Council, Saleh al-Samad, said to al-Mayadeen television that all attempts for the Saudi-backed forces to reach the strategic Bab-al-Mandeb Strait has been resisted, and that the mercenaries are fighting with the support of Riyadh and on behalf of Israel.
The battle "is not with the mercenaries, nor Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... , it is a battle with Israel, primarily," he claimed.
He added that Saudi Arabia is too weak to launch such a wide military campaign against 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... without Israel’s support, pointing to recent meetings between Saudi officials and a number of Israelis, PressTV reported.
He then accused Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, Yemen’s former president who asked Saudi Arabia to launch war on his home country, of attempting to subjugate the Yemeni people by playing the economic card, in an apparent reference to the embargo that had been imposed on Yemen by Riyadh, the report continued.
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[BREITBART] Spanish officials say police have locked away Please don't kill me! a Moroccan boxing coach suspected of heading a cell that spread propaganda and recruited holy warriors for 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.... gang.
The Interior Ministry said the man arrested Monday in the northern city of San Sebastian had ties with another suspect arrested in Strasbourg, La Belle France, on Nov. 20. He also had shared an apartment in San Sebastian with man later arrested in Morocco, who was suspected of receiving instructions from IS members for carrying out attacks in Europe.
The statement said the Moroccan arrested Monday had been active since 2010 and used his job as boxing coach to recruit marginalized youths for jihad activities.
New recruits would be sent to The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... where they would receive training and instructions for potential attacks in Europe, it said.
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An explosion occurred in Turkey’s southeastern city of Diyarbakir, the NTV channel reported Jan. 16. Reportedly, the blast occurred in the city’s Sur district, where the Dicle University campus is located.
The number of policemen killed by the explosion in Diyarbakir’s Sur district has reached four, and other two policemen are injured, the Milliyet newspaper reports. The number of the injured people has reached nine, NTV reports. The condition of the injured people is serious.
According to preliminary reports, the explosion was caused by an explosive device installed on the roadside near the campus of the Dicle University. The blast occurred when an armored police car was passing by.
According to Milliyet, several policemen were stuck inside the car mangled by the explosion. Employees of the Emergency Situations Ministry and firefighters are working at the site.
[BBC] The main suspect in the New Year's Eve attack on an exclusive nightclub in Istanbul has been placed in durance vile Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages! , Turkish media report.
Abdulkadir Masharipov is believed to have mounted the attack on the Reina club in which 39 people were killed. The Uzbek national is said to have been caught in Istanbul's Esenyurt district.
He's being transferred to the police station in a Baltimore paddy wagon...
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.... said it was behind the attack, saying it was Dire Revenge for Turkish military involvement in Syria.
The gunman arrived at the club by taxi early that Sunday, before rushing through the entrance with a long-barrelled gun he had taken from the boot of the car. He fired randomly at people celebrating the new year.
Turkish media say the suspect rented a flat in the central Turkish city of Konya with a woman believed to be his wife and two children. He arrived in Istanbul on 15 December, according to the Hurriyet newspaper's sources.
It was the culmination of a huge police manhunt: a raid on the Istanbul suburb of Esenyurt that finally caught the alleged Reina attacker, named as Uzbek national Abdulkadir Masharipov
Photographs show him with a heavily bruised face, wearing a grey T-shirt and being held by his throat.
Police reportedly found the suspect along with his four year-old son at the home of a Kyrgyz friend in the city. Turkish media say that his friend was also detained, along with three women.
According to the Hurriyet newspaper, he was due to undergo medical checks before being taken in for interrogation at a police headquarters.
The reports add that police also carried out raids on other suspected IS krazed killers..
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01/17/2017 00:00 ||
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[LEGALINSURRECTION] President Obama is slowly draining the terrorist prison in Guantanamo Bay before turning the White House keys over to Trump.
In the wee hours of the morning, it was announced that Oman accepted ten GITMO prisoners.
How long before they're in Raqqa?
From the Wall Street Journal:
Oman accepted the men in accordance with U.S. efforts to settle the Guantanamo issue, the country’s state-controlled news agency said in a brief statement, citing an Omani Foreign Ministry source. It didn’t release the names or nationalities of the men. A request for further details wasn’t immediately returned.
The transfer follows others by the U.S. to its Persian Gulf allies in recent years. Many of the detainees have been Yemenis whom the U.S. hesitated to resettle in their home country given the continuing conflict and political instability there.
As the WSJ points out, there were 55 detainees remaining before the latest prisoner transfer to Oman.
Over the last several months, President Obama has released a total of thirty-one prisoners (including those recently released):
In August 2016, the largest single release under President Obama took place, when 15 men — 12 Yemenis and three Afghans — were released in the United Arab Emirates. Six of these men had been approved for release by Obama’s task force in 2010, and nine others had been approved for release by Periodic Review Boards. In October, another release took place — of Mohamedou Ould Slahi, torture victim and best-selling author, who had also been approved for release by a PRB, and in December another Yemeni approved for release by a PRB was freed in Cape Verde.
As 2017 began, President Obama released four more Yemeni prisoners — to Saudi Arabia, also promising to release between 13 and 15 of the 19 men approved for release before he leaves office and the uncertainties of Donald Trump’s presidency begin in earnest.
Campaigning prior to the 2008 election, President Obama promised to shutter GITMO. President-elect Trump has promised to keep the detention facility open.
The sultanate of Oman, on the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula, previously accepted 10 Guantanamo prisoners from 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... in January 2016. Oman also took another six in June 2015. Meanwhile, ...back at the bunker, his Excellency called a hurried meeting of his closest advisors. It was to be his last. They discussed the officers's efficiency rating system... Oman's neighbor Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... took four prisoners on Jan. 5 and the United Arab Emirates took 15 prisoners in the largest-single transfer during Obama's administration on Aug. 15.
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#1
After Ostupid leaves, Trump should ask for them to be sent back to us.
#3
We can add to his legacy that he almost closed Gitmo like he promised.
Posted by: Bobby ||
01/17/2017 8:12 Comments ||
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#4
"Guantanamo issue". There's only an issue for terrorist muzzie sympathizers and foolish Democrats who promise things without understanding why they're doing ill to America. And those whose Legacy™ aims to undermine America
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/17/2017 8:29 Comments ||
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[AnNahar] Three hard boyz were killed in an overnight shootout with soldiers in a village in Indian Kashmire, an army front man said Monday.
Rajesh Kalia said troops cordoned off the village near the tourist resort of Pahalgam after receiving a tip that fighters were hiding out in a private home there.
"On specific intelligence army soldiers cordoned off the village on Sunday evening and the shootout started," Kalia told AFP.
"Three gunnies have been killed. Their bodies and weapons have been retrieved."
A local police officer said soldiers using mortar fire had destroyed the house.
Suspected militants on Monday killed two police officials in different areas of Quetta.
"Unknown miscreants opened fire at a police constable in the Killi Deba area of Quetta," said police officials. They added the constable died on the spot.
In another incident, suspected militants opened fire near the Passport Office area and killed another police official on duty.
The attackers managed to escape from the scene in both cases, with police officials terming the incidents as acts of target killings.
Both attacks took place with in a span of two hours.
The bodies were taken to Civil Hospital Quetta for postmortem.
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.
Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) The Iraqi army’s Counter-Terrorism Forces invaded on Monday al-Shurta district in eastern Mosul, pushing closer towards victory in operations against Islamic State militants in that region.
The Defense Ministry’s War Media Cell said the forces invaded the district backed by army tanks.
The recapturing of Mosul, Islamic State’s last stronghold in Iraq, has become “a matter of time”, Iraq’s Federal Police commander, Raed Shaker Jawdat, said earlier.
Islamic State has lost control over its fighters, and is sustaining defeats everywhere in the city, Jawdat was quoted by Sputnik News as saying.
On Sunday, Iraq’s military statements said government joint forces had retaken 80 districts in the city’s eastern section, accounting for 90 percent of neighborhoods at that region.
The recent recapture of Mosul University campus, an outstanding Islamic State bastion, had made a remarkable impetus to the advancement of the forces. The university overlooks some of the remaining districts on the targets list.
An Iraqi army lieutenant, Haider al-Sedi, was quoted by Anadolu Agency as saying that Iraqi forces became close to announcing the recapture of the whole eastern region of the city. He added that the remaining districts within IS control in that region were within the forces’ firing reach, and only contain a few militants after many had fled.
Iraqi forces, backed by US-led advisors and fighter jets, as well as popular militias, launched operations to retake Mosul last October. The conflict has forced nearly 178.000 civilians to flee homes.
Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi army forces recaptured on Monday two of the last few districts in eastern Mosul that remain under Islamic State control.
Joint operations commander in Nineveh, Lt. Gen. Abdul-Amir Yarallah, said in a statement that the forces recaptured the districts of al-Kindi and Qayrawan north of the eastern section of Mosul.
Federal Police said earlier Monday they invaded al-Shorta neighborhood.
Iraq’s military statements said government joint forces had retaken 80 districts in the city’s eastern section, accounting for 90 percent of neighborhoods at that region.
The recent recapture of Mosul University campus, an outstanding Islamic State bastion, had made a remarkable impetus to the advancement of the forces. The university overlooks some of the remaining districts on the targets list.
An Iraqi army lieutenant, Haider al-Sedi, was quoted by Anadolu Agency as saying that Iraqi forces became close to announcing the recapture of the whole eastern region. He added that the remaining districts within IS control in that region were within the forces’ firing reach, and only contain a few militants after many had fled.
Iraqi forces, backed by US-led advisors and fighter jets, as well as popular militias, launched operations to retake Mosul last October. The conflict has forced nearly 178.000 civilians to flee homes.
Iraqi forces capture mosque in Mosul Prolly need to resupply with ammo, so what better place...
Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi joint security forces managed to liberate the mosque of Nabi Yunus (The Prophet Yunis) in the city of Mosul, as well as raising Iraqi flag over it, a source told Alsumaria News on Monday.
The source said in a press interview, “Military troops of the Counter-Terrorism Service managed to liberate the mosque of Nabi Yunus in central Mosul, and raised Iraqi flag over its building.”
In 2014, the Islamic State group blew up the mosque that was built on the burial site of the prophet Yunis (Known in the Bible as Jonah) after storming the city of Mosul.
Earlier today, We Are Coming Nineveh Operations Command also announced liberating al-Jamasa neighborhood and raising Iraqi flag over its buildings.
Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) Commander of Nineveh Operations, Major General Najim al-Jabouri, announced on Monday, that Iraqi army’s 16th brigade destroyed 17 booby-trapped vehicles belonging to the Islamic State, after liberating the areas in the northern axis of the city of Mosul.
Jabouri said in a press statement, “Security forces from the army’s 16 brigade managed to destroy 17 booby-trapped vehicles belonging to the Islamic State, after liberating the areas of al-Kindi, Qayrawan and al-Arabi, in the northern axis of Mosul.”
“Security forces were also able to confiscate seven caches of weapons belonging to the Islamic State in the neighborhoods of Qayrawan and Kindi,” Jabouri added.
Noteworthy, second phase of the battle to liberate the city of Mosul was launched in October 29, 2016, to retake the remaining areas of eastern Mosul.
Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) Nineveh Operations Command announced on Monday, that 25 members of the Islamic State were killed and four headquarters were destroyed in the liberation operations of the northern axis of the city of Mosul.
Commander of operations Maj. Gn. Najim al-Jabouri said in a press statement, “Troops of the army’s 16th brigade managed to kill 25 members of the Islamic State, as well as destroying four headquarters belonging to the group in the neighborhoods of al-Arabi and al-Kindi, in the northern axis of the city of Mosul.”
Noteworthy, second phase of the battle to liberate the city of Mosul was launched in October 29, 2016, to retake the remaining areas of eastern Mosul.
MOSUL, IRAQ: Iraqi forces battling the Daesh group in Mosul on Monday retook an area where the jihadists levelled one of the city’s most well-known shrines in 2014, officials said.
“We retook control of Nabi Yunus area... raised the Iraqi flag above the tomb,” Sabah Al-Noman, spokesman for the Counter-Terrorism Service spearheading the Mosul offensive, told AFP.
He said two other neighborhoods in eastern Mosul were also retaken from Daesh on Monday.
The Nabi Yunus shrine — which was built on the reputed burial site of a prophet known in the Qur'an as Yunus and in the Bible as Jonah — was a popular pilgrimage site.
In July 2014, weeks after overrunning Mosul and much of Iraq’s Sunni Arab heartland, Daesh militants rigged the shrine and blew it up, sparking global outrage.
Daesh destroyed several other key landmarks in Mosul and elsewhere it considered as part of heretical rituals and practices.
Staff Lt. Gen. Abdulghani Assadi, a top commander in the CTS, said “about 90 percent” of east Mosul was now under government control.
Commanders have said it would only take a few more days to flush out the last jihadists remaining on the east bank of the Tigris River than splits the city in two.
The destruction of all bridges over the river in air strikes has made it difficult for Daesh fighters in east Mosul to resupply or escape to the west bank, which they still fully control.
The western side of Mosul, which is home to the old city and some of the jihadists’ traditional bastions, was always tipped as likely to offer the most resistance.
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01/17/2017 00:00 ||
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Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) One person was killed and five others were wounded on Monday when two explosive devices exploded west and north of Baghdad.
A police source told Alsumaria News that the bomb was planted on the side of a road near commercial shops in Bakriya, west of baghdad, killing one and wounding three people.
The source, who asked not to be named, said another bomb exploded in Tarimiya, north of the capital, targeting a passing al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces). Two troopers from the patrol were wounded, said the source.
Nobody claimed responsibility for the bombing yet, but Islamic State militants have said they were responsible for several bloody explosions that hit the capital in recent weeks.
Violence surged in Iraq with the emergence of Islamic State militants who took over large areas of the country in 2014. Baghdad has been witnessing almost daily bombings targeting civilians and security personnel.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) says violence in the country had left 19000 casualties in nine months of 2016.
Observers believe Islamic State have begun to escalate attacks outside the city of Mosul, where the group has been losing ground and personnel since October, so as to relieve pressure by government forces on that front and to divert attention from group losses.
While losing Mosul could be the severest blow to the group’s existence in Iraq, some observers believe attacks outside the province prove that the extremist group can still pose a security threat.
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Diyala (IraqiNews.com) One policeman was killed and four others were wounded Monday when a suicide bomber blew himself up near a checkpoint in Khales, Diyala.
A statement by the the Defense Ministry’s War Media Cell said the forces foiled a wider-scale attack after they discovered the approaching suicide attacker and chased him away before he blew up himself.
Despite the casualties, the statement praised what it described as “vigilance” and “improved performance” which the foiling of the attack reflected.
Violence surged in Iraq with the emergence of Islamic State militants who took over large areas of the country in 2014. Baghdad has been witnessing almost daily bombings targeting civilians and security personnel.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) says violence in the country had left 19000 casualties in nine months of 2016.
Observers believe Islamic State have begun to escalate attacks outside the city of Mosul, where the group has been losing ground and personnel since October, so as to relieve pressure by government forces on that front and to divert attention from group losses.
While losing Mosul could be the severest blow to the group’s existence in Iraq, some observers believe attacks outside the province prove that the extremist group can still pose a security threat.
Diyala (IraqiNews.com) Diyala Police Command announced on Monday conducting a proactive operation in the areas south of Baqubah, in order to chase the Islamic State’s cells in the area.
Spokesman for Diyala Pollice, Col. Ghalib al-Attiyah, said in a press statement, “Joint security forces carried out a proactive military operation to search the areas south of Baqubah.”
“The operation covered the areas of al-Qatoun, al-Muradiyah, al-Sih and al-Ayt south of the province, on the banks of Diyala River,” Attiyah explained.
“The operation was conducted to protect civilians and chase the sleeper cells of the Islamic State,” Attiyah further added.
Large areas of the province of Diyala was captured by the Islamic State extremist group, and still witness several acts of violence.
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01/17/2017 00:00 ||
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[ALMASDARNEWS] Abdul-Karim Mahmoud, mayor of the town of Annah, said the clearing of western Anbar from ISIS turbans had been delayed due to bombs and landmines planted by the group at the entrances of Annah, as well as the existence of hundreds of civilian families at residential areas, IraqiNews reported.
"Annah is home to several families that migrated from western Anbar and Ramadi when they were still under 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.... control," the official said, pointing out shortages in food and medical supplies due to IS control over the town for three years.
Security sources in Anbar said three days ago that the recently-launched military operations, backed by tribal militias, had stopped until security troops consummate the liberation of djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... , ISIS' largest stronghold in Iraq that has been witnessing a more remarkable operation since October to drive out IS bully boys, the report continued.
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[ALMASDARNEWS] Staff Lieutenant General Abdulghani al-Assadi, a high ranking commander in Iraq's Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) announced late on Monday that around 90% of eastern djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... has been liberated from ISIS.
He explained that intense festivities are still occurring between the CTS and ISIS fighters.
Once the entirety of eastern Mosul is liberated, Iraqi forces will begin to concentrate their attack on western Mosul, in which the Tigris river separates the two portions of the city.
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[REUTERS] Iraqi special forces battled 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.... murderous Moslems in districts near the Tigris river in djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... on Monday as they sought to bring more of the east of the city back under government control.
The latest festivities occurred in the neighboring Shurta and Andalus districts. At least three Islamic State suicide boom-mobiles targeted Iraqi forces in Andalus. There was no immediate word on any casualties. In an online post, Islamic State said it had carried out a "martyrdom operation" in the area.
Iraq's elite Counter Terrorism Service (CTS) said the holy warriors, who seized Mosul in 2014 as they swept across much of northern Iraq, only to since lose much of that terrain to government counter-offensives, were fighting back hard.
"We've begun breaching (Shurta) but there was an attack a few moments ago. By the end of the day we'll make some progress," CTS front man Sabah al-Numan said.
Shurta and Andalus are situated close to the eastern bank of the Tigris, separated only by some woodland, and within sight of the city's northernmost bridge across the river.
Iraqi forces, which have reached three of the five bridges, say they will soon fully control the eastern bank. They have already taken areas of the river bank further south.
Once the east bank is recaptured, they can begin attacks on western Mosul, which the Sunni Moslem myrmidonsnuffies still hold.
Iraqi forces have seized most of the east in a 3-month-old U.S.-backed campaign to oust the murderous Moslems from Iraq's second largest city, Islamic State's last major Iraqi stronghold. The Tigris bisects Mosul from north to south.
A Rooters cameraman in a southern district along the Tigris said snipers from elite interior ministry combat units were firing across the river at Islamic State positions.
Fighting has intensified since the turn of the year as Iraqi forces have renewed an offensive against the ultra-hardline holy warriors. Troops had got bogged down in late November and December after entering Mosul as IS fighters fought back with boom-mobiles and snipers, and concealed themselves among a civilian population of up to 1.5 million.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[Ynet] ISIS has grabbed credit for a shooting attack it said killed a Jordanian soldier earlier this month.
The U.S.-based SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors Lion of Islam internet traffic, on Tuesday quoted the IS news agency Amaq as saying that an IS "security detachment" killed 1st Sgt. Bassam Hourani in the southern Maan province Jan. 6.
Good to know, especially as we seem to have missed it when it happened.
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01/17/2017 00:38 ||
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[YNETNEWS] The Shin Bet and the IDF arrested 13 Hamas activists in the West Bank overnight Sunday, including a member of the Hamas Palestinian Legislative Council.
During the operation, security forces found and confiscated thousands of shekels, a vehicle and Hamas propaganda material.
In recent weeks, the Shin Bet exposed, also together with the IDF, a widescale Hamas infrastructure operating in Ramallah and the Binyamin region in which the headquarters of the organization were discovered.
The headquarters, consisting of an eight-tier hierarchy made up of dozens of activists, worked to strengthen Hamas’s grip in the West Bank as an organization and influential element throughout the area.
Among a range of activities, the Hamas headquarters operated through social and economic channels and provided economic support to prisoners, families of terrorists and Hamas student cells.
Moreover, the headquarters disseminated Hamas propaganda material and sponsored rallies.
They were were continuously financed, according to the Shin bet, by Hamas officials abroad and in the Gaza Strip.
[IsraelTimes] A Paleostinian teen was rubbed out Monday evening during festivities with Israeli security forces in the southern West Bank, the Paleostinian health ministry said. The IDF said the shooting occurred during a "violent riot" in which Paleostinian hurled rocks at security forces in the Bethlehem-area village of Tuqua, near the settlement of Tekoa in the Etzion Bloc.
"Due to the extent of violence, Border Police fired 0.22-caliber rounds toward the main violence instigator, resulting in his death," an army spokeswoman said.
The Tuqua municipality identified the youth as 17-year-old Qusay Hussein Umour. The Paleostinian Red Islamic Thingy, quoted by the Ma’an news agency, said Umour was detained by Israeli forces after being shot three times, and only handed over to the Paleostinians for medical treatment after he had died.
[Ynet] Security forces have tossed in the slammer Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un! 17 wanted suspects in the West Bank involved in terror and nationalistic activities and disruption of public order against civilians.
It was also reported that in a separate operation, thousand of shekels were found which, according to intelligence information, were received from terror organizations.
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[al-Manar] A total of 18 terrorists of the so-called ‘Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant’ (ISIL) takfiri group were “neutralized” in northern Syria over the last 24 hours as part of the ongoing Operation Euphrates Shield, the Turkish military said Monday.
Turkish authorities often use the word “neutralized” in their statements to imply the extremists in question were either killed or captured.
The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) said a total of 180 ISIL targets including shelters, defense positions, command control centers, weapons and vehicles were hit with tanks and multiple-launch rocket launchers.
Separately, Turkish jets destroyed 8 other ISIL targets including headquarters and vehicles used by the terrorists in air raids on al-Bab region, the statement added.
The Turkish army is supporting Free Syrian Army fighters in liberating Al-Bab from the ISIL group. Monday marks the 146th day since the city was surrounded in order to liberate it.
The operation is part of the Turkish-led Operation Euphrates Shield, which began in late August to improve security, support coalition forces, and eliminate the threat along Turkey’s border using gunmen of the so-called ‘Free Syrian Army’ backed by Turkish artillery and jets.
In total, 43 landmines and 2,933 improvised explosive devices have been defused since the start of the operation on Aug. 24.
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[ALMASDARNEWS] ISIS-affiliated Amaq News Agency has announced that it has successfully split the government-held pockets of Deir Ezzor in two.
The terrorist group are now besieging the military air base that has been separated from the city.
To successfully besiege the military base, ISIS has relentlessly been sending in jacket wallahs to weaken the Syrian Army defences.
Over 40 Syrian air strikes was not enough to divert the waves of ISIS attacks.
The cemetery is still under Syrian Army control and if ISIS do not quickly capture it, they remain susceptible to a counterattack and ending the siege.
Meanwhile the Syrian Army continue to repell the ISIS offensive on the southern axis in Panorama and al-Mohandesin, whilst Syrian air strikes continue to target ISIS positions on Mt. Tharda.
The civilian areas of al-Qossour and al-Joura are being targeted by indiscriminate ISIS shelling resulting in the death of one woman and her daughter being injured.
It has been estimated that as many as 14,000 ISIS fighters are participating in this operation to capture Deir Ezzor from government forces.
Meanwhile, ...back at the alley, Slats grabbed for his rosco... ISIS has promised a house and a wife in Deir Ezzor for every fighter who participates in the battle.
As a government enclave in the middle of ISIS territory, the Syrian Army serves as a thorn in the back and diverts many ISIS fighters from other fronts such as djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... in Iraq.
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[HUFFINGTONPOST] Fighting between 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.... and the Syrian army has killed dozens since Saturday in Deir al-Zor, where the holy warrior group has launched an assault to capture a government enclave in the city, a monitoring group reported.
At least 82 people have been killed in the fighting, which is the heaviest in the city for a year, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Monday.
The dead comprised 28 from the army and allied militia, at least 40 Islamic State fighters, and 14 civilians, the British-based monitoring group said.
Syrian state news agency SANA said the army had killed dozens of Islamic State fighters in attacks on the group’s positions around Deir al-Zor.
Islamic State has held most of Deir al-Zor and the surrounding area since 2015, but the government has retained control of the airport and neighboring districts in the city, located in eastern Syria on the Euphrates river.
A U.S.-backed coalition of Kurdish and Arab militias and rival Turkish-backed Syrian rebel groups have pushed Islamic State from much of its territory in northern Syria, but it remains embedded in the country’s eastern desert and Euphrates basin.
Last month it recaptured the city of Palmyra, 185km (115 miles) southwest of Deir al-Zor, from the government in an unexpected advance that demonstrated its continuing military threat.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/17/2017 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.
[MIDDLE-EAST-ONLINE] Forces loyal to Marshal 
[BBC] The main suspect in the New Year's Eve attack on an exclusive nightclub in Istanbul has been 
[LEGALINSURRECTION] President Obama is slowly draining the terrorist prison in Guantanamo Bay before turning the White House keys over to Trump.
[REUTERS] Iraqi special forces battled 
[al-Manar] A total of 18 terrorists of the so-called ‘Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant’ (ISIL) takfiri group were “neutralized” in northern Syria over the last 24 hours as part of the ongoing Operation Euphrates Shield, the Turkish military said Monday.
