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Today: 57 articles and 192 comments as of 10:32.
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Strongman Haftar Back in Libya after Long Absence
Today's Headlines
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Afghanistan
Taliban kill seven soldiers, deputy governor in Afghanistan
[Dawn] A Taliban
...Arabic for students...
attack on an Afghan army security post in the country’s northern Kunduz province has killed at least seven soldiers, a defence front man said on Thursday.

Mohammad Radmanish, the deputy front man for the Ministry of Defence, said the attack took place on Wednesday night in the remote Dashti Archi district in Kunduz.

A gunbattle lasted several hours and along with the seven killed, one soldier was maimed, Radmanish said. He added that 15 Taliban fighters were also killed and 13 were maimed.

However,
those who apply themselves too closely to little things often become incapable of great things...
a local hospital chief, Rahimbakesh Danish Karimi, gave a higher casualty toll for the military, saying bodies of 13 soldiers and nine maimed in the attack were brought to his hospital in Thakhar province, which is the closest medical facility to the attack site.

The conflicting casualty reports could not immediately be reconciled as is common in the aftermath of such attacks. No krazed killer group has grabbed credit for the attack but the officials blamed the Taliban.

Earlier on Thursday, the Taliban ambushed an Afghan government convoy in the country’s eastern province of Pashtun-infested Logar, killing the deputy provincial governor and his two bodyguards, an official said.

The ambush on Kamaruddin Shekeib’s convoy also seriously maimed Shekeib’s front man, said Mohammad Naser Ghyrat, the Pashtun-infested Logar provincial council chief.

The Taliban control large swaths of Pashtun-infested Logar, and despite the establishment of dozens of outposts of Afghan cops along the main road running through the province, krazed killer attacks are frequent. Zabihullah Mujahid, front man for the Taliban, grabbed credit for that attack in a statement sent to the media.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/27/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  Is it still the Taliban or just a different team of Narco-terrorists working for the drug lords anymore?
Posted by: Procopius2k || 04/27/2018 7:55 Comments || Top||


Rocket attack plot on Kabul’s diplomatic area thwarted
[KhaamaPress] The Afghan security forces have thwarted a plot by the militant groups to target the diplomatic areas of the city with three rockets.

Sources in Kabul’s police commandment said the security forces have confiscated three rockets from the vicinity of the 8th police district of the city.

The sources further added a suspect has also been arrested in connection to the attack and is under investigation in the custody of the security forces.

The anti-government armed militant groups including Taliban insurgents have not commented regarding the report so far.

The anti-government armed militants have been attempting to increase attacks in the key cities and provinces of the country during the recent months.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/27/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants suffer heavy casualties in Nangarhar
[KhaamaPress] The anti-government armed militants including a member of the Al-Qaeda terrorist network and some other foreign insurgents suffered heavy casualties during separate operations and clashes in Nangarhar province.

The provincial government media office in a statement said the Afghan intelligence Special Forces conducted a night operation on a compound of the militants in Shirzad district on Wednesday night, leaving at least six militants dead, including a member of the Al-Qaeda terrorist network.

The statement further added that another militant was wounded and four others including two Taliban militant were arrested and two motorcycles along with some weapons and ammunition were destroyed.

In the meantime, separate clashes broke out in Lalpur and Ghani Khel districts late on Wednesday night which left at least 11 local and foreign insurgents dead or wounded.

According to the local officials, at least four militants were killed and five others were wounded during the clash in Ghani Khel district.

At least two foreign insurgents identified as Jahanzeeb and Daud Shah were killed during the clash in Lalpur district, the officials added.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/27/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Logar’s deputy governor killed in Taliban ambush
[KhaamaPress] The deputy provincial governor of the central Logar province Qamaruddin Shakib was killed in Taliban’s ambush in the vicinity of Logar province.

According to the local officials, Mr. Shakib was ambushed in the vicinity of Mohammad Agha district as he was travelling to Kabul.

The officials further added that a number of other officials including the spokesman of the provincial governor of the province were also wounded.

An Afghan lawmaker representing Logar in the Lower House Akbar Stanikzai confirmed the attack on deputy governor of Logar.

Stanikzai further added that the deputy governor was on his way to Kabul when he was ambushed a number of Taliban insurgents in the vicinity of Mohammad Agha district.

In the meantime, the security sources are saying that four security guards of the deputy governor were also wounded in the attack.

The anti-government armed militant groups including Taliban insurgents have not commented regarding the report so far.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/27/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Africa North
2 Libyans Released from Guantanamo Never Make it Home
Murdered, kidnapped, snuck off to go a-jihading? We may never know.
[AAWSAT] The families of Salem Gherebi and Omar Abou Bakr Khalifa, who were released from Guantanamo prison, complained that they have not yet arrived to their homes since being deported from Senegal
... a nation of about 14 million on the west coast of Africa bordering Mauretania to the north, Mali to the east, and a pair of Guineas to the south, one of them Bissau. It is 90 percent Mohammedan and has more than 80 political parties. Its primary purpose seems to be absorbing refugees...
in early April.

Spokesman for the Special Deterrence Force Ahmed Bin Salem denied any involvement in the issue.

"We have nothing to do with this matter," he stated.

The US government ordered the release of Gherebi and Khalifa from Guantanamo in 2016, after a nearly 14-year arrest, and they were deported to Senegal.

A decision was made in early April to extradite them to Libya, but they went missing upon their arrival. Rumors circulated that the Rahbat al-Droua militia is behind their disappearance.

Gherebi and Khalifa returned to Tripoli
...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn...
from Tunis on board a Libyan Airlines flight. They were dropped off in the capital instead of Misrata, which is when they went missing.

Their families have been looking for them ever since and have contacted all security agencies since their return to Libya, but to no avail.

Salem reiterated denials that his battalion was behind their disappearance.

"The Libyan intelligence may have possibly incarcerated
Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit!
them, but this has not been confirmed," he added to Asharq al-Awsat.

Ahmed Abdul-Hakim Hamza, the country's National Human Rights Commissions rapporteur, stated to Asharq al-Awsat that the fate of Gherebi and Khalifa is unclear.

They never left Mitiga International Airport, which is controlled by the Special Deterrence Force, he said.

"Their disappearance is unacceptable. If there are any security reservations or charges against them, then this should be dealt with through the public prosecution, not illegal means," Hamza stressed.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/27/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I think they got whacked!
Posted by: Raj || 04/27/2018 7:37 Comments || Top||

#2  Long swim, even for Michael Phelps
Posted by: Frank G || 04/27/2018 7:38 Comments || Top||

#3  "Last time I saw them was when they stepped off the plane."
Posted by: gorb || 04/27/2018 12:34 Comments || Top||

#4  Have you looked in Syria?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 04/27/2018 12:45 Comments || Top||

#5  A lot of Ahmeds and Salems in this story.
Posted by: Omeger Gray6606 || 04/27/2018 14:37 Comments || Top||

#6  Up-vote for comment 3.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike || 04/27/2018 15:05 Comments || Top||

#7  Hopefully they're dead
Posted by: Chris || 04/27/2018 17:51 Comments || Top||

#8  Weren't there a couple of Gitmo inmates that did NOT want to be released and were happy with three hots and a cot?

I wonder if these two were released by youknowwho because they knew this would happen...perchance they knew something the Klingons didn't want known? So a Libyan militia did the dirty work?

Who tipped them off?
Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom || 04/27/2018 18:22 Comments || Top||

#9  Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows...
Posted by: Blackbeard Bumble5724 || 04/27/2018 20:12 Comments || Top||


France says 3 jihadists killed in Mali clash
[AlAhram] A clash between French soldiers and an armed jihadist group in northwest Mali left three "terrorists" dead, Gay Paree said Thursday, while local media reported injuries among French special forces.
Mali plays host, in their most recent incarnations, to Al Qaeda affiliate Jama'a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Moslemin (JNIM) and ISIS affiliate Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS).
The three were "neutralised" in a confrontation near the village of Goudam, west of Timbuktu, on April 21, French army front man Colonel William Thomas told a presser.

"We have no comment to make on any possible French casualties," he added.

French Gazelle helicopters were deployed to support troops.

Local media reported that French special forces operating in the Sahel were maimed in the clash.

Around 4,000 French troops are deployed under Operation Barkhane alongside the UN's 12,000-member MINUSMA peacekeeping operation in Mali.

The unrest in Mali, a former French colony, stems from a 2012 Tuareg separatist uprising against the state.

Islamist Lions of Islam linked to al-Qaeda took control of the desert north, but were largely driven out in a French-led military operation launched in January 2013.

But turbans remain active, linked to drug, arms and migrant trafficking in the vast Sahel region
... North Africa's answer to the Pak tribal areas...
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/27/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Europe
Frenchman, 20, brandishing a shotgun bursts into a Jewish museum with Mein Kampf in his backpack in bid to take workers hostage before being overpowered by guards
[DailyMail]
  • The unnamed man, 20, threatened staff at Jewish deportation museum in Mayenne, France with shotgun

  • He tried to take hostages, but gun was not loaded and he was overpowered

  • Police found antisemitic books and Hitler's Mein Kampf in his backpack

  • A prosecutor described the man, who lived with his parents in the local area, as 'mentally unstable', 'a failed basketball player' and 'loner'

  • The gun was bought last Friday
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/27/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  'Frenchman' my ass - $10 sez he's from Morocco or Algeria.
Posted by: Raj || 04/27/2018 7:39 Comments || Top||

#2  unnamed man,
The gun was bought last Friday


I'm guessing "Mohamed" and in France there's no background check to by a weapon of mass murder>?
Posted by: AlanC || 04/27/2018 7:39 Comments || Top||


Europe's biggest EVER haul of cocaine is discovered in Spain as police find nine tons of the killer drug hidden in banana shipment
[DailyMail]
  • The nine-tonne haul has an estimated street value of more than £437 million

  • Police have arrested six people in connection with the drugs in France and Spain

  • The massive shipment was rumoured to have been heading for the UK market

  • The shipment arrived from Colombia at Algeciras, the port across the bay from Gibraltar

Posted by: Skidmark || 04/27/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Narcos

#1  13 tons here yesterday and 9 tons there today - that will get someone angry.
Posted by: Glenmore || 04/27/2018 0:38 Comments || Top||

#2  So cocaine is bad, but Ritalin is medicine of choice for boys.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 04/27/2018 2:43 Comments || Top||

#3  ...so decrees the matriarchy.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 04/27/2018 7:52 Comments || Top||

#4  Hey mister tally mon, tally my coke kilos...
Daylight come and I want to go home.
Posted by: Waldemar and Company9786 || 04/27/2018 9:39 Comments || Top||

#5  Im shorting the UK stock market next week on this news.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 04/27/2018 10:33 Comments || Top||

#6  9 tonnes = 36 million quarter grams. Enough for every adult nose in the UK.
Posted by: Waldemar Angock1604 || 04/27/2018 11:08 Comments || Top||

#7  The cocaine in Spain stays mainly in the plane....except for the bananas....or are these apples? Let's go to CNN for the answer.
Posted by: AlanC || 04/27/2018 13:14 Comments || Top||

#8  Let's go to CNN for the answer.

It depends on whether the bananas and apples are liberal or not.
Posted by: gorb || 04/27/2018 13:57 Comments || Top||

#9  Theres bananas, then theres Columbian bananas.
Posted by: Omeger Gray6606 || 04/27/2018 14:03 Comments || Top||

#10  Theres bananas, then theres Columbian bananas.

lift a 6 foot, 7 foot 8 foot bunch?
Posted by: AlanC || 04/27/2018 15:56 Comments || Top||

#11  "We sell banana bread... by the ounce"
Posted by: Frank G || 04/27/2018 18:41 Comments || Top||

#12  Im shorting the UK stock market next week on this news.

So long as that 'h' is not supposed to be a 'n'.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 04/27/2018 19:48 Comments || Top||

#13 
Posted by: 3dc || 04/27/2018 21:44 Comments || Top||

#14  The good ole metaphorical war on drugs. My body, my rules. It's that simple.
Posted by: DooDahMan || 04/27/2018 22:14 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Soldier martyred in cross-border attack on post
[Dawn] GHALANAI: One paramilitary soldier lost his life in an exchange of fire with suspected gunnies who raided a check-post in Mohmand Agency
... Named for the Mohmand clan of the Sarban Pahstuns, a truculent, quarrelsome lot. In Pakistain, the Mohmands infest their eponymous Agency, metastasizing as far as the plains of Peshawar, Charsadda, and Mardan. Mohmands are also scattered throughout Pakistan in urban areas including Karachi, Lahore, and Quetta. In Afghanistan they are mainly found in Nangarhar
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..
and Kunar...

near the Pakistain-Afghanistan border, the military’s media wing said on Thursday.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations, troops effectively responded and killed three ’terrorists’ in retaliatory fire. The dear departed soldier was identified as Farmanullah, aged 21.

Sources said the assailants opened fire on the Mohmand Rifles 205-Wing check-post at Sheikh Baba in the Safi area, some 75km northwest of Ghalanai, before dawn but the attack was repulsed. Killing of the three attackers could not be verified through independent sources in the area.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/27/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Iraq
Court sentences 10 foreign females to death over involvement with IS
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) The Central Criminal Court in Baghdad has sentenced 10 foreign female gunnies to death over involvement with 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....
In a statement on Thursday, Abdul Satar Bayraqdar, spokesperson for the High Judicial Council, said "The Central Criminal Court issued death sentences against five female myrmidons, two of whom are Azeri and three others are from Kyrgyzstan, over involvement with Islamic State."

"Life sentences were issued against five female convicts, two of whom are Russian, an Azeri one and a French one," he added.

The convicts, according to Bayraqdar, belong to IS. "They took part in operations against Iraqi troops."
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/27/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Five policemen killed, injured in attack by Islamic State, south of Kirkuk
Kirkuk (IraqiNews.com) Five police personnel were killed, injured in an attack launched by 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....
members, south of Kirkuk,
... a thick stew of Arabs, Turkmen, Kurds, and probably Antarcticans, all of them mutually hostile most of the time...
an informed security source said on Thursday.

In remarks to Shafaq News website, the source said IS members attacked, late on Wednesday, Federal Police personnel in Rubeida village, south of Daquq.

The attack, according to the source, left two personnel killed and three others injured.

Moreover, the Security Media Center denied news that some villages, south of Kirkuk, fell to the myrmidon group.

"An MP from Kirkuk as well as some media outlets said some villages, located south of Kirkuk, fell to IS members," the center said in a statement. "The news are totally untrue."

"The truth is that some unknown members sneaked into some villages in the dark. They escaped after security troops there chased them," the statement added.

On Wednesday, news reports quoted sources as saying that around 60 IS members attacked villages in Daquq town, south of Kirkuk.

The federal troops took over security in Kirkuk province from Kurdish Peshmerga fighters in October, fulfilling instructions made by the Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi to retake areas where illusory sovereignty is disputed with Kurdistan.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/27/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Two Iraqis wounded in southern Baghdad bombing
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Two Iraqi civilians were maimed on Thursday when an bomb went off south of Baghdad, a security source was quoted saying.

The source told Almaalomah website that a bomb planted near a sheep market in Wardiya, Madaen, south of the capital, went kaboom!, leaving two injured.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/27/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
2 Palestinians arrested for trying to enter Israel with pipe bomb
[IsraelTimes] Police say search of 'suspicious' vehicle at Ein Yael checkpoint uncovers homemade bomb, knife and tens of thousands of shekels

Security forces enjugged
Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'!
two West Bank Paleostinians trying to enter Israel with a pipe bomb Thursday night, police said.

A statement from police said the "suspicious" vehicle carrying the Paleostinians was stopped at the Ein Yael checkpoint in southern Jerusalem. A search of the vehicle revealed the homemade bomb, a knife, and tens of thousands of shekels in cash and checks, it said.

An army sapper was called to the scene to diffuse the pipe bomb. The suspects were detained for questioning.

Meanwhile,
...back at the bunker, his Excellency called the chief of staff and complained that the artillery was keeping him awake...
in northern Jerusalem, shots were fired Thursday night at an Israeli military outpost near the West Bank settlement of Beit El. A number of houses were damaged by the gunfire, but there were no reports of injuries.

Both incidents come amid heightened tensions along the Gazoo border, where thousands of Paleostinians have gathered in recent weeks to attend the weekly Hamas, a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",-organized protests against Israel.

Earlier on Thursday, a Hamas drone expert who was bumped off in Malaysia last week was buried in Gazoo, sparking Israeli fears the liquidation of Fadi Mohammad al-Batsh, that Hamas has blamed on Israel, would fuel violence at the demonstration.

During the weekly demonstrations so far, 35 protesters, including two journalists, have been killed by Israeli live fire, according to Hamas figures.

The Paleostinian Health Ministry said 21 of those maimed by Israeli fire in the protests have since had to undergo amputations due to their wounds. It said 17 lost legs and four lost fingers or parts of their upper limbs.

Rights groups, the United Nations
...boodling on the grand scale...
and the European Union
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
have all criticized Israel’s use of live fire against unarmed protesters.

Israel says it is defending its border and accuses Hamas of using the demonstrations as cover to plan and carry out attacks.

IDF force fires at 2 people throwing Molotov cocktails in Hebron region

[Ynet] An IDF force fired at two suspects throwing Molotov cocktails at a residential complex in the vicinity of Hebron. The suspects escaped. The force suffered no casualties and no damage was caused.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/27/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Hamas


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Motorcycle VBIED blows up marketplace in north Aleppo, rebels blame Kurdish forces
[AlMasdar] A cycle of violence bomb has been detonated at marketplace in the Syrian border town of al-Ghandorah (near Jarablus city) in northern Aleppo province.

Early reports on casualties are still somewhat vague, however several people are believed to have been killed and insured in the attack.

According to sources, the cycle of violence was parked on location for some time prior to exploding. The attack appears to been carried out from a distance either with a timer or remote, rather than involving suicide.

Ottoman Turkish-backed rebels who control al-Ghandorah have officially blamed Kurdish forces for the attack. To this end, opposition sources point out the correlation between the fall of Afrin in late March to Ankara-backed fighters and the sudden rise of vehicle kabooms against nearby towns and cities (in northern Aleppo) held by these Lion of Islams.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/27/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte


Jihadi groups launch new assault against Syrian Army in north Hama
[AlMasdar] Clashes in multiple fronts of north-west Hama countryside re-erupted after jihadi rebels announced a new offensive against the Syrian forces, duplicating a failed attack last month.

The attack was initiated with rebel groups shelling Army positions and checkpoints in Mughayr, Kernaz and Hamamiyat towns as well as south of Kafr Nabudeh town using artillery and homegrown rockets. No casualties reported.

The Syrian Army responded with targeting jihadists’ headquarters and supply routes with heavy MLRs and artillery strikes. The rebel bastions of Kafr Zita, Lataminah and Habit were strongly hit.

Recently, the Russian fighter jets have been overwhelmingly active in the area with hundreds of Arclight Arclight airstrikes that pummeled positions for the ultraconservative groups.

The attack, known beforehand by the Syrian government, comes nearly six weeks after the same groups waged a failed assault in the same area. Kernaz, the only town seized by holy warriors during the offensive, was recaptured by the Syrian forces in less than 24 hours.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/27/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Northwest Syria witnesses new wave of assassinations killing Nusra, Turkistani jihadist and Turkish-backed rebel ranks
[AlMasdar] The ranks of al-Qaeda affiliate Ha’yat Tahrir al-Sham
(better known by its former name, al-Nusra
...formally Jabhat an-Nusrah li-Ahli al-Sham (Support Front for the People of the Levant), also known as al-Qaeda in the Levant. They aim to establish a pan-Arab caliphate. Not the same one as the Islamic State, though .. ...
Front), the Turkistani Islamic Party and Ottoman Turkish-backed rebels in northwest Syria have all been subject to liquidation attacks over the last 48 hours.

In southern Idlib province, Ha’yat Tahrir al-Sham commander Abu Ward Kafr Batehkh was killed along with is bodyguards after Suqur al-Sham fighters opened fire on his vehicle north of Maraat Numan city.

Meanwhile in the province’s north, Jabhat Tahrir Souriya commander Abu Salim Binnish was stealthily assassinated by unknown assailants whilst on duty near the town of Binnish.

In western Idlib, unidentified individuals bumped off a group of Turkistan Islamic Party jihadists near the town of Armanaz, slaying three of them and then escaping the scene of the shooting.

Finally, in central Idlib, two JTS fighters came under attack by discriminatory gunfire within the city of Saraqib, resulting in the injury of at least one of the murderous Moslems.

The liquidations take place despite the recent implementation a ceasefire between warring bad boy groups (namely Ha’yat Tahrir al-Sham and Jabhat Tahrir Souriya) in northwest Syria, leading some to the believe that serious inter-rebel hostilities may soon recommence.

There exists suspicions that Syrian government spies may be involved in some of the attacks.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/27/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Nusra


Southern Damascus: the reconquest continues, with hundreds dead on both sides after 1st week
SAA unleashes ground-to-ground offensive on IS positions south of Damascus – reports

[AlMasdar] The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) reportedly launched Golan 1000 ground-to-ground missiles on Wednesday to further its offensive on targets in the district of Hajar al-Aswad, south of Damascus, against the remaining members of the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) still in the capital’s suburbs.

Footage also showed foot soldier units employing intensive gunfire and moving in on targets.

The offensive comes after the Syrian military announced the full recapture of Eastern Ghouta from militants late last month.

Drone footage shows Syrian Army operation in southern Damascus

[AlMasdar] The Syrian forces intensify its offensive on districts in southern Damascus as the Islamic State desperately defends its last foothold outside the capital.

Constant shelling with artillery and missiles, non-stop airstrikes as well as continuous firefights could be heard around the clock as the Syrian government is determined to re-take the last insurgent-controlled area outside Damascus.

Drone footage published by the state-run TV channel shows part of the ferocious military operation in al-Mazniyah neighborhood of the Tadamun district before the Army troops establish full control over the area.

The footage also features a group of retreated ISIS militants completely annihilated when the Army hit the buildings they were hiding inside.

In Pictures: Syrian Army tank VS ISIS jihadists

[AlMasdar] Fierce urban warfare is currently taking place in districts still held by the Islamic State in southern Damascus.

A standoff was hilariously caught in camera between a Syrian Army tank and a group of ISIS militants in al-Jourah orchards of Qadam district.

The extremist militants came out of a tunnel inside one of the buildings with the aim to curb the Army incursion. However, those were successfully spotted by the tank crew who immediately handled the situation with a direct and precise shot.

Update: Syrian Army punches its way forward in south Damascus, advances against ISIS from multiple directions

[AlMasdar] The Syrian Army and allied paramilitary forces have scored another series of advances against Islamic State militants in southern Damascus, gaining ground in the district of Hajjar al-Aswad.

Sources report that in the Ma’adhiyah neighborhood, government troops backed by armor, artillery and airstrikes captured locations in the local industrial area, including a scrapyard and several nearby factory buildings.

Moreover, the Syrian Army has seized at least a dozen buildings inside the neighborhood of Al-Jorah, marking its official entry into the residential area after the local orchards were captured two days ago.

According to Al-Masdar News journalist Ibrahim Joudeh, the Syrian Army is yet to make a dedicated push in the district of Yarmouk Camp, with the elite Tiger Forces Division still amassing on this axis.

Updates to follow.

WATCH: Syrian warplanes carpet bomb ISIS in south Damascus whilst army rocket forces unleash unrelenting barrage

[AlMasdar] More video footage (below) has emerged showing the ongoing bombardment of ISIS-held areas of southern Damascus by Syrian government warplanes and rocket artillery.

The footage shows the moment an Su-22M fighter-bomber drops at least eight 500-pound bombs on Islamic State tactical positions several hundred meters behind the frontline in the Hajjar al-Aswad district.

At the same time, more footage of rocket attacks by Goulan batteries of the 4th Mechanized Division is shown – such shelling being non-stop for the last week.

Despite several large probing attacks that have netted modest gains against ISIS in some areas of southern Damascus, the main blow of the Syrian Army’s offensive is yet to be delivered – a strike that will most likely be initiated by the elite Tiger Force Division.

Update: Syrian Army, ISIS both suffer very heavy losses in south Damascus battle – statistics

[AlMasdar] Both Syrian Army and Islamic State ranks have sustained major losses since government forces kicked-off their southern Damascus operation one week ago.

Despite the fact that the battle so far has only consisted of Syrian government forces bombarding ISIS positions and conducting several large probing assaults that have resulted in small gains, the loss of life among troops and militants alike runs into the hundreds.

In the last four days alone, the Syrian Army and allied paramilitary forces have reportedly lost in excess of one hundred men killed in action.

For Islamic State ranks over the last week, the battle toll amounts to at least two hundred fighters killed in action – half of them from relentless shelling and airstrikes.

As per most battles that have taken place in the Damascus city area since the start of the Syrian conflict, the latest government offensive against ISIS-held districts south of the capital has already proven to be extremely costly for both sides; despite this, the main blow of the operation is yet to be delivered.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/27/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Syrian Troops Break into IS-Held Damascus District
[AnNahar] Syrian state media is reporting that government forces have pushed into a Damascus neighborhood held by 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 different directions and captured buildings on several street blocks and tunnels used by the bad boys.

State news agency SANA said Thursday that dozens of IS fighters were killed in battles in the southern Damascus neighborhood of Hajar al-Aswad during which ground forces closely coordinated with the air force in bombarding the area.

The opposition's Britannia-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Syrian authorities ordered rebel groups in the southern Damascus suburbs of Babila, Beit Sahm and Yalda to hand over fronts lines with IS in the area or face government bombardment.

The Observatory said the government wants to open new fronts against IS to expand pressure on the bad boys.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/27/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


French Special Forces Sent to Reinforce U.S.-Led Operations in Syria
[AnNahar] U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Thursday that French special operations forces arrived in Syria over the past two weeks to help boost U.S.-led efforts against 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.

Speaking to senior politicians in Washington, Mattis responded to a question about whether the United States was planning on pulling out of Syria -- something 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...
has said would happen "very soon."

Right now, "we are not withdrawing," Mattis told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

"You'll see a reenergized effort," he said.

"You'll see increased operations on the Iraqi side of the border, and the French just reinforced us in Syria with special forces here in the last two weeks. This is an ongoing fight right now."

On Tuesday, Trump appeared to walk back his vow to yank U.S. troops from Syria, saying the United States wanted to "leave a strong and lasting footprint​" in the country. Currently, about 2,000 US troops are in Syria, most of them commandos.

Even after IS -- which still control two pockets of territory along the middle Euphrates River Valley -- are defeated, the U.S. military wants to maintain a presence in Syria to prevent the jihadists from returning.

Mattis said he wanted to see more "regional support" for the anti-IS fight and told politicians he was "confident that we would probably regret it" if the U.S. does not contribute to a long-term holding force in Syria.

La Belle France is a longstanding member of the international coalition fighting IS in Iraq and Syria, and helped bombard the jihadists in the djinn-infested Mosul
... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn...
area during the Iraqi operation to recapture the city.

La Belle France, along with the U.S. and Britannia, also took part in the April 14 cruise missile strikes against Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Light of the Alawites...
's chemical weapons-related facilities.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/27/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  Training in urban clearing events to take back their own NoGo zones?
Posted by: Skidmark || 04/27/2018 11:25 Comments || Top||



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Two weeks of WOT
Fri 2018-04-27
  Strongman Haftar Back in Libya after Long Absence
Thu 2018-04-26
  30 takfiris, three army personnel killed in past week of Operation Sinai 2018: Spokesperson
Wed 2018-04-25
  Indonesia investigates reports top Islamic State commander killed
Tue 2018-04-24
  Paris suspect Abdeslam found guilty, handed 20 years in Brussels shootout
Mon 2018-04-23
  Van plows into pedestrians in Toronto injuring murdering nine
Sun 2018-04-22
  Afghanistan: Kabul voter centre suicide attack kills 48 52 57
Sat 2018-04-21
  Soros foundations to quit Hungary amid political hostility
Fri 2018-04-20
  In first, European Parliament condemns Hamas for terror, use of human shields
Thu 2018-04-19
  Iraq sentences French female jihadist to life in jail
Wed 2018-04-18
  U.S. Air Campaign Destroys $42 Million Worth of Taliban Heroin Profits
Tue 2018-04-17
  Angry Muslim Protesters Take to the Streets of Fulda, Germany
Mon 2018-04-16
  Troops kill seven Boko Haram insurgents in Borno
Sun 2018-04-15
  East Ghouta officially under the Syrian Army’s control after last militant convoy leaves Douma
Sat 2018-04-14
  Day 2:Joint US, France, UK attack launched on Syria on rural Damascus
Fri 2018-04-13
  Trump announces U.S. military strikes in Syria

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