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At least 43 killed as car bomb hits Syria evacuees
Today's Headlines
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Page 1: WoT Operations
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Page 4: Opinion
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Page 6: Politix
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Afghanistan
Roadside Bomb Kills 11 Afghan Civilians
[An Nahar] At least 11 non-combatants were killed when a roadside kaboom destroyed their vehicle in the restive southern Afghan province of Helmand
...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan...
, officials said Saturday.

The blast occurred when the passengers were travelling from remote Nawa district to the thriving provincial capital Lashkar Gah on Friday, government front man Omar Zhwak told AFP.

"The blast was powerful and all those on board the van were killed," Zhwak said, adding that officials were trying to determine whether any women or children were among the victims.

Helmand police chief Agha Noor Kentoz blamed the Taliban for the blast, saying the road had been mined to target Afghan cops who frequently use it.

The Taliban were not immediately reachable for comment, but roadside kabooms have been the murderous Moslems' weapon of choice in their war against foreign and Afghan cops.

The bombs also increasingly kill and wound civilians.

Posted by: Fred || 04/16/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336081 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Africa Horn
'A few dozen' US troops deployed to Somalia: Pentagon
[AlAhram] The United States is deploying "a few dozen" troops to Somalia to assist the national army and conduct unspecified security operations, a US military spokeswoman said Saturday.

The soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division, a light infantry unit trained for air assaults, will mainly train and equip Somalia's army "to better fight al-Shabaab
... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord...
," an al-Qaeda linked bully boy group, the spokeswoman for the US Africa Command based in Germany, Samantha Reho, told AFP.

They will also conduct "security force assistance," she said, confirming a report by Voice of America.

"For operational security issues, we will not discuss specifics of military efforts nor speculate on potential future activities or operations," she said, declining to say precisely how many troops were being sent.

Somalia's fragile central government is still propped up by the international community and a 22,000-strong African Union
...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful...
peacekeeping force after nearly three decades of civil war and anarchy.

While Shabaab snuffies have lost large swaths of territory and were forced out of Mogadishu by African Union troops in 2011, they continue to strike in the capital and countryside.

They have threatened a "merciless" war against the new administration of President Mohammed Abdullahi Mohammed, a dual US-Somali citizen who goes by the nickname Farmajo. He took office in February.

The 101st Airborne Division has been extensively used in US-led military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The United States' most notorious military operation in Somalia was in 1993, when an ill-fated attempt to snatch militia leaders led to two Black Hawk helicopters being shot down in Mogadishu. A chaotic rescue was mounted, resulting in hundreds of deaths, including those of 18 US soldiers. The incident was made famous in the book and the movie "Black Hawk Down."

The US military spokeswoman noted that US forces have been in Somalia since 1993, helping the Somali government on security concerns.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/16/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336112 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab (AQ)

#1  conduct unspecified security operations

Kony hunting?
Posted by: Skidmark || 04/16/2017 14:40 Comments || Top||

#2  Kony hunting?

But not the fluffy bunny kind, perhaps.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/16/2017 21:52 Comments || Top||


Two Al shabaab suspects detained in Kenya
[SHABELLENEWS] Kenyan Police have tossed in the clink
Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un!
wanted terror suspect Juma Mwengo in Likoni, Kwale County.

Two grenades, ten rounds of ammunition and other paraphernalia such as CDs with radical preachings were seized.

Another wanted suspect, Stephen Wangechi was nabbed while sneaking into Mandera from Bula Hawa in Somalia.

The two are in jug for further interrogations and subsequent court appearance.

This happens at a time when Kenya is on high alert following the Easter Holidays after intelligence reports warned of high risks of terrorism in the country, including possible attacks at soft targets such as churches.

The arrest of Juma Mwengo is a blow to the al-Qaeda affiliate in Somalia, Harakat al-Shabaab
... the personification of Somali state failure...
Mujahideen (HSM), a movement which is on a steady decline and defeat by Kenya.

Posted by: Fred || 04/16/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336085 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab (AQ)


AMISOM denies Al-shabab claim of killing AU soldiers
[SHABELLENEWS] African Union
...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful...
Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) has denied claims that al-Shabaab
... the personification of Somali state failure...
Death Eaters killed soldiers following an attack on AU convoy near Afgoye town on Friday.

AMISOM said in a statement posted on Twitter that the information being peddled by Al shabaab on its affiliated Online media is false and part of their propaganda.

The AU mission confirmed that Al-Shabaab targeted AMISOM military convoy travelling about 9km from Afgoye on the road to Ceel Jaale in an Improvised Explosives Device (IED) attack.

"In the last two days, our EOD team has safely removed and destroyed two Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDS)," said AMISOM in a Twitter post.

AMISOM added that its forces, along with Somali National Army (SNA) will continue to ensure clearance of the main supply routes for easy access of humanitarian activities.

Posted by: Fred || 04/16/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336095 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab (AQ)


KDF fighter jets target Al shabaab base in Somalia
[SHABELLENEWS] Military jets believed to be belonging to Kenyan air forces have launched an air strike in a small town in Gedo region which is controlled by Al shabaab holy warriors.

Local residents said they heard loud kabooms as the Kenyan military warplanes heavily bombed Al shabaab bases in El-adde, and several nearby locations.

El-adde is the scene of a deadly attack on KDF base in January 15, 2016 by Al shabaab.

There has been no confirmation of the casualties.
Posted by: Fred || 04/16/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336093 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab (AQ)


Arabia
Yemen fight for Red Sea base leaves 25 dead
[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] At least 25 soldiers and rebels have died in festivities around a key military base near Yemen's west coast, military and medical sources said Saturday.

Loyalist forces backed by a Saudi-led coalition launched an assault to seize the Khaled Ibn al-Walid base from Shiite 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 ...
rebels and their allies who had controlled it for over two years, military sources said.

After seizing a mountain overlooking the camp in recent days, forces loyal to internationally recognized president Abed Rabbou Mansour Hadi had advanced on the camp from two directions, they said.

The camp, one of the biggest in Yemen, is 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the government-held Red Sea town of Mokha which pro-government forces retook in February.

It sits on a key road linking Mokha to the Houthi-controlled port city of Hudaida and third city Taez, which is under rebel siege.

Nine rebels were killed and two others maimed in twin coalition air strikes targeting three vehicles bringing reinforcements to the camp, military and medical sources said.

They added that a further 12 rebels and four soldiers were killed in fighting overnight.

Loyalist forces launched a major offensive on Jan. 7 to retake Yemen's 450-kilometer (280-mile) coastline as far as Midi, close to the Saudi border.

The Houthis, supported by troops loyal to former president President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh
... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it...
, control parts of northern and western 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 the capital Sanaa, which they overran in September 2014.
Posted by: Fred || 04/16/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336081 views] Top|| File under: Houthis


Europe
Europe migrant colonist briefs

Thugs shouting 'Allah is great' were behind a stampede at a Good Friday parade in Seville that hospitalized 17 people
A sign of the overall mood in Europe.
[DailyMail]
  • Police have launched an investigation following the incident in Seville

  • The arrests were made following a late night procession in the Spanish city

  • Police have released images on social media seeking the public's help

  • Eight people have been arrested - seven non-Arabic origin locals plus a Senegalese - while half of those initially hospitalized were released

  • Police have ruled out any link between the suspects and terrorist groups

More than 5,000 rescued off Libyan coast in 48 hours

[DW] The Italian coast guard and assisting NGOs have saved thousands of migrants from the Mediterranean over Easter weekend, more than 2,000 on Friday and at least 3,000 on Saturday. Jugend Rettet Iuventa told AFP there were 1,000 migrants still waiting to be rescued from rubber dinghies and other crafts on the water. Rescue missions were ongoing.

EU border control agency Frontex has accused non-government groups rescuing migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea from Libya into Europe of acting "like taxis." Italian prosecutors have suggested the non-government affiliated groups have links to traffickers, a claim the groups have strongly denied.

More than 24,000 migrants have crossed the Mediterranean Sea from Libya to Italy over the first three months of 2017, much more than the 18,000 that crossed during the same time period in 2016, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

However, the death toll for migrants crossing into Europe is much lower so far in 2017. The IOM says nearly 800 migrants have died trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea in 2017. More than 5,000 migrants died in the Mediterranean Sea in 2016.

Greece, Spain in migrant rescues

[AlAhram] The Greek coastguard said Saturday it was escorting a vessel carrying around 50 migrants towards the island of Cephalonia in the Ionian sea after answering two mayday calls. An Italian sea rescue helicopter joined three Greek patrol boats in an operation coordinated by EU border control agency Frontex to locate the vessel after receiving the distress calls.

Italy has become the prime European entry point for tens of thousands of migrants since last year's EU-Turkish agreement to stem the flow across the Aegean Sea and since the closure of the Balkan route, also last year.

Spanish police and maritime rescue authorities meanwhile said they had rescued around 200 people off Spain's southern and eastern seaboard since Wednesday. Spanish authorities said they picked up 62 North Africans, including 18 minors, at Barbate, near the Strait of Gibraltar and 52 more sub-Saharan Africans at Motril in the deep south, likewise opposite the Moroccan coast. Those rescues followed others throughout the week around Spain's south coast and off the Balearic Islands.

According to the International Organization for Migration around 1,000 people reached Spain by sea between January 1 and April 11 with 47 more drowning. That compares with 27,000 arrivals and 603 deaths in Italy and 4,107 arrivals and 14 fatalities in Greece, according to IOM data.

French send 1,000 Dunkirk migrants to new camps

[AlAhram] Officials in northern France say an operation to shelter more than 1,000 migrants has ended, five days after the camp they were staying in outside the port city of Dunkirk burned down. The prefecture for the Nord said a total of 1,061 migrants were given new shelter as of Saturday, most sent to migrant centers around France. About 30 others were arrested by border police for alleged links to people smugglers or for disturbing public order.

The migrants, most looking to cross the English Channel to Britain, were without shelter after a fire ravaged the wooden shelters of the Grande-Synthe camp, opened last year by Doctors Without Borders.

French authorities dismantled a far larger migrant camp in nearby Calais last October.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/16/2017 00:57 || Comments || Link || [336077 views] Top|| File under: Moslem Colonists


German police detain three alleged supporters of suspected terrorist
[DW] Two men and a woman - one Afghan, one Turkish and one German - have been detained in Germany on suspicion of supporting and encouraging a terrorist in planning a kaboom on police or soldiers, prosecutors in the northern city of Celle said on Friday.

The three, aged between 25 and 27, were taken into custody on Thursday night, and are suspected of aiding and abetting a serious act of violence against the state, the prosecutors said. One was found in Cologne
...a lovely city in Germany. They invented perfume there...
, one in Bunde - both in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia - and one in Hildesheim in Lower Saxony, further to the north.

The man they are suspected of supporting, Sascha L. from the central city of Northeim, has reportedly confessed to a plan to lure members of the police or army into a trap before killing them with a homemade explosive. He was incarcerated
Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try!
in February and remains in investigative custody.

Media reports say that Sascha L., who is now considered a member of the ultraconservative Islamic Salafist movement, was once active in the neo-Nazi scene.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/16/2017 00:57 || Comments || Link || [336096 views] Top|| File under: Salafists


India-Pakistan
Pakistan army foils major terrorist attack on Easter Sunday
[AlAhram] Pakistain's military says security forces foiled a "major terrorist attack" on minority Christians when they killed a bully boy and detained his associate in the eastern city of Lahore.

In a statement, the military said Saturday four soldiers were maimed in an overnight raid.

It was unclear which bully boy group wanted to target Easter Sunday in Lahore, where more than 70 people were killed in a 2016 suicide kaboom at a park, which was crowded with Christians and Moslems at thte time.

The latest raid came hours after Christians celebrated Good Friday by worshipping at city churches.

Security forces in recent months have stepped up operations against Lions of Islam but Friday's raid and shootout came as Christians prepared to celebrate the day followers believe Jesus was resurrected from the dead.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/16/2017 00:57 || Comments || Link || [336089 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Two suspected terrorists arrested in Mansehra
[DAWN] The law-enforcement agencies on Friday tossed in the slammer
Please don't kill me!
two suspected snuffies for their alleged involvement in bombing a public meeting in Battagram years ago with intent to kill Amir Muqam, the adviser to the prime minister.

The men were picked by the personnel from a private hostel near the Hazara University, and were shifted to some holy man's guesthouse an undisclosed location for interrogation.

One of the arrested men was identified as Wali Khan, resident of Shangla district, and identity of his accomplice was not disclosed, sources said, and added that more details about them couldn’t be released to media at this time. However,
it was a brave man who first ate an oyster...
they said both the men were involved in planning subversive activities in Hazara and Malakand divisions.

The detail of confiscated material and arms from arrested snuffies was also kept secret.

Meanwhile,
...back at the barn, Bossy was furiously chewing her cud and thinking...
a front man of the Hazara University told Dawn on contact that the arrested men were not the students of the varsity and were living in a private hostel near the university. He said the university would function as usual.

Posted by: Fred || 04/16/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336084 views] Top|| File under: Lashkar e-Jhangvi


Nine ‘TTP militants’, four Rangers men killed in D.G. Khan shootout
[DAWN] DERA GHAZI KHAN: Nine suspected Lions of Islam linked to the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) and four Rangers personnel were killed in a shootout that broke out during a search operation carried out by the Rangers and Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) in Dadoani village, some 15km south of Dera Ghazi Khan, early on Friday.

According to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the shootout took place when personnel of the Rangers, intelligence agencies and CTD were carrying out a search operation against suspected gunnies associated with the TTP in the Dadoani village, which is located adjacent to Choti Zaireen -- seat of the chief of the Leghari tribe and ancestral area of the late former president Farooq Ahmed Khan Leghari.

Law enforcement personnel cordoned off the area and used the loudspeaker of a local mosque to inform citizens that a search operation was being launched and urged any Lions of Islam to lay down their weapons in a peaceful manner.

A few villagers had come out of their homes and were being searched by the officials when all of a sudden some suspected gunnies shot up the coppers.

During the ensuing exchange of fire, nine suspected bad boyz were potted -- identified as Muhammad Asghar Dadoani alias Gorchani Ustad, Muhammad Naeem alias Waqas Dadoani, Naeem Dadoani, Yaqub, Usman, Mirza Khan, Ghulam Farid, Muhammad Usman and Sohail.

The three Punjab
1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots....

Rangers personnel who bit the dust were Hawaldar Asif and two soldiers, Aftab and Azizullah. Two other soldiers suffered injuries and were airlifted to the Combined Military Hospital in Multan. However,
man does not live by words alone, despite the fact that sometimes he has to eat them...
a Rangers spokesperson said that Tanvir, one of the injured soldiers, had departed this vale of tears at the CMH, Multan. Abubakar, the other Rangers soldier, is being treated for injuries at the hospital.

Posted by: Fred || 04/16/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336078 views] Top|| File under: TTP


Iraq
Two IS executioners arrested in Kirkuk
[Iraq News] Police in Kirkuk tossed in the clink
Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw!
on Friday two members of 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....
who had taken part in executions of Kurdish Peshmerga forces.

Police chief Sarhad Qader was quoted by Aljournal News saying a police force arrested the pair near Daqouq region, west of the province. He said the two members took part in battles against Peshmerga forces and also executed some of its troopers in the Islamic State stronghold town of Hawija, southwest of the province.

"There had been videos and posts proving that the arrested gunnies took part in beheading Peshmerga captives," Qader stated, adding that both had been referred to the judiciary.

Since emerging in 2014 to proclaim a self-styled "Islamic Caliphate", IS members executed hundreds of Iraqi and Kurdish security members as well as civilians. The group is still holding areas in southwestern Kirkuk,
... a thick stew of Arabs, Turkmen, Kurds, and probably Antarcticans, all of them mutually hostile most of the time...
where thousands of civilians had to flee the group’s rule to refugee camps in the province and neighboring cities. Local officials have repeatedly urged the government to hasten with security efforts to liberate IS-held regions in Kirkuk, but the Iraqi government currently employs its full military power in the six-month-old campaign to retake djinn-infested Mosul
... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn...
, IS’s biggest stronghold in Iraq.

Posted by: Fred || 04/16/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336081 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Army commander killed during battles in Mosul
[Iraq News] The Joint Operations Command has declared murder of an Iraqi army commander during battles taking place in djinn-infested Mosul
... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn...
, 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....
’s strongest stronghold in Iraq.

A statement by the command on Saturday mourned "Colonel Falah Hassan Salman, commander in the 91st brigade of the army, who was killed early on Saturday during the ’We are Coming Nineveh’ operations."

The statement did not mention the place or circumstances of the incidents.

The Joint Operations Command’s Mosul operations announced last week resumption of military operations in Central Mosul, after being suspended for few days, saying that its forces had recaptured 60% of western Mosul from Islamic State bully boys, as operations approach a third month to retake that region.

Eastern Mosul was recaptured from IS in January, after a US-backed offensive was launched in October. A new offensive started in February to retake the west.

Posted by: Fred || 04/16/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336083 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


IS big turban killed, tunnels controlled, western Mosul
[Iraq News] Federal Police have declared killing 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....
leader on Saturday and controlling a network of tunnels in districts of the Old City of djinn-infested Mosul
... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn...
, IS strongest stronghold in Iraq.

In a statement, Lt. Gen. Shaker Jawdat said "the forces killed IS leader called Mahmoud Ali Mahmoud Matar al-Hadidi during festivities with the group members in the Old City."

Moreover, "the troops controlled the group’s network of tunnels, in the south of the city, that is used an alternative headquarters by the leaders," Jawdat added.

Last week, U.S.-led coalition jets heavily pounded IS headquarters in western Mosul leaving dozens of casualties among jihadists, according to Iraq’s War Media Cell.

The Joint Operations Command previously declared its forces had recaptured 60% of western Mosul from Islamic State bad boys, as operations enter third month to clear the region from the bad boy group.

Posted by: Fred || 04/16/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336083 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


The tiny girl murdered by ISIS that brought a battle-hardened soldier to tears
[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] Iraqi fighters came across the grave as they made further inroads in their battle to reclaim djinn-infested Mosul
... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn...
from ISIS.

Pictures show the bodies of adults and children covered with blankets next to a shallow grave in a remote patch of land about 100ft from a road.

They emerged as Iraqi government forces attempted to encircle Mosul's Old City on Thursday in a bid to bottle up ISIS myrmidons.

However,
corruption finds a dozen alibis for its evil deeds...
progress was slowed by boom-mobiles and booby-traps in houses and alleyways, officers said.

The army and security forces have made significant gains in recent days in the battle that started back in October, seizing a main bridge over the Tigris river and advancing towards the mosque in the Old City from where ISIS leader His Supreme Immensity, Caliph of the Faithful and Galactic Overlord, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
...formerly merely the head of ISIL and a veteran of the Bagram jailhouse. Looks like a new messiah to bajillions of Moslems, like just another dead-eyed mass murder to the rest of us...
declared a caliphate in 2014.

But the fighting is expected to become even harder as the bully boyz defend their last enclaves in what was once their stronghold in Iraq.

'We have a plan to surround the Old City. Today we have advanced from the right and left sides and the only part left is right in the middle. God willing we will continue this plan today,' Federal Police Major General Haidar Dhirgham said.
Posted by: Fred || 04/16/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336084 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


ISIS car bomb factory discovered in Mosul where 'jihadis pack cars with deadly Chlorine'
[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] An ISIS boom-mobile factory with vehicles and explosives to cause mass destruction has been discovered in the Iraqi city of djinn-infested Mosul
... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn...
Iraqi soldiers found two cars and an armoured plated garbage truck destined to be used in suicide missions.

Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 04/16/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336090 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  Chemical weapons to cause mass casualties? Cue the international outrage in 3,2... crickets.
Posted by: SteveS || 04/16/2017 0:47 Comments || Top||

#2  Exactly. Chlorine is a chemical weapon.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 04/16/2017 13:12 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Death toll in Syrian blast targeting evacuation bus hits 112
The death toll from a bomb blast on a crowded Syrian bus convoy outside Aleppo reached at least 112 people, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said on Sunday.

Syrian rescue workers, the Civil Defense said, had carted away at least 100 bodies from the site of Saturday's blast, which hit buses carrying Shi'ite residents as they waited to cross from rebel into government territory in an evacuation deal between warring sides.

The British-based Observatory said the number was expected to rise.

Those killed were mostly residents of the villages of al-Foua and Kefraya in Idlib province, but included rebel fighters guarding the convoy, the Observatory said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which pro-Damascus media said was carried out by a suicide car bomber.

The convoy was carrying at least 5,000 people including civilians and several hundred pro-government fighters, who were granted safe passage out of the two Shi'ite villages which are besieged by rebels.

A fine old Muslim tradition started by the Prophet himself
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 04/16/2017 11:45 || Comments || Link || [336111 views] Top|| File under:

#1  later reports from CNN have death toll at 126 with most of the deaths being children
Posted by: lord garth || 04/16/2017 17:57 Comments || Top||

#2  This being CNN, I'll bet most of the 'children' are 25-30 years old.
Posted by: Seeking cure for ignorance || 04/16/2017 20:03 Comments || Top||

#3  The sad thing is that after 'Green Helmet Guy' and 'Pallywood' the first impulse is now to wonder if shocking events like this even happened...
Posted by: magpie || 04/16/2017 20:53 Comments || Top||


Russian jets drop jaw-droppingly deadly bombs on Islamist rebels in Hama
We showed ours in Nangarhar. What have they got that compares?
[ALMASDARNEWS] This evening, Russia unleashed its fiercest bombardment on northern Hama as Arclight airstrikes completely obliterated a number of rebel-held positions in the towns of Souran, Taibat al-Imam, Halfaya and Lataminah.

A military source told al-Masdar News that the air raids were conducted by a total of five Russian warplanes and two choppers that continuously returned to pound the Islamist strongholds with barely minutes in-between.

At least 50 Russian sorties were conducted beginning on Saturday morning, utilizing what appears to be a previously unused type of bomb, causing massive destruction in its wake.

The Russian bombardment is supposedly retalition for a massacre commited by an unknown rebel faction that killed over 75 Shi’ite civilians whom were in the process of being evacuated from Fuah, a government enclave on the outskirts of Idlib city.

Souran, Halfaya and Taibat al-Imam are expected to be the target of an upcoming Syrian Arab Army (SAA) ground offensive. Notably, Latamineh witnessed the most intense bombardment today; this town has long served as a gathering point for jihadist fighters to launch attacks on government-held areas of Hama province.
Posted by: Fred || 04/16/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336108 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria

#1  When the bombs are dumb, you simply need more of them.
Posted by: NanookOfTheNorthish || 04/16/2017 10:45 Comments || Top||

#2  There are no dangerous weapons.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 04/16/2017 11:52 Comments || Top||

#3  Who is being bombed?

Isis? al-Queda? People who don't like Assad? stray Turks or Iraqis?

Anyone got a program?
Posted by: AlanC || 04/16/2017 12:31 Comments || Top||

#4  Likely al-Nusra. It's also a group that a significant number of 'Russians' have migrated to.
Posted by: Pappy || 04/16/2017 13:01 Comments || Top||

#5  Who is being bombed?

I'm tempted to snark "At this point, what does it matter?", but that would only expose my indifferent and uncaring nature.

The real question is whether these previously unused types of bombs are metal cylinders filled with explosives, because that would be all heinous and stuff.
Posted by: SteveS || 04/16/2017 14:48 Comments || Top||

#6  expose my indifferent and uncaring nature.


Sorry SteveS I didn't make it clear. That's a perfect description of myself BUT it does effect the type of pop-corn I'll choose to go with the beverage.
Posted by: AlanC || 04/16/2017 16:12 Comments || Top||

#7  It's a crappy video, the camera person spend most of the video on the 'clouds' left by the explosions instead of the ground where the real damage is. Result is I have no idea if there was any real damage or if it was staged.
Posted by: Seeking cure for ignorance || 04/16/2017 20:01 Comments || Top||

#8  BUT it does effect the type of pop-corn I'll choose to go with the beverage.

Programs! Programs! Gitcher programs. Can't tell the victims du jour without a program
Posted by: SteveS || 04/16/2017 21:48 Comments || Top||


Pro-government forces recapture strategic base in Deir Ezzor, advance in cemetery area
[ALMASDARNEWS] The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) backed up by local units of the National Defence Forces (NDF) restored the strategic al-Faraj base south of Deir EzZor military airport after heavy festivities with the ISIS terrorist group. During these festivities, dozens of ISIS bully boyz were killed and injured.

At the same time, SAA units operating out of the besieged city of Deir Ezzor continued to press the offensive in the Deir Ezzor Cemetery ‐ the crucial buffer zone which stands in the way of linking the Deir Ezzor airbase to the government controlled section of city ‐ advancing toward the military airport and killing 15 snuffies in the process.

All pro-government actions on the ground (in both sectors of the Deir Ezzor Front) were backed up by airpower from the Russian Aerospace Forces (RuAF) and the Syrian Arab Air Force (SyAAF) ‐ the latter operating from the al-Shayrat military airport that was attacked by US cruise missiles nine days ago and has since been returned to full operational service.
Posted by: Fred || 04/16/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336078 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


ISIS in big trouble as Kurdish troops seize entire neighborhood in Tabqa city
[ALMASDARNEWS] Following numerous swift gains earlier in the day, the Kurdish-led ’Syrian Democratic Forces’ (SDF) proceeded to capture the entire Alexandria suburb in the southern sector of Tabqa city on Saturday.

In addition, the US-backed militia seized Ayed al-Saghir village directly west of Tabqa.

Around 50 ISIS gunnies were neutralized on Saturday alone in a large-scale offensive which began overnight with US choppers swarming the city and its outskirts.

Roughly 15% of 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....
bastion has now been brought under Kurdish control. The military operation to liberate Tabqa city officially marks stage four of the Euphrates Wrath offensive, a source embedded with the SDF told al-Masdar News.
Posted by: Fred || 04/16/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336079 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Fresh Syrian Army reinforcements arrive in northern Hama as attritional battle ensues
[ALMASDARNEWS] A handful of busses carrying newly recruited Syrian soldiers arrived in northern Hama on Saturday to reinforce the government frontline in the area.

Upon the direct request of commander-in-chief Suheil al-Hassan, the Syrian Arab Army’s (SAA) Qalamoun Shield troops were transfered from rural Damascus after completing training led by Russian military advisors in late February.

Pictures of the newly arrived Qalamoun Shield contingent:
Posted by: Fred || 04/16/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336080 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


At least 43 killed as car bomb hits Syria evacuees
[DAWN] A suicide car kaboom on busses carrying Syrians evacuated from two besieged government-held towns at least killed 43 people on Saturday, as US-backed fighters advanced in their push towards the bad boy 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's Raqa stronghold.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the blast targeted busses carrying residents evacuated from the northern towns of Fuaa and Kafraya under a deal reached between the regime and bad boys.

Bodies were still being recovered from the attack at a transit point in Rashidin, west of Aleppo, according to the Observatory.

"The jacket wallah was driving a van supposedly carrying aid supplies and detonated near the busses," the monitoring group said.

It said most of the dead were evacuees, but the blast also killed several snuffies who had been guarding the busses.

Thousands of evacuees had been stuck on the road because of a disagreement over the number of snuffies allowed to leave two other towns included in the deal.

The evacuation resumed following the blast, the Observatory said.

AFP's news hound in bad boy-held Rashidin saw several bodies, body parts and blood scattered on the ground.

The bombing took place as thousands of evacuees from Fuaa and Kafraya waited to continue their journey to regime-controlled Aleppo, the coastal province of Latakia, or Damascus.

Posted by: Fred || 04/16/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336105 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State



Who's in the News
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Two weeks of WOT
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
Sat 2017-04-08
  Iranian brigadier general killed by jihadist militants in northern Hama
Fri 2017-04-07
  U.S. launches cruise missiles against Assad's forces
Thu 2017-04-06
  Al-Qaeda assassinates prominent Free Syrian Army commander in Idlib
Wed 2017-04-05
  Global outcry over suspected Syria chemical attack
Tue 2017-04-04
  ISIS raid in Yemen leaves scores of Houthi troops dead on the battlefield
Mon 2017-04-03
  Reports of an explosion(3) in a metro station in central #StPetersburg, #Russia
Sun 2017-04-02
  IS second-in-command killed in airstrike: Iraqi State TV

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