[AnNahar] Nigeria's military on Saturday repelled a 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... attack on the key northeastern city of Maiduguri, a day after President Muhammadu Buhari took office vowing to crush the group, witnesses and security sources said.
The overnight attack on the Borno state capital saw rocket-propelled grenades fired into homes in a bombardment that reportedly lasted several hours.
In his inaugural speech after taking the oath of office on Friday, Buhari announced plans to reinforce Maiduguri with a new command and control center to better coordinate the counter-insurgency effort.
Shortly after midnight (2300 GMT Friday), residents in the Dala suburb south of Maiduguri woke to the sound of RPGs being fired in succession, resident Modu Karumi said, in an account supported by several others.
Witnesses said hundreds of Islamist gunnies were trying to advance on the city, which is now home to hundreds of thousands of people displaced by unrest in other parts of Borno state.
An AFP news hound who lives in the area said he heard what sounded like armoured personnel carriers deploying to the southern edge of the city to face the rebel advance.
Dala resident Alhaji Bukar said he saw at least one RPG fall into a home and that several dead bodies may have been evacuated, but he was unable to confirm any loss of life.
Locals reported other residential homes being hit, but state emergency workers were not immediately available to discuss casualty figures.
Three senior security sources in Maiduguri who were not authorized to speak publicly said the attack had been repelled.
"All is under control. There is no cause for alarm," one of those sources told AFP.
The sound of RPGs and gunfire has also eased, residents and an AFP news hound said.
Nighttime movement in Maiduguri is restricted by a 10:00 pm to 6:00 am curfew.
Experts doubt that Boko Haram currently has the capacity to seize Maiduguri, but a major attack inside the city would likely be disastrous for civilians.
The Salafist tough guys have been flushed out of several Borno state towns they controlled in an offensive launched in February by Nigeria with backing from neighboring Cameroon ...a long, narrow country that fills the space between Nigeria and Chad on the northeast, CAR to the southeast. Prior to incursions by Boko Haram nothing ever happened there... , Chad and Niger.
But there are signs of the forces of Evil regrouping, particularly in the remote parts of eastern Borno near the Cameroon border.
Buhari in his inaugural address on Friday vowed to intensify the fight against Boko Haram, notably by shifting operational command from the capital Abuja to Maiduguri.
His predecessor Goodluck Jonathan ... 14th President of Nigeria. He was Governor of Bayelsa State from 9 December 2005 to 28 May 2007, and was sworn in as Vice President on 29 May 2007. Jonathan is a member of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP). He is a lover of nifty hats, which makes him easily recognizable unless someone else in the room is wearing a neat chapeau... 's performance against the forces of Evil was heavily criticized, with the conflict killing more than 15,000 people since 2009 and forcing another 1.5 million from their homes.
Buhari, a former army general, insists the uprising can be defeated and has placed the Boko Haram effort at the top of his administration's agenda.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
05/31/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
Buhari, a former army general, insists the uprising can be defeated and has placed the Boko Haram effort at the top of his administration's agenda.
As Commodore Frank sed, "Good Luck." I doubt that the administration (via State) is going to change its no-support ruling, even if the new Nigerian President is more in tune with White House optics.
[AlAhram] A bomb-laden vehicle parked near an arms depot went kaboom! killing 12 Iran-backed rebels and wounding eight others in southern Yemen's Abyan ...a governorate of Yemen. The region was a base to the Aden-Abyan Islamic Army terrorist group until it dropped the name and joined al-Qaeda. Its capital is Zinjibar. In March 2011, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula declared the governate an Islamic Emirate after seizing control of the region. The New York Times fastidiously reported that those in control, while Islamic hard boyz, are not in fact al-Qaeda, but something else that looks, tastes, smells, and acts the same. Yemeni government forces launched an effort to re-establish control of the region when President-for-Life Saleh was tossed and the carnage continues... province on Saturday, a local official told AFP.
The official said the attack in the coastal city of Shoqra was carried out by local anti-rebel fighters, who are backed by a Saudi-led coalition pounding Shiite 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 Americaâ„¢, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews ... militia and their allies since March 26.
Anti-rebel forces are made up of pro-government fighters, Sunni tribes and southern separatists, collectively known as Popular Resistance Committees.
In the southern port city of Aden, coalition warplanes launched deadly Arclight airstrikes against rebel positions, a military official said, without giving a toll.
Aden has been the scene of deadly festivities between the rebels, who include troops loyal to ousted president President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it... , and Popular Resistance fighters.
A health official in the city told AFP that "nine people, among them four civilians, were killed and 132 people maimed during the past 48 hours."
The casualties were caused by "random Huthi shelling of residential areas" using mortar rounds and Katyusha rockets, as well as ongoing festivities, the front man of the Popular Resistance leadership in Aden, Ali al-Ahmedi, told AFP.
[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] A jacket wallah disguised as a woman went kaboom! in the parking lot of a Shiite mosque during Friday prayers, killing himself and three others in the second such attack in as many weeks claimed by ISIS. As a practicing agnostic I find it helpful to utter an occasional "Dear God help me!" Atheists don't have that outlet, since they actively disbelieve in God.
The latest attack and a suicide kaboom at a Shiite mosque that killed 21 people last Friday appeared aimed at fanning sectarianism and destabilizing the kingdom. Us agnostics don't know, one way or the other, if there is a God (or gods, for that matter.) 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... had vowed to crack down on the bully boyz after last week's bombing, and authorities appeared keen to claim credit for preventing the bomber from entering the Imam Hussein Mosque, the only Shiite mosque in the port city of Dammam. The state-run Saudi Press Agency said security guards halted a car in the parking lot and the bomber detonated his explosives as they approached. I learned all about heaven and hell and good and evil when I was a child. As I grew older, the sheer splendor of the concept of God struck me.
But witnesses said worshippers had taken their own security measures, including setting up checkpoints, and young men had detected the bomber and chased him down, leading him to set off the kaboom. We live in a universe made up of uncounted galaxies which are made up of uncountable stars and planets. It's enough to take your intellectual breath away.
Mohammad Idris, a worshipper who witnessed the attack, told the AP by telephone that the suicide bomber attempted to enter the mosque but was chased by young men, who had set up checkpoints at the entrance. "They chased the suicide bomber when he tried to enter the women's section of the mosque," he said.Another witness, who did not want to be identified because of security concerns, said security had been tightened at mosques after last week's attack and that women were told to stay home because there were not enough female guards to check them. Perhaps God knows when every sparrow falls on this old Earth, and He knows when every splurdh wriggles on the gorsh on some unknown planet six or seven galaxies away.
Body parts were scattered around the area after the kaboom, which set four cars ablaze and sent black smoke into the air, said Mohammad al-Saidi, who arrived half an hour after the blast. I have a hard time seeing God as anthropomorphized as an old fellow with a flowing white beard.
ISIS grabbed credit for the attack, saying it was carried out by its "Najd Province." A statement posted on a Facebook page used by the bully boy group said a "soldier of the caliphate," identified as Abu Jandal al-Jazrawi, went kaboom! among "an evil gathering of those filth in front of one of their shrines in Dammam." The name Jazrawi suggests that the bomber is a Saudi national. I have an even harder time seeing a God who created the universe--assuming this is the only universe; he may have created more, in multiple big bangs--having an ego weak enough to require me or thee to "adore" him like an ancient Oriental potentate.
It called on Sunnis to "purify the land of the two shrines from the atheist rafida," a derogatory term for Shiites. See what I mean? Do you think God, or any god, one or many, could give a squat over which shape turban you wear?
Last Friday, an ISIS suicide bomber killed 21 people in the village of Al-Qadeeh, in the oil-rich eastern Al-Qatif region. It was the deadliest Lion of Islam assault in the kingdom in more than a decade. Saudi Arabia's King Salman ...either the largest species of Pacific salmon or the current Sheikh of the Burnin' Sands, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and Lord of Most of the Arabians.... vowed to punish those responsible for the "heinous terrorist attack." I can go so far as to accept the existence of God, but just think of the amount of either faith or stupidity it takes to wrap yourself with explosives and let 'er rip in the expectation of 72 lissome virgins with whom to diddle away the afterlife. In my expectation, you're not gonna wake up in Paradise.
Interior Ministry official Bassam Attiyah said earlier this week that ISIS had divided the kingdom into five self-styled provinces. He said on state TV that the group's short-term plans were to target the security forces and attack Shiites to foment sectarian strife. Then they plan to target foreigners, including those working in the OPEC member's oil industry, he said. To test my expectation, go out on jihad and get yourself severely maimed: get a couple legs blown off or something. See if you wake up surrounded by 36 doe-eyed virgins.
"What we are seeing now is the short-term plans," he said. Get a hand or two blown off preparing explosives. See if you even get a half dozen hookers.
Mohammad al-Hajji, a Saudi Shiite activist, called on the government to curb hate speech against Shiites in mosques, schools and the media, warning that the growing ISIS threat is "bigger than us." Go ahead. Believe all that. Blow yourself to kingdom come.
"ISIS and whoever is behind it is trying to hit Saudi through the minority to create chaos in the region, and to make Saudi vulnerable," the activist said. All I can say is: God help you.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/31/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
As per BIGNEWSNETWORK + VOA NEWS, the Saudi Branch of the ISIS/ISIL/Daesh is calling for the complete removal or "elimination" [genocide?] of Shia Muslims from the Arabian Peninsula.
LOOKS LIKE THE POTEN DANGEROUS KSA-VS-IRAN BROUHAHA JUST ESCALATED???
Also looks like Anti-US US OWG Globie POTUS Obama has yet another NOT-A-PLAN to determinatively resolve the situation ...
* REALCLEARPOLITICS/WORLD > OBAMA'S NEW [Anti-]ISIS STRATEGY: NOTHING.
#2
The inline was fabulous. Me. I think what leads me to belief in God is simply this: Ask yourself "What if there was NOTHING?' - never had been anything, never will never be anything? no-one to even know that there is nothing? Tohu va Bohu
Posted by: Bov Flimbers ||
05/31/2015 22:29 Comments ||
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[ALMANAR.LB] The US-Saudi aggression on 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. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic... continued targeting the' various cities, claiming a number of civilians.
In this context, the Saudi warplanes raided Sanaa, Hijja and Saada provinces, killing scores of Yemenis.
Yemen has been since March 26 under brutal aggression by Saudi-US coalition. Thousands have been martyred and injured in the attack, with the vast majority of them are civilians.
However, Switzerland makes more than cheese... Yemeni army, backed by popular committees and tribal fighter have been responding to the Saudi aggression, with several border areas in the 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... are under the fire of those fighters.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/31/2015 00:00 ||
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[AnNahar] Yemen's Shiite Houthis have killed the capital's governor in festivities that erupted during an attempt to detain him, his relatives said Friday.
Sanaa governor Abdulghani Jamil and his nephew Nasr Jamil died of wounds suffered in festivities late Thursday between his aides and the Iran-backed militiamen, they said.
Jamil was appointed by exiled President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, who fled to 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... after the rebels seized power in Sanaa and later advanced on his last refuge in the south, the port city of Aden.
The Huthis "demanded Jamil hand himself in" but he refused, resulting in a firefight, relatives said.
The Huthis, allied with renegade troops loyal to former president President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it... , have been in control of Sanaa since September, despite more than two months of Saudi-led coalition air strikes against their positions across the country.
Coalition warplanes on Friday hit rebel positions in the eastern oil-rich Marib province, killing three local Huthi leaders, an official in the region said.
[Right Scoop] Time flies when you're an extremist terrorist who has been released from Guantanamo Bay because Obama wanted to claim a victory by bringing accused deserter Bergdahl home. It's been a year since the five top terrorists were released to Qatar, and the no-fly restriction is about to be lifted.
#4
he's all about the Legacyâ„¢ so much that he's creating one that he deserves. Worst.President.Ever
*spit*
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/31/2015 9:37 Comments ||
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#5
The regime's flawed logic is inescapable; points for emptying GITMO, extra point for POW release and media distraction....epic fail all around.
I surmise there was a likely 'overseas' component to this as well, possibly a "player to be named later," or some sort of information exchange in the Klingon/striped-pants manner.
#7
You may remember the Taliban video footage of the Bergdahl release
I surmised that both sides were prepared to 'play' each other at varying degrees for the benefit of their respective audiences. That said, it's more likely that the theatrics, much like the welfare of the exchangee, were secondary to whatever the administration hoped to achieve.
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
05/31/2015 19:29 Comments ||
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#10
Meanwhile, Michelle Rodriguez + Black Widow + SAN ANDREAS Fans, NOT to be outdone by CUBA + GITMO ...
* BIGNEWSNETWORK > [New York Post] CHINA IS GAMBLING OBAMA DOESN'T HAVE THE WILL TO RESPOND TO ITS MASSIVE LAND GRAB [South China Sea].
Again, IMO as an Anti-American Amerikan = Anti-US US OWG Globalist, POTUS Obama is following a pre-determined/established National-Geopol agenda where the US itself is the proverbial tip-of-the-spear in setting up Anti-US OWG-NWO.
And where the Bammer's actions weirdly-n-mysteriously does not qualify as either HIGH TREASON NOR WORTH IMPEACHMENT BY OUR MIGHTY UNITARIAN CONGRESS.
THE PRIORITY OR FOCII IS MARXIST-COMMIE-GLOBALIST US, WORLD SOCIALIST ORDER, N-O-T US-SPECIFIC NATIONAL SECURITY - THE MORE ANARCHY-N-CHAOS INCLUD ISLAMIST-LED JIHAD THE BETTER.
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > THE SHOCKING REASON AMERICA CAN'T [Can't = Won't?] STOP CHINA IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA.
* SAME > US TAKES A PASS FOR NOW IN SOUTH CHINA SEA DISPUTE | TIME.COM.
[DAWN] Seven murderous Moslems and two paramilitary troops were killed and a soldier was injured during an exchange of fire near the Ghulam Khan checkpost in North Wazoo on Friday.
Sources said that murderous Moslems attacked the checkpost near Afghan border before dawn. They said that two soldiers of the Tochi Scouts were killed and another was maimed.
The troops launched a retaliatory attack in which seven murderous Moslems were killed.
The soldiers who bit the dust were identified as Subedar Tariq and Naik Qasim. Subedar Mehdi Shah suffered injuries.
The Ghulam Khan checkpost has been closed for bilateral trade since the army launched Operation Zarb-e-Azb ..the Pak offensive against Qaeda in Pakistain and the Pak Taliban in North Wazoo. The name refers to the sword of the Prophet (PTUI!)... in North Waziristan in June last.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/31/2015 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] QUETTA: Armed men kidnapped about two dozen passengers from two Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... -bound coaches and killed at least 19 of them in Khad Kocha, a mountainous area about 70km southeast of the lovely provincial capital, in Mastung district, on Friday night.
"The gunnies killed 19 of the passengers after taking them to the nearby mountains," Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... Home Minister Mir Sarfaraz Ahmed Bugti told Dawn. He said the attackers were wearing uniform of security forces.
He said that after receiving information security forces rushed to the area and pursued the kidnappers. "Security forces found the bodies of 19 passengers in the mountains," he said, adding that security personnel succeeded in freeing five passengers from the kidnappers.
"Exchange of fire between security forces and the gunnies continues in the mountains of Mastung," he said.
Mr Bugti said the bodies had been shifted to hospital and efforts were being made to ascertain their identity.
The driver of one of the coaches was injured in the firing and brought to Sandeman Civil Hospital in Quetta. He said the gunnies signalled him to stop the bus and when he tried to speed away they opened indiscriminate fire.
The passengers, including labourers and traders, were coming from Pishin and Quetta and going to Karachi.
Balochistan Home Secretary retired Capt Akbar Hussain Durrani told Dawn that the kidnappers had taken away about 30 passengers and later freed five of them at a distance from the road. "All the passengers belonged to Pishin district and were going to Karachi," he said.
Security forces launched an operation against the kidnappers and reports suggested that five passengers who were made hostage by the gunnies were freed. The heavy gunbattle continued till late in the night.
According to sources, the gunnies intercepted the two coaches in Kund Umrani area of Khad Kocha in Mastung district and asked the passengers to get down.
Officials told Dawn that the federal government had provided two helicopters for the operation against the kidnappers. They said that taking advantage of darkness, the kidnappers beat feet from the area, taking the passengers along with them, and hid in the mountains.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/31/2015 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] Six people were killed while 47 injured in festivities throughout on Saturday as the local government elections in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... witnessed mismanagement, poor security measures and conflicts between different rival groups in different parts of the province which hampered the polling process.
Sources said that three people were killed in Charsada, two in DI khan and another lost his life during festivities in Kohat.
Polling for the largest LG elections in the history of KP took place across the province in which citizens voted to elect 41,762 councilors in the three tiers of local councils.
Strict security arrangements were made to ensure a smooth polling process with some 86,115 security personnel deployed at the polling stations. However, if you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to be a horrible warning... due to a poor law and order situation across the province, polling in various stations was suspended.
Various people received injuries when unknown assailants opened firing on two polling stations of females in Union Council Naspa and Regai areas. The injured persons were rushed to hospital where their condition was stated as stable, police told.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/31/2015 00:00 ||
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[Bus Insider] The Iraqi Army and its Shia militia allies are gearing up for one of the defining campaigns in the war against ISIS.
Troops are gathering outside of Ramadi, the city located 80 miles from Baghdad that ISIS took on May 17th. Ramadi is majority Sunni and could serve as an ISIS foothold for an assault on the greater Baghdad area.
A successful campaign to retake the city could send ISIS into retreat. But failure would only solidify the jihadists' hold over a sizable population center at the doorstop of the Iraqi capital.
And the attempt to retake Ramadi looks like yet another disaster in waiting.
As former US Army intelligence officer Michael Pregent explained to Business Insider, taking back Ramadi is beyond the capabilities of a diminished Iraqi army and its partners, which include Iranian-backed Shia militia groups like Kataib Hezbollah and the Badr Group.
Nevertheless, The Washington Post reports that Iran-backed militias, under the umbrella of popular mobilization units, have already taken the lead. Meanwhile, Iranian commanders are fighting on the front lines and the Pentagon may give them air support.
"We wish the army could be at the same level as the [popular mobilization units]," a Kataib Hezbollah fighter told the Post near Ramadi. "In reality, they are much weaker."
The main problem is that an enormous deployment of soldiers and Shia militants -- and then US air strikes -- were required to retake Tikrit, a much smaller majority-Sunni town that had been nearly depopulated during the fighting, back in March.
And "Ramadi's different," says Pregent. "It has a civilian population and it's far harder to bomb there. The targets are harder to find and ISIS is embedded in the Sunni population ... It took 30,000 fighters to take Tikrit, and they couldn't take the city from 1,000 ISIS fighters in an area with no civilian population until the US started bombing everything."
Posted by: Besoeker ||
05/31/2015 13:18 ||
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#1
Who's setting the ROE for this operation?
I've never mistaken the Iranians for people concerned about civilian casualties. If Champ lets his BFF mullah friends run things..................................
#2
Iraqi Army (Iranian?) forces may not be too concerned about collateral damage in Ramadi. A campaign might consist of cutting off retreat/re-supply from the west, then seeing how many artillery rounds per hour they can hit the city with. Might even ask for an Arc Light strike from us?
#5
battle to take Tikrit took 3 months and probably resulted in about 1,000 dead on the Iraq govt side (including militia) including several Iranian big shots - probably a similar number of ISIS or ISIS affiliated men died as well
Posted by: lord garth ||
05/31/2015 22:18 Comments ||
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[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] ISIS grabbed credit Friday for bombings outside two heavily fortified five-star hotels in the Iraqi capital that killed 15 people.
In a statement, ISIS said a jacket wallah called Abu Qutaiba had parked a car outside the Ishtar hotel in central Baghdad late on Thursday before driving another vehicle laden with 230 kg of explosives to the nearby Babylon hotel.
The bomber let 'er rip and the vehicle he was driving there around the same time the first boom-mobilewent kaboom!, "killing and wounding dozens of infidels", according to the statement.
Iraqi authorities lifted a decade-old night-time curfew on Baghdad early this year, seeking to restore a sense of normality to the capital as security forces battle ISIS Lions of Islam who have overrun large parts of the country.
But the rate of bombings in Baghdad has increased since then.
Militants seized Ramadi, the Anbar historic provincial capital west of Baghdad, on May 17 in the most significant military setback to the government since a U.S.-led coalition launched a campaign of air strikes against 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.... last August.
The blast at the Ishtar - formerly a Sheraton - shattered windows of the recently renovated hotel, turning rows of expensive cars and SUVs into charred, twisted metal.
People traipsed through the site of the blast, while a group of men struggled to remove the smashed windshield from an SUV on the other side of the hotel.
The Ishtar is a popular site for wedding celebrations, and the area - which also includes a club and the Paleostine hotel - is crowded with people Thursday nights.
A second bombing struck the car park at the Babylon, another upmarket and recently refurbished hotel that overlooks the Tigris river in the Jadriya neighbourhood.
Police said security forces found another boom-mobile in the Babylon's car park and defused it.
The Babylon and Sheraton were hit in coordinated attacks in January 2010, together with the Hamra, which never reopened.
The attacks five years ago were carried out by suicide bombers and killed at least 36 people. They were claimed by Al-Qaeda in Iraq, the group that later became ISIS.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/31/2015 00:00 ||
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[AnNahar] Iraqi forces retook an area west of Ramadi on Saturday as they pressed their operation aimed at sealing off the jihadists who captured the city two weeks ago, commanders said.
"The Iraqi army and the Hashed al-Shaabi liberated the Anbar traffic police building in the 5K area west of Ramadi after a fierce fight," an army officer said.
Hashed al-Shaabi ("popular mobilization" in Arabic) is an umbrella for mostly Shiite militia and volunteers that has played a key role in Iraq's fight against the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... (IS) group.
"The battle forced IS to withdraw from the building, which they had used as a base, and pull back into Ramadi city," the officer told Agence La Belle France Presse.
Iraq forces have launched wide operations aimed at severing the supply lines of the jihadists who control most of Anbar, a vast Sunni province in western Iraq of which Ramadi is the capital.
"The security forces today are tightening their stranglehold on Ramadi, from the traffic police building to the west, from the university to the south and from the other sides too," Anbar police chief Hadi Rzayej said.
He said ordnance disposal teams were busy removing roadside kabooms and checking buildings for booby traps in reconquered positions on the outskirts of Ramadi.
Iraqi government and allied forces retook the southern districts of Taesh, Humeyrah and the Anbar university compound earlier this week.
The jihadists seized Ramadi on May 17, using an unprecedented wave of suicide vehicle-borne kabooms to force a retreat from the forces that had managed to hold some positions in the city for more than a year.
An army colonel said IS unleashed eight suicide boom-mobiles on a military base in eastern Anbar Saturday. Forces equipped with anti-tank systems were able to stop all of them, he said.
"Army forces managed to repel a Daesh (IS) attack involving eight vehicle bombs driven by eight jacket wallahs," said the colonel at the base in Al-Shiha, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) west of Baghdad.
He said they used Kornet anti-tank guided missiles "recently delivered to the security forces".
The United States also announced after the fall of Ramadi that it was sending 2,000 Swedish-developed AT4 unguided anti-tank weapons to help the Iraqi forces counter the threat of car and truck bombs.
As they attempt to isolate Anbar from other provinces, Iraqi forces have also been fighting in Salaheddin province, whose capital Tikrit was recaptured two months ago but where IS still holds territory.
Federal and Hashed al-Shaabi forces have been making progress in the Baiji area, around 200 kilometers (120 miles) north of Baghdad, which commands access to a key road leading to western Anbar.
Iraqi forces in coordination with air support from the US-led coalition have reportedly advanced in areas south and west of the city of Ramadi, a security source was quoted as saying on Saturday.
"The Iraq Army and security forces are advancing towards Ramadi on the western and southern fronts of the city, and our military plans have been successful so far," the military source told the Al-Mada newspaper.
The source said Iraqi forces had launched a multi-pronged assault on ISIS elements in the area of Sarsar, adding that warplanes had pounded the myrmidons' arsenals and bases in the area.
Over the last three days, military operations to recapture the Anbar province have reportedly retaken 65 square kilometers from ISIS.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
05/31/2015 00:00 ||
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[Kanuk Free Press] "I saw the war through the eyes of the Vietnamese people. I saw the war through the eyes of villagers that I lived with. I saw the war through the eyes of Vietnamese soldiers and Marines there weren't there on one-year tours, but were there for the duration. I saw the war from the Delta to the DMZ. I saw the war from Cambodia to the coastal plains in the east. And it was a totally different perspective than I was hearing from my counterparts."
-- Gen. Anthony Zinni, speaking of his tour-of-duty as an Adviser in Vietnam.
After the Islamic State seized the Iraqi city of Ramadi (the capital of the critical Anbar Province), last week, those lobbying for complete U.S. withdrawal from Iraq and Syria began speaking out more forcefully.
Their argument is encapsulated by the Washington Post's Eugene Robinson in his recent article about the future of U.S. involvement after Ramadi: "Ultimately, it doesn't matter how many troops [Barack Obama] sends back to Iraq or whether their footwear happens to touch the ground... Further escalating the U.S. military role, I would argue, will almost surely lead to a quagmire that makes us no more secure. If the choice is go big or go home, we should pick the latter."
Fortunately, we do have another option between "going big" or "going home" and clear path to victory: A substantial advisory effort, closely embedded with Iraqi security forces (Sunni, Shiite, and Kurdish Army and Police forces) supported by a substantial increase in American airpower.
My own background and experiences as an adviser to Afghan National Security Forces have provided unique insights. First, I deployed for a year to Kandahar Province, then I became the senior U.S. military adviser to Helmand Province (from 2007-2008, before U.S. Marines replaced my command in Helmand).
We not only trained and equipped the Afghan National Security Forces, but accompanied those forces on combat operations against the Taliban. As advisers, we experienced the stark difference between the fighting "will" of Afghan forces with U.S. (or coalition) advisers and without those advisers. In short, when U.S. advisory teams accompanied Afghan Forces on missions, it was our experience those forces would fight to the last man and show incredible bravery.
Posted by: Besoeker ||
05/31/2015 00:00 ||
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#5
"The U.S. should engage ISIS for sake of destroying them and their jihadi ideology wherever it surfaces." And how could that be done in Iraq, given the electorate we have?
#7
The key to winning against ISIS is having leadership in Washington who have the will and commitment to do so. We haven't seen that for more than 70 years. "Winning" is not in the vocabulary.
[STRAITSTIMES] The 19-year-old student detained last month for planning to join terror group 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.... in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) intended to kill President Tony Tan Keng Yam and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong if he could not leave Singapore for Syria, Mr Lee disclosed on Friday.
His comments, in a speech at the opening of the annual Shangri-La Dialogue security summit, come two days after the Ministry of Home Affairs announced it had detained M Arifil Azim Putra Norja'i, and enjugged Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'! another 17-year-old student who had been radicalised for further investigations.
The ministry had said Arifil gave considerable thought to how he would attack key facilities and assassinate government leaders, but did not go into details.
On Friday, Mr Lee said of his case: "This is why Singapore takes terrorism, and in particular ISIS, very, very seriously. The threat is no longer over there, it is over here."
Mr Lee also announced that Singapore's deployment of a KC-135 tanker refueling aircraft to the Middle East started on Friday. The tanker is part of Singapore's participation in the international coalition against ISIS.
In his speech, Mr Lee said terrorism was not an entirely new phenomenon, and various politically-motivated terror groups have largely faded away.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/31/2015 00:00 ||
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In November last year I wrote about the GoPro-equipped Syrian tanks fighting in Jobar. It's 2015 and the Russian based ANNA news reporters are still covering the fighting in Jobar. There are two outstanding videos in parts. Even more interestingly, the English captions essentially confirm all the observations made in my November post.
[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... will carry out an imminent offensive on rebel-held districts in the eastern Qalamoun on the enclaves of the Syrian desert, in an effort to capture ammunition depots of Islam Army, rebel source told Zaman al-Wasl.
Activists said ISIS first target is to capture arms depots of Jaysh al-Islam in al-Batra hill and to press more advances after taking control of Makale' al-Ruhaiba and al-Mihsa village in Qalamoun region.
Rebel source says ISIS is mobilizing forces after huge reinforcements arrived from east Syria and Iraq.
Most rebel factions in Syrian desert, known as Badiyat al-Sham, have recently engaged in fierce fighting with ISIS that plans to expand territory it controls in Syria and Iraq as well as to open a supply route for its fighters in the western Qalamoun who have been trapped between Syrian regime forces and Hezbollah militia.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/31/2015 00:00 ||
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[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] 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.... on Friday took control of al-Taqli village in the northern countryside of Aleppo province, activists said as festivities still underway between the radical group and Salafist tough guys in Soran Azaz near the Turkish border.
ISIS fighters have also stormed Marea town and number of northern countryside villages by mortar shells, leaving material losses, Zaman al-Wasl news hound said.
Meanwhile, ...back at the hanging, Butch continued with his last words, trying not to repeat himself too often...... 2 people were killed in two barrel kabooms on Tal Rifaat town north of Aleppo.
Syria's war, now in its fifth year, has killed at least 220,000 people, according to activists, and forced nearly millions to flee the country.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/31/2015 00:00 ||
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[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] 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.... blew up a major prison complex in the central Syrian city of Palmyra on Saturday, according to a group monitoring the war, destroying an important symbol of government control in the jihadist-held city.
The prison was empty of people at the time of the detonation, said Rami Abdulrahman from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Islamic State announced the kaboom in a statement on social media and supporters posted pictures of huge clouds of gray smoke above the sprawling complex in the city, also known as Tadmur.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/31/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
They don't need no stinking prisons when 'justice' is immediately ... um ... executed, so to speak.
Posted by: Bobby ||
05/31/2015 13:14 Comments ||
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[AnNahar] The General Directorate of State Security raided two towns of the Bekaa Valley, detaining two suspects for allegedly belonging to 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.... of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
The state-run National News agency reported, that a state security unit raided the town of Tamnin near Niha and the village of Bednayel, arresting two Syrian nationals, who have links to ISIL.
A third suspect was able to flee.
The two detainees were handed over to the competent authorities.
The jihadists remain entrenched on the outskirts of the northeastern border town of Arsal on the porous Syrian-Lebanese border.
The mountainous area along the Lebanese-Syrian border has long been a smuggling haven, with multiple routes into Syria that have been used to transport weapons and fighters.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
05/31/2015 00:00 ||
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[AnNahar] Barrel bombs dropped from regime helicopters killed at least 71 civilians in Syria's Aleppo province Saturday, after forces loyal to Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Trampler of Homs... retreated from the neighboring northwestern region of Idlib.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said "at least 71 non-combatants were killed, and dozens were maimed, when regime helicopters dropped barrel bombs on the city of Al-Bab and in Al-Shaar in east Aleppo city".
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife ||
05/31/2015 00:00 ||
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[AnNahar] 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.... jihadist group launched an assault on the largely Kurdish city of Hasakeh in northeast Syria on Saturday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The attack came a day after Kurdish militia executed 20 civilians accused of supporting the murderous Moslems, the monitoring group said.
"IS fighters started an assault on Hasakeh city and reached the city's southern periphery, where they are clashing with pro-regime forces," said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman.
He said the pro-government National Defense Forces militia had blocked the IS advance on the city's edges and reported heavy shelling.
Syria's official news agency SANA said loyalist forces had "foiled a terrorist attack by IS on military points near Hasakeh".
Control of Hasakeh, capital city of the province by the same name, is split between Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Oppressor of the Syrians and the Lebs... 's regime and Kurdish forces.
Abdel Rahman said at least 10 government loyalists had been killed, but he had no immediate information on IS casualties.
The Assyrian Network for Human Rights activist group said IS had launched "a new attempt at seizing control of the city" and seized one checkpoint on Hasakeh's southwest edges.
"Hasakeh has been hit by mortar rounds since Saturday morning," and a local church had been damaged, the Network said.
Elsewhere in Hasakeh province, Kurdish militia executed at least 20 civilians Friday, including two children, after accusing them of being IS supporters, the Observatory reported.
The Britannia-based monitor said Kurdish militia also burned and demolished homes of people it suspected of supporting IS near the flashpoint towns of Ras al-Ain and Tal Tamr.
The Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in Hasakeh have been battling IS bully boyz over a series of key towns in the province bordering The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... IS on Friday killed 30 civilians trying to escape an advancing jihadist assault, Abdel Rahman said.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
05/31/2015 00:00 ||
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[AnNahar] The Syrian government has abandoned Idlib to concentrate on regions deemed vital for its survival, a security source and monitor said Friday, allowing al-Qaeda to seize the province's last regime-held city.
Rebels now control the vast majority of Idlib province after al-Nusra ...formally Jabhat an-Nusrah li-Ahli sh-Sham (Support Front for the People of the Levant), also known as al-Qaeda in the Levant. They aim to establish a pan-Arab caliphate. Not the same one as the Islamic State, though .. ... Front -- al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate -- and its allies overran Ariha and surrounding villages on Thursday.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife ||
05/31/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
Shortening the lines, stacking up the mealy bags, getting ready for the horror and praying for the arrival of the fleet.
[Jpost] US-led forces targeted 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.... snuffies in Iraq with 16 air strikes from Friday morning through Saturday morning and conducted another six strikes against the group in Syria, the US military said on Saturday.
The strikes in Iraq were spread throughout the country, hitting targets near Baghdad, Bayji, Fallujah, ... the City of Mosques, which might have somthing to do with why it's not called Center of Prosperity or a really nice place to raise your kids... Hit, Kirkuk, ... a thick stew of Arabs, Turkmen, Kurds, and probably Antarcticans, all of them mutually hostile most of the time... djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... , Ramadi, Sinjar and Tal Afar, according to a military statement.
Those in Syria were concentrated near Al Hasakah, with four strikes hitting Islamic State tactical units and destroying fighting positions and artillery. The coalition forces also conducted air strikes near Dayr Az Zawr and Kobani.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
05/31/2015 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.
Goodluck Jonathan
[AlAhram] A bomb-laden vehicle parked near an arms depot 
[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] A 
Wazoo
[AnNahar] Iraqi forces retook an area west of Ramadi on Saturday as they pressed their operation aimed at sealing off the jihadists who captured the city two weeks ago, commanders said.
[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] 
[AnNahar] The General Directorate of State Security raided two towns of the Bekaa Valley, detaining two suspects for allegedly belonging to the 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
[Jpost] US-led forces targeted 
