[NEWSWEEK] The Al-Shabaab ... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda... troop that carried out the El Adde attack was reportedly named after Saleh Ali Nabhan: a Kenyan thought to be a founding member of Al-Qaeda's cell in East Africa, who was killed by U.S. forces in Somalia in September 2009. The attack was proof of Al-Shabaab's enduring loyalty to Al-Qaeda, according to Roland Marchal, an expert on the Somali group at the Gay Paree Institute of Political Studies (known as Sciences Po). "The very people who carried out the attack against El Adde are people who are extremely controlled and under the order of Shabaab leadership, which is absolutely aligned with Al-Qaeda," says Marchal.
Marchal suggests that authorities in Kenya may be keen to overplay the ISIS element in Al-Shabaab as a means of attracting greater foreign assistance. He points to the countries of the Lake Chad region--including Nigeria, Cameroon ...a long, narrow country that fills the space between Nigeria and Chad on the northeast, CAR to the southeast. Prior to incursions by Boko Haram nothing ever happened there... and Chad--that have been plagued by Boko Haram ... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality... 's ongoing insurgency. Boko Haram, which originated as a radical movement in northeastern Nigeria, pledged allegiance to ISIS in March 2015 and has since expanded its operations, attacking Nigeria's neighboring countries. The international community has been keen to stop the spread of ISIS ideology: U.S. President Barack Obama If you have a small business, you didn't build that... pledged in October 2015 to send 300 military personnel to assist with operations in Cameroon, and the U.S. recently donated $11 million worth of armored vehicles to aid the Nigerian military's operations against Boko Haram. Colonel David Obonyo, spokesperson for the Kenya Defense Forces, was not immediately available to comment on the El Adde attacks.
Al-Shabaab declared its allegiance to Al-Qaeda in 2009 under former leader Ahmed Abdi Godane, who reportedly received training from and fought for the global bully boy organization in Afghanistan. In spite of its local links, however, it remains a fundamentally Somali organization: the majority of Al-Shabaab's attacks are carried out within Somalia, such as the shooting of 20 people at a Mogadishu beach on Thursday. Attacks beyond Somalia's borders--such as the April 2015 attack on Garissa University College in Kenya and the 2013 attack on Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi--were ostensibly executed in response to the presence of Kenyan and other foreign troops on Somali soil as part of the AU's mission in Somalia.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/23/2016 00:00 ||
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#1
it does not matter two jots whether al shabaab join al qaeda or IS
they are all Islamist theocratic fascists, so they are all an equal threat
Iran is also an Islamist theocracy and just as equal a threat - doesnt even matter that it is shia not sunni
The confusing follow-up to this story from yesterday, wherein the authorities claimed it was a Muslim Brotherhood hideout in a Muslim Brotherhood neighbourhood that blew up when they raided it.
[AlAhram] Thursday's attack killed 10 people - including 7 coppers - in Giza governorate's Haram district
Both an ISIS-affiliated group and another holy warrior group in Egypt have grabbed credit for the bombing that took place in Giza governorate's Haram district on Thursday, killing at least 10 people.
In a statement issued on Friday and published on its alleged Twitter accounts, Sinai-based Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis "ABM" claims that 10 Egyptian police personnel were killed when they entered a "booby-trapped" house in Marioutiya Thursday night.
An hour after the announcement by ABM another holy warrior group called "Revolutionary Punishment" grabbed credit for the attack in a statement released on Facebook.
The group claimed that it lured police to the apartment at which point two of its members carried out a suicide kaboom which killed a former state security police officer, among others.
According to the official statement of Egypt's prosecution, ten people, including seven coppers and three civilians, were killed in the kaboom.
The ministry of interior also stated that coppers and other victims were killed or injured as officers attempted to defuse a time-bomb during the raid on an apartment in Marioutiya where suspected Islamist turbans were believed to be staying.
The kaboom left 13 injured, two of whom are at death's door.
According to the ministry's statement, a civilian who lived in the building was killed in the kaboom, and two charred bodies were found inside the apartment.
"Revolutionary Punishment" apologised in its statement that non-combatants were killed in the attack, vowing to compensate them as well as vowing for more operations against security forces in the future.
The holy warrior group emerged earlier this year, claiming responsibility for attacks on mobile phone shops and banks across the country, as well as attacks against coppers.
Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis, a Sinai-based holy warrior group has already grabbed credit for most of the attacks against security forces in North Sinai. It also grabbed credit for the bombings of security directorates in Cairo and Dakahlia
#2
'Quid Pro Quo', the Sanctissimo iureiurando confirmari [sacred oath] of any politician, Swiss or otherwise. Oftentimes a coin toss, but thievery and betrayal are close seconds.
[AnNahar] A man who tried to attack a cop shoppe in Gay Paree this month had no links to Islamist networks, German authorities said Friday after carrying out new raids in a refugee shelter where he lived.
In other words, Europeans need to worry not just about those formally affiliated with a jihadi group, but anyone who might succumb to Sudden Jihad Syndrome and run murderously amok... just as they need to worry about crowds of young Muslim men sticking their fingers where they weren't invited* of any female who finds herself in their midst.
Investigations "over the past two weeks have brought no indications of any Islamist network" connected to the man, said Uwe Jacob, police chief of North Rhine-Westphalia state.
Tarek Belgacem
A man of many names and little sense
The attacker, identified as Tarek Belgacem by Tunisian authorities, was rubbed out by French police as he attempted his assault on January 7 -- the one-year anniversary of the jihadist attack on satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo ...A lefty French satirical magazine, home of what may well be the majority if the active testicles left in Europe... Continued on Page 49
#2
I'm willing to concede that not all of Islam is theocratic and totalitarian.
Can you cite some evidence in support of this statement (note: examples of genuinely peaceful Muslims are not a counterargument---every religion has apostates).
#3
does not matter if he is connected to a network or not
anyone that thinks that just does not get the very first thing about the war we are in
it isnt a crime situation, these are not criminal networks
this is an ideological war. The ideology is the problem. Theocratic islamist fascism.
the solution is secularism
theocracy has to be crushed.
otherwise any random Islamist can pop out at any time with no links to anyone as long as they drank the Kool aid of Islamist doctrine
if they think they skip judgement and go straight to janaa in return for killing kaffirs for allah then every man woman and child is a potential risk
and no amount of spy and police work will prevent the inevitable attacks.
the only way to fight it is by removing the hobble on free speech - make it easy to criticise and laugh at and ridicule religion. all religion. and to target Islamism with ridicule.
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/23/2016 9:48 Comments ||
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#6
Anon1's comment was easy for me to read. My eyes don't work as well as they used too.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
01/23/2016 11:05 Comments ||
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#7
I've seen *much* longer comments.
And he's right about the fact that there being no obvious links doesn't mean they aren't there.
And given how the media and governments have been bending backwards to give the Islamic Terrorists & Rapefugees cover (as far back, if not further, than Beslan) one has to wonder how hard they looked.
But you would expect a good look in Paris after what happened there.
[DAWN] HIPPY beggars asking for LSD or food; punks and drunks tumbling here and there; Roma girls offering flowers to men for 50 cents; cops questioning an almond-eyed youth with dark black hair as a trio plays an oriental tune in front of the Dom; a handful of Iranians and Chinese protesting against their governments in a city that flaunts its Gay Pride and vibrant Karneval parades.
As if oblivious to the 'rape culture shock' that shook Cologne ...a lovely city in Germany. They invented perfume there... on New Year's Eve, paupers and shoppers swarm the square at the city's central station as usual. Hardly anyone in the market is aware that Paks were attacked by far-right hooligans recently.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
01/23/2016 00:00 ||
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#1
Muslim migrants and asylum seekers hope nothing untoward will happen.
Istanbul -- Turkey security forces are subjecting residents of Kurdish-dominated southeastern Turkey to "collective punishment" with military operations backed by curfews, Amnesty International said on Thursday, accusing the army of "recklessly" using excessive force.
Turkey has imposed successive curfews over the last months in towns in the southeast to back military operations aiming to crush militants of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Curfews remain in place in Cizre in Sirnak province and the Sur district of Diyarbakir city, which were imposed on December 14 and December 2 respectively. A curfew in place since December 14 in Silopi, also in Sirnak, was partially lifted on Tuesday.
The army says hundreds of militants have been killed in an "anti-terror" operation but Kurdish groups have long raised alarm over the civilian toll.
"The operations currently being conducted under round-the-clock curfews are putting the lives of tens of thousands of people at risk and are beginning to resemble collective punishment," said John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International's Europe and Central Asia Programme Director.
Amnesty International called on the Turkish government to end the indefinite curfews, saying residents had been left without access to emergency health care, food, water and electricity for extended periods.
"Operations by police and the military in these areas have been characterised by abusive use of force, including firing heavy weaponry in residential neighbourhoods," the group said in a report.
"There is little doubt that the Turkish authorities are putting lives at risk by using lethal force excessively and recklessly," it added.
The military operations are particularly aimed at the PKK's youth branch the Patriotic Revolutionist Youth Movement (YDG-H) which the government says has dug trenches and erected barricades in urban areas.
"Security measures, including those aimed at arresting suspected members of YDG-H, must adhere to Turkey's obligations under international human rights law," said Amnesty.
It quoted data from the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TIHV) saying that 162 people have been killed during the curfews since operations were launched in August 2015, including 29 women, 32 children and 24 people over 60.
With Turkey part of the US-led coalition against jihadists in Syria and a key player in the EU refugee crisis, Dalhuisen said the Turkish authorities had faced "very little" criticism from the international community.
"Strategic considerations... must not overshadow allegations of gross human rights violations. The international community must not look the other way," he said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/23/2016 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] The interior ministry came under immense pressure to take action against Lal Masjid ...literally the Red Mosque, located in Islamabad and frequented by all sorts of high govt officials. The proprietors, Ghazi Abdul Rasheed and Maulana Abdul Aziz Ghazi, unleashed their Islamic storm troopers on the city, shutting down whorehouses and beating people up who weren't devout enough. The Musharraf govt put an end to the nonsense by besieging the place. Abdul Aziz Ghazi was nabbed while he was trying to escape dressed up like a girl. BBC reported that the corpse count at 173, but other claims, usually hysterical, say there were up to 1000 titzup. Among their number was Abdul Rashid Ghazi. Everyone then said tut-tut and what a nice guy he had been... holy man Abdul Aziz after four key legal documents, asserting that the holy man was an absconder, were presented before the upper house by Senator Farhatullah Babar.
Babar, who also sought the chair's permission to move a privilege motion against Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
01/23/2016 00:00 ||
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#1
OMG! I'm sorry, but my first impression of the above image was "are those the Japanese version of Larry, Curly and Moe?"
The resemblance is uncanny!
Posted by: Seeking a cure for ignorance ||
01/23/2016 21:02 Comments ||
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#2
Only if the Stooges did Kabuki.
Which, come to think of it, would've been... interesting.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] Following a deadly attack on Bacha Khan University in Charsadda area of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... province of Pakistain, a faction of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) has vowed to carry out more similar attacks in the future.
The faction led by Omar Mansoor grabbed credit behind the attack on Bacha Khan University which claimed lives of at least 21 people while scores of others were maimed.
In a videotaped message posted on Facebook social media website, Mansoor warned to target more universities and schools, claiming that such institutions promote democratic governance instead of Muslim theocracy.
He appeared in the video along with the four assailants of Bacha Khan University attack, insisting that the Pak people must 'repent of polytheism and democracy."
Mansoor vowed to disrupt the system and its foundation that has come from Britannia and America and is human made, emphasizing on the establishment of Allah's system and rule.
The Taliban faction led by Mansoor had also grabbed credit behind a deadly attack on a school in Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. city of Pakistain late in 2014, which left at least 130 children dead.
There are fears that the latest declaration by Mansoor faction of the Taliban group could begin a new wave of jihadist violence in Pakistain where the country's military has fought to suppress the Death Eaters.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/23/2016 00:00 ||
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#1
What genius wanted to negotiate with these guys?
Wet/dry/freeze-dry work them.
Posted by: Sven the pelter ||
01/23/2016 11:30 Comments ||
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Trainers taking advantage of teachable moments:
"Ok class, as we stand in this here doorway, what should we notice?"
"Oooh, oooh, call on meeeee!"
"Yes, Rafiq, what do you see?"
"A trip wire in the doorway, and another over here, and another over there, and another..."
"Very good, Rafiq. Anyone else?"
[Rudaw] With help from US Special Forces Iraqi troops have surrounded 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.... (ISIS) bully boyz in the area of Hussaibiyah in eastern Ramadi, said an Anbar provincial official on Friday.
"A special US force has arrived at the Ayn al-Asad Airbase in western Anbar to do their part in retaking areas still held by ISIS," Ibrahim Fahdawi, head of Khalidiya district security committee told Rudaw.
The force's main duty is to protect Iraq's borders with Syria and Jordan from ISIS krazed killer infiltration, Fahdawi explained.
Iraqi troops retook Ramadi from ISIS in late December but have been since held down by bully boyz in Hussaibiyah and other districts.
Fahdawi believes that the US force will support the Iraqi soldiers and prevent ISIS from sending reinforcements to retake Rawa, Qaim and Ana in western Anbar.
Days after Iraqi army declared Ramadi free from ISIS control, US Army Captain Chance McCrew told news hounds in Baghdad there were still several hundred bully boyz inside the city in the direction of Fallujah.
A Shiite militia official told Rudaw that booby traps and bombs together with the area's population density are the reason for the army's slow progress against the remaining bully boyz in the area.
"Military operation in Ramadi are ongoing... This front is complex due to population density," said Brig. Ahmed Al Bailawi, an official from the Shiite militia group of Hashd al-Shaabi, adding that ISIS has "booby trapped all houses and alleys of the area."
"Bomb disposal teams have begun defusing bombs in 85 percent of the region," Al Bailawi said. "Over the past three days, our forces have arrived at a main road close to the southern Hussaibiyah center."
[Ynet] A third of the bandidosmurderous Moslems of the last few months have been under the age of 20. The Paleostinian Authority says that most of them suffer from personal difficulties and prefer to die 'heroically.'
One of the most striking aspects of the current wave of terror has been the significant number of youngsters among the many lone attackers who have emerged over the last few months.
The most recent of them were Othman Shaalan, 19, who carried out the stabbing attack in Tekoa that maimed Michal Froman, and Morad Adais, 16, who murdered Dafna Meir in Otniel. The statistics show that a third of the bandidosmurderous Moslems who have carried out attacks in the current round have been under the age of 20.
[IsraelTimes] The head of the Paleostinian domestic intelligence body says the Paleostinian Authority has prevented 200 attacks against Israelis in the latest wave of terror attacks since October 2015.
Majed Faraj, director of the PA's General Intelligence Service, told Defense News in an interview published Wednesday that Paleostinian security services have also confiscated weapons and incarcerated Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages! some 100 Paleostinians in the effort to prevent the attacks.
#2
"Well, of course they're infantile, entitled, inept, mentally ill, and social poison. They're Paleos"
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/23/2016 11:41 Comments ||
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#3
Well, judging by experience, asking "international community" to stop funding terrorist manufacturing, aka Palestinian Education system, is useless. So, how about a Syrian passport + transportation to Europe for any willing "Palestinian"?
[Gulf Today] A member of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) disclosed that Christians on the island province of Sulu have organized and armed themselves into a vigilante group to defend themselves against militants.
Bishop Angelito Lampon of the vicariate of Jolo confirmed the existence of a group called Red Guard Soldiers (RGS) with about 300 armed members in an article published on the CBCP website.
He said, "In Jolo, Christians are a minority and RGS members are arming themselves against extremists in Southern Philippines because they are getting increasingly desperate. This is a kind of desperate attempt by these Christians who are being attacked now and then by these armed groups."
Lampon didn't elaborate but was apparently referring to the Abu Sayyaf militants who have gained notoriety through a series of kidnaps-for-ransom as well as attacks on civilians in Sulu and Basilan.
"If only there’s enough security for them. I think they will not take up arms. But if they feel helpless, I guess it’s their form of self-defense," Lampon added.
According to Lampon, the RGS members have vowed to drive away the Abu Sayyaf, as well as the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.
Meanwhile, a report from senior military officer that the Abu Sayyaf has been recruiting new members in Sulu by offering $60 to each applicant especially in the towns of Kalinggalang, Kaluang, Luuk and Panamao. Reports claim the militants have so far recruited 15 members.
#2
If you check the map, the Muslim population is down south far away from the looting and corruption in Manila which renders the government rather impotent in dealing with real problems.
I blame the Spanish who 'claimed' both the north and south of the archipelago when in fact they only had a tenuous presence in the south. The gullible yanks bought the claim when the took it over as part of the treaty ending the Spanish-American War. The 'troubles' with the Christian nationalists in the north were eventually resolved, but it would take a decade or more (to include a very nasty low intensity war) in dealing with the Moros (Muslims), who's primary economy was slaving and piracy. 50 years after the ACW, people weren't too tolerant of slaving even if the practitioners were Muslims. So the whole mess got bundled together to give the Filipinos this find opportunity to carry on after our departure.
[Ynet] Iran's Revolutionary Guards did well under international sanctions, and the elite military force is destined to become still richer now they've been lifted.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
01/23/2016 00:00 ||
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[Rudaw] Following reports that Russian engineers and soldiers had moved to the international Kamishly airport in Qamishli to possibly transform it into a base, similar reports indicate that the Americans may be seeking to do the very same thing in the region.
In the nearby Hasakah Province the Americans have reportedly taken control of the former Syrian military Rmeilan airfield. They are apparently seeking to use it as a hub to give closer support to Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG) fighters in Syria engaged 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.... (ISIS).
Like Kamishly airport it is very close to Syria's northeastern border with The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... "Under a deal with the YPG, the US was given control of the airport. The purpose of this deal is to back up the SDF [Syrian Democratic Forces], by providing weapons and an airbase for US warplanes," an activist for the SDF told the Al Jazeera network on Tuesday.
"This airport was previously controlled by the YPG for over two years now. This strategic airport is close to several oil bases - one of the biggest in this area. Rmeilan airport was previously used for agricultural purposes by the Syrian government," he went on to explain.
While Rmeilan sits in territory controlled by the Kurds Qamishli airport remains in the few enclaves controlled by the regime in that part of Syria.
Russia and US setting up shop in that part of Syria is a highly notable development in the Syrian conflict.
To this date the US and Russians have been operating in mostly separate parts of the country. US air power has been focused solely on bombing ISIS in the east and northeast while Russian air power has been bombing various forces fighting the regime of Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Despoiler of Deraa... across Syria.
Syrian military source said nearly 100 "American experts" and Syrian Kurdish militia were nearly done outfitting Rmeilan airfield in Hasakeh province.
"The airbase will be used for helicopters and cargo planes. Its strip is now 2,700 meters (yards) long and is ready to be used by planes that will transport equipment and ammunition," the source added.
A security source in northeast Syria said "American special forces and advisers are using the Rmeilan airport as a base, from where helicopters are taking off towards the fronts".
The Pentagon said the U.S. had "not taken control" of any airfield in Syria.
"There has been no change to the size of mission of the US presence in Syria," said U.S. Central Command spokesman Colonel Pat Ryder.
"That being said, U.S. forces in Syria are consistently looking at ways to increase efficiency for logistics and personnel recovery support," he said.
In October, Washington authorized the deployment to Syria of up to 50 special operations troops to advise local forces battling IS.
Russian has paraded it naval might in the Mediterranean, inviting reporters aboard a destroyer cruising off Syria’s coast in scenes reminiscent of the Soviet era. The military demonstrated its global presence on Thursday by bringing Moscow-based journalists aboard the Vice Admiral Kulakov destroyer, which sailed alongside the flagship of the Russian naval group, the Varyag missile cruiser.
By establishing a long-term presence in the eastern Mediterranean, the Russian military has revived a Soviet-era capability to project naval power far from its borders.
The display of Russia’s military operations came before planned peace talks between the Syrian government and opposition next week in Geneva, which are meant to pave the way for a political settlement for Syria. Since Russia launched its bombing campaign in Syria on 30 September, its warplanes have flown more than 5,700 missions in support of Syrian government troops.
The warships, accompanied by support vessels, have rotated on duty off Syria’s shores, reviving a Soviet-era practice when warships maintained a permanent vigil in the Mediterranean.
The Varyag has sailed from its Pacific port, while the Vice Admiral Kulakov has come from the Russian base of Severomorsk on the Kola Peninsula.
The bigger cruiser Varyag carries long-range anti-ship missiles and powerful air defence systems used to help protect the Russian air base and the warplanes operating from it.
The destroyer is armed with an array of anti-ship cruise missiles, torpedoes and anti-aircraft weapons, but its main mission is hunting enemy submarines.
“My ship is in eastern Mediterranean to protect and defend other ships and cargo vessels and to provide search and rescue at sea if necessary,” said Captain 1st Grade Stanislav Varik, the commander of the destroyer.
He emphasised that his ship was optimised for engaging submarines, and added that his crew had successfully tracked several foreign submarines during its stint in the eastern Mediterranean.
“There are submarines belonging to several nations here, and we have spotted, identified their class and tracked some of them,” he said without offering further details.
Idle boasting, but I'd expect no less...
The Russian naval facility in the Syrian port of Tartus has served as the key supply and support point since Soviet times. It is now the only such facility outside the former Soviet Union. Russian warships come here for refuelling and get other supplies, and some get minor maintenance there.
The Varyag, the flagship of the navy’s Pacific Fleet, has replaced its sister ship, the missile cruiser Moskva on a stint near Syria. The cruisers are equipped with long-range Fort air defence missiles, the navy equivalent of the famous S-300 Russian air defence systems. Like the Moskva earlier, the Varyag has kept close to the shore to help protect Russian warplanes after Turkey downed a Russian jet in November.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/23/2016 00:00 ||
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Then there are however many the Russians and Syrians dropped bombs on, and however many ran into the bullets of the Kurds and their allies, not to mention the other Syrian rebel groups and Hizb'allah. N=lots, a lovely equation testifying to the improvement of the shallow end of the gene pool.
[AnNahar] Around 22,000 jihadists have been killed by the U.S.-led coalition fighting 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 since mid-2014, La Belle France's defense minister said on Thursday.
"The figure given by the coalition... is about 22,000 dead since the start of operations in Iraq and Syria," Jean-Yves Le Drian told the La Belle France24 news channel, adding that the figure was "approximate."
...whatever that means.
And for a shorter-term perspective from Rudaw:
The United States-led coalition has killed over 6,400 members of the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist group according to its own statistics.
The intensified air strikes coupled with ground offensives against ISIS by other rebel groups have lead US commanders to argue that the group is gradually being weakened decisively.
"We are noticing that they are not quite the same skill level that they once were," a top coalition commander, Lt. Gen. Sean MacFarland, told USA Today. "Maybe they're having trouble replacing quality with quality."
Lt. Gen. Sean MacFarland explained that more ISIS members are defecting and the group has failed to mount any offensives to make-up for its recent losses on the battlefield. "We take that as a positive indicator that we're starting to hit them where it hurts," he remarked.
Coalition statistics indicate that on average 500 ISIS members have been killed a week over the course of the last three months. Since the campaign started a year-and-a-half ago about 25,000 members of ISIS are believed to have been killed by coalition air strikes.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
01/23/2016 00:00 ||
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#1
I've heard something like this before---now, where was it?
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.
Al-Shabaab declared its allegiance to Al-Qaeda in 2009 under former leader Ahmed Abdi Godane, who reportedly received training from and fought for the global
Istanbul -- Turkey security forces are subjecting residents of Kurdish-dominated southeastern Turkey to "collective punishment" with military operations backed by curfews, Amnesty International said on Thursday, accusing the army of "recklessly" using excessive force.
[DAWN] The interior ministry came under immense pressure to take action against 
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] Following a deadly attack on Bacha Khan University in Charsadda area of 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
Russian has paraded it naval might in the Mediterranean, inviting reporters aboard a destroyer cruising off Syria’s coast in scenes reminiscent of the Soviet era. The military demonstrated its global presence on Thursday by bringing Moscow-based journalists aboard the Vice Admiral Kulakov destroyer, which sailed alongside the flagship of the Russian naval group, the Varyag missile cruiser.
