The Pentagon has no clearly designated military official who'd be in charge of support in the event of a massive data breach by foreign hackers, according to Congress's watchdog agency. They probably proposed such a job, but couldn't find any takers.
In an analysis of the audit by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, Defense One reports the U.S. Northern Command says it's the main Pentagon support arm in such breaches, while policies and some top brass say Cyber Command plays the lead in cyberthreats from abroad.
The Department of Defense needs to clarify its roles and responsibilities in an area of growing concern, Joseph Kirschbaum, GAO's director for defense capabilities and management, warns in the audit.
And until it does, the military "may not be positioned to effectively employ its forces and capabilities to support civil authorities in a cyberincident," Kirschbaum says.
"[Department of Defense] officials stated that the department had not yet determined the approach it would take to support a civil authority in a cyberincident and, as of January 2016, DOD had not begun efforts to issue or update guidance and did not have an estimate on when the guidance will be finalized," Kirschbaum said.
According to Defense One, the Pentagon is required by law to develop a plan by next month for Cyber Command to support civil authorities in the event of a nation-state cyber strike.
But a Northern Command plan, which is already Defense secretary-approved, states its commander would coordinate a civilian mission that "may include cyber domain incidents or activities -- with other DOD components supporting in conducting the missions," Kirschbaum notes in the audit.
The reasons for the discrepancies are due to the recent emergence of the cyberthreat, according to the report.
Northern Command officials say the Pentagon so far has never received a request for assistance from any lead federal agency for military support for a foreign cyberincident, the audit states ‐ but they expect more, Defense One reports.
#2
There is (or was) something called the 'chain of command'. Of course for the jacka$$ political types now interfering with normal military Command and Control, that term might be forbidden cause it reflects 'white privilege'.
#3
This is third party private sector task. I know the guy who was in charge of NASA's cyber security. He even wrote encryption that not only prevented data loss but counter attacked any thing that tried to break into data by killing the intruding system. Of course as a young guy he served in the 82nd Airborne division with combat experience. American Exceptionalism IS still alive.
Posted by: Unelet Protector of the Sith2424 ||
04/05/2016 19:17
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#4
#3, thanks for the reassurance since the Executive Branch seems populated by mental deficients
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/05/2016 20:27
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North Korea can mount a nuclear warhead on a medium-range missile, a South Korean official said on Tuesday in a new assessment of the capability of a country that conducted its fourth nuclear test this year.
"We believe they have accomplished miniaturization of a nuclear warhead to mount it on a Rodong missile," said the South Korean official, who has knowledge of South Korea's assessment of the North’s nuclear program. The official spoke to a small group of reporters on condition of anonymity.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said last month that his country had miniaturized nuclear warheads to mount on ballistic missiles. It was his first direct statement of a claim often made in state media though never independently verified.
The Rodong missile can fire a 1 tonne (1,100 lb) warhead a distance of up to 2,000 km (1,250 miles), the official said. That would put all of South Korea, most of Japan and parts of Russia and China in range.
"We believe they have the ability to mount a nuclear warhead on a Rodong. Whether they will fire it like that is a political decision," said the official.
There was no direct evidence that the North has successfully mounted a warhead on such a missile, the South Korean official said, declining to discuss the basis for the change in assessment.
The United States, South Korea's staunch ally, concurred.
"We know that they've said they have that capability, and we have to take them at their word," Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis said at a briefing for reporters on Tuesday. "But we have not seen them demonstrate it, so we don't share that assessment necessarily but we do accept what they say as a threat we need to take as real."
For decades, North Korea and South Korea have faced off against each other. An armistice ended the fighting in the Korean 1950-53 civil war but there was no peace treaty.
The South's conservative president, Park Geun-hye, has reversed a policy of trying to engage the North in dialogue and has instead adopted a hard line against it, particularly since the North conducted its fourth nuclear test on Jan. 6 and a month later launched a long-range rocket putting an object into space orbit.
The test and launch prompted the U.N. Security Council to impose new sanctions.
South Korea has previously said North Korea had made progress in its efforts to miniaturize a nuclear warhead but the capability was incomplete. South Korea's Defence Ministry said on Tuesday that assessment remained the military's position.
Rodong missiles, developed from Soviet-era Scud missiles, make up the bulk of the North's short- and medium-range missile arsenal with an estimated stockpile of 200.
Experts have predicted that the delivery vehicle for the North's first nuclear warhead would be the medium-range Rodong missile, rather than an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which the North has yet to test.
Despite threats to strike the mainland United States, the North is seen as several years away from building an ICBM that can carry a nuclear warhead.
Experts have previously said a functioning mid-range nuclear missile would need the technology to overcome the stress of launch and re-entry and to strike the target with precision, which requires repeated testing.
The North fired a Rodong missile in March. It flew about 800 km (500 miles) into the sea, in the first such launch since two Rodongs were fired in 2014.
#2
See also WORLD NEWS > [Daily Mirror.UK] NORTH KOREA COULD NUKE RUSSIA, JAPAN, AND CHINA AT ANYTIME SAYS SOUTH KOREA.
* Also from SAME > NORTH KOREA CLAIMS ITS ATTACKS ON US WILL KILL MORE AMERICANS THAN [died] ON 9-11 IN LATEST CHILLING VIDEO.
* WORLD NEWS, BIGNEWSNETWORK > NORTH KOREA SAYS UNDER "LENINGRAD-STYLE" SIEGE FROM US-LED FORCES.
Or, in alternate, under siege from same like 1960's "Caribbean Crisis" = Cuban Bay of Pigs + Missle Crises???
VERSUS
* TOPIX > [USNI.Org] ANALYSIS: US-PHILIPINES BASING DEAL [EDCA] HEAVY ON AIRPOWER, LIGHT ON NAVAL SUPPORT [Naval Forces].
Airpower or Air Forces can't seize-n-hold territory - ADVANTAGE: CHINA + MOTHERLY PLA AIRBORNE.
* NATIONAL INTEREST > CHINA EXPECTS THE US TO ROLL OVER. WILL WASHINGTON PLAY DEAD?
ARTIC > 4 SCENARIOS AS PER A FUTURE CHINA.
MAHA-RUSHIAN "HISTOIRE'" + 1960'S-1970'S GUAM TAOTAMOANS SAY TO PICK THE SCENARIO WHERE CHINA WILL BE STRONG + MILITARILY AGGRESSIVE, WHILE THE US MAY BE WEAK IN IN MILPOL OR GEOPOL RETREAT.
Again, OWG-NWO or no OWG-NWO, "Pro-US" or "Anti-US" US-led Globalism, etc = THE "GREAT GAME" DOESN'T STOP OR END JUST BECAUSE THE US ANDOR THE WORLD WANTS TO BEGIN EXPLORING-N-COLONIZING DEEP SPACE.
* POLIFACT > DONALD TRUMP WEIGHS IN ON CHINA ISLAND-BUILDING IN SOUTH CHINA SEA.
TRUMP = argues that CHINA IS BUILDING A MILITARY FORTRESS ON THESE DISPUTED ISLANDS BECAUSE IT HAS NO RESPECT FOR POTUS OBAMA ANDOR THE OBAMA-LED WEAK = WEAKENING US.
Put another way, CHINA WILL "GO FRO BROKE" VEE THE PERT, MSM-NET VERIFIED "WEAK/DECLINING" US ASAP AMAP ALAP - CHINA AT THIS TIME IS WILLING TO SHARE 1/2 OF THE PACIFIC WID THE US, BUT IFF THE US CAN'T DEFEND GUAM-WESTPAC ANDOR HAWAII-EASTPAC CHINA WILL TRY TO UNILATERALLY TAKE IT JUST
BECAUSE IT CAN.
"GREAT GAME" > "1/2 of the Pacific = no different or is the same as 2/3rd or 3/4, Higher? of the Pacific WHEN IT COMES TO WHO RULES, VERSUS WHO DOESN'T.
Lest we forget, TRUMP > "NO MONEY = NO HONEY" = IFF US OVERSEAS ALLIES CAN'T OR WON'T PAY FOR US MILITARY PROTECTION OR SECURITY, A POST-OBAMA POTUS TRUMP MAY JUST PULLOUT ANY + ALL US TROOPS + MILASSETS, ETC. FROM THEIR COUNTRIES + LET THEM DEFEND THEMSELVES AGZ THEIR ENEMIES.
To paraph a famous 1970's Guam political slogan, POTUS TRUMP = "IFF YOU DON'T PAY ME, WE BOTH LOSE".
Sometimes, if luck is on your side, you can get a free trip through the quick and painless lane of airport security. At around 100 airports, TSA agents armed with iPads ease congestion by randomly selecting folks to hop in the magical PreCheck lane. Running that lotto may seem like a simple process, but the app that does this picking didn't come cheap. In fact, it cost some $1.4 million.
Curious about the app, web developer Kevin Burke filed a Freedom of Information Act request to try and discern the total cost. What he ultimately got several months later was a copy of a contract between the TSA and IBM that lists an award amount of $336,413.59 for the project. That sound like a lot of money for an app that's basically just a random number generator with a big arrow icon on it? Sure seems like it, but that's not even the whole bill!
As Partheek Rebala points out, a summary of the whole project is actually publicly available and is made up of nine different transactions, of which Burke's is just one. In total, the cost of the project is really $1,444,315.
An official North Korean website has released a new propaganda video portraying a multiple rocket attack on South Korea's presidential Blue House and other government buildings in Seoul. I think we need to put together a video of Pyongyang on the receiving end of similar treatment on a day when there is very little wind. Including imagery showing the misery that follows. And how any leaders would get strung up and eaten or fed to dogs.
It was uploaded on Monday to the DPRK Today website, which had released another video 10 days earlier depicting a nuclear attack on Washington.
The new 88-second video entitled "If the ultimatum goes unanswered" shows rockets fired from mobile launchers in the North destroying the buildings in a ball of fire.
It ends with the warning: "Everything will turn into ashes". Magically, North Korea gets spared in this fairy tail, of course.
Tensions have been rising on the Korean peninsula ever since the North conducted its fourth nuclear test on 6 January.
Over the past month, Pyongyang has issued repeated threats of strikes against Seoul and Washington, largely in response to annual South Korea-US war games that kicked off in early March.
The ongoing joint exercises have been larger than usual and included a special operation to "decapitate" the North Korean leadership in the event of a full-scale conflict.
Pyongyang took that as a direct threat to leader Kim Jong-un, and the Korean Peoples Army (KPA) recently issued an "ultimatum" demanding South Korean president Park Geun-Hye apologise and punish those who formulated the strategy.
This is how China is downplaying the leak. It's America's fault, of course. The facts don't speak for themselves because as they are released, America is somehow injecting spin into their interpretation designed to discredit whomsoever they choose. Even though they are obviously innocent. And victims. Excuse will be updated at 11:00 after they have had time to see who is affected, how they can take advantage of it, or if it is high enough, how to deflect it.
A huge leak of confidential documents from Mossack Fonseca, a Panama-based law firm alleged to have been a facilitator of money laundering for its clients has shocked international public opinion. Over 11 million documents were passed to German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung by an anonymous source. These documents have been reportedly investigated by some 300 global journalists for a year.
The Western media soon collected the most eye-catching information from the documents and leaders of non-Western countries have been scrutinized. Most media led with the allegations that a close friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin had laundered $1 billion. The Western media has opaquely described it as "Putin's money laundering."
Some high-profile Western public figures were named, for example Iceland's prime minister was disclosed as having a huge offshore account. But this is just small potatoes compared with the alleged scandal against Putin.
In recent years, documents exposed by Wikileaks, Edward Snowden and this time, the Panama Papers, have all made headlines worldwide. Among them, Snowden's leaks sounded the most credible since they were exposed by an admitted whistleblower. While the Wikileaks website has at least a figurehead, nobody is clearly behind these latest leaks. However the documents revealed do have basic political targets, which is food for thought.
The Western media has taken control of the interpretation each time there has been such a document dump, and Washington has demonstrated particular influence in it. Information that is negative to the US can always be minimized, while exposure of non-Western leaders, such as Putin, can get extra spin.
In the Internet era, disinformation poses no major risks to Western influential elites or the West. In the long-run, it will become a new means for the ideology-allied Western nations to strike a blow to non-Western political elites and key organizations.
The online disinformation makes public opinion precise strikes possible for the West, which always "digs out" materials from the so-called confidential information. Despite different interests, Western countries are close allies in ideology. This is perhaps the basis for the concept of the "West." Public opinion of different Western countries is quite uniform.
It is risky to claim the leaked information is fabricated. It can be predicted that such disclosure will not survive if it embarrasses the West. But the West will be happy to see such leaks happen if their opponents are attacked.
Some are wondering why so many public figures handed over their secrets to the same law firm. But it is only a minor question. For ordinary people, it is useless to wrestle with the power behind the leak, which can wield such a huge amount of documents.
04/04/2016 – DELBRUCK, Germany – 14 year old forced into sex-act
Two children were followed into a swimming bath changing room on Friday afternoon and sexually assaulted by two immigrant Afghanistan men, aged 25 and 20.
While the younger 11 year old boy was able to hide from the men, they caught a 14 year old in the shower, and forced him to perform “sexual acts” on them against his will. Once the attack ended the boys alerted a lifeguard and police arrested the men at the pool, reports Neue Westfälische.
04/04/2016 – GOTHENBURG, Sweden – Soldiers of Odin attacked
Citizen protection group members from the Nordic Soldiers of Odin group were beaten by unknown attackers on Saturday night, leading to one member of the anti-migrant crime patrol being hospitalised, reports Friatider.
Receiving reports of a fight and injuries police initially suspected the injured party would have been attacked by the vigilante group, but it transpired they were actually the victims. A police spokesman said they didn’t know if the Soldiers of Odin were on patrol when the attack took place or not.
Although police do not presently have any suspects in the case, on the same evening a group of left-wing extremists attempted to attack a group of Soldiers of Odin in Uppsala.
04/04/2016 – Italy-Austria Border – Clashes as police close border
Brenner passAustrian police have clashed with protesters demonstrating against the closure of Europe’s borders to migrants. About 1,500 people took part Sunday in a protest at the Brenner border crossing between Austria and Italy.
Toward the end of a peaceful march dozens of protesters tried to break through a line of Austrian police in riot gear. Associated Press.
05/04/16 -- EU sends in heavy mob to deport 200 migrants: Guards wearing surgical gloves and masks for 'protection' usher the first wave asylum seekers from Greece to Turkey under new European deal
Escorted by masked border guards in black military-style uniforms as they landed in Turkey today (left), these are some of the first migrants to be deported from Greece under a deal aimed at halting the influx into Europe. As the measure was finally enforced yesterday, they were loaded on to boats at dawn and each assigned a border agency officer to enforce the journey from Lesbos. Many of the guards wore surgical-style gloves and masks (main, right) as they sat either side of the rows of migrants on board. But the 202 sent to Turkey was half the number expected, and on the very same day, 330 more migrants, including small children (inset), arrived on Greek islands.
04/04/16 -- Two Iranian migrants who walked 31 miles through Channel Tunnel from France to the UK are jailed for 14 month
Payam Moradi Mirahessari, 25 and Farein Vahdani, 20, were jailed for 14 months at Canterbury Crown Court after the 12-hour, 31-mile journey to Folkestone, Kent.
04/04/16 -- Migrant numbers arriving in Germany plummet from 38,000 to just 5,000 a month after the introduction of border controls along the Balkan route
The significant drop followed Austria's decision to introduce border controls in February - creating a domino effect throughout the Balkan route, trapping some 50,000 people in Greece.
h/t Instapundit
Diane Kroupa Filed Fraudulent Tax Returns While a Sitting U.S. Tax Court Judge Kroupa and Her Husband Conspired to Evade More Than $400,000 in Federal Taxes
#3
According to the indictment and documents filed in court, as part of the conspiracy to defraud the United States, Kroupa and Fackler fraudulently claimed personal expenses as Grassroots Consulting business deductions.
but the end of the Wisconsin Glaciation, about 10K yrs ago, was a rapid warm up with lots and lots of melting and for some decades in that period, it probably was 20mm/yr
Posted by: lord garth ||
04/05/2016 18:27
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I continue to be fascinated by the very early chapters of the Hillary Clinton homebrew email saga. For one simple reason: the clintonemail.com server apparently didn't have the digital certificate needed to encrypt communications until late March 2009 -- more than two months after the server was up and running, and after Secretary Clinton's swearing-in on January 22.
Two questions are raised by this timing: First, why didn't the server have encryption from the start? And second, why did it get encryption in March, at a time when Clinton should have been extraordinarily busy getting up to speed at State, not messing with computer security protocols?
The simplest answer to the first question is that the lack of a certificate was just a mistake. But what about the second? What inspired the Secretary to get an encryption certificate in March when her team hadn't bothered to get one in January or February?
The likely answer to that question is pretty troubling. There now seems to be a very real probability that Hillary Clinton rushed to install an encryption certificate in March 2009 because the U.S. intelligence community caught another country reading Clinton's unencrypted messages during her February 16-21, 2009, trip to China, Indonesia, Japan, and S. Korea. Uh oh. This may explain why Hillary kept saying she wasn't using it until a couple months after she set it up . . . .
Thanks to FOIA lawsuits, the State Department has released a few documents from this early period. They show that Clinton began using the clintonemail.com server as early as January 28, 2009, just after her inauguration. Other messages from Cheryl Mills used the server in early February.
Even as she kept her homebrew server, Clinton and her staff were fighting to hang on to their Blackberries, just like President Obama. That provoked resistance from the State Department's top security official, Assistant Secretary Eric Boswell. On March 2, he sent the Secretary a memo -- "Use of Blackberries on Mahogany Row" -- declaring that "the vulnerabilities and risks associated with the use of Blackberries in Mahogany Row [the State Department's seventh floor executive offices] considerably outweigh their convenience."
On March 11, at a staff meeting, Clinton seemed to throw in the towel on her Blackberry, telling Boswell that she had read the memo and "gets it." We know this from correspondence among Boswell's staff.
But what's fascinating and troubling is something else in the correspondence. One staff message says that during Clinton's conversation with Boswell, "her attention was drawn to a sentence that indicates we [the diplomatic security office] have intelligence concerning this vulnerability during her recent trip to Asia."
I am struck by the mix of delicacy and insistence in that phrasing. It seems likely that Clinton's attention was drawn to that sentence because the intelligence was about Secretary Clinton's own communications security, something a discreet diplomat would not want to say directly in written communications. Clinton certainly acted like the intelligence concerned her. She asked Boswell to get her "the information." On March 11, Boswell is told by his staff that the report is already on the classified system, and he is reminded that he had already been briefed on it. Presumably he conveyed it to Clinton soon after March 11.
Eighteen days later, Clinton's server acquires a digital certificate supporting TLS encryption, closing the biggest security hole in her server. Yeah. And the rest just barely leaked everything on the server.
I suppose this could all be coincidence, but the most likely scenario is that the Secretary's Asia trip produced an intelligence report that was directly relevant to the security of Clinton's communications. And that the report was sufficiently dramatic that it spurred Clinton to make immediate security changes on her homebrew server.
Did our agencies see Clinton's unencrypted messages transiting foreign networks? Did they spot foreign agencies intercepting those messages? It's hard to say, but either answer is bad, and the quick addition of encryption to the server suggests that Clinton saw it that way too. Then she forgot all aobut it until the requisite two years slipped by, after which nothing matters to a liberal.
If that's what happened, it would raise more questions. Getting a digital certificate to support encryption is hardly a comprehensive response to the server's security vulnerabilities. So who decided that that was all the security it needed? How pointed was the warning about her Asia trip? Does it expand the circle of officials who should have known about and addressed the server's insecurity? And why, despite evidence that Clinton was using the server in connection with work in January and February, did Clinton turn over no emails before March 18?
We don't know the answers to those questions, and they may have perfectly good answers. But they do suggest that the investigation should be focusing heavily on who did what to clintonemail.com in January through March of 2009.
#1
I suppose this could all be coincidence, but the most likely scenario is that the Secretary's Asia trip produced an intelligence report that was directly relevant to the security of Clinton's communications. And that the report was sufficiently dramatic that it spurred Clinton to make immediate security changes on her homebrew server.
Yep, but the foreign intercept has already occurred, so a 'certificate' is then needed for CYA purposes... just my guess.
And my second guess is, DoS Diplomatic Security (DS) was tipped off by Another Government agency regarding the potential security breach and foreign intercepts. I say that because, unless some significant job responsibilities have occurred, DS does not have that type of capability.
Looks like the notification of a breach was a 'one off.' Someone may have been told that 'future monitoring was unnecessary' now that the certification was in place... so no worries, go the fok away and leave us alone!
Whatever happened, an accurate and realistic damage assessment would have to have concluded a likely compromise did in fact take place.
#2
Looks like the notification of a breach was a 'one off.' Someone may have been told that 'future monitoring was unnecessary' now that the certification was in place... so no worries, go the fok away and leave us alone!
I'm guessing Hilda is so ignorant about electronic communications that didn't imagine that someone was watching her. She probably had a little talk with someone who told someone else to look the other way, thereby "solving" the "inconvenient" problem.
#3
If I am reading this correctly, she was in Asia using an unencrypted connection to her private FOIA-proof email server. So, whoever was acting as her ISP had access to everything going out and coming it over that connection.
It boggles the mind. She gladly hands it all over to a foreign government rather than accept the possibility that the US public might have a right to see what she's up to.
#4
She gladly hands it all over to a foreign government rather than accept the possibility that the US public might have a right to see what she's up to.
Nothing to do with "right to see" - more of a matter of "what's convenient for me."
To paraphrase: never attribute to malice what can be accounted for by sheer egotism.
#5
She gladly hands it all over to a foreign government rather than accept the possibility that the US public might have a right to see what she's up to.
But because of the scandal, the American public is seeing it anyway. Oh well -- another demonstration that smart and wise are not necessarily connected.
#6
Nothing to do with "right to see" - more of a matter of "what's convenient for me."
I have heard no rationale for the private server that makes sense except that, as private property, it would be exempt from FOIA requests. If someone has a better explanation, I am all ears.
#7
the foreign intercept has already occurred, so a 'certificate' is then needed for CYA purposes.
My understanding is that the encryption was installed incorrectly, and never fixed. Very simply Hillary's server was always compromised, and accessed by to other governments about 2 weeks after she was sworn in.
Al
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
04/05/2016 14:46
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#8
Was any Asian Government not reading Hillary emails?
#9
I have heard no rationale for the private server that makes sense except that, as private property, it would be exempt from FOIA requests. If someone has a better explanation, I am all ears. Posted by Iblis
Gov't business doesn't stop being gov't business just because it's done over a non-gov't system. My take on it anyway... who really knows at this point.
[AlAhram] Around 45 kilograms (99 pounds) of ammunition were found in an apartment in the Dutch city of Rotterdam that has been linked to a foiled terror attack on La Belle France, prosecutors said Monday.
That's meant to sound a dreadful amount. Is it?
French suspect Anis Bahri was tossed in the clink Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit! at the flat in the southern port city on March 27 at La Belle France's request. He is suspected of planning an attack in La Belle France for 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 along with Reda Kriket, another suspect arrested near Gay Paree a few days before him.
"We have found around 45 kilos of ammunition, including two types of bullets which can both be used with Kalashnikovs," Wim de Bruin, a front man for the national prosecutor's office said.
He said no explosives or any arms had been found.
No doubt they're buried in the nearby woods, well greased and wrapped in oil cloth -- just like the Resistance did in the old days.
Bahri has been fighting extradition and is in jug until Dutch authorities take a decision on whether to send him to La Belle France.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
04/05/2016
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#1
TW, last time I bought 7.62 ammo, I bought a crate. The UPS guy made it out to be pretty heavy. The wooden crate, metal "spam can" insert, and accompanying 1240(?) rounds of ammo was about 60 lbs. My ciphering (remember to carry the two) puts 45 kilos at somewhere betwixt 2000-3000 rounds max. While here in the U.S., the media would portray this as truly only an amount of ammo of apocalyptic scale, other firearm enthusiasts might say "meh, a typical weekend at the range with friends". Hope this helps. Oh yeah, the crate in question I had delivered was about 30" x 18" x 8" so not really all that big.
[AnNahar] The Pentagon on Monday announced the transfer of two Libyan inmates from the Guantanamo Bay detention center to Senegal ... a nation of about 14 million on the west coast of Africa bordering Mauretania to the north, Mali to the east, and a pair of Guineas to the south, one of them Bissau. It is 90 percent Mohammedan and has more than 80 political parties. Its primary purpose seems to be absorbing refugees... , the latest move under President Barack Obama If you have a small business, you didn't build that... 's contentious plan to shutter the notorious jail.
Continued on Page 49
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] I do not think there is a serious examination of the ideas that generate terrorism. There is no organized and detailed review in Muslim communities. We are subject to the logic of reactions, quick convictions, apologetic and moral attitudes that are closer to self-exoneration than a real sense of the depth of the tragedy being faced.
Instead of taking into consideration what victims of terrorism have endured, the focus is on potential acts against Muslims and veiled women in Europe. Others are concerned about the image of Islam being tarnished.
All these stances revolve around fearing for ourselves, not for others. This shows our indifference toward them, and how we do not value humanity unless it impacts us, positively or negatively.
Humanity
We should recognize that a human being is valuable, with rights and respect regardless of race, religion or color. Terrorism violates the human values that manage relationships between societies.
British philosopher John Locke said: "No one has the right, in any way, to harm another person because they belong to another church or religion." He added that "all the rights and privileges belonging to a person as a human being or citizen shall be maintained and not violated," and that "rights and privileges have nothing to do with religion."
Religion cannot be imposed on others, or be the basis for one’s relationship with society. Relationships in the modern state between individuals have a civil contractual character. Muslim societies still suffer from a problem of identity and relations with the other.
Adonis believes that "the human being is the one who creates his identity with innovative ideas and work." This awareness is missing from the collective mind of Muslim societies, causing them to be more fundamentalist and inward in order to defend their existence from an imagined threat.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/05/2016
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#1
....and moral attitudes that are closer to self-exoneration than a real sense of the depth of the tragedy being faced.
I believe the word you are searching for is complicity.
[ARA News] ERBIL – Extremists of the Islamic State (ISIS) have burned 15 civilians to death in Iraqi Anbar province, local and official sources reported on Monday.
Azal Obaid, member of the Anbar Provincial Council, said that ISIS has publicly burned 15 people to death because they tried to escape the city.
“The terror group cordoned off the Fallujah city, and prevented civilians from leaving their homes,” a local source told ARA News on the phone, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Obaid stressed that ISIS is using civilians as human shields “to protect its own militants inside the city of Fallujah”.
“There is a military plan prepared by the leadership of the Iraqi army and local tribes to liberate the city of Fallujah. The plan cannot be disclosed to the press at the moment for security reasons,” according to the Iraqi official.
“Living within the city [Fallujah] under the terror group’s authority has become unbearable,” an eyewitness told ARA News.
“Fallujah has been under suffocating blockade for several months,” he said. “People endure severe shortage of basic materials, amid deteriorating living conditions.”
Speaking to ARA News in Erbil, Kurdish journalist Jamshid Mahmoud said: “The international community should take serious measures to eliminate ISIS, otherwise we’ll continue to witness such brutal scenes.”
“This barbaric group must be eliminated to stop the bloodshed in the war-torn countries of Syria and Iraq. Daesh [ISIS] has been involved in heinous crimes against innocent people.”
Over the past two years, the Islamic State militants have reportedly detained, tortured and killed thousands of civilians in Syria and Iraq.
Posted by: badanov ||
04/05/2016
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[Khaama (Afghanistan)] A senior Taliban commander was injured shortly after returning from Pakistan to the central Logar province of Afghanistan.
According to the local government officials, the senior Taliban commander, Qari Shams, had recently returned to Logar to plan and coordinate attacks in this province.
Provincial governor spokesman Salim Saleh said at least three companions of Qari Shams were killed in the raid conducted by the Afghan forces.
According to Saleh, the Afghan forces targeted the militants in Khushi district of Logar province before they manage to start terrorist related activities.
Saleh further added that Qari Shams was also the military chief of the Taliban group for Gardez city.
He said another Taliban commander who was heading the military council of the group in Charkh district was also arrested during the operation.
The Taliban group has not commented regarding the report so far.
Logar is among the relatively volatile provinces in central Afghanistan where anti-government armed militant grouips are actively operating and frequently carry out insurgency activities.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/05/2016
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] An Emirati court sentenced on Monday three Lebanese, including a Canadian dual national, to six months in prison for forming a local affiliate of Iran-backed Hezbollah, local media said.
The supreme federal court convicted the trio of "forming a group for the terrorist Hezbollah (movement) in the country," Ittihad daily reported, adding that they will be deported after serving their sentences.
They "were found guilty of setting up an office of the Death Eater group in the UAE and carrying out commercial, economic and political activities without licences," the daily Gulf News reported.
It named the men as Canadian-Lebanese Suhail Naif Gareeb, 62, and Lebanese nationals Asaad Ameen Qansouh, 66, and Ahmed Ebrahim Qansouh, 30. Their trial opened in early February.
The Arab League ...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... last month declared the Shiite movement a "terrorist" group, after Gulf monarchies took similar steps over the movement's backing for the Syrian regime.
Hezbollah is fighting in Syria in support of the government of Bashir al-Assad against opponents including Gulf-backed rebels.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/05/2016
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[Iran Press TV] Airstrikes by Saudi warplanes have killed one and injured a number of other civilians in neighboring 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... as the kingdom continues to target residential areas across the impoverished nation.
Reports by local media on Monday said some Saudi air raids targeted a camp belonging to the internally-displaced Yemenis in the northwestern Hajjah Province, leaving at least six children and one woman injured.
The attack took place in the Lamrour district of al-Shahel, a city in Hajjah.
Yemen’s al-Masirah TV said Saudis also carried out an attack earlier on Monday on civilian houses in the city of Sa’ada, north of the country, killing one civilian.
Security sources said air strikes also targeted a telecommunications center in the city of Saqayn and a post office in the city Haydan, both in the Sa’ada Province, which is a stronghold of Ansarullah. Reports said a number of houses were also destroyed in the attacks.
Yemen has been the target of incessant Saudi Arclight airstrikes for more than a year. Nearly 9,400 Yemenis have bit the dust since last March.
A report by the United Nations ...a formerly good idea gone bad... Children's Fund indicates that the war has killed at least 934 children and injured nearly 1,400 more so far. This means, on average, six children have been directly affected by the violence every day.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/05/2016
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[Iran Press TV] Iraqi elite forces have entered the western city of Hit in a major push to retake it from the ISISTakfiri ...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who must be killed... terrorist group.
Commanders from Iraq’s counterterrorism forces said on Monday that troops entered Hit earlier in the day and began clearing its northern neighborhoods.
They said advances have been made against ISIS toward the central parts of Hit, located in Anbar Province along a ISIS supply line to Syria.
The advance comes just one week after Iraqi forces recaptured the nearby city of Kusaybah and began preparations for retaking Hit.
ISIS, which has lost a significant portion of the territories it used to control in Anbar Province, has reportedly trapped thousands of civilians inside Hit. Local media had earlier reported the release of hundreds of civilians and security forces from an underground prison near Hit.
Iraqi forces have managed to liberate key areas across Anbar and other provinces from the occupation of ISIS over the past months with the most notable being Anbar’s bustling provincial capital of Ramadi, which was retaken two months ago. Preparations are underway for the recapture of Fallujah, ... the City of Mosques, which might have somthing to do with why it's not called Center of Prosperity or a really nice place to raise your kids... which is the second largest city in the sprawling province. ISIS has controlled Hit for the last 18 months
The bandidosDeath Eaters blitzed vast areas in western Iraq in summer of 2014 months after they captured territories in the north. Iraqi officials have vowed that they would purge ISIS from Iraqi soil in 2016.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/05/2016
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OKARA: In a joint operation, conducted by army, Rangers and police, as many as 25 suspected terrorists, including eight proclaimed offenders, were picked from 34/2L (Balochan wali) village and illegal weapons recovered.
Investigation wing Superintendent of Police (SP) Amir Saud Magsi told the media here on Sunday at DPO Complex that the identity of the 25 nabbed suspects was not being disclosed yet to arrest their accomplices in the light of information being extracted from them.
On the occasion, the weapons recovered from the suspects were also displayed, including three Kalashnikoves, 3 8MM rifles, two 303 bore rifles, one 30 bore pistol and 1000 bullets. Besides, five motorcycles and cell phones were also seized.
BOOKED: Police booked Anjman Muzareen Punjab (AMP) secretary general and two others for allegedly inciting public against security and police personnel, violating Loudspeaker Act and the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO).
The case against AMP secretary general Mehar Abdul Sattar, Zahid and Ramzan was registered by Cantonment police station SHO Ashraf Qureshi (FIR No 101/16) under Section 16 of the MPO, Section 6 of the Loudspeaker Act-2015 for chanting slogans against law enforcement agencies, including police, besides inciting public.
Allah has willed the despoilation of these children; otherwise he would not have allowed it to happen.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Afghan intelligence operatives released a group of 14 prisoners from a Taliban-run prison in southern Helmand province of Afghanistan.
They have also arrested at least four Taliban group members who were operating as the group’s jailers in Helmand province.
The National Directorate of Security (NDS) said the suspects were arrested during a special military raid in Greshk district.
According to a statement by NDS, the militants were operating under the supervision of the Taliban group leader Mullah Mazlumyar.
The suspects have been identified as Nazar son of Janan, Abdul Rahman son of Abdul Khaliq, Bacha Khan son of Mir Hamza and Naqibullah son of Abdul Rahman.
The statement further added that 14 civilians including children and teenage boys were released from the prison run by the Taliban during the operation.
Quoting the released prisoners, NDS said the Taliban insurgents were also sexually abusing the detained teenage and children.
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04/05/2016
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Beirut-Fierce clashes resumed yesterday between regime forces and ISIS militants in Al-Qaryatayn town, located in the Homs Governorate.
Regime forces undertaking two fronts, led violent battles with Syrian Opposition forces in Al-Eis town, located in south Aleppo. Regime forces entered Al-Eis yesterday and announced the death of twelve Lebanon-based Hezbollah militants and two militants from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps IRGC.
According to “Mashriq” news agency, the two IRGC members killed are Saeed Mosafir (30 year-old) and Jamall Razi (35 year-old). The two allegedly joined the IRGC in the Gilan Province, located north of Iran. Mosafir and Razi were killed during a suggestive “advisory mission” in Aleppo.
The agency set the number on Gilan IRGC members’ death toll in Syria to eleven.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights revealed that at least twelve Hezbollah members were killed by the brutal attack launched by al-Nusra Front, Syrian Opposition and fighting factions a day ago, after taking control of Al-Eis.
On the other hand, the Syrian regime announced its forces taking over Al-Qaryatayn town. However, the Syrian Observatory denied the regime’s allegations, and confirmed that there is no truth to what is being published by pro-regime media outlets on forces taking over the town of Al-Qayatayn entirely.
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights’ chief, Rami Abdel Rahman, told Asharq Al-Awsat that regime forces have entered Al-Qaryatayn a day ago, yet only managed to seize control over half the town approximately.
Rahman negated all the regime’s acclamations on completely controlling Al-Qaryatayn. “Just like what had happened in Palmyra, the regime announced complete control as soon as forces breached the area, simply to improve soldier moral prior to it effectively posing full control, which was two days later, same thing is happening in Al-Qaryatayn now.”
The Syrian Observatory pointed out that clashes are ongoing in eastern and southeastern zones controlled by ISIS, amid a collapse in the terrorist organization’s lines. The observatory added that regime forces are supported by Syrian and Russian air forces which enabled troops to control over half the town.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights’ chief Rahman told AFP news agency that regime forces now control over half of Al-Qaryatayn which is considered the last ISIS stronghold in the Homs governorate.
Rahman clarified that Al-Qaryatayn battle is an included part of the same military operation instigated last March by regime forces to expel ISIS from Palmyra.
Posted by: badanov ||
04/05/2016
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[IN.REUTERS] Saudi Arabia has suspended licenses granted to Iran's Mahan Air to fly through its air space or land at its airports due to violations of local safety rules, the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) said on Monday.
Aviation sources said in January that around 150 direct flights between Iran and Saudi Arabia that carry thousands of pilgrims every month had been halted after Riyadh severed diplomatic relations with Tehran.
The GACA said in a statement that several violations related to airline safety had been committed by flights operated by Mahan Air to the kingdom, "prompting the suspension of licenses granted to the company".
"This decision comes in the context of the GACA (regarding)the safety of passengers and to preserve their lives," the statement said. There was no immediate official comment from Iranian officials.
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told Reuters in January that the kingdom had halted trade and flights with Iran as part of a diplomatic response to Iranian protesters storming the Saudi Embassy in Tehran after the execution of a prominent Shi'ite cleric by Riyadh.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/05/2016
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#3
The Ordinance Office was in the sack for buying the H&K replacement for the M16 family, but it turned out to be such a turkey that the German army had to take it out of service after buying it(that bad).
Consolation prize.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
04/05/2016 19:18
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[Khaama (Afghanistan)] At least 18 anti-government armed militants were killed in separate raids in north and south of the country in the past 24 hours.
The Ministry of Defense (MoD) said at least 9 militants were killed during an operation in Dand-e-Ghori district of Baghlan province and 8 others were wounded.
According to an operational update by the Ministry of Defense (MoD) at least 4 militants were killed and 7 others were wounded during a separate operation in Dehrawood district of Uruzgan.
In separate operation in Greshk district of southern Helmand province, at least 5 militants were killed, MoD added.
The Afghan forces also arrested five suspects including an individual involved in kidnapping cases from Sar-e-Hawza area of Paktia province.
According to MoD, at least 4 soldiers of the Afghan National Army (ANA) forces lost their lives during the same operations.
There has been a steep rise in the number of the Afghan army casualties since they took control of the security responsibilities from the coalition forces last year.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/05/2016
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[Iran Press TV] Armed security forces dressed as civilians will be patrolling passenger trains in La Belle France as one of a series of new security measures in the country, the head of the national railway operator SNCF says.
Guillaume Pepy said on iTele TV on Sunday that the plain-clothes officers, chosen from the SNCF's 3,000 security agents, will be allowed to use their weapons if necessary.
At present, guards patrolling the trains wear navy-blue uniforms embellished with the company logo, and carry visible weapons.
Among other measures, a team of special agents will monitor some of the 40,000 train station cameras for suspicious behavior, and arms and explosive detectors will be installed in some train stations.
Pepy also said that the SNCF has increased its security budget by 50 percent to around €400 million (USD 455 million) to finance its new security measures. "The SNCF is changing. We will no longer take the train in the same way. Everyone should be able to take the train without having to worry."
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[Iran Press TV] An Iranian military official says commandos from an Iranian army unit have been deployed to Syria on an advisory mission.
Brigadier General Ali Arasteh, the deputy for coordination in the Iranian Army’s Ground Forces, told Tasnim news agency on Monday that the Iranian commandos, from Brigade 65 of the Forces, had took on a mission of advising Syrian forces.
Iran maintains military advisers in Syria, where the government of Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Light of the Alawites... is fighting an array of foreign-backed turban forces, including, but not limited to, those of the ISIS terrorist group. Al-Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate, the so-called al-Nusra ...formally Jabhat an-Nusrah li-Ahli sh-Sham (Support Front for the People of the Levant), also known as al-Qaeda in the Levant. They aim to establish a pan-Arab caliphate. Not the same one as the Islamic State, though .. ... Front, is another one of the groups engaged in brutal activities against the Syrian people and government.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/05/2016
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
Iran has had some high level officers killed on or near the front lines the past few months. Probably, the high command back in tehran got a lot of info on the deficiencies of the Syrian, Hezbollah, shia militia team.
so maybe the decision was to that the Syrians need more commando leadership
this is a bit similar to situations the US faced in Afghanistan and Iraq -- however, as the US has found out, not only is it hard to train the locals but also this training can come undone fairly swiftly if it is undercut by corrupt leadership
Posted by: lord garth ||
04/05/2016 10:12
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#5
Iff OWG Co-Superpower Iran expects to have any "post-US" sphere(s) of influence, let alone lead any ME/Muslim-specific OWG Global Fed Union(s), IT HAS TO BE ABLE TO SEIZE-N-HOLD TERRITORY = SUCCESSFULLY DEFEND ITS INTERESTS AGZ ALL COMMERS LEST ITS LEADERSHIP BE CHALLENGED.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] Ashraf GhaniPresident Mohammad Ashraf Ghani said Monday that Afghanistan is facing the menace of terrorism from the terror networks including al-Qaeda, Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Taliban group, acknowledging that the poverty rate has surged to 49 per cent.
During his speech at the Special Joint Coordination and Monitoring Board (JCMB) Meeting in Kabul, President Ghanis said the terror groups are continuously targeting Afghanistan.
Emphasizing on the creation of framework to fight the terror groups, President Ghani said the insurgent groups are attempting to destroy the world’s culture and history, insisting that the groups do not have any borders.
President Ghani reiterated the government’s stance towards the militant groups, saying there are no good or bad terrorists and hailed the Afghan forces for fighting the militant groups who tried to topple the government.
He acknowledged the growing poverty in the county during the past two years and said the main motive behind a surge in poverty is the withdrawal of the foreign forces.
According to President Ghani, the poverty has increased from 46 per cent to 49 per cent from 2013 to 2014 but insisted that the government is committed to bring reforms in a bid to increase revenue and tackle corruption.
He said the government will continue to bring reforms in various sectors including the judicial sector and improve good governance but the government’s top priority is peace and stability as the terror groups threatens the country.
The remarks by President Ghani comes as major international conferences are due to take place to discuss the situation in Afghanistan amid hopes that the Afghan government will attract the international community support for the coming years.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[Khaama (Afghanistan)]
The Taliban group has appointed Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob as the group’s military commission chief for 15 provinces of the country.
Mullah Yaqoob is the son of the Taliban group founder and former supreme leader Mullah Mohammad Omar whose death was confirmed last year.
Taliban said Mullah Yaqoob was appointed for the post during an extraordinary meeting organized by the Taliban leadership on Monday.
A statement by the group said Mullah Omar’s brother Mullah Abdul Manan Omari has been appointed as Taliban’s chief for religious affairs and invitation as well as the Taliban leadership’s member.
No further details were given regarding the exact location where the extraordinary meeting was organized as the Taliban’s main council is based in Quetta city of Pakistan.
The latest appointments come amid growing tensions among the Taliban leadership following the confirmation of Mullah Omar’s death last year.
Meanwhile, earlier reports suggested of intense tensions among the Taliban group leader Mullah Akhtar Mansoor and Mullah Omar’s son and brother over the appointment of Taliban supreme leader successor.
According to the reports, Mullah Yaqoob and Mullah Manan Omari were forced to accept Mullah Mansoor as the new supreme leader of the Taliban group despite Taliban said the two relatives of the late founder of the group pledged allegiance to Mullah Mansoor.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
And OSAMA BIN LADEN'S son, the "Crown Prince"???
While I'm at it, that of AYMAN-THE-Z-MAN = ZAWAHIRI + YOUNGER MEMBERS OF OSAMA'S INNER CIRCLE???
(IraqiNews.com) Kirkuk – The leader in al-Hashd al-Shaabi Jabbar al-Mamouri announced on Monday, that the so-called ISIS kidnapped 30 youths from Hawija District and took them to an unknown destination, while pointed out that most of the kidnapped people are relatives of the security forces’ members.
Mamouri said in a press statement followed by IraqiNews.com, “ISIS kidnapped 30 youths from Hawija District and the nearby villages during the last 24 hours and took them to an unknown destination.”
Mamouri added, “The majority of the kidnapped youths are relatives of the members of the security forces.”
(IraqiNews.com) Kirkuk – A source in Kirkuk Province announced on Monday, that 30 ISIS members, including prominent leaders, were killed and 15 others were wounded in an explosion due to a defect in an explosive belt southwest of Kirkuk.
The source said in a statement obtained by IraqiNews.com, “A group of ISIS members wearing explosive devices in Robaida village in al-Rashad vicinity were preparing to attack the security forces in Hamrin Mountains and the oil fields of Alas and Ajil in Salahuddin Province.”
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, added, “An explosion took place due to a defect in one of the explosive belts,” pointing out that, “The explosion resulted in the killing of 30 ISIS members including prominent leaders, in addition to wounding 15 others.”
Posted by: badanov ||
04/05/2016
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[ARA News] ERBIL – Radical group of the Islamic State (ISIS) launched Monday a major offensive on strongholds of the regime’s army forces in Syria’s eastern province of Deir ez-Zor, killing and wounding a number of soldiers.
ISIS has reportedly advanced towards the regime-held strategic airbase of Deir ez-Zor, despite the US-led coalition’s airstrikes on the group’s fighting positions during Monday’s clashes.
Speaking to ARA News in Deir ez-Zor, media activist Ahmed Ramadan said that ISIS jihadis started their offensive by conducting a series of suicide bombings near positions of the pro-regime forces and allied National Defense militia, in the district of Harbash in Deir ez-Zor suburb, causing the death and injury of at least 30 Syrian soldiers.
“ISIS militants infiltrated into the Harabsh district, adjacent to the military airport of Deir ez-Zor, and carried out several car bomb attacks,” Ramadan said.
“The ISIS-led suicide operations on the regime’s headquarters led to the outbreak of fierce clashes between the two sides in the vicinity of the military airbase,” the source told ARA News.
At least seven soldiers were killed during the clashes before ISIS insurgents seized control of several army posts in the vicinity of the Deir ez-Zor airbase.
Supported by military helicopters, the regime’s army forces launched heavy shelling on the area of clashes.
ARA News could not verify the death toll among ISIS jihadis.
Also, local activists reported that the colonel in the regime’s Republican Guard, Ibrahim Salloum, was killed along with 13 other soldiers after being hit by two shells inside the airbase on Monday.
“ISIS jihadis were able to control 7 new points in the vicinity of the airbase after successful suicide operations,” Ramadan told ARA News.
Over the past four weeks, Russian air force intensified bombardment on the international highway connecting Palmyra, Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa in a bid to prevent ISIS from receiving additional reinforcements.
Last month, Syrian army forces started an extended military campaign with the support of the Russian warplanes and infantry to control the eastern areas of the international highway between Palmyra and Deir ez-Zor city.
Deir ez-Zor is deemed strategic for ISIS for it links the group’s de facto capital of Raqqa with Iraqi territory controlled by the radical group.
ISIS has been fighting for more than a year to seize the military airport and other regime-held districts in Syria’s oil-rich eastern province of Deir ez-Zor.
Posted by: badanov ||
04/05/2016
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The national government has recruited an additional 500 Kenya Police Reservists (KPR) who will serve in terror-prone areas in Lamu and Garissa Counties.
The 500 KPR officers will serve in areas where the multi-agency Operation Linda Boni is ongoing and is in its seventh month. The operation is meant to flush out Al-Shabaab elements suspected to be hiding inside the vast Boni Forest.
Linda Boni Operation Director James ole Serian has confirmed that 300 KPR officers have been recruited in various parts of Lamu while 200 others were recruited in Garissa County. Mr ole Serian said the move was taken to strengthen the security of the citizens at the grassroots particularly in areas covered by the ongoing Operation Linda Boni.
Speaking to the Nation by phone, Mr Serian said the names of the recruited individuals have already been sent to the Inspector-General of Police Joseph Boinett for approval.
Mr Serian said the 500 KPRs will start work immediately after their approval.
He said more security patrols had been enhanced by an increased number of security forces conducting the Linda Boni operation adding that the additional 500 KPR officers will greatly boost the Linda Boni activities aimed at protecting the citizens and eliminating Al-Shabaab elements in the region.
He appealed to locals to cooperate with the security agents including the newly recruited KPR officers and be ready to give information that will aid in eradicating criminals in the region.
Commenting on the same, Lamu County Commissioner Joseph Kanyiri said he was happy with the government’s efforts in ensuring citizens are protected. He said the 300 KPR that were recruited in Lamu will occupy vacancies left by those who had retired and also the ones who opted to quit the service.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/05/2016
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[Iran Press TV] At least six Afghan coppers have bit the dust after their convoy was ambushed by Talibs in the country’s northern province of Balkh, an Afghan official says.
According to Abdul Manan Raoufi, the police operation chief of the province, the turbans attacked the convoy on Sunday night in the Dawlat Abad district of Balkh.
He said the ambush happened when the police were en route to the neighboring province of Jawzjan after conducting a military operation in the district.
Raoufi added that a Taliban leader was also killed in the shootout between Afghan police and the holy warrior group.
Posted by: Fred ||
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[Iran Press TV] Orders for US factories fell in February for the second straight month and business investment plans dropped by the largest amount in two months, the latest indications that economic growth slowed further in the first quarter.
New orders for manufactured goods declined 1.7 percent as demand fell broadly, the US Commerce Department said on Monday. Factory orders have declined in 14 of the last 19 months.
The Commerce Department also said orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft fell by a steeper 2.5 percent in February, signaling a decline in business confidence and spending plans.
Demand for durable goods, everything from aircraft to computers and household appliances, dropped 3 percent in February. Orders for nondurable goods such as petroleum, chemicals and paper products were down 0.4 percent.
"This morning's report suggests a more sluggish manufacturing sector in the early part of the quarter," said Jesse Hurwitz, an economist at Barclays in New York City.
The report added to already weak American consumer spending and trade data.
US economic growth moderated further at the turn of the year after slowing to a 1.4 percent annualized pace in the fourth quarter. Estimates for first-quarter gross domestic product growth are currently below a 1 percent rate.
Manufacturing, which accounts for about 12 percent of the US economy, has been pressured by a strong dollar and weak global demand, which have undermined exports of factory goods, as well as efforts by businesses to reduce an inventory overhang.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/05/2016
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#1
"This morning's report suggests a more sluggish manufacturing sector in the early part of the quarter," said Jesse Hurwitz, an economist at Barclays in New York City.
Then I believe there was yesterdays report of pending economic downturn from Trump. Not to be believed of course, due to his obvious lack of knowledge and bouts of insanity.
#4
Not to beleived of course, due to his obvious lack of knowledge and bouts of insanity.
In terms of a pending recession,Trump should be beleived no more or less then some of the most respected econimists that have expressed simmilar warnings. Or no more or less then some of the Prepper websites peddling MRE's and gold coins that also are predicting a pending economic collapse. Not sure of the technical term but I think it's called "throwing shit against the wall and seeing what sticks".
[ARA News] ERBIL – The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are preparing for a major offensive to retake the city of Manbij from the Islamic State (ISIS).
A spokesman for the US-led coalition, which backs the SDF in its war on ISIS, told ARA News that for the US “it’s critical that the ISIS-held Manbij pocket of 98-kilometers” is seized from the radical group.
“As to why the Manbij pocket is important, it represents a major border crossing point where foreign fighters can cross into Syria from Turkey,” said Colonel Christopher Garver, a spokesperson for the US-led coalition against the Islamic State.
“In regards to a plan to retake Manbij, I don’t want to speak about potential future operations for obvious security reasons, but if there is a pocket of the ISIS out there on the battlefield, we of course want to attack it to root them out,” Col. Garver told ARA News.
The Turkish newspaper Hurriyet, reported that there are negotiations going on between Turkey and the United States over the Manbij operation.
In the meantime, Peter Cook, Spokesman for the Pentagon, on Monday did not want to give details about the meetings between Turkey and the US over Manbij. “I let the Turkish government speak [on that subject],” he said.
“Turkey remains a critical partner in the fight against ISIS and a critical NATO ally and we work closely with Turkey in range of fronts,” he added.
The Turkish government opposes that Kurdish forces cross into Manbij, although the newly formed Manbij Military Council [announced on 3 April] not only consists of Kurds, but also Arabs, Turkmen, and other minorities.
“To show respect to your sacrifices and resistance in the face of terrorism and tyranny, we hereby announce our commitment to fight side by side with you in order to defeat terrorism and liberate our dear city of Manbij and its countryside from the fist of ISIS terrorists where Kurds, Arabs, Turkmen, and Circassians used to coexist peacefully before the occupation,” Adnan Abu-Amjad, the commander of the Manbij Military Council, said in the announcement of the new council. Video report at the link
Posted by: badanov ||
04/05/2016
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#1
One would think the Turks have an interest in maintaining the status quo in Manbij.
[Iran Press TV] Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him... has pledged to continue operations against Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) Death Eaters, saying there remains no room for peace talks with the Death Eater group.
Erdogan said in a speech in the capital, Ankara, on Monday that PKK holy warriors should either surrender or they will be "neutralized" by Turkish security forces.
The PKK abandoned a ceasefire with Ankara in July 2015, about two years after it was clinched between both sides to end a conflict that has killed 40,000 people since 1984.
The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... has been involved in a large-scale campaign against the PKK since last July in the country’s southern border region. It has also been conducting offensives against the positions of the group in northern Iraq.
According to government figures, some 400 Turkish soldiers and coppers were killed in the operations. Opposition political parties say between 500 and 1,000 civilians were also killed.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/05/2016
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#1
Here's another one:
Why do I have the feeling that I'm looking on at the "outside" world circa 1914?
Posted by: Fred ||
04/05/2016
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#1
FYI: Dallas mosque where armed anti-Islamic protesters were greated by armed New Black Panthers was not an ordinary Mosque. It was a Nation of Islam Mosque.
Posted by: Unelet Protector of the Sith2424 ||
04/05/2016 16:40
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#2
The anti-terrorist protestors should have shown up unarmed.
Azerbaijan uses retaliatory detachments that are punishing the servicemen who choose to back away from the fight, spokesperson for the Armenian Defense Ministry wrote on Facebook.
“According to confirmed sources, the combat efficiency of the Azeri troops has fallen so drastically that even hired mercenaries with vast terrorist experience are unable to help. At this moment, in these territories, Azerbaijan uses forces of punishment by death to those servicemen who choose to back away from the fight,” Artsrun Hovhannisyan wrote.
Now this is propaganda!
The situation in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone dramatically escalated on Saturday night. From regular shootings and frequent sabotage-reconnaissance attempts, Azerbaijan has now moved to large-scale attack all along the Line of Contact, using a variety of weaponry as well as artillery, armored vehicles, and air force. Both sides have suffered losses. I used to watch these festivities back in the early '90s, when the Soviet Union broke up. The Azeris must be really good lovers, because one thing they ain't is soldiers. Biden talks to Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden talked to the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan calling them to reach a comprehensive settlement of Karabakh conflict.
“As I told Presidents Aliyev & Sargsyan, comprehensive settlement in #NagornoKarabakh is critical for their stability, security, prosperity,” Biden tweeted.
So he didn't talk to them, he tweeted. That says a lot about American foreign policy these days, doesn't it...
Armenia's President Serzh Sargsyan asks for stopping military operations, RIA Novosti reported Apr. 4. Armenia is ready for compromises in the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, said the report.
On the night of Apr. 2, all the frontier positions of Azerbaijan were subjected to heavy fire from Armenians, who were using large-caliber weapons, mortars, grenade launchers and guns. Azerbaijani settlements near the frontline densely populated by civilians were shelled as well.
A counter-attack was carried out following the provocations of the Armenian armed forces on the night of Apr. 2.
Trend Azerbaijan is not a reliable source in this conflict. Salt required.
Azerbaijan's army may carry out strikes on the city of Khankendi and other occupied settlements, read a message posted on the website of Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry Apr. 4.
Then again, it may not...
"Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry has tasked all the types of the armed forces, including the rocket and artillery troops, to be ready to carry out crushing strikes from all heavy combat weapons on the Khankendi city and other occupied settlements, if the Armenians don't stop shelling Azerbaijani settlements in a short time," said the message.
If the Azeris could displace the Armenians they'd do so. There's certainly no love lost between the two. The fact that the Azeris are talking big means they aren't yet capable of acting big...
Armenian armed forces are targeting densely populated residential areas and civilians in order to retaliate for heavy causalities along the frontline, added the ministry.
[Iran Press TV] At least four Armenian military personnel have been killed in a series of festivities between Armenian-backed and Azerbaijani forces in the disputed Caucasus region of Karabakh.
"Four more military victims were announced today on the Karabakh side," in fresh festivities with Azerbaijan forces on Monday, said Hovhannes Guevorkian, Karabakh representative in La Belle France.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Guevorkia blamed Azeri forces for continued bombing of towns across the volatile region, saying the violence-wracked region would use fixed-wing combat aircraft if there was a new large-scale attack by Azerbaijan forces.
Meanwhile, ...back at the wreckage, Captain Poindexter awoke groggily, his hand still stuck in the Ming vase... a front man for the Armenia-backed authorities in Karabakh have accused Azeri forces of killing three civilians, including a 92-year-old woman, in the village of Talysh.
Armenian Defense Ministry front man Artsrun Hovhannisyan also claimed that the Yerevan-backed forces had "seriously advanced at certain sectors of the front line and took up new positions." The remarks were quickly dismissed as "untrue" by senior Azerbaijan authorities in Baku.
Azerbaijan and separatist forces in Nagorno-Karabakhk on Tuesday agreed on a cease-fire starting noon local time following three days of the heaviest fighting in the disputed region since 1994, the Azeri defense ministry announced.
The operations of Azerbaijani and Karabakh troops "have been stopped," the ministry said.
An News Agency that Dare Not be Namednews hound in the front-line area of Azerbaijan heard shelling Tuesday morning but there was no sound of fighting in the early afternoon.
Posted by: Steve White ||
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#1
Wow, shades of the old NKVD security battalions!
Yes I know it is most likely just Armenian propaganda invented from whole cloth, but still, talk about old school.
"You will serve on the front line, or you will serve as an example! *gunshot*"
#2
It's all very sexy, until it's not...the back-slapping camaraderie, vodka, uniforms, guns and tanks, etc. When the tactical advantage is lost and leadership fails, the fun suddenly stops and 'war is hell' kicks in.
#4
A sideshow to the Russia-Turkey-Iran-Syria-Iraq main event.
Azerbaijan has a large chunk of non-contiguous territory between Armenia and Iran. As about 35% of ethnic Azeris live in Iran and Iran wants to keep Azerbaijan in its place. My crystal ball foresees some 'liberation' of territory.
#5
I worked with an ethnic Russian refugee from Azerbaijan. She was in school in Russia when Azerbaijan separated from the USSR.
The massacres of ethnic Russian by roving Muslim gangs were never reported in the US media. NEVER.
Her family was one of thousands or 10s of thousands brutally massacred. Left her a damaged woman.
#6
As to the vodka comments... from what I understand the Azerbaijanis have the same recreational drug preferences the Iranians do - namely pot, opium and heroin.
#7
The massacres of ethnic Russian by roving Muslim gangs were never reported in the US media. NEVER.
I knew a nurse from Ichilov dep surgery. They used to treat Russian citizens who had their fingers chopped of by Chechen kidnappers---to encourage the families to pay. Something like 2 - 3 a week. Ichilov was like a world center for treating such people---mostly kids---cause Russians couldn't and "western" refused to admit they exist.
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Warplanes believed to belong to the Saudi-led coalition bombed and set ablaze an al Qaeda compound in southern 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... on Monday, residents said, the latest attack to target the turban group that controls at least two cities in the country.
Islamist turbans have exploited the Yemen war between Iran-allied Houthis and forces loyal to Saudi-backed President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to seize at least two historic provincial capitals in south and eastern Yemen, using them as bases to recruit more followers.
Residents said two planes launched rockets into an old office of the local government in Zinjibar, the Abyan ...a governorate of Yemen. The region was a base to the Aden-Abyan Islamic Army terrorist group until it dropped the name and joined al-Qaeda. Its capital is Zinjibar. In March 2011, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula declared the governate an Islamic Emirate after seizing control of the region. The New York Times fastidiously reported that those in control, while Islamic hard boyz, are not in fact al-Qaeda, but something else that looks, tastes, smells, and acts the same. Yemeni government forces launched an effort to re-establish control of the region when President-for-Life Saleh was tossed and the carnage continues... historic provincial capital, which is held by Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula ...the latest incarnation of various Qaeda and Qaeda-allied groups, including the now-defunct Aden-Abyan Islamic Army that boomed the USS Cole in 2000... (AQAP), setting the building on fire.
They said an unknown number of al Qaeda turbans were in the compound at the time and were believed to have been killed or maimed. Apache helicopters, also believed by residents to belong to the Saudi-led coalition, were later seen flying over the city.
A local official said on Sunday that warplanes launched four air strikes on an AQAP camp near the port city of Mukalla, killing and wounding a number of turbans.
It was not immediately possible to confirm the affiliation of the aircraft involved in Monday’s reported air strike. A front man for the Saudi-led alliance could not be contacted for immediate comment.
US aircraft have staged attacks on AQAP fighters in Yemen in recent weeks.
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[GMA News] Two Philippine soldiers and a policeman were abducted by Maoist New People's Army militants in separate incidents in Agusan del Sur and Misamis Oriental on Sunday.
Major Ezra Balagtey said the two soldiers — both off-duty — were seized when their motorcycle passed through an insurgent "checkpoint" in Buenavista, Agusan del Sur. He said, "They were not in uniform because they were still off duty when they were abducted. They have no firearms at that time."
Balagtey said the pair were on their way to report to their headquarters when abducted.
Meanwhile, the policemen was taken under similar circumstances, when he passed through a militant "checkpoint" in Talisayan, Misamis Oriental. Balagtey said, "They (the militants) put up a road blockade and abducted a policeman-motorist," adding the insurgents were wearing military battle attire.
[IN.REUTERS] Air La Belle France said it would allow female cabin crew and pilots to opt out of flying routes to Tehran after some staff said they did not want to be forced to cover their hair when in Iran.
Air La Belle France, part of the Franco-Dutch group Air La Belle France-KLM, is preparing to restart flights to Tehran from April 17 after an eight-year hiatus due to sanctions.
After a meeting between Air La Belle France management and unions on Monday, the French carrier said it would offer female staff the choice of opting out of the flights.
Under Iranian law, women must cover their hair in public places. Unions had raised concerns over an Air La Belle France ruling obliging female crew to wear a headscarf on leaving a plane.
The debate on the wearing of headscarves and other religious symbols in public is particularly heated in La Belle France, which attaches importance to the separation of state and religious institutions.
"This obligation does not apply during the flight and is respected by all international airlines serving the Republic of Iran," Air La Belle France said in a statement on Monday.
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#1
The stewardesses have more cajones than management.
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] More than 20 people were killed on Monday in Iraq, most in suicide kabooms targeting members of Shiite militias and military forces, security officials said.
One bomber targeted a joint police and army checkpoint in north Baghdad, while two others struck pro-government paramilitaries on a street in Mishahada, north of the capital, and in a restaurant in Nasiriyah in southern Iraq.
ISIS, which controls territory in northern and western Iraq, claimed in statements on its Amaq news agency several of these attacks, which also maimed more than 60.
Posted by: Fred ||
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The easiest way to get rid of some of the surplus population, which is the other reason why the Pakistani authorities haven't bothered spending the relatively small amount needed to fix this annual problem.
[DAWN] SHANGLA/GILGIT: Torrential rains and flash floods wreaked havoc in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... and Gilgit-Baltistan on Sunday, killing at least 60 men, women and kiddies and injuring 67 others.
Landslides blocked main highways and link roads in Hazara and Malakand divisions while rivers and streams, becoming strong torrents after heavy rainfall, devastated the infrastructure.
Shangla is the worst-affected area in KP where the district disaster management cell confirmed 19 deaths. It said more than 30 people suffered injuries. Downpour triggered flash floods, washing away roads and bridges in Shangla, Kohistan ...a backwoods district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa distinguished by being even more rustic than is the norm among the local Pashtuns.... , Swat ...a valley and an administrative district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistain, located 99 mi from Islamabad. It is inhabited mostly by Pashto speakers. The place has gone steadily downhill since the days when Babe Ruth was the Sultan of Swat... and other parts of Malakand. A massive power failure hit major parts of Malakand.
The Provincial Disaster Management Authority said in a statement in Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. that the calamity had left 36 people dead and 27 injured. Twelve people were killed in Kohistan.
It said tents and other relief goods had been dispatched to the rain-hit areas, particularly in Malakand division.
According to the Met office, Peshawar received 45 millimetres of rain in about 24 hours.
Downpour which continued for the fifth consecutive day in Shangla raised the water level in Khan Khwar, Indus and Kana Khwar rivers.
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[DAWN] Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... chief Sirajul Haq ...current head of the Pak Jamaat-e-Islami. Siraj was born in 1962 and entered politics shortly after that... has demanded of the federal government to allocate funds for the students enrolled in religious seminaries like those studying in schools and universities in the next budget.
The students of religious seminaries also have the right on the national kitty to have their share like those enrolled in the universities and schools in the country.
According to a statement, the JI chief expressed these views while speaking as chief guest at an event at Al-Markaz-e-Islami here on Sunday. He said that Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar should realise his responsibility and allocate sufficient funds for the religious seminaries as those studying and teaching in seminaries could play an effective role against corruption and all kinds of evils in the society.
He said that neither the existing problems could be solved nor the country’s economy could improve unless Khilafat system was enforced in the country. He said that corrupt rulers always fled the country whenever they faced any challenge while the students of seminaries and religious scholars served the nation in all times.
Mr Haq said that JI had already rejected the women rights bill approved by 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.... government as it was not in the interest of Pak women. He claimed that the bill was, in fact, a part of the western agenda and opposed by women in Punjab province.
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[DAWN] RAWALPINDI: A team of the Rawalpindi police will leave for 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... on Monday to arrest four men suspected of attacking singer-turned fashion designer and evangelist Junaid Jamshed at the Benazir Bhutto ... 11th Prime Minister of Pakistain in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996. She was the daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, founder of the Pakistain People's Party, who was murdered at the instigation of General Ayub Khan. She was murdered in her turn by person or persons unknown while campaigning in late 2007. Suspects include, to note just a few, Baitullah Mehsud, General Pervez Musharraf, the ISI, al-Qaeda in Pakistain, and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, who shows remarkably little curiosity about who done her in... International Airport on March 27. Jamshid had the bad luck to be the target of a blasphemy charge. He tried to apologize, but blasphemy in Pakistain gets you the rope. No apology accepted.
According to police sources, the police team would be headed by Sub-Inspector Raja Arshad. They will arrest and bring back the suspects who allegedly belonged to Sunni Tehrik ...formed in Karachi in 1992 under by Muhammad Saleem Qadri. It quickly fell to trading fisticuffs and assassinations with the MQM and the Sipah-e-Sahaba, with at least a half dozen of its major leaders rubbed out. Sunni Tehreek arose to become the primary opposition to the Deobandi Binori Mosque, headed by Nizamuddin Shamzai, who was eventually bumped off by person or persons unknown. ST's current leadership has heavily criticized the Deobandi Jihadi leaders, accusing them of being sponsored by Indian Intelligence agencies as well as involvement in terrorist activities... .
The police investigating officer told Dawn that the accused had come to Rawalpindi from Karachi to participate in the chehlum of Mumtaz Qadri.
Raja Arshad, who is leading the investigation into the incident, said one of the four suspects, Mohammad Akhtar Munshi, had been identified as the prime accused. He owns a garment factory in Karachi. Another suspect, Zainul Abideen, runs a medicine business, he added.
He said after the arrest of the four suspects, it would be easy for the police to track down the others.
Police had sought the verification of the suspects from Nadra after taking their CCTV footage from the airport authorities.
Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan ...Currently the Interior Minister of Pakistain. He is the senior leader of the Pak Moslem League (N) and a close aide to Nawaz Uncle Fester Sharif. He is noted for his vocal anti-American railing in the National Assembly. However (comma) Khan told the U.S. ambassador that he was in fact pro-American but he and the PML-N would have to be critical of US actions in order to remain publicly credible. Khan cited his wife and children's US citizenship as proof, which means he's lying to one side or the other and probably both. He wears a wig, but you probably guessed that. since hair doesn't grow naturally in that shape or texture... has directed the city police officer Rawalpindi to register a case on the complaint of Junaid Jamshed and arrest the accused.
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] The Beirut offices of Saudi-owned pan-Arab newspaper Asharq al-Awsat were attacked by protestors on Friday evening.
The protesters claimed they were doing so in response to a critical cartoon which appeared in Friday's newspaper. The cartoon shows an image of the Lebanese flag with a caption that says: "The Lebanese state... April fools"
Earlier today, the Dubai-based Al Arabiya News Channel announced it was closing its Beirut office, citing security reasons.
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For a map, click here. You can enlarge the map, if you open it separately.
By Chris Covert
Rantburg.com
Shelling and direct gunfire continued between Ukrainian forces and Russian backed separatists, mainly in western and northern Donetsk. The nearly constant exchange of gunfire has wounded three Ukrainian soldiers and one rebel soldier, according to Russian language news accounts.
However, the Russian operative who helped begin the civil war between Russian speaking Ukrainians and the newly formed Ukrainian government said on Sunday that both sides are lying about the casualties, saying the total wounded and killed is on a scale much high than is being reported.
According to a news account in lb.ua, on Monday morning rebel artillery hit Ukrainian positions mainly in the industrial zone known as Staraya Avdievka, the Donetsk airport area and in Gorlovka. In Staraya Avdievka, rebels hit targets for a total of 30 minutes using 82mm mortars.
In southern Donetsk rebels hit Shirokino with 82mm mortar fire.
On Monday afternoon, rebel artillery pounded Ukrainian positions once again in Staraya Avdievka and in Shirokino.
Ukrainian military officials refuse to say where the three Ukrainians were wounded.
Another report which appeared in lb.ua said that rebel hit Staraya Avidevka with mortar fire on Sunday.
Military officials wth the Donetsk ministry of defense said that Ukrainian artillery pounded their positions at Spartak Sunday night for a total of 20 minutes using 82mm and 120mm mortar fire.
Rebel forces at Yasinovataya exchanged gunfire with Ukrainian forces overnight.
A separate rebel report said that Ukrainian artillery struck rebel positions at Spartak, the Trudovskoy district of Donetsk city, the airport and at Yasinovataya.
In southern Donetsk Ukrainian artillery hit rebel positions at Kominternovo, Sahanka and Dokuchaevsk.
A third rebel news account said that one rebel soldier was killed in the shelling, but failed to disclose where the death occurred.
Yasinovataya
According to a news report posted at novorusinform.org, retired reserve FSB Colonel Igor Girkin was reported as saying that the casualty figures being reported by informal sources -- not the even lower official sources -- are an order of magnitude higher, and have already reached levels recorded during the Battle of Debaltsevo a little more than a year ago.
The writer, identified as Alexei Toporov, quoted Girkin as saying that the leadership in Donetsk, mainly Donetsk president Aleksandr Zakharchenko and Donetsk defense ministry Vladimir Kononov "could possibly recognize the scale of the losses, but can not do so due to pressure from Moscow."
Accoridng to the report, a militia officer identified as Aleksandr Varyag said that the Ukrainian attack on Yasinovataya in early March was "not a provocation, but a full scale attack."
The report quotes Varyag as saying the losses, dead and wounded civilians and soldiers are clogging hospitals on both sides of the line. Rebel military officials said just says ago that Ukrainian officials are deliberately under reporting losses, keeping them to five dead total per day.
According to Toporov's report, much of the artillery coming from the rebel side is characterized as counterbattery fire, artillery attacks specifically directed against opposing artillery with the intent of suppressing artillery fire.
Aleksandr Zhuchkovsky, who has been a leading figure bringing supplies to rebels since the start of the war, said he has not heard of such intense artillery fire for many months, and all of it concentrated.
Rebel reports are constantly charging Ukrainians with running artillery down to the line of contact, then instantly displacing them back to their positions away from the line of contact.
Girkin said the reports that he trusts are the informal casualty reports, far more than the official reports.
Girkin was Moscow's main operative in the Russian takeover of Crimea two springs ago, and in fomenting the Ukrainian civil war in the southeast beginning in June, 2014.
Chris Covert writes about foreign military issues for Rantburg.com. He can be reached at grurkka@gmail.com and on Twitter. You can read past articles about the 2014 war in southeastern Ukraine by clicking here.
[DAWN] The army has claimed to have made massive gains in the ongoing operation against bully boyz in Shawal area of North Wazoo Agency. How many Haqqanis have been killed?
Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement on Sunday that since the launch of the last phase of Zarb-e-Azb ..the Pak offensive against Qaeda in Pakistain and the Pak Taliban in North Wazoo. The name refers to the sword of the Prophet (PTUI!)... military operation in February, troops had cleared an area of 640 square kilometres in the mountainous region adjacent to Afghanistan.
Mana, Gurbaz, Lataka, Inzarkas and Magrotai areas which were the main hubs of bully boyz have now been cleared.
According to the ISPR, 252 bully boyz have been killed and 160 injured. Eight soldiers bit the dust and 39 suffered injuries in festivities with bully boyz in the areas. The battle to clear the last pocket of bully boyz in the border area is continuing.
The ISPR said that during the operation launched in June 2014, security forces had cleared 4,304 square kilometres area and restored the writ of the government.
"The ongoing operation is being conducted in extremely hostile terrain and harsh weather conditions. All heights over 9,000 feet have been cleared, snuffies Marakaz (hideouts) destroyed and huge cache of arms and ammunition recovered."
The army said there was virtually no communication infrastructure in Shawal when the operation was launched in February. In the extremely treacherous terrain troops have made 150km of tracks while fighting the war.
Shawal heights are fully covered with snow and visibility there is quite poor.
The statement said that return of temporarily displaced persons (TDPs) was progressing in accordance with the plan and 37,012 families (36 per cent of TDPs) had returned to their homes.
In the first and second phases of operation in North Waziristan, 94 development projects of different types were completed and work on 153 projects is under way in Phase-3.
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Syrian troops and allied militiamen pressed on with an offensive against ISIS in central Syria on Monday, clashing with the extremists around the town of Qaryatain a day after it was captured by pro-government forces.
The push into Qaryatain took place under the cover of Russian airstrikes and dealt another setback to ISIS in Syria a week after the army retook the historic town of Palmyra from the group. SANA said the army was fighting ISIS militants in areas around Qaryatain Monday, as well as in farms east and north of Palmyra.
The capture of Qaryatain deprives ISIS of a main base in central Syria and could be used by government forces in the future to launch attacks on ISIS-held areas near the Iraqi border.
Qaryatain used to be home to a sizable Christian population and lies midway between Palmyra and the capital, Damascus. Activists said last summer that Qaryatain had a mixed population of around 40,000 Sunni Muslims and Christians, as well as thousands of internally displaced people who had fled from the nearby city of Homs. Many of the Christians fled the town after it came under ISIS attack.
Dozens of Qaryatain's Christians and other residents have been abducted by ISIS. While the town was under Islamic State control, some were released while others were made to sign pledges to pay a tax imposed on non-Muslims.
Meanwhile, monitoring groups said that a senior Al-Qaeda official was killed in air strikes Sunday night that killed at least 21 other militants in Idlib province, a militant stronghold in northern Syria.
The SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors militant websites, said Abu Firas al-Souri died in US strikes. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the jets were thought to belong to the Syrian or Russian Air Forces.
It said they targeted the headquarters of Jund al-Aqsa, an extremist group that fights alongside al-Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate, the Nusra Front.
Al-Souri was the former official spokesman for the Nusra Front, the group reported on social media Monday.
A 2014 biographical video about al-Souri, obtained by SITE, says he used to represent Osama bin Laden in Pakistan after he met the al-Qaeda founder in Afghanistan during the jihad against the Soviet Union in the 1980s.
Al-Souri, born outside Damascus in 1949, followed the path of many Syrian militants. A graduate of the country's military college, he trained militant cells in the country between 1977 and 1980, heading several operations against the authorities for the latter part of that period.
He was expelled from the Syrian military in part because of his Islamist ties in 1979.
He fled to Jordan in 1980 then to Afghanistan in 1981 where he trained militants coming to the war-torn country from across Asia and the Arab world. He became an associate of bin Laden and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a senior al-Qaeda commander who led the organization’s affiliate in Iraq following the 2003 US invasion.
Al-Souri participated in a number of major military operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan before transferring to Yemen in 2003. In 2013, the al-Qaeda leadership transferred him to Syria to mend the growing rift between the group and ISIS.
A media outlet belonging to the Lebanese militia Hezbollah said al-Souri’s son was also killed in the air strikes.
Hezbollah has sent thousands of its fighters to fight alongside Syrian government forces in the country’s five-year civil war. The group was reported to have lost a dozen soldiers in fierce fighting in northern Syria last weekend as militant groups alongside rebel militias mounted an offensive against several government positions.
Posted by: badanov ||
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[Bangkok Post] Three soldiers were injured by a bomb blast in Narathiwat province on Monday morning. The three soldiers were returning to base aboard a pickup truck when a bomb was detonated on the road. All the three soldiers were injured by the explosion.d.
(IraqiNews.com) Erbil – The Iraqi security forces resumed their attacks on ISIS headquarters southwest of Makhmur and managed to liberate many areas.
A source reported for IraqiNews.com, “The Iraqi army, backed by the Peshmerga forces, resumed its operations on ISIS headquarters southwest of Makhmur.”
The source added, “The Iraqi army forces managed to liberate al-Nasr village west of Makhmur.”
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Posted by: Vast Right Wing Conspiracy ||
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#1
here...is not found.
So many opportunities though:
1) Spread it where people will access it. Not a bomb, thats too local.
2) Maybe a watersupply? Again local, unless its the water used to deice airplanes. Then the plane and operators are out of commission, as will be the flight facility. That's a pretty big group.
3) Most any harbor with handling equipment for offloading container ships. Contaminate the equipment and force another destination, thereby destroying cost schedules, schedule lead times, consuming more fuel and impacting the arrival gates of the 2nd port of interest.
4) Tossed from the overpass onto the roof of any innercity people mover will get the equipment, the riders, the tracks and tunnels, and will also generate a plume for the neighborhood in which it travels.
Though they can be the same, there are different benefits to targeting people or infrastructure. Dirty-nuke a bus station and and the facility is out of work with some people sick. Get it into the water supply of a small city and you bring near-term radiation illness to the locals and it gets some news, maybe.
Make more bombs and change the batteries in the 'football' and we get the scenarios represented in 1950s science fiction.
#3
feh. The worst damage from such a device would be the collateral damage from the panicky over-reaction of the "Civil Authorities" and the ignorant & gullible urbanites.
If you do manage to get dusted by one, just walk away upwind, jettison your clothes before entering your house or other shelter and take a shower immediately. Do not attempt to retrieve your clothes. More detailed instructions on how to handle contamination can be quickly looked up on the inter-tubes.
These things were looked at repeatedly ever since the early 1950's, and were determined to be "Of propaganda value only".
#5
#3 and #4 - you'll be glad to know an article in Scientific American came to the same conclusion 15-20 years ago. The amount of unusable real estate would be pretty small and dependent on the wind. Some real estate is both very expensive and densely populated.
Posted by: Bobby ||
04/05/2016 8:14
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#6
Personally, I'd introduce it into the air conditioning system during a UN General Assembly meeting.
I don't know Phil - the radioactive isotopes will probably get pretty sick...
#8
Does anybody think that terrorists could do a better job than TEPCO (Fukushima) has already done?
Or than an EMP (attack or solar eruption, you pick)
will do?
(were those days are not shortend, no flesh would survive)
#13
Mainstream Americans whom went through or grew up during the US-vs-USSR/Soviet Union Cold War will likely be most frightful of anything Nukulaar or Radiological - in reality BIOWAR would be the worst.
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] An aircraft from a US-led coalition on Monday destroyed the Turkish consulate compound in Mosul in northern Iraq which has been occupied by ISIS militants since June 2014, the Turkish foreign ministry said. It said in a written statement that Turkey’s views had been sought and its approval given for the air strikes, which were carried out at 3 a.m.
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] In its first days in Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... , Libya’s UN-backed unity government has tried to impose its authority swiftly by ordering a freeze on ministry budgets and securing the prime minister’s office with the help of a powerful armed brigade.
A violent reaction by hostile militias has so far not materialised as feared. And from a heavily guarded naval base, the new government’s leaders have begun charting the sprawling North African state’s economic recovery in conjunction with the central bank and the National Oil Corporation (NOC).
But they still face a daunting task as they strive to unify and rebuild fractured institutions, boost oil production, and disband or absorb armed brigades that have established power bases while drawing on public salaries.
Those steps will be crucial not only to the government’s survival, but also to countering ISIS bully boyz that have seized some pockets of Libya and to rescuing an economy in free fall due to reduced oil output and crude prices.
The unity government’s leadership, or Presidential Council, arrived in Libya last Wednesday without securing the formal approval of either of the country’s rival parliaments based in Tripoli and in the east of the country.
It has relied instead on the support or acquiescence of armed brigades that have controlled the capital since 2014, and earlier backed the self-declared National Salvation government.
But that same support risks stiffening opposition to the unity cabinet in Libya’s east, the base of the National Salvation government’s political adversaries and powerful anti-Islamist military commander Khalifa Haftar ... served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all... They may fear a western coup by their armed, Islamist-leaning rivals in Tripoli and the powerful port city of Misrata.
Aguila Saleh, president of the eastern parliament, hinted at such concerns when he said on Saturday that statements by some members of the Presidential Council "suggest they are not comfortable with the military".
"We will not allow the unity government to be under the control of militias in Tripoli," he said.
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#1
This in Sydney Australia where the laws have a huge hole allowing the religious to do what they like. Islamism rolls on and we are just being crushed
[WASHINGTONPOST] Gun battles rocked the capital of the Republic of Congo on Monday, shattering a relative calm that had followed President Denis Sassou-Nguesso’s reelection in a disputed poll last month.
Government front man Thierry Moungalla said that former members of the "Ninja" militia that fought Sassou-Nguesso in a 1997 civil war raided and set on fire military, police and local government offices but that the attacks have been contained.
Opposition leader Guy-Brice Parfait Kolélas, whose father led the Ninjas during the civil war, came second in the March 20 election. The Ninjas signed a peace accord with the government in 2003 after years of sporadic festivities, though rivalries persist along regional and ethnic lines.
Kolélas was not involved in the attacks, an aide said.
"The government . . . does not yet have proof that the candidates or their supporters were involved in this affair but . . . investigations are underway," Moungalla said on state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
The fighting between security forces and unidentified gunnies was some of the worst to hit Brazzaville since 1997, when Sassou-Nguesso returned to power after months of urban warfare between rival militia groups in the capital.
He had previously ruled the oil-producing country from 1979 until he lost an election in 1992. Opposition supporters said in the wake of the March 20 election that they are frustrated that one of Africa’s longest-serving rulers can extend a tenure that has totaled three decades.
Witnesses said young opposition supporters chanted "Sassou, leave!," erected barricades near the main roundabout in southern Brazzaville’s Makelekele neighborhood, and set fire to the local mayor’s office and police headquarters.
The gunfire broke out in Makelekele and Bacongo, opposition strongholds, at 3 a.m. local time and lasted until 6 a.m. It resumed around 8 a.m. and intensified as military helicopters patrolled southern Brazzaville, witnesses said. Heavy-weapons fire could be heard.
Hundreds of residents of southern Brazzaville fled their neighborhoods on foot toward the north of the city.
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#1
News and weather, well, sort of. It is the Congo.
(IraqiNews.com) Diyala – Diyala Police Chief Jassim al-Saadi announced on Monday, that the security forces arrested two wanted people on charges of terrorism, while found a weapons cache in the province.
Saadi said in a brief statement obtained by IraqiNews.com, “A police force arrested two wanted people on charges of terrorism during a raid near Bani Saad vicinity,” pointing out that, “The detainees were transferred to a security center for interrogation.”
“Another security force found a weapons cache near al-Masoud village, containing 10 mortar shells, 10 hand grenades and 3 detonators,” Saadi added.
(IraqiNews.com) Diyali – Member of Diyali Provincial Council, Amal Omran, announced on Monday the return of 263 displaced families to their homes in the vicinity of Jalawla northeast of Baqubah.
Omran said in a statement obtained by IraqiNews.com, “263 displaced families have returned to their homes in the neighborhood of al-Arouba in the central vicinity of Jalawla (70 km northeast of Baqubah),” asserting that, “The returning families represent the 13th batch within the program to return the displaced persons to the vicinity.”
The statement added, “The process of returning the displaced persons took place in accordance with the instructions of the Supreme Committee, which supervises the repatriation file.”
(IraqiNews.com) Nineveh – A source in Nineveh Operations Command revealed on Monday, that 11 ISIS members were killed in a bombardment carried out by the international coalition aviation south of the province.
The source said in a brief statement obtained by IraqiNews.com, “Today the international coalition aviation bombarded ISIS headquarters in al-Nasr vicinity in al-Qayyarah, killing 11 ISIS members.”
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, added, “The bombardment was carried out based on accurate intelligence information.”
(IraqiNews.com) Nineveh – On Monday, official journalists with the Ministry of Defense announced the killing of 30 “terrorists” and the detonation of a booby-trapped vehicle south of Mosul.
The journalists said in a press statement followed by IraqiNews.com, “Forces belonging to Nineveh Liberation Operations had managed to kill 30 terrorists and detonate a booby-trapped vehicle in the village of al-Nasr located in Makhmur District south of Mosul.”
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[ARA News] ERBIL – Al-Qaeda branch in Syria, Jabhat al-Nusra (Nusra Front), on Sunday confirmed the death of its senior official Radwan Nammous, aka Abu Firas al-Suri, in a US airstrike in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province.
Abu Firas al-Suri was the official spokesman of the al-Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front in Syria.
This is the first time for the US-led coalition to attack the Nusra Front since the start of Syria’s cessation of hostilities on February 27.
Speaking to ARA News in Idlib, Nusra member Abu Saeed al-Holandi confirmed the death of al-Suri along with ten others in the American airstrike that targeted Kafr Jalis district in Idlib province on Sunday.
So far it is unclear how the US killed the Nusra leader. “It wasn’t a drone. The raid was most likely conducted by a fighter jet or a cruise missile, it is still unclear,” the Nusra member told ARA News.
This comes amid continuous rifts and clashes between Nusra jihadis and US-backed Syrian moderate rebels of Division 13.
However, Nusra thinks Sunday’s strike has nothing to do with the tensions between the groups.
“The US has been focusing its raids on ISIS leaders in Syria, but now it seems as if the time for Nusra [leaders] has come,” al-Holandi said.
“Abu Firas [al-Suri] was a long standing jihadi operative and a leading official with Al Qaeda affiliate in Syria, so he was a natural target for the U.S.,” Hassan Hassan, a resident fellow at the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy, told ARA News.
“Unlike other members of Nusra’s top echelon, al-Suri appeared publicly and moved around, especially as clashes started between ISIS and other jihadists in Syria. So he was probably an easier target to track than the other officials who were not known to other Syrians. He was more vulnerable to be tracked. Of course it is possible that he was not necessarily the specific target,” Hassan said.
So far, the US-led coalition that operates fighter jets in Syria has not released any statement concerning al-Suri’s death.
Good luck, fellas. Remember to keep your heads up, and smile. Wait for the flash...
[ARA News] HOMS ــ The Nusra Front, Syria’s branch of al-Qaeda, launched on Monday an offensive on the regime’s headquarters in the southeastern suburbs of Syria’s central city of Hama, local sources reported.
Speaking to ARA News in Hama, local media activist Amr al-Ali said that the Nusra Front militants carried out a surprise attack on the key village of Khinefis in Hama suburbs, targeting headquarters of the pro-regime military.
Syrian army forces and allied National Defense militia have taken the village as a military base. Al-Nusra fighters launched their attack from the nearby towns of Aydoun and at-Tuloul al-Humer in the southeastern countryside of Hama.
A spokesman for the Nusra Front told ARA News their jihadis were able to kill over 25 pro-regime forces in Khinefis village, pointing out the military commander of the National Defense militia was also killed in the Nusra-led offensive.
Militants of al-Qaeda-affiliated Nusra were able to destroy a tank and a SUV loaded with a machine gun [14.5 caliber], beside seizing a deal of light weapons before their withdrawal from the regime’s headquarters.
In the meantime, the Syrian army responded to the jihadi attack by conducting several airstrikes on Nusra fighting positions.
The Syrian air force targeted the Nusra-held towns of Aydoun, at-Tuloul al-Homer and ad-Dallak in the southeastern countryside of Hama.
ARA News has no precise information about the jihadis death toll.
Also on Monday, pro-Assad forces, backed by Russian airstrikes, bombed the opposition-held towns of Izz al-Din, al-Waziya and Abu Hamamah northeast of Homs with artillery and mortar shells.
Afghan National Army (ANA) forces have intensified air and ground strikes against the Taliban operating in areas around Kunduz in their attempt to push the insurgents out of the province.
The insurgent group has, in recent months, tried to gain a foothold in the north of Afghanistan.
The strategic town of Kunduz dramatically collapsed to the Taliban last year, eliciting major criticism from critics and military experts over the war management by security officials.
Security officials in Kunduz have expressed satisfaction however over the outcome of ongoing military repression against the Taliban in Kunduz, citing that Taliban have suffered a major casualty toll since the operation was launched against the resurgent group a week ago.
They said that dozens of Taliban so far have been eliminated and wounded in the operation.
"Twenty one were killed and 32 others wounded. I call on the people in the northeastern zone to stay resolute in their duties until the complete elimination of the enemies," commander of the 20th Unit of ANA in Kunduz, Baqir Musavi said.
Meanwhile, Kunduz MPs in the Wolesi Jirga (Lower House of Parliament) have said that the fundamental problem currently facing the ANA soldiers is the lack of modern technology and weapons.
"The only deficiency is that there is a lack of equipment and facilities. If aid isn't dispatched and people are left on their own, the Kunduz tragedy will be repeated," MP Abdul Wadood Paiman said.
[NYTIMES] They had braved risks and hardships to get to Greece,
...the poor dears, as TW would say...
having crossed the narrow strait from Turkey in flimsy rafts like nearly a million others last year — with hundreds dying along the way.
But on Monday, Greek and European Union officials sent them back — 202 migrants — beginning a central part of a deal worked out with Turkey last month to stem the flow of people making the perilous journey to European shores.
If they really wanted to stem the perilous journey they would permit the migrants to make direct flights from Istanbul to Berlin Templehof -- about 60 Euros one way. But the 'perilous' part isn't the issue, now is it...
In this port on the island of Lesbos, as the sun rose over the Aegean Sea, more than 100 officers from the European border agency, Frontex, marched 136 migrants onto two ferries bound for the Turkish town of Dikili. Once there, the migrants were taken into tents for processing and then loaded onto buses — to where, Turkish officials would not say.
Mauritania?
An additional 66 migrants were deported from the island of Chios, where riots broke out last week among asylum seekers fearing deportation. In all, Greek officials said those deported were mostly Pakistanis and Afghans, though they also included two Syrians, who had not asked for asylum, the officials said.
The deportations were a significant step for the European Union in its effort to curb the migrant crisis. The deal with Turkey means that those landing here illegally will now be returned to Turkey.
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(IraqiNews.com) al-Anbar – The Anti-Terrorism Directorate announced on Monday liberating three new areas in the district of Heet west of Ramadi, while pointed out to the killing of 70 ISIS elements during clashes
The commander of the Third Special Operations within the Anti-Terrorism Command, Maj. Gen. Sami Kazim al-Ardi, said in a statement obtained by IraqiNews.com, “The Anti-Terrorism forces, backed by supporting troops, had managed to free the areas of al-Basa’r al Aula, al-Basa’r al-Sharqiyah and al-Basa’r al-Gharbiyah in the city of Heet from ISIS.”
Ardi added, “The Anti-Terrorism forces managed to reach the vicinity of al-Mu’almin in central Heet,” pointing out that, “The ISIS was incurred big losses by killing 70 elements during the bombardment of the tanks and aviation on central Heet.”
(IraqiNews.com) al-Anbar – A security source in Anbar province said on Monday, that the head of al-Baghdadi District Council, Mallullah al-Obeidi, was wounded in an ISIS attack on the district west of Ramadi.
The source said in a brief statement received by IraqiNews.com, “The ISIS launched an attack, this morning, on the district of al-Baghdadi and its residential neighborhood (90 km west of Ramadi),” pointing out that, “The attack was carried out by all different arms and booby-trapped vehicles driven by suicide bombers.”
The source, who requested anonymity, added, “The attack resulted in the killing of five members of the security forces and tribal fighters, in addition to wounding 15 others, including Chief of Police in al-Baghdadi District Col. Abdul Salam al-Obeidi, as well as the head of al-Baghdadi District Council, Mallullah al-Obeidi, who was wounded by an ISIS sniper during confrontations.”
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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.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
![]("http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll253/b-dice-2008/gold_dice.jpg")
Sometimes, if luck is on your side, you can get a free trip through the quick and painless lane of airport security. At around 100 airports, TSA agents armed with iPads ease congestion by randomly selecting folks to hop in the magical PreCheck lane. Running that lotto may seem like a simple process, but the app that does this picking didn't come cheap. In fact, it cost some $1.4 million. 
An official North Korean website has released a new propaganda video portraying a multiple rocket attack on South Korea's presidential Blue House and other government buildings in Seoul.
I continue to be fascinated by the very early chapters of the Hillary Clinton homebrew email saga. For one simple reason: the clintonemail.com server apparently didn't have the digital certificate needed to encrypt communications until late March 2009 -- more than two months after the server was up and running, and after Secretary Clinton's swearing-in on January 22.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] A senior Taliban commander was injured shortly after returning from Pakistan to the central Logar province of Afghanistan.
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
Azerbaijan uses retaliatory detachments that are punishing the servicemen who choose to back away from the fight, spokesperson for the Armenian Defense Ministry wrote on Facebook.
[GMA News] Two Philippine soldiers and a policeman were abducted by Maoist New People's Army militants in separate incidents in Agusan del Sur and Misamis Oriental on Sunday.
[DAWN] RAWALPINDI: A team of the Rawalpindi police will leave for 
Currently the Interior Minister of Pakistain. He is the senior leader of the Pak Moslem League (N) and a close aide to Nawaz 
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Wazoo
[Bangkok Post] Three soldiers were injured by a bomb blast in Narathiwat province on Monday morning. The three soldiers were returning to base aboard a pickup truck when a bomb was detonated on the road. All the three soldiers were injured by the explosion.d.
[WASHINGTONPOST] Gun battles rocked the capital of the Republic of Congo on Monday, shattering a relative calm that had followed President Denis Sassou-Nguesso’s reelection in a disputed poll last month.
[NYTIMES] They had braved risks and hardships to get to Greece, 
