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Drone strike kills 5 Qaeda suspects in Yemen
Today's Headlines
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Page 1: WoT Operations
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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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Afghanistan
8 killed as airstrikes, artillery fire pound ISIS-K hideouts in East of Afghanistan
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] A series of Arclight airstrikes and artillery fire pounded the hideouts of 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 Khurasan (ISIS-K) hideouts in eastern Nangarhar
The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country..
province of Afghanistan, the security sources said Sunday.

The operations were conducted in the past 24 hours in the vicinity of Tangi Mamand area in the restive Achin district, the 201st Silab Corps of the Afghan National Army said.

The source further added that at least eight bully boyz belonging to the terrorist group were eliminated during the operations and their dead bodies were left in the area.

This come as the local officials said Saturday at least 28 ISIS-K faceless myrmidons were killed in a series of Arclight airstrikes conducted in Haska Mina and Achin districts since Friday.

Posted by: Fred || 04/24/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336078 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Al-Qaeda members among 10 killed in South of Afghanistan airstrikes
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] At least ten bandidos holy warriors including members of the al-Qaeda terrorist network were killed in a series of Arclight airstrikes in southern Zabul province of Afghanistan.

The Ministry of Defense (MoD) said the Arclight airstrikes were carried out in the past 24 hours in Shahjoi district.

A statement by MoD said five al-Qaeda members and five Taliban
...Arabic for students...
holy warriors including a local commander of the group identified as Mullah Noor Agha were among those killed.

The statement further added that a vehicle and five cycle of violences belonging to the holy warriors were also eliminated during the Arclight airstrikes.

The anti-government armed hard boy groups have not commented regarding the report so far.

Posted by: Fred || 04/24/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336075 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda


Africa Horn
Al-Shabab suspects nabbed in Qoryoley sweep
[SHABELLENEWS] A Police officer says several Al shabaab suspects were detained during a security sweep by Somali forces in Qoryoley town located in the Southern Lower Shabelle region on Sunday.

Speaking with Radio Shabelle, Qoryoley district Police boss Abdulkadir Mohammed Ali said the suspects are in jug in connection with murder of an elder Hajji Hassan over night.

Late Hassan was bumped off by two pistol-wielding men outside a mosque after the evening prayers. The killers have managed to escape the scene before the arrival of Police.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the liquidation of the local elder, however, Al shabaab has carried out similar attacks in the town in the past.
Posted by: Fred || 04/24/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336073 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab (AQ)


Puntland soldiers killed in bomb attack in Galgala
[SHABELLENEWS] A Somali police official says a roadside kaboom in a remote town in Somalia’s semiautonomous state of Puntland
...a region in northeastern Somalia, centered on Garowe in the Nugaal province. Its leaders declared the territory an autonomous state in 1998. Puntland and the equally autonomous Somaliland seem to have avoided the clan rivalries and warlordism that have typified the rest of Somalia, which puts both places high on the list for Islamic subversion...
has killed eight soldiers and injured three others.

Ahmed Mohammed tells The News Agency that Dare Not be Named that Sunday’s blast targeted a military convoy in Galgala. Security forces have been battling 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....
-linked fighters in the region.

There has been no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast, but the IS-linked bandidos turbans have carried out such attacks in the past.

Fighters affiliated with the Islamic State are a relatively new and growing threat in Somalia, where the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab
... the personification of Somali state failure...
murderous Moslem group has been entrenched for years.
Posted by: Fred || 04/24/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336074 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab (AQ)


Al shabaab ambushes Govt military convoy near Afgoye
[SHABELLENEWS] Heavily armed Al shabaab fighters have launched an ambush attack on Somali Military convoy near Afgoye district in Lower Shabelle region on Sunday, residents said.

The gun attack has sparked a fierce shootout between the faceless myrmidons and the Somali national Army (SNA) forces. The exact number of the casualties still remain unclear.

The convoy which left Afgoye early in the morning came under Al shabaab attack at Marerey area. The military officials in the region were unreachable for comment on the incident.

Al shabaab has intensified its ambush attacks on SNA and AMISOM troops’ convoy and bases in the southern Lower Shabelle region over the past few years.
Posted by: Fred || 04/24/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336077 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab (AQ)


Africa North
2 die in Benghazi mortar attack
Benghazi, 22 April 2017:

Two people were killed and one injured today by a mortar round which landed in the Benghazi district of Guiliana.

Jalaa hospital said that the wounded individual had been treated for shrapnel wounds and was in a stable condition.

Libyan National Army sources described the round as random. However, it seems possible it was aimed at the naval headquarters beside the Guiliana bridge and fired from the militant enclave of Suq Al-Hout or from a mobile position.

Three weeks ago a sniper shot and killed a woman in a car and then a sailor who ran to help the family. The car had been approaching the Guiliana bridge when it was attacked. It was not physically possible to fire on the bridge from within the two districts, Suq Al-Hout and Sabri, still held by the militants.

Therefore it seems clear that the gunman had been operating within an area controlled by the security forces. No arrest was made and the Benghazi Security Directorate has not said if it discovered the sniper’s firing position.

Posted by: badanov || 04/24/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336073 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Gunmen attack Niger Consulate in Sabha
[Libya Observer] Unknown gunnies ransacked the Consulate of Niger in Sabha, south Libya, on Wednesday, the city’s municipal council has reported. Sabha Municipality said it had ordered Police Department to reinforce security measures around the consulate. "It’s the second attack on the consulate," it added. Earlier, local residents attacked Niger Consulate, claiming ownership of the land on which the consulate was built.
Posted by: Fred || 04/24/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336078 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Africa Subsaharan
Nigerian army arrests three Chadian Boko Haram insurgents
[THECABLE.NG] The Nigerian army has tossed in the calaboose
Please don't kill me!
three Chadians in connection with terrorism in the north-east.

A statement by Akinloye Badare, the army spokesperson of the 28 Task Force Brigade, Mubi, noted that the Chadians were arrested in a foiled terrorist attack between Borno and Adamawa states’ border.

He noted that the troops foiled the attacks of gunnies on Madagali town in Adamawa; and Limankara village in Borno state.

"The arrested three were Chadian 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...
terrorists", he said.

Badare said that there was an exchange of gunshots for about two hours before the attacks could be prevented.

He also said in the statement that before the attempted attacks, "troops of 192 Battalion 26 Task Force killed six Boko Haram bandidos gunnies in clearance operations at Dissa and Patawe villages of Borno state".

Limankara is a border village with Camero and 151 kilometres south of Maiduguri, the state capital.

Posted by: Fred || 04/24/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336073 views] Top|| File under: Boko Haram (ISIS)


Arabia
Drone strike kills 5 Qaeda suspects in Yemen
A presumed US dronezap in south 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...
on Sunday killed five suspected members of al-Qaeda and three civilians, a security official said.

Earlier, a local official gave a toll of three suspects killed in the strike in the al-Said area of Shabwa province.

The vehicle targeted was carrying five suspected al-Qaeda members, all of whom were killed by a missile, the security official said.

Three civilians who went to their aid were killed when a second missile struck, the official said.

Washington has sharply intensified its air war against the forces of Evil since President 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...
took office in January.

The Pentagon said on April 3 that it had carried out more than 70 strikes against targets in Yemen since February 28.

Before Sunday's attack, two strikes overnight on Tuesday killed five suspected members of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
...the latest incarnation of various Qaeda and Qaeda-allied groups, including the now-defunct Aden-Abyan Islamic Army that boomed the USS Cole in 2000...
Washington regards AQAP to be the most dangerous branch of the hard boy group.

Last month, US media reports said Trump's administration had given new powers to the CIA to conduct dronezaps against hard boy targets in the Middle East.

Posted by: Fred || 04/24/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336098 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula


Yemeni missile wounds photographer in Mokha
ADEN: A local photographer who works with AFP was seriously wounded in a missile strike on Sunday in southwest Yemen, his colleagues said.

Saleh Al-Obeidi was in an armored car with a pro-government officer when their vehicle was struck by a heat-guided missile near the government-held Red Sea town of Mokha, a journalist said.

The two wounded men were evacuated by helicopter for medical treatment, he added.

Another journalist said Al-Obeidi suffered severe burns to his face and hands.

It was not immediately possible to identify the source of the missile.
Posted by: badanov || 04/24/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336074 views] Top|| File under:

#1  It was not immediately possible to identify the source of the missile.

Well, who...ahem...has invisible assets that deliver heat seekers?
Posted by: Skidmark || 04/24/2017 9:25 Comments || Top||


Yemeni (Houthi) Army, Popular Committees Kill Scores of Saudi Soldiers in Najran
[ENGLISH.ALMANAR.LB] The Yemeni army and popular committees launched a ballistic missile, branded Qaher 2, onto the gatherings of Saudi soldiers and the mercenaries in al-Khadra exit in Najran, killing scores of them.

According to local sources, the operation followed a process of monitoring the movements and the gatherings.

The sources added that the Yemeni army and popular committees also launched shell and rocket barrages onto the Saudi posts to inflict heavy losses upon the Saudi soldiers and the mercenaries.
Posted by: Fred || 04/24/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336075 views] Top|| File under: Houthis


Saudi-led military coalition arrests prominent Al Qaeda leaders, members in Yemen
[DAWN] The Saudi-led military coalition on Sunday claimed to have incarcerated
Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw!
prominent leaders and members of Al Qaeda during raids in support of anti-terrorism forces in Yemen, Saudi Press Agency reported.

Amongst those arrested was Ahmed Saeed Awad Barhamah, alias Zarqawi, a prominent leader of the holy warrior group, the agency said, quoting a statement issued by the coalition.

The arrests were made during the coalition's air operation in the city of Mukalla conducted to support a primitive operation of the Yemeni army against Al Qaeda, the agency reported.

"During the operation, terrorist plots were foiled and a cache of weapons and equipment were seized," SPA added.

Earlier this week, Major General Ahmed Asiri, the adviser to the Saudi minister of defence, told media the alliance is not specific in its objectives to confronting international terror groups like the holy warrior Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
group and Al Qaeda.

He said that the coalition could take action against rebel groups and militias that pose a threat to member countries.

Asiri added that a "grand meeting" of all countries involved is due to be held in May, during which the alliance will be formally formed.

He said that terms of references discussed in the meeting will be taken up at the parliamentary level.

The armed coalition was initially proposed as a platform for security cooperation among Moslem countries, and included provisions for training, equipment and troops, and the involvement of religious scholars for devising a counter-terrorism narrative.

Posted by: Fred || 04/24/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336081 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula


The Grand Turk
Kurd rebels fighting with Turkish troops in Diyarbakir
[ARA News] At least 10 Turkish soldiers were killed in two separate attacks by rebels of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in southeastern Turkey, military sources reported on Sunday.

The PKK fighters attacked a Turkish army convoy in the Kurdish-majority city of Diyarbakir, killing at least eight Turkish soldiers.

In Sirnak, the fighters of the Kurdistan Workers Party attacked a Turkish border post. At least two soldiers were killed and three others were wounded.

In the meantime, the Turkish General Command condemned the attacks in an official statement on Sunday.

On Saturday, Turkey’s military reported the death of 14 PKK fighters in two separate offensives in the Kurdish provinces of Hakkari and Sirnak.

Resuming Peace Process Unlikely
Experts told ARA News that a return to peace talks between the Turkish government and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) –that fell apart in July 2015– is unlikely, after rumours that peace talks could re-start in Turkey.

Meral Akşener, a former interior minister and an opponent of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), hinted a couple of times that there are talks going on between PKK leader Ocalan and Ankara.

Moreover, Cevat Öneş, a former Deputy Undersecretary of Turkey’s National Intelligence Agency (MİT), said there is a need to revive the peace process between the Turkish government and the Kurds.

However, analysts suggest it’s unlikely that there would be a return to the peace process.

“In view of the bitterness of the constitutional fight, the dragnet of Kurdish politicians, academics and activists and especially the effort to erase the gains Kurds made in the last few years along cultural lines, I find it impossible that the peace process will restart,” Dr. Henri J. Barkey, director of the Middle East Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars told ARA News.

“Erdogan has committed himself to a hardline policy; he will change assuming he stays on as president for sometime to come, but it will not be soon,” he said.

“First of all, we need to define what Erdogan means when he talks about a peace process,” said Amberin Zaman, a Public Policy Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

“Is it about imposing his vision of what that is: cultural and linguistic rights say like private Kurdish language education, publications and allowing Kurdish parties which have no known connections to the PKK to operate freely,” she told ARA News. “Or is it getting back to the table with Ocalan and the PKK and making the sorts of constitutional changes and striking the kinds of deals that would give Turkey’s Kurds confidence that they will henceforth have constitutionally enshrined rights that are no longer hostage to the whims of this or that Turkish leader,” she added.

Therefore, she said it’s hard to imagine a return to the peace process.

“Judging by the developments that have unfolded since the June 2015 election, it is very hard to imagine the latter scenario coming into play. After the referendum Erdogan may well make some gestures to the Kurds but they will be to the strict exclusion of the PKK-inspired groups and organizations,” Zaman said.

“Unless Ocalan agrees to getting his men to unilaterally withdraw from Turkey leaving their weapons behind, and for the YPG (Syrian Kurdish forces) to confine itself strictly to the east of the Euphrates [in northern Syria] it seems unlikely he would be willing to engage with him. But in the end we are talking about a leader who can make U turns when needed as witnessed in relations with Israel and Russia,” she added.

James F. Jeffrey, the former US ambassador in Ankara, suggested during a congressional hearing in Washington that Turkey might be more flexible after the presidential referendum.

“Once that is behind him, he may be more flexible with the PKK and YPG, as he was before summer 2015,” Jeffrey said. “The YPG, in turn, would require assurances that its core Kurdish territory would not be pressured by Turkey.”
Posted by: badanov || 04/24/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336077 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte


India-Pakistan
Militants attack border post
[DAWN] PARACHINAR: Suspected turbans attacked a border post from the Afghan side in Kurram Agency
...home of an intricately interconnected web of poverty, ignorance, and religious fanaticism, where the laws of cause and effect are assumed to be suspended, conveniently located adjacent to Tora Bora...
on Saturday, officials said. They said that the attack was carried out in Shabak area in lower subdivision of Kurram Agency. The turbans fired rockets at the post and also used heavy machine guns. The security forces retaliated and repulsed the attack. No casualty has been reported from either side.
Posted by: Fred || 04/24/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336076 views] Top|| File under: TTP

#1  No casualty has been reported from either side.

Rockets and heavy machine guns?
I'm assuming smugglers had already paid off the border guards and this was simply a compensatory diversion.
Posted by: Skidmark || 04/24/2017 9:31 Comments || Top||


Four FC personnel lay down lives in roadside blast in Kech district
[DAWN] At least four personnel of the Frontier Corps
...a provincial paramilitary force. Total manpower is about 80,000. They are tasked to help local law enforcement in the maintenance of law and order, and to carry out border patrol and a..the Antwerp-based Salafist organization that had campaigned to introduce Sharia law to Belgium before single-handedly making Belgium the highest per capita supplier of jihadis to Syria in Europe. There was a big trial in Antwerp in 2015, but most of those convicted were in absentia...nti-smuggling operations....
laid their lives and three others were maimed when a remote-controlled bomb hit their vehicle in Balochistan
...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it...
's Kech district on Sunday evening, DawnNews reported.

A security official told DawnNews that unidentified miscreants targeted the convoy of Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force, in Mand tehsil of Kech district.

The vehicle was destroyed due to the intensity of the blast, the official said.

The intensity of blast completely destroyed the vehicle of FC personnel.

The FC convoy was on routine patrolling when it was targeted by unidentified miscreants, he said.

The injured FC personnel were rushed to Turbat hospital for medical treatment.

The FC and Levies personnel reached the spot following the incident as the investigation into the incident went underway. Security was tightened in the area following the terrorist attack.

Meanwhile,
...back at the pond, the enormous newt was trying to decide if Gloria was edible...
Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Sanaullah Zehri was quick to condemn the incident soon after it occurred. He reportedly directed the law enforcement agencies to bring the perpetrators of the terror attack to book.

FC personnel sacrificed their lives for guarding the motherland and innocent citizens, the chief minister said in a statement issued to the press.
Posted by: Fred || 04/24/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336077 views] Top|| File under: Baloch Liberation Army


Iraq
IS ambush kills 10 Iraqi forces
[Al Ahram] Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
group fighters disguised as soldiers ambushed a government convoy in a remote desert region of western Iraq Sunday, killing 10 members of the security forces, commanders said.

"ISIS (IS) members armed with assault rifles and rocket launchers attacked civilian and military vehicles carrying soldiers near Rutba," an army lieutenant colonel said.

"They killed at least 10 and maimed 20," he told AFP. Other officials confirmed the attack and the casualty toll.
Posted by: Fred || 04/24/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336074 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  fighters disguised as soldiers

Disguised, or turned?
Posted by: Skidmark || 04/24/2017 9:23 Comments || Top||

#2  IMO, both sides were disguised as soldiers.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 04/24/2017 9:42 Comments || Top||

#3  Touche, g(r)om.
Posted by: Pappy || 04/24/2017 11:27 Comments || Top||


Mosul Offensive News


ISIS education official dies in Mosul airstrike

Mosul (IraqiNews.com) Islamic State’s education official was killed in an airstrike launched by the U.S-led coalition in west of Mosul, Kurdistan Region’s Directorate of Counter-Terrorism (CTD) declared on Sunday.

In a statement posted on its Facebook page, CTD said, “Islamic State’s education department official Ali Reda Mahmoud was killed on Saturday in an airstrike by the international coalition jets in Tal Afar town, western Mosul.”

The group has sustained severe losses in personnel and ground since an offensive was launched in mid October to retake Mosul, the second-largest Iraqi city and the militants’ last urban stronghold in the country. The U.S.-led coalition had estimated the number of remaining IS militants in Mosul by less than 1000.

On Saturday, news websites quoted sources as saying that new plan was drawn to liberate the city of Mosul before mid-May.

A major offensive was launched in February by Iraqi troops, backed by the international coalition and paramilitary troops, to retake western Mosul from IS. Eastern Mosul was recaptured in January after three months of battles.

Iraqi troops currently control 4000 kilometers of the city, the U.S. State Department tweeted on Friday.

Over four million persons were displaced inside the country since emergence of IS in 2014.

4 ISIS suicide bombers die in western Mosul

Mosul (IraqiNews.com) Federal Police have declared killing four suicide bombers after thwarting an attack by Islamic State militants, north of Hamam al-Alil neighborhood.

“Troops in al-Areej region, north of Hamam al-Alil confronted an attack by IS militants against our units there,” Lt. Gen. Shaker Jawdat, Federal Police chief, said in statements on Sunday.

“Four suicide bombers were killed, while the rest, who fled toward villages and hills, are still being followed,” he added.

Some Iraqi policemen were reportedly killed during the attack, news reports mentioned.

The group has sustained severe losses in personnel and ground since an offensive was launched in mid October to retake Mosul, the second-largest Iraqi city and the militants’ last urban stronghold in the country. The U.S.-led coalition had estimated the number of remaining IS militants in Mosul by less than 1000.

In related news, military reinforcements were sent from eastern to western Mosul to take part in liberating the remaining districts still held by IS.

Al-Tahreer News quoted a military source as saying that the Joint Operations Command sent troops to Halila village to participate in liberating of northwestern districts in Mosul including Hawi al-Kanisah, al-Hermat, and Tammuz 17 and Mesherfa.

Iraqi troops currently control 4000 kilometers of the city, the U.S. State Department tweeted on Friday.

ISIS Top Dawg dies in Iraqi militia attack

Mosul (IraqiNews.com) Al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Public Mobilization Units) have announced killing an Islamic State leader, abu Omar al-Aafari, west of Mosul.

“In light of the crackdown on IS militants and as the launch of military operations to liberate Tel Afar near, received information indicated moves by IS toward Baaj, the only exit linking Syrian borders to Al-Jazeera desert,” Qassim Musleh, commander of al-Tufuf brigade said.

Earlier on Sunday, Kurdistan Region’s Directorate of Counter-Terrorism (CTD) declared killing of Islamic State’s education department official Ali Reda Mahmoud on Saturday in an airstrike by the international coalition jets in Tal Afar.

The group has sustained severe losses in personnel and ground since an offensive was launched in mid October to retake Mosul, the second-largest Iraqi city and the militants’ last urban stronghold in the country. The U.S.-led coalition had estimated the number of remaining IS militants in Mosul by less than 1000.

In February, an offensive was launched by Iraqi troops, backed by the international coalition and PMUs, to retake western Mosul from IS. Eastern Mosul was recaptured in January after three months of battles.

Iraqi troops currently control 4000 kilometers of the city, the U.S. State Department tweeted on Friday.
Posted by: badanov || 04/24/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336075 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


2 ISIS Bad Guys die in Salahuddin
Salahuddin (IraqiNews.com) Pro-Iraqi government paramilitary forces have killed Islamic State militants after targeting their havens in Makhoul mountains, north of Salahuddin province.

“The 25th brigade of Al-Hashd al-Shaabi troops [Public Mobilization Units] targeted IS pockets in Makhoul mountains, killing two militants and burnt their vehicle,” the media service said on Sunday.

“The brigade’s artillery targeted IS sites in al-Sheikh Ali village, leaving two members killed and their vehicle destroyed,” it added.

IS has escalated violent attacks against security members and civilians across Iraqi provinces over the months that followed the launch of a security campaign to retake its biggest stronghold in Mosul last October. Observers believe the attacks aim at making up for losses the group has been sustaining in Mosul.

Salahuddin has witnessed an escalation in IS attacks on deployments by Iraqi government forces and PMUs.

IS militants still pose a security threat in Salahuddin though security forces had recaptured large areas of the province since the group emerged in 2014 to proclaim an “Islamic Caliphate”.

PMUs are considered one of the largest militias in Iraq. It was established in 2014 by a fatwa (religious edict) to fight the Islamic State. In late 2016, the Iraqi parliament recognized the militia as a national armed force.
Posted by: badanov || 04/24/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336076 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Anbar Antix: 66 die


21 ISIS Turbans die in airstrikes near Rawa

Anbar (IraqiNews.com) Twenty-one militants of Islamic State were killed as three rest houses of the group were destroyed, west of Anbar province, a military source said.

“The U.S.-led coalition jets shelled three rest houses of IS in the town of Rawa, 230 KM west of Ramadi,” the source told AlSumaria News on Sunday.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source said, “21 members of IS, including leaders, were killed, while the rest houses were destroyed as a result of the shelling.”

Several military operations were launched over the past few days to comb desert regions in the province, killing dozens of militants.

Last week, additional U.S. forces reportedly arrived to a military base in Anbar to take part in the security campaign against IS militants.

In March, reports indicated possible joint operations by the Iraqi and U.S. forces to clear IS-held towns of Annah, Rawa and Qaim near the borders with Syria .

Rawa is an IS stronghold that has been held by the militants along with Annah and Qaim since 2014, when the group proclaimed its self-styled ‘Islamic State’.

Islamic State is believed to be holding thousands in some western regions in Anbar to use them as human shields against any future security offensive.

Fighter jets from the Iraqi army and the international coalition have also regularly pounded IS locations in the province.
Google Map at the link
35 ISIS Bad Guys die in airstrikes near Kabisa

Anbar (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi Ministry of Defense’s War Media Cell announced, on Sunday, killing 35 terrorists, in addition to destroying a cache of weapons and two hideouts, west of Anbar.

The cell said in a statement that Jazeera and Anbar Operations Commands started to search the areas of Haditha Warehouses and Wadi Houran, southwest of Kabisa.

The operation resulted in the killing of 14 terrorists of the Islamic State, the statement added. Also, an international coalition air strike destroyed two hideouts and killed 21 terrorists in Rawa District.

Noteworthy, Iraqi Army Aviation and international coalition air force are intensifying air strikes on important targets and headquarters, belonging to the Islamic State, west of Anbar, in preparation to liberate the area from the terrorist group’s control.

10 Iraqi security elements die in fighting with ISIS

Rutba (IraqiNews.com) A security source informed that ten security members and 20 others were wounded in an attack launched by the Islamic State group on east of Rutba, Alsumaria News reported on Sunday.

The source said that members of the Islamic State group attacked a convoy of security forces, this evening, in al-Sakkar area, east of Rutba, killing ten security members and wounding 20 others.

Earlier today, Iraqi Ministry of Defense’s War Media Cell announced killing 35 terrorists, in addition to destroying a cache of weapons and two hideouts, west of Anbar.

9 Iraqi soldiers die, 7 kidnapped by ISIS

Anbar (BasNews) Islamic State (IS) militants attacked on Sunday the Iraqi troops in Rutba town located in western Anbar province near the Syrian border, killing and injuring 18 soldiers, and abducting 7 others.

A security source stated an Iraqi force of 60 border guards was ambushed by IS militants on their way to their base in Rutba town.

The attack was resulted in the death of 9 Iraqi troops and injuring 18 others with 7 other troops being captured by the militants.

According to the source, the extremists took advantage of the bad weather to conduct the offensive.
Posted by: badanov || 04/24/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336076 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  jets shelled three rest houses of IS

Cultivating local intel?
Or just finally acting on it?
Posted by: Skidmark || 04/24/2017 9:28 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Tel Aviv stabber was in Israel on one-day ‘peace’ pass, official says
[IsraelTimes] Israel freezes some permits for Paleostinians after 4 hurt in attack; teen was here with group that works to improve Israeli-Paleostinian ties.

The Defense Ministry suspended single-day work permits for Paleostinians to enter Israel Sunday, hours after a Paleostinian teen injured four in a stabbing attack on Tel Aviv’s beachfront.

The attacker, identified as an 18-year-old from the Nablus area of the West Bank, apparently entered Israel with one such pass, as part of a group known as "Natural Peace Tours," which is supposed to forge relationships between Paleostinians and Israelis, a defense official said. He was not named.

The ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories said the one-day permits granted to different organizations and groups will be "frozen" until an investigation of the matter can be conducted, the official said.

Four people were hospitalized with light injuries after the attacker, who has not been named, went on a stabbing spree in the Leonardo Beach hotel on Tel Aviv’s Hayarkon Street, near the city’s famous beach, on Sunday afternoon.

He was apprehended by police, but has not yet been charged. After initially saying the motivation of the attack was unclear, police later determined that it appeared to be a terror attack.

The victims were identified as a man in his 70s, as well as two men and a woman in their 50s.

Israel gives out some 100,000 work permits to Paleostinian to work in Israel. Holders of work permits and their relatives are heavily vetted by the Shin Bet security service for any links to terror organizations.

In addition, one-day permits are occasionally given out for special cases, such as tourism or for NGOs to hold meetings. A COGAT spokesperson said "many" of those types of permits were normally given out, but could not give an exact number.

Officials say tens of thousands more Paleostinians are in Israel illegally, most of them for work.

While in the past Israeli defense officials have frozen work permits wholesale in response to terror attacks, former Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon maintained a stated policy during a terror wave a year ago of keeping work permits in place in order to avoid collective punishment and lower tensions.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/24/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336076 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Guess this 18-yr. old was not peaceful. Maybe the peace-pass program effectiveness ought to be reviewed.
Posted by: JohnQC || 04/24/2017 17:06 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Assad's militia commander: 'Israel is attacking the Syrian army in the south of the country'
A commander of the Golan unit in the Homeland Security Forces, a militia of Syrian President Bashar Assad, claimed that Israel had been attacking the Syrian army's defense lines in the south for the last three days. Majed Haimoud, who was interviewed by the Iranian news agency Fars, added that Israel is using guided missiles, drones and artillery to help the rebels.

Militia officials accused Israel on Sunday of attacking a Syrian army camp in northern Kuneitra and liquidating three of their men.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 04/24/2017 09:45 || Comments || Link || [336081 views] Top|| File under:

#1  The Juice attacks and only kills 3? That's not an attack, that's pest control
Posted by: Frank G || 04/24/2017 13:30 Comments || Top||

#2  If they wanted you gone, you would be gone!
Posted by: chris || 04/24/2017 19:14 Comments || Top||

#3  This is just Israel's gentle reminder that Emir Haimoud's people should make sure they colour inside the lines. Should Israel seriously attack they'd all be casualties, whether wounded or dead -- and the secondaries would be awesome.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/24/2017 19:15 Comments || Top||


Syrian regulars gain yardage in Hama
BEIRUT: The Syrian army and allied forces advanced against opposition groups in western Syria near Hama city on Sunday, building on recent strategic gains in the area, a military source and a monitoring group said.

Government forces captured the town of Halfaya and nearby villages, they said, taking back territory that the opposition fighters seized last year from forces loyal to Bashar Assad.

“We gained control of Halfaya and several hills in the area,” the Syrian regime source said. “The army will of course continue its fight.”

Boosted by Russian airstrikes and Iranian-backed militias, the regime has pushed into opposition areas north of Hama, expanding its control this week along the western highway that links Damascus and Aleppo.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitoring group, said the regime began advancing into areas near Halfaya when opposition fighters withdrew on Sunday, following intense battles and airstrikes.

Sources on the opposition side could not immediately be reached for comment.

Warplanes have pounded Halfaya and swathes of territory near the highway in a region vitally important to Assad regime, which has shored up its rule in the populated west of the country.

Opposition factions, including Free Syrian Army groups, have been fighting fiercely to defend the towns in recent days.

The regime’s earlier capture of Soran, its northern gateway to Hama city, meant it had reversed most of the territorial gains made by opposition fighters in their major offensive last month.

With the help of its allies, the regime has gained an upper hand in the six-year war against the wide array of opposition fighters.

An official in Damascus, meanwhile, said an Israeli attack on a Syrian training camp near the Golan Heights killed three members of a pro-regime militia on Sunday.

The Al-Fawwar camp in Syria’s southwestern Quneitra province is used by the National Defense Forces (NDF), which command some 90,000 fighters across Syria.

The NDF official said that two fighters were also wounded in the Israeli attack, but said it was unclear whether the damage was inflicted by an airstrike or shelling.

Another Syrian source inside the training camp told AFP that around 6:00 am local time (0300 GMT), “security guards at the camp saw what looked like three fireballs coming toward the camp.”

“Then there were several consecutive blasts because of the explosion of ammunition warehouses” that firefighters worked hard to extinguish, the source said.

The source also said that they were “Israeli rockets” but could not specify what kind of missiles may have been used.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said the attack had targeted a “weapons warehouse” in the camp.

Israel’s army declined to comment on Sunday on the attack.

On Friday, the Israeli army said it targeted positions inside Syria in retaliation for mortar fire that hit the northern part of the Golan Heights.

At the time, Syria’s official news agency SANA said Israel had struck a Syrian army position in the province of Quneitra on the Golan plateau, “causing damage.”

The Syrian government labels rebel groups and jihadists fighting the regime as “terrorists” and accuses Israel of backing them.

Syria and Israel are still technically at war, although the border remained largely quiet for decades until 2011, when the Syrian conflict broke out.

The Israeli side is hit sporadically by what are usually deemed to be stray rounds, and Israel has recently taken to opening fire in retaliation.

Syrian Army lists war booty and ISIS equipment damaged

The Syrian army seized 7 mortar launchers, two machinegun-equipped vehicles and a huge amount of varied ammunition, the source said noting that the engineering units in the Syrian army were dismantling the mines and the explosive devices planted by the terrorists at the streets and in the citizens’ houses.

“58 vehicles, 3 ammunition caches, 3 tanks and a booby-trapped vehicle were also destroyed in the operations,” SANA quoted the source as saying.

Source: SANA
Posted by: badanov || 04/24/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336073 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


RU Spetsnaz engage ISIS VIC Palmyra Mar 2017 (Video English Subtitles)
Posted by: Besoeker || 04/24/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336080 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Terror Networks
The Beatings Will Continue: Iraqi Edition


Gunmen kill ISIS Top Turban's son in Tal Afar

Tal Afar (IraqiNews.com) A local source in Nineveh Province revealed that the elder son of the Islamic State Mufti (jurist) in Tal Afar was killed by an armed attack, west of Mosul, Alsumaria News reported on Sunday.

The source said that unidentified gunmen attacked, today, a vehicle occupied by the son of the Islamic State Mufti in Tal Afar District, west of Mosul, along with one of his aides, killing them both.

The Islamic State imposed strict procedures in the area of incident, and started search operations, the source added on condition of anonymity.

Several elite leaders of the Islamic State were assassinated in different areas of Tal Afar District, which is still controlled by the terrorist group.
Google Map at the link

ISIS shells village near Baqubah

Baqubah (IraqiNews.com) Four mortar shells fell on an agricultural village, northeast of Baqubah, Head of the security committee of Abu Saida area, Awad al-Rabei said on Sunday.

Rabei said in a statement that four mortar shells fell, today, on Abu Karma Village, north of Abu Saida area, northeast of Baqubah, without causing any casualties.

The mortar shells were fired by the Islamic State members, who are stationed in al-Mukhaisa gardens area, he added. Army detachments started to clear the area from the terrorist members, he further explained.

Rabei also called on security forces to find an ultimate solution for al-Karma village, which is frequently attacked by the Islamic State members, due to its strategic location near Baqubah.
Posted by: badanov || 04/24/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336074 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State



Who's in the News
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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.
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Two weeks of WOT
Mon 2017-04-24
  Drone strike kills 5 Qaeda suspects in Yemen
Sun 2017-04-23
  5 terrorist suspects arrested in Brussels after arms, ammo & drugs seized in police raids
Sat 2017-04-22
  Dozens of About 140 Afghan troops dead in Taliban base attack
Fri 2017-04-21
  ISIS Media Chief dies in airstrike
Thu 2017-04-20
  Paris - cops shot, 1 killed. Suspect dead, Suspicious package left
Wed 2017-04-19
  US: Man screams 'Allahu akbar!' and kills three civilians
Tue 2017-04-18
  Pakistani Taliban leader Ehsanullah Ehsan 'surrenders'
Mon 2017-04-17
  Pirates killed while trying to hijack ship near Somalia
Sun 2017-04-16
  At least 43 killed as car bomb hits Syria evacuees
Sat 2017-04-15
  Islamic State mufti killed in Mosul air strike, Iraqi forces say
Fri 2017-04-14
  Iraqi command says controls 60% of western Mosul
Thu 2017-04-13
  US drops MOAB on ISIS tunnel complex in Afghanistan
Wed 2017-04-12
  Bomb attack on Dortmund team bus
Tue 2017-04-11
  ISIS shells east of Mosul with chlorine gas, 10 casualties
Mon 2017-04-10
  Man steers car into town hall in Germany, fire breaks out

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