Hi there, !
Today Sat 06/22/2019 Fri 06/21/2019 Thu 06/20/2019 Wed 06/19/2019 Tue 06/18/2019 Mon 06/17/2019 Sun 06/16/2019 Archives
Rantburg
531213 articles and 1854439 comments are archived on Rantburg.

Today: 70 articles and 227 comments as of 6:44.
Post a news link    Post your own article   
Area: WoT Background    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix   
Spain busts gang that helped finance al-Qaeda in Syria
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 1: WoT Operations
2 08:31 Dron66046 [336085] 
1 07:39 AlanC [336099] 
0 [336068] 
0 [336083] 
0 [336072] 
0 [336069] 
0 [336086] 
0 [336089] 
0 [336069] 
0 [336071] 
0 [336089] 
0 [336073] 
0 [336083] 
0 [336073] 
0 [336085] 
0 [336153] 
0 [336070] 
0 [336071] 
0 [336066] 
9 20:07 Phaick Uneretle6310 [336136] 
0 [336070] 
Page 2: WoT Background
2 15:29 lord garth [336087]
4 19:17 Frank G [336107]
1 08:51 M. Murcek [336085]
6 22:52 Albert Angitle1976 [336111]
0 [336083]
2 09:43 M. Murcek [336080]
9 13:52 gorb [336075]
0 [336069]
2 07:55 g(r)omgoru [336068]
0 [336067]
0 [336071]
1 14:27 Alaska Paul [336083]
6 09:20 Procopius2k [336074]
5 09:56 Silentbrick [336068]
Page 3: Non-WoT
3 22:06 Canuckistan sniper [336087]
2 10:30 M. Murcek [336069]
2 16:10 DarthVader [336070]
1 21:52 Bugs Smiter of the Slytherins2880 [336105]
1 20:58 Tom [336107]
15 17:23 Capsu 78 [336074]
7 14:30 Herb McCoy [336083]
3 13:39 Skidmark [336079]
3 10:18 The peanut gallery [336066]
2 11:35 M. Murcek [336083]
14 19:50 CrazyFool [336092]
3 18:31 Frank G [336092]
3 11:49 M. Murcek [336084]
1 09:27 Skidmark [336065]
4 09:06 Procopius2k [336068]
7 11:06 Frozen Al [336067]
11 19:01 Frank G [336100]
Page 4: Opinion
2 18:59 Large Untervehr3733 [336097]
7 18:46 Frank G [336135]
4 16:19 magpie [336081]
1 07:38 Raj [336084]
6 18:19 Bright Pebbles [336066]
1 09:35 M. Murcek [336065]
6 15:11 Rex Mundi [336080]
Page 6: Politix
2 16:36 lord garth [336088]
18 20:01 trailing wife [336095]
4 19:16 Frank G [336104]
5 14:49 Mercutio [336072]
6 22:58 charger [336093]
5 09:39 M. Murcek [336076]
5 16:36 charger [336074]
6 18:47 Dale [336109]
1 01:36 Besoeker [336082]
10 14:06 Woodrow [336066]
6 19:21 Frank G [336087]
-Lurid Crime Tales-
Feds seize $1 billion worth of cocaine in massive Philadelphia drug bust
[NYPOST] Federal authorities discovered 16.5 tons of cocaine on a ship in a Philadelphia port and arrested members of the crew in one of the largest drug busts in the area’s history, authorities said Tuesday.

The large haul of coke ‐ with a street value of approximately $1 billion ‐ was seized from a large ship at the Packer Marine Terminal in Philadelphia, said the US Attorney’s office.

"This is the largest drug seizure in the history of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania," the US Attorney’s office tweeted.

Those on the ship were arrested and federally charged, authorities said. The investigation is ongoing.

Earlier this year, $77 million in cocaine was seized in Newark when Sherlocks cracked open a shipping container.

Inspectors from Customs and Border Protection and the Drug Enforcement Administration at the Port of New York/Newark searched the container on Feb. 28 after noticing that its lock appeared to have been tampered with, law enforcement sources said.

When they opened the container, they found 60 burlap sacks packed to the brim with wrapped bricks of cocaine nestled among several containers of dried fruit, the sources said.
Posted by: Fred || 06/19/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336136 views] Top|| File under: Narcos

#1  The City of Brothers on Drugs...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 06/19/2019 11:01 Comments || Top||

#2  That is a serioycbu k or worldwide product , there will be a lot of dead guys, and some may have badges. This much concentrated volume would only arrive if there was some assurance of protection by locals. There will interesting backstory on this. Too bad we will likely never see it.
Posted by: NoMoreBS || 06/19/2019 12:24 Comments || Top||

#3  Serious chunk of...
Posted by: NoMoreBS || 06/19/2019 12:25 Comments || Top||

#4  The DNC convention this weekend might be a low energy event.
Posted by: Skidmark || 06/19/2019 13:31 Comments || Top||

#5  The 'MSC' rang a bell, so here. The complex nature of the enterprise is mind-boggling, but understand that it must have grown 'organically' over decades, helped along by almost every govt. and every authority involved.

The MSC Gayane is owned and operated by MSC. Mediterranean Shipping Company (based in Europe) has 54 ships in its fleet. It is not Swiss. The Gayane's previous stops included Freeport (Bahamas) on June 13, Cristobal(Panama) on June 9 and till May 24 and Buenaventura (Colombia) on May 19. At least twice while the ship was en route between stops in Chile and Panama, numerous smaller boats approached the Gayane at sea to hand off large bundles of cocaine.

While the company's papers say it is abstractly European, it's owned by none other than Diego Aponte, son of late Gian Luigi Aponte - patriarch of the Aponte family. Gianluigi Aponte was awarded the Neapolitan Excellence in the World title in 2009 by the former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi (yupp!)

From humble beginnings in the late 80s, a fleet of twelve barely seaworthy carriers, it was given port in Baltimore Marine first by Mayor William Donald Schaefer (D), later Guvnor of Maryland and occasional voice of America's passive war on drugs. Anyway, twelve years on, MSC had become the world's second largest cargo carrier with ships in every port. The Apontes are said to practically rule over Italian port authorities and there have been some 'closed' investigations into MSC and mafia activity at Gioia Tauro. A port where 119 kilos of cocaine were caught by Italian police in Jan, from which 90 kilos later disappeared from custody. Searching for data on any Aponte linked criminal activity won't find you anything on google. Another co. owned by the Aponte family, the finance arm of MSC is Marinvest.

In 2006, an agency in Asia was faced with a dire case. A disappeared Indian coast guard officer. It was thought it was some kind of personal thing, that he'd ran off or was on a jaunt with a female but it soon became apparent that he was being hounded through Bombay and lived on the road for ten days before disappearing altogether. His name was A. Dinesh. A DOC file was obtained from his personal laptop during investigation, which was ordered closed by someone high up in New Delhi.

This is part of what it said.

MSC as it well known in the shipping company is a well known shipping company in the maritime industry which is run by an Italian mafia known by the name of Aponthe . They are a container ship company , have a large fleet of mostly junk ships over 95 % of their fleet of 300 ships comprises of 25 to 40 years old ships . They mostly buy old ships which are supposed to be scrapped and convert them to container ships and run the ships to support their own illegal businesses namely , drug ,illegal arms & ammunition , human trafficking , bombs and nuclear weapons , tranportation and distribution around the world to various countries of the world which most surprisingly includes some of the ,most developed countries with very stricty laws as the USA , Australia , France , Germany , UK , Belgium , Denmark , Norway , Japan , Singapore etc. They have got full support of their shore based staff including their agents in various ports , the customs at various ports , the Port state control officers which includes some of the most advanced nations , political support , all of which can be bought very easily with their money , political connections and of course threats from local mafias .
Almost 90 % of their ships do not follow any IMO , ILO or National & local regulations , are sub -standard so much below standard which cannot be described , most of the crew being incompetent,officers get very fast promotion . Senior masters and chief engineers become part of handsome bonuses if they pass PSC inspections and other special inspections at various ports and if they are carrying "special" illegal cargoes on board "unscathed" . The rest of the crew including even the chief officer doesn't have the knowledge of such special cargoes onboard and sometimes even the master doesn't know about it . MSC is popularly known as the MAFIA SHIPPING COMPANY in the maritime industry main business is not transportation of cargo , but supporting their drug business . So , even after 10 millions in fine given to the USCG for the MSC Elena case where their Master Capt. Menon and Chief Engineer Mani Singh were fined and imprisoned ,company got a prohibition of 5 years. A drug search has never been conducted on any of their vessels . I'm 100 % sure that if this kind of search is conducted then at least 1 of the containers on their every ship will be found to carry either illegal drugs , arms , ammunitions , bombs or involvewd in human trafficking. Besides you always a soft target if you are one of the types who believes in "safer shipping cleaner seas" or the like , because if u create too much of "noise" or suspect that you might "blow" the "whistle" then you might be eliminated as well either onboard at sea or at port while you are on a shore leave or after your sign off during your transit to your home town which includes your hotel stay at the port/country where you have signed off (sic)


The original text is too long and rambles into investigations conducted and details of interruptions, coercion by Indian coast guard officials and what to do in case of his death.

Also see:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-04/macron-s-chief-of-staff-probed-over-links-to-shipping-firm-msc

Posted by: Dron66046 || 06/19/2019 14:51 Comments || Top||

#6  I wonder if the European cruise line MSC is part of the portfolio
Posted by: Capsu 78 || 06/19/2019 17:21 Comments || Top||

#7  For some reason rantburg doesn't allow me to post live links in posts so copy and paste. But do see all three.

https://gcaptain.com/msc-master-in-hot-water-for-allegedly-smuggling-drugs-inside-container/

https://www.fleetmon.com/maritime-news/2019/25905/22-tons-cocaine-found-neopanamax-container-ship-so/

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/10/01/i-am-the-victim-of-a-cocaine-smuggling-scam-says-aristocrat/
Posted by: Dron66046 || 06/19/2019 17:21 Comments || Top||

#8  #5 - Given all that, how are the Clintons NOT involved? This is right in their wheelhouse
Posted by: Frank G || 06/19/2019 18:55 Comments || Top||

#9 
Posted by: Phaick Uneretle6310 || 06/19/2019 20:07 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan
Afghan intelligence forces arrest young ISIS recruits in Jalalabad city
Oh good. I was beginning to think that ISIS in the Khurasan had vanished softly and completely away, leaving the Taliban in control of the jihadi field.
[KhaamaPress] The Special Forces of the Afghan Intelligence arrested three new recruits of ISIS terrorist group during an operation in Nangarhar
The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country..
The Governor’s Office of Nangarhar in a statement said the Special Forces of National Directorate of Security
...the Afghan national intel agency...
(NDS) arrested three young recruits of ISIS terrorist group in Jalalabad city on Monday.

The statement further added that another ISIS group member who was transporting the young men was also arrested during the operation.

The Governor’s Office also added that the new recruits are originally hailing from Faryab province and cannot speak Pashto language.

The anti-government armed elements including ISIS loyalists have not commented in this regard so far.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/19/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336083 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


ISIS bomb kills 10-year-old girl, critically wounds woman in Nangarhar province
[KhaamaPress] An explosion in eastern Nangarhar
The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country..
province killed a 10-year-old girl in Nangarhar province.

According to local officials, the earth-shattering kaboom triggered by roadside kaboom also maimed a woman.

The Governor’s Office of Nangarhar in a statement said the incident took place in Achin district on Monday.

The statement further added that ISIS turbans had planted the improvised bomb in Mamand Bagh area of Achin.

The governor’s office of Nangarhar also added that the woman lost one of her legs and is currently undergoing treatment in Bagram hospital.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/19/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336072 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Afghan forces foil ISIS bid to recruit militants in Logar province
[KhaamaPress] The Afghan forces foiled ISIS terrorist group’s bid to recruit bandidos turbans in its ranks from Pashtun-infested Logar province.

The 203rd Thunder Corps in a statement said the security forces arrested Shafi Gul, a commander of ISIS terrorist group in Pul-e-Alam city of Pashtun-infested Logar.

The statement further added Shafi Gul was looking to recruit bandidos turbans into ISIS ranks from Pul-e-Alam city.

The security forces arrested Shafi Gul during a joint operation conducted with the support of coalition forces.

The anti-government armed elements including ISIS sympathizers have not commented in this regard so far.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/19/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336069 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Notorious Taliban commander involved in major terrorist attacks arrested in Kabul
[KhaamaPress] The Afghan forces arrested a notorious Taliban
...Arabic for students...
commander Zmarai in Kabul city.

Nasrat Rahimi, a front man for the Ministry of Interior said Zmarai is one of the most dangerous commanders of Taliban.

Rahimi further added that the security forces arrested Zmarai from the 7th district of Kabul city on Monday.

Originally a resident of Pashtun-infested Logar, Zmarai was in orchestrating major terrorist attacks in Kabul city.

The Talibs have not commented regarding the arrested of Zmarai so far.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/19/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336086 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Airstrike kills Taliban’s shadow district chief and his fighters in Farah
[KhaamaPress] An Arclight airstrike
...KABOOM!...
killed the shadow district chief of Taliban
...Arabic for students...
for Bala Bolok district of Farah province.

The 207th Zafar Corps in a statement said the security forces carried out the airstrike in Arif Village of Bala Bolok district.

The statement further added that the airstrike killed Mullah Esamuddin, the shadow district chief of Taliban for Bala Bolok district.

The airstrike also killed three fighters of Mullah Esamuddin and destroyed a vehicle.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/19/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336089 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Taliban militants set two oil tankers on fire in the outskirts of Pul-e-Khumri city
[KhaamaPress] The Talibs have set on fire two oil tankers in Baghlan province.

Local officials confirmed that Talibs torched the two oil tankers on Pul-e-Khumri and Mazar-e-Sharif highway.

The incident took place in Bagh Shamal are of Pul-e-Khumri city earlier today.

Talibs also engaged in a shootout after setting two oil tankers on fire.

The officials further added that the two oil tankers were on their way from Mazar-e-Sharif city to Kabul when Talibs set them on fire.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/19/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336069 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Airstrikes kill 14 Taliban militants in Uruzgan province
[KhaamaPress] A series of Arclight airstrike
...KABOOM!...
s killed 14 Talibs in southern Uruzgan province.

The informed military sources said Tuesday that the security forces killed 14 Talibs during the airstrikes in Tarin Kot district of Uruzgan.

The Talibs have not commented regarding the airstrikes so far.

This comes as the security situation in some districts of Uruzgan has tanked during the recent months.

Talibs are active in some restive districts of Uruzgan and often conduct terrorist related activities.

Meanwhile,
...back at the precinct house, Fat Tony demanded his rosco back. He didn't say please...
the Afghan forces are busy conducting counter-terrorism operations against the anti-government gangs in this province.

The U.S. forces also conduct regular airstrikes in restive parts of the country to suppress Taliban
...Arabic for students...
and other anti-government hard boys.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/19/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336071 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Taliban militants suffer heavy casualties in Ghor operations
[KhaamaPress] The security forces killed 15 Talibs during the joint military operations in Ghor province.

the 207th Zafar Corps in a statement said the security forces conducted the operation in Aahangara, Shotor Khan and Amrutak villages of Dolina district.

The statement further added that the Air Forces and Artillery Units also provided support to the security forces during the operation.

The 207th Zafar Corps also added that two commanders of Taliban
...Arabic for students...
Mullah Dad and Mustafa Amrutak were among those killed.

Meanwhile,
...back at the shootout, Butch clutched at his shoulder. Ow! he exclaimed, with feeling......
the security forces maimed 13 Talibs during the operation and arrested six others.

The 207th Zafar Corps also added that the security forces confiscated two PKM machine guns, 2 rocket launchers, 3 Ak-47 rifles, 2 Land Cruiser Vehicles, a Toyota Prado vehicle, cycle of violences and some other equipment.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/19/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336089 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


4 Taliban militants killed in Balkh and Ghazni operations
[KhaamaPress] The security forces killed four Talibs during separate operations in Balkh and Ghazni provinces.

The informed military sources said Tuesday that the soldiers of 209th Shaheen Corps killed 3 Taliban
...Arabic for students...
fighters in Balkh province.

The sources further added that the operation was conducted in Dowlatabad district of Balkh.

Meanwhile,
...back at the wreckage, Captain Poindexter wished he had thought to pack sun block...
the security forces killed one Taliban fighter by conducting an Arclight airstrike
...KABOOM!...
in Andar district of Ghazni.

The Talibs have not commented regarding the operations so far.

This comes as the security situation in some districts of Balkh and Ghazni provinces has tanked during the recent months.

Talibs are active in some restive districts of the two provinces and often conduct terrorist related activities.

In the meantime, the Afghan forces frequently conduct counter-terrorism operations against the anti-government gangs in the two province.

The U.S. forces also conduct regular airstrikes in restive parts of the country to suppress Taliban and other anti-government murderous Moslems.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/19/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336073 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Africa Horn
U.S. airstrike kills 2 al-Shabab militants in southern Somalia
[RADIOSHABELLE] The United States military said Monday its special forces killed two al-Shabaab
...... al-Qaeda's tentacle in East Africa...
turbans in an Arclight airstrike
...KABOOM!...
in southern Somalia on Sunday.

The U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) said the strike was conducted in cooperation with Somali government near Jilib, Middle Juba Region.

Since 2017, the U.S. military has stepped up air raids against al-Shabaab. The al-Shabaab group still controls large parts of rural southern and central Somalia and continues to carry out high-profile attacks in the capital Mogadishu.
Posted by: Fred || 06/19/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336085 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab (AQ)


Africa North
Gunmen 'kill dozens' in attack on two villages in central Mali
[Al Jazeera] Dozens of people are reported killed after a new attack on two villages in central Mali, a part of the country experiencing a dire security situation amid an increase in tit-for-tat ethnic violence.

A local mayor told Rooters News Agency on Tuesday that unidentified button men on cycle of violences attacked the villages of Yoro and Gangafani 2 the previous evening, killing at least 41 civilians.

The victims of the raids were mostly ethnic Dogons, according to Issiaka Ganame, the mayor of Yoro, where 24 people were killed. Another 17 died in Gangafani 2.

"About 100 unidentified gunnies circulating on motos all of a sudden invaded Yoro and fired on the population," Ganame said.

"Then they descended on the village of Gangafani 2, which is about 15km away."

Separately, local judicial official Boubacar Sidiki Samake told the AFP news agency that Monday's attacks in the two villages near the border with Burkina Faso
...The country in west Africa that they put where Upper Volta used to be. Its capital is Oogadooga, or something like that. Its president is currently Blaise Compaoré, who took office in 1987 and will leave office feet first, one way or the other...
had left "14 people dead according to a provisional toll".

A Malian military source said as many as 40 people may have been killed.
Posted by: Fred || 06/19/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336083 views] Top|| File under:


#LNA moving heavy armored equipment as forces prepare for assault on #Tripoli.
[TWITTER]

Posted by: Fred || 06/19/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336071 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Africa Subsaharan
Nigeria villagers in Borno mourn the dead, lament state failures
[Al Jazeera] There were three jacket wallahs: an adult male and two maiden of tender yearss who blew themselves up among those watching football and enjoying tea at a shop along Sambisa street, named for the Sambisa Forest - the notorious stronghold of 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...
less than 100 kilometres away.

Villagers say the bombers mingled with them earlier in the evening before rushing into the crowd and detonating the explosives strapped to their bodies.

"Twenty persons were killed in all - one of them died in the hospital while the other 19 died here in the village. Thirty-eight persons were maimed and are receiving treatment in the hospital," said Sadiq Usmobik, a police front man of Borno state.

The casualty figures could potentially have been higher but one of the bombers, a girl, tripped while running towards a crowd and her bomb went off early.

Usman Kachalla, head of operations at the State Emergency Management Agency, put the corpse count at 30.

No group has grabbed credit for the attack, but it has been strongly linked to Boko Haram murderous Moslems, who are known to use children in suicide kabooms targeting civilians in churches, mosques, markets, schools and other small gatherings.

The UN children's agency, UNICEF, did not single out Boko Haram on Monday.

"UNICEF condemns the use of children as human bombs and in any combat or non-combat roles in the conflict in northeast Nigeria
... a particularly crimson stretch of Islam's bloody border...
," it said in a statement.

"This incident brings the number of children who have been reported as having been used as human bombs to five since January 2019. In 2018, 48 children - including 38 girls - were used in suicide kabooms."

Assaults by Boko Haram since 2009 have killed more than 27,000 people and forced two million to leave their homes.
Posted by: Fred || 06/19/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336073 views] Top|| File under: Boko Haram (ISIS)


Arabia
Saudi air defenses intercept two Houthi drones
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Saudi air defenses intercepted and destroyed two bomb-laden drones launched by 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...
’s Iranian-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...
militia.

Col. Turki al-Maliki, spokesperson of the Arab coalition made the remarks early Tuesday in a statement carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency (SPA.)

Al-Maliki says one drone targeted a residential area in the southern city of Abha.

He added that the other drone was shot down over Yemen.

The Houthis have launched several strikes at Abha since last week, when a missile attack on the city’s airport maimed 26 people.

The drone attacks come amid heightened tensions between Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan, the abbreviation IRGC is a cognate form of Stürmabteilung (or SA), the term Supreme Guide is a cognate form of either Shah or Führer or maybe both, and they hate Jews Zionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
and the US.

The West and the UN say Iran arms the Houthis. Tehran denies that.

On Monday, the UN Security Council condemned the attack by Yemen’s Houthi militia on the Abha airport "in the strongest terms."

In a statement, the UN called for those behind "these reprehensible actions" to be held accountable.
Posted by: Fred || 06/19/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336070 views] Top|| File under: Houthis


Caribbean-Latin America
Mexican Army Kills 3 Gulf Cartel Men, Rescues Border City Kidnapping Victim
[BREITBART] Mexican soldiers rescued a kidnapping victim and killed three Gulf Cartel button men. The shootout comes after a series of festivities between police forces and cartel members.

The rescue took place late last week just behind a gas processing plant called "Burgos" on the south side of Reynosa. According to information provided to Breitbart News by law enforcement sources, a convoy of Mexican soldiers were patrolling dirt roads near the plant which have been used in the past by cartel members to move without drawing attention.

The soldiers spotted a white SUV and another vehicle and moved to intercept them. Rather than stop, the Gulf Cartel button men began shooting and tried to flee the area. The chase ended shortly after when the vehicle got stuck in a ditch and the button men made their stand.
Posted by: Fred || 06/19/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336066 views] Top|| File under: Narcos


Europe
Spain busts gang that helped finance al-Qaeda in Syria
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Spanish police on Tuesday detained 10 nationals of Syrian origin accused of financing "al-Qaeda terrorist militia" in Syria, the interior ministry and a source close to the probe said.

With Europol’s collaboration, more than 350 agents took part in an operation in Madrid, further south in Toledo and the eastern province of Valencia. Fourteen homes and other premises were searched by officers.

The source, who refused to be named, said the detainees were Spanish of Syrian origin.

"The organization was led by a family clan that for years allegedly used a legal business structure to hide illicit operations with which they evaded tax authorities and laundered large amounts of money," the ministry said in a statement.

"The detainees allegedly took away money from each legal operation, substituting the real amount of the operation in the receipt with another lower value amount," it said.

A large part of the stash of cash amassed went to the opposition-held province of Idlib in Syria to "give support and financial backing to terrorist militia there." Relatives of the suspects are allegedly al-Qaeda members.

The money was sent via various methods including human couriers and the "hawala" system, an informal method of payment based on trust that is far more difficult to trace than bank transfers.

One of those detained had already been arrested in Syria in 2008 and sentenced for his participation in an attack and for belonging to the group Fatah al-Islam
A Syrian-incubated al-Qaeda work-alike that they think can be turned off if no longer needed to keep the Lebanon pot stirred. Mostly eradicated by the Leb army...
The operation comes just weeks after a Syrian man was detained on suspicion of funneling money to Europe
...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum...
an hard boyz linked to the ISIS so that they could return to Europe.
Posted by: Fred || 06/19/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336153 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda


The Grand Turk
Turkey Orders Arrest of Dozens More over Alleged Coup Ties
[AnNahar] Ottoman Turkish police on Tuesday launched nationwide raids to detain 168 individuals suspected of ties to the group blamed for a 2016 coup attempt, state media reported.

Since the failed overthrow of President His Enormity, Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First
...Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him. It's a sin, a shame, and a felony to insult the president of Turkey. In Anatolia did Recep Bey a stately Presidential Palace decree, that has 1100 rooms. That's 968 more than in the White House, 400 more than in Versailles, and 325 more than Buckingham Palace, so you know who's really more important...
, authorities have detained tens of thousands of individuals accused of links to the group led by US-based Moslem preacher Fethullah Gülen
... a Turkish preacher living in Pennsylvania whom the current govt of Turkey considers responsible for all the ills afflicting Turkey and possibly the entire world. Gülen and Erdogan used to be really good friends, but only one of them could be sultan, and Gülen lost...
The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor...
accuses Gulen of ordering the attempted putsch, which he strongly denies.

The Izmir public prosecutor in the Aegean region issued arrest warrants for 65 suspects across 30 provinces including a colonel and lieutenant as part of a probe into the movement's presence inside the armed forces, state news agency Anadolu reported.

The agency said another 22 suspects were sought by police. Some were accused of using an encrypted messaging application which authorities suspect was also used to coordinate the coup bid.

And in another probe in central Turkey, the Konya public prosecutor issued detention warrants for 63 individuals, including soldiers across 30 provinces as well, Anadolu said.

In the capital, the Ankara public prosecutor's office said police sought to arrest 18 suspects in eight provinces including former personnel from the foreign and health ministries.

A total of 28 suspects had already been rounded up across Turkey including 11 in Ankara, the reports said.

More than 140,000 public sector employees have been sacked or suspected over alleged links to Gulen since 2016.

There have been almost daily raids across the country with hundreds of detentions in recent months despite criticism from Western allies and rights defenders who accuse the government of using the purge to crackdown on dissent.

But Ottoman Turkish officials insist the raids are necessary to remove Gulen's influence in state institutions.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/19/2019 00:18 || Comments || Link || [336099 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte

#1  Why don't they just build a wall around the whole country and arrest everyone?

At the rate they've been going there can't be many "innocents" left, no?
Posted by: AlanC || 06/19/2019 7:39 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Four Indian Troops Killed in New Kashmir Clashes
[AnNahar] Indian troops fought a shootout with Kashmire rebels Tuesday after a car kaboom and other festivities left four soldiers and three gunnies dead in 24 hours, military officials said.

A soldier and two suspected rebels were killed in the latest shootout in the Anantnag area of India-administered Kashmire, army front man Colonel Rajesh Kalia said in a statement.

Another two soldiers were killed and many more maimed when a boom-mobile hit an Indian military truck late Monday in Pulwama district, the statement added.

The remote-control bomb was set off in the same district as where a jacket wallah in February targetted an Indian convoy and killed 40 paramilitaries.

The attack led to India and Pakistain staging tit-for-tat air raids.

India and Pakistain divided Moslem-majority Kashmire after their independence in 1947, but both claim it in whole. An insurgency on the Indian side over the past three decades has left more than 70,000 dead, mainly civilians.

Kalia called the boom-mobile "a failed attempt
Curses! Foiled again!
" to hit an Indian patrol, but gave no other details.

However,
a clean conscience makes a soft pillow...
a police brass hat speaking on condition of anonymity
... for fear of being murdered...
told AFP that at least 12 soldiers were maimed in the blast and taken to a military hospital in Kashmire's main city, Srinagar.

Hours before the boom-mobileing, a clash between suspected rebels and Indian forces left one soldier and one Death Eater dead, according to Kalia.

Southern Kashmire has seen intense fighting over the past three years between Indian forces and rebels, who are demanding independence for the Himalayan region or a merger with Pakistain.

More then 100 rebels have been killed in Indian Kashmire this year in festivities with soldiers.

India has about 500,000 troops in its side of Kashmire, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has repeatedly said they have a "free hand" to eradicate gunnies in the restive territory.

But the Kashmire public has also taken a more radical stance, with local residents increasingly trying to help besieged gunnies escape military cordons.

The Indian government accuses Pakistain of supporting the rebels, while Islamabad says it provides only moral and diplomatic support to Kashmiris demanding self-determination.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/19/2019 00:18 || Comments || Link || [336085 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistain Proxies

#1  right after the recent covering fire across the LOC
Posted by: Frank G || 06/19/2019 7:02 Comments || Top||

#2  Military babus don't care for the grunt. We are just numbers to them. They care only if their ass is in the sling. This has been going on for decades now.

Undermanned, underarmoured, the administration doesn't even cater to the common battle needs of the soldier. It's only grit and jingo madness that makes young men in India sign up for this shit.

Officers catch on quickly and learn that there are two ways for the career to go. As a remf in safe environs strategizing cluelessly or as a prospective corpse in the bitch frontline of the NW border. It's the clueless pogues that usually make policy, or this wouldn't happen.

Also, border protection routines are the sole jurisdiction of police which is a Home department, non-military. As you can guess, Indian police is not very good at securing much. Much of the police is corrupt and has stakes in cross border smuggling and the heroin trade too, fuck national security.
Posted by: Dron66046 || 06/19/2019 8:31 Comments || Top||


Iraq
Iraqi security destroy secret Islamic State tunnels in Anbar
Anbar (IraqiNews.com) ‐ Iraqi security forces destroyed on Tuesday several 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....
tunnels and seized a large cache of the terrorist group’s weapons in Anbar province, a security source was quoted as saying.

Speaking to the privately-owned Almaalomah news agency, the source said that a security operation was launched to purge the desert of Hit district, west of Anbar, from Islamic State’s terrorist hotbeds.

The operation, according to the source, resulted in destroying many secret tunnels of Islamic State and seizing a large cache of ammunition and weapons at the scene. It was launched based on intelligence information, he added.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/19/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336070 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Syria Clashes Kill 45 Fighters
[AnNahar] Clashes between pro-government forces and jihadist-led groups that control Syria's northwest killed at least 45 combatants on Tuesday, a war monitor said.

The fighting flared on the edge of Hama province when jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, formerly al-Nusra, before that it was called something else
...al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, from which sprang the Islamic State...
launched a dawn attack on regime positions, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

At least 14 pro-government forces died in ensuing festivities, said the Britannia-based monitor.

"Regime forces foiled the attack," Observatory head Rami Abdul Rahman told AFP.

State news agency SANA also said the offensive had been thwarted.

Hama's northern countryside lies on the edge of a jihadist-controlled region including most of Idlib province.

The frontline had been relatively calm since festivities on Saturday killed more than 35 combatants, including jihadists and regime forces, Abdul Rahman said.

Regime Arclight airstrike
...KABOOM!...
s on northern Hama and neighbouring Idlib had also paused for more than 24 hours, before resuming Tuesday following the latest bout of fighting, according to the monitor.

The bombardment killed one civilian in southern Idlib, it said.

The latest battles come after rocket fire by HTS -- led by a former al-Qaeda affiliate -- and allied rebels killed more than 12 civilians in a regime-held village in Aleppo province late Sunday.

Parts of Aleppo, Hama and Idlib are supposed to be protected from a massive regime offensive by a buffer zone deal that Russia and The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the decaying remnant of the Ottoman Empire...
signed in September.

But it was never fully implemented as jihadists refused to withdraw from a planned demilitarised zone.

In January, HTS extended its administrative control over the region, which includes most of Idlib province as well as adjacent slivers of Latakia, Hama and Aleppo provinces.

The Syrian government and Russia have upped their bombardment of the region since late April, killing more than 400 civilians, according to the Observatory.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/19/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336068 views] Top|| File under: al-Nusra



Who's in the News
37[untagged]
6Taliban
5Islamic State
4Arab Spring
3Sublime Porte
2Narcos
2Commies
2Govt of Iran
1Moslem Colonists
1PLO
1al-Qaeda
1al-Nusra
1al-Shabaab (AQ)
1Boko Haram (ISIS)
1Govt of Pakistain Proxies
1Hezbollah
1Houthis

Bookmark
E-Mail Me

The Classics
The O Club
Rantburg Store
The Bloids
The Never-ending Story
Thugburg
Gulf War I
The Way We Were
Bio

Merry-Go-Blog











On Sale now!


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.
Click here for more information

Meet the Mods
In no particular order...
Steve White
Seafarious
tu3031
badanov
sherry
ryuge
GolfBravoUSMC
Bright Pebbles
trailing wife
Gloria
Fred
Besoeker
Glenmore
Frank G
3dc
Skidmark

Two weeks of WOT
Wed 2019-06-19
  Spain busts gang that helped finance al-Qaeda in Syria
Tue 2019-06-18
  Iran says it dismantled a U.S. cyber espionage network
Mon 2019-06-17
  Mohammed Morsi titzup
Sun 2019-06-16
  Maldives seek foreign help to deal with IS fighters
Sat 2019-06-15
  Iranian boat fired missile at US drone prior to tanker attack, US official says
Fri 2019-06-14
  Tanker Front Altair is on fire according to Bloomberg
Thu 2019-06-13
  Middle East on alert as two oil tankers are hit by explosions and one 'sinks' in suspected 'torpedo attack' in Gulf of Oman
Wed 2019-06-12
  Boko Haram kills at least 26 people in Cameroon
Tue 2019-06-11
  At least 95 killed in central Mali village attack
Mon 2019-06-10
  Iran ammonium-nitrate stash in London and around the world ignored for 2015 Iran deal
Sun 2019-06-09
  Tunisian-German couple in court over ‘ricin attack plot’
Sat 2019-06-08
  U.S., Mexico: Trump Announces Deal With Mexico, Suspends Tariff Threat
Fri 2019-06-07
  Houthis kill imam, 9 worshippers for following Saudi Eid al-Fitr moon sighting
Thu 2019-06-06
  ISIS claiming to exterminate a Pakistani Intel agent
Wed 2019-06-05
  Nanagarhar: Senior ISIS leader hailing from India killed in Afghanistan airstrike

Better than the average link...



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.
3.235.199.19
Help keep the Burg running! Paypal:
WoT Background (14)    Non-WoT (17)    Opinion (7)    (0)    Politix (11)