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Gang who called themselves 'Musketeers' guilty of plotting UK bomb attack
Today's Headlines
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Page 2: WoT Background
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Page 6: Politix
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Afghanistan
ANA advances in Paktia
Government forces are making progress in the ongoing military operation in Janikhail district in the far east of Paktia province, military officials confirmed.

The officials said the military operation was launched on Tuesday.

Janikhail, a strategic district close to the Durand Line, was captured by the Taliban eight days ago.

“Key areas of Janikhail including Reshpakai Pass (towards the center of the district) were retaken by government forces early on Tuesday morning at 5am local time. So far, 101 Taliban fighters including foreign fighters have been killed and 87 others wounded and two vehicles belonging to the Taliban were destroyed during the operation,” said Major Gen. Abdul Wase Milad, Commander of 203 Atal Military Corps.

According to Paktia officials, Taliban has suffered heavy losses in offensives by security forces.

“Security forces are advancing by adapting special tactics against the Taliban. Taliban has suffered heavy losses in the battle. Key check posts were retaken,” Paktia Police Chief Colonel Nisar Ahmad Abdul Rahimzai said.

A Border Police commander meanwhile suggested that the local check posts in various parts of the district must be strengthened – in order to prevent a comeback by the Taliban.

“Same as last year, this year too, check posts fell to the enemy. These check posts must be reinforced and empowered. The check posts near the Durand Line must be strengthened,” said Raz Mohammad Mandozai, commander of Second Regiment of Afghan Border Police in Paktia.

Paktia governor meanwhile raised another issue, which according to him, fuels and continues the war in Janikhail.

Governor Shamim Khan Katawazai told TOLOnews that “the Pakistani military supports the Taliban in the fight against Afghan security forces in the district”.

“At least 600 Taliban fighters entered this side of the Durand Line. These fighters receive direct command from Punjabi commanders,” Katawazai said.

“Almost 50 Punjabi nationals were among them (Taliban fighters), to command (the fighters) and we have arrested a number of them and they have confessed (about their nationality and their role in the war). Janikhail is a key district. Their goal is to destabilize Paktia and Khost provinces' districts from Janikhail,” Katawazai stated.

This comes amidst a series of Taliban attacks in many districts across the country including Kohistan in Faryab, Taywara in Ghor and Janikhail in Paktia province in the past two weeks.

However, security forces managed to retake Taywara, Kohistan and Baghlan-e-Markazi district in the north and western parts of war-ravaged Afghanistan.

The Defense Ministry assured the public earlier this week that it will retake Janikhail in the near future.

The Janikhail district is located 150 kilometers to the west of Gardez City. It shares a border with Kurram Agency and Parachinar regions across the Durand Line – the disputed border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Posted by: badanov || 08/02/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336065 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Fighting closes Kandahar highway
Taliban insurgents are embroiled in clashes with security forces after launching an attack along the Kabul-Kandahar Highway on Tuesday, officials confirmed.

According to them the highway is closed to traffic.

The attack was launched at about 5am local time and “currently the clashes are ongoing,” according to officials.

However, the officials did not provide further details nor information on casualties.

In the meantime, trucks carrying commercial goods and cars were forced to return to Kabul.

The drivers said that they have returned "due to heavy clashes.”

The Taliban have not commented about the clashes.
Posted by: badanov || 08/02/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336071 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


ISIS release photo of suicide bombers who attacked Iraq embassy in Kabul
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] 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’s offshoot in Afghanistan, ISIS-Khurasan, released the picture of the two jacket wallahs who attacked the embassy of Iraq in Kabul on Monday.

The photo purportedly shows two young men who carried out the suicide kaboom on the Iraqi embassy.

The Ministry of Interior (MoI) front man Najib Danish told news hounds that the attack was launched by two suicide bombers at around 11 am local time.

He said at least two local workers of the embassy were killed and two others belonging to the national police and police special forces were maimed in the attack.

Danish further added that the security forces arrived in the area immediately after the attack was launched and evacuated the Iraqi ambassador, his deputy, and diplomats of the embassy.

According to Danish the attack was ended after the Afghan cops eliminated all the remaining attackers during the shootout.

Yesterday’s attack on embassy of Iraq was the second attack carried out by the anti-government armed krazed killer groups in the past one week which followed the deadly boom-mobileing that left at least 24 dead and 42 others maimed last week.

Posted by: Fred || 08/02/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336068 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


US helicopter makes hard landing in Afghanistan, 2 US soldiers wounded
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] At least two US soldiers sustained minor injuries after their helicopter made a hard landing 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 earlier today.

The NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A single organization with differing goals, equipment, language, doctrine, and structure....
-led Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan in a statement said "A U.S. HH-60 Black Hawk suffered a mechanical issue that resulted in a hard landing during operations near Achin, Nangarhar early this morning. "

The statement further added "Rescue personnel safely recovered the crew. Two crew members suffered minor injuries in the landing and are receiving treatment at a coalition medical facility."

"The aircraft is being recovered and the incident is under investigation," the alliance added.
Posted by: Fred || 08/02/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336075 views] Top|| File under:


Explosion rocks Herat, dozens feared dead or wounded
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] A deadly kaboom has taken place in Herat
...a venerable old Persian-speaking city in western Afghanistan, populated mostly by Tadjiks, which is why it's not as blood-soaked as areas controlled by Pashtuns...
city in West of Afghanistan as there are fears that dozens of people have been killed or maimed.

The incident took place around 8:30 pm local time near Jawadia mosque in the city but the type of the kaboom has not been ascertained so far.

Preliminary reports indicate at least 20 people have been killed and around 30 others have been maimed in the kaboom.

No group or individual has so far grabbed credit behind the incident.

In the meantime, a security source said the incident took place after a jacket wallah detonated his explosives among the prayers in the mosque.

The source further added at least 25 have been killed and around 30 others have been maimed in the attack.

However,
corruption finds a dozen alibis for its evil deeds...
the head of the provincial hospital Mohammad Rafiq Sherzai said the dead bodies of at least 20 people have been shifted to the hospital so far.

He said at least 25 others who sustained injuries in the attack were also shifted to the hospital for the treatment.
Al Ahram adds:
A suicide kaboom on a Shi'ite mosque in the western Afghan city of Herat killed more than 29 people and maimed more than 64 on Tuesday, officials said.

Abdulhai Walizada, a local police front man, said there appeared to be more than one attacker on Tuesday, with witnesses describing a jacket wallah who detonated explosives and at least one other, a gunman who threw grenades at worshippers.

"Two attackers entered the mosque and started shooting and throwing grenades at people," said Mohammad Adi, a worshipper at the mosque who was injured in the attack and taken to hospital.

Mohammad Asif Rahimi, governor of Herat, said at least 29 people were killed and 64 maimed in the incident which came two months after an attack on a 12th century mosque known as the Jama Masjid in Herat, in which seven people died.

There was no claim of responsibility. But the Taliban
...Arabic for students...
, fighting to install strict Islamic law and drive foreign troops out of Afghanistan, denied any involvement.

President Ashraf Ghani
...former chancellor of Kabul University, now president of Afghanistan. Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002 he was a scholar of political science and anthropology. He worked at the World Bank working on international development assistance. As Finance Minister of Afghanistan between July 2002 and December 2004, he led Afghanistan's attempted economic recovery until the Karzais stole all the money. ..
, whose government has been under mounting pressure because of deteriorating security across the country, condemned the bombing and called on religious scholars to "raise their voices against the terrorist attacks".

Afghanistan has traditionally been relatively free of the sectarian violence common in Iraq or Syria but hardline Sunni Lions of Islam from the local branch of Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
have repeatedly attacked the mainly Shi'ite Hazara minority in the past year.
Update from Al Ahram at 1:10 p.m. EDT:
Islamic State group has grabbed credit for a suicide kaboom on a Shia mosque in Afghanistan that killed and maimed dozens of people on Tuesday, the group's official agency AMAQ said on Wednesday.

"About 50 Shia were killed and 80 maimed in an attack by Islamic State murderous Moslems yesterday on a Husseiniya in the city of Herat
...a venerable old Persian-speaking city in western Afghanistan, populated mostly by Tadjiks, which is why it's not as blood-soaked as areas controlled by Pashtuns...
in western Afghanistan," AMAQ said.

Officials on Tuesday said the attack had killed more than 29 people and maimed at least 64.

Posted by: Fred || 08/02/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336069 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Africa Horn
A huge explosion hits cafe in Kismayo, many feared dead
[SHABELLENEWS] At least five people were reported to have been killed, several others maimed in a huge kaboom at a busy tea shop in the southern port town of Kismayo
...a port city in the southern Lower Juba province of Somalia, at the extreme southern end of the country (assuming Somalia can be called a country). It is the commercial capital of the autonomous Jubaland region...
on Tuesday afternoon.

Conflicting reports are emerging from the type of the blast, which has destroyed the cafe, popular with local elders, youngsters and Jubbaland security force members.

Witnesses at the scene say the kaboom has resulted from explosives-laden car parked at the tea-shop, while other sources reported that a bomber has carried out the attack.

The death is likely to rise, as many of the of the maimed are at death's doors.

No group has yet grabbed credit for the cafe bombing, but Police said they believe Al shabaab was responsible for the carnage.

Posted by: Fred || 08/02/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336071 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab (AQ)


Britain
Officers from the Met's Counter Terrorism Command have arrested a man on suspicion of preparation of acts to commit terrorism.
[Met.police] Officers from the Met's Counter Terrorism Command have arrested a man on suspicion of preparation of acts to commit terrorism.

The 49-year-old man was stopped by officers at Southend Airport under schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000 on Tuesday 1 August. He was subsequently arrested on suspicion of preparation of acts to commit terrorism, under section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006.

The man, who was arrested under PACE, was taken to a south London police station, where he remains in police custody.

Officers also carried out a search at an address in Essex, which is now complete.

Enquiries continue.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 08/02/2017 11:17 || Comments || Link || [336068 views] Top|| File under:


Gang who called themselves 'Musketeers' guilty of plotting UK bomb attack
[SkyNews] Police found a "viable" pipe bomb in one of the defendant's cars - the gang claimed an undercover officer had planted the device.

A gang of men who styled themselves as the "musketeers" have been found guilty of plotting a bomb and knife attack in the UK.

Naweed Ali and Khobaib Hussain from Birmingham, and Mohibur Rahman and Tahir Aziz from Stoke-on-Trent, stood trial at the Old Bailey after counter-terror police found a pipe bomb described as "viable".

MI5 and undercover police officers had set up a fake firm in the city called Hero Couriers which employed both Hussain and Ali. The pair were being monitored after earlier terrorist-related convictions.

During Ali's first day working at the Birmingham firm last August, police searched his black Seat car and were surprised to find the bomb alongside ammunition, an imitation handgun and a meat cleaver with the word "kafir" - meaning non-believer - scratched into the blade.

It prompted a major security alert and the area around Florence Street close to the city centre went into lockdown, with the Army's bomb squad tasked with making sure the pipe bomb would not explode.

Latex gloves and industrial tape were also recovered.

Police immediately arrested all four men and seized a large sword which had been stashed in Aziz's car.

Aziz said the sword was for self-defence and claimed he was doing research when asked to explain what he was doing with pages from an al Qaeda pipe bomb-making article.

Jurors were told Hussain had previously handled the same type of pipes used for the bomb on his gas-fitter's course and his DNA was on the roll of tape.

The four men had denied plotting the attack and claimed in court an undercover MI5 officer known as Vincent had planted the bomb in the vehicle.

Ali's car had been parked at the "covert" courier firm while he went to Luton to deliver a parcel.

Vincent was cross-examined over 12 days and repeatedly rejected the allegations against him.

Stephen Kamlish QC suggested Vincent had put a bag of incriminating evidence in Ali's vehicle before MI5 turned up to bug it.

He alleged that was his only window of opportunity as MI5 had already bugged Hussain's car after he had begun working for Hero Couriers the month before.

Jurors agreed with Vincent and, after deliberating for 22 hours, convicted Ali, 29, Hussain, 25, and Rahman, 33, of preparing terrorist acts.

Aziz, 38, was found guilty of the same offence after the jury deliberated for another 20 minutes.

As they were led from the dock, Rahman shouted out: "I hope you're happy with your lies. Lying scumbags."

Next-door neighbours Ali and Hussain had previously been convicted after travelling to Pakistan to attend a terror training camp, although neither man went through with the training.

Rahman had earlier served a five-year sentence for possessing materials linked to terrorism.

The three men met inside HMP Belmarsh in southeast London and went on to plot the pipe bomb attack that was intercepted by the authorities.

West Midlands Police arrested the four men shortly after they discovered the bomb and have been unable to identify where the men had planned to detonate it.

The four are due to be sentenced on Thursday.
The BBC adds:
Police say the men, who had all denied preparing terrorist acts, were inspired by so-called Islamic State, also known as Daesh.

They were described as "dangerous men" who were committed to carrying out a "mass casualty attack".

Officers said the case was "one of the most complex counter terrorism investigations in a number of years".

The court heard how the members of the gang called themselves the Three Musketeers when exchanging encrypted messages on the Telegram app.

Neighbours Ali and Hussain have previously been jailed for attempting to join an al-Qaeda training camp in Pakistan in 2011.

The trial heard the pair first met Rahman - who had been convicted of possessing an al-Qaeda magazine - while in prison.
Update from the Daily Mail at 1:40 p.m. EDT:
Three terrorists who called themselves the 'Three Musketeers' are facing jail after their plot to carry out a London Bridge-style knife rampage was foiled by undercover MI5 agents.

Rahman claimed MI5 agents tried to recruit him as informant against hate preacher Anjem Choudary, but instead he joined the 'Three Musketeers' plot to unleash havoc with their haul of guns, knives and ammunition.

The terror trio had links to hate preacher Anjem Choudary
...the ISIS-linked head of Al Muhajiroun, who is connected to an astounding number of convicted British jihadis. He was recently moved from the general population of the high security prison hosting him for the next half decade to become the first resident of its new isolation ward...
but judge feared telling the jury could prejudice the trial.
This article starring:
Anjem Choudary
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 08/02/2017 07:47 || Comments || Link || [336109 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


The Grand Turk
Two Turkish soldiers killed in PKK attack in southeast: Sources
[AlAhram] A Ottoman Turkish military vehicle was hit by an improvised bomb in southeast Diyarbakir province, killing two soldiers, security sources said on Tuesday.

The device exploded by gunnies of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) as the vehicle was passing the road, the sources said. They said ground and air operations were under way to hunt down the myrmidons.

Separately, security sources said three PKK gunnies were killed in the southeastern province of Tunceli after being identified by a drone.
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/02/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336067 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte


India-Pakistan
Two ‘IS militants’ shot dead in encounter in Karachi
[DAWN] A month after the killing of a dozen bully boy 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 in the Mastung area of 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...
, two suspects belonging to the banned terrorist outfit were rubbed out in an exchange of fire with law enforcers on the outskirts of 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...
on Monday afternoon.

The bully boys, who had a hideout in Shah Latif Town, were allegedly involved in the assassination'>assassination
of more than a dozen people, including a deputy superintendent of police, according to officials.

The encounter took place at around 2pm when the Shah Latif Town police acting on information conducted a targeted raid on a house in Sector 21-B of Shah Latif Town, said SHO Amanullah Marwat.

While the police had surrounded their hideout, the Lions of Islam opened fire on the officials. In an ensuing exchange of gunfire, both the Lions of Islam were killed.
Posted by: Fred || 08/02/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336073 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Protests erupt in Kashmir after rebel leader killed
[Iran Press TV] The killing of a top Kashmiri commander and his comrade by New Delhi forces has sparked massive protests and violent festivities across the Indian-controlled Himalayan valley.

Police front man Manoj Pandita said on Tuesday that Abu Dujana, of the Lashkar-e-Taiba
...the Army of the Pure, an Ahl-e-Hadith terror organization founded by Hafiz Saeed. LeT masquerades behind the Jamaat-ud-Dawa facade within Pakistain and periodically blows things up and kills people in India. Despite the fact that it is banned, always an interesting concept in Pakistain, the organization remains an blatant tool and perhaps an arm of the ISI...
(LeT) Death Eater group, was bumped off with an accomplice during a pre-dawn operation in Pulwama district, which is located to the south of the region's summer capital Srinagar.

Police Inspector-General Muneer Ahmed Khan confirmed that the two were killed after troops cordoned off on a tip the southern village of Hakripora during the early hours of Tuesday.

The two trapped people fired at the Indian troops, triggering a shootout that lasted at least two hours, Khan said.

Dujana, who had orchestrated several attacks against Indian forces in southern Kashmire, had a cash reward of 1.5 million rupees (about $23,400) on his head.

A police statement described the killing as a great achievement for India. "LeT chief commander Abu Dujana of Pakistain along with his accomplice killed in Harkipora Pulwama, huge achievement for police and SF (security forces)," the statement read.

Witnesses said one of the two houses from where the Lions of Islam fired was set ablaze by Indian soldiers and another was blown up using heavy explosives.
Posted by: Fred || 08/02/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336071 views] Top|| File under: Lashkar e-Taiba


Iraq
More Mosul Moslem Mayhem


Kop dies in small arms attack in Mosul

Mosul (Iraqinews.com) A policeman was killed on Tuesday as a physically-challenged member and two women belonging to the Islamic State (IS) attacked a check point, Shafaaq News reported.

IS element attacked a check point in western Mosul along with two women, prompting police to open fire and kill the gunman, who was revealed later to be a disabled member.

The two women were arrested. A pistol and fake ID card were in possession of one of them. They were later handed over to the intelligence of the 9th brigade, the source added.

The Iraqi government declared victory over Islamic State militants in western Mosul earlier this month, saying it concluded more than eight months of battles to recapture the city which the militants held as the capital of their self-styled “caliphate” since 2014. The eastern side of the city was retaken late January.

Following the declaration of victory, Iraqi forces have been in efforts to comb the recaptured areas for remnant IS cells, countering occasional attacks by the group and arresting many hiding among civilian refugees.

IS lost more than 250.000 fighters in the Mosul campaign, according to Iraqi commanders.

The group still holds a few holdouts in Nineveh, Kirkuk, Salahuddin and Anbar, all the targets for future offensives by the Iraqi forces, the U.S.-led coalition and pro-government paramilitary troops.

ISIS Female shooter found dead in Tal Afar

Tal Afar (IraqiNews.com) Islamic State has imposed strict measures in Tal Afar town after a prominent female sniper was found slain, a local source was quoted saying.

“Um Azam, a woman from the Russian federation, is known as ‘the dove’ for her good eyesight and accurate shooting. The skilled sniper was found dead in a narrow alleyway in Tal Afar, west of Mosul. She was slain by unknown people,” the source told AlSumaria News.

“IS imposed strict measures and arrested many people,” the source, who asked to remain anonymous, said. “Many members and leaders of the group are killed in the town, which indicates an internal infighting among the group to take over positions in the regions.”

Earlier on Tuesday, news reports said IS prominent vocalist abu Talha al-Shami was killed in an airstrike in the town.

Tal Afar is one of the important strongholds still held by IS in Nineveh since August 2014. The town has been set as the next target of operations after victory was declared in Mosul on July 10.

Iraqi Defense Ministry said last week that a date has been set for the town invasion, however, it will not be declared to maintain the secrecy of the intended operations.

ISIS singer sings Swan Song

Tal Afar (IraqiNews.com) Islamic State’s ‘nightingale’ was killed in an airstrike in west of Mosul, a local source from Nineveh was quoted saying.

“IS member known as abu Talha al-Shami, a main vocalist in the group, was killed in an airstrike that targeted a group’s rest house in the eastern districts of Tal Afar town, located west of Mosul,” the source told AlSumaria News on Tuesday. “Several IS members were killed and injured as a result of the airstrike.”

“Shami, in his early thirties, has been famous within the group. He recorded many songs praising the group. He has been known as ‘nightingale of the levant’, being a Syrian from Hasaka,” the source added.

The group has depended on a group of vocalists to praise it through songs posted on its websites to attract more people.

On Monday, a U.S-led coalition drone fired two rockets at an IS residence in Alawliya, east of Tal Afar, killing 12 militants including the group’s commando chief, Abdul-Aziz Abdul-Qader al-Jeheishi.

Iraqi Defense Ministry said last week that a date has been set for the town invasion, however, it will not be declared to maintain the secrecy of the intended operations.

Col. Ryan Dillon, spokesperson of the U.S.-led coalition against IS, was previously quoted as saying that Tal Afar will be the next target of operations after victory was declared in Mosul.

Tal Afar is one of the important strongholds still held by IS in Nineveh since August 2014.
Posted by: badanov || 08/02/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336072 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


2 die in separate incidents in Baghdad
Baghdad (Iraqinews.com) An army soldier was killed on Tuesday by sniper north of Baghdad, a security source told Alsumaria News.

The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, added that a sniper targeted an army checkpoint in northern Baghdad and killed a soldier, noting that a security force surrounded the area to track the sniper.

Earlier on the day, the Baghdad Operations Command has killed a suicide bomber while attempting to attack troops west of the capital, according to a statement.

Bombings and armed attacks are seen on almost a daily basis against security members, paramilitary groups and civilians since the Iraqi government launched a wide-scale campaign to retake IS-occupied areas in 2016.

Iraqi forces rescue 2 kidnapping victims

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi troops have rescued two kidnapped foreigners on Tuesday, the Baghdad Operations Command announced.

“After diligent work, the command has managed to free two Bangladeshi nationals and arrest their abductors,” Maj. Gen. Jalil al-Rubaie, commander of the Baghdad Operations said in a statement.

Earlier today, the Baghdad Operations Command said that troops killed a suicide bomber while attempting to attack security personnel west of the capital Baghdad.

Last week, the command have freed a kidnapped child from Mosul and arrested the abductor, who was the wife of an Islamic State (IS) leader in northern Baghdad.
Posted by: badanov || 08/02/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336068 views] Top|| File under:


ISIS official's kid dies in Salahuddin
Salahuddin (IraqiNews.com) The son of Islamic State’s so-called war minister was killed in clashes with Iraqi troops in north of Salahuddin province, a security source said.

“A group of IS militants, headed by the son of the group’s so-called war minister, abu Omar al-Chichani, who was killed more than a year ago, attacked on Monday the Iraqi troops deployed in Hamreen mountains. Several militants, including Chichani’s son, were killed,” the source told AlSumaria News on Tuesday.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source added, “Chichani’s son used to lead the so-called ‘invasions brigade’ in Nineveh, before he fled, along with others, to Hawija in Kirkuk, after the province was liberated. He worked on forming the brigade again.”

The group, according to the source, “kept the news on his death as secret and buried him in Hawija.”

In 2016, the U.S.-led coalition confirmed the death of Chichani in Syria.
Posted by: badanov || 08/02/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336072 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  Followed in his father's footsteps.
Posted by: Skidmark || 08/02/2017 10:42 Comments || Top||

#2  Family business, Skid.
Posted by: Pappy || 08/02/2017 15:26 Comments || Top||


Diyala Devastation Digest


ISIS Bad Guy dies in Azeem

Diyala (IraqiNews.com) An Islamic State militant was killed and three rest houses were destroyed in several parts in Diyala, a police statement said on Tuesday.

“Based on intelligence information and coordination between al-Azeem police station, army and paramilitary troops of al-Hashd al-Shaabi, an airstrike killed IS militant, who was near al-Bou’Awad village, in Azeem town, north of Diyala. The militant was killed, while his vehicle was destroyed,” the statement said.

Moreover, joint troops destroyed three IS rest houses in Rabei’a village, near al-Saadiya town, northeast of Baqubah.

Diyala police confiscated several rest houses over the past few months.

On Tuesday, the Dijlah Operations Command announced destroying three rest houses as a large-scale military operation was launched to track IS fighters across al-Saadiya town.

Attacks launched by Islamic State militants against security troops, the pro-government forces and civilians surged over the past few weeks in northeast of Diyala, which urge the Iraqi forces to prevent the militants infiltration between Salahuddin and Kirkuk provinces, especially the regions stretching along Hamreen mountains and Al-Azeem town.

Donkey dies in IED attack, save civilins

Diyala (IraqiNews.com) A donkey was killed on Tuesday in an improvised explosive device (IED) explosion as it stepped on the bomb, saving many civilians in southeastern Diyala governorate, Alsumaria News reported.

A local source told Alsumaria that an IED, planted on the side of an agricultural road in a town southeast of Diyala, exploded early Tuesday, killing a donkey as it stepped on it.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source added that the road is used by many civilians, especially farmers, on a daily basis, indicating that they were saved by the donkey.

Islamic State members have escalated their attacks against security and civilians over the past months as Iraqi forces were focusing most of their efforts to drive the group out of Mosul, the militants’ former capital which was declared free on July 10.

More than 25000 militants were killed in the Mosul campaign, according to Iraqi generals, including both foreign and local members, while a few thousands remain in other havens in Diyala, Salahuddin, Kirkuk and Anbar which the Iraqi government plans to target with future military offensives.
Posted by: badanov || 08/02/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336064 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Southeast Asia
ISIS kills scores of Philippine troops in Marawi
[ALMASDARNEWS] Despite being outnumbered at least 100-to-1, a small garrison of Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
holy warriors are putting up determined resistance against the Philippine Army in the embattled city of Marawi.

On Wednesday, Amaq Agency released its fifth ever video covering events in Marawi, showing plenty of army corpses along with weapons recently seized by Abu Sayyaf
...also known as al-Harakat al-Islamiyya, an Islamist terror group based in Jolo, Basilan and Zamboanga. Since its inception in the early 1990s, the group has carried out bombings, kidnappings, murders, head choppings, and extortion in their uniquely Islamic attempt to set up an independent Moslem province in the Philippines. Abu Sayyaf forces probably number less than 300 cadres. The group is closely allied with remnants of Indonesia's Jemaah Islamiya and has loose ties with MILF and MNLF who sometimes provide cannon fodder...
and Maute, two jihadist groups that have sworn allegiance to Islamic State leader His Supreme Immensity, Caliph of the Faithful and Galactic Overlord, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
...formerly merely the head of ISIL and a veteran of the Bagram jailhouse. Looks like a new messiah to bajillions of Moslems, like just another dead-eyed mass murder to the rest of us...
Meanwhile,
...back at the palazzo, Don Smilzo looked for an avenue of escape. The only window opened a hundred feet above the moat. The nearest of the hired assassins hold a bloody axe.
The window was looking better all the time....

official sources in the Philippine Army claim the total ISIS corpse count has surpassed 500, backing up earlier claims by al-Masdar News which were heavily disputed when the crisis began over two months ago.

Between 120 and 60 ISIS holy warriors still remain bogged down around four neighborhoods in the city centre where the hardline jihadists have established entrenched positions and sniper nests after booby-trapping most of the frontline.
Posted by: Fred || 08/02/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336068 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Abu Sayyaf kills seven in Basilan, two of them beheaded
[Iinquirer] Families of farmers and militiamen beheaded by the Abu Sayyaf are demanding justice just as the number of bodies recovered separately in the province of Basilan, believed to be Abu Sayyaf victims, had risen to seven.

"They treated my brothers like animals," said Lucia Constancia of her brother Renato Casiple, and half-brother Rene Sanson. “They cut their heads, they chopped their bodies,” she said.

The headless remains of Casiple and Sanson were found in the town of Maluso in Basilan on Saturday. They were among five bodies recovered in Maluso believed to have been killed by the Abu Sayyaf.

Military spokesman Andrew Bacala said the victims were farm workers and militiamen who had been actively supporting the government’s antiterrorism campaign in Basilan.

The five bodies found in Maluso on Saturday were recovered more than a kilometer from where local businessman Dodong Divinagracia and his son, Ily, were found dead on Friday. The Divinagracias were kidnapped by Abu Sayyaf members in Maluso on July 20.

The rebels took the five other men a few hours after taking the father and son.
Posted by: ryuge || 08/02/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336072 views] Top|| File under: Abu Sayyaf (ISIS)


Bomb kills two security volunteers in southern Thailand
[Bangkok Post] Two village security volunteers were killed and four wounded when a bomb exploded at a shelter where they went to rest after providing security for teachers in Pattani province on Tuesday morning. The blast left a hole 1.5 meter wide hole and a meter deep. Investigators collected metal fragments and electronic parts from the scene.

Police believed the explosive was stuffed in a steel pipe which was ignited remotely when the volunteers retired to the shelter. The shelter is used by local residents as well as security forces.

One volunteer was killed instantly by the blast. Another died later at the hospital. Both lost their legs.

Prior to the attack, a bomb disposal team was deployed about 7am to check a suspicious box found at a market in Mayo municipality. It turned out to be just an empty box.
Posted by: ryuge || 08/02/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336072 views] Top|| File under: Thai Insurgency


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Syrian Kurdish forces hold IS fighters from Sweden
[IsraelTimes] Swedish radio says that US-backed Syrian Kurdish forces are holding imported muscle 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....
group from Sweden.

Tuesday’s report comes as the US-backed forces are battling in northern Syria to retake the city of Raqqa, IS’ de facto capital of the bad boys’ self-proclaimed caliphate.

The Ekot news program says jihadi fighters from other countries are also being held by the People’s Protection Units, or YPG, the Kurdish militia that forms the backbone of the Syrian Democratic Forces.

Ekot didn’t provide details on how many jihadi fighters from Sweden are being held.

Sweden’s security service, known by its initials SAPO, has said that up to 300 people from Sweden have joined radical Moslems in the past six years.

There was no immediate comment from the Swedish Foreign Ministry.
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/02/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336069 views] Top|| File under:


ISIS launches counterattack against Syrian forces in Raqqa
Raqqa (Syria News) The Islamic State group attacked the locations of the Syrian army and allied militias, southeast of Raqqa.

Qasioun News reported that the Islamic State group launched an attack, at noon today, on the locations of the Syrian army and allied militias, near al-Zamla village, southeast of Raqqa.

Meanwhile, media sources belonging to the extremist group informed destroying a military vehicle belonging to the Syrian Army on the outskirts of the village, after violent clashes between the two sides, which took place amid mutual artillery and rockets shelling.

It is noteworthy that the Islamic State lost large areas in the southern and eastern countryside of Raqqa, after battles with the Syrian army.
Posted by: badanov || 08/02/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336069 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Syrian rebels continue advance in southern Raqqa
(Reuters) The U.S-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are on the verge of seizing full control of the southern neighborhoods of Islamic State-held Raqqa, a Kurdish official said on Tuesday.

The U.S.-led coalition said SDF fighters advancing from the east were within 300 meters (330 yards) of meeting up with those advancing from the west. The SDF was making “consistent gains” every day, the coalition spokesman said.

On Monday, the World Health Organization said there were critical shortages of medical supplies in Raqqa, where it estimated up to 50,000 civilians remained. Separately, Medecins Sans Frontieres said many sick and wounded people were trapped.

The SDF launched its U.S.-backed campaign to seize Raqqa in early June. The assault on Islamic State’s de facto capital in Syria overlapped with the campaign to drive IS from the Iraqi city of Mosul, where IS was defeated last month.

The Kurdish official told Reuters SDF fighters advancing from the east and the west remain separated by a few streets where fighting continued.

Full control of the southern districts would sever Islamic State’s last remaining path to the Euphrates River which is to the south of the city.

“There is a fierce resistance from Daesh, so we can’t determine when exactly we’ll take (full control),” said the official, referring to Islamic State. “Around 90 percent of the southern neighborhoods are liberated,” the official added.

The spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition said SDF fighters had also captured around 10 square km (4 sq miles) of territory from Islamic State north of Raqqa in the last two days.

“We’ve seen a less coherent ISIS defense in Raqqa compared to Mosul. ISIS is still using car bombs, booby traps, and civilians to hide behind, but their inability to address the multiple advances from the SDF is apparent,” coalition spokesman Col. Ryan Dillon said in response to emailed questions from Reuters.

In an appeal for $20 million to respond to the crisis in northeastern Syria, the World Health Organization on Monday described the situation in Raqqa as “particularly worrying”.

“Raqqa’s main hospital and many other health care facilities have closed due to airstrikes,” it said. “The facilities that are still functioning face critical shortages of medicines, supplies and equipment.”

“Water and electricity are available only intermittently,” it said, adding that civilians were unable to move freely due to travel and security restrictions imposed by IS.

Medecins Sans Frontieres relayed patient reports of large numbers of sick and wounded people trapped inside Raqqa “with little or no access to medical care and scant chance of escaping the city.”

Last week, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the SDF has captured half of Raqqa.

The SDF is dominated by the Kurdish YPG militia, and is the main partner for the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State in Syria.

Islamic State has lost large expanses of territory in Syria over the last year to separate campaigns waged by the SDF, the Russian-backed Syrian military, and Turkey-backed Syrian rebels.

US-backed Syria force advances in south of ISIS bastion Raqqa

[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] US-backed forces battling to oust ISIS from its Syrian bastion Raqqa have advanced in the city’s south, seizing a new neighborhood, a front man and monitor said Tuesday.

The Kurdish-Arab Syrian Democratic Forces militia (SDF) began a campaign to capture Raqqa from ISIS last year, slowly encircling the city before breaking into it for the first time in June.

Backed by US-led coalition air strikes, the alliance now controls more than 50 percent of the city, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britannia-based monitor.

"Overnight, the SDF advanced in the south of the city, after taking control of the Nazlet Shahada neighborhood," said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman.

He said SDF fighters also controlled large parts of the adjacent neighborhood of Hisham Bin Abdel Malik, after advancing in the south from both the eastern and western fronts.

"ISIS (ISIS) effectively no longer has a presence in the southern neighborhoods of Raqqa, after SDF forces coming from the eastern front met with those advancing from the western front," he added.
Posted by: badanov || 08/02/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336072 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Infighting looms in Idlib as ceasefire between jihadi groups falters
[ALMASDARNEWS] A fortnight after the two main jihadi groups controlling the southwestern Syrian province of Idlib have signed a ceasefire, an all-out infighting is looming following today’s showdown.

Local activists reported that Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham Death Eaters stationed at a checkpoint south of Saraqib have intercepted a convoy of four trucks for Faylah al-Sham.

HTS Death Eaters seized the vehicles which were laden with weapons and ammunitions, and detained Abu Adas; Faylaq’s commander who was leading the convoy.

In response, Faylaq al-Sham gave THS a time limit until midnight to release the convoy and the commander before acting accordingly.

The showdown comes two weeks after HTS and 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...
(a close ally to Faylaq) signed a ceasefire following fierce festivities in north Idlib which killed up to 50 Death Eaters from all sides.
Posted by: Fred || 08/02/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336070 views] Top|| File under: al-Nusra


Rebels announce new offensive against Syrian Army in central Syria
[ALMASDARNEWS] The Free Syrian Army
... the more palatable version of the Syrian insurgency, heavily influenced by the Moslem Brüderbund...
(FSA) has announced, Tuesday, their forces are launching a massive offensive in central Syria that is targeting Badiya al-Sham area of central Syria.

Led by their Jaish Assoud al-Sharqiyah and Liwaa Ahmad ’Abdo factions, the Free Syrian Army began shelling the Syrian Arab Army’s positions tonight, as they prepare to storm the latter’s defenses around the Badiya area.

According to a military source in Damascus, the army is prepared for the rebel offensive; however, they believe this may also be an attempt to show their supporters they are going to keep fighting the SAA, despite the U.S.’ refusal to support their battle.
Posted by: Fred || 08/02/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336071 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Fleets of ISIL fuel trucks vaporized by Russian airpower in east Hama
[ALMASDARNEWS] With pro-government forces, led by the Syrian Arab Army (SAA), now preparing to completely isolate and reduce the ISIS’s main stronghold in eastern Hama (centered around ’Uqayribat), the Russian Aerospace Forces (RuAF) have been carrying out both interdiction and strategic strikes against key 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....
targets in order to weaken the operational capabilities of the terrorist group in the region.

The latest ISIS asset to find itself a priority for the receiving of RuAF munitions is the jihadist group’s fuel trucks. The idea is to starve Islamic State motorized and mechanized forces of their core means to keep mobile.

In doing this, the RuAF will limit the ability of ISIS to conduct a mobile defense of the region under its control, reducing its operational options and creating a scenario where jihadist group’s losses will be increased at less effort for pro-government forces.
Posted by: Fred || 08/02/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336091 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1 
Posted by: Crinegum Ulaigum2776 || 08/02/2017 8:28 Comments || Top||

#2  Ever think of something besides exclamation points?
Posted by: Pappy || 08/02/2017 8:39 Comments || Top||

#3  BBQ Ribs! Get yer BBQ ribs here!
Posted by: DarthVader || 08/02/2017 16:45 Comments || Top||

#4  Is this the Russian collusion?
Posted by: Glenmore || 08/02/2017 17:09 Comments || Top||


Terror Networks
The Beatings Will Continue: Iraqi Edition


4,000 families to be used as human shields by ISIS
Seems Anbar wasn't as cleared as the Iraqis have suggested
Anbar (IraqiNews.com) More than 4,000 families are besieged by Islamic State in western Anbar to be used as human shields, a member of the provincial council said on Tuesday.

“More than 4,000 families, most of whom are elderly, women and children, are besieged by IS members in Qaim town, located on borders with Syria. They are denied access out of their houses,” Hamid al-Dulaimi told BasNews.

“Tens of civilians were shot dead, beheaded and burnt to death in Qaim over spying for Iraqi troops or collaboration with tribal fighters,” Dulaimi added.

According to Dulaimi, “the liberation offensives at the western regions are so late as the battle in Mosul was ongoing. However, military troops had not moved yet to the upstream regions of Euphrates River.”

A military source was quoted earlier this week as saying that Lt.Gen Abdul-Amir Yarallah, commander of the Nineveh Operation, ordered to besiege IS havens in western Anbar preparing to invade them.

Iraqi fighter jets reportedly dropped last week millions of leaflets informing locals that liberation offensives for the province were nearing.

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 towns of Annah, Qaim and Rawa are still held by the extremist group since 2014, when it emerged to proclaim a self-styled Islamic Caliphate.
Posted by: badanov || 08/02/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336073 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State



Who's in the News
17[untagged]
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1TTP
1Abu Sayyaf (ISIS)
1al-Nusra
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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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Meet the Mods
In no particular order...
Steve White
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Two weeks of WOT
Wed 2017-08-02
  Gang who called themselves 'Musketeers' guilty of plotting UK bomb attack
Tue 2017-08-01
  IS claims attack on Iraq embassy in Kabul
Mon 2017-07-31
  Besieged IS mufti blows himself up in northern Baghdad
Sun 2017-07-30
  Four arrested in plot to bomb plane over Sydney
Sat 2017-07-29
  IS cuts ears of 23 elements who fled battles in Western Nineveh
Fri 2017-07-28
  Pakistan's prime minister removed amid corruption probe
Thu 2017-07-27
  Deadly truck bombing foiled in Kabul city
Wed 2017-07-26
  Wasserman Schultz’s IT Aide Arrested At Airport After Transferring $300k To Pakistan From House Office
Tue 2017-07-25
  Governor dismissed over AQAP ties
Mon 2017-07-24
  Suicide car bombing kills 24, wounds 42 in Afghan capital
Sun 2017-07-23
  Azhar opens fatwa kiosks in Cairo metro station to counter extremism
Sat 2017-07-22
  Rebel ambush kills 28 pro-govt fighters near Damascus
Fri 2017-07-21
  Ruthless Henchman® of top Abu Sayyaf leader falls
Thu 2017-07-20
  ISIS militants refuse to surrender in Marawi as Philippine Army unleashes final assault
Wed 2017-07-19
  Kenyan police foil Al-Shabaab attack in Lamu

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