[Khaama (Afghanistan)] Floating silently above the city, brilliant white balloons with precision cameras stand watch here, silent guardians of the sky. Officially known as Aerostats, the balloons serve as sentinels protecting the people below.
The balloons have a high-performance camera, providing 360-degree views around the city. The camera’s night vision capabilities, coupled with the simplicity of the helium-operated system, allow it to patrol 24 hours a day. With multiple sites around Kabul ...the capital of Afghanistan. Home to continuous fighting from 1992 to 1996 between the forces of would-be strongman and Pak ISI/Jamaat-e-Islami sock puppet Gulbuddin Hekmayar and the Northern Alliance, a period which won Hek the title Most Evil Man in the World and didn't do much for the reputations of the Northern Alliance guys either.... , the Aerostats monitor the entire city for danger.
The Afghan National Army’s Aerostat training school at Sia Sang National Military Intelligence Center here has focused on training select service members to operate the balloons with the support of coalition contractors. The school has trained dozens of students so far, with more waiting to attend. Only the most experienced and proven soldiers get to attend the 40-day school, and they consider it an honor to be part of one of the teams.
Better pay, prestige, less chance of being shot, and Fatima gets to lord it over the other wives in the neighborhood. What's not to like?
When it comes to protecting Kabul, the Aerostats are unparalleled for the cost per balloon.
"The cost is minimal," the school’s commander said, "when it comes to protecting the lives of our citizens below."
Not just a training center, the Sia Sang center is also an effective part of the integrated intelligence system throughout the city. Several months ago, the site observed murderous Moslems moving rockets into the city. The team on watch was able to coordinate with the Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police, allowing them to arrest the murderous Moslems and prevent an attack.
The current watch captain, an infantry officer, understands the intelligence value Aerostats bring.
"Our balloons are very effective for the Afghan National Army. If you use it in the right way, you can do the job of 1,500 soldiers on the ground," he said.
At another site on Kabul’s outskirts, the team is tied into the Kabul surveillance network, but also provides security for key government officials working to rebuild the country.
The video feed from each ANA-operated Aerostat is sent directly to the Ministry of Defense where teams of trained personnel provide additional monitoring. The goal is to prevent violence before it occurs. The MoD command center has integrated the video from the Aerostats as a critical component of its daily watch plan.
Lt. Col. Steven Tingley, director of Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance ‐ Capability Integration Cell of Combined Security Transition Command ‐ Afghanistan, stressed the importance of Afghan forces taking responsibility for controlling and maintaining the balloons. ISR-CIC is the directorate responsible for facilitating the Aerostat program for the ANA.
"CSTC-A’s mission is to train and equip the ANA so they are able to provide and sustain their own security to the country. These Aerostats are an excellent and cost-effective way to provide that," Tingley said. "Aerostats are not just important for counter-insurgency, but also provide an excellent platform to monitor criminal activity and allow the police to catch criminals in Kabul."
An executive officer of the one of the sites praised the value of the balloon.
"These balloons are very important to the ANA and Afghanistan," he said. "We appreciate the foreign assistance that has allowed us to purchase and learn to operate the Aerostats. We have hope that the assistance will continue so we can keep protecting our citizens for many years to come."
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11/07/2016 00:00 ||
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[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Ministry of Defense of Afghanistan (MoD) has said the elimination of the Taliban group fighters will not take more than a month but for the regional intelligence fueling the Afghan war by supporting the anti-government armed holy warriors.
MoD front man Gen. Dawlat Waziri told news hounds in Kabul ...the capital of Afghanistan. Home to continuous fighting from 1992 to 1996 between the forces of would-be strongman and Pak ISI/Jamaat-e-Islami sock puppet Gulbuddin Hekmayar and the Northern Alliance, a period which won Hek the title Most Evil Man in the World and didn't do much for the reputations of the Northern Alliance guys either.... that the ongoing war and violence in the country is an intelligence war, insisting that the Taliban resistance would not last more than a month if the group would wage insurgency alone.
He did not elaborate further regarding any specific regional intelligence agency but the Afghan officials have long been criticizing Pakistain’s Inter Services Intelligence for supporting the Afghan holy warriors.
The Afghan officials are saying that the leadership group of the Taliban and other holy warrior groups including the Haqqani terrorist network are based in Pakistain and are openly convening gatherings besides planning and coordinating attacks in Afghanistan.
In the meantime, Gen. Waziri said the Afghan forces recently seized a vehicle packed with hundreds of weapons, thousands of ammunition and explosives as the holy warriors were looking to transport it to equip their fighters.
He said the Afghan forces confiscated 430 Pak weapons including pistols and 23,800 rounds of ammunition in Badghis province.
Gen. Waziri appeared in a presser to update the media following a deadly clash in Kunduz on Thursday that left around 30 civilians dead.
Blaming the Taliban group for the civilian casualties, Gen. Waziri said the group continues to use the civilians as human shield and the group’s leaders and fighters are even reckless regarding their own family members.
According to Waziri, several family members of the Taliban group leaders were among those killed as the Afghan forces called for air support amid fierce clash.
The operation on Thursday was launched as the Taliban group leaders had gathered for a meeting to launch a fresh attack on Kunduz city.
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11/07/2016 00:00 ||
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#1
The Ministry of Defense of Afghanistan (MoD) has said the elimination of the Taliban group fighters will not take more than a month but for the regional intelligence fueling the Afghan war by supporting the anti-government militants
And the graft... the bribery... the general Pashtun Afghan incompetence...
[All Africa] Somali faceless myrmidons Al-Shabaab ... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda... are becoming increasingly emboldened following the systematic withdrawal of Æthiopian troops, a development that is threatening to reverse the recent gains in the war against terror.
The Al-Shabaab have not only retaken nine towns in the central region along the border with Æthiopia, but have also threatened to disrupt the presidential election scheduled for November 30.
In the wake of the ongoing domestic political uprising in Æthiopia over the past one month, Addis has been withdrawing troops that are not part of the African Union ...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful... Mission in Somalia (Amisom), but who have been instrumental in containing Al-Shabaab in the central region.
Amisom spokesperson Col Joseph Kibet, told The EastAfrican that the Æthiopian withdrawal is leaving a vacuum that is encouraging the re-emergence of Al-Shabaab in areas where they were previously contained.
He said that locals who were previously lying low are emerging to identify themselves as Al-Shabaab and hoisting their flags because a lot of the elements in the Lion of Islam group are locals.
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11/07/2016 00:00 ||
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[Libya Observer] We journeyed 250 km along what is coming to be known as the longest supply route in Libyan military history. En route, the revolutionary fighters accompanying me were keen to point out the locations of early suicide kabooms on them. At Sadada, which is situated approximately 80 km from Misrata, I was shown the site of one such suicide kabooms which killed 45 Misratan-led fighters, and rough estimates are given at 150 deaths amongst the revolutionaries by suicide attacks alone since hostilities began six months prior. It became apparent as I journeyed along the Libyan coastline towards Sirte just how large of an operation had taken place.
Hundreds of square kilometers, which were previously occupied by ISIS, were now flying the Libyan flag over buildings and road signs. Long military convoys beeped their horns as they zoomed by us towards their destination.
The closer I got to Sirte the more destruction I witnessed, even on the outskirts, there were not many buildings that escaped some form of scars from the war. We were transporting the daily meal for the fighters so when we arrived at the charity organization in charge of supplying food to the frontline, there was an immediate rush to prepare for the stream of fighters who began to queue up with pots in hand. I began to get an idea of where the fighters came from and their age group. It was clear to see that there is a complete contrast from one group of fighters to another as is always the case with revolutionary brigades.
Some fighters, white bearded were shown due respect by others because of that age difference whilst others could have easily been 17 ‐ 18 which was interesting to me because these young men would have been only 12-13 at the time the revolution began and would not have taken part in the actual downfall of the Qadaffy regime, yet here they were carrying the torch and taking the fight to the new enemy of Libya.
We prepared to enter the warzone, which was witness to intensive Arclight airstrikes by the American and Libyan air forces, and continuous shelling by the Misrata-led forces was an effort to eliminate the few remaining ISIS fighters with minimum casualties as the estimated figures show at least 500 revolutionary fighters had bit the dust in total and another 2000 maimed since hostilities began.
We made our way through the man made holes in the walls to the ever shrinking frontline, which is now estimated at about 400 square meters. The men manning the front lines were quick to explain how most shootouts are sparked at night by ISIS fighters and taunting was a regular occurrence with ISIS fighters seeking a response in order to pin point the location of their enemy.
With ISIS rounded up and surrounded from all sides by the brave efforts and sacrifices of the revolutionary fighters, it is clear to see that they are taking their last breaths in Sirte, making the question become ever louder,
"What is to come after Sirte"?
Only time can tell what the new orders will be but with Haftar taking control of the oil crescent region last month and a regrouping of forces such as the Benghazi Defence Brigades, Ziad Belam`s forces and the PFG (Petroleum Facility Guard) to remove him, the end of ISIS will surely have an effect on the balance of power and politics on the ground in Libya`s near future.
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11/07/2016 00:00 ||
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[Jpost] Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s envoys on Monday rejected a French call that it attend an international peace conference on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that will likely be held in December in Paris.
Only direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians will lead to a final agreement for a two-state solution, Netanyahu’s envoys, attorney Yitzhak Molcho and acting National Security Council head Yaakov Nagel said. Keep messing with us and we'll use bio-weapons to exterminate snails and frogs!
[AA.TR] President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him... has accused tossed in the clink Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'! politicians of the opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) of behaving like terrorists, saying they aim to put The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... into trouble in the international scene.
Speaking at the opening of the academic year of a private university in Istanbul, Erdogan said the held deputies had insulted the government, nation and law by using their parliamentary immunities.
"If you [the HDP MPs] act like a terrorist instead of a politician then you are treated like terrorists... I'm clear. I have no worries about these international attacks. Only the nation matters to me," he said.
He also criticized the West for their biases against Turkey following the reaction of some European countries to the detentions of the HDP co-chairs and other deputies Friday for failing to answer public prosecutors’ summons linked to a counter-terrorism probe.
"When does the West have a good dream about Turkey? Never." Erdogan said, adding: "So, what can Turkey expect from the West after having waited in front of the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... 's door for 53 years?"
The arrested politicians face prosecution under Turkey’s anti-terrorism laws after their parliamentary immunity was lifted earlier this year. Lawmakers from other parties had also been summoned before public prosecutors, but only HDP deputies refused to testify.
Among the charges HDP politicians face are alleged offenses of spreading terrorist propaganda in relation to comments made in October 2014, after ISISgunnies entered the Syrian border town of Kobani, also known as Ayn al-Arab. Back then, Selahattin Demirtas and other HDP figures had urged residents to take to the streets in Turkey. The ensuing week of violent demonstrations left dozens of people dead, including two coppers and saw hundreds of people injured.
Referring to the Gezi Park protests and the Dec. 17-25 corruption incidents from 2013 and the July 15 coup attempt this year, the president said Turkey had its own road to follow and had changed its point of views on certain subjects.
"We will do whatever we need to do in favor of our country and the nation without thinking: 'Who said what for us?'," Erdogan said.
He said Turkey had given 4,000 intelligence files on the PKK gunnies to Germany, adding he also reminded German Chancellor Angela Merkel ...current chancellor of Germany. She was educated in East Germany when is was still run by commies, but in 1989 got involved with the growing democracy movement when the Berlin Wall fell. Merkel is sometimes referred to by Germans as Mom... about those files six months ago during their meeting in Istanbul.
"She told me that she remembers all the files. And I asked: ’What happened to those files?’ She said they [the files had] increased to 4,500. And I asked ’what would happen now?’ I told her that delaying justice was not justice at all.
"Europe recognizes the PKK as a terrorist group but acts as an accessory to them. It is really clear," he said, adding the PKK had so far killed 787 security personnel and 312 civilians as well as injuring over 4,000 security forces and more than 2,000 civilians since July 20, 2015.
"During the anti-PKK operations, over 5,500 arms, up to 650,000 bullets and 142 tons of kaboom and nearly 15,000 explosives were recovered. West! Hear this!" Erdogan added.
The PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and EU -- resumed its decades-old armed campaign in July last year.
[AlAhram] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... 's pro-Kurdish party announced Sunday that it will halt its legislative activities in Parliament following the arrests of nine of its politicians, a move the prime minister called a mistake.
Peoples' Democratic Party front man Ayhan Bilgen said at a news conference in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir that the party will stop participating in parliamentary commissions and the parliamentary assembly.
Bilgen later told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named that the party does not plan to withdraw from Parliament. Pulling out of Parliament is a decision that only can "be made in consultation with the people," he said.
The party, known as the HDP, therefore plans to gauge public opinion following "the most extensive and darkest attack in our democratic political history," he said.
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim called on the HDP in a televised speech from the northeastern city of Bayburt to "return from this mistake before it's too late."
HDP politicians would be disrespecting the voters who elected them if they do not represent them in Parliament, Yildirim said.
"Come to the Parliament and say whatever you want, but no politician can be a shield to terror by abusing their position," the prime minister said.
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11/07/2016 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV] Turkish Potentate President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him... says he does not care if he is called a dictator over his crackdown on the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) bully boy group and its sympathizers.
"Europe, as a whole, is abetting terrorism. Even though they declared the PKK a terrorist organization, this is clear ... We see how the PKK can act so freely and comfortably in Europe," Erdogan said during a televised speech on Sunday.
Ankara drew vast international censure after it recently tossed in the slammer Into the paddy wagon wit' yez! several leaders and politicians from the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), as part of an ongoing terrorism investigation.
"They (Western critics) should not preoccupy themselves for nothing. We know well who they are. We studied their history well. We know it well. I got to know them very well during my 14-year-old tenure as a prime minister and a president. I can now read them like an open book. I don't care if they call me a dictator or whatever else. It goes in one ear, out of the other." he added.
He also noted that the PKK has killed around 800 members of The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... ’s security forces and over 300 civilians since a last year ceasefire fell through.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/07/2016 00:00 ||
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#1
When he's right, he's right - Palestinians (terrorist organization pretending to be a Nation) are EUros cherished children.
[Daily Excelsior] The three separatist leaders who have been calling for protests and shutdowns in Kashmire since the killing of hard boy commander Burhan Wani in July this year, have called for a meeting on Tuesday during which they may decide respite from daily strikes.
Hurriyat (G) chairman, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Hurriyat (M) chairman, Mirwaiz Molvi Umar Farooq, and chairman of JKLF chief, Mohammad Yasin Malik ...chairman of one of the two factions of Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front. JKLF is a Kashmiri nationalist organization founded in Birmingham, UK in 1977. Branches weren't actually established in Kashmir for another ten years. It has the usual demands for separation of J&K from secular India so it can become an independent Islamic rathole. It seems to have no interest in Pak Kashmir breaking away to join it. In 1994 Malik renounced violence after he was released from jail and from that point he and his organization pursued peaceful means to impose their will on the region... today held a meeting at the residence of Geelani for the first time in four months and discussed the situation in Kashmire.
These leaders have been issuing strike and protest programmes for last four months but they met for the first time today. The leaders rejected any economic package and stressed for political resolution of Jammu and Kashmire issue.
They said that the Government is squeezing and denying the political space to them. The leaders called for a meeting of different forums to discus the situation in Kashmire.
"All the forums among whom traders, educationists, transporters, civil society members, religious, social and political organizations ,bar association and people from other walks of life have been called on Tuesday, Nov 8 at 10.30 am at Hyderpora to jointly deliberate and discuss future course of action," a joint statement issued by these leaders reads.
Sources said that the separatist may decide to give some relaxation after calling for 4 month long strike and protests which paralysed life in Kashmire.
In the meantime, an attempt to torch Govt Middle school Kishwan in Trehgam area of district Kupwara was foiled today. Police said that miscreants tried to set ablaze the school but timely action by the locals saved the schools.
And in Hajjan area of Bandipara district, Government Higher Secondary School Hajjan was partially damaged as miscreants torched it this evening. The miscreants set the school afire but locals doused the flames during which one room of the school was damaged.
Amid shutdown in Kashmire, an increased rush of shoppers was seen today in the weekly Sunday market at commercial hub Lal Chowk and its adjacent areas.
Large number of people came out to shop at Sunday market that led to the traffic jam in the areas, which forced the commuters to take alternative routes.
The weekly market stretches from Tourist Reception Centre (TRC) to Polo View area, a distance of half a kilometre.
The shoppers from different areas thronged the market to buy items like clothes, blankets and other stuff.
Hundreds of street vendors had arrived early morning today to get space in the market while some among them didn’t find any space in the market and installed their stocks at an extended stretch of the market.
The weekly flea market started operating from the first week of October amid shutdown.
The normal life elsewhere remained paralysed today with shops and business establishment closed and public transport off the roads.
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11/07/2016 00:00 ||
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[ARA News] Tel Abyad – The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Sunday announced the launch of an operation to liberate Raqqa from Islamic State’s (ISIS) militants.
“To our people in Raqqa city, we, in the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), announce the start of an extensive operation to liberate Raqqa and its countryside from the grip of ISIS terrorists. ISIS declared it a capital for their alleged caliphate, but the city will be free of their terrorism soon” the Kurdish-led SDF said in a statement.
The US-backed SDF has established a new operations room to coordinate the battle for Raqqa against the Islamic State (ISIS). “On November 5th, the SDF established a new operations room known as the Euphrates Wrath to intensify coordination between the various military factions participating in the battle for Raqqa.”
“On this occasion, we assure the democratic forces in the world, our great Syrian people and peoples of the region that this operation will be proceeded strictly till its goal is met in isolating the capital of world terror, then bringing it down. We will be victorious in this decisive battle like we overcame in Kobane, Tel Abyad, al-Hasakah, al-Hawl, al-Shaddadi and Manbij,” the SDF said.
Kurdish forces of the People’s Protection Units (YPG) and Women’s Protection Units (YPJ), both members of the SDF, are expected to play a main role in the Raqqa operation.
“The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) is leading this operation with an effective participation from the YPG and YPJ factions, and in cooperation with the US-led coalition,” the SDF leadership said on Sunday.
The forces also called for a regional and international support in the battle for Raqqa.
“We call on the regional and international powers, who have already suffered from ISIS terrorism, to participate by providing support to our forces, whether logistic or political support. We also appeal to the international community to provide humanitarian aid to the people of Raqqa, who’ll be soon freed from ISIS grip.”
Furthermore, the SDF demanded civilians of being cautious regarding a possible use of human shields by ISIS.
“We also call on our people in Raqqa to stay away from ISIS headquarters, which will be direct targets for the SDF and the coalition. We appeal to the civilians to head to secure locations, and to support our operation, the Battle for Raqqa.”
In the meantime, the US Defence Secretary Ash Carter welcomed the operation.
“I welcome today’s announcement by the SDF that the operation to free Raqqa from ISIS’ barbaric grip has begun. The effort to isolate, and ultimately liberate, Raqqa marks the next step in our coalition campaign plan,” US Defense Ash Carter said in a statement on Sunday evening.
“As in Mosul, the fight will not be easy and there is hard work ahead, but it is necessary to end the fiction of ISIL’s caliphate and disrupt the group’s ability to carry out terror attacks against the United States, our allies and our partners. The international coalition will continue to do what we can to enable local forces in both Iraq and Syria to deliver ISIL the lasting defeat it deserves,” he said.
Earlier the Pentagon, has withdrawn a controversial request to provide direct arms shipments to the YPG, the Washington Post reported.
According to US officials, consideration of the weapons was deferred because initial plans to encircle the city by taking control of surrounding villages and access routes would not require additional weaponry and because conflicts with Turkey remain unresolved.
Nicholas Heras, a Washington-based Middle East researcher at the Centre for a New American Security, told ARA News that the People’s Protection Forces (YPG), the Kurdish component will most likely not receive weapons.
The US-led Coalition has likely promised to replenish the SDF Arab units with arms and ammunition, but stopped short of making that guarantee to the Kurdish YPG units.
“I don’t think the outcome of the battle to retake Raqqa hinges on whether the YPG receives weapons directly or wearing its Syrian Democratic Forces hat,” Amberin Zaman, Public Policy Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, told ARA News.
“What matters here is the political aspect of any arms transfer. Will it be packaged as initially envisaged under legislation that covers assistance to foreign militias fighting on the side of the US. Had that gone through it would have put an institutional stamp on the US YPG relationship which is what the YPG wants more than anything,” she said.
“They want to carry this tactical alliance with the US against ISIS to a political and strategic level and that is why they are willing to take part in the Raqqa campaign even though it doesn’t serve their immediate interests which is to link the cantons but which the US for now at least is opposing,” she stated.
The SDF said Raqqa city will be liberated with the aid of its people be it Kurds, Arabs, or Turkmen. Video report at the link
More from Arab News
AIN ISSA, Syria: US-backed Kurdish-Arab forces launched an offensive Sunday on the Daesh group’s de facto Syrian capital Raqqa, upping pressure on the jihadists who are already battling Iraqi troops in Mosul.
The start of the assault by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) came as Iraqi forces fought inside Mosul for the third day running, with the jihadists putting up fierce resistance.
The two cities are the last major urban centers under Daesh control after the jihadists suffered a string of territorial losses in Iraq and Syria over the past year.
The US-led coalition battling Daesh is backing both assaults, hoping to deal a knockout blow to the self-styled “caliphate” the group declared in mid-2014.
Lined up in crisp fatigues at an outdoor press conference, SDF commanders announced the start of the operation against Raqqa in Ain Issa, some 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of the city.
“The major battle to liberate Raqqa and its surroundings has begun,” SDF spokeswoman Jihan Sheikh Ahmed said.
The operation, dubbed “Wrath of the Euphrates,” involves some 30,000 fighters and began on Saturday night, Ahmed said.
SDF spokesman Talal Sello told AFP it would proceed in two phases, first seizing areas around Raqqa and isolating the city, then taking control of the city itself.
SDF forces are advancing on three fronts, from Ain Issa and Tal Abyad to the north of Raqqa, and from the village of Makman to the east.
Isolate, then liberate
“The fight will not be easy, and will require accurate and careful operations because Daesh will defend its bastion knowing that the loss of Raqqa will mean it is finished in Syria,” Sello said.
An AFP correspondent in Ain Issa saw dozens of SDF fighters heading on vehicles toward the front line.
Driving the jihadists from Mosul and Raqqa has been the endgame since the US-led coalition launched air strikes against Daesh in the summer of 2014.
The coalition has also provided training and deployed hundreds of advisers to work with Iraqi forces and select Syrian fighters, including the SDF.
Sello said the alliance had received new weapons from the coalition for the Raqqa battle, including anti-tank missiles.
Another SDF source said 50 US military advisers would be involved in the operation, particularly to guide air strikes.
After it was seized by Daesh, Raqqa became the scene of some of the jihadists’ worst atrocities, from stonings and beheadings to the trading of sex slaves.
Thousands of foreign fighters flocked there to join Daesh, and US officials have described it as the nerve center for the group’s attacks abroad.
In Washington, a US official confirmed the start of the operation to capture the stronghold.
“We will first undertake an effort to isolate Raqqa to set the stage for an eventual assault on the city itself to liberate it,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
More complicated
Last month, US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said the idea of simultaneous operations against Mosul and Raqqa “has been part of our planning for quite a while.”
But the battle for Raqqa is far more complicated.
After five years of civil war, Syria is divided into a patchwork of fiefdoms, with President Bashar Assad’s regime, Daesh and a range of opposition forces all holding territory.
Dominated by the powerful Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), the SDF has in recent months flushed Daesh out of swathes of territory in northern Syria, including the flashpoint town of Manbij in August.
Washington has promoted the SDF as a key ally in the fight against Daesh, but the partnership is complicated by Turkey’s fierce opposition to the YPG.
Ankara considers the militia a “terrorist” group, and in August began its own operation inside northern Syria, targeting both Daesh and the YPG.
Sello said on Sunday that the SDF had “agreed definitively” with the United States “that there will be no role for Turkey or the armed factions allied with it in the operation” to capture Raqqa.
General Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, on Sunday made a previously unannounced visit to Ankara for talks with his Turkish counterpart, but no further details were immediately available.
Posted by: badanov ||
11/07/2016 00:00 ||
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#1
This is good - let's see if ISIS can fight on two fronts.
[AlAhram] La Belle France's defense minister says it will provide Arclight airstrikes to aid an offensive 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.... -held city of Raqqa in northern Syria.
Jean-Yves Le Drian told French radio Europe 1 on Sunday that "local territorial forces" should retake Raqqa, with air support from French, American and other coalition forces but no foreign ground troops.
The Syria Democratic Forces, a Kurdish-led group that includes Arab fighters and is backed by U.S. air power, announced the offensive earlier on Sunday. Raqqa is the de facto capital of the bad boy group's self-styled Islamic caliphate.
La Belle France has long suspected that IS planned last year's Gay Paree attacks in Raqqa.
Le Drian linked the battle for Raqqa with the Iraqi offensive against the IS-held city of djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... . The two cities are the largest urban areas still under IS control.
La Belle France began striking IS targets in Iraq in 2014 and in Syria the following year, including in Raqqa.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
11/07/2016 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV] Leb’s newly-elected President Michel Aoun ...a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hizbullah... has vowed to eliminate corruption and spare no effort to build a strong nation of united citizens.
"A strong nation needs a strong government to administer it, and a strong state is built in line with a constitution that is respected equally by all politicians," Aoun said in his inaugural address on Sunday to a crowd of thousands of supporters waving red, white and green Lebanese flags.
He said Leb "would no longer be linked to any other foreign country," adding, "We will manage our own affairs and deal with others in a friendly manner. Our independence and illusory sovereignty don’t mean to target anyone."
Posted by: Fred ||
11/07/2016 00:00 ||
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#1
A Moslem country is going to root out corruption?
[Iran Press TV] "Local" forces must be in the "vanguard" of a fight to capture the Syrian ISIS-held city of Raqqah, says the US special envoy to the so-called coalition against the Takfiri ...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who must be killed... terrorists.
Brett McGurk made the remarks while speaking Sunday at a news conference in Amman, the capital of Jordan, another member of the coalition, officially called the Global Coalition To Counter ISIS, which has been operating in Syria since September 2014 without any authorization from Damascus or a UN mandate.
"When it comes to Raqqah, we want force that ultimately liberates Raqqah that is primarily from the local area - Arabs from the area," McGurk told news hounds. "And so we have trained many of these fighters and that force will continue to grow as we get to the subsequent phase of the campaign."
His statement followed an announcement by some anti-government bully boy groups, known as Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), saying they had started operations to capture the ISIS de facto capital in the Moslem country.
The US-backed snuffies also said they would coordinate with the coalition forces.
McGurk referred to the announcement "came from the Syrian Democratic Forces, which is a coalition of Kurds and Arabs," saying, "I want to make very clear it is our principle priority throughout this campaign that the vanguard of the force that takes major territory from ISIS should be locally based forces."
Posted by: Fred ||
11/07/2016 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Islamic State
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.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] Floating silently above the city, brilliant white balloons with precision cameras stand watch here, silent guardians of the sky. Officially known as Aerostats, the balloons serve as sentinels protecting the people below.
Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda...
[Daily Excelsior] The three separatist leaders who have been calling for protests and shutdowns in 
chairman of one of the two factions of Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front. JKLF is a Kashmiri nationalist organization founded in Birmingham, UK in 1977. Branches weren't actually established in Kashmir for another ten years. It has the usual demands for separation of J&K from secular India so it can become an independent Islamic rathole. It seems to have no interest in Pak Kashmir breaking away to join it. In 1994 Malik renounced violence after he was released from jail and from that point he and his organization pursued peaceful means to impose their will on the region...
Michel Aoun
