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Today: 65 articles and 136 comments as of 12:18.
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Area: WoT Operations    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix   
5 terrorist suspects arrested in Brussels after arms, ammo & drugs seized in police raids
Today's Headlines
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Page 2: WoT Background
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Page 3: Non-WoT
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3 15:02 Skidmark []
8 12:03 Anguper Hupomosing9418 []
4 20:38 KBK []
1 08:08 Crinegum Ulaigum2776 []
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Page 4: Opinion
3 22:48 Blossom Unains5562 [1]
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13 20:10 phil_b []
2 15:37 M. Murcek []
4 17:43 Seeking cure for ignorance []
1 08:24 JohnQC []
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Page 6: Politix
6 21:34 DarthVader [1]
6 22:28 Alaska Paul [1]
21 17:44 Crusader []
13 15:16 Skidmark [1]
-Lurid Crime Tales-
Indian man calls in hijack hoax to avoid trip away with girlfriend
[RT] For most, a romantic getaway with their beloved is a date etched in the calendar, but for one Indian man the idea was so off-putting he made a hoax airplane hijack threat to get out of the trip with his girlfriend.

The now presumably single, M. Vamshi Krishna, who reportedly sent an email to Mumbai police warning of hijack attempts at three Indian airports last week, was incarcerated
You have the right to remain silent...
by police in Hyderabad on Thursday.

Krishna sent an anonymous email last week presenting himself as a concerned Indian woman who overheard a group of 23 men plotting a string of hijackings at the Mumbai, Hyderabad and Chennai airports.

The airports, some of India’s busiest, were all put on high alert following the threat, with special anti-sabotage sweeps carried out at each. The apparent threat made headlines around the world.
Posted by: Fred || 04/23/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "romantic getaway" at a shoe store possibly? Justifiable if so. /sarc
Posted by: Blossom Unains5562 || 04/23/2017 0:30 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan
Taliban claims 4 of its fighters had enrolled before the attack on army base
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Talibs group claim four of its fighters had enrolled in the 209th Shaheen Corps months before to plan and coordinate the attack on the army base.

The Taliban
...the Pashtun equiovalent of men...
group front man Zabiullah Mujahid released the picture of the ten jacket wallahs who launched the attack on Friday afternoon.

Taliban claims around 500 army personnel were killed or maimed during the attack.

However,
women are made to be loved, not understood...
the 209th Corps of the Afghan Army said around 11 armu personnel bit the dust in the attack and around 15 others were maimed.

The murderous Moslems involved in the attack have been identified as Ahmad Safi Balkhi, Mullah Lal Mohammad Nangarhar
The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country..
i, Hafiz Nematullah 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....
i, Qari Feda Mohammad Baghlani, Hafiz Zabiullah Kunduzi, Eng. Talha Wardak, Mullah Jawad Kandahari, Hafiz Zia-ur-Rehman Khosti, Abdul Basir Parwani, and Mohammad Nabi Ghaznawi.

The attack forced President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani
...former chancellor of Kabul University, now president of Afghanistan. Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002 he was a scholar of political science and anthropology. He worked at the World Bank working on international development assistance. As Finance Minister of Afghanistan between July 2002 and December 2004, he led Afghanistan's attempted economic recovery until the Karzais stole all the money. ..
to make an unannounced visit to the northern Balkh province.

The Ministry of Defense confirmed the attack was carried out by a group of at least ten murderous Moslems who had disguised themselves in the Afghan army uniform to infiltrate inside the base.

The defense officials are saying that one of the suicide bombers was nabbed
Drop the rod and step away witcher hands up!
while the other one managed to detonate his explosives, opening the way for the other murderous Moslems to start firing on the soldiers.

In the meantime, Colonel John Thomas, a front man for the U.S. military’s Central Command, told Rooters earlier that "We’re talking probably more than 50 casualties."

Thomas further added "There is a mosque and a dining facility on the base that seemed to, at this point from our reports, be the subject of significant attack from enemy forces."

However,
women are made to be loved, not understood...
the 209th Shaheen Corps later said 11 army personnel bit the dust and around 15 others sustained injuries, rejecting the reports given by the officials regarding the massive casualties inflicted to the security forces.

Posted by: Fred || 04/23/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  seems thia shoud be wot ops

also, this infiltration tactic seems to have worked against the Afghan govt at least a half dozen times before - haven't they ever heard of daily passwords
Posted by: lord garth || 04/23/2017 0:19 Comments || Top||

#2  seems thia shoud be wot ops

The report of the attack was P.1, lord garth. The discussion afterward is P.2: WoT Background.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/23/2017 10:42 Comments || Top||


Africa Horn
EU calls to fight resurgent piracy off Somali coast
[SHABELLENEWS] The resurgent piracy attacks off the vast Somali coastline is a result of the growing insecurity in the Horn of Africa region, which calls for renewed security partnership to defeat, a commander of an international naval task force against piracy told Xinhua.

Commander Jacqui Sheriff, Spokesperson for the European Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) operating off the Somali coastline to deter piracy along the Indian Ocean coastline and in the Gulf of Aden, said pirates have felt the need to return to sea in the middle of heightened insecurity in recent months.

"The EU NAVFOR warships and maritime patrol aircraft are continuing to work with maritime partners to deter armed pirate attacks," Sherriff said in a recent interview.

The EU NAVFOR and China’s PLA Navy have formed the bedrock of international naval collaboration to defeat rampant acts of piracy along the Indian Ocean coastline and the Gulf of Aden.

The Chinese navy was instrumental in the rescue of an Indian vessel, Al Kausar, which was hijacked on April 3 as it headed to the Port of Bossasso.

This was the second such incident in weeks after several months of calm in a region where up to 237 attacks were reported during the peak piracy period in 2011.

Posted by: Fred || 04/23/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Pirates

#1  What's needed here is a catch and release program, where Somali pirates are caught off east Africa and then released off of Algeria, Tunisia and Libya. Puts the pirates to work cutting down the refugee flow. Everybody wins(except the refugees, and that's why they're refugees).
Posted by: ed in texas || 04/23/2017 9:54 Comments || Top||


Africa Subsaharan
Buratai gives reason for success in war against Boko Haram terrorists
[DAILYTRUST.NG] The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai said the lessons he learnt from the Bangladesh National Defence while on course had been very useful in the counter insurgency operations in the North-East.

Buratai made this known in Lagos, on Saturday when he received the Bangladesh Army Chief of Staff, Gen. Abu Shafiul Huq.

According to him, the lessons are partly responsible for the success being recorded in the fight against the 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...
terrorists.

"The Bangladesh experience in counter insurgency is something that I brought to bear in the efforts to rid Nigeria of Boko Haram since my appointment as the Chief of army staff," he said.

According to him, he attended the Bangladesh National Defence course in 2008.

He urged military around the world to take the issue of insurgency and terrorism seriously because they were difficult battle to overcome.

"Counter insurgency should be utmost importance to army across the world, the army in particular bears the brunt as they confront gunnies in very difficult terrain and indeed, sometimes within the population.

"It is a very, very difficult experience and it will continue to be difficult but it ‐ insurgency can be countered through the use of intelligence.

"Counter insurgency is at best an intelligence operation," he said.

Earlier, Huq commended the the Nigerian army for the success it had recorded in the fight against the Boko Haram terrorists.

He said both his country and Nigeria had a lot of experience and knowledge to share in counter insurgency operations.

Huq said his visit was to explore ways both countries could further strengthen their relationship.

The Bangladesh army chief is to visit the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Gabriel Olonisakin in Abuja and some military formation while on a five-day visit to Nigeria.

Posted by: Fred || 04/23/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Boko Haram (ISIS)


China-Japan-Koreas
Chinese jihadis’ rise in Syria raises concerns at home
[IsraelTimes] Organized, battle-hardened and numbering in the thousands, members of the Turkistan Islamic Party have fought in the ranks of al-Qaeda, Islamic State and other bully boy groups.

Many don’t speak Arabic and their role in Syria is little known to the outside world, but the Chinese fighters of the Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria are organized, battled-hardened and have been instrumental in ground offensives against Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Terror of Aleppo ...
’s forces in the country’s northern regions.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/23/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: East Turkestan Islamic Movement


N. Korea accuses Australia of ‘blinding toeing US line,’ threatens nuclear strike
[RT] North Korea has warned Australia of a possible nuclear strike if it continues to "blindly and zealously toe the US line." It comes after Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said Pyongyang poses a "serious threat" to peace and stability in the region.

"If Australia persists in following the US moves to isolate and stifle the DPRK and remains a shock brigade of the US master, this will be a suicidal act of coming within the range of the nuclear strike of the strategic force of the DPRK," a front man for the North Korean Foreign Ministry said, as quoted by the official KCNA news agency.

The threat comes after Bishop said earlier this week that North Korea is on a "path to achieving nuclear weapons capability," posing an "unacceptable" risk to the region. She added that its efforts must be stopped by the international community.

Those comments were not taken well by North Korea, with the front man referring to them as a "string of rubbish."
Posted by: Fred || 04/23/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Commies


Down Under
Australia unveils major changes to citizenship process
[BBC] Australia will make it more difficult to gain citizenship in a major overhaul of its migration process.

Aspiring citizens will undergo tougher tests on their English language skills and ability to demonstrate "Australian values", PM Malcolm Turnbull said.
[MODS: Australia .gif HERE]
Applicants must also have completed four years as a permanent resident - three years longer than at present.

The move comes two days after Australia unveiled stricter visa requirements for skilled workers from overseas.

Mr Turnbull said the changes would ensure that migrants were better integrated into the community.

"It is important that they understand that they are making a commitment to our Australian values," he said.

What are the changes?

In explaining what constituted "Australian values", Mr Turnbull said migrants must demonstrate support for religious freedom and gender equality.

"Respect for women and children ... that is a key Australian value," he said, adding domestic violence would not be tolerated.

What exactly are 'Australian values'?

Other changes to the citizenship process include:

A more stringent English language test involving reading, writing, listening and speaking;

Providing evidence of integration into the community, such as employment history, school enrolment or membership of community organisations;

Having already been a permanent resident for at least four years;

Allowing applicants to apply only three times, and automatically failing anyone who cheats on a test.

When asked about reports that applicants would be quizzed on whether they supported forced child marriage or female genital mutilation, Mr Turnbull said it was important to "reinforce our values".

"If we believe that respect for women and children [is an Australian value]... then why should that not be made a key part, a fundamental part, a very prominent part, of our process to be an Australian citizen?"

Tightening rules

The requirements would apply to all new applications for citizenship, the government said.

On Tuesday, the government said it would replace a controversial visa scheme to make it harder for foreign nationals to work in Australia.

Mr Turnbull said both announcements had been made in the national interest.

The opposition Labor Party accused Mr Turnbull of making announcements for political gain.
...of course...
"It seems a little odd to me that you would actually ask people whether or not they are going to obey the law when they already pledge to obey the law," said Labor senator Penny Wong.
Posted by: Blossom Unains5562 || 04/23/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Moslem Colonists

#1  What exactly are 'Australian values'?

Beer & prawns?
Posted by: Classer || 04/23/2017 1:35 Comments || Top||

#2  Locking the door, etc...
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 04/23/2017 2:48 Comments || Top||

#3  Oh lord, where is the international outrage?
Posted by: chris || 04/23/2017 9:27 Comments || Top||

#4  if it wasn't the bbc I'd read the article.
Posted by: Craick Ebberetle7364 || 04/23/2017 11:09 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Anti-terrorism court seeks mental health report of man accused of blasphemy in Chitral
[DAWN] An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Saturday directed the local police to constitute a medical board and submit a detailed report regarding the mental and physical health of a man tossed in the clink
Please don't kill me!
on allegations of blasphemy in Chitral.
Oh good. We were concerned about that yesterday.
On Friday, an angry mob attacked and beat the man inside the historical Shahi Mosque in Chitral after he was accused of making blasphemous remarks during Friday prayers.

The mosque's imam, fearing for the man's life, handed him over to the police.

The crowd turned violent after the blasphemy accused was handed over to the police and ransacked a cop shoppe. They also torched the vehicle of the imam.

Chitral Town police booked the man on charges of blasphemy and terrorism, and produced him before a ATC for physical remand.

The ATC judge rejected the request for physical remand of the accused and ordered them to submit a medical report. The judge also instructed the concerned authorities to form a medical board for a detailed report on the accused’s physical and mental state.

Special security arrangements were also made on the occasion and the man was shifted to jail after the hearing.

Tension continued to grip the district as a large number of people marched and tried to reach Chitral Town to protest against the accused.

District administration has imposed Section 144 to prevent any untoward incident from happening. Security was also put on high alert and Frontier Corp personnel were deployed to entry and exit points deemed sensitive.

Chitral Deputy Commissioner Shahab Hamid Yousafzai told DawnNews that police have made dozens of arrest for attacking the cop shoppe and torching the vehicle of the mosque’s imam.

Posted by: Fred || 04/23/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Pakistan’s ISI sheltering al Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri in Karachi
[HINDUSTANTIMES] Pakistain’s ISI spy agency has been sheltering al Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri
... Formerly second in command of al-Qaeda, now the head cheese, occasionally described as the real brains of the outfit. Formerly the Mister Big of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Bumped off Abdullah Azzam with a car boom in the course of one of their little disputes. Is thought to have composed bin Laden's fatwa entitled World Islamic Front Against Jews and Crusaders. Currently residing in the North Wazoo area assuming he's not dead like Mullah Omar. He lost major face when he ordered the nascent Islamic State to cease and desist and merge with the orthodx al-Qaeda spring, al-Nusra...
in the port city of 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...
after he survived a US dronezap near the Afghan border in 2016, according to a report.

The report said that if Pakistani political leaders “cannot, or refuse to, bring the ISI under control and turn over al-Zawahiri, Hamza bin Laden and other militant figures, Washington could go nuclear on Pakistan—diplomatically speaking—by declaring it a state sponsor of terrorism”.

American experts believe al-Qaeda remains a “potent force with the ambition and capability to launch another spectacular attack” against the US. Riedel pointed to a 2014 plot by al-Qaeda to place sympathisers on a Pakistani frigate, hijack it and use it to “attack American naval ships in the Indian Ocean, or maybe Indian ships, or maybe both”.

An unnamed Western diplomat said al-Qaeda remains interested a carrying out attacks “related to airlines”.
Posted by: Fred || 04/23/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
UNWRA Gaza union head, accused of Hamas ties, no longer employed by agency
If this is the beginning of a trend, it will be because of President Trump.
[IsraelTimes] Israel had charged that school principal Suhail al-Hindi was elected to a leadership role in the terror group in February vote.

The United Nations
...the Oyster Bay money pit...
agency for Paleostinian refugees said Saturday a Gazoo staffer suspected of having been elected to Hamas, a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",’s leadership no longer works for the agency.

Agency front man Chris Gunness said that Suhail al-Hindi was no longer employed by the UN Relief and Works Agency. He declined to say whether al-Hindi had quit or was fired, saying the agency doesn’t "discuss the terms of departure of individual staff members."

In February, UNRWA suspended al-Hindi -- the chairman of the agency’s Paleostinian workers’ union -- pending the results of an internal investigation sparked by Israeli accusations that the school principal was a member of Hamas’s new politicianship.

Al-Hindi denied links to the terror group.

Hamas is listed as a terror organization by the United States and most of Europe, including some of UNRWA’s top funders.

The claims against al-Hindi were made by COGAT, the Israeli Defense Ministry agency responsible for civilian affairs in the West Bank and Gazoo, and the Foreign Ministry.

UNRWA, which provides Paleostinian refugees and their descendants with education, health care, and social services, initially denied Hindi’s Hamas affiliation, saying in a statement that the agency had "neither uncovered nor received evidence to contradict the staff member’s denial that he was elected to political office." Its statement quoted Hindi as saying that he has "no relation whatsoever with the issue."

Three days later, however, UNRWA front man Chris Gunness announced Hindi was suspended based on "substantial information" it had been provided.

He insisted the decision to suspend Hindi pending the outcome of an internal investigation was made independently of Israeli demands.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/23/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Hamas

#1  His, salary as Hamas functionary, will still come (ultimately) from UN, however.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 04/23/2017 2:54 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Iran election campaign kicks off without Short Round
[DAWN] Camp­aign­ing began on Friday for Iran’s presidential election with incumbent Hassan Rouhani facing a tough battle against hard liners, though not from former president Mahmoud Short Round Ahmadinejad who was barred from standing.

Ahmadinejad’s disqualification by the conservative-run Guardian Council was no surprise -- he had been advised not to run by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who said it would "polarise" the nation.

His populist economics and defiant attitude to the establishment had alienated even Ahmadinejad’s hard-line backers during his 2005-2013 tenure.

"Once the supreme leader had told him not to stand, it became impossible for him to be cleared by the Guardian Council," said Clement Therme, research fellow for Iran at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. "By his second term, [Ahmadi­nejad] was even challenging the holy mans. He was not useful anymore for the system."
Posted by: Fred || 04/23/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran



Who's in the News
28[untagged]
8Islamic State
5Moslem Colonists
3Govt of Pakistan
3Taliban
2Govt of Syria
2Houthis
2al-Shabaab (AQ)
2Boko Haram (ISIS)
1Hamas
1Hezbollah
1al-Qaeda in North Africa
1al-Qaeda
1Pirates
1TTP
1Baloch Liberation Army
1Commies
1East Turkestan Islamic Movement
1Govt of Iran

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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.
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Meet the Mods
In no particular order...
Steve White
Seafarious
tu3031
badanov
sherry
ryuge
GolfBravoUSMC
Bright Pebbles
trailing wife
Gloria
Fred
Besoeker
Glenmore
Frank G
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Two weeks of WOT
Sun 2017-04-23
  5 terrorist suspects arrested in Brussels after arms, ammo & drugs seized in police raids
Sat 2017-04-22
  Dozens of About 140 Afghan troops dead in Taliban base attack
Fri 2017-04-21
  ISIS Media Chief dies in airstrike
Thu 2017-04-20
  Paris - cops shot, 1 killed. Suspect dead, Suspicious package left
Wed 2017-04-19
  US: Man screams 'Allahu akbar!' and kills three civilians
Tue 2017-04-18
  Pakistani Taliban leader Ehsanullah Ehsan 'surrenders'
Mon 2017-04-17
  Pirates killed while trying to hijack ship near Somalia
Sun 2017-04-16
  At least 43 killed as car bomb hits Syria evacuees
Sat 2017-04-15
  Islamic State mufti killed in Mosul air strike, Iraqi forces say
Fri 2017-04-14
  Iraqi command says controls 60% of western Mosul
Thu 2017-04-13
  US drops MOAB on ISIS tunnel complex in Afghanistan
Wed 2017-04-12
  Bomb attack on Dortmund team bus
Tue 2017-04-11
  ISIS shells east of Mosul with chlorine gas, 10 casualties
Mon 2017-04-10
  Man steers car into town hall in Germany, fire breaks out
Sun 2017-04-09
  Church bombing north of Egypt's capital kills 26

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