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Today: 47 articles and 156 comments as of 11:23.
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Area: WoT Operations    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix   
Israel Says It Destroys Hamas Tunnel Under Key Gaza Crossing
Today's Headlines
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Page 4: Opinion
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16 20:35 Jack Chaiter7913 [2]
Page 6: Politix
14 22:11 Sock Puppet of Doom [2]
Afghanistan
Haqqani network, not ISIS, behind recent deadly Kabul attacks: MoD
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] Officials in the Ministry of Defense of Afghanistan (MoD) have said that the recent attacks causing massive casualties in capital Kabul have been carried out the Haqqani terrorist network.

A front man for the Ministry of Defense General Mohammad Radmanish has told VOA that the intelligence findings reveal Haqqani Network’s hands behind the attacks and not the ISIS terrorist group.

"Based on our intelligence, they [IS] do not have the ability to carry out such attacks in the capital or its suburbs," he said.

Gen. Radmanish further added "Unfortunately, regional intelligence agencies are trying to portray them as a powerful group. And it is very clear that Haqqani terrorist group is carrying out these activities [attacks] under the name of IS."

He also ruled out that the ISIS terrorist group has such capabilities to carry out large-scale atacks in capital Kabul and its suburbs, insisting that the group has been hardly suppressed during the ongoing counter-terrorism operations.

This comes as the ISIS terrorist group has long been claiming responsibility for the attacks in capital Kabul which have left scores of people dead or maimed.

The ex-Afghan intelligence chief Rahmatullah Nabil had also said earlier that the Afghan government is well aware that the Haqqani terrorist network is behind the string of deadly attacks that rocked Kabul city during the recent months.

Posted by: Fred || 01/15/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Haqqani Network


Arabia
Saudi Binladin Group denies govt takeover after chief detained
[DAWN] Saudi construction giant Binladin Group denied on Saturday any state takeover after its chairman was detained, but said some shares may have been transferred to the government.

The firm, which has been forced to lay off tens of thousands of workers due to financial problems, said it remained a private shareholding company and was undergoing restructuring.

International media this week reported Saudi Arabia's government had taken over the firm after chairman Bakr bin Laden was detained. The Saudi Binladin Group “would like to confirm that it remains a private sector company owned by its shareholders”, it said in a statement.

But some company shares may have been transferred to the government in a settlement of “outstanding dues”, it added, without providing any details on the size of any such shares.

Posted by: Fred || 01/15/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Saudi Arabia


Great White North
Canada tries to keep convicted terrorist symps from being let go
VANCOUVER -- A British Columbia judge was wrong to throw out findings of guilt against a pair of accused terrorist sympathizers who planted what they thought were pressure-cooker bombs on the lawn of the provincial legislature, the Crown says.

In documents filed in B.C.'s Court of Appeal, the Crown says Justice Catherine Bruce of the B.C. Supreme Court had no basis to conclude the RCMP manipulated John Nuttall and Amanda Korody into plotting to kill dozens of innocent people and first responders on Canada Day in 2013.

A months-long jury trial ended in June 2015 when Nuttall and Korody were found guilty of conspiring to commit murder, possessing an explosive substance and placing an explosive in a public place, all on behalf of a terrorist group.
Posted by: lord garth || 01/15/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1 

In addition, it couldn't hurt to permanently disbar her symp a$$ and have her pension pulled.
Posted by: gorb || 01/15/2018 0:47 Comments || Top||

#2  Megalomaniac judges - what else is new?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 01/15/2018 2:00 Comments || Top||


Iraq
Sadr: Iraq PM’s alliance with mobilization militias abhorrent
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] The leader of the Sadrist movement political party, Moqtada Tater al-Sadr
... the Iranian catspaw holy man who was 22 years old in 2003 and was nearing 40 in 2010. He spends most of his time in Iran, safely out of the line of fire, where he's learning to be an ayatollah...
, criticized the new electoral alliance of Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi with the Iranian backed Popular Mobilization Unit (PMU) militias.

Sadr, one of the most influential religious and popular figures in Iraq, issued a statement issued on Sunday describing the alliance as "an abhorrent political agreement."

He also expressed his deep surprise at the inclusion of the PMU militias calling them an "abhorrent sectarian dichotomy," that is aimed at reproducing a "corrupt political class".

Sadr clarified that his support will be for campaigners who are rejecting the principles of sectarian quota divisions that are being pushed by technocrats in the campaign.

Prime Minister al-Abadi signed an agreement on Sunday with Hadi al-Amiri to establish the Iraq Victory Coalition.

He said in a statement that the "victory coalition will preserve the sacrifices of deaders and maimed heroes who battled for Iraq and fight corruption in all forms through relying on the national talent".

"The coalition will work for all Iraqis and strengthen the unity of the country and national illusory sovereignty and achieve justice and equality among Iraqis in rights and duties," he added.
Posted by: Fred || 01/15/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iraq


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Russians asking for help after swarming drone attacks


[ATimes] Russia is seeking international assistance in its quest to determine the source of swarming drone attacks on two of its military bases in Syria.

The twin strikes represent the first time swarming drones have been used by terrorists against hardened targets, and judging from the excitement on the Russian side, they are clearly worried and upset. While denying that they lost any equipment in the strikes, it is hard to explain otherwise the level of alarm in Russia’s military.

The home-made drones that were used to attack Hmeimim Air Base in Latakia, Syria and the important Russian naval base in Tartus.
Has Tartus been mentioned before?
The drones themselves are simple. They use a small commercial gasoline two stroke engine that might be found in a weed whacker or used to power a bicycle. Structurally the drones are made out of wooden spars and styrofoam “boards” that are tied into the wooden structure with glue and plastic wrap.
Bingo! I thought they looked like weed wacker motors.
The drone itself is launched from some sort of simple rail platform and guided by two piece of wood on the drone with cutouts to protect the drone’s aerodynamic quality. The drones carry either eight or ten bomblets, each stuffed with the explosive PETN and the bomblets all have fuses that explode on contact. The bomblets are released by a solenoid that opens gaps in a sliding metal bar. The bomblets contain about 1 KG of PETN plus a string of epoxied ball bearings wrapped around the PETN explosive.

It appears the mission of the swarming drones was three-fold: it was to show the Russians that their bases are vulnerable to attack even if the terrorists are far off (the attack was launched about 50 km away originating in Idlib according to reports and the Russians have now destroyed a stockpile of drones there); that the Russian aircraft and missiles were vulnerable to a drone strike; and finally that the bomblets could be used to terrorize ground crews and military personnel on the Russian bases. Most of the focus was on Hmeimim Air Base where 10 drones were used in a swarming attack; another three drones struck the Tartus Naval Base.

The Russians claim that one of the drones carried a camera and had the ability to adjust the track of the other drones if needed. The drones themselves were guided by GPS and the flight path for each one was pre-programmed.

What especially disturbs the Russian analysts – and on this point they are still unable to identify the source – is that the drones were accurately programmed not only to reach the bases, but to hit specific targets that could not be attacked using standard GPS-generated maps or rely on GPS for accurate targeting.
Some sort of service more accurate then Google Maps used? A private one like DigitalGlobe or an actual Spy Satellite?
The single camera-equipped drone was there to help adjust the final target, indicating a fairly sophisticated command and control capability, something that clearly impressed the Russian General Staff. The drones also were programmed with accurate intelligence that was harmonized with GPS maps.
One master drone with a camera that can adjust the attacks of the other drones! Is this a high bandwidth (sat or cell) link back to an operator with the video or does the video feed into some sort of AI/pattern recognition system on the master drone? If the latter this is a very big deal. If it's a cellular or satellite link why isn't the service jammed near such sensitive targets? A modern cellphone would be excellent in the electronics package with software, GPS, altitude, tilt, compass, time, networking, camera(s), I/O(usually via USB or Bluetooth) and communications(WiFi & Cellular) in one light package. It would be interesting if the Russians showed the contents of the electronics package(s).
The Russians captured a number of the drones which they claim they were able to gain control over and crash land (the drones are not capable of landing in the normal sense). They were able to read out the directional plots and see that the programming was very accurate to locate targets. More than likely the targeting was aimed at parked Russian aircraft, since the bomblets would do very little damage to buildings. It is less sure the targeting included Russian air defense missiles, as these are of little or no interest to terrorist who don’t have an air force.

Bottom line: the accuracy of the mapping means that the drones were supported by a well-established military organization capable of spotting the targets and adjusting GPS maps to their exact location. Putting aside the fact that the drones may, or may not have achieved their objectives (whether you believe the Russians shot down or controlled most of them and did not suffer any losses, or alternatively the terrorist-leaks to the press where some seven Russian aircraft, including at least one Su-35 are claimed to have been destroyed) the accuracy of the drones is certainly the big issue and the Russians are almost certainly right that someone was helping the terrorists.
7 planes lost would be a big deal.
At first the Russians blamed the Turks. Next they blamed the Americans and pointed out that a US Navy Reconnaissance plane may have been involved. More recently the Russians are accusing the Ukrainians.
The crude but effective physical technology mixed with what appears to be complex electronics, software and communications is a very sophisticated project.
Posted by: 3dc || 01/15/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Somebody elsewhere commented that this solution would stop attacks like the above:
Silent-Archer-Counter-UAS
Posted by: 3dc || 01/15/2018 0:05 Comments || Top||

#2  Time for Metalstorm!
Posted by: Skidmark || 01/15/2018 0:40 Comments || Top||

#3  Bellingcat has some pictures of these flying lawnmowers.
Posted by: newc || 01/15/2018 0:53 Comments || Top||

#4  My guess is that the PETN is more like SEMTEX, which is a mixture of PETN, RDX, a plasticizer and an binder.

I can see a lot of use for a good smartphone in this application, as it has most of the features needed to perform this mission. I wonder how they got the coordinates of the planes---good gps and sneaking up with a laser to get an accurate fix, then maybe using image recognition.

The delivery vehicle is somewhat crude, but it works, and parts are common not to raise eyebrows when purchasing them.

I was thinking of some terrorist outfit that has been pounded by the Russians, buying the electronic packages, and paying some individual to do the engineering for a goodly price.

A very interesting integration of systems.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 01/15/2018 0:54 Comments || Top||

#5  Great source newc! Thanks!
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 01/15/2018 1:19 Comments || Top||

#6  Way too sophisticated for Arabs. Or Turks.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 01/15/2018 1:50 Comments || Top||

#7  ...I still say there was no 'swarm' attack. One or two drones might have gotten through and gotten a lucky hit (or given Soviet Russian explosives safety traditions, come down just about anywhere and set off an explosion)but something like this in something that small, not to mention the furious blame-everybody-in-range? Not buying it for a minute.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 01/15/2018 5:57 Comments || Top||

#8  Pan Kozlowski you should know how Russians think - if it wasn't huge, they'd just preserve face.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 01/15/2018 6:02 Comments || Top||


US-Led Coalition Helps Build New Syrian Force, Angering Turkey
[VOA News] The U.S.-led coalition is working with its Syrian militia allies to set up a new border force of 30,000 personnel, the coalition said on Sunday, a move that has added to Ottoman Turkish anger over U.S. support for Kurdish-dominated forces in Syria.

A senior Ottoman Turkish official told Rooters the U.S. training of the new "Border Security Force" is the reason that the U.S. charge d'affaires was summoned in Ankara on Wednesday. The official did not elaborate.

The force, whose inaugural class is currently being trained, will be deployed at the borders of the area controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) ‐ an alliance of militias in northern and eastern Syria dominated by the Kurdish YPG.
Posted by: Fred || 01/15/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte


Terror Networks
Where in the World Is the U.S. Military? Everywhere
[US News] As we enter the 17th year of the United States' "war on terror," it is both appropriate, and necessary, to take stock of where our troops are located and for what purpose. The deaths of U.S. soldiers this fall in Niger were a stark reminder that much of the American public, and even many of our country's lawmakers, aren't exactly sure what the war on terror looks like, much less where many of our other military operations are located. According to a new map published this week by the Costs of War Project at Brown University's Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, the U.S. is waging this war on terror in 76 countries – or more simply put, 40 percent of the countries on this planet.

What started with President George W. Bush's launch of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan in October 2001 is now a rapid expansion of the U.S. military footprint across the globe. Notably, beyond the Middle East, the tentacles of this expansion stretch into Africa more than any other region.

Right now, across Africa, the U.S. military is providing massive amounts of military technology, hardware, training and expertise to local African militaries and police forces. The continent is home to an "extensive archipelago of African outposts," including U.S. military bases, camps, compounds, port facilities, and "cooperative security locations." U.S. special operations forces have been deployed to track local insurgents across the African Sahel region. Drone strikes to kill terrorist targets have increased substantially (67 into Somalia since 2007, and 125 in Yemen in 2017 alone), causing hundreds of civilian casualties. African and U.S. forces have conducted joint military exercises across the continent.

This expansion is the unsurprising result of the military's emerging focus on Africa, inaugurated with the 2007 creation of AFRICOM. Perhaps this concentration reveals more about the fears of unknowability and criminality that continue to underlie U.S. views of that continent, rather than representing an effective military strategy to combat terrorism.
Posted by: Besoeker || 01/15/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  In proportion to population the Army/Marine Corps is now lower than it was in 1940, but as the article recounts, are spread across the world. Back then our 'international' commitments were the Panama Canal and the Philippines. Missions and commitments have got to end. He who defends everything, defends nothing.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 01/15/2018 8:30 Comments || Top||

#2  Right now, across Africa, the U.S. military is providing massive amounts of military technology, hardware, training and expertise to local African militaries and police forces.

The dividends of abandonment and betrayal. Absolute and total insanity. The west made the Afrikan bed, now sleep in it.
Posted by: Besoeker || 01/15/2018 8:37 Comments || Top||

#3  A result of the badly applied choice of influence over control, B.
Posted by: Skidmark || 01/15/2018 10:04 Comments || Top||

#4 
Posted by: Jack Chaiter7913 || 01/15/2018 20:41 Comments || Top||

#5  we've been active in Africa since the beginning of the Angolan civil war, if not earlier.

I was in Rhodesia in the mid-70s, and spent a lot of time with the SA working Cubans wherever they were found.

Stayed out of the Congo though, thank God, I don't know any reason to waste bullets and blood in that fever hole.
Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom || 01/15/2018 22:07 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
24[untagged]
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2Hamas
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1Govt of Syria
1Govt of Iraq
1Haqqani Network
1Govt of Iran
1Lashkar e-Jhangvi
1Moslem Colonists
1Taliban
1Govt of Saudi Arabia

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Two weeks of WOT
Mon 2018-01-15
  Israel Says It Destroys Hamas Tunnel Under Key Gaza Crossing
Sun 2018-01-14
  Islamic State affiliate claims Mali attack that injured 3 French soldiers
Sat 2018-01-13
  Over 100 Palestinians said injured in West Bank, Gaza clashes
Fri 2018-01-12
  Saleh Commander Presumed Dead Appears in Yemen Video
Thu 2018-01-11
  Veritas strikes again: Twitter caught doing shadow bans on conservatives through algorithm
Wed 2018-01-10
  Pakistan has suspended military and intelligence cooperation with US: defence minister
Tue 2018-01-09
  Spokesman: Senior Hamas official shot in the head
Mon 2018-01-08
  Nigeria's SSS 'Arrest Cameroon's Separatist Leaders'
Sun 2018-01-07
  SAS soldier cut head off jihadi with a SPADE after running out of ammo
Sat 2018-01-06
  U.S. freezes grant to UNRWA
Fri 2018-01-05
  13 Islamic State members killed, injured in operation, northeast of Baquba
Thu 2018-01-04
  Revolutionary Guards deployed to crush Iran demonstrations
Wed 2018-01-03
  Egypt executes four Islamist extremists over 2015 bomb attack
Tue 2018-01-02
  Pakistan plans takeover of charities run by Lashkar-e-Taiba
Mon 2018-01-01
  Nigeria: Scores Killed in Boko Haram Attacks in Borno, Yobe

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