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Turkish-backed rebels issue urgent plea for help from available forces in Idlib
Today's Headlines
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Page 4: Opinion
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Page 6: Politix
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Afghanistan
2 killed, over 20 wounded in an explosion in Khost province
[KhaamaPress] At least two people bit the dust and more than 20 others sustained injuries in an kaboom in southeastern Khost province
... across the border from Miranshah, within commuting distance of Haqqani hangouts such as Datta Khel and probably within sight of Mordor. Khost is populated by six different tribes of Pashtuns, the largest probably being the Khostwal, from which it takes its name...
of Afghanistan.

According to the local officials, the incident took place at around noon time in the bustling provincial capital of the province.

Gul Habib Shah, provincial public health director of Khost has confirmed that all those killed or maimed are ordinary civilians.

In the meantime, the local security and government officials are saying that the incident took place after a cycle of violence laden with explosives exploded in a busy part of the city.

The officials further added that 25 people have sustained injuries in the kaboom and two others have died.

No individual or group including Talibs has so far grabbed credit behind the incident.

This comes as an kaboom left a number of civilians dead in southeastern Paktika
...which coincidentally borders South Wazoo...
province of Afghanistan on Monday.

The incident took place inside a market in Jani Khel district of the province, leaving at least six dead including two children.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/09/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Several militants killed in separate airstrikes of Coalition and Afghan Special Forces
[KhaamaPress] Several Talibs have been killed in separate Arclight airstrikes conducted by the Afghan Special Forces and Coalition Forces based in Afghanistan.

The airstrikes have reportedly been carried out in Helmand
...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan...
, Uruzgan, Laghman
...It has a population of about 445,600, which is multi-ethnic and mostly a rural society. During the invasions of Alexander the Great, the area was known as Lampaka, wich is apparently Olde Macedonian for Laghman.The city of Mihtarlam serves as the bucolic capital of the province. The population is half Pashtun, the remainder Tadjik and Pashai. It had a repution for great wealth until it was conquered in the tenth century by Abu Mansur Sabuktigin.
He conquered it and set fire to the places in its vicinity which were inhabited by infidels, and demolishing the idol-temples, he established Islam in them, He marched and captured other cities and killed the polluted wretches, destroying the idolatrous and gratifying the Musulmans. After wounding and killing beyond all measure, his hands and those of his friends became cold in counting the value of the plundered property.
After that it was mostly notable for the production of dirt, rocks, and holy men.

, Pashtun-infested Logar, Ghazni, and Faryab provinces in the past 24 hours.

According to the informed military sources, Afghan Special Operations Forces conducted a raid in Musa Qalah, killing 6 Taliban
...mindless ferocity in a turban...
fighters and destroying 2 roadside kabooms, while the coalition forces carried out a separate airstrike in support of the Afghan forces and self-defense in Musala Qala district, killing 3 additional Talibs and destroying a weapons cache.

Similarly, Afghan Special Operations Forces conducted a raid in Safaar of Helmand, killing 5 Taliban fighters while a coalition air strike killed 1 Taliban fighter in Nahr-e Saraj, the sources said, adding that a coalition air strike in Tarin Kot of Uruzgan left 2 Taliban fighters dead.

In the meantime a coalition air strike killed 1 Taliban fighter in Qarghah’i district of Laghman and the Afghan Special Operations Forces killed 1 Taliban fighter in Baraki Barak of Pashtun-infested Logar.

A coalition air strike near the Deh Yak District Center destroyed 1 vehicle-borne IED and in a separate operation in Faryab, the Afghan and coalition security engaged Taliban fighters in Maimanah, killing 3, the sources added. .
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/09/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


145 Taliban Killed In Kandahar And Faryab Ongoing Operations
[ToloNews] At least 48 Taliban
...mindless ferocity in a turban...
were killed in ongoing operations by Afghan forces along with Resolute Support’s air support in southern Kandahar province, security officials said on Monday.

The operation was launched in Shah Wali Kot district of the province on December 26 and is ongoing, officials said.

In the meantime, Resolute Support confirmed this news and said that "17 roadside kabooms were defused, and 80 pounds of homemade explosives were destroyed".

However,
it was a brave man who first ate an oyster...
officials did not provide further details about the operation.

Meanwhile,
...back at the desert island, Irene was indignant at the thought of doing such a thing without benefit of clergy...
security officials in Faryab said that at least 97 Taliban bully boyz were killed during Afghan security force operations in the province.

Taliban have not commented on the claims.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/09/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  That's 11,165 virgin piglets in hell.
Posted by: Woodrow || 01/09/2019 13:06 Comments || Top||


Africa Horn
US military says it kills six militants in an air strike in Somalia
[RADIOSHABELLE] The U.S. military killed six Islamist holy warriors in an air strike in Somalia on Sunday in the vicinity of Dheerow Sanle, in the Lower Shabelle region, it said.

"At this time we assess no civilians were maimed or killed in this air strike," the U.S. military’s Africa Command said in a statement late on Monday.

"This air strike was conducted to diminish al-Shabaab
... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda...
’s freedom of movement and to increase pressure on the terrorist network in the area."

The U.S. and Somali militaries have stepped up air strikes against al-Shabaab Islamist fighters recently.
Posted by: Fred || 01/09/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab (AQ)


US says airstrikes in Somalia kill 4 al-Shabab militants
[RADIOSHABELLE] The United States military says it has carried out two Arclight airstrikes in Somalia that killed four al-Shabaab
... the personification of Somali state failure...
Lion of Islams.

The U.S. Africa Command statement on Tuesday says Monday’s airstrikes were in the vicinity of Baqdaad after the military’s Somali partners "were engaged by al-Shabaab bully boys." It does not say whether any of the partners were killed.

Another U.S. airstrike on Sunday killed six al-Shabaab members near Dheerow Sanle in Lower Shabelle region.

The U.S. military says no civilians were maimed or killed in any of these airstrikes.

The U.S. carried out at least 47 such airstrikes last year in the Horn of Africa nation.

The al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab continues to control large parts of Somalia’s southern and central regions and carry out deadly bombings against high-profile targets in the capital, Mogadishu.
Posted by: Fred || 01/09/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab (AQ)


Arabia
Massive Saudi military convoy heads to Yemeni border for new offensive
[ALMASDARNEWS] The Saudi Armed Forces sent a large convoy of armored vehicles and military personnel towards the Yemeni border, yesterday, as they prepare to launch a major operation against the 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 ...
Movement.

According to reports, the Saudi military moved their forces and equipment to the vast Yemeni-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...
n border on Monday afternoon.

The Saudi troops reportedly took up positions along the Jizan-Hajjah border, which has long been contested by the Arab Coalition and Houthi forces.

The Arab Coalition is looking to capture the al-Doud Mountain region and several imperative hilltops that are still under the control of the Houthi forces in the Jizan region.

The Saudi military and their allies from the pro-government Yemeni Army have already scored big advances inside the Yemeni province of Hajjah; they are now working to secure the entire Jizan-Hajjah border.
Posted by: Fred || 01/09/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Houthis

#1  "Ssshhhh it's a secret"
Posted by: Frank G || 01/09/2019 7:15 Comments || Top||


Saudi Coalition captures strategic mountain in northern Yemen
[ALMASDARNEWS] The Saudi Coalition launched a big attack against the 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 ...
forces in northern Yemen, today, targeting a strategic mountain in the Sa’ada province.

According to a report from northern Yemen, the Saudi Coalition and their allies managed to capture the Hamra Mountain, today, after a fierce battle with the Houthi forces in the area.

As a result of this advance, the Saudi Coalition and their allies managed to cut off a key supply route for the Houthi forces in the northern countryside of the Sa’ada Governorate.

The Razami area of the Sa’ada Governorate has long been under the control of the Houthi forces and their allies; however, with the loss of the Hamra Mountain, they are now without their key supply line.
Posted by: Fred || 01/09/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Houthis


Saudi raid on Qatif village results in several wanted persons killed
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Saudi security forces carried out a pre-emptive operation in the al-Jish village of al- Qatif province, killing several wanted persons and arresting others on Monday after an exchange of fire.

Security forces had immediately demanded the suspects to surrender themselves once the raid began, but they rejected their request and opened fire on them.

Informed sources said that all the suspects who clashed with the security forces on Monday were outside declared wanted persons lists, but has proved their involvement in cases affecting the security of the state.

Most significant of those involvements came in the targeting of security elements and premises and the disruption of development projects of the province.

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...
’s State Security Presidency is expected to issue a statement on the incident soon.
Posted by: Fred || 01/09/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran Proxies


Down Under
Australia police examining suspicious packages at 10 consulates
On Page 1: WoT until we know who the miscreants are.
[IsraelTimes] Australian officials in Melbourne say they are responding to multiple ’hazardous material’ events in the city.

Several foreign consulates in Melbourne were evacuated Wednesday as Australian officials noted they were responding to multiple "hazardous material" events in the city.

The Australian Federal Police said that police and emergency services were examining suspicious packages delivered to the foreign consulates.


"The circumstances surrounding these incidents are being investigated," the police said in a statement.

The government Vic Emergency website noted at least 10 "hazardous material" incidents.

Police, fire crews and ambulances were seen at a number of diplomatic offices, including those of India, Italia, Spain and Germany.

The incidents come after a suspicious package was intercepted at the Argentine consulate in Sydney on Monday. Police there took away a sample of a substance for testing, the results of which have yet to be revealed.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/09/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Iraq
Diyala dead and otherwise dudes: 3 turbans toes up, 3 turbans tied up, infiltration foiled


Iraqi warplanes kill four Islamic State extremists in Diyala

Diyala (IraqiNews.com) – Four Islamic State militants were killed Tuesday in an air raid that was launched by the Iraqi Air Force to target terrorist hotbeds in Diyala, a well-placed provincial official said.

“Iraqi warplanes targeted several hotbeds of Islamic State in Balkana village, 90km northeast of Baqubah, leaving four IS extremists killed,” Sadeq al-Husseini, the head of Diyala provincial council’s security committee, told the Baghdad Today news website.

Al-Husseini added that several airstrikes were launched over the past period across the rugged terrain in Diyala to target Islamic State militants, who are still active in some villages.

Iraqi troops foil infiltration attempt by Islamic State in Diyala

Diyala (IraqiNews.com) – Pro-government forces thwarted on Tuesday an attempt by Islamic State militants to infiltrate into a district in the eastern Iraqi province of Diyala, a security source was quoted as saying.

Speaking to Iraqi website Alghad Press, the source said that militants of Islamic State sought to sneak into the Bardan hills on the outskirts of al-Sadiyah district, in northeastern Diyala, but fighters of Al-Hashd Al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces) managed to foil their plot.

The source further warned that Islamic State still has dormant cells in different parts of Diyala, who seek to undermine the province’s security by launched terrorist attacks against civilians and security forces.

Three Islamic State militants apprehended in Diyala

Diyala (IraqiNews.com) – Three Islamic State (IS) militants were arrested Tuesday during a military operation in northeastern Diyala.

“A force from the 110th brigade of al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces), in cooperation with military intelligence agents in Diyala, carried out a military operation to pursue Islamic State cells in the regions of al-Tabj and Bardan,” Almaalomah news website quoted al-Hashd al-Shaabi as saying in a military statement.

“The operation resulted in the arrest of three Islamic State terrorists and detonation of two explosive charges,” the statement read.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/09/2019 01:47 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Car bomb blast kills two police in Iraq’s Tikrit
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] A boom-mobile killed at least two coppers and injured five civilians in the Iraqi city of Tikrit on Tuesday, a hospital source said.

The blast - described by the military as an holy warrior attack - went off at a checkpoint at the northern entrance to Tikrit, 150 km (95 miles) north of Baghdad.

Al Arabiya’s correspondent reported earlier that a strong kaboom was heard near the northern entrance to the Iraqi city of Tikrit.

In the past, similar incidents of kabooms have been rare in Tikrit, about 100 miles north of Baghdad, since the ISIS holy warrior group was defeated in Iraq in 2017.

ISIS murderous Moslems have switched from controlling territory to insurgency tactics such as bombings and attacks on security forces since their military defeat.

Death toll from Tikrit car bomb blast rises to three

Tikrit (IraqiNews.com) ‐ The corpse count from a boom-mobile blast in Tirkit city, Salahuddin, rose to three, while 10 others were maimed, a security source told Iraqi news agency (NINA).

Earlier in the day, security forces monitored a booby-trapped pickup truck driven by a jacket wallah during a security campaign in Tirkit.

The suicide bomber went kaboom! before the police could catch him.

The casualties are expected to rise.
Posted by: Fred || 01/09/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Three pipe bombs found next to Border Police post in West Bank
The holidays are over, so it is back to mischief as usual.
[IsraelTimes] Three pipe bombs are found next to a Israeli Border Police post in the Paleostinian town of Abu Dis, next to Jerusalem.

The bombs are located in a sweep after another pipe bomb went kaboom! yesterday near the base.

Border Police locates 80 illegal residents in Hebron

[Ynet] Israel Border Police forces located overnight Tuesday 80 illegal residents between Meitar Crossing and Tarqumiya Checkpoint south of Hebron.

The Paleostinians infiltrated Israel from Yata, ad-Dhahiriya, and Hebron. Police found a knife on one of the suspects, and he was taken in for questioning.

East Jerusalem resident detained carrying a knife

[Ynet] Border Police officers detained on Tuesday a 16-year-old East Jerusalem resident, who was carrying a pocketknife.

He was detained at the Shuafat crossing and was taken for questioning.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/09/2019 01:32 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Palestinian media says youths crossed border, set fire to IDF listening post
[IsraelTimes] Paleostinian media report that several Paleostinian youths crossed the Israel-Gazoo border fence and set fire to an IDF listening post near Jabalya.

None of the vandals were hurt, the reports say.

There is no immediate confirmation of the claim by Israel.

Palestinian man crosses Gaza-Israel border, is caught by IDF

[IsraelTimes] A Paleostinian man is caught near the Gazoo-border community of Be’eri after crossing the border fence into Israel.
The IDF says it saw the man cross the border and launched a sweep of the area to intercept him.

There are no immediate indications about his motive for crossing the border.

Posted by: trailing wife || 01/09/2019 01:32 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Hamas


Israel nabs suspected Givat Assaf terrorist after nearly month-long manhunt
Ynet has pictures and video of the arrest.
[IsraelTimes] Asem Barghouti, believed to have carried out deadly shooting attack at outpost bus stop, is tossed in the calaboose
Into the paddy wagon wit' yez!
in alleged accomplice’s home.


Israeli security forces early on Tuesday arrested a Paleostinian man suspected of carrying out a deadly terror attack in the central West Bank last month, ending a weeks-long manhunt.

Asem Barghouti is believed to have shot up a bus stop outside the Givat Assaf outpost near Ramallah on December 13, killing two soldiers stationed there and seriously injuring a third serviceman and a civilian woman.

Barghouti expeditiously departed at a goodly pace after the attack, evading Israeli troops for almost a month before his capture in the village of Abu Shukheidim in the predawn hours of Tuesday morning, the Shin Bet security service said.

He was taken into custody "without a shot being fired," police said.

According to the Shin Bet, Barghouti also took part in another shooting attack on December 9 with his brother, Salih, in which they injured seven Israelis, among them a seven-months pregnant woman, who was seriously maimed. The woman’s baby was delivered in an emergency operation, but died days later.

Salih Barghouti was rubbed out on December 12 in Kobar as he attacked Israeli security forces in an attempt to evade arrest, the army said.

The Shin Bet said Asem Barghouti was "busy preparing to carry out additional terror attacks in recent days."

A Kalashnikov assault rifle, several magazines full of ammunition and night-vision equipment were found and confiscated during the arrest, the security service said.

Barghouti was found hiding in the home of a suspected accomplice in the village of Abu Shukheidim, which is located next to his hometown of Kobar, the Shin Bet said.

He was arrested in a joint operation by the Shin Bet, the Israel Police’s elite Yamam counterterrorism unit and the Israel Defense Forces.

The search effort "included the arrest of dozens of Hamas, a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth", operatives and accomplices," the Shin Bet said.

Barghouti will be interrogated by the Shin Bet, the security service said.

In the 26 days since the terror attack, Israeli troops have arrested and questioned dozens of family members and associates of Barghouti, including his wife.

Asem, whose family has an extensive history in the Hamas terror group, was set free from an Israeli prison in April 2017 after serving an 11-year sentence.

"We had no doubt that we would reach Asem Barghouti and arrest him," said the head of the Yamam unit, whose name is kept secret for security reasons.

Seven people were maimed in the drive-by shooting attack on a bus stop outside Ofra on December 9, which Israel says was committed by Asem and Salih Barghouti. Hamas later confirmed that Salih was behind the attack.

Shira Ish-Ran was critically injured in the shooting. Her baby ‐ delivered in emergency surgery by doctors hours later ‐ died after four days as a result of the attack. He was posthumously named Amiad Yisrael.

Shira and her husband Amichai, who sustained three gunshot wounds to the leg, have since been released from the hospital.

The day after Israeli forces shot and killed Salih, Asem allegedly rubbed out the two soldiers near Givat Assaf ‐ Sgt. Yosef Cohen and Staff Sgt. Yovel Mor Yosef ‐ and seriously maimed two other people, soldier Netanel Felber and Shira Sabag, a civilian woman.
Jasser Barghouti, Asem and Salih’s uncle, directed both the Ofra and the Givat Assaf terror attacks, Jasser, a convicted terrorist released as part of the 2011 swap that freed kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, currently resides in the Gazoo Strip.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/09/2019 00:44 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Hamas

#1  looks like another vacant lot has opened for development. Some rubble will have to be removed, of course
Posted by: Frank G || 01/09/2019 7:14 Comments || Top||


Hamas arrests 45 ‘collaborators’ in Israeli special forces op that went awry
[IsraelTimes] Dozens of Paleostinians nabbed by Gazoo’s terrorist rulers for allegedly aiding Israeli mission in the Strip in November that led to largest flare-up between sides since 2014 war

Gazoo’s Hamas, the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood, rulers said on Tuesday that its security services had tossed in the clink
You have the right to remain silent...
dozens of Paleostinians since an Israeli raid inside the Strip that went awry, accusing them of aiding the Jewish state.

The November 11 special forces operation, details of which the Israeli military has kept largely under gag order, turned deadly when the undercover soldiers were spotted near Khan Younis, in the southern Gazoo Strip.

The ensuing firefight claimed the lives of an Israeli army officer and seven Paleostinian terrorists, including a local commander from Hamas’ military wing.

"The security services were able to arrest 45 agents after the security incident east of Khan Yunis last November and they are under investigation," Hamas interior ministry front man Iyad al-Bozum said in a statement.

He did not say if any of those arrested were suspected of involvement in the November incident.

Following the Khan Younis shootout, Hamas, an Islamist terror group that seeks to destroy Israel, published photos of eight people and two vehicles it said were linked to the Israeli operation, prompting the Israeli army censor to appeal to the public and media not to republish the images.

"Hamas is attempting to understand and analyze the incident that occurred in Gazoo on November 11 and any information, even if it seems harmless by those who distribute it, can endanger lives and put state security at risk," the army said at the time.

Hamas, which launched a major investigation into the Israeli operation, did not identify those in the pictures.

The incident prompted Hamas to vow Dire Revenge and led to the deadliest escalation between the two sides since the 2014 war.

Paleostinian forces of Evil in Gazoo fired some 460 rockets and mortar rounds at Israel, as well as an anti-tank missile that hit a bus Hamas says was being used by Israel’s army.

In all, some 27 Israelis were maimed, three of them severely.

A Paleostinian laborer from the West Bank was killed when a rocket fired from Gazoo hit a building in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon.

Israel hit back with widespread Arclight airstrikes in the Gazoo Strip that saw seven Paleostinians killed in 24 hours.

A November 13 cease-fire brokered by Egypt ended the fighting that had raised fears of a fourth war between Israel and Paleostinian forces of Evil in Gazoo since 2008.

In December a Gazoo military court sentenced six people, including a woman, to death for "collaborating" with Israel.

But the interior ministry said they were not directly related to the November incursion.

According to the Paleostinian Center for Human Rights, 28 executions have been carried out in Gazoo since Hamas seized control of the coastal enclave in 2007 from rival faction Fatah.

Hamas and its allies have fought three wars with Israel since 2008 and the Gazoo Strip has been under an Israeli blockade for a decade.

Israel says the measure is necessary to isolate Hamas and prevent weapons from reaching the terror group; critics say it amounts to collective punishment of the territory’s two million residents.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/09/2019 00:19 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Hamas


Southeast Asia
Most wanted Malaysian militant no longer thought dead
[BenarNews] An Abu Sayyaf leader believed to have beheaded two Canadians in 2016 is back on the Malaysia's most wanted criminals list one year his name had been dropped over reports he had been slain.

In its list released over the weekend, the Eastern Sabah Security Command names Abu Sayyaf member Ben Tatoh Quirino along with 17 other Filipinos linked to alleged trans-border crimes such as maritime kidnapping and piracy.

ESSCOM commander Hazani Ghazali said, “Ben Tatoh and a few others in our 2019 list used to be in our earlier list, but in 2018, we took their names off our record because we believed then they had been killed. Most recently we received confirmation from our Philippine counterparts that they were still alive, so we re-added their names to the latest list.”

In December, a Canadian research group stated Tatoh was alive after images appeared on social media. It said the fugitive had been laying low for more than two years after allegedly beheading Canadian tourists John Ridsdel and Robert Hall. Senior analyst Jeff Weyers said his group’s investigation revealed Tatoh was still on the loose and posing selfies on Facebook, including one that showed him wearing the Philippine National Police’s counter insurgency unit’s uniform.

PNP officials said the photo was not authentic. PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Benigno Durana said, "No, he was never a PNP member. We don’t have that name in our personnel database – former, active or AWOL."

Durana did not respond when asked if the militant could have been listed in the database under a different name.

Weyers said that Tatoh’s images appeared on Facebook in October 2018 and updates were being posted as recently as November before the profile was taken down because he apparently had posed with an Islamic State flag.

“Since then, another Facebook profile going by his other alias, Bhen Tatuh, has emerged,” Weyers said.
Posted by: ryuge || 01/09/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Abu Sayyaf (ISIS)

#1  Also known as Farad (Freddy) KruGar
Posted by: Angaise Munster4169 || 01/09/2019 9:01 Comments || Top||


Bombs hurt soldiers, student in southern Thailand
[Bangkok Post] Three soldiers and a student were wounded when bombs exploded in Songkhla and Pattani provinces in Thailand's far south on Tuesday morning.

In Songkhla, a car bomb was detonated on Chonnabot Road in Thepha district about 6 a.m. Officials said rebels hanged a local resident and stole the vehicle, which was later packed with explosives. The vehicle was parked near an ad hoc security base. Two soldiers were wounded.

In Pattani, a bomb blew up near a school protection team in Yarang district. The blast in front of a local education center was reported about 7:45 a.m. A soldier was severely wounded and a 12-year-old schoolgirl was also hurt.
Posted by: ryuge || 01/09/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Thai Insurgency


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
American man said held in Iran on unspecified charges
[IsraelTimes] A US military veteran is being held in Iran where he was visiting his girlfriend, a report says, posing a fresh issue in the two countries’ thorny relations.

Michael R. White, 46, from Imperial Beach, Caliphornia, an impregnable bastion of the Democratic Party,, never boarded a return flight via Dubai in July, his mother tells The New York Times

...which still proudly displays Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize...

The US State Department says it is "aware of reports" of the detention but declines details, citing privacy considerations.

"We have no higher priority than the safety and security of US citizens abroad," a State Department spokesperson says.

White’s mother, Joanne White, tells the Times that her son had visited Iran "five or six times" to see an Iranian woman described as his girlfriend. She says she learned from the State Department that he was imprisoned in Iran on unclear charges.

White would join at least three other US citizens, two of them of Iranian descent, in being detained in the holy manal-led country.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/09/2019 01:19 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  Visiting Iran strikes me as a poor decision.
Posted by: Crash Dark Lord of the Veal Cutlets1879 || 01/09/2019 11:43 Comments || Top||

#2  Need pictures of girlfriend.
Posted by: Bman || 01/09/2019 13:03 Comments || Top||

#3  See here for pictures, Bman, courtesy of the New York Times.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/09/2019 14:34 Comments || Top||

#4  from Imperial Beach

I topped a canary for eloquence
And also, I fear, for irrelevance,
But on the third night,
At long last... "Mr. White,
Let us speak, if you like, of the elephants."
Posted by: Dopey Henbane2218 || 01/09/2019 19:20 Comments || Top||

#5  So... He never heard of a honeypot?
Posted by: Rob Crawford || 01/09/2019 20:34 Comments || Top||


ISIS suicide bomber kills 5 in Syria’s Raqqa: monitor
[Rudaw] An 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 jacket wallah attacked a centre for Kurdish forces in the northern Syrian city of Raqqa on Monday, killing four civilians and an anti-jihadist fighter, a monitor said.

The attacker went kaboom! after entering the centre run by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), the Britannia-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

"A suicide kaboomer wearing an explosives belt went kaboom! inside a YPG centre after opening fire on a security checkpoint at its entrance," Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said.

At least four civilians and a YPG fighter were killed in the attack, he added.

The YPG forms the backbone an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters called the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) battling to expel ISIS from its last redoubt in eastern Syria.

ISIS grabbed credit for the attack they said targeted a "recruitment centre" for Kurdish forces.

"The attacker aimed at them with a machine gun then blew up his explosives vest in the middle of them," it said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.

Backed by the US-led coalition, the SDF has in recent weeks advanced against ISIS fighters in their last holdout in the eastern province of Deir ez-Zor near the Iraqi border.

The jihadists are clinging on to a handful of villages in the Euphrates River Valley, including Sousa and Baghouz.

They also retain a presence in the country’s vast Badia desert.

The SDF ousted IS fighters from Raqqa in 2017, more than three years after the jihadists overran the city and made it their de-facto Syrian capital.

Syria’s war has killed more than 360,000 people and displaced millions more since it erupted in 2011 with the repression of anti-government protests.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/09/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Turkish-backed rebels issue urgent plea for help from available forces in Idlib
[ALMASDARNEWS] The Ottoman Turkish-backed rebels in the Idlib province have issued another call for the general mobilization of its forces amid another string of defeats at the hands of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham
on Tuesday.

One of the largest factions in the Ottoman Turkish-backed National Liberation Front
...the Turkic paramilitaries intended to replace with their native jihadi ferocity all the highly trained Turkish soldiers Sultan Erdogan I the much beloved has jailed in the last few years for not worshipping the ground he walks upon. The Uighurs and so forth who did not join Al Nusra or ISIS seem to have ended up here...
, Harakat Ahrar al-Sham
...a Syria jihadi group made up of Islamists and salafists, not that there's that much difference, formed into a brigade. They make up the main element of the Islamic Front but they don't profess adoration of al-Qaeda and they've been fighting (mainly for survival) against the Islamic State. Their leadership was wiped out at a single blow by a suicide kaboom at a crowded basement meeting in September, 2014...
, made the call on Tuesday for all available forces to head to the al-Ghaab Plain and southern countryside of the Idlib Governorate.

Harakat Ahrar al-Sham is currently leading the defenses around the key city of Ma’arat al-Nu’man; if lost, it would be a major blow to the Ottoman Turkish-backed rebels inside the Idlib province.

The jihadist group has not yet attacked Ma’arat al-Nu’man; however, they are expected to begin storming it in the coming hours as they assert control over much of the area.

Turkish-backed rebels in marathon-like retreat across Idlib

[ALMASDARNEWS] The Ottoman Turkish-backed rebels have had another rough day in northwest Syria after their former jihadist ally launched a major assault across the Idlib province on Tuesday.

Taking advantage of the weak rebel defenses, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham
stormed several areas across the Idlib Governorate, today, seizing up many towns and villages that were previously under the control of the Ottoman Turkish-backed National Liberation Front
...the Turkic paramilitaries intended to replace with their native jihadi ferocity all the highly trained Turkish soldiers Sultan Erdogan I the much beloved has jailed in the last few years for not worshipping the ground he walks upon. The Uighurs and so forth who did not join Al Nusra or ISIS seem to have ended up here...
.

According to local reports, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham has captured over 15 towns and villages from the National Liberation Front, including Tarmala, Naqir, Zaqim, al-Al-Qasabiyah, al-Hamidiyah, and al-Koulin.

Some reports have indicated that Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham has captured the strategic Jabal Shashabo region along the Hama-Idlib axis; however, this remains unconfirmed at this time.

It appears that at this juncture in the battle, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham is attempting to capture the entire al-Ghaab Plain and southern countryside of Idlib from the National Liberation Front.

Turkey not abandoning ‘anti-terror’ operation despite rebel fiasco in Idlib

[ALMASDARNEWS] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...just another cheapjack Moslem dictatorship, brought to you by the Moslem Brüderbund....
is not giving up their plans to launch a large-scale "anti-terror" operation in northern Syria, despite several setbacks for their rebel allies in the Aleppo and Idlib provinces.

Speaking to al-Masdar from the al-Zahra’a Association Quarter in Aleppo city, a Syrian military officer said that the Ottoman Turkish-backed rebels have made no strides to retake the ground they lost in either Idlib or Aleppo.

According to the military officer, the Ottoman Turkish-backed rebels have kept a large force at the northern outskirts of Manbij and Tal Rifa’at, prompting the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) to remain on high alert near these towns.

He would add that Turkey is not too concerned with the rebel infighting that is wrecking havoc inside Aleppo and Idlib because they are more focused on their upcoming military operation east of the Euphrates River.

The Syrian Arab Army may decide to take advantage of this rebel infighting in the near future as they look to expand their territorial presence in northwestern Syria.
Posted by: Fred || 01/09/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte

#1  Well, It seems that Turkey started in good faith, but as the difficulty increases, they will want to only want to go after the Kurds?

Don't screw with me, Erdogan. You ARE Pissing Me Off.

You are in or out.

They all want US to stay and be a mediator of sorts and none - not even Russia, thinks we will leave.

We plan to leave and I plan to hold you responsible for the outcome in Total. But When we leave is up to us and we can tear up enough shit to do denial of access needed if you inflict harm on Our Allies.

I expect some realistic help from Russia, Syria, and Damn Turkey.
Not limp wait it out.

Remember MY Kurds - a Positive force in the World.
Posted by: newc || 01/09/2019 2:07 Comments || Top||

#2  Syrian Seinfeld: "al-Nu’man"
Posted by: Frank G || 01/09/2019 7:22 Comments || Top||


IS counterattack in Syria leaves 32 dead,but then SDF backed by Coalition reverse their gains
[DAWN] Militants defending their last bastion in eastern Syria used the cover of bad weather to launch a deadly counterattack against a Kurdish-led force, a war monitor said on Tuesday.

The Lion of Islam 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 was unable to hold on to the positions they attacked but the assault killed 23 members of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and also left nine holy warriors dead.

IS fighters took advantage of poor visibility to unleash suicide kaboomers on SDF forces along the front line in the Euphrates valley late on Sunday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

"Twenty-three SDF fighters were killed and nine IS holy warriors were also killed in fighting that lasted all night and into Monday morning," Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said.

The holy warriors often launch attacks under the cover of bad weather that cancels out their opponents' advantage of US-led coalition air power.

The SDF launched what is meant to be the final offensive on the Lion of Islam organization four months ago with air and ground support from coalition forces.

US-led coalition pounds IS-held village in eastern Syria

[IsraelTimes] US-led coalition warplanes and artillery are pounding a village held by the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
group in the last area under their control in eastern Syria.

Tuesday’s bombardment of the village of Shaafa in Deir el-Zour province comes a day after a war monitoring group said nearly two dozen US-backed fighters were killed in the area.

The Britannia-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said IS fighters took advantage of bad weather on Monday and launched a counteroffensive against the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, killing 23 fighters and wounding others.

The group said nine IS fighters were also killed.

DeirEzzor 24, an activist collective, also reports heavy bombardment of Shaafa on Tuesday.

The SDF says it repelled the IS attack and gained more ground from IS near the Iraqi border.
Posted by: Fred || 01/09/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Russian military police starts patrols around Syria’s Manbij
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Russian military police have begun patrolling around the Syrian city of Manbij, a front man said Tuesday, moving into an area once held by US-backed Kurdish forces.

Russian forces are acting in support of Syrian government troops who recently deployed in Manbij, in Aleppo province near the border with The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...just another cheapjack Moslem dictatorship, brought to you by the Moslem Brüderbund....
Kurdish fighters, fearing a Ottoman Turkish military assault, invited regime forces into Manbij late last month after US President 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...
’s shock announcement of a full American withdrawal from Syria.

Speaking in a report on Rossiya 24 television, Russian military police front man Yusup Mamatov said MPs had started patrolling "the security zone around Manbij".

"The task is to ensure security in the area of responsibility (and) to monitor the situation and movements of armed formations," Mamatov said.

The report said Russian military police would be deployed in the area "on a regular basis". It showed a group of around a dozen khaki-clad armed military police driving through villages in jeeps and lorries flying the Russian flag.

Critics have warned Trump that an abrupt US withdrawal from Syria would allow allies of Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Oppressor of the Syrians and the Lebs...
’s regime -- including Russia and Iran -- to increase their influence in the country.
About 2,000 US troops, mainly special forces, are deployed in Syria to work with local fighters in the battle against ISIS.

Kurdish fighters formed the backbone of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which seized Manbij from ISIS in 2016.

They withdrew from the town earlier this month after Trump’s announcement.

Trump has in recent days sought to calm fears of an abrupt US pullout, saying any withdrawal would be done in a "prudent" manner.

It was not clear how close the Russian patrols may have been to areas where US forces are deployed.

Syria’s Kurdish minority has largely stayed out of the country’s seven-year civil war, but controls large parts of the north and northeast, much of it seized in the US-supported campaign against ISIS.
Posted by: Fred || 01/09/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria



Who's in the News
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3Taliban
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2Houthis
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1Abu Sayyaf (ISIS)
1al-Qaeda
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1Govt of Syria
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Two weeks of WOT
Wed 2019-01-09
  Turkish-backed rebels issue urgent plea for help from available forces in Idlib
Tue 2019-01-08
  Israel said to block latest Qatari cash transfer to Gaza
Mon 2019-01-07
  SDF troops capture ISIS stronghold east of Euphrates
Sun 2019-01-06
  Turkey asks US for help in fighting ISIS in Syria
Sat 2019-01-05
  Over 500 militants killed as infighting spreads in Syria: Report
Fri 2019-01-04
  Niger troops kill more than 280 Boko Haram fighters this week: Government
Thu 2019-01-03
  Turkey’s planned invasion impeded by new jihadist offensive in Aleppo
Wed 2019-01-02
  Sisi supporters try to amend Egypt's constitution to let him remain in power
Tue 2019-01-01
  Iraqi warplanes hit strategic Daesh position in eastern Syria, kills 30 commanders
Mon 2018-12-31
  2 killed, dozens wounded in bombing near Philippines mall
Sun 2018-12-30
  Morocco arrests Swiss-Spaniard over beheaded tourists
Sat 2018-12-29
  Death toll in IED attack on Vietnamese tourists bus in Giza, Egypt rises to four; 10 injured
Fri 2018-12-28
  Arab Israeli who glided into Syria to join Islamic State jailed for 3.5 years
Thu 2018-12-27
  Israel announces it has found and destroyed another Hezbollah tunnel
Wed 2018-12-26
  Nigerian army says 14 personnel killed in Boko Haram ambush

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