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Today: 55 articles and 148 comments as of 11:02.
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Global outcry over suspected Syria chemical attack
Today's Headlines
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Page 1: WoT Operations
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Page 2: WoT Background
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Page 3: Non-WoT
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Page 4: Opinion
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Page 6: Politix
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7 20:05 Rex Mundi [1]
Afghanistan
69 militants die in Afghan operations
At least 69 Taliban and Daesh militants were killed during Afghan security forces’ ground and air operations in the past 48 hours in different parts of the country, security officials said.

The 201 Selab Military Corps said in a statement on Monday that at least 34 Daesh militants were killed in an airstrike in Nangarhar.

The airstrike was carried out in Achin district and Daesh hideouts were targeted, said the statement.

According to the statement a Daesh local commander, Farooq, was also killed in the airstrike.

Meanwhile the 205 Maiwand Corps said in a statement on Monday at least 35 Taliban insurgents were killed in Uruzgan province.

According to the statement the Taliban insurgents were targeted during Afghan forces’ airstrikes and ground operations in several districts of Uruzgan province. Several other insurgents were also wounded.

During the operation, weapons were also seized by the Afghan forces.

No details were provided about military and civilian casualties.
Posted by: badanov || 04/05/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


9 ISIS militants killed in Afghan Special Forces operation in Nangarhar
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] At least nine murderous Moslems affiliated with 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....
of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group were killed during the operations conducted by the Special Forces of the Afghan National Police (ANP).

Local officials in 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..
said at least two murderous Moslems of ISIS terrorist group were also jugged
Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw!
during the operation.

Provincial police front man Hazrat Hussain Mashriqiwal said the operation was conducted in coordination with the Afghan Local Police (ALP) forces in the vicinity of Achin district.

The provincial police commandment in a statement said the operations were conducted in the vicinity of Pekha district of Achin on Monday.

The statement further added that a foreigner bully boy was among the two murderous Moslems arrested by the Afghan forces.

A heavy Dshk heavy machine gun belonging to the murderous Moslems was also destroyed during the operation, the police commandment added.

Posted by: Fred || 04/05/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


18 suicide bombers and 8 Pakistanis killed in South of Afghanistan
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] At least eighteen jacket wallahs and eight Pak bandidos bad boys were killed along with several other bandidos bad boys during the clearance operations in southern Zabul province of Afghanistan.

The Ministry of Defense (MoD) said the bully boyz were killed during the separate operations conducted in Shahjoi and Shalamzai districts.

According to the MoD officials, overall 31 bandidos bad boys were killed during the operations and at least two others were maimed.

Two vehicles and two cycle of violences belonging to the bandidos bad boys were also destroyed during the operations.

Posted by: Fred || 04/05/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Afghan intelligence foil suicide attack plotted by Haqqani network in Paktika
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Afghan intelligence operatives foiled a suicide plotted by the notorious Haqqani terrorist network for execution in southeastern Paktika
...which coincidentally borders South Wazoo...
province of Afghanistan.

The National Directorate of Security
...the Afghan national intel agency...
(NDS) said a suspected jacket wallah was placed in durance vile
Please don't kill me!
before he manage to carry out attack on the district police commandment of Jani Khel.

According a statement by NDS, the suspect has been identified as Mohammad Yasin who was trained on the otherside of the Durand Line for the attack by the Haqqani network.

The statement further added that Yasin was arrested in Sharana city, the thriving provincial capital of Paktika before he manage to carry out the attack.

According to NDS, Yasin was appointed for the attack by a commander of the Haqqani network identified as Kasu who is based on the other side of the Durand Line.

Haqqani network was formed in the late 1970s by Jalaluddin Haqqani
...founder and still titular head of the Haqqani Network. Jalaluddin is old and tough and very crafty, one of the few Pashtun warlords who was worth spit...
. The group is allied with al-Qaeda and the Afghan Taliban and cooperates with other terrorist organizations in the region.

The US Department of State designated the HQN as a Foreign Terrorist Organization on September 7, 2012.

This come as local officials in Paktika said at least twenty nine Death Eaters of the Taliban group including two big shots of the group were killed in a US dronezap in the same district last month.

Posted by: Fred || 04/05/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Haqqani Network


Arabia
Yemeni Army Controls Salb Mountains, Prepares to Go Deeper to Capital’s Outskirts
[Asharq al-Aswat] Yemen’s national army forces backed by the Popular Resistance continues its military operations to regain control over what is left from Nahm, eastern front of Sana’a, according to a Yemeni military source.

Official Military Spokesman for Nahm Front Abdullah al-Shandaqi told Asharq al-Awsat that operations against 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 Saleh is still ongoing in the front as national army forces were able to impose their control over around 80 percent of the strategic sites in the governorate.

Moreover, military sources confirmed that the army forces took over several sites in Salb mountains, which is a series of strategic mountains in Nahm governorate eastern Sanaa.

Al-Shandaqi said that there are preparations and a strategy adopted by the army to go deeper into areas close to the capital after sending support and providing Nahm front with artillery and Katyusha rockets that are capable of reaching al-Nahdeen camp overlooking the presidential palace and Naqm Mountain.

The military decisive battle is the salvation for Yemenis to reach permanent and comprehensive peace as militias did not leave any other choices or chancer to reach peace, according to Shandaqi.

He called Yemenis living in areas under the control of militias to have a deterrent stance against the militias, especially in the residential areas.

Nahm is considered one of the largest governorates in Sana’a, and it includes five residential areas. However,
alcohol has never solved anybody's problems. But then, neither has milk...
its mountainous terrain is very hard.

In a common matter, Yemen’s national army forces continued their blockade on the areas where the militias are present in Hajjah province northwest the country.

Meanwhile,
...back at the alley, Bugs Moroni was holding Slats from behind while his brother Greasy Thumb was pounding his face into paste ...
Apache aircraft continued combing the coastal strip in the Directorate a day after the army regained control over several other cities.

The national army’s artilleries carried out heavy shelling on sites in al-Khadra at a time when other attacks were carried out and targeted military equipment for the militias.

Military sources told Asharq al-Awsat that the attacks resulted in many casualties and injuries among the militias.

Posted by: Fred || 04/05/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Houthis

#1  Hopefully nobody is running low on ammo.
Posted by: Glenmore || 04/05/2017 11:43 Comments || Top||


Bangladesh
New JMB suicide squads trained in Baishari
[Dhaka Tribune] The militants who died during the operations at Chittagong, Sylhet, Comilla and Moulvibazar had all been trained by the same New Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) mid-level leader, say Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime Unit investigators.

According to the investigators, 40-year-old Sohel Rana, one of the militants of the Nasirpur, Moulvibazar den, was in charge of recruiting members for New JMB’s suicide squads and training them to become suicide bombers, at a mud house located in a remote hilly area in Baishari, Bandarban.

Sohel, whose real name is Lokman Ali, was born in Dangapara village under Ghorahat, Dinajpur. In Baishari, he identified himself as Mosharraf Hossain, a rubber plantation worker and fabrics trader.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 04/05/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (IS)


The Grand Turk
11 die in fighting between Kurd Kommies, Turks
DIYARBAKIR, Turkey: Kurdish militants detonated a bomb which killed three Turkish soldiers in southeast Turkey, a provincial governor’s office said on Tuesday, adding that five rebels were killed in clashes in the region.

The violence occurred as the military conducted operations against Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants in the Uludere area of Sirnak province, near the border with Iraq, the governor’s office said. It did not say when the deaths occurred.

Five Turkish soldiers were also wounded in the remotely-detonated bomb blast, the statement said, adding that army operations in the area were continuing.

More than 40,000 people have been killed in the PKK’s insurgency, which it launched against the Turkish state in 1984. It is designated as a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and European Union.

Since the collapse of a two-year cease-fire in July 2015 the mainly Kurdish southeast has suffered some of the worst violence since the conflict began.

In the last five months alone, the Turkish armed forces have killed 886 PKK militants in southeast Turkey and the mountains of northern Iraq where the PKK leadership is based, the state-run Anadolu news agency said on Sunday.
Posted by: badanov || 04/05/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte


Home Front: WoT
N.J. teen admits plot to kill Pope Francis in Philly
[NJ] A Camden County teen admitted in federal court Monday to plotting to kill Pope Francis during his 2015 visit to Philadelphia.

Santos Colon, 17, of Lindenwold, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Noel L. Hillman in Camden to a charge of attempting to provide material support to terrorists, according to court records.

Colon, also known as Ahmad Shakoor, had tried to recruit a person he thought was a sniper to join him in his plot, which involved shooting the Pope during his Papal mass and setting off explosive devices, according to a statement from Acting U.S. Attorney William E Fitzgerald and Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security Mary B. McCord.

Authorities say the "sniper" was actually an undercover operative for the FBI, which arrested Colon after he scoped out possible targets with an informant, who Colon also instructed to purchase bomb components.

ABC News, citing a bulletin circulated among federal law enforcement agencies, previously reported that Colon had been inspired by ISIS and had obtained instructions to make explosives over the internet.
An Nahar adds:
Colon faces a maximum of 15 years in prison but sentencing would likely be held off until 2021 while he undergoes psychiatric treatment in a secure facility.

In a plea statement, Colon acknowledged having been a patient in a mental institution in the past.
Posted by: Fred || 04/05/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  Sort of a counterpoint to the classic "See Naples and die": "Go to Philly and get whacked."
Posted by: ed in texas || 04/05/2017 10:40 Comments || Top||

#2  Colon, also known as Ahmad Shakoor

Ah, okay....there's yer problem right there.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 04/05/2017 15:24 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
8 Jamaat-ul-Ahrar members surrender in Mohmand Agency
[DAWN] The military's media wing on Tuesday claimed that eight members of the banned Jamaat-ul-Ahrar had surrendered before the Army in Mohmand Agency
... Named for the Mohmand clan of the Sarban Pahstuns, a truculent, quarrelsome lot. In Pakistain, the Mohmands infest their eponymous Agency, metastasizing as far as the plains of Peshawar, Charsadda, and Mardan. Mohmands are also scattered throughout Pakistan in urban areas including Karachi, Lahore, and Quetta. In Afghanistan they are mainly found in Nangarhar and Kunar...
the previous night.

In a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations, the Army said members of the banned outfit had laid down their weapons in Mohmand Agency.

The suspected Death Eaters who surrendered include Akbar, Gull, Siraj and five of their accomplices, the ISPR said.

The military's media wing, however, did not share further information about the suspected hard boys, such as whether they were involved in recent terrorist attacks in the country.

Jamaat-ul-Ahrar has claimed several terrorist attacks in the recent past, including a suicide kaboom outside the Punjab
1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots....

Assembly in Lahore in which at least 13 people were killed and 85 injured.

The hard boy group grabbed credit for Friday's kaboom outside an imambargah at a market in Parachinar which killed at least 22 people and maimed 50 others .
Posted by: Fred || 04/05/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Jamaat ul-Ahrar


Pak violates ceasefire again
[Daily Excelsior] Pak troops violated the ceasefire and shelled forward posts and civilian areas along the Line of Control (LoC) in Bhimber Gali sector of Rajouri district today, the third such violation during the past 24 hours.

"Mighty Pak Army initiated indiscriminate firing of small arms, automatic and mortar shells from 11 am today on Indian Army posts along the LoC in BG sector of Rajouri district," official sources said.

Army troops deployed on forward posts retaliated strongly and effectively, they said, adding the exchange of firing continued till late this afternoon.

Today’s ceasefire violation is the third such incident in less than 24 hours along the LoC in Rajouri and Poonch districts.

Yesterday, Pak troops had resorted to firing and shelling of mortar bombs on forward posts in Balakote sector of Poonch district from 11 am hours and it continued for some hours.

The Mighty Pak Army had also initiated indiscriminate firing of small arms, automatic and mortar shells from 9.30 am yesterday on Indian Army posts along the LoC in Digwar area in Poonch sector.

Heavy mortar shelling in Digwar area created fear psychosis among the residents.

In the same area, a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO), Naib Subedar S Sanayaima Som, was killed in an improvised bomb (IED) blast on April 1.

There had been four ceasefire violations along the LoC in Poonch in March.

Posted by: Fred || 04/05/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Iraq
Kurd Kommies move Kurd Kidz to Qandil Mountains
Erbil (BasNews) Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has armed and transferred more than 250 youth from the Kurdish Yezidi dominated Sinjar town to their bases in Qandil Mountains and due to PKK’s acts, Sinjar people no longer trust the party, according to Sinjar officials.

Speaking to BasNews on Tuesday, Sinjar Asayish (security) Director Qasim Simo, said that some of the 250 young boys and girls whom PKK has moved to Qandil are those children who fled the Islamic State (IS) organization and sought refuge in the PKK- held areas in Syria.

Simo added that PKK does not allow for these children to return to their families, rather it arms them and moves them to Qandil without informing their families and obtaining their consent.

He urged the PKK guerrillas to “show respect” to people of Sinjar and Yezidis’ Spiritual Council by withdrawing from the town and its surrounding areas.

The debate between Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and PKK over Sinjar has been going on for months as PKK refuses to withdraw from the areas which are already safeguarded by KRG’s Peshmerga forces.

“People of Sinjar have lost their trust in PKK” said Khidir Ilyas who represents Yezidi people in Nineveh Provincial Council, adding that the teenagers and young people who joined PKK are now abandoning PKK to join Peshmerga forces on a daily basis.

Ilyas accused PKK of “occupying the biggest Yezidi compound in Sinjar, indicating that there are 37,000 Yezidis from Khanasor [Sinjar vicinity] who fear to return to their homes due to the chaos and turmoil created by PKK”.

“PKK’s ugly deeds have concerned people of Sinjar who no longer trust the party. All people agree that only Peshmerga can protect the security of Sinjar.”

After the IS assault in 2014, PKK initially entered the Yezidi areas in Nineveh province as a backup force. Later, it refused to step out of the area, strengthening its position by establishing paramilitary units from locals as well as bases in the area.

The Kurdish party from Turkey has not only created issues for the return of the IDPs but also hampers efforts to reconstruct the devastated areas.

Qasim Darbo, Peshmerga operations chief in Sinjar, explained that more than 20 organizations have visited Sinjar to offer assistance in resettling the IDPs but “because of the PKK they all withdrew, except for Barzani Charity Foundation (BCF).”
Posted by: badanov || 04/05/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


VBIED detonates in Babel
Babel (IraqiNews.com) A security source declared that a booby-trapped vehicle exploded in al-Iskandariyah (Alexandria) area in the province of Babel, while security forces managed to arrest one of the perpetrators, SNG Iraq reported on Tuesday.

The source said that a car bomb exploded, today, in al-Iskandariyah area in Babel Province, near al-Shuhada School, leaving an unidentified number of casualties.

The source also added on condition of anonymity that security forces managed to arrest one of the explosion’s perpetrators.

Meanwhile, no one claimed responsibility for the explosion, while the exact number of casualties has not been identified yet.
Google Map at the link
Posted by: badanov || 04/05/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Mosul Offensive News


3 Big Turbans die in western Mosul airstrikes

Mosul (IraqiNews.com) Three senior Islamic State members were killed in Iraqi army airstrikes that targeted their locations in a western Mosul district, according to the Iraqi military intelligence services.

The three were killed when airstrikes pounded al-Tanak district, according to information from the intelligence service.

Those include Yunus al-Jubouri, aka Abu Hajar al-Arabi, who was commanding suicide fighters, Azab Mamoud Taha, aka Abu Mohamed, who was in charge of drafting children fighters known as “Cubs of the Caliphate” and Sabah al-Mawla, aka Abu Aws al-Iraqi, who was the chief booby-trapping officer for the so-called “Nineveh State”.

Earlier strikes on Monday by the U.S.-led coalition at the same district had left four other senior members dead, according to the intelligence service. Those killed Monday included Mujahed (Abu Mostafa) al-Anzi, a Saudi national in charge of the “Zakat bureau”, and Hazem(Abu Qays al-Jubouri), a senior IS police official.

Iraqi government forces, backed by a U.S.-led coalition and paramilitary troops, have been fighting IS since October to retake Mosul, the group’s largest stronghold which fell in militants’ hands in 2014. Iraqi and coalition commanders have reiterated that IS members numbers were diminishing with many senior leaders killed since operations launched to retake the western region in February.
Google Map at the link

Dozens of ISIS Bad Guys die in western Mosul airstrikes

Mosul (IraqiNews.com) Dozens of Islamic State militants were killed on Tuesday while two shelters of the group were destroyed in a strike in western Mosul, according to War Media Cell.

“The army jets launched airstrikes against IS in al-Zengili and the train station regions, in western Mosul,” the cell said in a statement.

“The strikes left dozens of IS fighters killed,” it added

Iraqi jets targets the IS-held regions in west of Mosul on a daily basis leaving victims and injured.

In related news, nine IS members, including a Saudi national, were killed, a missile store was destroyed in an airstrike in Mosul.

“The airstrikes were launched depending on federal investigations and intelligence information,” the statement said.

“The strikes destroyed a missile store and killed nine militants, including a Saudi national in charge of the store, while they were inside the store located in Tammuz district, western Mosul.

Airstrikes pounded al-Tanak district earlier on Tuesday killing Yunus al-Jubouri, aka Abu Hajar al-Arabi, who was commanding suicide fighters, Azab Mamoud Taha, aka Abu Mohamed, who was in charge of drafting children fighters known as “Cubs of the Caliphate” and Sabah al-Mawla, aka Abu Aws al-Iraqi, who was the chief booby-trapping officer for the so-called “Nineveh State”.

13 ISIS REMFs die in western Mosul airstrikes

Mosul (IraqiNews.com) A security source informed that 13 members of the Islamic State were killed, and their headquarters were destroyed by an airstrike in western Mosul, Shafaaq News reported on Tuesday.

The source said that the US-led international coalition bombarded, at morning today, five headquarters of the Islamic State group in the neighborhoods of 17 Tammuz, al-Refaei and al-Najjar, in western Mosul.

The aerial strike also resulted in the killing of 13 members of the Islamic State group, as well as destroying the headquarters completely, the source added on condition of anonymity.

Noteworthy, international coalition air force, Iraqi Air Force and Army Aviation are conducting several air strike on daily basis on the Islamic State headquarters, leaving dozens of casualties among the ranks of the terrorist group.
Posted by: badanov || 04/05/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Anbar Antics


Iraqi militia units begin operations in Rutba region

Rutba (IraqiNews.com) A local source in Anbar Province revealed that tribal fighters, backed by the US-led international coalition, started an extensive operation to liberate al-Rutba desert from the Islamic State group, Alsumaria News reported on Tuesday.

The source said in a press statement that tribal fighters, backed by the international coalition forces, launched a wide-scale offensive to liberate the northeastern desert of Rutba.

These security forces will liberate more than 40 kilometers of the northeastern desert of Rutba, the source added on condition of anonymity. The international coalition will aid and support the tribal fighters during the offensive.

Noteworthy, Islamic State group usually uses the northwestern desert area of Rutba City to launch attacks on security forces, which in turn repulse the attacks and inflict heavy losses on the terrorist group.
Google Map at the link
Posted by: badanov || 04/05/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Baghdad Bomb and Bullet Bulletin: 1 dead


1 dead in bombing in Rafoush area

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) A policeman was killed and another one was wounded when an explosive device exploded in an area west of Baghdad, security sources were quoted saying Tuesday.

The bomb was planted on the side of a road in Rafoush area, west of the capital, and went off when the police patrol was passing by, according to the sources.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) has said that violence in the country lef 1115 casualties, excluding security members, during March. Baghdad was the second most affected province with 84 deaths and 246 injuries, according to the organization’s monthly casualty count. It excludes death toll among security members after Iraqi authorities had asked to get such information exclusively from security commands.

While several blasts are not followed by a claim of responsibility, Islamic State militants said they had been behind some bloody explosions and attacks that hit the capital in the past months, leaving casualties among civilians and security troops.

Some observers believe Islamic State has been escalating 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. They are concerned that the group could, however, shift to a guerrilla-style war and lone wolf attacks after the recapture of Mosul.
Posted by: badanov || 04/05/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Syrian Army Operations Summary, April 5th, 2017
The Syrian Army targeted gatherings and positions of ISIL and Nusra Front terrorists in Deir Ezzor and Homs provinces.

Deir Ezzor

A military source told SANA that army units carried out concentrated bombardments on Tuesday morning against gatherings of ISIL terrorists al-Maqaber (cemeteries) area, al-Jubaileh neighborhood, al-Rashidieh neighborhood, in the surroundings of the Regiment 137, and to the east of the airport and the electricity plant Deir Ezzor city and its surroundings.

The source added that 28 ISIL terrorists were killed and 22 others were injured in the operations, in addition to destroying a rocket launch pad and a machinegun-equipped vehicle.

Homs

A military source told SANA that an army unit destroyed a position for Nusra terrorists, an explosives cache, and vehicles rigged with explosives in Deir Ful village in the northern countryside of Homs central province.

Source: SANA
Posted by: badanov || 04/05/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Three Arrested in Bekaa, Sidon over Suspected Terror Ties
[An Nahar] Security agencies on Tuesday enjugged
Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un!
three people in two separate operations in the Bekaa governorate and the southern city of Sidon, state-run National News Agency reported.

"State Security arrested the Syrians A. Kh. R. and N. R. in the Baalbek district towns of Btedei and Deir al-Ahmar and they confessed to belonging to 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," NNA said.

The two detainees also confessed that they had fought alongside the terrorist groups in the Eastern Mountain Range.

They were later handed over to the relevant judicial authorities via the army's Intelligence Directorate.

NNA described the detainee N. R. as an official of al-Nusra Front, Syria's former al-Qaeda affiliate, noting that he goes by the nom de guerre al-Wahsh (The Beast).

Separately, General Security intelligence agents arrested the Paleostinian A. A. in Sidon's al-Sitt Nafisa neighborhood on suspicion of "communicating with terrorist groups."
Posted by: Fred || 04/05/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Nusra


Turkish rebel group attacks Qabasin in Aleppo
[ARA News] The Turkey-backed Islamist group Ahrar al-Sham on Tuesday besieged the city of Qabasin in northern Aleppo with the goal to arrest the head of the Kurdish rebel group Liwa Ahfad Salahaddin–affiliated to the Free Syrian Army (FSA).

At least eight Kurdish fighters were captured by the Islamic Movement of Ahrar al-Sham.

“The Ahrar al-Sham militants arrested several members of the Kurdish Liwa Ahfad Salahaddin battalion at a checkpoint in the vicinity of Qabasin after the Kurdish fighters insulted the leadership of Ahrar,” Ömer Özkizilcik, Middle East-Analyst, told ARA News.

“Ahrar al-Sham militants also stormed the house of Abu Hamza and arrested his companions,” he said.

A few hours later, the dispute was solved and the 8 fighters were released along with their commander.

However, the Kurdish-led city of Qabasin remained under siege by Ahrar al-Sham militants.

The Liwa Ahfad Salahaddin group, established in early 2016, is supported by Turkey created and is opposed to the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) and Assad.

The group is named after historical Muslim leader Saladin, the first sultan of Egypt and Syria, and the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. The group has minimal support among Kurds and only has a small number of fighters.
Posted by: badanov || 04/05/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Ahrar al-Sham (Salafists)


Terror Group Getting Training in Ain el-Hilweh
[An Nahar] The security situation in the southern Paleostinian refugee camp of Ein el-Hellhole is worrisome after reports said that groups from the bully boy organization of Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis
...Supporters of Jerusalem, the current pen name of al-Qaeda in the Sinai Peninsula...
is receiving military training inside the camp, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Tuesday.

The daily said there is a clear concern on the part of several regional and international parties about the situation in the camp after receiving information that there are groups of the said brigades-- that carry out terrorist operations in northern Sinai and are fought back by the Egyptian army on a daily basis-- receiving training in the camp.

In addition, sources from within the United Nations
...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships...
organizations have raised concerns about the fact that a well-known international humanitarian organization is in the process of evacuating residents from Ein el-Hellhole camp, added the daily.

Sources following up on the issue, said the takfiri
...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who most be killed...
groups' control has expanded within the camp.

From the Lebanese security point of view, the situation continues to be under control despite the unsolvable crisis of bully boyz wanted by the Lebanese state taking refuge in the camp.

The Paleostinian factions have vowed on numerous occasions to hand over the runaway to Lebanese authorities but fail because of their inability to conclude the matter, according to the daily.

A Beirut-based diplomat reviewing the situation in the camp with Lebanese authorities said the actual number of bully boyz in the camp are 42 not 100 as circulated. The bully boyz must be extradited because they pose danger not only to Ein el-Hellhole and Leb, but also to the security of more than one regional and foreign state, said the daily.

These bully boyz are being followed by Lebanese security services and various Arab and international security organizations because they have links to "symbols" of al-Qaeda and 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 other Lion of Islam groups operating in several countries.

Posted by: Fred || 04/05/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda


Global outcry over suspected Syria chemical attack
[DAWN] A suspected chemical attack that killed at least 58 civilians in rebel-held northwestern Syria on Tuesday has prompted widespread outrage and calls for international action.

The Britannia-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said an air strike in Idlib province which released "toxic gas" was likely carried out by government warplanes, a charge the regime denied.

The White House
The White House accused Bashir al-Assad of carrying out a "reprehensible" and "intolerable" chemical attack in Syria Tuesday, the sharpest criticism of his regime since Donald Trump
...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States...
became president.

Press secretary Sean Spicer said an "extremely alarmed" Trump was briefed extensively by security aides on the suspected attack, which killed dozens in the rebel town of Khan Sheikhun.

"Today's chemical attack in Syria against innocent people, including women and kiddies, is reprehensible," Spicer said in a prepared statement.

The administration, Spicer said, was "confident" that Assad was to blame but refused to speculate on how the US would respond.

"I'm not ready to talk about our next step, but we will get there soon," he said.

UN envoy
UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura said the "horrific" attack was believed to be chemical and launched from the air, telling news hounds in Brussels that there should be a "clear identification of responsibilities and accountability".

Opposition
The Syrian opposition's chief negotiator at peace talks, Mohamad Sabra, said the attack cast new doubt on the UN-led grinding of the peace processor.

"If the United Nations
...an organization conceived in the belief that we're just one big happy world, with the sort of results you'd expect from such nonsense...
cannot deter the regime from carrying out such crimes, how can it achieve a process that leads to political transition in Syria?" he said.

On Twitter, the head of the opposition High Negotiations Committee Riad Hijab said the "massacre is evidence that it is impossible to negotiate with a regime addicted to criminal behaviour".

Regime
A senior Syrian security source rejected allegations that Syria's government was behind the attack. "This is a false accusation," the source said, adding that the opposition was attempting to "achieve in the media what they could not achieve on the ground".
A senior Syrian security source rejected allegations that Syria's government was behind the attack. "This is a false accusation," the source said, adding that the opposition was attempting to "achieve in the media what they could not achieve on the ground".

The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
Turkish President Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First
... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him...
told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin
...Second and fourth President and sixth of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from polonium poisoning. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead...
that "this kind of inhuman attack was unacceptable".

Presidential sources said Erdogan had told Putin by phone that the attack threatened peace talks in the Kazakh capital Astana, but did not assign blame for the attack.

Germany
German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said that if the Syrian regime had indeed carried out a chemical attack, "it would be an act of such cruelty as to be without equivalent", and "another reason we should not deal with the Assad regime in the fight against terrorism".

La Belle France
French President Francois Hollande
...the Socialist president of La Belle France, an economic bad joke for la Belle France but seemingly a foreign policy realist...
accused the Syrian regime of a "massacre".

"Once again the Syrian regime will deny the evidence of its responsibility for this massacre," Hollande said in a statement.

"Those who support this regime can once again reflect on the enormity of their political, strategic and moral responsibility." La Belle France's Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault earlier called for an emergency United Nations Security Council meeting over the attack, which he described as "monstrous".

Britannia
British Prime Minister Theresa May said she was "appalled" by reports of the attack, adding, "We condemn the use of chemical weapons in all circumstances." She added: "I'm very clear that there can be no future for Assad in a stable Syria ... and I call on all the third parties involved to ensure that we have a transition away from Assad.

"We cannot allow this suffering to continue." British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said in a statement that the incident bore the "hallmarks of an attack by the regime, which has repeatedly used chemical weapons".

European Union
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...

European Union diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini said the Assad regime bore "primary responsibility" for the attack.

"Obviously there is a primary responsibility there of the regime because it has responsibility of protecting its people not attacking its people," she said.

Israel
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the world must act to rid Syria of chemical weapons. In a statement, he called on the international community "to fulfil its obligation from 2013 to fully and finally remove these horrible weapons from Syria".

Syria's government joined the Chemical Weapons Convention and agreed to give up its chemical arsenal in 2013 as part of a deal to avert US military action over previous alleged chemical attacks.

Syrian General Staff denies it was them

The General Command of the Syrian Army and Armed Forces categorically denied on Tuesday allegations and claims circulated by media outlets, which are partner in shedding the Syrian blood, about the use of chemical substances in the town of Khan Shaikhoun town in Idlib countryside.

“The armed terrorist groups used to accuse the Syrian Arab Army of using toxic gases against them groups or against civilians in anytime they fail to implement the targets of their sponsors and operators or when they are unable to achieve any advantages on the ground in an desperate attempt to justify their failure and to maintain the support of their supporters,” the Army’s general command said in a statement.

It categorically denied any use of chemical or poisonous materials in the town of Khan Shaikhoun in Idlib countryside, affirming that it didn’t and will never use those materials in any place or time, nor in the future.

The army’s general command held the terrorist groups and those behind them responsible for the use of chemical and toxic substances and the disregard for the lives of innocent citizens to achieve their goals and base agendas.
Posted by: Fred || 04/05/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria

#1  Also heard it said somewhere that bombs hit a rebel 'chemical weapon' storehouse.

Either way, the stuff probably had Iraqi markings.
Posted by: Mullah Richard || 04/05/2017 8:56 Comments || Top||

#2  It's war.
Shit happens.
Posted by: Skidmark || 04/05/2017 10:01 Comments || Top||

#3  Anyone draw a red line in the sand?
Posted by: AlanC || 04/05/2017 11:00 Comments || Top||

#4  Of course, the most likely explanation is that where weren't an attack and the "rebels"/"international community" are simply engaging in a bit of Pallywood.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 04/05/2017 14:26 Comments || Top||

#5  Thought exercise:

1. Independently (good luck) verify the bombing came under orders from Assad.
2. Advise Russia that we have the goods.
3. Bomb the $hit out of only runways at airports with taxiways suitable for (Russian) aircraft takeoff and obliterate those airports in toto of those staging Syrian aircraft only.
4. Let Putin know know his and only his aircraft will be permitted to use the undamaged taxiways for getting his assets out of there (drone verified) and give him a reasonable chunk of time to do so.
5. Once the chunk of time allotted as a courtesy to the Russians has expired, take out the taxiways and the rest of the airport.

But, of course, the Left will go nuts because DJT would be having "dealings" with The Russian Government™.
Posted by: Blossom Unains5562 || 04/05/2017 21:19 Comments || Top||


Terror Networks
The Beatings Will Continue: Iraqi Edition


ISIS executes 100+ over 3 days

Mosul (IraqiNews.com) Islamic State militants have executed over 100 civilians for attempting to flee areas under their control in western Mosul since last Friday, according to security sources and a human rights group.

Col. Khodeir Saleh, from the Iraqi Joint Operations Command, told BasNews Tuesday that IS executed 20 Iraqi young men from Mosul for attempting to escape areas under their control towards others recaptured by security forces.

Also on Tuesday, Cap. Yunus Zanon, from the Nineveh police service, told DPA that a mass grave containing 24 decomposed corpses of women and young men was found by Federal Police forces inside al-Zahraa mosque in western Mosul. The officer said the dead bodies bore signs of torture, and that no IDs were found to identify the victims.

Meanwhile, the Iraqi Observatory for Human Rights said in a statement that Islamic State militants massacred more than 100 people in western Mosul last Friday.

It quoted local sources from central Mosul’s Old City on Sunday saying that IS massacred 22 families from the Mekkawi area after 22 young men belonging to those families tried to escape with the help of a Syrian smuggler. The smuggler reached the smuggling deal with the young men two months earlier, but the plan was delayed when Iraqi security forces invaded the region. IS members, finding out about the scheme, executed the young men, their families and the smuggler’s family.

According to IOHR, the executions were carried out inside popular bath houses in Mekkawi, with 106 corpses left for 14 hours before civilian-owned vehicles came to carry them for burial.

The organization quoted refugees from Orouba and Tanak district saying that tens of their relatives and friends died of hunger at Zanjili, Tanak and al-Refaie districts.

“My two little nephews, aged 3 and 4, died last month in Refaie region due to hunger…we have learned that their mom, too, was in bad condition due to starvation,” IOHR quoted a citizen from Orouba saying.

The observatory urged the Iraqi government to open airlifts to drop down foodstuff for civilians stranded at IS-held areas.

6 civilians die in chemical shelling in Mosul

Mosul (IraqiNews.com) Thirty-five civilians, including women and children, were killed and injured as Islamic State militants fired bombs loaded with toxic gases, west of Mosul.

“IS fighters shelled bombs of toxic gases in Rajm al-Hadid area in western Mosul, which was completely freed by by security troops earlier this week, targeting civilians,” a security source told Dijlah TV on Tuesday.

The shelling left six civilians killed and 29 injured including eight children and four women in serious conditions.

Iraqi forces recaptured the eastern side of Mosul in January and launched another phase of operations in February to capture the west. During operations in the east, and upon storming the Mosul University campus, Iraqi field generals were quoted saying they saw evidence IS was using the university’s labs to manufacture chemical weapons.

Last month, the United Nations said 12 people, including women and children, had been treated for possible exposure to chemical weapons agents in Mosul since March 1.

In February, CIA director John Brennan said that IS fighters used chemical munitions, including mustard and chlorine agents, on a number of occasions in Iraq and Syria.

Last year, Kurdish military sources disclosed the Islamic State use of chemical weapons against Peshmerga troops in several areas, which caused injury of several personnel.
Posted by: badanov || 04/05/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State



Who's in the News
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Two weeks of WOT
Wed 2017-04-05
  Global outcry over suspected Syria chemical attack
Tue 2017-04-04
  ISIS raid in Yemen leaves scores of Houthi troops dead on the battlefield
Mon 2017-04-03
  Reports of an explosion(3) in a metro station in central #StPetersburg, #Russia
Sun 2017-04-02
  IS second-in-command killed in airstrike: Iraqi State TV
Sat 2017-04-01
  South Carolina man charged with trying to join Islamic State
Fri 2017-03-31
  Mortars hit near Somali Presidential Palace, 2 hurt
Thu 2017-03-30
  503 militants surrender in Homs
Wed 2017-03-29
  Taliban commanders among 21 killed in Helmand airstrikes: MoD
Tue 2017-03-28
  33 ISIS troops die in Nangarhar airstrike
Mon 2017-03-27
  Leading member of Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis killed in North Sinai raid: Egyptian army
Sun 2017-03-26
  Police clash with anti-Christian mob in southern Egypt
Sat 2017-03-25
  ISIL withdrawing fighters from southern Syria to concentrate on Raqqa
Fri 2017-03-24
  Helmand’s Sangin district has reportedly fallen to Taliban
Thu 2017-03-23
  It's worse: Jewish Israeli-American, 19, arrested in Ashkelon for phoning in dozens of JCC bomb threats
Wed 2017-03-22
  Jihadi car and knife attack: Parliament in lockdown

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