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Today: 61 articles and 136 comments as of 15:54.
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Area: WoT Background    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix   
400 rebels killed by the Syrian Army during east Damascus offensive
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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Afghanistan
'Land, kill and leave': How Australian special forces helped lose the war in Afghanistan
[ABC Auz] A blow has been dealt to the prestige of Australia's special forces with in-kind damages likely to follow for the reputation of the Australian Army as a whole.

At first, it might seem tempting to think of these kinds of events as isolated incidents that do not speak to a more widespread problem within the Army's special operations community. But misconduct on the battlefield also speaks to a wayward shift in a military force's broader operating culture.

Along with the Maywand District murders and the Panjywai massacre, what these new allegations levelled against Australian soldiers in Uruzgan will come to symbolise is the ultimate failure of Western militaries to adapt to a fight where the decisive battle was the human terrain.

According to our military leaders, the reason for Australia's presence in Uruzgan province between 2001 and 2014 was to "clear, hold and build" a Taliban-free Afghanistan. Per counterinsurgency doctrine, by providing an enduring sense of physical security to local Afghans, the "hearts and minds" as well as the rifles and trigger-fingers of fighting-aged males in Uruzgan would eventually be won over.

At some point it seems that this strategic guidance either failed or was wholly ignored.

While Special Operations soldiers had earlier played a kind of "guardian angel" role in support of their regular counterparts in the Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force, as the Afghan war dragged on, that role became increasingly aggressive.
"Guardian angel in spt of regulars"....WTF is the kluless author talking about.
An upsurge in "direct action" operations began to distract from efforts to secure the population. By 2010, much of the task group was solely focused on so-called "high-value targeting" -- the coalition's effort to kill or capture an ever-growing list of local Taliban "commanders".
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/16/2017 12:25 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  An upsurge in "direct action" operations began to distract from efforts to secure the population. By 2010, much of the task group was solely focused on so-called "high-value targeting"...

Where could they have possibly come up with that sort of strategy? 'No Vacancy' at GITMO ?


[Sarc off]
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/16/2017 12:29 Comments || Top||

#2  I dunno. Who were the leaders of Australia and the US in 2010?
Posted by: Pappy || 07/16/2017 12:38 Comments || Top||

#3  Exactly! The JPEL didn't just fok'n happen, it was an orchestrated strategy initiated and score-carded by the Klingons, with responsibility for execution tasked to JSOC and associates. 'Big Army' became grounds keepers and logistics pogs assigned to meaningless sectors and AOR's while the executors of direct action (DA) missions knew no such boundaries or coordinating requirements.

Blaming the Auzzie SAS or other coalition SOF is a cheap shot. BTW, some of the coaltition SOF were NOT invited to participate and were shunted off to remote locations in support of the grounds keeping mission. I can give you Albanian SOF as a one example.
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/16/2017 12:48 Comments || Top||

#4  A blow has been dealt to the prestige of Australia's special forces with in-kind damages likely to follow for the reputation of the Australian Army as a whole.
"Tut-Tut, I say! Harrumph! Blood bad show, what?" ...Or something like that. I doubt the author would be happy with anything the military does in armed conflict more violent than handing out lollypops and rescuing kittens from trees.
Posted by: magpie || 07/16/2017 13:11 Comments || Top||

#5  the 'plan' was that the Afghan army and police would do most of the 'hold' and the Afghan govt would do most of the 'build'

it is incomprehensible that the Australian force which never got above 2000 at any one time, could have done the 'hold' and 'build' without a large and competent Afghan presence also
Posted by: lord garth || 07/16/2017 13:24 Comments || Top||

#6  ABC Auz is the downunder version of Al-Grauniad
Posted by: Frank G || 07/16/2017 13:32 Comments || Top||

#7  it was an orchestrated strategy initiated and score-carded by the Klingons

To be fair, the bois and grrls at 1600 Penn. had a lot to do with it.
Posted by: Pappy || 07/16/2017 15:43 Comments || Top||

#8  To be fair, the bois and grrls at 1600 Penn. had a lot to do with it.
Posted by Pappy


Respectfully, I believe we've moved into the realm of circular logic, puppets, puppet masters, etc. Or, amirung ?
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/16/2017 16:21 Comments || Top||

#9  Let me see if I got it right: the author's heart is broken because he discovered special forces actually kill people?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 07/16/2017 16:40 Comments || Top||

#10  Respectfully, I believe we've moved into the realm of circular logic, puppets, puppet masters, etc. Or, amirung ?

Possibly. Tinfoil hats make my head itch.

The Klingons have a long, historical habit of digging in their heels when they disagree with the occupants of the WH. Obviously they didn't from 2008-2016, for whatever reason.

So... a suggestion... an agreement... mutual benefits...
Posted by: Pappy || 07/16/2017 17:39 Comments || Top||

#11  COIN lover?
Posted by: Skidmark || 07/16/2017 19:56 Comments || Top||


Two suicide bombers shot dead by Afghan forces in Paktia province
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Afghan security forces foiled a deadly suicide attack plot by the anti-government armed militant groups in southeastern Paktia province.

According to the local security officials, two suicide bombers who were looking to carry out suicide attacks in the provincial capital Gardez city, were shot dead by the security forces before they manage to reach their target.

Provincial police spokesman Sardar Mohammad Tabasum confirmed that the two suicide bombers were killed on Friday in Kabul Lane area.

He said the two suicide bombers were shot dead as they were attempting to escape from a police check post.
Posted by: Fred || 07/16/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Foreigners among several dead in airstrikes on Taliban and ISIS in Nangarhar
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] Several turbans including foreign nationals were killed in a series of Arclight airstrikes targeting Taliban
...Arabic for students...
and ISIS Lions of Islam 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 provincial government in a statement said at least seven Taliban turbans including their commander Khayesta Khan were killed and another Death Eater maimed in a dronezap in Bati Kot district on Friday.

The statement further added that a vehicle belonging to the turbans was also destroyed but no losses or casualties were incurred to the civilians.

In a separate statement, the provincial government said at least nine ISIS turbans were killed and five others were maimed during the air and ground operations in Pacher Agam district.

According to the provincial government, several foreigners, including Pak nationals and citizens of Uzbekistan were among those killed.

The local officials are saying that the civilians and security personnel did not suffer any casualties during the operations.
Posted by: Fred || 07/16/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Africa North
Egypt police kill two men suspected of involvement in attack on Giza checkpoint: Security source
[AlAhram] Two assailants believed to be behind Friday’s attack on a Giza security checkpoint were killed on Saturday by Egyptian security forces, a security directorate source told al-Ahram Arabic news website.

The source said the suspects were killed in a desert area near the attack scene.

On Friday, gunnies attacked a checkpoint in the Giza town of El-Badrashein, killing two coppers and three conscripts.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/16/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (IS)


Egypt police kill four terrorists in Ismailia shootout
[AlAhram] Egyptian police potted four murderous Moslems on Saturday in a shootout while conducting a raid in Ismailia governorate, al-Ahram Arabic news website reported.

Security forces received a tip that murderous Moslems involved in killing the leader of a local tribe were hiding in a deserted house in Ismailia's Galbana area.

The police found no identification documents on the suspects, who were in possession of four firearms.

On Thursday, unknown assailants rubbed out Attalah Hamada Ouda at his house east of Ismailia and stole his car. Ouda, 61, was the leader of a North Sinai tribe.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/16/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (IS)


Arabia
'Terrorist' suspect killed in eastern Saudi Arabia: media
[DAWN] Saudi police have killed a wanted "terrorist" in the Shia-majority eastern district of Qatif, which has seen a string of attacks on security forces, newspapers said Saturday.

Jaafar al-Mobireek was killed late Friday in an operation in the city of Saihat, in Eastern Province, al-Jazirah newspaper reported, adding that he was a member of a "Qatif cell".

The suspect was one of nine people wanted by the interior ministry and had been involved in targeting people and security forces and "vandalising public, security and economic installations," the paper said.

The district has been rocked by unrest since 2011, when protests by the Shia community erupted to demand equality in the Gulf kingdom. Authorities have blamed the violence on "terrorists" and narcos.

Home to a significant number of the kingdom's minority Shias -- who have traditionally complained of marginalisation -- Qatif has recently seen mounting attacks on police.
Posted by: Fred || 07/16/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Saudi Arabia


India-Pakistan
Three TTP militants jailed for 21 years
[DAWN] An antiterrorism court on Friday sentenced three bandidos Death Eaters to a collective 21 years in prison in cases pertaining to possession of explosives and illicit weapons.

The court found Qari Obaid, Ikramullah and Shahzad, said to be associated with the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban
...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
Pakistain (TTP), guilty of carrying kaboom and unlicensed weapons last year.

An ATC judge, who conducted the trial inside the Bloody Karachi
...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
Central Prison, handed down I4-year imprisonment to the convicts in explosives case and seven-year imprisonment for keeping illicit weapons.

However,
a woman is only as old as she admits...
both the sentences would run concurrently.

According to the prosecution, the Counter Terrorism Department had jugged
Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un!
the accused and alleged that they were affiliated with the proscribed TTP and planning to carry out terrorist attacks in the city.
Posted by: Fred || 07/16/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: TTP


Two would-be suicide attackers killed in Khyber
[DAWN] LANDI KOTAL: Border forces in the Jarrobi area of Khyber tribal region foiled two suicide kabooms on their camp on Friday, security officials said.

One of the jacket wallahs was bumped off while the other detonated his boom jacket when challenged by 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....
soldiers manning the Mashtari camp near the Afghan border.

The officials said that two FC personnel, Wajid and Yahya, suffered injuries in the aborted twin blasts. The attackers could have caused devastation had they succeeded in entering the camp, officials said.

The injured were shifted to the Combined Military Hospital in Beautiful Downtown Peshawar
...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire.
by an army helicopter while security around the camp and border areas was further tightened.

Military helicopters conducted the shelling of the surrounding areas soon after the incident. Jarrobi is close to the Afghan border in the Bazaar Zakhakhel area of Landi Kotal tehsil.

The Jamaatul Ahrar
...A Pak Taliban splinter group that split off from the Mullah Fazlullah faction because it wasn't violent enough...
faction of the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban
...Arabic for students...
Pakistain grabbed credit for the attempted attack.

Later, Inspector General of Frontier Corps Maj Gen Mazhar Shaheen Khattak visited the area where he was given a detailed briefing about border security. He remained there with the FC soldiers for some time before flying back to Peshawar.
Posted by: Fred || 07/16/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Jamaat ul-Ahrar


Iraq
Eighteen IS militants killed in U.S.-led coalition airstrike, south of Mosul
Qayyarah (IraqiNews.com) Eighteen Islamic State militants were killed in an airstrike launched by the international coalition in southern Nineveh, a local source said.

“The U.S.-led coalition jets shelled sites at Imam Gharbi village in Qayyarah town, south of Mosul city, which left eighteen IS fighters killed,” the source told AlSumaria News on Saturday.

“Iraqi troops seek retaking the village, of which some parts are still held by IS after the militants sneaked into it last week,” the source, who preferred anonymity, added.

Earlier this month, two Iraqi journalists and a policeman were killed in an attack by IS against the village, whiletwenty-five tribal forces personnel were killed and injured in a previous attack by the militants after infiltration from Shirqat town, in north of Salahuddin province.

Iraqi troops had liberated Qayyarh in August.

Security source said later that joint military units have managed to liberate 40%, while the remaining 60 percent are still held by IS.

Last week, another source said the militants stormed a number of houses in the village and arrested a number of civilians on charges of cooperation with government troops. The group also executed three fighters of al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Units) in front of their families.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/16/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Anbar antix: dozens of ISIS militants killed by Iraqi good guys


Iraqi army kills dozens of IS militants, destroy weapons in Anbar

Anbar (IraqiNews.com) Dozens of Islamic State militants were killed, headquarters were destroyed in airstrike targeting western Anbar.

In a statement on Saturday, the Defense Ministry’s War Media Cell said,”army jets launched airstrikes that destroyed four weapon stashes and killed dozens of militants in Qaim town, western Anbar.

In related news, a military source from Anbar Operations Command said army troops destroyed a fuel tank and two trucks loaded with gas bottles that were going to be smuggled into the province.

Army troops, according to the source, destroyed suicide belts and explosives in the desert, south of the 160 KM region,in west of Ramadi.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source told AlSumaria News that troops “exploded two trucks loaded with gas bottles ahead of being smuggled to the 160 KM region.”

“The U.S.-led coalition jets destroyed a fuel tank in the desert in western Anbar,” the source said.

Iraqi troops were able to return life back to normal in the biggest cities of Anbar including Fallujah, Ramadi and others after recapturing them. However, Anbar’s western cities of Annah, Qaim and Rawa are still held by the extremist group since 2014, when it emerged to proclaim a self-styled Islamic Caliphate. There has not been an officially-declared military campaign to free those regions, but the province’s military command launched a brief assault early January that managed to recapture some western villages before stopping again.

Tribal fighters kill two IS suicide attackers in Anbar

Anbar (IraqiNews.com) Two Islamic State suicide bombers were killed in Anbar province, tribal mobilization forces commander said.

“Joint troops of army, police and tribal mobilization fighters killed two IS suicide attackers in al-BuKhalifa region, in al-Karma town, east of Ramadi,” Col. Khamis Bahr told AlSumaria News on Saturday.

The attackers were killed after residents of the town reported about them, Bahr added. “Other attackers are being searched for in the town.”
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/16/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Baghdad bomb and bullet bulletin: 2 civilians killed by two bombs
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) A civilian was killed, while seven others were wounded in a bomb blast in east of Baghdad, a police source has said.

“The blast caused by a booby-trapped vehicle in al-Mashtal region in eastern Baghdad left one person killed and seven others wounded,” the source told AlSumaria News.

Earlier on the day, a civilian was killed as bomb, placed under his vehicle, exploded while passing at al-Thaaliba region, northern Baghdad, causing immediate death of the driver.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/16/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Iraqi forces capture dozens of ISIS armored car bombs in Mosul
[ALMASDARNEWS] Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) continue to find all sorts of hidden surprises as they scout out and secure every corner of post-ISIS djinn-infested Mosul
... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn...
. Today, ISF troops found a massive ISIS base for the production of vehicle-borne improvised bombs (VBIED). Most alarmingly, Iraqi troops discovered literally dozens of ready-made armored VBIEDs which, had the battle for Mosul city lingered on any longer, would have undoubtedly have been used against them.

Despite the fact that the VBIEDs were found neatly lined up in an almost production line-like fashion, one crucial element was ‐ to the fortune of ISF ordinance disposal teams ‐ found to be missing from the vehicles: explosives.

The VBIEDs seized by the ISF appear to be of the latest generation design used by ISIS. The boom-mobiles have welded-on armor plating that shields the vehicle ‐ as much as possible ‐ from incoming fire, giving a would-be jihadist suicide driver a better chance of reaching their target.

In most cases, the armored VBIEDs built by ISIS are generally given just enough shielding as to not over-stress the engine of the vehicle used but to still offer decent protection from a range of smalls arms, including heavy machine guns. Often anti-ISIS forces have to employ anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM), RPGs, field guns and tank cannons in order to destroy the armored boom-mobile.

Chechen child with burns found under rubble in Mosul’s Old City

Mosul (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi army has found a foreign wounded child under debris of a house in Mosul’s Old City.

A statement by the Defense Ministry’s War Media Cell on Saturday said “the army’s 16th division found a Chechen national child while combing al-Shahwaniya region in the Old City.”

The child, who suffered burns, couldn’t speak Arabic well as she was born for Chechen parents. However, she said very few words that indicated her father was killed in an airstrike in the Old City, while the mother blew herself up while the region was combed, the statement added.

The child was taken to hospital for treatment, it added.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi arrived in Mosul and congratulated Iraqi forces and citizens on the victory over IS militants who had held the second largest Iraqi city since 2014.

The victory in Mosul comes after eight months of fighting by Iraqi government forces, backed by a U.S.-led coalition, against IS militants.

On Saturday, Iraqi Joint Operations Command’s spokesperson, Brig. Gen. Yahia Rasoul, was quoted as saying forces took control over the Old City.
Posted by: Fred || 07/16/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Israeli forces kill suspected Palestinian gunman in West Bank raid
[Reuters] JERUSALEM - Israeli forces killed a suspected Palestinian militant they were seeking to arrest after he shot at them in the occupied West Bank, police and the military said.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the man was suspected of carrying out two shooting attacks in the West Bank on Saturday and opened fire at soldiers and policemen who had tracked him down.

"The terrorist was found and surrounded, he pulled out his weapons at them, and in response, the terrorist was killed," Rosenfeld said. There was no immediate comment from Palestinian officials.

The incident took place before dawn in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh, near the city of Ramallah, and no Israeli casualties were reported. One man was lightly wounded in the Saturday shooting, the Israeli military said.
Update from The Times of Israel at 11:15 a.m. EDT:
The army said the suspect — identified by police as Amar Ahmad Halil, 34, of Nabi Saleh — was behind a drive-by shooting attack on Saturday near the West Bank settlement of Ateret that left a Palestinian driver lightly hurt.

An IDF post near Nabi Saleh was also targeted by gunfire on Saturday by the suspect, the army said. There were no injuries. Soldiers later uncovered two bullet casings in the area.
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/16/2017 02:05 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Israel to reopen Temple Mt. on Sunday; 3 Waqf officials held
[IsraelTimes]. Netanyahu says opening will be gradual with new security measures; Arab-Israeli gunnies who rubbed out two coppers on Friday said to have stored weapons at compound days earlier.

Israel will gradually reopen the Temple Mount compound to Moslem worshippers on Sunday, having closed the site for the first time since 1969 after three Arab-Israelis rubbed out two Israeli coppers there on Friday morning.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made the decision to reopen the site following a telephone conversation Saturday evening with the heads of the police, the Shin Bet, and Internal Security Minister Gilad Erdan.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/16/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Muslim Brotherhood


Stun grenade hurled at mosque in slain policeman’s hometown
[IsraelTimes] Police suspect Facebook post by resident praising ’deaders’ who carried out Friday’s terror attack may have led to incident

Unidentified assailants hurled a stun grenade Friday at a mosque in the northern town of Maghar, the home of one of the coppers killed in the Jerusalem terror attack earlier in the day.

No one was hurt in the attack, and police were investigating whether it was connected to the death of officer Haiel Sitawe.

Maghar is a town with a mixed population of Druze, Moslems and Christians. Police suspected that a Facebook post by a female Moslem resident praising the "deaders" who carried out the terror attack may have led to the incident.

Speaking at Sitawe’s funeral Friday, Police Chief Roni Alsheich called for restraint on all sides, urging "all leaderships of all sectors, communities and ethnic groups not to allow any extreme ideology, any movement or group to disturb the peace." He added that bully boyz "will be dealt with severely, as is appropriate for the war on terror. We will not allow them any achievement."

Sitawe, 30, was buried in Maghar Friday afternoon. The second victim of the attack, Sergeant Master Kamil Shnaan, 22, was laid to rest in the Druze village of Hurfeish, also in northern Israel.

Sitawe joined the Border Police as part of his mandatory national service. He joined the Israel Police in 2012 and had served in the unit responsible for securing the Temple Mount ever since. He leaves behind a wife, Irin, a three-week-old son, his parents and three brothers.

Shnaan joined the police directly after high school. He decided to stay on the police force seven months ago, signing on as a career officer. He was the youngest son of a former Labor Party Knesset member, Shachiv Shnaan. His engagement party to his girlfriend was to be held next week.

Shnaan leaves behind his parents, one brother and three sisters.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/16/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Palestinian village resident very lightly wounded in shooting attack
[Ynet] A resident of the Paleostinian village of Beitin was very lightly maimed Saturday morning from a drive-by shooting at his own vehicle, while driving between the Paleostinian village of Um Safa and settlement of Ateret, near Ramallah.

The driver, a Brazilian married to a Paleostinian, alerted IDF forces in charge of the Binyamin region. The DF issued a statement, saying they were sweeping the area in search of the suspects. The man injured was treated by the IDF and did not need to be taken to the hospital.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/16/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Southeast Asia
Two top Abus 'neutralized' in Mindanao
[Rappler] In a span of 3 days, government forces in Mindanao “neutralized” two Abu Sayyaf militants.

Joint Task Force Tawi-Tawi and provincial police gunned down Ibno Moro, an Abu Sayyaf rebel and kidnapper, on Saturday morning. According to the Western Mindanao Command, Moro is a former member of the late Abu Sayyaf sub-leader Jul Asman Sawadjaan. He had a standing arrest warrant for murder.

Moro was on the Tawi-Tawi most-wanted police list. He was wanted for a 1989 massacre in Bongao, the 2004 kidnapping of Sibuto Mayor Kuyoh Pajiji, the kidnapping of Alvin Chua in 2002, and the 2004 murder of Rodrigo Alejandro Sr and his son in Panglima Sugala.

Days earlier, Joint Task Force Zamboanga and Zamboanga City police arrested Abu Sayyaf militant Abdulmubin Kudalat Salamuddin, alias “Mubin”, during an operation in Barangay Guiwan, Zamboanga City the evening of July 13. Salamuddin was suspected in the 2002 Sidapan kidnapping and was a follower of Abu Sayyaf leader Radullan Sahiron. He was also supposedly trained by Jema'ah Islamiyah member Amin Bacho to create improvised explosive devices and landmines.

According to Joint Task Force Zamboanga commander Colonel Leonel Nicolas, Salamuddin was working as a security guard in a mall in the city at the time of his arrest.
Posted by: ryuge || 07/16/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Abu Sayyaf (ISIS)


Philippine troops push deeper into Maute-held territory
[Inquirer] Philippine troops continued to meet resistance as they pushed deeper into four villages with holdouts of Maute militants who wanted to turn Marawi into an Islamic State vassal. Ground troops, backed by helicopters and bombers, pushed farther inward into areas of the city where the rebel remnants are holed up.

Artillery fire targeted Maute positions in the villages of Marianut, Lilod, Raya Madaya and Bangolo as security forces tried to complete their mission to retake the city.

In a statement on Saturday, Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla said the government had lost 93 men in its war on Maute militants as of Friday. The figure included policemen and soldiers killed in two cases of “friendly fire". He said more areas are being cleared and the number of insurgents killed has reached 399.

Joint Task Force Marawi spokesperson Jo-ar Herrera said on Saturday that soldiers are continuing efforts to rescue civilians still trapped in the battle zone. At least 2,000 civilians were believed to have been trapped in the main zone of fighting since May 23. Herrera said at least 1,723 had already been rescued as of Friday.
Posted by: ryuge || 07/16/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Maute group (IS)


Three injured in Narathiwat motorcycle bombing
[Bangkok Post] Two Thai policemen and a woman were wounded when a motorcycle bomb went off on a bridge in Narathiwat province on Saturday morning. The explosion went off as a team of 11 policemen aboard two motorcycles and a patrol vehicle drove across a bridge in Sungai Kolok district.

Police, soldiers and and forensic officials found pieces of the motorcycle used in the attack with Narathiwat licence plates and debris from the bomb scattered over the area. The bomb, stuffed in a 10-kilogram gas cylinder that had been halved, was detonated by a communication radio.

Pol Lt Prapas said his patrol team spotted the suspicious motorbike abandoned on the bridge when they arrived at the scene. They drove past it and later stopped to take a closer look. Suddenly, the bomb was detonated. The force of the blast wounded him, his fellow officer and the woman riding her bike.

Authorities said the licence plates on the motorcycle did not match with the engine registration number. A further police investigation found the bike was reported stolen in Tak Bai district last September and it carried fake license plates.

Authorities believe the attack was the work of southern insurgents seeking to target security officers.
Posted by: ryuge || 07/16/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Thai Insurgency


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Rival groups clash in Syria's rebel-packed Idlib
[AlAhram] Clashes have broken out in northwestern Syria between two of the most powerful Lion of Islam groups there raising fears of widespread violence in the rebel-held province of Idlib, the groups and an opposition monitor said Saturday.

The fighting between the ultraconservative Ahrar al-Sham
...a Syria jihadi group made up of Islamists and salafists, not that there's that much difference, formed into a brigade. They make up the main element of the Islamic Front but they don't profess adoration of al-Qaeda and they've been fighting (mainly for survival) against the Islamic State. Their leadership was wiped out at a single blow by a suicide kaboom at a crowded basement meeting in September, 2014...
and the al-Qaeda-linked Hay'at Tahrir al Sham -- Arabic for Levant Liberation Committee -- that is also known as HTS, are the first serious acts of violence since both sides reached a truce in February. Wider festivities between the two former allies could affect their fight against Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/16/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Nusra

#1  Any chance Obumbles goes over and explains his red line and who should get what?

Now that would be pay-per-view.
Posted by: AlanC || 07/16/2017 7:38 Comments || Top||


Iranian forces crack down on terrorists near Pakistan border
[ALMASDARNEWS] The Intelligence Forces of Iran’s Kerman province confiscated several weapons from a house belonging to a suspected terrorist, the Chairman of the General Court Hossein Salami stated this morning.

According to the public relations office of Narmashir General Court, intelligence forces have tossed in the slammer
Into the paddy wagon wit' yez!
two people involved in buying and selling weapons in eastern Kerman.

Six side arms, three hunting rifles, and some cartridges were discovered and confiscated in the operation, Salami said.
Posted by: Fred || 07/16/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran


ISIL’s oil trade takes big hit as Syrian Army troops advance in southern Raqqa
[ALMASDARNEWS] 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....
’s (ISIS) oil trade is in trouble after a series of gains by the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) in the southern countryside of al-Raqqa.

Led by their elite Tiger Forces, the Syrian Arab Army liberated a half dozen oil fields from the Islamic State murderous Moslems this morning, resulting in another big loss for the aforementioned terrorist group.

Making matters worse for the Islamic State, the Tiger Forces are pushing much further southeast in al-Raqqa, as they enter more oil rich areas between these province and nearby Homs.

The Syrian Arab Army will likely continue to push south of al-Raqqa in the coming days, which will further endanger ISIS’s oil trade and bastion in the central Syria.
Posted by: Fred || 07/16/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Four villages in Idlib reconcile with government: Russian MoD
[ALMASDARNEWS] Four settlements in northwestern Syria’s Idlib Governorate have joined ceasefire over the past 24 hours, the Russian Defense Ministry said in its bulletin on Saturday.

"Within last 24 hours, four ceasefire agreements have been signed with representatives of Baraghita, al-Wasita, Rajal, and Tal al-Agar in the Idlib Governorate. Total number of inhabited areas, the leaders of which have signed reconciliation agreements has reached 2,015," the bulletin said.

The number of armed formations, which have claimed to observe the ceasefire, is 153. Some 65 armed formations of the Syrian opposition have joined the ceasefire since the truce entered into force on December 30, 2016.

Talks on joining the ceasefire continue with field commanders of the armed opposition in the Aleppo, Damascus, Homs, Hama, Homs, and al-Quneitra Governorates.

Within last 24 hours, the Russian party of the Russia-The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
Commission on violations of the Joint Agreement has registered nine cases in the Damascus and Latakia Governorates. The Ottoman Turkish party has registered eight cases of ceasefire violations in the Damascus and Daraa Governorates.
Posted by: Fred || 07/16/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


400 rebels killed by the Syrian Army during east Damascus offensive
[ALMASDARNEWS] A military source in the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) has provided al-Masdar News all full list of details covering confirmed human and material losses inflicted upon Failaq al-Rahman and Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham in the two neighbouring suburbs of Ayn Tarma and Jobar.

During the past 25 days of counterinsurgency operations led by two brigades of the Elite Republican Guard, some 400 FSA and HTS fighters have been neutralized. Six reinforcement convoys coming from East Ghouta were targeted from the air, thereby piling up the murderous Moslem corpse count.

Additionally, one BMP infantry fighting vehicle, a T-52 tank and two bulldozers were knocked out by the SAA.

Also worth noting, 8 American-made TOW rocket launchers were destroyed in addition to 10 machine-gun positions.

During the SAA’s campaign to secure its capital, three strategic points have been liberated thus far: the al-Manara driving school, Ayn Tarma’s butcher house and most importantly, the Zamalka conjunction.

An astonishing 7 field hospitals have been overwhelmed and wrecked along with the main Failaq al-Rahman media center. In total, 37 trenches and tunnels have been captured so far by SAA units that are still inching their way forward.

Posted by: Fred || 07/16/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Nusra


Battle for east Damascus proves to be bloodiest fight in Syria
[ALMASDARNEWS] For the last three weeks, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and Salafist tough guys of Faylaq al-Rahman have been engaged in a fierce battle for the eastern Damascus suburbs of Jobar and ’Ayn Tarma.

With much on the line, the battle for east Damascus has turned into a blood bath for all parties involved in this fight at the outskirts of the Syrian capital.

Despite possessing an air force and advanced weaponry, the Syrian Arab Army does not have the advantage on this battlefield, as Faylaq al-Rahman’s multitude of snipers and tunnels force the government units to cautiously attack.

However,
it's easy to be generous with someone else's money...
despite the disadvantage on the battlefield, the Syrian Arab Army’s 105th Brigade of the Elite Republican Guard is battle-hardened in this kind of environment.

In the coming weeks, the battle for east Damascus is expected to intensify as battalions from the Syrian Arab Army’s elite Ghiath Forces (42nd Brigade) descend on ’Ayn Tarma and Jobar to help their comrades from the 105th Brigade.

Posted by: Fred || 07/16/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria



Who's in the News
24[untagged]
8Islamic State
5Govt of Pakistan
3Taliban
3Moslem Colonists
2Sublime Porte
2Govt of Iran
2al-Nusra
2Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (IS)
2Govt of Syria
1TTP
1Commies
1Govt of Saudi Arabia
1Abu Sayyaf (ISIS)
1Jamaat ul-Ahrar
1Maute group (IS)
1Muslim Brotherhood
1Thai Insurgency

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Two weeks of WOT
Sun 2017-07-16
  400 rebels killed by the Syrian Army during east Damascus offensive
Sat 2017-07-15
  Islamic State's Afghan 'emir' killed in raid, US says
Fri 2017-07-14
  19 give up the ghost in suicide kaboom at checkpoint in Anbar
Thu 2017-07-13
  ISIS declares Tal Afar as a separate kalifate
Wed 2017-07-12
  Amnesty: All sides violated international law in Mosul
Tue 2017-07-11
  ISIS: Al-Bagdadhi baghdeadi
Mon 2017-07-10
  Frenchman held for planning terror attack with Belgian pair
Sun 2017-07-09
  Iraqi forces take Mosul
Sat 2017-07-08
  Turkey detains 29 IS group militants in raids in Istanbul
Fri 2017-07-07
  40 ISIS troops die in battle with Iraqi forces in Salahuddin
Thu 2017-07-06
  Haftar's forces declare victory in battle for Benghazi
Wed 2017-07-05
  Baghdadi’s “mail man” killed in security ambush in Diyala
Tue 2017-07-04
  US-backed SDF breaches Raqqa's Old City wall
Mon 2017-07-03
  British soldier drowns ISIS thug in puddle after being ambushed
Sun 2017-07-02
  Palestinian Forces Hand Over Most Wanted Fugitive in Ain Hilweh

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