[IsraelTimes] At least 35 Egyptian nationals were reportedly kidnapped in Libya, amid Egyptian calls Tuesday for UN-backed international intervention in Libya after launching air strikes on 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 targets following the jihadists' beheadings of Egyptian Christians.
The abduction of the Egyptians, many of which are apparently farm workers, was carried out at various locations in areas controlled by Libyan militia group Ansar al-Sharia ...a Salafist militia which claims it is not part of al-Qaeda, even though it works about the same and for the same ends. There are groups of the same name in Libyaand Yemen, with the Libyan versions currently most active. Tunisia's Shabaab al-Tawhid started out an Ansar al-Sharia and changed its name in early 2014. It still uses the old name now and then, probably because the stationery's not all used up and the web site hasn't expired yet... h and IS, in an apparent reaction to the Egyptian air strikes on Lion of Islam bases in Derna, the Libya Herald reported Monday.
Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians remain in Libya, and their government is encouraging them to leave, foreign ministry front man Badr Abdelatty told news hounds.
The European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... said it will discuss with the Egyptian and US governments this week joint action on Libya, but that it saw no role in any military intervention for now.
I understand they have neither the troops nor enough transport to get them there, so best not to commit to doing so.
Earlier this month, delegates from Libya's rival parliaments held UN-mediated indirect talks described by the UN as "positive".
But Egypt says it would be naive to hope for a speedy political settlement, insisting that turbans must be confronted with force.
"There are terrorist organizations in Libya that are not abiding by their commitments; they are not serious about dialogue," said foreign ministry front man Badr Abdelatty.
Experts say Sissi wants to be seen as a key ally of the West against Islamist extremism, deflecting international criticism of his crackdown on the Moslem Brüderbund of former president Mohammed Morsi, whom he ousted in 2013.
Some experts would be cynical enough to question the sincerety of the Archangel Michael as he blew the last trump.
#2
Egypt says it would be naive to hope for a speedy political settlement, insisting that turbans must be confronted with force.
They're SO unsophisticated! We should send them the State Department's spokes-bimbo Marie Harf to educate them. I got ten bucks towards her one-way ticket to Cairo.
Posted by: Bobby ||
02/18/2015 8:00 Comments ||
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#3
Bobby, I'll see your ten bucks and raise you twenty. But let's send her to Tripoli or Benghazi. She needs to set up a jobs program for the Libyan to solve this.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
02/18/2015 8:43 Comments ||
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#4
Just warming up to invade Libya and get their hands on all that oil.
More likely they'll establish a buffer zone in eastern Libya.
#6
Remember the last Spring Uprising, it was cheered by the American media (read Obama's minions, we were supposed to participate in the 'joy'.
Wow, that did not end that well, right?.
But the media do not want to remember this at all, I wonder why?
Posted by: Ana ||
02/18/2015 13:05 Comments ||
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#7
Could be a tit-for-tat response to MSM-Net Artics repor that Egyptian Commandos crossed into Libya + captured, kidnapped up to 55 Militants in wake of latest ISIS video depicting beheading of kidnapped or missing Coptic Christians from Egypt???
[Ynet] Egypt's military prosecution has referred ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi and more than 190 others to a military tribunal, known for swift and harsh verdicts.
The official says that the new case against Morsi opens on Feb. 23 and is linked to the violence that swept the country after the deadly police disbursement of two large protest camps by pro-Morsi supporters that left hundreds dead in 2013. The crackdown sparked a wave of violence across the country.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
02/18/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
Morsi corrupted that whole place, and fraud election to do so.
#3
wait, that's the wave of protests that happened AFTER he was arrested by al-Sisi. So he organized the whole thing from his jail cell? I'm thinking not.
[Ynet] A war plane carried out air strikes on a western Libyan town allied with the internationally recognized government on Tuesday, in what officials charged was an attack by the rival government controlling 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 is increasingly divided, with Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni's recognized government and his allies locked in a conflict with a rival faction that took over the capital and established its own self-declared government.
The United Nations ...the Oyster Bay money pit... is negotiating a deal between the factions to stop the North African country's slide into wider civil war, four years after the uprising that toppled leader Muammar Qadaffy ...who single-handedly turned a moderately prosperous kingdom into a dictator's fantasyland and was then murdered by his indignant subjects 42 years later... .
[Dhaka Tribune] At least two men have been killed and another injured in separate incidents of alleged gunfights between law enforcers and miscreants in Gaibandha, Jhenaidah and Satkhira.
Our correspondent in Gaibandha reports that a Shibir activist was shot and killed during what the local RAB claimed as a gunfight in the early hours of the day near Burirghar in Palashbari upazila.
The deceased was Mostafa Manzil, 32, who local police confirmed as an active Shibir member.
Ashraf Hossain Siddique, assistant director of RAB-13 Gaibandha camp, said a patrolling team of RAB was attacked with crude bombs on the Gaibandha-Palashbari Road at around 5am yesterday. A group of miscreants also opened fire at the RAB team, and the ensuing gunfight left Mostafa dead.
Gaibandha police station OC Raziur Rahman said Mostafa was the primary accused in the case filed in connection with the recent arson attack on a bus that killed eight and injured 23 others in Gaibandha's Tulsighat.
In Jhenaidah, 40-year-old Rafik Uddin alias Choto Tarek ‐ who the RAB claimed was a regional leader of the Purba Banglar Communist Party (PBCP-Janajuddah) ‐ was killed in an alleged gunfight in the sadar upazila.
Squadron Leader of Jhenaidah RAB 6, Foysal Ahmed, said a RAB team carried out a raid in the early hours of yesterday following a tip-off that a PBCP group was holding a meeting near the Chutlia intersection. A gunfight ensued when the PBCP men sensed the presence of law enforcers.
After the exchange of bullets, the body of Rafik ‐ who was reportedly an accused in eight cases including four for murder ‐ was found at the scene.
However, the victim's mother Nabirun Nessa told our Jhenaidah correspondent that her son was earlier picked up by RAB men and was later gunned down. Her claims were also corroborated by two other locals -Sujan Hossain and Sarwar Hossain - who said Rafik was chatting with them beside the Dhaka-Khulna Highway at around 11am on Monday when a RAB van picked up Rafik.
Local Awami League sources however claimed that Rafik was the vice-president of the Mahrajpur union union's Juba League unit.
Elsewhere in Satkhira, an alleged robber - Shahidul Islam, 32 - was injured in a gunfight between his cohorts and police in Ramchandra area early yesterday.
Police said acting on a tip-off, a police team raided a gang of robbers at around 2:30am. Sensing the presence of law enforcers, the robbers hurled two crude bombs and opened fire on them, triggering a gunfight that left Shahidul injured.
Shahidul's father Akbar Ali however claimed that the police had arrested Shahidul from the Judge Court area earlier on Monday and later shot him at night.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/18/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
"Gunfights"?; 'alleged gunfights'?
he was shot and killed. That's as in "lost a gunfight"
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/18/2015 8:42 Comments ||
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#2
He was RABBed to death.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
02/18/2015 10:35 Comments ||
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[Dhaka Tribune] A member of an outlawed party has been killed in a shootout with RAB at Chutlia under Jhenaidah sadar upazila.
The dear departed is Rafiqul Islam, alias Chhoto Tarek, 31, member of the Biplabi Communist Party and son of Abdul Jalil of Bishoykhali village under the sadar upazila.
Jhenaidah RAB Company Commander Squadron Leader Niaz Mohammad Faisal said law enforcers locked away Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'! Rafiqul from his village on Monday.
"On the basis of information he provided, a RAB team conducted a drive to recover firearms in Chutlia at 4:30am on Tuesday. Spider senses tingling at the proximity of RAB officers in the area, Rafiqul's associates started firing at the law enforcers," he said.
In retaliation, the RAB officers fired back, triggering a shootout, and leaving Rafiqul dead on the spot while escaping.
RAB officials also recovered two 9mm pistols, a shooter gun, two local pistols, six petrol bombs, and 10 rounds of ammunition from the scene.
The body was sent to Jhenaidah General Hospital morgue for an appointment with Dr. Quincy, he said.
Several cases were filed against Rafiqul, including abduction and extortion in the area, added the RAB official.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/18/2015 00:00 ||
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[Dhaka Tribune] The war crimes tribunal is set to pronounce its verdict today in the case against Maulana Abdus Subhan, a senior leader of Jamaat-e-Islami, more than two months after the case proceedings ended.
Subhan was made accused in 1972 by a special tribunal for collaborating with the Pakistani occupation forces and summoned. But he had already fled to Pakistan with former Jamaat chief Ghulam Azam, according to the prosecution.
The three-member International Crimes Tribunal 2, led by its Chairman Justice Obaidul Hasan, yesterday fixed the date.
Incumbent Nayeb-e-Ameer (vice-president) of Jamaat Subhan, 77, is facing nine charges of crimes against humanity including genocide and murders of unarmed people, mainly Hindus, along with looting and setting houses on fire in Pabna during the 1971 Liberation War.
The charges are based on separate incidents taken place between April 13 and October 30 in which about 450 unarmed people were killed.
Son of Sheikh Naimuddin and Nurani Begum of Tailakundi village of Sujanagar upazila in Pabna, Subhan in 1971 was the founding ameer of Pabna unit Jamaat and Majlish-e-Sura member of the erstwhile United Pakistan Jamaat.
As the war began, Subhan was made general secretary of Pabna unit Peace Committee and later promoted to vice-chairman post of the associated body of the Pakistani Army.
He was elected unopposed a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan in late 1971. He resumed political career after the assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1975.
In 2001, Subhan became a member of parliament from Pabna 5 constituency when the BNP-Jamaat-led four-party alliance came to power.
Law enforcers arrested Subhan on September 20, 2012. The tribunal 1 indicted the alleged war criminal on December 31, 2013. The case was later shifted to the tribunal 2 for quick disposal.
The prosecution placed 31 witnesses to testify against Subhan while none gave deposition defending the Jamaat leader. However, the tribunal had allowed three witnesses for him and the defence first said they would place two people.
First prosecution witness ATM Shahiduzzaman Nasim, then a secretary of the Bangladesh Students' Union in Ishwardi, in his deposition told the tribunal that addressing a war criminal as a "Maulana" (religious scholar) was a sin.
Third witness Md Abu Asad claimed that he had been forced to join Mujaheed Bahini ‐ a group of collaborators forced by Subhan and the Pakistani occupation forces.
"The accused [Subhan] took us to the army camp near the Hardinge Bridge in Ishwardi and said 'I am Subhan from Pabna. As a Muslim, like me, you have to protect East Pakistan from today. If anyone tries to ignore this directive, he will be shot dead,'" the witness told the tribunal.
Asad also said he had witnessed many rapes. "I saw how the collaborators violated a woman in front of her husband and shot her dead. We used to encircle the villages at the time of atrocities so that none of the villagers could escape the place."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/18/2015 00:00 ||
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[Ynet] Two 16-year-olds have have been tossed in the calaboose Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'! near Manchester under counter terrorism legislation and police said on Thursday they were searching two properties on the basis of intelligence reports.
Officers from the North West Counter Terrorism Unit (NWCTU) detained a boy and a girl in the town of Mossley on Monday, Greater Manchester Police said in a statement.
Chief Superintendent Caroline Ball said there was no immediate threat to the community and that police had acted on information from law enforcement agencies.
"It is prudent we act on that information and carry out a thorough, professional investigation to determine the circumstances and details of the activity reported," she said.
[Ynet] Swedish police incarcerated ... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not... four people in the Stockholm area on Tuesday on suspicion of money laundering and local media reported the authorities believed the money had been sent to 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.... Death Eaters in Syria. The Swedish Economic Crime Authority said money laundering was suspected in six companies but further details could not be provided while the investigation was under way.
Citing unnamed sources, Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter reported the state prosecutor believed the suspects, three men and one woman, sent money to Islamic State. The police operation was described as coordinated and well-planned.
Swedish government agencies estimate that up to 10 million Swedish kronor ($1.19 million, 1.05 million euros) are sent to violent Lion of Islam groups every year.
"A few million may sound like not a lot of money, but remember that an act of terror rarely costs more than 100,000 kronor to execute," Jonas Clausen Mork at the Swedish Defense Research Agency told Dagens Nyheter.
In January, the Swedish intelligence service said 130 Swedes had joined jihadist groups in Iraq and Syria since 2012.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
02/18/2015 00:00 ||
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"Both of the victims were standing at the bus stop outside of Detroit with the suspect on Saturday, Southfield Police Chief Eric Hawkins said. Several people there 'engaged in conversation' until the suspect, identified by Hawkins as 39-year-old Terrence Lavaron Thomas, 'asked some of the folks there if they were Muslims.'
Two of them answered, the chief told The Post on Tuesday: They were not Muslims.
'[Thomas] was not not happy with that answer,' Hawkins said. Shortly after, 'without provocation,' Thomas pulled out a 3-inch folding knife 'and attacked one of them,' Hawkins said." Maybe it was just his way of applying for a job?
[DAWN] LAHORE: Police started the paperwork but haven't done much else of suicide kaboom outside Qila Gujjar Singh Police Lines against three terrorists, including a jacket wallah, on Tuesday.
Police inserted sections 302 and 324 of Pakistain Penal Code, ž of Explosive Act and 7 of Anti Terrorism Act (ATA) against the bomber and his two accomplices who allegedly dropped him at the site.
Meanwhile, ...back at the barn, Bossy had come up with a new idea, one that didn't involve kerosene... police teams launched search operations in different areas of the city, including Qila Gujjar Singh, Lunda Bazaar, Shahdara, Misri Shah and Lorry Adda, checked credentials of the residents and also quizzed some of them.
The security in and around government buildings, police offices and establishments was also increased following the blast. The snap-checking of motorists at all entry and exit points of the city and on roads was also enhanced.
A home department correspondence with the Lahore police a few days ago mentioned the entry of three alleged suicide bombers in the historic provincial capital.
Meanwhile, ...back at the barn, Bossy had come up with a new idea, one that didn't involve kerosene... funeral prayers for two coppers who died in the attack were offered at Qila Gujjar Singh Police Lines. Lahore Corps Commander Naveed Zaman, IGP Mushtaq Sukhera, CCPO Amin Wains, DIG (Investigation) Shehzada Sultan, DIG (Operations) Dr Haider Ashraf, SSP (Investigation) Rana Ayyaz Saleem and others attended the funeral prayers.
Consoling the bereaved families, Lahore Corps Commander Naveed Zaman lauded the bravery of the dear departedcoppers. He said army and police were working together to curb the menace of terrorism.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/18/2015 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] BUNER/SWAT: A senior Taliban leader was killed in an exchange of fire with security forces in militancy-hit Buner district on Tuesday.
Officials said that security forces conducted a search operation after a tip-off about the presence of Talibs in Bajkatta village of Gagra tehsil.
During an intelligence-driven search operation, security personnel were fired upon by Lions of Islam from a house in the area. The security personnel returned fire, killing Bakhti Raj of Koz Shamnal Chaghorzai.
A security man was injured in the encounter and was taken to the Combined Military Hospital. Security personnel also enjugged You have the right to remain silent... Rashid, owner of the house.
Sources said that Bakhti Raj was a financier of the outlawed Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain activities in parts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... and 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... . He was wanted by security forces in connection with several acts of terror in the country.
Bakhti Raj had narrowly escaped a pre-dawn raid on his residence a month ago, but his son Farhan and relative Wajid, son of Bakhti Mand, were killed in exchÂange of fire. Tajiroon, wife of Bakhti Mand, suffered bullet injuries.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/18/2015 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] At least eight people were killed and dozens injured in an apparent attack on Lahore's police headquarters on Tuesday, hospital sources told Dawn. The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) later grabbed credit for the attack.
The spokesperson for the Jamaatul Ahrar ...A Pak Taliban splinter group that split off from the Mullah Fazlullah faction because it wasn't violent enough... faction of the banned TTP, Ehsanullah Ehsan ...formerly the front man for the Pak Taliban, now the lips and tongue of the Jamaatul Ahrar splinter group in Mohmand Agency... , told Dawn that the attack was carried out by the splinter group.
The blast took place near the main gate of Police Lines in Lahore's Qila Gujjar Singh area. According to preliminary reports, it took place in a vehicle parked in the area, however, there are some unverified reports that it was carried out by a jacket wallah.
Huge plumes of smoke were visible in the air in the heavily populated area which was quickly cordoned off by security personnel.
Several vehicles parked near the site of the blast caught fire and window panes in nearby buildings were also shattered.
A police Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) was among those killed in the attack while the maimed also included a policewoman, according to police sources.
Inspector General 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.... Police Mushtaq Sukhera told media representatives that the target of the attack was police lines but chances are that the bomber may have been searched on his way inside so he went kaboom! himself prematurely.
He added that, "Ever since operation 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!)... began the army has been taking action against murderous Moslems... and this was perhaps in reaction to that. We will examine CCTV footage to get more details on the attacker."
He further said that 5-8 kilograms of explosives were used in the blast.
Khawaja Salman Rafique, the Punjab government's adviser on health, confirmed that four people had died while 23 others were maimed in the blast. He added that the condition of one injured was reported as critical.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/18/2015 00:00 ||
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[Ynet] Argentina ...a country located on the other side of the Deep South. It is covered with Pampers and inhabited by Grouchos, who dance the Tangle. They used to have some islands called the Malvinas located where the Falklands are now. They're not supposed to cry for Evita... wants the United States to help it get to the bottom of a deadly 1994 bombing at the heart of a current political scandal by including the crime in the nuclear talks with Iran, its foreign minister said on Tuesday. Argentine courts have accused a group of Iranians of planning the attack on the AMIA Jewish community center that killed 85 people.
The unresolved crime was the backdrop for the Jan. 18 death of the prosecutor who headed the AMIA investigation, a mystery that has damaged confidence in Argentina's justice system and thrown the government into turmoil.
What's the over/under on President Obama nixing that particular bright idea, ladies and gents, no matter how heartfelt the plea?
Posted by: trailing wife ||
02/18/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
Zero: "Wuzzit Youse?"
Mullah: "Wudn't us"
Bamster to Argies: "Wudn't dem"
Posted by: Bov Flimbers ||
02/18/2015 20:21 Comments ||
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Lebanon's al-Maydeen reported that 15 Muslim worshipers were killed after US airstrikes targeting the Islamic State terror group mistakenly targeted a mosque in Haditha. The report has not been confirmed. Obama's going to grovel?
#2
Just because they had AK's, NSV's and Manpads doesn't mean that they don't answer the call to prayer.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
02/18/2015 13:26 Comments ||
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#3
The categories 'persons residing in a mosque,' 'Muslim worshippers' and 'theocratic, totalitarian genocidal war criminals' are not mutually exclusive.
#7
Propaganda. But it seems that ISIS is very good at managing the media and propagating their beliefs. Look at it, they burn people in cages, cut their heads off on you tube, machine gun them into ditches reticent of Nazi Germany, Line up a bunch of Christians on the beach and beheads them, and the world remains fairly ambivalent to them. Its amazing. I always wondered how we allowed the Nazis to get as far as they did before jumping in to help. Now I know, I am reliving history. I mean, really? We have some legally blond chick that says I'm not smart enough to catch the nuances of her statement? Italy is taking a lead role in ISIS in Libya? This world is upside down.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
02/18/2015 15:03 Comments ||
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#8
This is what happens whe we and other countries have no leadership. Sad thing, Pan
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
02/18/2015 15:18 Comments ||
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#9
1. How long did the secondaries last?
2. What was the mistake?
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
02/18/2015 15:21 Comments ||
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#10
It'll be parity when we read of Christians beheading random groups allan worshipers. Until then its a measured response.
#12
Even after an attack on the scale of Pearl Harbor the Western political class had no desire to deal with the Taliban in a serious manner.
Doing so would have hurt feelings, and hurting feelings was, has been and is absolutely verboten.
Why should one expect them to do anything consequential about ISIS, a group that so far has 'only' committed war crimes 'over there?'
I don't buy politicians' professed outrage over ISIS' crimes when the same politicians want to negotiate with the Taliban, serve the Taliban, pay the Taliban and endorse Taliban rule. All this AFTER 9/11.
For these politicians ISIS is a distraction to buy time for Iran to acquire nukes and missiles.
#14
"WHO GROANS BENEATH THE PUNIC MUSLIM CURSE
AND STRANGLES IN THE STRINGS OF PURSE,
BEFORE SHE MENDS MUST SICKEN WORSE.
HER LIVING MOUTH SHALL BREED BLUE FLIES,
AND MAGGOTS CREEP ABOUT HER EYES.
NO MAN SHALL MARK THE DAY SHE DIES.
Posted by: Bov Flimbers ||
02/18/2015 20:26 Comments ||
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#15
We will have to have a Boston bombing event three times a day like in Baghdad or Beirut before the Helter Skelter Manson hippies in charge of the media will react in any way, and with Barry the scat eating muslim homo in the White House, you are guaranteed to get it. Sorry for the coming victims, but until dismembered limbs are on TV every days, people will keep voting for the likes of Barry Hussein.
DUHOK, Iraq -- Saint Michael, the archangel of battle, is tattooed across the back of a U.S. army veteran who recently returned to Iraq and joined a Christian militia fighting Islamic State in what he sees as a biblical war between good and evil.
Brett, 28, carries the same thumb-worn pocket Bible he did whilst deployed to Iraq in 2006 – a picture of the Virgin Mary tucked inside its pages and his favorite verses highlighted.
“It's very different," he said, asked how the experiences compared. "Here I’m fighting for a people and for a faith, and the enemy is much bigger and more brutal."
Thousands of foreigners have flocked to Iraq and Syria in the past two years, mostly to join Islamic State, but a handful of idealistic Westerners are enlisting as well, citing frustration their governments are not doing more to combat the ultra-radical Islamists or prevent the suffering of innocents.
The militia they joined is called Dwekh Nawsha – meaning self-sacrifice in the ancient Aramaic language spoken by Christ and still used by Assyrian Christians, who consider themselves the indigenous people of Iraq.
A map on the wall in the office of the Assyrian political party affiliated with Dwekh Nawsha marks the Christian towns in northern Iraq, fanning out around the city of Mosul. The majority are now under control of Islamic State, which overran Mosul last summer and issued am ultimatum to Christians: pay a tax, convert to Islam, or die by the sword. Most fled.
Dwekh Nawsha operates alongside Kurdish peshmerga forces to protect Christian villages on the frontline in Nineveh province.
“These are some of the only towns in Nineveh where church bells ring. In every other town the bells have gone silent, and that’s unacceptable,” said Brett, who has "The King of Nineveh" written in Arabic on the front of his army vest.
Brett, who like other foreign volunteers withheld his last name out of concern for his family's safety, is the only one to have engaged in fighting so far. The others, who arrived just last week, were turned back from the frontline on Friday by Kurdish security services who said they needed official authorization.
Tim shut down his construction business in Britain last year, sold his house and bought two plane tickets to Iraq: one for himself and another for a 44-year-old American software engineer he met through the internet. The men joined up at Dubai airport, flew to the Kurdish city of Suleimaniyah and took a taxi to Duhok, where they arrived last week.
“I’m here to make a difference and hopefully put a stop to some atrocities,” said 38-year-old Tim, who previously worked in the prison service. “I’m just an average guy from England really.”
Scott, the software engineer, served in the U.S. Army in the 1990s, but lately spent most of his time in front of a computer screen in North Carolina. He was mesmerized by images of Islamic State militants hounding Iraq's Yazidi minority and became fixated on the struggle for the Syrian border town of Kobani -- the target of a relentless campaign by the jihadists, who were held off by the lightly armed Kurdish YPG militia, backed by U.S. air strikes.
Scott had planned to join the YPG, which has drawn a flurry of foreign recruits, but changed his mind four days before heading to the Middle East after growing suspicious of the group's ties to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). He and the other volunteers worried they would not be allowed home if they were associated with the PKK, which the United States and Europe consider a terrorist organization. They also said they disliked the group’s leftist ideology.
The only foreign woman in Dwekh Nawsha's ranks said she had been inspired by the role of women in the YPG, but identified more closely with the "traditional" values of the Christian militia. Wearing a baseball cap over her balaclava, she said radical Islam was at the root of many conflicts and had to be contained.
All the volunteers said they were prepared to stay in Iraq indefinitely.
“Everyone dies,” said Brett, asked about the prospect of being killed. “One of my favorite verses in the Bible says: be faithful unto death, and I shall give you the crown of life.”
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/18/2015 07:33 ||
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#1
As per YAHOO NEWS, the US is repor investigating whether the Leader of those Jihadis whom had beheaded 21 kidnapped Coptic Christians in Libya may be an American Citizen recruited by the ISIS/ISIL.
[Ynet] The pan-Arab Al Hayat newspaper reported Tuesday that as part of Jordan's war effort against 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 it will send special forces to operate in Iraq, with the goal of eliminating the leaders of the terrorist group - including His Supreme Immensity, Caliph of the Faithful and Galactic Overlord, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi ...formerly merely the head of ISIL and a veteran of the Bagram jailhouse. Looks like a new messiah to bajillions of Moslems, like just another dead-eyed mass murder to the rest of us... The newspaper quoted Western diplomats and Iranian officials who said that Jordan had reached an understanding with the Iraqi government for freedom of operation for Jordanian special forces near Islamic State strongholds in Iraq.
Why are they announcing this, instead of ghosting in quietly?
Posted by: trailing wife ||
02/18/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
Why are they announcing this, instead of ghosting in quietly? Perhaps they aren't sending any real people at all, and are just spreading fear, uncertainty & doubt?
#4
Spreading a little FUD is good. And maybe you will stir things up. "Oh noes! The Jordanians are coming. We must move our HVTs to a secure location."
Plus, terrorism is part violence, part media event. This is a press release. Beyond the usual Arab bloviation, the Jordanians are announcing what they are doing . Their reputation depends on the results which will stand on their own.
I look forward to this test of their competence and luck.
#7
Reminder: People dont seem to remember his background: His mom was English, he went to boarding schools in England for middle school, and in the US for his college prep. He is a graduate of Sandhurst, and commissioned as LT in the British Army, actually commanded a troop of Armored Cav in the British Army, and graduated from the Armor Officer's course at Ft Knox.
King Abdullah was Special Forces branch during his active military service in Jordan - thats the insignia he chose to wear, and he rose to become the commander of the Jordanian Special Forces. He did the full-on training, not just honorary crap - parachute and freefall qualified. Along the way he qualified in AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter as gunner and pilot. The man is a soldier, through and through. And he did all this while being excluded as an heir to the throne - something that changed only just before his father died.
People seem to ignore that he has opened up free markets, has a free trade agreement with the US (the first by any middle eastern country), met with the Pope, etc.
#8
Anyways - King Abdullah is the reason Jordan has the best SpecOps unit in the middle east, outside of Israel -- they are trained to Western standards, SAS style, with the most recent training by US SF over there the past few years doing the job quietly. The SpecOps community treats him as one of their own. So this announcement would not be anything that would give away ops that are ongoing.
My bet is this is designed to pop the rabbits out of their holes, where they already have operatives waiting for targets of opportunity.
#13
That has to be the ugliest clothing site on the web. I swear, no one knows how to tailor any more. Too much taper, lousy drape, unsubtle. Even Huntsman can't cut it anymore. Try to find the Men of the Cloth documentary, should be on dvd this year.
[Ynet] An Iranian news agency is reporting the death of an Iranian fighter during a battle with the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... group in Iraq. Tuesday's report by the semi-official Fars agency identifies the fighter as Mohammad Hadi Zolfaghari. It says he died fighting "terrorists" in Samarra, a city located 95 kilometers (60 miles) north of Baghdad.
It describes him as a "defender of Shiite holy sites," of which there are many in Iraq. Samarra is also home to a major Shiite shrine. The report did not elaborate. Shiite Iran says it has sent military advisers to assist Iraq and Syria in battling the Sunni faceless myrmidons but denies sending combat forces.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
02/18/2015 00:00 ||
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[RUDAW.NET] Shiite holy manMoqtada 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... has shut down two militia groups after the liquidation of a prominent Sunni tribal leader and the subsequent deepening of sectarian tensions across Iraq.
Sadr's announcement that Youm-AlMauad and Saraia Salami, two Shiite brigades fighting against ISIS alongside Iraqi security forces, must suspend operations follow's outrage over last week's murder of the Sheik Qasim al-Janabi and eight others in central Baghdad.
"What happened proves that Iraq is not suffering from foreign forces alone, but suffers from militia groups as well. Both are undermining the Iraqi government and pose security threats to the country," said Sadr, who added he was willing to work with security forces to find the murderers.
Sadr also called on political parties to be patient for investigation results, referring to Sunni politicians who threatened to walk out of Iraqi parliament in the aftermath of the killing.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/18/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
For the love of Allan, why don't he get some dental restorations?
ISIS militants have resumed attacks on Peshmerga bases inside the disputed city of Shingal with clashes continuing into the night.
Brigadier Hashm Sitaitold Rudaw told Rudaw on Tuesday night the Peshmerga were in a fierce fight with ISIS, but have so far prevented the militants from advancing.
“Unlike ISIS, the Peshmerga have not yet suffered any casualties in the fight, but since the clashes are ongoing we cannot issue any correct statistics,” he said.
Sitai added: “Even though ISIS is not as powerful as before, it still intends to take over Shingal in order to defend Talafar and Ba’aj,” referring to ISIS-held towns in the area.
Posted by: frozen al ||
02/18/2015 00:00 ||
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[Ynet] Report says Paleostinian hackers used 'spear phishing' emails with attachment disguised as pornographic video in attempt to steal data from Israeli-based organizations.
A series of cyber attacks against Israel since mid-2013 appears to be coming from "Arab parties located in the Gazoo Strip" and elsewhere, US security researchers say.
A research report by Trend Micro said the effort appears to be using "spear phishing" emails with an attachment disguised as a pornographic video.
When a user clicks on the attachment, it installs malware that allows for remote access of documents on the infected computer, the report said.
The researchers said in a report released Sunday that this highly targeted campaign dubbed "Arid Viper" is a sort of "smash-and-grab" first seen in the middle of 2013, and which uses network infrastructure located in Germany.
The security firm said those behind the scheme are using sophisticated methods with the goal of stealing sensitive data from Israeli-based organizations ‐ government, transport, military and academia and one organization based in Kuwait.
A similar campaign which uses some of the same techniques and infrastructure has also been hitting targets in Egypt. This less sophisticated effort has been called Operation Advtravel by Trend Micro.
The researchers said both campaigns are hosted on the same servers in Germany and can be tied back to activity from Gazoo.
"On one hand, we have a sophisticated targeted attack, and on the other a less skilled attack that has all the hallmarks of beginner hackers. So why would these groups be working together?" Trend Micro said in a blog post.
"Our working theory (and subject of continuing investigation) is that there may be an overarching organization or underground community that helps support Arab hackers fight back against perceived enemies of Islam. They may do this by helping set up infrastructures, suggest targets and so on."
The report suggests there will be an increase of such "cyber militia" activity in the Arab world, where non-state actors fight against other organizations that would traditionally be considered enemies.
[Ynet] Mortars fired from within Gazoo explode hundred of meters from Israeli border; fire could be Paleostinian infighting, not attempted attack on Israel.
Two mortars fired from Rafah in the southern Gazoo Strip fell a few hundred meters from the Israel-Gazoo barrier Monday night, Paleostinian sources in Gazoo reported.
It is unlikely the mortars are an attempt by Gazoo terror factions to target Israel, though such incidents have occurred since Israel and Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, reached a ceasefire agreement after fighting a 50 day war in the summer.
Hamas and other Gazoo terror groups could have fired rockets since the ceasefire, but the majority were fired as part of military exercises or as a result of infighting.
Or testing as part of new product development, that's also a possibility.
Towards the end of January, several rockets were launched from northern Gazoo towards the Mediterranean Sea, as part of Hamas' ongoing rocket trials.
Nonetheless,three rockets fired by Gazoo groups have hit Israel since the ceasefire. The most recent was at the end of January and went kaboom! in the Eshkol Regional Council, prompting Israel to shift its Iron Dome anti-missile batteries to the south and the IDF to hit a number of targets in Gazoo.
After the incident, Ynet learned that Hamas had begun to renew tunnel construction within Gazoo and shifted its military strategy.
According to Paleostinian sources in the Strip who spoke to Ynet, after Israel allowed the flow of limited goods and materials into Gazoo, a black market for mortar emerged - allowing Hamas to renew construction of concrete slabs used to line the inside of the tunnels.
Only last week it was cleared for publication that Israeli Navy forces trapped a boat shipment of a ton's worth of materials for rocket manufacturing, intended for Hamas in Gazoo.
[Gulf Today] A top leader of the communist New People's Army was killed along with five of his comrades in an encounter with Philippine security forces in Sarangani province in Mindanao.
Lieutenant Colonel Felix Babac identified him as Tolentino Bariquit alias Ka Bigol who led an NPA unit actively operating in Sarangani and Davao del Sur. He said, "We were able to confirm Bariquit's identity based on the testimonies of residents," adding his five other fellow slain militants were known only by their aliases. Babac said an estimated 30 militants fled when they saw their leader slain.
The battle happened on Monday morning in a remote village in the town of Alabel, Sarangani while a team of soldiers were also checking on complaints from an indigenous group called the B'laans that NPA militants have been regularly extorting food and money from them in exchange for their protection.
The clash came a day after policemen foiled an attack by about 50 heavily armed militants in military uniforms in Mati City, Davao Oriental province on Monday night.
Chief Superintendent Wendy Rosario said four soldiers and a militant were killed and five others were injured during a heavy exchange of gunfire. She said the four slain soldiers belonged to a military reinforcement sent to help the beleaguered policemen but were ambushed by the NPA who set off an improvised bomb along the road.
[Ynet] Syrian government forces backed by Lebanese Hezbollah fighters captured several villages near Aleppo in heavy fighting Tuesday that left more than 100 dead on both sides, bringing them closer to their goal of besieging rebel-held neighborhoods in the country's largest city, activists said.
The troops were able to cut off the highway linking Aleppo with the Turkish border, according to Aleppo-based activist Amer Hassan and the Britannia-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Aleppo, Syria's second city, is at the heart of festivities between pro-government forces and a range of hard boyz which include al Qaeda's Syria wing Nusra Front, Islamist brigades, imported muscle in other groups and Western-backed rebels.
The Britannia-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said pro-government forces had blocked a road leading north from the city towards the Turkish border and heavy festivities continued.
Pro-government newspaper al-Watan reported on Monday that government forces aimed to encircle the city this week in an offensive against krazed killer groups.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
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[Ynet] Al-Hayat reports Mashal met with Quds Force commander Soleimani a few days after Protective Edge; meeting was followed by Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, delegation arriving in Tehran for official visit.
Going for the old encirclement of Israel in exchange for money and weapons thingy again?
Khald Mashal, the head of the Hamas political bureau, met with Iran's Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani several days after the end of Operation Protective Edge, pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat reported on Tuesday.
The covert meeting between the two was reportedly held in Turkey, with Mashal meeting Soleimani only after receiving authorization from the other members of the Hamas political bureau.
Relations between the Gazoo rulers and Iran strained over Hamas' support of Syrian rebels fighting to overthrow Tehran's ally Bashir al-Assad. But according to the paper, ties between Iran and Hamas have returned to normal and that there has been a positive atmosphere between the two sides even though some issues remain unresolved.
While Iranian support of Hamas is not as it used to be before the crisis in relations, the paper reports the reason for that is purely bureaucratic.
Soleimani, who was one of the Iranian leaders to show understanding to Hamas' position on the Syrian civil war, congratulated Mashal for the renewal of ties between Tehran and the Islamist movement. The two discussed the Syria crisis and agreed Hamas would continue presenting the same position it has been holding since the beginning of the conflict.
They also discussed the possibility of Mashal visiting Tehran, which Mashal conditioned on receiving an audience with Iran's spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
They further discussed the renewal of Iranian financial and military aid to Hamas, and Tehran's wishes that Hamas publicly acknowledges the alliance and publicly thank the Islamic Theocratic Republic for the aid it has been providing.
Several weeks after the meeting, a delegation of senior Hamas officials arrived in Tehran for an official visit. According to different reports, the delegation discussed several issues with the Tehran regime, including the situation in Gazoo and the fact donation funds to rebuild the Strip have yet to arrive.
The Hamas officials expressed concern ...meaning the brow was mildly wrinkled, the eyebrows drawn slightly together, and a thoughtful expression assumed, not that anything was actually done or indeed that any thought was actually expended... elements who support 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.... will gain more influence in Gazoo, as it already had impact among young people in the Strip, something Iran is trying to prevent. Iran wants to be seen as one who supports Paleostinian resistance, and is convinced Hamas is the strongest and more efficient resistance power in the Gazoo Strip and West Bank.
[Ynet] The United States and its allies have staged six Arclight airstrikes around the Syrian town of Kobani, where Kurdish forces have been pushing back 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.... forces, a joint task force statement said on Tuesday. During a 24-hour period starting early Monday local time, the coalition forces also conducted eight strikes on Islamic State in Iraq, the task force said in a report on its daily action.
The six strikes near Kobani destroyed eight Islamic State fighting positions, a checkpoint and a vehicle. The U.S.-led Arclight airstrikes helped Kurdish forces regain control of Kobani in late January, but their progress has been slowed recently.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
02/18/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
So we've graduated from the old-fashioned body count to the new metric of sorties.
Posted by: Bobby ||
02/18/2015 12:46 Comments ||
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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.
Moqtada 
The battle happened on Monday morning in a remote village in the town of Alabel, Sarangani while a team of soldiers were also checking on complaints from an indigenous group called the B'laans that NPA militants have been regularly extorting food and money from them in exchange for their protection.
