NATO's Resolute Support Mission (RS) has said that the U.S forces have participated in more than 20 percent of special operations in Afghanistan, noting that NATO conducted at least 220 air strikes on insurgents' hideouts and safe havens during the current year.
Talking on the impact of foreign air power in the battles, the Afghan Ministry of Defense (MoD) has said that air cooperation by the US forces to their Afghan counterparts has foiled numerous plots by insurgents to takeover some areas across the country.
War against terrorism, backing, advising and training the Afghan security forces are the main duties of U.S forces in Afghanistan within the framework of NATO Resolute Support Mission (RS) in Afghanistan.
"The targeted attacks which are carried out with special concentration in-fact eliminate Taliban's power pole and their strength," said Sediq Sediqqi, spokesman for the MoI.
Afghan security forces have carried out more than 3,000 anti-terror and anti-Taliban operations since the start of the current year with the foreign forces participating in 20 percent of the special operations.
"With the power of our security and defense forces and with the help of air power support of NATO and US forces we managed to defend our freedom, national sovereignty, territorial integrity and collapse of some areas," said Mohammad Radmanish, deputy spokesman to MOD.
This comes at a time that the embattled Afghan security forces have been battling the Taliban on multiple fronts across the country with the Taliban insurgents infiltrating some key towns.
But, the Afghan forces still remain in defensive positions.
"They (security forces) try to be in defensive positions and this itself is a big problem to Afghanistan and the people," MP Raihana Azad said.
The Taliban in recent months focused their offensives on at least 25 provinces of Afghanistan with fifteen provinces still being battlegrounds.
Italy has pledged more support for Somalia especially in the security sector as the east African country is heading towards a crucial parliamentary and presidential elections by the end of this year.
The Somali and Italian elections have one thing in common: they'll elect the same people to office, and just rotate the jobs around a bit...
The announcement was made by the current Italian ambassador to Somalia Carlos Capella, while speaking to reporters at a press conference in Somali capital Mogadishu on Thursday morning.
The Italian ambassador said continued support by the international community was key to stabilizing Somalia and urged partner countries to fast track assistance to the federal government in Mogadishu.
Mr Capella said his government is committed to help Somalia restore peace and defeat Al shabaab fighters who are waging years on insurgency in the country, to unseat the UN-backed federal government.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/21/2016 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: al-Shabaab
[Libya Observer] The UN-installed Presidency Council has unilaterally rephrased the final statement of Libyan Army meeting and deleted classification of Khalifa Haftar ... served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all... as war criminal.
Officers of Libyan army regarded renegade General Khalifa Haftar a war criminal at the end of their meeting in 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... on Wednesday.
The meeting brought together Libyan Army officers from all regions of Libya.
Classification of Khalifa Haftar as war criminal was announced live on TV, but the UN-installed PC claimed in a statement late at night that the classification of Khalifa Haftar as war criminal was just a rumour and incorrect.
It’s not clear what was the reason behind the deletion of the phrase, but political analysts said Head of the PC Fayaz Sirraj is still in favour of Khalifa Haftar and works secretly to install him in a leading position in the Libyan Army command.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/21/2016 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Arab Spring
WASHINGTON: Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir on Thursday accused Yemen’s Houthi militias of stepping up their attacks Thursday and of putting in danger a day-old UN-mandated cease-fire.
Jubeir told reporters in Washington that Saudi Arabia reserves the right to defend itself from further Houthi attacks, but stopped short of declaring the truce a failure.
Earlier Thursday, the Saudi-led coalition accused Yemeni rebels of repeatedly breaching a cease-fire on the first day of a truce under global pressure to end a war which has killed thousands.
At least 11 people were killed in sporadic clashes between rebels and pro-government forces, despite all sides insisting they will pause the fighting.
The truce, for an initial period of three days, took effect just before midnight on Wednesday to allow sorely needed aid deliveries in Yemen where the conflict has also left millions homeless and hungry.
The Saudi-led Arab coalition intervened in March 2015 to support the government of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi after Houthi rebels overran much of the impoverished country on the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula.
Five previous truce attempts failed but cautious optimism preceded the current pause after intensified international pressure following an escalation of combat.
But Maj. Gen. Ahmed Assiri, the coalition spokesman, told AFP, “there is no cease-fire at all” because of repeated rebel breaches.
“This is the same situation as the previous time when we called for a cease-fire,” Assiri said.
Saudi Arabia and Washington accuse Iran of arming the Shiite Houthi insurgents allied with forces loyal to ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Tehran denies the charges and the conflict has stoked tensions between the rival Middle East powers.
The coalition and Hadi both vowed to abide by the cease-fire despite alleged violations by the rebels.
Pro-government forces declared “respect for the truce” but reserved the right to respond to infractions.
The rebels said they would respect the cease-fire as long as “the enemy” abides by it, but urged their fighters to be ready to retaliate against “all aggression.”
Embargo to continue
The coalition says it will continue an air and maritime embargo, to prevent weapons shipments to the rebels, and maintains airborne reconnaissance.
Residents in rebel-held Sanaa claimed that coalition aircraft flew twice over the rebel-held capital without conducting raids, according to residents, who said they have had enough of failed cease-fires.
Assiri denied that any air strikes took place over Yemen, although coalition warplanes carried out surveillance.
He said a Patriot missile shot down a missile fired by rebels in Marib, east of the capital Sanaa.
Five pro-government fighters were killed in two rebel attacks in Saada and Haja provinces, according to loyalist forces, while three rebels were said to have died in attacks in the Red Sea province of Hodeida.
A man and his daughter were wounded in a cross-border attack from Yemen on the kingdom’s Jazan region, Saudi civil defense authorities said.
Assiri said coalition artillery and aircraft retaliated.
Attacks you don't respond to tend to focus your attention.
WASHINGTON: Iran may have played a role in recent Houthi missile attacks against US warships in the Red Sea, a top US general said Wednesday.
Iranian-backed Houthi rebels are believed to be behind a series of incidents this month that saw surface-to-surface missiles fired at the USS Mason on at least two occasions.
In response, US cruise missiles on Oct. 13 struck Houthi radar sites believed to have been used to target the weapons.
“I do think Iran is playing a role in some of this. They have a relationship with the Houtis, so I do suspect there is a role in there,” Gen. Joseph Votel told a Washington think tank.
Votel heads the US military’s Central Command, which oversees operations across the Middle East.
His statement was the most forward leaning so far of a US official in describing Iranian involvement in the missile attacks.
The Houthi missiles either fell short of their targets or were thwarted by US anti-missile defenses.
The Pentagon has described two attacks so far on the Mason or other US warships.
Officials are still analyzing a third possible attack on Saturday to see whether additional missiles were fired.
We “are trying to ... understand this as much as we can, so we can properly attribute what is happening, and understand how these attacks are taking place,” Votel told the Center for American Progress.
“And more importantly, how the decisions are being made to launch these attacks, so we can take action against that.”
The Pentagon has not disclosed the type of missiles the Houthis used, but Votel noted that “some of the technology that we’ve seen there are things that are associated with” Iran.
But “it’s not totally exclusive to them. Certainly there are others that have shore-based missiles and may be moving that in there,” he added.
Meanwhile, clashes killed dozens of fighters across Yemen before a UN-brokered cease-fire was to begin.
At least 30 Houthi rebels and five pro-Hadi fighters died during heavy artillery bombardments near the Red Sea, in Haja province, a loyalist statement said.
Posted by: badanov ||
10/21/2016 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
North Korea is experiencing growing unrest amid leader Kim Jong-un's reign of terror, the National Intelligence Service here said Wednesday. NIS chief Lee Byung-ho told lawmakers during a National Assembly audit of the spy agency that Suet Face Kim has resumed his purges and 64 people have been publicly executed so far this year.
Since Pudgy Kim took power in late 2011, he has executed more than 100 high-level officials.
"The main reason behind most of Fat Boy Kim Jong-un's vicious purges is his perception that he had been snubbed," an intelligence source said. "Any apparent sign of wavering loyalty or nonchalance by officials agitated Kim's inferiority complex due to his young age."
Fat boy with a tiny schwanstücker feels disrespected? Say it ain't so!
Lee said the North's security and intelligence agencies, which are in charge of monitoring dissent, "are now just intent on making money. There were incidents in some parts of North Korea where residents stormed the regional offices of the Workers Party to protest after electricity and water supplies were halted."
The NIS chief said rising public discontent has increased the number of defections by around 20 percent this year.
The NIS estimates that North Korea suffered a US$200 million decline in hard currency earnings after a UN Security Council resolution in March. Pyongyang has seen commercial transactions shrink by half due to the losses. Prices of the city's signature cold noodles dropped by 50 percent, but there are still no takers.
Yet the regime spent nearly $200 million testing nuclear weapons and firing missiles to flaunt its defiance, and another $200 million on luxury vehicles, a helicopter and thorough-bred horses.
As sanctions against North Korea continue, the coffers of Room 39, which manages Kim's slush funds, are drying up, the NIS said citing accounts.
North Korea is desperately flogging fishing rights to China. Some 2,200 Chinese trawlers operate in North Korean waters, up two-fold compared to previous years, and the North made an $58 million from selling fishing rights, up 50 percent compared to previous years, the NIS said.
Recent floods in North Korea exacerbated discontent. "Floods in North Hamgyong Province were caused by dams suddenly opening their gates due to heavy rainfall," Lee said. "It's an unprecedented disaster, but North Korea got only around $17.5 million in aid from the international community due to its nuclear provocations."
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/21/2016 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Commies
[DAWN] LANDI KOTAL: The displaced Kukikhel ...a tribe of primitives inhabiting Khyber Agency. They are a branch of the Afridi tribe. Traditionally they have been migratory, tromping between Jamrud and the Rajgal valley with the seasons. The tribe has had mustache-cursing relationships with several other tribes, including the Zakkakhel and Kambarkhel, and with the Mullagori. They make welcome most anyone with a turban and automatic weapons, but every once in awhile they get together a tribal lashkar to mollify the government... families of Tirah have said that the recent visit of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... governor to the valley failed to address the genuine problems of the militancy-affected people of the region.
Talking to mediapersons at Jamrud Press Club on Thursday, representatives of displaced families of Kukikhel tribe, including Abdur Rehman, Zahirullah and Jamshed Khan, said that millions of rupees were spent on ’useless’ activities in Tirah valley in the name of sports gala while thousands of the displaced families had been awaiting registration since 2012.
They argued that a number of Kukikhel, Sipah and Akkakhel localities of the valley were yet to be de-notified by the security forces while the KP governor was making ’luxury trips’ to the region.
"Thousands of the returned families are awaiting compensation for their damaged houses while the governor announced nominal cash prizes for local sportsmen in the name of promoting so-called healthy activities whereas the entire Tirah valley is without a well-equipped hospital," they stated.
The Kukikhel representatives expressed their astonishment at the inauguration of some development projects in Tirah during the recent visit of the governor and claimed that the same projects were already inaugurated by him during his previous visit in May.
"We need schools, hospitals and drinking water schemes instead of wasting money on festivals," they insisted. They demanded of the Fata Disaster Management Authority and the Khyber Agency ... the place to go if you've got an Indiana Jones hat and whip. Chock full of high adventure and treacherous Pathans. You should really train up to it, though... political administration to immediately initiate the process of their registration.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/21/2016 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
[An Nahar] Head of the Democratic Gathering parliamentary bloc MP Walid Wally Jumblat ... Druze politician, head of the Progressive Socialist Party, who's been on every side in Leb at least four times. He'll sell you his friends for a dollar, but family comes higher because of shipping and handling... is expected to call his bloc for a meeting on Saturday for talks on the latest developments as for the presidential file, as he believes that Hariri is committing suicide shall he nominate MP Michel Aoun ...a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hizbullah... for the post, al-Akhbar daily reported on Thursday.
Democratic Gathering MPs quoted Jumblat as saying that he "understands" Speaker Nabih Knobby Berri Speaker of the Lebanese parliament, a member of AMAL, a not very subtle Hizbullah sock puppet... 's reservation on the way in which Aoun's name was put forward by al-Mustaqbal ... the Future Movement, political party led by Saad Hariri... Movement chief Saad Hariri Second son of Rafik Hariri, the Leb PM who was assassinated in 2005. He has was prime minister in his own right from 2009 through early 2011. He was born in Riyadh to an Iraqi mother and graduated from Georgetown University. He managed his father's business interests in Riyadh until his father's assassination. When his father died he inherited a fortune of some $4.1 billion, which won't do him much good if Hizbullah has him bumped off, too. Jumblat believes that "Hariri has acted improperly with Berri. He let him down," as he pointed out that "the problem does not lie in Aoun's election but in the process post-elections."
He asked: "Is the (former) PM (Hariri) aware of the negative aspects of his decision if Aoun was elected and Speaker Berri decides to boycott the government? Will Hariri then form a government composed solely of Hizbullah ...Party of God, a Leb militia inspired, founded, funded and directed by Iran. Hizbullah refers to itself as The Resistance and purports to defend Leb against Israel, with whom it has started and lost one disastrous war to date, though it did claim victory... ministers which is rated by Hariri's allies in the Gulf as terrorist? Is he going to form a government with terrorists?"
Sources to Jumblat quoted him as saying that "head of Mustaqbal is committing suicide because no one will be subject to problems like him."
As for the decision of the PSP leader, Jumblat, on Aoun's nomination, the sources said that he is still hesitant.
If a comprehensive national agreement on Aoun was not reached in Jumblat's bloc when the election session is due, it is likely for PSP leader to let his bloc's partisan MPs vote for Aoun leaving freedom of choice for non-partisan deputies, concluded the sources.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/21/2016 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under:
#1
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! I did not come here tonight to make you laugh! I came here to sell you something! And I want ya to pay particular attention, because The Amazing Master Tool Corporation, a subsidiary of Fly By Night Industries, has entrusted who? -- me! -- to show you! -- the handiest and the dandiest kitchen tool you've ever seen, and don't ya wanna know how it works! First you take an ordinary apple! You place the ordinary apple in between the patented pans! Then you reach for the tool that is not a slicer, not a dicer, not a chopper in a hopper! What in the hell can it possibly be? SLEDGE-O-MATIC!"
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.
NATO's Resolute Support Mission (RS) has said that the U.S forces have participated in more than 20 percent of special operations in Afghanistan, noting that NATO conducted at least 220 air strikes on insurgents' hideouts and safe havens during the current year.
North Korea is experiencing growing unrest amid leader Kim Jong-un's reign of terror, the National Intelligence Service here said Wednesday. NIS chief Lee Byung-ho told lawmakers during a National Assembly audit of the spy agency that 
Druze politician, head of the Progressive Socialist Party, who's been on every side in Leb at least four times. He'll sell you his friends for a dollar, but family comes higher because of shipping and handling...
Michel Aoun
