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Libya Militia Arrests al-Qaida Leaders
Today's Headlines
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Afghanistan
Coordinated Taliban attack failed on police check posts in Kandahar
[KhaamaPress] The police forces effective responded to a coordinated Taliban
...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
attack on security check posts in Kandahar killing 7 Talibs.

The Ministry of Interior (MoI) in a statement said the Talibs attacked the check post in Shorabak and Registan districts on Wednesday night.

The statement further added that the police forces killed 7 Talibs during the clash.

Furthermore, the interior ministry said the police forces did not suffer casualties during the incident.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/26/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Deadly roadside bomb explosion targets wedding guests in East of Afghanistan
[KhaamaPress] A deadly explosion destroyed a vehicle carrying wedding guests 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..
province of Afghanistan.

The Provincial Government Media Office in a statement said a roadside kaboom explosion targeted a vehicle in Wazir area of Khogyai district.

The statement further added that the earth-shattering kaboom killed 9 civilians including 6 women and 3 children.

Furthermore, the Nangarhar Governor’s Office said the earth-shattering kaboom also maimed 5 civilians including a woman and 2 children.

The Governor’s Office also added that the civilians were on their way to participate in a wedding ceremony when their vehicle struck a roadside kaboom.

No individual or group including Talibs has so far grabbed credit for the earth-shattering kaboom.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/26/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


13 Taliban militants killed, wounded in Afghan forces operations in Logar, Ghazni: Thunder
[KhaamaPress] The Afghan forces conducted separate operations in Pashtun-infested Logar and Ghazni provinceskilling, wounding at least 13 Talibs.

The 203rd Thunder Corps in a statement said the security forces an operation in the vicinity of Mohammad Agha district killing 9 Talibs.

The statement further added that the security forces killed a Taliban
...Arabic for students...
fighter and maimed another krazed killer during a separate raid in Baraki Barak district.

Furthermore, the 203rd Thunder Corps said the security forces killed 2 Talibs during an operation in Aab district of Ghazni province.

The security forces also confiscated an Ak-47 assault rifle during the same operation.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/26/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  Ah... casualties to inaugurate the new Hospital. I hope they made a large mortuary.
Posted by: Dron66046 || 07/26/2019 17:34 Comments || Top||


Taliban attack claims the lives of 37 security personnel in North-east of Afghanistan
[KhaamaPress] An attack by Talibs claimed the lives of 37 security personnel in North-eastern Takhar province.

Wafiullah Amin, Provincial Council Chief of Takhar confirmed that the Talibs attacked the security check posts in Eshkamish district at around 12:00 am.

Amin further added that the attack the claimed the lives of 37 security personnel including 24 Public Order Policemen and 13 National Police soldiers.

Furthermore, Amin said the security institutions deployed additional forces at around 7 am local time who recaptured the area from Talibs.

He also added that the attack maimed 6 coppers and an unspecified number of coppers have gone missing.

Meanwhile,
...back at the revival hall, the pastor had finally been wrestled from the pulpit.
Y'got the wrong guy! he yelled just before Sergeant Malone's billy club landed...

Amin described negligence and lack of preparations as the main reasons behind the casualties of the police forces.

This comes as Talibs have stepped up attacks across the country in a bid to gain more privileges in ongoing peace talks.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/26/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Afghan forces thwart militants deadly plot to target Baghlan University students
[KhaamaPress] The Afghan forces thwarted a deadly plot by anti-government armed bandidos gunnies to target the university students in northern Baghlan province.

The Ministry of Interior (MoI) in a statement said the security forces discovered and defused an improvised explosive which the bandidos gunnies had planted close to Baghlan University.

The statement further added that the bandidos gunnies had planted the bomb close to the entrance gate of Baghlan University in Pul-e Khumri city.

Furthermore, the interior ministry said the earth-shattering kaboom could inflict heavy casualties on university students hadn’t the police forces thwarted the attack plot.

The anti-government armed bandidos gunnies including Taliban
...Arabic for students...
have not commented in this regard so far.

The security situation in Baghlan province has tanked during the recent months.

Talibs are active in some districts of the province and often conduct terrorist related activities.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/26/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Afghans airstrike 5 Talibs in Ghazni, Yanks airstrike 8 more, cause secondaries


Airstrikes destroy explosives-laden Humvee, kill 5 Taliban militants in Ghazni

[KhaamaPress] The security forces conducted separate Arclight airstrike
...KABOOM!...
s in different parts of Ghazni provice destroying a Humvee armored personnel carrier packed with explosives.

The Provincial Government Media Office in a statement said the airstrikes also killed 5 Talibs and maimed another bully boy.

The statement further added that the security forces carried out the first airstrike at 11:30 pm local time in Laileza area of Qarabagh district.

Furthermore, the Provincial Government said the airstrike destroyed a Humvee packed with explosives, killed 2 Talibs and maimed another bully boy.

The Provincial Government also added that the security forces carried out the second airstrike in Geru district targeting a gathering of Talibs.

According to Provincial Government, the airstrike in Geru district killed 3 Talibs.

The anti-government armed holy warriors have not commented regarding the airstrikes so far.

The security situation in Ghazni province has tanked during the recent years.

Talibs are active in some districts of the province and often conduct terrorist related activities.

U.S. airstrikes killed 8 Taliban militants, destroyed truck bomb in Ghazni: Thunder Corps

[KhaamaPress] The 203rd Thunder Corps of the Afghan Military said Wednesday that U.S. airstrikes killed 8 Taliban militants and destroyed a truck bomb in Ghazni.

According to a statement released by 203rd Thunder Corps, the U.S. forces conducted the airstrikes in Ahad area of Geru and Bashi area of Andar district.

The statement further added that the airstrikes also destroyed a Ford Ranger type vehicle.

The local officials on Tuesday said an airstrike destroyed a truck bomb in Geru district of Ghazni.

The Governor’s Office in Ghazni said in a statement that the security forces conducted an airstrike at around 8:40 pm local time.

The statement further added that the security forces conducted the airstrike in Mazar area of Geru district.

Furthermore, the Governor’s Office said the airstrike killed 3 suicide bombers who were riding a Mazda type truck packed with explosives.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/26/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Kabul Blasts Death Toll Rises To 11
[ToloNews] At least 11 people were killed and 45 others were maimed in three explosions in Kabul on Thursday, the Ministry of Public Health confirmed.

The first blast happened when a jacket wallah on a cycle of violence targeted a bus carrying employees of the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum in Macrorayan-e-Kohna area in the city of Kabul on Thursday morning, killing eight employees including five women and a child and wounding 16 others, a front man for the Ministry of Interior, Nusrat Rahimi, said.

"First, a magnetic bomb embedded to a bus went kaboom!, then a suicide bomber detonated his explosives near the bus," Rahimi said, adding that the third blast was a boom-mobileing near the industrial park in PD9 of Kabul.

Taliban
...mindless ferocity in a turban...
claimed responsivity for the third blast and claimed that they targeted a convoy of the foreign troops.

CIVILIAN CASUALTIES IN AFGHANISTAN
On July 15, a bigwig of Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) said that 596 non-combatants were killed, and 1,892 others maimed in festivities between government forces and the Taliban and other attacks by murderous Moslems in Afghanistan since the beginning of the current solar year which coincides with March 21, 2019.

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said in a quarterly report on April 24 that it has documented high levels of harm to civilians but adds that there has been a 23 percent decrease in overall civilian casualties as compared to the same period last year and is the lowest for a first-quarter since 2013.

The report says the UN documented 1,773 civilian casualties (581 deaths and 1,192 injured), including 582 child casualties (150 deaths and 432 injured) between January 1 and March 31.

In the first quarter of 2018, UNAMA documented 2,305 civilian casualties (799 deaths and 1,506 injured), including 609 child casualties (176 deaths and 433 injured), the report says.

The overall reduction of civilian casualties was driven by a decrease in civilian casualties by suicide improvised bomb (IED) attacks, the report says.

UNAMA notes the particularly harsh winter conditions during the first three months of the year, which may have contributed to this trend, the report says.

It is unclear whether the decrease in civilian casualties was influenced by any measures taken by parties to the conflict to better protect civilians, or by the ongoing talks between parties to the conflict, the report mentions.

Taliban, ISIS make claims regarding the three explosions in Kabul

[KhaamaPress] The Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terror group has grabbed credit for the twin blasts in Kabul.

The group’s Amaq News Agency claimed that the group was behind the consecutive blasts including a suicide kaboom against the bus in 16th district of the city.

Meanwhile,
...back at the precinct house, Sergeant Maloney wasn't buying it. It was just too pat. The whole thing smelled phony, kind of like a dead mackeral but without the scales...
the Taliban
...Arabic for students...
group has claimed it was behind a boom-mobile explosion in Despechary area of Kabul city.

The group has claimed that the attack killed 9 foreign nationals.

The security officials are saying that three blasts killed 11 civilians and maimed 45 others.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/26/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Africa North
Libya Militia Arrests al-Qaida Leaders
[AnNahar] A Libyan militia has arrested a number of al-Qaeda-linked jihadist leaders in a raid near the capital 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...
, the group said.

The Misrata Joint Security Force carried out the raid against "wanted terrorists, classified as al-Qaeda leaders," the group linked to the U.N.-recognized Government of National Accord's interior ministry said on Facebook late Wednesday.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/26/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in North Africa


Scores of migrants feared dead after boats capsize off Libya
[IsraelTimes] One in four migrants colonists traveling from Libya to Europe
...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum...
perishes en route, UN says; two boats with 300 migrants colonists capsize 120 kilometers east of 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...
, 150 still missing.

Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/26/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Moslem Colonists


Africa Subsaharan
NGO Action Against Hunger Confirms 6 Aid Workers Kidnapped in Nigeria
[AnNahar] Charity group Action Against Hunger (ACF) confirmed Thursday that six aid workers had been kidnapped in northeast Nigeria
... a particularly crimson stretch of Islam's bloody border...
, shortly after a jihadist group released a video purporting to show them.

The Gay Paree-based charity, which provides food aid to poor communities around the world, said a staff member, two drivers and three health workers working for a local ACF programme were in the video.

The group said it "demands the liberation of its staff member and her colleagues."

"These are humanitarian workers who chose to devote their lives to helping the most vulnerable communities in Nigeria and they are only motivated by the values of solidarity, humanity and neutrality," it added.

Jihadists aligned with the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
group released a video showing the captives on Thursday.

In the three-minute recording, a woman wearing a bright blue hijab says she is an kidnapped aid worker. She addresses the camera in English while seated in front of five men she describes as her colleagues.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/26/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Protein and fats?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 07/26/2019 8:49 Comments || Top||

#2  "We're here to help feed you"

"Thanks you look very tasty!"
Posted by: jpal || 07/26/2019 11:06 Comments || Top||

#3  These are humanitarian workers who chose to devote their lives to helping the most vulnerable communities and providing tax credits to fat European oligarchs while earning themselves righteousness points on their rainbow resumes.
Posted by: Dron66046 || 07/26/2019 12:25 Comments || Top||


Arabia
Riyadh, Allies Say Thwart New Yemen Rebel Drone Attack
[AnNahar] Saudi air defences intercepted a 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...
i rebel drone targeting a southwestern city on Thursday, a Riyadh-led military coalition said, as cross-border attacks by the rebels showed no let-up.

The rebels' top political leader, Mahdi al-Mashat, had said on Tuesday that they were ready to stop attacks on Soddy Arabia
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/26/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Houthis


Britain
British police bust Kurdish human trafficking gang
[Rudaw] Thirteen members of a gang which illegally trafficked people from Iraq and the Kurdistan Region to the United Kingdom have been convicted, British police authorities announced Wednesday.

The final convictions handed down by London’s Woolwich Crown Court on Wednesday follow a two-year investigation led by detectives of the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit (SEROCU).

The gang was "convicted of offences including conspiracy to assist in unlawful immigration, money laundering, and perverting the course of justice", SEROCU said.

"This human trafficking operation was being led by 33-year-old Alan Hoger and 34-year-old Goran Ahmed ‐ both from East Sussex," the unit said. Both are Kurds.

Hoger was tossed in the calaboose
Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un!
for 10 years and Ahmed for eight.

"This gang took advantage of their links to the Middle East to exploit vulnerable people for financial gain, with no concern about putting their lives in danger," SEROCU said.

"They targeted the Kurdish community and looked to make as much profit out of every individual they could exploit. Their only concern was their profit margins."

The ringleaders were accused of setting up operating bases in several locations around the UK, including Hastings and St. Leonards in East Sussex for "their criminal enterprise".

They also "had a nationwide network of customers, money launderers and criminal associates in places such as Bolton, Nottingham, Devon, Brighton, Eastbourne, and Hull".

"Hoger had boasted of being a millionaire to his friends, as he laundered his profits from the organised crime group with help from his wife ‐ through legitimate companies ‐ back to the Kurdistan Region. Throughout this investigation, a total of £144,000 ($179,892) in cash was seized," it said.

Over the course of several trials, courts heard the gang used its contacts across the UK, Europe
...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum...
, and Asia to move people to a holding point in southeast La Belle France and from there they were taken by taxi to Belgium where they would be hidden within lorries, to set to the UK by ferry.

"The victims would travel either in the lorry cab, on top of the cab in the wind deflector, or underneath the trailer on a pallet shelf. If they were detained in the UK, they would immediately claim asylum and be released to UK family members, who had paid the organised crime group between £8,000 and £10,000 per individual," police said.

Other key members of the gang group included two Romanian nationals, Cristinel Samson, 50, and Ionut Cornila, 27, both lorry drivers who were handed prison sentences of five years and four years respectively.

"This case should serve as a clear warning to those involved in trafficking people into the UK. Be in no doubt, we have an extensive investigative network and a range of tactics to combat such criminal activity. We will seek them out and bring them before the courts."

Europe has seen a massive influx of Middle East and migrants colonists'>North African colonists
and refugees since 2014 as people tried to escape violence, injustice, and poverty brought about by war, corruption, and economic collapse.

The influx put pressure on the European Union
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
’s principals of free movement and contributed to anti-immigrant sentiment. Without safe a legal passage, many migrants colonists and refugees resorted to using criminal networks.

In February 2018, the UK busted a major Kurdish smuggling network accused of trafficking hundreds of Kurds from Iraq into Britannia, according to the UK National Crime Agency (NCA).

There is no official data on the number of Kurds living in the UK as they are classified as Iraqis. Unofficial estimates put their number at around 200,000.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/26/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Moslem Colonists


Europe
Israeli embassy in Finland subjected to relentless anti-Semitic attacks
[Ynet] Over the past year and a half, the embassy in the capital of Helsinki has been vandalized on at least 15 occasions by neo-Nazi
...adherents of a philosophy that was seen even at the time as pure evil, which makes them either consciously and purely evil, or attention-seeking ratbags. Pick one, or both....
snuffies who among other things shattered glass doors, plastered swastikas and Hitler images all over the building.


Israeli embassy in Finland over the past year and a half has been subjected to countless anti-Semitic acts of vandalism with the latest in the series of disturbing incidents occurring over the past weekend.

The embassy, located in the capital city of Helsinki, has been targeted by far-right snuffies and neo-Nazis on at least 15 occasions since last 2018, yet stopping the harassment doesn’t seem to be a priority for the local authorities.

The latest attack saw the glass in the embassy’s front door completely shattered with swastikas and Hitler images plastered all over the building's entrance.

Last February an illegal demonstration took place at the embassy’s doorstep, organized by the Nordic Resistance Movement, a far-right transnational neo-Nazi group founded in Sweden (where it’s classified as a political party).

Israeli Ambassador to Finland Dov Segev-Steinberg has raised the issue with the local authorities on multiple occasions. But, while bigwigs in the country express concern over the situation, tough measures against the perpetrators are yet to be implemented.

"Over the weekend there was a physical attack on the Israeli embassy in Helsinki," The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. "It’s another link in the chain of anti-Semitic attacks targeting the embassy.

"The Israeli Embassy in Helsinki expressed its disgust over the events to the Finnish authorities and demanded they act in full force to locate the culprits, bring them to justice and prevent similar incidents from happening in the future."

Anti-Semitism in the Nordic country has become more prominent in recent years. On Finland's Independence Day last year (celebrated on December 6), right-wing turban waved multiple Nazi flags in the center of the capital.

Kai Aslak Mykkänen, the country’s former interior minister, defended the act saying the country has the freedom of expression.

In addition, Finnish MP Hussein al-Taee of the Social Democratic Party has in the past compared Israel to 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....
and called Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg a "Jew" who’s "doing what a Jew does best. F***s up everybody to gain everything." The politician later apologized for his remarks.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/26/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "The politician later apologized for his remarks."
Bet Markie the Z banned him from F'Book.
Posted by: Mercutio || 07/26/2019 8:35 Comments || Top||

#2  Wagner Group activities ?
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/26/2019 8:58 Comments || Top||


Iraq
Iraqi federal police killed 9 civilians in Daquq, mistaken for ISIS: official
[Rudaw] Iraqi federal police were accused on Wednesday of killing nine members of the same family in the Daquq area of southern Kirkuk after mistaking them for Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
(ISIS) fighters.

"The federal police mistakenly thought the car was carrying ISIS fighters, and as such killed all of them," Shiekh Lewis Sindi, mayor of Daquq, told Rudaw English on Thursday.

The series of events which lead to the deaths remain sketchy, and federal officials contacted by Rudaw have refused to comment. Rudaw has also been unable to reach the Iraqi interior ministry, which is responsible for the federal police.

Sindi said his administration will meet with federal police chiefs to examine what happened.

"We call upon the governorate [of Kirkuk] to start an investigation into the matter," the mayor said.

Iraq’s central government is yet to send an investigative team, he added.

ISIS allegedly began shelling the village of Dara in the Haftaghar district at around 10:30 p.m. local time on Wednesday, according to Rajab Kakai, head of the Daquq-based Mitra Organization for the Development of Yarsani Culture.

Four people were maimed in the village when a shell struck their house, Kakai told Rudaw. Among them was an elderly woman, who later died in hospital.

At least three shells fell on Dara, forcing residents to flee to Daquq, he added.

Around the same time, a local family was returning home from the nearby village of Mansour. While travelling on the Haftaghar road, their car was suddenly attack by unknown button men.

Azad Rostam, head of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) office in Daquq, told Rudaw eight members of the same family were travelling in the vehicle and seven were killed. A two-year-old sustained injuries but survived, he said.

Other reports, and social media posts featuring photographs of nine graves, indicate nine occupants died.

"No one knows if it is an ISIS ambush or the federal police shot them," said Rostam.

"These [Iraqi] forces are very disparate. There is no coordination between them. Federal police do not recognize anyone and say they are the only authority in the area," he added.

A federal police officer in the area, who spoke to Rudaw on condition of anonymity, said the family was killed following a "misunderstanding".

At around the same time, families fleeing the shelling of Dara arrived at a federal police checkpoint in Haftaghar, where they were met with long queues.

In the ensuing chaos, a dispute broke out between federal officers and a local policeman. The local officer was killed. Rudaw could not immediately confirm the circumstances of his death.

The officer’s family and a crowd of Daquq locals flocked to the checkpoint to protest. They remained there until 4 a.m. local time.

Responding to the disturbance, Kirkuk operations commander Saad Harbi and Kirkuk police commander Ali Kamal came to Daquq and replaced the checkpoint’s federal officers with members of the Kirkuk Emergency Police, Kakai told Rudaw.

Although it was declared territorially defeated in Iraq in December 2017, ISIS remnants have resumed their earlier insurgency tactics ‐ including ambushes on federal police checkpoints and shelling civilian areas.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/26/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
IDF arrests 2 Palestinians caught with rifle in their car, 7 more overnight
[IsraelTimes] IDF troops have arrested two Paleostinian men at a military checkpoint in the northern West Bank, after a rifle was found in their vehicle, the army says in a statement.

The two suspects, arrested at the Te’enim checkpoint, have been taken for questioning while the weapon has been seized, the statement adds.

Seven arrested in West Bank and Jordan Valley overnight

[Jpost] Seven desperados were arrested by the security forces in the West Bank and the Jordan Valley, and were taken for interrogation, it was reported by Maariv.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/26/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Air Strikes Kill 12 Civilians in Northwest Syria
[AnNahar] Air strikes by the regime and its Russian ally killed 10 civilians including three children in northwest Syria Thursday, a monitor said.

Since late April, the Syrian regime and Russia have stepped up deadly raids on the Idlib region of three million people.

The bombardment on the jihadist-held bastion has killed hundreds, pounded health centers and schools, and caused more than 330,000 people to flee their homes.

On Thursday, Russian air strikes killed seven civilians -- including one child -- in the bastion, most in and around the town of Maaret al-Numan in Idlib province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

And regime air raids killed five civilians -- including two children -- in neighboring Aleppo province, the Britannia-based monitor said.

The bastion under aerial attack is made up of a large part of the Idlib province, as well as slivers of the adjacent governorates of Aleppo, Hama, and Latakia.

More than 730 civilians have been killed there in air strikes and ground-to-ground fire by the Damascus government and its allies since late April.

The bombardment has increased in intensity in recent weeks, with the toll of almost 50 civilians on Monday alone -- the majority in air strikes on a busy market.

Syria's political opposition Thursday condemned "on average at least a massacre a day" in the embattled stronghold.

A September accord struck between Moscow and Ankara was supposed to protect the region, but it was never fully implemented after jihadists refused to withdraw from a planned buffer zone.
Oh. Why then blame the Assad government for continuing a war the jihadi rebels demand?
In January, 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...
-- a group led by Syria's former al--Qaeda affiliate -- took over administrative control.

Outside the bastion, rebel and jihadist rocket fire has also killed non-combatants -- but in far lower numbers.

Since late April, retaliatory rocket fire has killed around 70 civilians in nearby government-held territory.
Ynet summarizes:
Airstrikes pounded villages and towns throughout Syria's rebel stronghold on Thursday, killing at least 10 civilians, some of them buried under the rubble of flattened buildings, activists and rescuers said.
The strikes hit opposition-held territory in Idlib, Aleppo and Hama provinces that is home to 3 million people.

Syrian Civil Defense rescuers, known as White Helmets, reported that four people killed in the village of Kfar Rouma and the town of Maaret Numan in Idlib, while five were killed in Aleppo province's town of Atareb and al-Bawabiya village.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights put the corpse count in those four areas at 11, and said one more person was killed in Hama.

Posted by: trailing wife || 07/26/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: al-Nusra


British navy to escort UK-flagged ships in Gulf strait
[IsraelTimes] Britannia on Thursday ordered its navy to escort UK-flagged ships through the Strait of Hormuz after Iranian soldiers seized a tanker in the flashpoint Gulf region.

"The Royal Navy has been tasked to accompany British-flagged ships through the Strait of Hormuz, either individually or in groups, should sufficient notice be given of their passage," the British defense ministry said in a statement to AFP.

Royal Navy vessel HMS Montrose will reportedly accompany ships traversing the strait.

British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt on Monday said the UK wanted to establish a Europe
...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum...
an-led maritime protection force for the Gulf but emphasized that London was not seeking a confrontation with Iran.

"We will now seek to put together a European-led maritime protection mission to support the safe passage of both crew and cargo in this vital region," Hunt told parliament after Iranian authorities seized a British-flagged tanker in the Gulf last Friday.

Hunt also said that a British warship, HMS Duncan, that is being dispatched to the region, would arrive by July 29, joining the Montrose.

According to the foreign secretary, all British-flagged ships would be asked to give the British authorities notice when they plan to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, where Friday’s incident happened, "to enable us to offer the best protection we can."

But he added: "It is, of course, not possible for the Royal Navy to provide escorts for every single ship or indeed eliminate all risks of piracy."

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani suggested on Wednesday that 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...
might release the UK-flagged ship if Britannia takes similar steps to release an Iranian oil tanker seized by the Royal Navy off Gibraltar earlier this month.

"We do not seek the continuation of tension with some European countries," Rouhani said in comments carried on his website. "Should they be committed to international frameworks and give up their wrong actions, including what they did in Gibraltar, they will receive a proportional response from Iran."

Responding to Britannia’s intent to establish a maritime protection mission, Rouhani asserted that while Iran does not seek a military conflict, it will not allow threats to its security in the important waterway. He described the Iranian seizure of the ship as "professional and brave."

Both sides have called the interception of one another’s ships "hostile acts" and "piracy."

The British are slated to meet with their American counterparts and representatives of several other countries in Florida on Thursday to discuss maritime security.

On Tuesday, Iran’s naval chief said that Tehran is observing all US ships in the Gulf region and keeps an archive of their movements.

"We observe all enemy ships, particularly (those of) America, point-by-point from their origin until the moment they enter the region," Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi said, according to a report on Iran’s Young Journalists news site, cited by Rooters.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/26/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  It took them this long to finally decide to escort their tankers?
Posted by: Seeking Cure For Ignorance || 07/26/2019 3:38 Comments || Top||

#2  And try to stay close this time.
Posted by: gorb || 07/26/2019 5:21 Comments || Top||

#3  "It is, of course, not possible for the Royal Navy to ... indeed eliminate all risks of piracy."

The spirit of Edward Teach is finally at rest.

Posted by: Dron66046 || 07/26/2019 5:45 Comments || Top||

#4  Are the raiding maritime museums to pull ships into service???
Posted by: Yosemite Sam || 07/26/2019 11:55 Comments || Top||

#5  Load up an unescorted oil tanker with special forces and military capability and wait for the pirates to attempt a takeover.
Posted by: Airandee || 07/26/2019 15:51 Comments || Top||

#6  Rig a wasted tanker/makeshift prop with HMX and wait for them to come seize it. Let them tow it. Press the button that says "Crowdpleaser !"

Claim piracy, sabotage, destruction of vessel by IRGC, act of war. Get India to claim it had 4-5 people working on the thing. Demand inspection of wreckage, UN investigation, reel in the ICC...
Posted by: Dron66046 || 07/26/2019 16:20 Comments || Top||

#7  Both comments 5 and 6 are approved. Local US Navy commanders may execute at their discretion. Please advise the CNO and provide X-47B surveillance link 24 hours prior to initiation. Popcorn and adult beverages are authorized and encouraged.
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/26/2019 16:43 Comments || Top||

#8  #5, 6 are acceptable, B, but I am leaning #6 with Blowup S3x Dolls in uniform so there are "fatalities"
Posted by: Frank G || 07/26/2019 19:04 Comments || Top||

#9  Britain's new government is moving fast. I expect muscular things from the new Trump-Johnson alliance.
Posted by: The peanut gallery || 07/26/2019 19:06 Comments || Top||



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Two weeks of WOT
Fri 2019-07-26
  Libya Militia Arrests al-Qaida Leaders
Thu 2019-07-25
  Shabaab tries to assassinate US diplomat
Wed 2019-07-24
  Libya government forces say repel Haftar attack on Tripoli
Tue 2019-07-23
  Iraq arrests Islamic State cell, including Baghdadi aide, in Nineveh
Mon 2019-07-22
  Iran claims to catch 17 CIA spies, sentences some to death
Sun 2019-07-21
  Kurdistan: Killer of senior Turkish diplomat arrested
Sat 2019-07-20
  Saudi King approves additional deployment of US troops
Fri 2019-07-19
  'HOSTILE ACT' Iran seizes British oil tanker in the Gulf with 23 crew on board days after clash with Royal Navy
Thu 2019-07-18
  Iran seizes foreign tanker with 12 crew accused of smuggling oil
Wed 2019-07-17
  Pakistani police arrest Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed (again)
Tue 2019-07-16
  United Arab Emirates oil tanker vanishes after drifting into Iranian waters
Mon 2019-07-15
  Car bomb and all-night hotel siege kill 26 in Somalia's Kismayo
Sun 2019-07-14
  African Migrants Turned Church Into Base to Deal Heroin
Sat 2019-07-13
  Kismayo attack: 26 dead as gunmen storm Somali hotel
Fri 2019-07-12
  Labor Sec. Alex Acosta Resigns Amid Pall of Jeffrey Epstein Investigation

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