SUICIDE BOMBING JUST OVER PAKISTAN’S BORDER – A military convoy appears to have been targeted by a suicide bomber in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, very near the Afghanistan border. A suicide bomber, riding on a motorcycle drove into the lead vehicle of the convoy and detonated the device. The blast killed 1 non-combatant and wounded an additional 14. It was not clear if the bomber had come from Afghanistan and Police were trying to piece together fragments of documents thought to have been on the motorcycle to determine who may have owned the vehicle or, where it may have come from. No group has yet claimed credit for the attack.
TALIBAN UNHAPPY WITH CHINA’S DECISION TO EVACUATE NATIONALS – A source within the Taliban said that the Taliban is furious with China’s decision to publicly urge their nationals to leave the country. An unidentified senior advisor to the Minister of the Interior said the announcement makes the Taliban look ‘impotent’ and will damage the credibility of the IEA administration. The source went on to say that China had informed the Taliban leadership of their intention to send their nationals home but that nobody in the leadership thought it would use a public announcement to do so. He finished by saying that it caught everyone ‘flat-footed’. There are rumors that other countries are quietly sending non-essential diplomatic and commercial personnel home. However, these rumors could be misattributing foreigners leaving with normal New Year holiday travel.
IRAN MAY BE SIGNALLING INCREASED DEPORTATIONS ARE COMING – A meeting on the status of Afghan refugees in Iran concluded yesterday. The meetings took place over the course of two days (12-13 December) and included representatives from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, and the United Nations. A senior Iranian refugee official was quoted as saying, “In this meeting, it was decided that Afghanistan should provide the necessary preparations and conditions for the voluntary return of Afghan refugees to this country.” A source who attended the conference said that discussions in the hallways were focused on a scalable deportation program that would alleviate pressures on the Iranian regime. Specifics of any forthcoming plan were not available.
TALIBAN FLOGS MORE PEOPLE IN HELMAND AND ZABUL – A total of 27 people were publicly flogged in both Helmand and Zabul for offenses ranging from pre-marital sex to robbery. A source who was present for the floggings in Helmand said that very few residents attended the public display and that Taliban fighters were pushing people into the stadium before the punishments were administered.
[ShabelleMedia] The deputy mayor of Mogadishu on security affairs Mohammed Ahmed Diriye [Yaboh] announced that al-Shabaab ...... Somalia's version of the Taliban ...Arabic for students... , functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda... members entered the capital.
He made the remarks during a security meeting in Mogadishu. He pointed out that his office is aware of the hard boyz moving into the city after defeats on the frontlines.
The deputy mayor urged the residents of Mogadishu to show more vigilance and tip off to the security forces in case of any suspicious activities.
Yaboh added that the police will double the efforts to avert al-Shabaab attacks in the city, which witnesses bomb and gun raids since the election of Hassan Sheikh as president.
In the past few days, NISA has been carrying out routine operations in the capital in which it detained suspected al-Shabaab members.
[ShabelleMedia] The Court of First Instance of the military sentenced to death Mohammed Abdulle Nur Abkow (Biyamalow) who was working with al-Shabaab ...... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord... .
Lieutenant General Hassan Ali Nur Shute, the chair of the court read out the verdict.
Bimaalow was found guilty of facilitating the al-Shabaab attack on Aden Adde Airport on March 23 this year which left six people dead.
Five foreign nationals were among the six people killed in the attack, according to police.
The ex-soldier used to pass the boom-mobiles and button men from al-Shabaab through the security checkpoints in Mogadishu by using his name and military ID.
[AnNahar] Helicopters and lifeboats swooped to the English Channel off the coast of Kent in southern England to rescue a small boat that capsized in the freezing water, killing four people, authorities said Wednesday.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak confirmed in comments before Parliament there was a loss of life but offered no specifics. Home Secretary Suella Braverman was expected to update the House of Commons later Wednesday.
"After a coordinated search and rescue operation led by HM Coastguard, it is with regret that there have been four confirmed deaths as a result of this incident. Investigations are ongoing and we will provide further information in due course,'' the government said in a statement. "This is a truly tragic incident."
The U.K. Maritime and Coastguard Agency coordinated a rescue operation involving the Royal Navy, border officers, Kent police and the French navy. The Royal National Lifeboat Institution also dispatched boats.
The South East Coast Ambulance Service said it sent help at about 3:40 a.m. local time to help the coasties.
Thousands of migrants colonists have relied on small boats to cross the Channel in hopes of receiving asylum in the U.K. The British government has been under pressure to stop people from paying smugglers to cross some of the world's busiest shipping lanes in flimsy vessels.
But the number of people who choose to make the dangerous voyage continues to climb. Some 44,000 people made the journey so far this year, compared to 23,000 last year and 8,500 in 2020, according to government figures.
Sunak pledged Tuesday to clear a backlog of asylum-seeker applications and announced new measures aimed at curbing the number of migrants colonists reaching the U.K. by crossing the Channel.
Sunak said he planned to introduce legislation early next year to ensure people who arrive illegally cannot remain in the country.
The prime minister said he was adding hundreds of workers to process asylum claims and to clear the backlog, estimated at more than 143,000 pending applications, by the end of 2023. The extra staff will also focus on the swift removal of Albanian migrants colonists who have arrived via the Channel in increasing numbers, Sunak said.
[Rudaw] The bravery of an elderly Iraqi shepherd has resonated across the country after he was killed in festivities with five Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really 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 western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... (ISIS) bandidosholy warriors on Saturday night. Before being slain, he had killed three of them and maimed two others.
The incident happened in a remote area 10 kilometers from Tlul Baja village in Sharqat district, Salahaddin province when the ISIS bandidosholy warriors attacked Suhail Najm, a 70-year-old farmer. A simple, but well-armed, rustic
Najm's confrontation with the ISIS remnants alone has shocked Iraqi officials, local residents, and security forces, even the Iraqi prime minister's representative travelled from Baghdad to attend his funeral.
"Under the command of the prime minister and general commander of the Iraqi armed forces, we came to attend the funeral of hero and innocent martyr Suhail Najm. Our visit to this funeral is to reiterate that deaders are symbols of this country," Brigadier General Saad Halaq, representative of the Iraqi Prime Minister, said.
Locals in Sharqat complained that ongoing ISIS presence in Salahaddin province has caused trouble for the people of the area, making them unable to farm freely.
According to military commanders in Salahaddin province, ISIS fighters carry out attacks in groups of five to eight people, saying most of the fighters are known and locals.
The 91st Brigade of the Iraqi army is responsible for protecting part of the borders of Sharqat district. Military commanders acknowledge that ISIS fighters are active in the area.
ISIS seized control of large swathes of Iraqi land in 2014. The group was declared territorially defeated in 2017 but continues to carry out bombings, hit-and-run attacks, and abductions across several provinces.
The bandidosholy warriors have taken shelter in a security vacuum in areas disputed between Erbil and Baghdad, stretching across several provinces including Kirkuk, ... a thick stew of Arabs, Turkmen, Kurds, and probably Antarcticans, all of them mutually hostile most of the time... Salahaddin, and Diyala.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
12/15/2022 00:00 ||
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[IsraelTimes] IDF troops shot and killed a Bedouin Israeli who was apparently trying to smuggle drugs across the border from Egypt, Hebrew media reports say.
The man is identified as a resident of a village near Dimona in the Negev desert.
The incident occurs near Har Harif on the border, an area that has seen frequent drug smuggling attempts.
[IsraelTimes] IDF, police seize 20 handguns brought into Israel from Lebanon Hezbollahstan ...a formerly French, now an Iranian colony situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. ... , arrest three additional suspects
The military and police on Tuesday morning foiled an attempt to smuggle 20 handguns into Israel from Lebanon, arresting four suspects in the process — including one moments before he fled to The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the decaying remnant of the Ottoman Empire... on a flight, authorities said.
According to a joint statement by police and the Israel Defense Forces, soldiers operating surveillance cameras identified several suspects close to the border and officers were dispatched to the scene.
According to police, two of the men were arrested at the scene and the third, in a getaway vehicle, was caught following a brief chase.
A fourth man, who police said was the ringleader, was arrested while on a plane at Ben Gurion Airport, moments before it took off for Turkey. The suspect was taken off the flight by officers and brought in for questioning over the smuggling.
All four of the suspects hail from the northern Arab town of Tuba-Zangariyye.
Police officials believe arms smuggled from Lebanon head to criminal organizations in the Arab community, where they would also be available for terror attacks in the event of another surge in violence between Jews and Arabs.
Earlier this year, a security official warned that Iran ...The nation is noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence... is seeking Dire Revenge against Israel for various actions against it by transferring weapons to "sleeper cells" that would attack Israelis.
Israeli officials have also pointed toward a senior Hezbollah terror group official by the name of Hajj Khalil Harb as the one responsible for coordinating smuggling attempts into northern Israel. The Lebanese Hezbollah has long maintained control over the area adjacent to the border with Israel.
[JPost] Not New News The IDF revealed the location of at least three schools that have rocket launch sites stationed next to them.
The IDF on Wednesday exposed three new school locations that Hamas has been recently using as rocket launch sites, violating the laws of war about keeping war-related issues away from civilian areas.
A statement by the IDF said, “Hamas exposed: This is how the Hamas terrorist organization uses schools and education to promote its terrorist agenda. Additional instances of Hamas deliberately using children as human shields are now being exposed.”
“This exposure comes approximately two weeks after UNRWA reported that the ground of one of its schools had collapsed. The collapse was caused by the construction of a Hamas terrorist tunnel,” said the IDF.
The first location listed by the IDF is adjacent to the Mo'ath Bin Jabal school in the Shejaiya neighborhood of Gaza City. Near the school, which is used by UNRWA as a shelter during emergencies, is a Hamas rocket launch site, according to the IDF. In addition, the IDF stated that “prior to Operation Guardian of the Walls, the school’s principal, Mehammed Abu Oun, maintained contact with an operative in the Hamas rocket array, Jalal Abu Aoun,” who the IDF said was managing the firing of rockets from the site.
Hamas stationed a second rocket launch site near the Khalil Al Nobani school in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, said the IDF. No additional information was provided regarding the firing of rockets from that location.
Finally, the IDF said that “terrorist organizations stationed rocket launch sites near the Al-Furqan elementary school” which is also located in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City. It said that “Terrorist organizations launched rockets from the sites near the school throughout Operations Guardian of the Walls and Breaking Dawn, thereby endangering the lives of the students and residents of the Gaza Strip.”
The use of the phrase “terror organizations” and referring also to Operation Breaking Dawn, which was fought strictly between the IDF and Islamic Jihad, suggested that this third sight might have been used more by Islamic Jihad – though this would still be with Hamas, which rules Gaza, encouraging the group or looking the other way
Next, the IDF said that over 1,000 innocent students attend these schools that Hamas and Islamic Jihad use for terrorist activities.
“The cynical exploitation of schools proves once again that the terrorist organization consciously chooses to endanger Gazan civilians and use them as 'human shields' for the benefit of their terrorist agendas," concluded the IDF.
Hamas had not responded at press time.
[TWITTER]
EXPOSED: This is how Hamas exploits children, teachers and school buildings for its terrorist agenda.
We can reveal that Hamas is deliberately using these 3 schools in Gaza as a shield for its terrorist activities.
[IsraelTimes] Olivier Vandecasteele, 41, has been in jug since February; family says he is being held hostage as Tehran demands freedom of man locked away Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! in Belgium for terrorism
Iranian authorities have imposed a 28-year sentence on locked away Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! Belgian aid worker Olivier Vandecasteele, a front man for his family said Wednesday.
The 41-year-old was arrested in Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites.... at the end of February and was at one point being held in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison, reportedly suspected of spying.
Belgium and Vandecasteele’s family insist he is innocent, effectively held as a hostage in Tehran’s efforts to force Belgium to release an Iranian agent convicted of terrorism.
"The family are devastated," front man Olivier Van Steirtegem told AFP, after the Belgian government informed the family of the news.
"Can you imagine? If there’s no solution he could stay in prison until 2050. He’ll be almost 70," he said, urging Belgium to find a way to revive a prisoner swap treaty.
Van Steirtegem said that Vandescasteele’s family had been invited to meet Belgium’s Prime Minister Alexander De Croo and several ministers on Tuesday.
Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne, the family ally said, had received a call from his Iranian counterpart communicating the court’s verdict — but that they had no details on the charges.
News of Vandecasteele’s sentence, which has not been publicly confirmed by Iranian authorities, will revive debate in Belgium over a prisoner exchange treaty with Iran.
De Croo’s government has described this in the past as the only option for a transfer, and the family front man told AFP that this remained the position at Tuesday’s meeting.
"There’s no Plan B," he noted.
Last week, Belgium’s constitutional court suspended the controversial treaty pending a final ruling on its legality in three months.
Opponents of the Iranian government challenged the deal, which they argue was "tailor-made" to permit the release of Assadollah Assadi, an Iranian diplomat sentenced last year to 20 years in prison.
An Antwerp court convicted Assadi of supplying explosives to a couple from Belgium who were to travel to Gay Paree to target a meeting of Iran’s exiled opposition.
Iran reacted with fury to the sentencing and the stalled prisoner exchange treaty was proposed as a way to win Vandecasteele’s release, despite concerns it would be seen to reward hostage-taking.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
12/15/2022 01:10 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[REGNUM] Sabereen News: US military base in eastern Syria came under rocket attack
The American military base, which is located in the El Meyadin region (Deir ez-Zor province) in eastern Syria, was attacked by missiles, the Sabereen News portal reported, citing its sources.
According to journalists, the shelling was carried out from the side of the border with Iraq. As a result of the attack on the territory of the base, two explosions thundered.
Combat helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were raised into the air for patrolling. Information about the victims and destruction is not given.
As REGNUM reported , in mid-November, unknown people fired at the US military base in Deir ez-Zor, as a result of which a fire broke out at the facility.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
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.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[AfghanDigest] LAST 24 HOURS
...... Somalia's version of the 
...... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord...
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling 
...The nation is noted for 
Hezbollah
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites....
...
