by Chris Covert Backend Mechanic
Purveyor/Curator of Russian news (Russia Desk)
On August 1st, I will purchase the first six month block for a new server. It will reside with a server provider I have used for more than 20 years. They are absolutely reliable, and this new setup will ensure instances of loss of service will be far less frequent and of less duration.
The new server will be the permanent home of Rantburg.com going forward. It will be hardened and sit atop a network, which helps mitigate DDOS attacks.
It will take about three weeks to set it up. I plan for it to be fully working by September 1st.
By August 8th: Internals installed and tested, including the database
By August 17th: Firewall installed and tested
By August 25th: Tests for all the scripts that mods and regulars use to post articles, including setting up database backups completed.
On August 28: The Rantburg.com name will begin to propagate to the new server. In that time -- using the rantburg.com name -- service will be non existent to spotty. I will have an alternate name set up -- newrantburg.1dogstar.net -- which will ensure continuation of the service until the rantburg.com name is fully propagated.
Fred deserves a lion's share of the credit for keeping Rantburg.com going on his dedicated box with a broadband set up, but as I learned years ago, the quality of service is far less than you should expect on a professionally managed network.
It’s time for a major upgrade, one that, despite its monthly cost, will relieve Fred of the financial burden of maintaining his home service. The new server per month costs a lot less than the current service does.
The server will be a FreeBSD server, a dedicated Unix software suite I have used for many years. The backup server I developed for Rantburg.com - rantburg.1dogstar.net - uses FreeBSD, and the service has been working flawlessly for a year.
But we do require your help. I will invest the first six months of the new service; thereafter net of my costs for the new server, the money will go to Fred.
This time for this bleg, however, all monies go to Fred.
Fred maintains a Paypal account — link on the right side bar. He also has a Zelle account. If you email him and ask real nice, he will give you an address, if you want to send a check.
[Garowe] al-Shabaab ... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord... fighters are reportedly closing in on the strategic town of Mahas, which is located within the Hiiraan region, following a series of victories in Moqokori, Adan Yabaal, Gumare, and Tardo, in what could lead to the eventual defeat of security forces.
The bully boyz are pushing from multiple points in what could lead to the eventual fall of the strategic town, once used for clan mobilisation against the bully boyz in 2022. Former Hiiraan governor Ali Osman Jeyte expressed similar concerns recently in Æthiopia.
At the moment, the al-Shabaab fighters are closing in from Wabho in Galgadud from the north, Moqokori and Habino as well, running over important frontlines in the process. The advances are said to be strategic towards the capture of Mahas.
The clan militias commonly known as Macawislay have reduced their onslaught against al-Shabaab due to a lack of support from the federal government of Somalia. Jeyte, who was the face of the clan uprising, recently asked Somali regional troops in Æthiopia to cross over and rescue Hiiraan.
The town was left exposed following the drawdown of the African Union ...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful... Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) — the Æthiopian troops had been taking care of the town before their numbers were drastically reduced.
The holy warrior advance follows the dramatic fall of Moqokori town earlier last month, a key blow that significantly undermined government and allied clan militia defenses in the region. With resistance crumbling, al-Shabaab has been able to retake vast areas once liberated by Somali forces during the height of the 2022 offensive.
Al-Shabaab bully boyz have continued to make immense gains in the recent past, with the government of Somalia accused of prioritising political stalemate instead of investing in the fight against al-Shabaab holy warriors.
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is pushing for constitutional changes and is accused of diverting resources to the course instead of focusing on the fight against violent mostly peaceful extremism. The al-Shabaab is fighting to topple the fragile UN-backed federal government of Somalia.
Continued on Page 47
[ShabelleMedia] Somali elite Danab forces conducted a targeted operation in the Durduro area of Baay region, killing a senior al-Shabaab ... al-Qaeda's tentacle in East Africa... commander responsible for planting roadside kabooms, officials said Monday.
The commander, identified as Ahmed Mohammed (Mascuud), oversaw the group’s efforts to deploy improvised bombs aimed at civilians. His security detail was also eliminated during the raid, carried out by Somalia’s special forces.
Separately, Danab troops launched a security operation in Leego, Lower Shabelle region, destroying several al-Shabaab hideouts. Ongoing patrols and investigations are underway to stabilize the surrounding villages.
Meanwhile,
...back at the shootout, bullets whapped! around Butch as he tried to tie his scarf around his shoulder as a tourniquet...... early Monday, al-Shabaab forces of Evil attacked Somali national and local forces in Maxaas district of Hiiraan region using explosives.
Somali army, intelligence (NISA), and local militia forces engaged the Death Eaters in a fierce, hours-long battle, inflicting heavy casualties on the Death Eaters.
Somali security forces and local fighters are now regrouping on the outskirts of Maxaas to reinforce security in the district and neighboring areas.
[ShabelleMedia] Security forces in Somalia’s Federal State of Puntland ...a region in northeastern Somalia, centered on Garowe in the Nugaal province. Its leaders declared the territory an autonomous state in 1998. Puntland and the equally autonomous Somaliland seem to have avoided the clan rivalries and warlordism that have typified the rest of Somalia, which puts both places high on the list for Islamic subversion... have launched a large-scale operation targeting supply networks aiding Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really 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 western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... (ISIS) murderous Moslems hiding in the rugged mountains of the Bari region, officials said Tuesday.
The Puntland Police Rapid Response Unit (Birmad), operating in the Goodir area, intercepted a vehicle allegedly transporting food supplies, solar panels, and other equipment to ISIS fighters entrenched in the Cal Miskaad mountains.
Two individuals escorting the vehicle were arrested during the operation near Togga Baalade, on the outskirts of Bosaso, the region’s commercial hub.
"These individuals were attempting to covertly deliver essential supplies to terrorist elements, but our forces successfully intercepted the vehicle before it reached its destination," a Puntland security official told Radio Shabelle on condition of anonymity.
Meanwhile,
...back at the shouting match, Bart was wondering if fisticuffs would be appropriate at this point... separate operations by the Puntland Defense Force’s Waran Unit uncovered hidden caches belonging to ISIS in the area between Lugta Garaar and Sulsul.
Among the materials seized were holy warrior ideological manuals, passports, and small engines believed to be used in logistical support for the group.
The operations are part of Puntland’s ongoing efforts to eliminate remnants of ISIS and disrupt their supply chains in the mountainous hideouts of the Bari region.
"Puntland remains committed to dismantling terrorist networks and securing its territories from holy warrior threats," the official added.
ISIS murderous Moslems have maintained a limited but persistent presence in northeastern Somalia since 2015, using the difficult terrain to evade security forces and conduct sporadic attacks.
[MNNONLINE.ORG] Food insecurity plagues Nigeria, but it's not just because it's the lean season till September. More and more farmland is falling to attacks by hard boyFulani ... a peculiarly brutal tribe of Moslem herdsmen infesting Mali, Niger, Nigeria, and probably other places that are light on law and order and heavy on tribal identity... herdsmen.
''We're hearing stories of people who were farming 100 acres, but now they're only farming five acres, because [of] the Fulani. Their objective is to run these farmers out,'' said Greg Kelley with Unknown Nations.
Clashes between herdsmen and farmers have been happening in Nigeria since 2011. According to the World Food Programme, today nearly 5 million people in northeast Nigeria
... a particularly crimson stretch of Islam's bloody border... face acute food insecurity due to conflict.
''The big issue that's happening right now is the movement. For so much of the conflict, whether it was Boko Haram ... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality... or the Fulani herdsmen, it was really concentrated in the northern part of Nigeria, north of the capital, Abuja,'' said Kelley.
But the attacks have spread from the north into Central Nigeria's breadbasket. Benue State and Plateau State have been hard hit.
''The Fulani herdsmen, they have the cows, and they'll run them through these areas and trash the farmers' lands, which ultimately disrupts the food [harvest],'' Kelley said.
''It's not only the people that are dying immediately in the short term from the attacks, but the long-term instability is just threatening the entirety of this country.''
A Fulani attack on July 14th killed at least 32 people in a predominantly Christian farming village in Plateau State.
''We're moving into the second decade of these atrocities happening, and they're really being overlooked [by the] authorities,'' said Kelley. ''No one is being held accountable.''
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Fred ||
07/30/2025 00:04 ||
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Top|| File under: Fulani Herdsmen (Boko Haram)
[ENGLISH.NEWS.CN] Several top commanders and fighters of the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really 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 western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... West Africa Province (ISWAP) were killed in a series of Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... s launched by the Nigerian military around the Lake Chad region, the armed forces said on Monday.
Ehimen Ejodame, spokesperson for the Nigerian Air Force, said in a statement that the anti-terror mission, aimed at decimating the leadership of the terror group, hit Arina Woje, a location identified as a notorious enclave of ISWAP in the Southern Tumbuns area of Borno in the northern part of Nigeria, near Lake Chad.
The area is "known as a sanctuary for terrorist leaders," said the spokesperson, who did not provide an exact number of ISWAP commanders killed during the air raid.
He explained that the airstrike followed a series of credible intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance sorties that confirmed the return of terrorist elements to the area after recent inter-factional festivities.
Ejodame said military intelligence had revealed significant terrorist activities, including the movement of foot soldiers, the reactivation of structures, and the concealment of possible command centers and logistics depots beneath dense foliage.
"Aircrew on arrival, acquired and prosecuted pre-selected targets using precision-guided munitions, achieving devastating effects," Ejodame said, adding that preliminary battle damage assessment revealed the destruction of several structures housing key ISWAP leaders, fighters, and logistics storage facilities, effectively disrupting the group's operational planning and resupply efforts in the region.
ISWAP has been collaborating with its sister group, Boko Haram ... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality... , in an attempt to establish an Islamist state in northeast Nigeria
... a particularly crimson stretch of Islam's bloody border... . The terror groups have also extended their attacks to other countries in the Lake Chad Basin.
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Fred ||
07/30/2025 00:01 ||
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Top|| File under: ISWAP
[HODHODYEMENNEWS.NET] The nephew of a prominent leader in Islah Party loyal to the Saudi-led coalition was killed Tuesday afternoon in Shabwah province, which is under the control of the UAE-backed factions.
According to local sources in the province, armed festivities erupted between two families from the ''Bin Adio'' tribe following the killing of Saqr Nasser Bin Adio, the nephew of the former Islah governor of the province, Mohammed Saleh bin Adio. The festivities occurred in the market in the al-Khabar area of Habban District, south of the province center.
The sources indicated that Saqr was shot by button men while he was in the market, resulting in his immediate death. The perpetrators then fled to an unknown destination.
The sources added that the two sides exchanged fire using medium and heavy weapons, amidst the disregard of the UAE-backed authorities, who are contributing to the intensification of conflicts between the tribes. No additional casualties were reported.
It is worth noting that the districts of Shabwah province are experiencing an unprecedented state of security chaos and a marked increase in Dire Revenge crimes among rustics.
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Fred ||
07/30/2025 00:52 ||
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Top|| File under: Muslim Brotherhood
[Rudaw] An explosive-laden drone crashed in Erbil’s western Khabat district on Monday morning, resulting in no casualties, Kurdish counterterrorism forces reported.
"On Monday morning at 05:50, an explosive-laden drone crashed in the Rizgari subdistrict of Khabat district in Erbil province," said the Directorate General of Counter Terrorism (CTD), also known as Kurdistan CT.
No casualties were reported.
The Kurdistan Region has come under nearly 20 rocket and drone attacks in recent weeks, including strikes on its oil fields. The Kurdish government has blamed Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF, or Hashd al-Shaabi) for the attacks - charges strongly denied No, no! Certainly not! as "unacceptable" by Baghdad.
The Khabat district is the site of the Kawergosk oil refinery, one of the largest in the Kurdistan Region, operated by the Iraqi-Kurdish oil company KAR Group.
The dronezaps have greatly reduced the Kurdistan Region’s oil output, especially at a time when Kurdish oil exports through the Iraq-The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...a NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... member, but not the most reliable... pipeline - halted since March 2023 - are on the brink of resumption.
The United States, the United Kingdom, and the United Nations ...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships... , as well as several other international and local actors, have condemned the attacks. Baghdad has launched an investigation but has yet to announce the results, and last week’s extraordinary Iraqi parliament session failed to discuss the matter after Kurdish politicians boycotted the sitting.
[AnNahar] Three people, including a policeman, were killed Sunday during clashes in Baghdad between security forces and pro-Iran gunmen, according to authorities and a member of a local armed group.
The violence erupted when armed men stormed a local office of the agriculture ministry in the city's south, the interior ministry said.
Police forces responding to the scene "came under fire", resulting in several injuries among security personnel, the ministry added.
Iraq's Joint Operations Command, which coordinates between security forces and the military, said 14 suspects were detained who belonged to the Hashed al-Shaabi, a network of former paramilitary units that have been integrated into the regular security forces.
Several other security sources, however, told AFP that the armed men were affiliated with the powerful pro-Iran group Kataeb Hezbollah, a faction within the Hashed al-Shaabi that sometimes acts on its own.
Kataeb Hezbollah had opposed a recent appointment at the agriculture office, which is located in an area where the group holds influence, the sources said on condition of anonymity as they were not allowed to speak to the media.
"One policeman was killed" and others were wounded, said one official.
Another security source said one policeman and one civilian were killed.
A member of Kataeb Hezbollah said that a fighter from the group was also killed and six others wounded.
He added that the group "does not want to escalate", and would allow the judiciary to take its course.
After decades of war and turmoil, gun battles -- sometimes sparked by minor feuds -- are not uncommon in Iraq, where many armed groups operate.
Iraq is led by an Iran-aligned coalition called the Coordination Framework, which brings together Shiite Islamist parties and factions of the Hashed al-Shaabi.
[Rudaw] The United States on Monday called on the Iraqi government to bring the perpetrators of a deadly Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF, or Hashd al-Shaabi) attack on an agriculture ministry branch in Baghdad the day prior to account "without delay" and hold an Iran-backed faction responsible.
An "armed assault" by the PMF on an agriculture ministry office in Baghdad’s Karkh district on Sunday left three people dead - a policeman, a civilian, and a member of the powerful Iran-backed Iraqi gangKataib Hezbollah. Baghdad confirmed that the perpetrators of the attack were PMF members.
"We call on the Government of Iraq to take measures to bring these perpetrators and their leaders to justice without delay," the US Embassy in Baghdad said in a statement.
It blamed the PMF-affiliated Kataib Hezbollah, a US-designated gang, for the attack.
"We are saddened by the loss of life, which included federal police and an innocent civilian, and wish a swift recovery to the maimed," the embassy stated.
Washington holds Kataib Hezbollah, a key player in the Iran-led ’Axis of Resistance®,’ responsible for numerous attacks on US assets in the region since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas ..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,... conflict in October 2023.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudan ...a Moslem country located in the Horn of Africa. It is noted for its affinity for rule by ex- or current generals, its holy men, and for the oppression of the native Afro population by its Arab conquerors. South Sudan, populated mostly by the natives, split off from Sudan proper, which left North and South Darfur to be oppressed by the guys with turbans... i vowed on Sunday to hold the perpetrators accountable and ordered a probe into the attack.
"No one has the right to replace the state or its authorities, and no party is above the law," Sudani said in an emergency security meeting following the attack.
Iraq’s Shiite-led Coordination Framework also condemned the attack as a "violation of the law and state procedures."
[HODHODYEMENNEWS.NET] Hebrew media reported that air raid sirens sounded in several areas and settlements on Friday evening, following a missile launched from Yemen toward the occupied Palestinian territories.
The so-called ''Home Front Command'' in the Israeli entity reported that air raid sirens sounded in occupied Jerusalem, Yaffa (Tel Aviv), and other cities following the detection of a missile launched from Yemen.
Israeli Channel 12 confirmed that air traffic was suspended at Lod Airport (Ben Gurion) due to a missile launched from Yemen.
[IsraelTimes] Missile launch, the 66th by the Iran-backed rebels since Gaza truce ended in March, comes day after Israel targeted Houthi-controlled port
The Iran-backed Iran's Houthi sock puppets ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The legitimate Yemeni government has accused the them of having ties to the Iranian government. Honest they did. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews They like shooting off... ummm... missiles that they would have us believe they make at home in their basements. On the plus side, they did murder Ali Abdullah Saleh, which was the only way the country was ever going to be rid of him... group in 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... fired a ballistic missile at Israel on Tuesday, which the Israel Defense Forces successfully intercepted, the military said.
The attack set off sirens across central Israel and the Jerusalem area, alerting millions to enter shelters or protected rooms.
There were no reports of impacts or injuries.
The Houthi rebels — who control a large part of Yemen, including its capital Sanaa, but are not the country’s internationally recognized government — took responsibility for the missile launch, claiming to have targeted Ben Gurion Airport.
Tuesday’s attack was the first such incident since the Houthis fired a ballistic missile at Israel on Friday night. That missile, too, was intercepted successfully.
On Monday, Israeli Air Force drones struck Yemen’s Houthi-controlled Hodeida port in response to the Iran-backed group’s continued attacks.
The army said in a statement that the Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... s destroyed "military infrastructure of the Houthi terror regime" at the western Yemen port, after attempts were made by the Houthis to repair areas previously targeted by Israel in response to missile and drone attacks.
Monday’s sortie marked the thirteenth time Israel has attacked Yemen, located some 1,800 kilometers away.
Surely somebody should be hollering "genocide" over that figure.
[AFRICACENTER.ORG] Militant Islamist groups in Africa continue to be highly active agents of instability across five theaters on the continent. The 22,307 fatalities linked to these groups over the past year sustain a record level of lethality observed since 2023 and represent a 60-percent increase from the 2020-2022 period.
Nearly half of the fatalities (10,685) in the past year have been in the Sahel. Somalia represents roughly a third of the continental fatalities (7,289). Along with the Lake Chad Basin, these three regions account for 99 percent of the murderous Moslem Islamist-linked fatalities in Africa the past year.
Battle-related fatalities have increased in every theater over the past year.
All five African theaters (including Mozambique and North Africa) remain highly dynamic with murderous MoslemLions of Islam mounting offensive operations in each, especially in the Sahel and Somalia. Battle-related fatalities have increased in every theater over the past year—resulting in a 14-percent rise of battle-related deaths across the continent (15,678).
The past year has also seen murderous Moslem Islamists groups in the Sahel and Somalia expand their hold on territory. Across Africa, an estimated 950,000 square kilometers (367,000 square miles) of populated territories are outside government control due to murderous Moslem Islamist insurgencies. This is equivalent to the size of Tanzania.
Over the past decade, Somalia and the Lake Chad Basin countries (Nigeria, Cameroon ...a long, narrow country that fills the space between Nigeria and Chad on the northeast, CAR to the southeast. Prior to incursions by Boko Haram nothing ever happened there... , Chad, and southeastern Niger) have been the two theaters that have consistently experienced the greatest levels of violence—each typically accounting for at least a quarter of all annual fatalities. This shifted in 2022 with the surge of fatalities in the Sahel. As a result of the rapid deterioration of security in the Sahel, Somalia and the Sahel have now experienced more murderous Moslem Islamist-related fatalities over the past decade (each over 49,000) than any other region. The Lake Chad Basin countries have suffered an estimated 39,000 fatalities over this timeframe. Collectively, Africa has experienced roughly 155,000 murderous Moslem Islamist group-linked deaths over the past decade.
Continued on Page 47
Posted by: Fred ||
07/30/2025 00:00 ||
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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.
On August 1st, I will purchase the first six month block for a new server. It will reside with a server provider I have used for more than 20 years. They are absolutely reliable, and this new setup will ensure instances of loss of service will be far less frequent and of less duration.
... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord...
... al-Qaeda's tentacle in East Africa...
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling 
... a peculiarly brutal tribe of Moslem herdsmen infesting Mali, Niger, Nigeria, and probably other places that are light on law and order and heavy on tribal identity...
... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality...
...
...a 
[AnNahar] Three people, including a policeman, were killed Sunday during clashes in Baghdad between security forces and pro-Iran gunmen, according to authorities and a member of a local armed group.
..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,...
...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the 
