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Today: 65 articles and 203 comments as of 10:41.
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Turkey backed rebel units close on Al-Bab
Today's Headlines
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Africa Horn
More Somali refugees opt for returning home
Despite a raging war in many parts of Somalia, many Somali refugees are choosing to return home, Somali and UN officials told Xinhua, while urging international support for this trend. Mariam Yassin Hagi Yussuf, a senior official in Somalia’s Office of the Prime Minister, told Xinhua in an interview in Kampala that many Somalis in the diaspora are choosing to return due to enhanced security back in Somalia.

“People miss home. If you feel you are stuck in your life, you are not moving, then it is better that you go back home,” said Yussuf, who is also in charge of children and migrants’ rights.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) over 200,000 of the 600,000 Somali refugees in Yemen have expressed willingness to return home. Another 200 Somali refugees in Djibouti are also willing to go home, while thousands are set to be voluntarily repatriated from Kenya.
How many have returned from Minneapolis?
To be fair, some have tried, but we arrested them for supporting terrorism.
They can always do 12 to 20 in a Federal pen, after which we can send them back to Mogadishu...
In anticipation of the increasing number of returnees, the Somali Government has established a national co-ordination mechanism where migration issues will be handled both at the federal and regional Government level.

Yussuf said the Government is also waiting for Parliament to enact a law on anti-trafficking and smuggling of migrants. According to the Somali Government, many local youths are being trafficked out of the country. Many end up being abused and some die on the Mediterranean Sea as they try to access Europe.

“We are tackling the root causes of migration starting from insecurity, insufficient education, and lack of job opportunities. By tackling the root causes, we believe we will reduce the risk of people leaving the country,” she added.

Mohamed Abdi Affey, UNHCR Special Envoy for the Somalia Refugee Situation, told Xinhua in an interview that the country is in a critical state and needs all the international support as many Somalis are willing to return home. He argued that the Somali crisis seems to have gone off the international agenda, which is now occupied by other emerging crises.
It would help if you guys could reach a political accord, stop the fighting, kill the Shaboobs, and spend the aid money a little more wisely...
“This return means there should be focus on facilities inside the country so that the conditions are bearable for those who are coming back,” he said on the sides of a regional meeting on migrants in eastern Africa.

Affey called for continued support of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), which, he said, had helped to bring relative peace in Somalia. He said the possible pull-out of some peacekeeping troops as some countries have suggested would be disastrous.

“AMISOM’s presence has contributed substantially to peace and stability of Somalia. I would request that any pull-out would be reconsidered before Somalia has a sufficient security force that can be able to protect its population,” he said.

Uganda, the largest troop contributor to the 22,000-strong African Union force, said it would pull out its troops by 2018 since it first deployed them in 2007. Kenya, another troop contributing country, also planned a withdrawal.

The AU Peace and Security Council in June said it planned to withdraw the entire contingent by October 2018, and by December 2020, the mission will have been fully transferred to the Mighty Somali National Army.
Posted by: Steve White || 11/14/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab


Africa North
Egypt to open Rafah border with Gaza for four days starting Monday
Countdown to the next Ansar Bayt al Maqdis terror attack commences... unless rhe purpose is to flush out the next round of targets.
[AlAhram] The Rafah border crossing with the Gazoo Strip will open for four days, starting from Monday till Friday, state owned MENA agency reported on Sunday.

According to the agency, the opening of the crossing comes based on orders by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.

The crossing will be open on both sides to allow humanitarian cases to cross.

Last month, the border crossing was also opened fon orders by El-Sisi to allow the entry of similar cases.

The Rafah border crossing between Gazoo and Sinai is the only way for the 1.8 million Paleostinians in Gazoo who have been living under Israeli siege since 2006 to enter and exit the strip.

The border with Egypt has been kept closed for most of the time by Egyptian authorities on security grounds for three years. Cairo periodically opens the border for short periods to allow civilians with foreign passports, Paleostinian students and those with medical needs to travel back and forth.
Posted by: trailing wife || 11/14/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Hamas


300 bodies of migrants recovered from Sabratha beach in 4 months
[Libya Observer] The team tasked by the Municipality of Sabratha to gather bodies of illegal immigrants colonists from the local shores succeeded in removing 300 bodies from the sea over the last four months, the last being 15 bodies last week alone, the Mayor said.

Mayor Hussein Dawadi said he is continuing his efforts to stem this flow and refuses to stand by helpless, pointing at the fact he had met with the Sheiks of Mosques that give Friday sermons and asked them to highlight this issue to the general public and to explain where the proceeds of such business stand Islamically.

Dawadi placed full responsibility on the UN proposed GNA and the Interior Ministry "For not addressing or giving the subject any thought".

The Municipality of Sabratha said on its Facebook page on Sunday "We have raised this worrying issue many times as the numbers of immigrants colonists and smugglers continues to rise and ruin the coastline by turning it into a main smuggler route".

It explained that those mainly responsible are the smugglers, their guardians, the civil societies and the general public by not participating in active demonstrations.

Posted by: Fred || 11/14/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Moslem Colonists


issam Ben Hamid: Skhirat agreement is conspiracy and implied occupation
[Libya Observer] The military official at the Benghazi Shura Council, Wissam Ben Hamid, described the Skhirat agreement that was brokered by the UN to resolve the Libyan political crisis as an implied occupation, adding that they ‐ like all honorable Libyans ‐ reject this implied occupation that is not only clear for grownups but also for little children.

In a an interview with AL Jazeera Net, Hamid said Khalifa Haftar
... served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all...
was brought to light to be the western countries’ tool as they have clear intentions of occupying Libya, indicating that Egypt, the UAE, and La Belle France are the biggest supporters of Haftar alongside former regime loyalists and Chadian mercenaries as well as Justice and Equality gangs.

"There many shreds of evidence to prove those facts." Ben Hamid explained.

He also refuted the accusations of the council being responsible for bombing residential areas in Benghazi, saying though were in full control of those areas, we left them to save the lives and properties of the people since Haftar would never mind ransacking entire blocks to attain his malicious aims.

"If we wanted to shell neighborhoods, we could have done so long ago and Haftar’s forces know we are capable of it just by remembering the time when targeted them with our rockets in the airport." He told AL Jazeera Net.

He also accused Haftar’s militias of kidnap, torture, murder, and tossing of bodies on the roads, pointing out the confessions made by their brass hats like Mohammed al-Hijazi, Fraj Aqaim and other Dignity Operation leaders.

"Benghazi Shura Council fighters’ morale is stepped up and they are keeping tight grip on their positions, though the Arclight airstrikes of the French and UAE warplanes hindered their advance." Ben Hamid added.

He concluded by saying that the forthcoming days shall reveal to Benghazi residents some joyful news so that they can enjoy a stable secure life in their city once again.

Posted by: Fred || 11/14/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Trump will make IS in Libya a priority says security adviser
[Libya Herald] A senior security adviser to 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 that the president-elect is going to make the destruction of IS including in Libya a priority.
That's wonderfully vague. It does not say whether it will be a high priority, a middle priority, or on the list to be got to after the dogcatchers union thingy is straightened out. Still, until he can trust his daily briefings aren't biased, how is Mr. Trump to properly order his priorities?
Former CIA director James Woolsey told the Italian newspaper La Stampa that the new administration would be committed to eradicating IS. He also said that Washington’s relations with Russia would be reordered.

US media are reporting that the US Africa Command (AFRICOM) which has sent in some 360 air strikes against IS positions in Sirte, is now analysing intelligence on bully boyz who had escaped the town. The Washington Post said that US commanders were concerned that IS would increase their attacks to the rear of Bunyan Marsous forces and elsewhere in the country. The intention was to be striking terrorist groups outside of Sirte but there was an overarching concern to avoid civilian casualties.

Trump’s victory was welcomed on both sides of the Libyan divide. Presidency Council chairman Faiez Serraj said that he hoped that the military and political support already given by the US to his Government of National Accord would continue and that the Libyan-US partnership would grow stronger.

There was no public comment from House of Representatives president Ageela Saleh. However,
Switzerland makes more than cheese...
parliament put out a statement requesting Trump’s support and asking for the lifting of the international arms embargo and the arming of the Libyan army in its fight against terrorism.

Nor has there been any public reaction from armed forces commander-in-chief Khalifa Hafter. Rooters quoted HoR member and Hafter loyalist Tariq Geroushi saying that he believed US Republicans understood the realities of terrorism in the country and would support the Libyan army. Geroushi’s father is Major-General Saqr Adam Geroushi, the air force commander whom Hafter is thought to be about to replace.

It is said that one of Hafter’s strongest backers, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, managed to be the very first international leader to get through to Trump on election night to congratulate him on his victory.
Posted by: Fred || 11/14/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  Trump will make IS in Libya a priority says security adviser

Do they really need automation?
Posted by: Skidmark || 11/14/2016 15:18 Comments || Top||


Arabia
Houthis face political problems after looting banks
I don't understand the problem. Did not Allah say the spoils must be divided among the warriors of Islam, and are not the Houthis those warrriors? Sheep may not protest being sheared -- it is their purpose.
Taiz, Aden- Yemeni cities are undergoing a national rage due to delayed salaries in the past three months by the Houthis, which are accused by the Yemeni government of robbing billions from the Central Bank of Yemen before being transferred into the temporary capital Aden.

Local sources and witnesses in Sana’a told Asharq al-Awsat that Houthis suppressed the protests sparked to demand the delivery of delayed salaries. Moreover, Houthis and pro-coup academics assaulted members in the Yemeni Teaching Union Coordinating Council in Sanaa University.

The assault coincided with intensive meetings held by academics in Sanaa University to consider protests escalation due to collapsing economic conditions since months. Academics accused the University President Fawzi al-Sagher, appointed by the Houthis, of reaching the meeting hall accompanied with armed people.

However, Sanaa University’s Vice President Dr. Mohammed Shoukri resigned after Houthi militias assaulted his colleagues in the Yemeni Teaching Union Coordinating Council.

Abdullah Abu al-Ghaith, representative of academics in Sanaa University, told Asharq al-Awsat that the assault took place in the presence of the university president who stood still and did not give orders to his accompanying armed people to arrest the offender.

Ghaith added that this is a proof that Houthis reached a deadlock in districts ruled by them—their actions mean that they failed to face these protests with reasonable excuses.

Teaching unions in the nine public universities started on Thursday a unified protest to demand their delayed salaries.

Since rebelling over the authority, Houthis militias and supporters of Yemen’s former President Ali Abdullah Saleh have been intimidating parties and organizations in Sana’a and other districts.
Posted by: badanov || 11/14/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Houthis


Soddys deploy the M-2 Bradley to deal with Houthis
Only two countries in the world are operating the Bradley Fighting Vehicle (BFV), among them Saudi Arabia who have been using the military vehicle near the borders against Yemen where Houthi militia threats are constant.

The Bradley is designed to transport infantry or scouts with armor protection, while providing covering fire to suppress enemy troops and armored vehicles. It was designed and manufactured by the United States’ BAE Systems.

Globally, the United States army has nearly 6,230 units of the Bradley while Saudi Arabia owns 400.
Posted by: badanov || 11/14/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Houthis

#1  BAE Systems, Inc. is the U.S. subsidiary of BAE Systems plc, a British=owned corporation.
Posted by: Heriberto Greper9897 || 11/14/2016 8:13 Comments || Top||

#2  As far as I have seen, a decent system, and it can kill tanks. WAAAY better that the 113. Will be interesting to see if the Soddy's can keep them maintained.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike || 11/14/2016 16:56 Comments || Top||


Britain
Sunlight: British ‘sharia courts’ come under scrutiny
[IsraelTimes] Government and parliamentary committee launch investigations amid accusations of discrimination against women.

For more than 30 years, sharia courts enforcing Islamic law have been operating quietly across Britannia. But two official inquiries have put them in the spotlight amid accusations that they discriminate against women.

Very little is known about them, even their number, which one study by the University of Reading puts at 30, while the British think tank Civitas estimates there are 85.

Sharia courts or councils, as they prefer to be called, mainly pronounce on Islamic divorces, which today constitute 90 percent of the cases they handle.

They range from groups of Moslem scholars attached to a mosque, to informal organizations or even a single imam.

But while they are aimed at helping resolve family and sometimes commercial conflicts within the Moslem community, some stand accused of undermining women’s rights.

Campaigners cite instances where courts have refused to grant religious divorces to women who are victims of domestic abuse, and accuse them of legitimizing violence, including marital rape.

The government and MPs on parliament’s home affairs committee both opened inquiries this year into whether the councils are actually compatible with British law.

They are looking into the function and possible discriminatory practices of the courts.

’Rise of the Islamist movement’
The first sharia court appeared in London in 1982 under the government of Margaret Thatcher, who rolled back state intervention in many areas, including mediation in family conflicts, which was delegated to faith groups.

But religious courts have existed for hundreds of years in Britannia, whether in the Catholic Church or in the Jewish community -- the Beth Din -- notes Amin al-Astewani, lecturer in law at Lancaster University.

As with sharia councils, the decisions of those bodies are not legally binding, but they represent a strong moral and social constraint for those who use them, he wrote in a submission to the parliamentary inquiry.

For Shaista Gohir, the chairwoman of Moslem Women’s Network UK who gave evidence to the parliamentary inquiry, sharia councils are useful for Moslems but should be framed by a "strong code of conduct."

She also urged the government to make civil marriage obligatory for couples marrying under Islamic law, to ensure women are legally protected, saying that 40% of women who contact her organization only had religious marriages.

But for other Moslem feminists, the courts constitute a "parallel legal system" and should be banned altogether.

An open letter to this effect was signed by more than 200 national and international women’s organizations, while legislation which would limit the scope of sharia councils has been put forward by a member of the House of Lords.

"They are discriminatory, they are abusive, they endorse and legitimize violence," in particular marital rape, Maryam Namazie, spokeswoman for the One Law for All campaign, told AFP.

She added: "These courts are linked to the rise of the Islamist movement. They are now saying that to be a good Moslem you have to go to these courts to get a divorce. It’s not the case."

Swiss political commentator Elham Manea, the author of "Women and Sharia Law" who has studied the phenomenon for four years, said the first councils were set up by Islamist groups.

"They have been working with a kind of a tacit approval of British establishment," she told AFP.

"There is a certain kind of hesitancy from British institutions to interfere in what they consider is internal affair to the Moslem community."

It remains to be seen whether the inquiries will change that situation, but they are already having some effect.

The London Central Mosque is attempting to organize the tribunals by bringing them under an umbrella group, the UK Board of Sharia Councils, which currently has 15 members.
Posted by: trailing wife || 11/14/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Salafists


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Suspects plotted 'Paris-style' attacks in Russia: Reports
[AlAhram] Suspects detained by Russian authorities were plotting simultaneous "Gay Paree-style" attacks on Moscow and Saint Petersburg, local media reported on Sunday, the first anniversary of the massacre in the French capital.

The FSB security service, the KGB's successor, announced Saturday it had detained 10 citizens of Central Asian states who planned "high-profile acts of sabotage and terror" in the two Russian cities.

Saint Petersburg's Fontanka.ru news site reported Sunday that the seven people taken into custody in the city were suspected of planning attacks on two large shopping centres, citing official sources.

Government newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta reported late Saturday, citing security service sources, that the detainees "were planning terror attacks according to the Gay Paree scenario" referring to 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 attacks a year ago that killed 130 people.

"Several bombs were supposed to trigger simultaneously in busy places. At the same time in different parts of the cities some of the terrorists... were going to open fire with machine guns on crowds," the paper reported, referring to the Russian plot.

Rossiiskaya Gazeta called the attackers "a professional terrorist group."

The FSB said it confiscated four homemade bombs as well as trigger devices, guns, ammunition and communications equipment.

Authorities did not say when the attack plot was to take place.

The security service released video footage of its black-clad officers in balaclavas holding two suspects facedown on the street.

Another video shows a stash of Kalashnikovs in a flat and detainees lying facedown on mattresses on the floor.

The FSB said the raids were carried out in cooperation with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan's law enforcement authorities.

Impoverished majority-Moslem Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan both say they are battling Islamist extremism. Tajikistan says that up to 1,000 of its nationals are fighting with radical groups in Syria and Iraq, while Kyrgyzstan says that some 500 of its citizens have gone to fight alongside jihadists.

The Tajik interior ministry said it learned of the planned attacks from an alleged local accomplice of the group and passed the information to Russia.

The FSB released footage of a handcuffed suspect -- apparently a teenager -- who says he is a Tajik citizen. He says he wanted to commit a "terrorist attack" in Moscow and that his brother is taking part in "jihad" in Syria.

Fontanka reported those detained in Saint Petersburg "devotedly follow the ideology of Islamic State group" and one said he had fought in Syria.

"The majority are admitting guilt," Fontanka reported.

Membership of a "terrorist organization" is punishable by up to 20 years in prison under Russian law while leading one is punishable by up to life in jail.
Posted by: trailing wife || 11/14/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


India-Pakistan
‘Balochistan govt hindering inquiry into Quetta Civil Hospital attack’
[DAWN] QUETTA: Discrepancy in remarks by the Balochistan
...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it...
chief minister, the government spokesperson and the Quetta DIG had only damaged proceedings on the attack on Sandeman Civil Hospital in Quetta, Justice Qazi Faez Isa, who is heading the Supreme Court judicial commission’s inquiry into the attack, noted during Saturday’s hearing.

He remarked that it appeared as if the provincial government was deliberately trying to impede the court’s proceedings. "Controversies and difference in statements...have created the impression that the provincial government is deliberately trying to damage court proceedings."

He said that the chief minister had claimed that the criminal mastermind behind the attack had been incarcerated
Book 'im, Mahmoud!
while the Quetta DIG had denied any knowledge of the development. The judge also raised questions about a statement of a government spokesperson in this regard.

"The judicial commission will not allow the government to play politics. We will call the chief minister to appear before the commission to record his statement regarding the arrest of the man behind the attack," Justice Isa said.

Sandeman Civil Hospital Resident Medical Officer Dr Javed Akhtar submitted that the kaboom had occurred while he was entering the X-ray room. "Then I saw people bathed in blood," he said.

He told the commission that doctors, paramedics and nurses had not moved to provide emergency first aid. He said that routine patients had been registered in the hospital register, but, the people injured in the blast could not be registered. He submitted an X-ray of Advocate Bilal Anwar Kasi showing a bullet lodged in the body.

The DIG told the commission that police personnel had taken into custody
Into the paddy wagon wit' yez!
the mobile phones of the dear departed and injured lawyers to obtain data. He said the government had made it seem as if the coppers had stolen their mobile phones.

Advocate Masoom Kakar, a witness, submitted that law enforcement personnel had arrived at the hospital almost half an hour after the attack had occurred. During that time, media people were busy shooting footage of the dear departed and injured lawyers instead of helping them, he said.

"Lawyers conducted the rescue operation as neither law enforcement personnel nor media persons present there had helped us," he said. Later, the law enforcement officials arrived at the hospital and ordered the lawyers to vacate the hospital saying that the army chief and other VVIPs were arriving, Mr Kakar said. Scores of lawyers were killed and injured in the suicide kaboom at the Sandeman Civil Hospital in Quetta on Aug 8.

Posted by: Fred || 11/14/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Reports about MQM unification under Musharraf persist
[DAWN] The unexplained visits of two big shots of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement
...English: United National Movement, generally known as MQM, is the 3rd largest political party and the largest secular political party in Pakistain with particular strength in Sindh. From 1992 to 1999, the MQM was the target of the Pak Army's Operation Cleanup leaving thousands of urdu speaking civilians dead...
(MQM) to the United Arab Emirates in a short span of time have fuelled speculation that Dubai-based retired Gen Pervez Perv Musharraf
... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ...
has intensified efforts for the unification of different factions of the party.

The city on Saturday was abuzz with reports that senior MQM leader Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui flew to Dubai on Friday where he met the former military dictator who is more than willing to unite the Dr Farooq Sattar-led MQM and the Pak Sarzameen Party led by former Bloody Karachi
...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
mayor Mustafa Kamal.

Dr Siddiqui returned home on Saturday morning.

While those representing Mr Musharraf on the social media remained tight-lipped about his political engagements in the UAE, the MQM promptly denied the meeting.

A spokesperson for the MQM, Aminul Haq, rejected reports of the meeting and said Dr Siddiqui was in Pakistain. "He did not meet any politician, including Gen Pervez Musharraf."

He, however, confirmed that Dr Siddiqui, MQM’s deputy parliamentary party leader in the National Assembly, visited Dubai for "less than 24 hours", but said his trip was strictly personal in nature.

Posted by: Fred || 11/14/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Iraq
Marked by an X: Kurds destroying Arab homes
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Security forces of Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government have unlawfully destroyed large numbers of Arab homes, and sometimes entire villages, in areas retaken from ISIS, Human Rights Watch
... During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2011, HRW received a pledge from the Foundation to Promote Open Society, of which George Soros is Chairman, for general support totaling $100,000,000. The grant is being paid in installments of $10,000,000 over ten years.Through June 30, 2013, HRW had received $30,000,000 towards the fulfillment of the pledge....
has reported.

HRW reported the atrocities in an 80-page report titled "Marked with an ’X’: Iraqi Kurdish Forces’ destruction of villages, homes in conflict with ISIS," and looked at destruction of homes between September 2014 and May 2016 in disputed areas of Kirkuk and Nineveh governorates.

"Forcing families out of their homes and into the streets or to unsafe parts of the country is a serious violation of their rights and does nothing to strengthen Iraq’s political cohesion," said Lama Fakih, HRW’s deputy Middle East director.

A video embedded below obtained by HRW shows homes of Arabs that were evicted from the June First neighborhood of Kirkuk and demolished between October 23 and 25.
Posted by: Fred || 11/14/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iraq

#1  So Kurds have learned.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 11/14/2016 0:51 Comments || Top||

#2  Odd they don't mention why they were evicted. Perhaps they were collaborators or ISIS members of supporters.

I'm guessing a *lot* of things happened while ISIS dominated which HRW doesn't mention. Very nasty things...
Posted by: CrazyFool || 11/14/2016 1:06 Comments || Top||

#3  Sounds like the Kurds are just giving back what they were subject to.
Posted by: Rob Crawford || 11/14/2016 7:10 Comments || Top||

#4  ...sort of like the Russians treating Germans for what they did in the homeland.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 11/14/2016 8:41 Comments || Top||

#5  Perhaps they were collaborators or ISIS members of supporters.

Or too full of bombs and boobytraps to be safely dismantled. The text of the article does not say that people were forced out of the buildings in order to destroy them.
Posted by: trailing wife || 11/14/2016 12:10 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Misery in Aleppo tempered by Kurd merchants
Beirut- As the humanitarian state worsens in the neighborhoods of eastern Aleppo, Syria’s northern capital, incidents are reported of Kurdish parties members breaking through the regime-imposed siege and successfully smuggling both medical and food aid.

Russia, a long-term ally of Syrian regime head Bashar al-Assad launched a vicious air campaign supporting regime ground forces in September last year. The incessant bombardment of both opposition-held and regime-signed areas had received international condemnation.

Many opposition-held areas in eastern Aleppo now face not only fire and bombardment but also a dire case of starvation and insufficient sustenance.

Russia held a 10-hour pause in fighting on November 4 and a three-day truce in late October.

Sheikh Maqsood, a Kurdish-majority Aleppo region, had been home to many distant and close relatives of families held under siege in eastern Aleppo neighborhoods. Many of the family members and Kurdish shopkeepers established a backdoor route to opposition-held neighborhoods as to deliver whatever is possible in humanitarian relief.

Social integration and sense of humanity, in addition to sideline trade opportunity, had been the chief drive behind Kurdish activists, businessmen and civilians embarking on the quest to cast of a life to Aleppo’s east, Kurdish sources said.

Despite Sheikh Maqsood being on the receiving end of rebel-fire every now and then, the desperate situation in areas facing deadlock had served as a crossover bridge to overcome any tensions, sources added.

Russia’s defense ministry had earlier dismissed as “counterproductive” a request from the United Nations to extend future pauses in fighting to allow aid into rebel-held eastern Aleppo as winter comes.

The ministry said it received a request from the head of a UN-backed humanitarian task-force for Syria, Jan Egeland, to make future breaks in fighting longer to allow in aid supplies.

Egeland earlier warned that the “last food rations” were being distributed in eastern Aleppo after four months of deadlock.

On the other hand, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday it would need the U.N. mission in Syria to formally confirm its ability to deliver aid to eastern Aleppo before Moscow agreed to any new humanitarian pauses in fighting in the shattered Syrian city.
Posted by: badanov || 11/14/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Rooshuns reinforce naval forces in eastern Med
A flotilla of Russian warships is ready in the eastern Mediterranean off the Syrian coast after being sent to reinforce Russia’s military in the area, a naval commander said on state television.

State television said the army swept the suburban area for land mines after regaining full control.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based war monitor, said the army and its allies made several advances on the divided city’s western edge this week, hampering the rebel offensive to break the siege on opposition-held districts. Syrian government forces took Minian village and nearby positions, which were captured by rebels last month, the Observatory said.

Zakaria Malahifji, head of the political office of the Fastaqim rebel group fighting in Aleppo, confirmed the army’s advances.

“Of course, when the regime takes control, it has a negative effect, but there is persistence” among the factions, he said. “And hopefully there will be change in the coming days.”

Syrian government forces launched a major Russian-backed assault on eastern Aleppo in September after besieging the area, which the United Nations says is home to 275,000 people.

The commander of Russia’s flagship Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier, Sergei Artamonov, said via videolink that the warships are now in the “designated zone... in the eastern Mediterranean” and “are now jointly carrying out tasks, manoeuvering to the west of the Syrian coast.”

The battle group has traveled to Syria from the North Sea through the English Channel in the biggest such naval deployment in recent years as part of Russia’s military intervention in Syria.

Russia has been flying a bombing campaign in Syria for the past year in support of President Bashar Assad and has deployed a naval contingent to back up its operation.

The naval task force has been monitored closely by NATO, whose chief Jens Stoltenberg voiced concern the ships would be used to support the Russian military operation in Syria and “increase human and civilian suffering.”

The ship’s commander was speaking to a presenter on Russia-1 television from inside the Defense Ministry for a news show that will air this evening in Moscow. He confirmed that aircraft are already taking off from the ship’s deck to view the conflict zone.

“The flights have been going on practically every day for the last four days,” he added.

Russia’s Interfax news agency on Friday had cited a Russian military and diplomatic source as saying that Russian MiG and Sukhoi jets have been regularly flying into Syrian airspace from the Kuznetsov to “determine combat missions.” The Russian television channel also spoke to the commander of the Pyotr Veliky nuclear-powered battle cruiser, which is part of the same flotilla.

Asked whether foreign aircraft were flying over the ships, the commander, Vladislav Malakhovsky, said “they are afraid to come closer than 50 kms away, realizing very well how powerful the nuclear cruiser is.”
Posted by: badanov || 11/14/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  And the first MiG-29K has ditched. Pilot rescued.
Posted by: Knuckles Whaising3001 || 11/14/2016 13:25 Comments || Top||

#2  And still no NATO Navy.
Posted by: Skidmark || 11/14/2016 15:17 Comments || Top||


Arab states send complaint letter against Iran to UN
No doubt someone at the UN will express Official Concern before going in search of afternoon tea,
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Eleven Arab countries have sent a letter of complaint to the United Nations
...an idea whose time has gone...
voicing their concerns of Iran’s continuous expansion of their policies in the region, Al Arabiya News channel reported.

The letter condemned Iran's role in Yemen
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic...
and their support and training of Houthi
...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews ...
militias, as well as the smuggling of arms to them.

The Gulf Cooperation Council countries, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Sudan and Yemen sent the letter to Peter Thomson, the president of the UN General Assembly 71st session, and was distributed to UN state members.

The letter comes in response to the false allegations which the Iranian delegation made on September 26 during the general debate of the UN General Assembly.

The letter voiced concerns of Iran’s calls for a revolution, adding that Iran sponsors terrorism in Leb, Syria and Yemen and supports terrorist cells and groups in Bahrain, Iraq, Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
, Kuwait and other countries.

It also said that the operation Decisive Storm was launched upon the request of the legitimate government in Yemen and slammed Iran's attempts to stir sectarian strife in the region.

Posted by: Fred || 11/14/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  Now, that's funny.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 11/14/2016 0:45 Comments || Top||


Iran missiles also ‘produced in Iraq, Syria’
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Hussein Sheikh al-Islam, the advisor to the Iranian foreign affairs minister, said Iranian missiles are not only manufactured in Syria but in other countries in the region as well.

He said Iran expanded its missiles’ production outside its borders due to the "increasing Israeli threats in the region."

Although he did not reveal much about the production Iranian missiles, he said Iraq is one of the countries where ballistic missiles are produced.

His statements come two days after the Iranian chief of staff said that manufacturing ballistic missiles has been carried out in Aleppo during the past years.

An agency affiliated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards has recently acknowledged that Houthi
...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews ...
militias have used Iranian missiles. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif, however, has denied the statements.

Meanwhile,
...back at the wreckage, Captain Poindexter wished he had a cup of coffee. Even instant would do...
the Iranian opposition outside Iran called on the UN Security Council to impose strict sanctions on Mahan Air and confirmed it’s owned by the Revolutionary Guards.

The opposition also said that the airliner transfers of weapons, equipment and Revolutionary Guards’ members to Syria adding that this was a flagrant violation of the UN Security Council resolutions.

Posted by: Fred || 11/14/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  Remind me again why Mr. Obama wanted to lift sanctions against Iran.
Posted by: Pappy || 11/14/2016 7:51 Comments || Top||

#2  Iranian Explosives Found in Afghanistan

By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Sept. 10, 2009 – Iranian-made explosives and rockets were among a cache of weapons uncovered in Afghanistan last month, a Pentagon spokesman said today.
The stockpile, which Afghan National Security Forces seized Aug. 29 in the western city of Herat, consisted of Iranian rockets, improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, and other bomb-making materials, Bryan Whitman told Pentagon reporters today. Afghan forces also arrested two people affiliated with the weapons, he said.
“Iran continues to play a destabilizing role in the region,” Whitman said.
The discovery of the IEDs -- the biggest single cause of American casualties in Afghanistan -- and other weapons marks the first discovery of such Iranian-manufactured weapons in the country in about two years, Whitman said. Troops last uncovered Iranian explosives in Farah province in October 2007.
Whitman acknowledged the difficulty in determining when the weapons arrived and said the most recent discovery does not constitute a trend.


Link to DoD news.
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/14/2016 7:55 Comments || Top||


Terror Networks
As battle in Mosul unfolds, ISIS looks to Pakistan for fresh recruits
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] ISIS is increasing its presence in Pakistain, recruiting Uzbek turbans, attracting disgruntled Taliban fighters and partnering with one of Pakistain’s most violent sectarian groups, according to coppers, Taliban officials and analysts.

Its latest atrocity was an attack Saturday on a Sufi shrine in southwestern Pakistain that killed at least 50 people and maimed 100 others. The group said in a statement that a jacket wallah attacked the shrine with the intent of killing Shiite Moslems and issued a picture of the attacker.

When ISIS circulated a photograph of one of the attackers in last month’s deadly assault on a police academy in southwestern Balochistan
...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it...
province, two Taliban officials told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named that the attacker was an Uzbek, most likely a member of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.

The Taliban officials, both of whom are familiar with the IMU, spoke on condition of anonymity because their leadership has banned them from talking to the media.

Authorities initially said the police academy attack was orchestrated by bully boyz hiding out in Afghanistan and blamed Pakistain’s virulently anti-Shiite group, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi
... a 'more violent' offshoot of Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistain. LeJ's purpose in life is to murder anyone who's not of utmost religious purity, starting with Shiites but including Brelvis, Ahmadis, Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Rosicrucians, and just about anyone else you can think of. They are currently a wholly-owned subsidiary of al-Qaeda ...
. But ISIS later grabbed credit and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi front man Ali Bin Sufyan said they partnered with ISIS to carry out the assault.

Posted by: Fred || 11/14/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Government
Trump vows to immediately deport up to three million undocumented immigrants
[DAWN] 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...
will keep his vow to deport millions of undocumented immigrants colonists from the United States, he said in an interview to be broadcast on Sunday, saying as many as three million could be removed after he takes office.

"What we are going to do is get the people that are criminal and have criminal records, gang members, drug pushers, where a lot of these people, probably two million, it could be even three million -- we are getting them out of our country or we are going to incarcerate," Trump said in an excerpt released ahead of broadcast by CBS's 60 Minutes programme.
That would be a good start. His base would be pleased and -- I'll predict -- a number of Democrats would go along.
The billionaire real estate baron made security at the US-Mexico border a central plank of his holy warrior presidential campaign, which resulted in last Tuesday's election victory against his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton
... former first lady, former secretary of state, former presidential candidate, sometimes described by her supporters as the smartest woman in the world, usually described by the rest of us as a crook...
Trump added that the barrier to be erected on the US border with Mexico may not consist entirely of brick and mortar, but that fencing could be used in some areas.

"There could be some fencing," Trump says in his first primetime interview since being elected president last week.

"But (for) certain areas, a wall is more appropriate. I'm very good at this, it's called construction," he tells CBS.
Snicker
Posted by: Fred || 11/14/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I'd say restrict housing to citizens and legal residents. If illegals are found renting or owning property, be it a house or car, the property and half of any money they have is forfeited to the US government, it's auctioned off, and the proceeds go towards building the wall. The residents are free to go wherever they choose. Eventually, they'll all head to the sanctuary cities on airplanes, buses and trains, whereupon they will quickly wear out their welcome. Problem solved.
Posted by: gorb || 11/14/2016 0:53 Comments || Top||

#2  Hold the officials of sainctuary cities personally responsible for the conduct of their 'wards' after they refuse to turn over said wards. Start charging mayors and city council members as acessories to federal crimes and this crap will stop.
Posted by: CrazyFool || 11/14/2016 1:01 Comments || Top||

#3  Anytime an illegal commits a violent crime, charge those giving them sanctuary for depriving the victims of their civil rights under color of law.
Posted by: Rob Crawford || 11/14/2016 7:08 Comments || Top||

#4  Once deported, strip them of any legal standing if they return. Congress can restrict what the courts can review.

In all the other cases before mentioned, the Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and fact, with such exceptions, and under such regulations as the Congress shall make.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 11/14/2016 7:51 Comments || Top||

#5  A key first step and a deterrent.
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/14/2016 7:57 Comments || Top||

#6  Illegals caught a second time should be recycled as organ donors
Posted by: Silentbrick || 11/14/2016 12:12 Comments || Top||

#7  Be sure to get photo, fingerprints, DNA, photos of tattoos and any other useful information during processing, to make things easier should they try to sneak back. Also giving copies of that information to Mexico for the criminals among them would be a gesture of goodwill.
Posted by: trailing wife || 11/14/2016 13:03 Comments || Top||

#8  I suppose notching an ear is out of the question.
Posted by: SteveS || 11/14/2016 14:08 Comments || Top||

#9  All great ideas.
At least this presidential dialog continues.
Posted by: Skidmark || 11/14/2016 15:20 Comments || Top||

#10  gorb has the right idea. Make renting to anyone who can't prove they are a legal resident illegal. ditto sub-letting.

Singapore does this, with a minimum sentence of 6 months jail.
Posted by: phil_b || 11/14/2016 19:20 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
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2Govt of Iraq
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1Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (IS)

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Two weeks of WOT
Mon 2016-11-14
  Turkey backed rebel units close on Al-Bab
Sun 2016-11-13
  Rangers kill Jundallah chief in Hub
Sat 2016-11-12
  Iraqi forces massing to break into Mosul airport
Fri 2016-11-11
  Iraqi forces capture Zahar district of Mosul
Thu 2016-11-10
  30 al-Qaeda fighters die in security operation in Yemen
Wed 2016-11-09
  Two ‘LJ militants’ held for killing Amjad Sabri, army personnel
Tue 2016-11-08
  German police arrest five in raid on 'IS network'
Mon 2016-11-07
  74 die in rebel Aleppo offensive
Sun 2016-11-06
  Human Shields, Barricades Slow Iraqi Advance Into Mosul
Sat 2016-11-05
  Ten-member jihadi cell linked to ISIS 'led by fundamentalist preacher was planning attacks on Sydney'
Fri 2016-11-04
  12 Die In Rocket Attack At Faryab Wedding Ceremony
Thu 2016-11-03
  Top Haqqani network commander killed in Paktika province
Wed 2016-11-02
  Mali: One branch of Mourabitounes pledges fealty to ISIS
Tue 2016-11-01
  300 Syrian "Cubs of the Caliphate" said killed fighting for IS in Mosul
Mon 2016-10-31
  19 Lashkar-e-Taiba Terrorists Killed In Airstrikes In Afghanistan

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