[STRIPES] Gunmen dressed as U.S. soldiers and traveling in a captured Humvee set off a suicide bomb and then tried to shoot their way into the Afghan Interior Ministry before being killed by government forces Wednesday, security officials said.
It’s not clear who carried out the attack — one of at least three that occurred in Afghanistan on Wednesday — that targeted the Interior Ministry’s compound a few hundred yards from Kabul’s airport and a coalition air base where Americans and their allies train Afghan forces.
Just after midday, a car bomb exploded at the entrance to the ministry compound, said Hashmat Stanekzai, spokesman for Kabul police.
“After that, several gunmen tried to get into the ministry, but they faced resistance by our security forces,” he said. “The attackers were not able to enter the ministry.”
The firefight ended a little more than two hour later, he said, and all the gunmen had been killed. He could not say how many other casualties there were besides the assailants.
At least one of the attackers was captured, Gen. John Nicholson, the top U.S. commander in the country, told reporters at the Pentagon via video conference later in the day.
But Nicholson disputed claims by the Islamic State group’s Afghanistan affiliate that it was responsible for the attack. Both the Taliban and ISIS have carried out attacks that have left hundreds dead in recent months. The Taliban, however, had not claimed responsibility for the attack.
The tactics smacked more of the Taliban’s Haqqani network, Nicholson said, referring to a brutal branch of the insurgent group considered its most capable. For example, their use of American uniforms and their targeting of a government facility.
“We have seen [American] uniforms used in the past,” the American general said. “It’s been well over a year since we’ve seen that.”
ISIS attacks tend to be person-borne, involving suicide vests, and indiscriminate, often targeting Shiite minorities in the country.
The use of military uniforms and a vehicle was a concern, Nicholson said, as it might cause a hesitation or delay in responding to the attack. However, he said the Afghans responded as they should have.
“They did exactly what they were supposed to do,” he said.
The guards at the gate recognized that the uniforms were dated versions of those worn by U.S. soldiers and demanded the attackers exit the vehicle. That’s when the fighting started, Nicholson said, and one of the attackers detonated a suicide vest, killing himself and some of his fellow gunmen.
Well done, indeed! OODA for the win! But is the uniform design of allies part of their training, or wwas it that they were observant?
The Crisis Response Unit 222, a special police unit, responded to the attack and quickly killed the remaining assailants, Nicholson said.
Seven gunmen had attempted to enter the compound, said Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish. One police officer was killed and five were wounded, he said.
Washington Post reporter Dan Lamothe said on Twitter that the nearby coalition base was locked down for about an hour after the attack. In a later tweet, he said there were concerns that an attacker in a U.S. military uniform was on the base and that head counts were underway.
There was no breach of the NATO compound, said Lt. Col. Martin O’Donnell, a spokesman for the coalition in Kabul. He said all coalition troops had been accounted for after the attack.
Two other attacks occurred elsewhere in Afghanistan on Wednesday.
In eastern Logar province, suicide bombers attacked a police station in the morning, killing at least three police officers, including the station’s commander and the deputy director of traffic police for the provincial capital, Pul-e Alam, local media reported. A suicide car bomb was set off at the gates before three gunmen in suicide vests stormed the compound.
Four more police officers and eight civilians were wounded in the attack. Among the wounded were two children, the media reported. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/01/2018 00:00 ||
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[Libya Observer] An gang launched a surprise attack on Tamanhint airbase, northeast of the southern city of Sabha, on Thursday, and took over control before Dignity Operation gangs, which control the airbase, managed to retake it again.
Sources said around 15 military vehicles attacked the main gate early in the day and took control after a brief exchange of fire with the fighters there. Later, the attackers were forced to retreat under heavy Arclight airstrikes by Dignity Operation and only then its ground fighters were able retake to the airbase.
The sources indicated that the attackers ordered residents around the airbase to stay at home for their safety before their pull-out to the town of Samnu.
Reports said one Dignity Operation fighter was killed and four others maimed in the attack.
No group has grabbed credit for the attack, but Dignity Operation accused Benghazi Defense Brigades of being behind it.
Other sources claimed that the attackers were from the Tabu tribe, which has engaged in tribal conflict with Awlad Sleiman tribe, whose most members are fighting alongside Dignity Operation.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/01/2018 00:00 ||
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[ALMASDARNEWS] The Houthi ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews ... forces carried out a daring operation this week inside a Sudanese military camp in southern Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... According to the official media wing of the Houthi forces, their fighters slipped past the Saudi Coalition’s lines in the Najran a city in southwestern Saudi Arabia near the border with Yemen. It is the capital of Najran Province and a favored target of Houthirocket forces.... region, making their way to the Sudanese military camp where they posted up for an ambush.
Once they positioned themselves, they waited for the Sudanese soldiers to leave the base before they carried out a powerful ambush that resulted in at least four casualties.
In addition to the casualties, the Houthi forces also managed to destroy one pick-up truck, while also damaging another.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/01/2018 00:00 ||
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[Dhaka Tribune] About 10,000 suspected drug pushers have been either detained or tossed in the calaboose Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'! since the government-sponsored aggressiveanti-narcotics drives into known drug dens or dealing spots across the country. However, a woman is only as old as she admits... in most cases, law enforcement agencies have failed to catch the big fishes who control the narcotics trade worth crores of taka.
The taka is the currency of Bangladesh. 1 taka = US $0.01. Crore translates as ten million. So 1 crore taka is $100,000.
These so-called godfathers have somehow managed to elude capture right before coordinated raids conducted based on intelligence following a list of drug pushers in every division.
Luck, however, was not in favor of Bachchu Mia, alias Yaba Bachchu, a top drug pusher in Tongi, as he was killed during a reported shootout
...shootout having replaced encounter, which itself replaced our beloved crossfire. Bangladeshi euphemisms proceed apace, but the bad guys continue to accidentally meet their precipitate ends in a statistically improbable bullet behind the right ear, sparing all involved exposure to Bangladesh’s notably corrupt courts...
with Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) personnel in Narayanganj’s Araihajar area on May 22.
Officials said Bachchu was planning to flee to India through the Sherpur border.
Nazrul Islam, alias Nozu Sarder, 42, the drug lord who ruled the Chalantika Jhilpar slum in Mirpur, Dhaka, was killed in a "shootout" with police detectives in that area in the early hours of May 28.
Like Bachchu and Nazrul, several other drug lords around the country have also been killed in similar firefights.
The participants in said firefights, except for the deader and the RAB men, of course, having disappeared as completely as the proverbial snows of yesteryear, leaving not so much as a piece of brass or drop of blood behind.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/01/2018 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Narcos
#1
We ought to keep an eye on this - maybe the Bangladeshis can teach our DEA a thing or two!
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/01/2018 18:53 Comments ||
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Nineveh (IraqiNews.com) An Islamic State female leader has been arrested, south of Mosul city, a commander announced on Thursday.
In a statement, Maj. Gen. Hamad al-Jabouri, commander of Nineveh Police Command, said troops “managed to arrest a dangerous IS female militant, known as Wajida Jassim Nouh, in south of Mosul,” depending on information from the intelligence department.
The militant, according to the statement, “played a role in killing two innocent women, who were the wives of police conscripts in al-Lazaka village.” She was arrested in a residential house in al-Maamoun district, west of Mosul.
Mosul (IraqiNews.com) Over 1,000 bodies were found in a campaign launched to search for bodies in the Old City of Mosul and the banks of Tigris River, a security source from the civil defense department said on Thursday.
“The search and rescue teams of the civil defense started today a new campaign to search for bodies in the Old City under the rubble and the banks on Tigris River,” the soure told Almaalomah website.
“At least 1,468 decayed bodies were found. Some of them were for civilians, while others were believed to be for Islamic State members as heavy machines were found next to the bodies,” he added.
Earlier this month, the governor of Nineveh province announced that the Old City in Mosul has been declared to be empty of bodies under the rubble.
The science ain’t settled.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
06/01/2018 00:00 ||
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Diyala (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi security forces arrested Islamic State’s chief explosives expert in Diyala province, a security source was quoted saying on Thursday.
Alsumaria News quoted the source saying that a security operation in Diyala resulted in the arrest of a the Islamic State’s “IED planting official”, nicknamed “Abu Yassin”, having received intelligence information about his presence at a house in Khanaqin town.
Five companions were arrested along with him, according to the security source, who explained that Abu Yassin was behind several bombings that occurred recently in Diyala .
Salahuddin (IraqiNews.com) Islamic State members have returned back to some regions on the borders between Diyala and Salahuddin provinces, a security source said on Thursday.
Speaking to AlSumaria News, the source said, “based on available information, the IS cells were watched in some regions at Mutaibija basin on the borders between Diyala and Salahuddin, in the wake of military operation launched few days ago to follow the militants.”
Islamic State’s presence in Mutaibija “will not end without controlling the region. Otherwise, the cells will impose threats to both Diyala and Salahuddin,” the source, who preferred anonymity, added.
Mutaibija has complicated terrain, with numerous hills that serve as a good hideout for militants.
Earlier this week, the Iraqi joint forces, backed by the army jets, carried out a wide-scale military operation to purge regions located between Diyala and Salahuddin provinces.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
06/01/2018 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Islamic State
[Ynet] While mortar barrage from Gazoo stop with attainment of ceasefire, incendiary kite terrorism never stopped, with 206 fires breaking out in region's forests and 4 square kilometer of wheat consumed by flames; 'It's exhausting and cases untold damages, we expect security forces to put an end to it,' says local civil security official.
A ceasefire was attained in Gazoo, bringing a stop to the incessant barrage of mortar and rocket fire at Israeli communities on the strip's perimeter, but the persistent incendiary kite attacks have so far continued, with multiple fires breaking out Thursday in the Be'eri and Kissufim forests and near the Ein HaShlosha kibbutz.
In the latter incident, taking place at the southern region kibbutz, damage was caused to electrical infrastructures, whereas at the two forests dozens of acres of wood went up in flames.
Since the kite terrorism campaign began about two months ago‐more or less coinciding with the broader March of Return campaign‐206 fires broke out in the forests and woods on the Israeli side of the Gazoo border alone.
The fire was eventually subdued and no one was harmed in any of the incidents, but Israeli communities around Gazoo and local authorities cried out in anger at the fact that thousands of acres of wheat have been set ablaze for more than two months.
More than 4,000 dunam (equal to 4 square kilometers) of wheat have been torched thus far, and thousands of dunam of natural woodland.
Fire teams have been deployed in the region en masse, and are out in the field throughout the day. A civil security official from a Gazoo border community explained that the IDF offered up special drones capable of intercepting the incendiary drones, but that in effect there has been no change, with new fires being set daily.
"It's exhausting," he lamented, "and causes untold damage. We expect security forces to put an end to this phenomenon."
Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon took a tour of western Negev communities some three weeks ago, and stated that "those who fly incendiary kites should be treated the same as those who launch rockets."
During the visit, on which he was accompanied by a representative of property tax, the treasury minister vowed that farmers will receive remuneration for the damages caused to their wheat fields.
Heads of local authorities, meanwhile, sent out statements demanding the government reimburse farmers for their losses "down to the last shekel" while demanding the army place the matter atop its list of priorities.
In combating the new threat, however, the IDF was not merely on the defensive end, but also went on offense. In one instance, the army attacked a Hamas, one of the armed feet of the Moslem Brüderbung millipede, position using fighter jets in retaliation to the flying of incendiary kites.
A front man for the IDF said after one the aforementioned attacks that the army will "continue operating against terror both above and below the ground. The IDF considers Hamas exclusively responsible for everything going on in and coming out of the Gazoo Strip."
#1
...When I was a kid, I knew a lot of people who flew 'combat' control-line model airplanes - the idea was to cut off (with your propeller) a streamer tied to the other-guy's airplane. Now, seems to me that since drones don't need no control lines, and the IDF is nothing if not resourceful, it would be a hoot if suddently these kites started dropping in Gazoo as drones cut their strings....
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
06/01/2018 5:26 Comments ||
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[ALMASDARNEWS] At least four US-backed fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) were reportedly killed, today, after their vehicle struck an IED in rural al-Hasakah.
According to a report from pro-SDF activists, the four fighters were traveling along a road in northwest al-Hasakah, when their vehicle struck a roadside kaboom near the town of Tal Khanzer.
The reports added that this attack appeared to be an liquidation attempt because yesterday, two SDF fighters were mysteriously killed while traveling along a road in northwest Deir Ezzor.
Due to the recent turmoil between Arab and Kurdish residents in the PYD-governed areas, it is likely that more liquidations will take place, as the culprits believed to be local residents that are opposed to conscription in the SDF.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/01/2018 00:00 ||
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[ALMASDARNEWS] For the third time in two weeks, the Iraqi Armed Forces have struck the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... ’s (ISIS) positions inside of Syria.
According to the official media wing of the Popular Mobilization Units (Hashd al-Sha’abi), their forces scored direct hits on an Islamic State gathering inside the Syrian town of al-Dashayshah, which borders Iraq’s al-Anbar Governorate.
The PMU statement added that the bandidossnuffies were attempting to take advantage of the poor weather to cross over into Iraqi territory.
The Iraqi Armed Forces have repeatedly targeted the Islamic State’s positions along the Syrian-Iraqi border lately, killing and wounding a large number of the terrorist group’s combatants.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/01/2018 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.
[ALMASDARNEWS] The 
