[DAILYCALLER] Florida Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz ...Congresswoman from Florida, the abrasive chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee. She has been a politician since 1992, and prior to that was in training as a political science major. Her primary accomplishment seems to be that she's Jewish... ’s top information technology (IT) aide was placed in durance vile Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! Monday attempting to board a flight to Pakistain after wiring $283,000 from the Congressional Federal Credit Union to that country.
He attempted to leave the country hours after The Daily Caller News Foundation’s Investigative Group revealed that he is the target of an FBI investigation, and the FBI apprehended him at the airport.
Credit union officials permitted the wire to go through,
Why?
and his wife has already fled the country to Pakistain, after police confronted her at the airport and found $12,000 in cash hidden in her suitcase but did not stop her from boarding, court documents show.
Again, why?
"On January 18, 2017 at 12:09 pm, an international wire transfer request form was submitted [at the Congressional Federal Credit Union] at the Longworth House Office Building in the District of Columbia, in the amount of $283,000.00,
Oh. Mr. Obama was still president.
to two individuals in Faisalabad ...formerly known as Lyallpur, the third largest metropolis in Pakistain, the second largest in Punjab after Lahore. It is named after some Arab because the Paks didn't have anybody notable of their own to name it after... , Pakistain," according to an affidavit obtained by TheDCNF.
Imran Awan, a Pak-born IT aide, had access to all emails and files of dozens of members of Congress, as well as the password to the iPad that Wasserman Schultz used for Democratic National Committee business before she resigned as its head in July 2016.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/26/2017 00:00 ||
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#1
Yes. And the same Congress critters want MORE of these H1B types.
#4
I've fixed the link to yesterday's article, which now points to the article instead of yesterday's Burg. My apologies for the error.
Second, Representative Wasserman Schultz fired Mr. Awan yesterday. The Daily Mail link phil_b posted yesterday now has the quote:
On Tuesday, Wasserman Schultz announced that Awan had been fired after his arrest was announced.
'Mr. Awan previously served as a part-time employee but his services have been terminated.
'No charges, evidence or findings from the investigation have been formally shared with our office, so we cannot comment on them,' a spokesman for her said.
#5
As I said yesterday, this looks to be just a holding charge, with more stuff coming. Lets hope there is some major plea bargaining over whatever dirt he has.
#6
The pursuit of this and other related potential instances of criminal activity does not appear to be very aggressive. This may account for some of Trump's frustrations with the new Attorney General.
#7
So is the family ISI, Taliban, Ikhwan, IRGC, common criminals, or some combination of the above? How long before their "raid" is praised in mosques?
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
07/26/2017 7:17 Comments ||
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#11
My thought. Whoever Trump has as AG, the folks on the lower levels will still 'slow walk' any evidence or charges.
The whole sector has to be cleaned out.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
07/26/2017 8:58 Comments ||
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#12
...I'm tired an Awan a go home...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
07/26/2017 9:47 Comments ||
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#13
Charged right now with bank fraud.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
07/26/2017 10:32 Comments ||
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#14
Lock Little Miss Debbie up too for good measure. Call it criminal conspiracy to defraud. I got a feeling this little bird would sing like a canary.
#20
ZH got it wrong about Awan being a "taxpayer funded government employee".
Posted by: Pappy
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe all of these congress critters get an allocation of federal funding to support their office staff to include IT personnel.
At least 28 Taliban insurgents were killed in an Afghan security forces airstrike in Kohistan district of northern Faryab province on Monday afternoon, local officials confirmed Tuesday.
In addition, six other insurgents were wounded.
The airstrike was launched a day after Taliban insurgents took control of the district from security forces.
"Seven Taliban local commanders are also among the dead,” a spokesman for Shaheen 209 Military Corps Nasratullah Jamshidi said.
“Soon we will launch a military operation to re-capture the district,” Jamshidi said.
However, he did not provide further details.
On Monday, local officials said that at least 60 security force members were under siege by the Taliban in the district.
Kohistan district fell to the Taliban early Sunday after heavy clashes between security forces and insurgents.
“Thirty army special forces, 20 soldiers and 10 national policemen have been surrounded by the insurgents in Khair Abad village which is 1.5 kilometers far from center of the district since yesterday,” a spokesman for the provincial governor, Abdul Karim Youresh said Monday.
“The clashes still continue in the area and the Taliban have told the tribal elders that if the security forces do not surrender to them, they will kill them all,” Youresh said.
He said that 130 residents who were helping security forces in their battle to hold off the Taliban had surrendered to the insurgents. However, their commander managed to escape and fled to Ghor after the district’s collapse.
The resurgent Taliban on Tuesday infiltrated Paktia’s Janikhail district as battles between the Afghan security forces and the militant group rage across multiple fronts in the country.
This also comes after the group’s deadly attack on Monday that killed over 36 civilians in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul.
The collapse of Janikhail marks the third consecutive victory by the militants in just four days.
Over the weekend, the Taliban launched major offensives on Taiwara district in Ghor and Kohistan district in Faryab province in the country’s west and northern parts respectively – seizing control of the strategic towns.
Defense Ministry Blames Pakistan
“Pressure has been mounted on the Pakistani government from the international community particularly from the U.S side. Pakistan has persuaded all armed opponents to come to Afghanistan and increase their attacks,” Defense Ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri said.
But, the Ministry of Interior (MoI) has rejected claims about the collapse of Janikhail to the Taliban.
Janikhail which is 150 kilometers from the provincial capital Gardez City shares a border with Pakistan’s Kurram Agency and Parachinar region – two tribal regions across the Durand Line.
“The war still rages on in that region. Reinforcements have also been sent to the area,” said Nisar Ahmad Abdul Rahimzai, security commander of Paktia Police Headquarters.
“It is an area which has routes to several provinces. Armed opponents can get supplies from several provinces. They can create security threats for several provinces from the area including Faryab,” said Asifa Shadab, an MP from Faryab.
“We will not allow anyone to harm the aspirations of the people,” said Juma Khan Adil, commander of 606 Ansar Police Unit.
The district has also common borders with Musakhail and Sabri districts in Khost province.
Janikhail which wields a major economic reputation in the south has been frequently targeted by the Taliban.
There are several chromite mines in the district which have further added to the economic status of the town.
Kohistan district meanwhile is located 120 kilometers from Faryab’s capital Maimana city. It has 135 villages and a population of over 150,000.
It shares a border with Ghor, Badghis and Sar-e-Pul provinces in the west and northeastern parts of the country.
The district is also connected to Faryab’s Qaisar, Almar, Pashtoon Kot and Garziwan districts.
Taiwara district is located 240 kilometers from Feroz Koh region, in the west. It has a border with Purchaman and Gulistan districts in Farah province, in the south, with Baghran district of Helmand and in the east and northeast regions with Pasawand Shahrak, Tolak and Saghar districts of Ghor province.
Taiwara was one of the strongholds of the Afghan Mujahedeen during the former USSR occupation and resistance.
But, the Ministry of Defense (MoD) has said that the Taliban must not dream of achieving their goals.
Violence has dramatically increased in the country over the past three weeks as the Afghan security forces are now tackling the Taliban offshoots in at least ten provinces.
The Afghan security forces retook control of the center of Kohistan district in Faryab province at around 9pm on Tuesday.
Shaheen 209 Corps spokesman Nasratullah Jamshedi said the operation to retake the center of the district was launched on Tuesday morning.
He said more than 20 Taliban militants were killed in the operation.
Kohistan district, which fell to the Taliban over the weekend, is located 120 kilometers from Faryab’s capital Maimana city. It has 135 villages and a population of over 150,000.
It shares a border with Ghor, Badghis and Sar-e-Pul provinces in the west and northeastern parts of the country.
The district is also connected to Faryab’s Qaisar, Almar, Pashtoon Kot and Garziwan districts.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] A probe into the deadly operations against the ISIS hard boyz in eastern Nangarhar The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country.. province has confirmed the civilian casualties besides scores of ISIS Lions of Islam were killed or maimed.
The probe team was found after reports emerged that several civilians sustained casualties in the raid conducted in Haska Mina district.
According to the findings of the probe team, the ISIS forces of Evil had taken shelter inside a house where a funeral ceremony was held, taking scores of civilians as hostages and using them as human shields.
The members of the probe team said the ISIS Lions of Islam immediately launched an attack on the security personnel after hostage takings, prompting the security personnel to respond to the fire with the support of airpower.
At least 25 ISIS forces of Evil were killed and 15 others were maimed in the operation that lasted for several hours.
The provincial government in a statement said the probe team included high level government officials including officials from the 4th brigade of the army, police commandment, intelligence directorate and other related government institutions.
In the meantime, the local residents reaffirmed their support to the security personnel and institutions in their fight against the forces of Evil of the terror group in this province, the probe team members said.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/26/2017 00:00 ||
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[Khaama (Afghanistan)] New deadly festivities have been reported among the ISIS murderous Moslems and Afghan cops a day after scores of murderous Moslems were killed along with the civilians during the similar festivities.
According to the local officials in Nangarhar The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country.. , the new festivities took place in the vicinity of Haska Mina district on Monday afternoon, a day after the ISIS murderous Moslems ambushed the security personnel in the same area using civilians and funeral participants as human shield.
The provincial government media office in a statement also confirmed the latest festivities and said at least 23 ISIS murderous Moslems were killed as a result.
The statement further added that the latest festivities took place in Gagari and Camp Payeen areas of Haska Mina.
At least two ISIS murderous Moslems were also incarcerated You have the right to remain silent... during the operations, the provincial government said, adding that the operations were conducted with the support of the airpower.
The provincial government also added that two personnel of the special security forces also bit the dust and four others were maimed.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/26/2017 00:00 ||
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[AlAhram] A knife-wielding man shouting "Allahu Akbar" charged across the border between Morocco and Spain border on Tuesday, attacking and injuring a police officer, authorities said.
The man was subsequently detained, Spanish Interior Minister Juan Ignacio Zoido said.
"A man entered the border post and once inside, pulled out a large knife and confronted (police) shouting 'Allahu Akbar' (God is Greatest), slightly injuring a policeman," Irene Flores, spokeswoman for the central government's representative office in Melilla, told AFP.
A front man for Spanish police added he ran into the border post.
Melilla and its sister city Ceuta are two Spanish territories located on Morocco's northern coast, and as such represent the only two land borders between Africa and the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... They have been hit by unrest before as migrants colonists desperate to reach Europe regularly storm the border between both territories or try and smuggle themselves in, but this is the first attack of this type.
[AlAhram] Two men were jugged Into the paddy wagon wit' yez! on Tuesday for allegedly killing five coppers in a terrorist attack on a security checkpoint in Giza governorate in mid-July, al-Ahram Arabic website reported.
A security source told al-Ahram that the two suspects were taken into custody along with the cycle of violence used in the attack.
The police are still looking for a third suspect.
The source noted that the investigations thus far indicate that the suspects are members of an armed bully boy group affialiate with the Hasm
...one of the Muslim Brotherhood's NeverSisi militant groups, it appeared, as from Allah's forehead, in 2016...
and Agnad Masr
...which in 2014 indignantly asserted its allegiance to Al Qaeda, unlike the allegiance-shifting Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, subsequently also known as Islamic State in the Sinai. For whatever reason we haven't seen Agnad Masr much here...
groups.
During the arrest, the stolen weapons of the dear departedcoppers were seized by the police, said the source.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
07/26/2017 00:00 ||
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Egypt’s military said on Tuesday it has killed more than 40 turbans in a wide-ranging campaign in the Sinai Peninsula where ISIS has been waging a deadly insurgency.
The announcement came a day after seven non-combatants were killed in a foiled attack on a checkpoint with a boom-mobile.
An army tank had intercepted the vehicle and driven over it, almost flattening it, before the explosives went off, according to a video released by the army.
ISIS has waged deadly attacks on the military and police, most recently on a checkpoint in Sinai on July 7 that killed at least 21 soldiers.
But the military, which killed the leader of the group's affiliate in Egypt last year, says it is closing in on the Death Eaters.
It said in a statement on Tuesday that "40 Death Eaters" have been killed in the week-long campaign against the holy warriors.
A military source told AFP that soldiers were staying put in locations they cleared of the holy warriors, rather than withdrawing as in past campaigns.
"After storming terrorist hideouts, the soldiers are staying there," the source, who requested anonymity, told AFP.
"The terrorist elements are fleeing and leaving their weapons behind," he added.
Extremists launched an insurgency in Sinai after the military overthrew the divisive ...politicians call things divisive when when the other side sez something they don't like. Their own statements are never divisive, they're principled... Islamist president Mohammed Morsi in 2013.
They have maintained a steady war of attrition with sniper attacks and roadside kaboomings.
But unlike their parent organization in Iraq and Syria, they have been unable to seize population centers in the peninsula bordering Israel and Gazoo.
The army also destroyed 20 vehicles belonging to terrorist elements, four cycle of violences and four car-bombs that were intended to target security forces.
Security forces in North Sinai also destroyed 52 terrorist hideouts that were used to store weapons, medical supplies, explosives and communication devices, the statement read.
The statement added that the army destroyed 100 bombs, as well as eight explosives workshops.
[AlAhram] Seven non-combatants were killed when a 4x4 vehicle laden with explosives approaching an army checkpoint south of al-Arish in North Sinai went kaboom! after it was run over by an army tank to stop an imminent attack on the checkpoint on Monday evening, the army front man reported on his official Facebook page.
The 4x4 vehicle, which went kaboom! on the scene, was carrying five suspected turbans armed with guns and 100 kilograms of explosives, the army said.
The victims included two women and two children.
The aborted attack could have killed nearly 50-60 soldiers and civilians, the statement added.
A number of civilian cars and commercial trucks were lined up to pass the checkpoint at the time of the foiled attack, a video footage posted by the army spokesperson showed.
[Ynet] Burkina Faso ...The country in west Africa that they put where Upper Volta used to be. Its capital is Oogadooga, or something like that. Its president is currently Blaise Compaoré, who took office in 1987 and will leave office feet first, one way or the other... 's government says suspected jihadis have killed at least five people in three different villages in the country's volatile north.
Residents of Sibe, Neyda and Ndidja said Tuesday that armed members of local Islamic turban group Ansaroul Islam attacked Monday on cycle of violences.
The military says it has deployed troops to secure the area.
Landlocked Burkina Faso's remote northern Sahel region ... North Africa's answer to the Pak tribal areas... bordering Niger and Mali has recently become the target of increased Islamic turban attacks. The area is home to Islamic preacher Ibrahim Malam Dicko, whose Ansarul Islam group is now considered a terrorist group by Burkina Faso's government.
The military says it is withdrawing its battalion from Sudan to redeploy along its border with Mali to fight turbans. The first group of the soldiers arrived last week.
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Two men accused of cooperating with al-Qaeda and who are on the designated terror list which the four countries boycotting Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates... announced have been tossed in the slammer Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'! in Hadhramaut, east of Yemen.
Local security sources said Hadrami elite forces detained Abdullah Mohammed Ali al-Yazidi and Ahmad Ali Ahmad Baraoud as part of a security campaign to pursue and detain all members accused of facilitating al-Qaeda’s work and supporting terrorism particularly after the recent terror lists announced by 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... , the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt.
The terror lists included three Yemeni people and three Yemeni entities which are al-Balagh Charitable Foundation, al-Alhsan Charitable Society and Rahma Charitable Organization.
Who is Abdullah Mohammed Ali al-Yazidi?
Yazidi, born in 1957, is the head of the al-Alhsan Charitable Society, which is on the terror list issued by the four countries boycotting Qatar, and a partner in the Rahma Charitable Organization which is affiliated with al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula ...the latest incarnation of various Qaeda and Qaeda-allied groups, including the now-defunct Aden-Abyan Islamic Army that boomed the USS Cole in 2000... (AQAP) and which is sanctioned by the US.
Yazidi was a member of the Hadhrami Domestic Council that’s affiliated with AQAP when the Yemeni city of Mukalla was under the group’s control in 2015. In the beginning of 2016, the council selected Yazidi to restructure the council’s administration.
Mukalla was later liberated in mid-2016 by Yemeni forces and the Saudi-led coalition.
According to local reports in 2016, he participated in launching projects in Hadhramaut that are sponsored by Eid Charity affiliated with Qatar and Qatar Charity.
He was arrested in May 2016 by local authorities for supporting (AQAP). A daily affiliated with the group condemned his arrest and demanded his release.
Yazidi is also a founding member of the global campaign to resist the aggression ‐ a campaign led by the Qatari al-Qaeda funder Abdulrahman Bin Omair al-Nauimi who is on the terror lists announced by the UN and the US.
Who is Ahmad Ali Ahmad Baraoud?
Baraoud, born in 1956, was head of the Rahma Charitable Organization that supports AQAP and which is sanctioned by the US.
According to local reports, in February 2014, he was a guest of honor in an event held in Hadhramaut and which was sponsored by Eid Charity.
Baraoud was also arrested in May 2016 by local authorities for supporting (AQAP), and a daily affiliated with the group condemned his arrest and demanded his release.
He was also a member of the Hadhrami Domestic Council.
In June 2017, the US government identified the Hadhrami Domestic Council as a "proxy or cover organization" established by AQAP to "help govern territories it controls, and to manage issues such as administration, economics, security, and building relationships with citizens" in Yemen.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/26/2017 00:00 ||
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[Dhaka Tribune] Given the extremely sensitive nature of this story, and to protect my co-researchers in Bangladesh, I can neither disclose nor discuss exact sources and methods used during this investigation. However, those who apply themselves too closely to little things often become incapable of great things... I can say that the investigation was primarily based on extensive review of ISIS communiques and information gathered through open source intelligence.
Sajit Debnath aka Muhammad Saifullah Ozaki, the Japanese-Bangladeshi jihadi and former associate professor of Ritsumeikan University, is most likely the elusive ameer of ISIS in Bangladesh, responsible for a series of jihadi attacks in the country including the July 2016 massacre at the Holey Artisan Bakery.
Information gathered during months of investigation suggest that Ozaki is the individual whose interview was featured in the 14th issue of ISIS’ flagship Dabiq magazine in April 2016. In that interview, Shaykh Abu Ibrahim al-Hanif (Ozaki’s kunya or Islamic nom de guerre) was identified as the "amir of the Khilafah’s soldiers in Bengal."
Given the extremely sensitive nature of this story, and to protect my co-researchers in Bangladesh, I can neither disclose nor discuss exact sources and methods used during this investigation. However, those who apply themselves too closely to little things often become incapable of great things... I can say that the investigation was primarily based on extensive review of ISIS communiques and information gathered through open source intelligence.
The first part of Ozaki’s kunya (Abu Ibrahim ‐ "father of Ibrahim") is most likely based on the name of his youngest son, who is a minor. Ozaki and his Japanese wife have three sons, who are named after Islamic prophets. He used the name of his eldest son ‐ also a minor ‐ as part of another kunya he once took.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/26/2017 00:00 ||
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[AnNahar] A Paleostinian man suspected of belonging to the Islamist group Hamas, the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood, has been given a life sentence in Austria for plotting a terror attack against Jews in Israel.
The 27-year-old, who was incarcerated Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un! at an asylum-seeker center in Lower Austria last July, was found guilty late Monday of belonging to a terror organization and attempting to incite murder.
Prosecutors accused him of contacting two men in the Paleostinian territories via social media apps and ordering them to carry out killings of Jews in Jerusalem.
Both accomplices were detained by Israeli authorities in June 2016, leading to the arrest of the alleged criminal mastermind the following month in the Austrian town of Gmuend.
Mobile phone messages exchanged between the trio revealed that the Paleostinian had told the other two men to throw "apples" -- a code word for hand grenades -- into crowds in Jerusalem, according to the Austrian prosecution.
He also apparently told witnesses testifying in the trial that he was "proud to be part of Hamas".
The man, who denies all charges and said he will appeal the conviction, had already been arrested at the age of 14 in Gazoo and served nine years in prison for violence against Israeli soldiers.
[AlAhram] Austrian police say they have found one of two suspects who allegedly discussed setting off a bomb in an Arabic conversation on a Vienna subway, but he denies any talk of a bomb.
Police say the man turned himself in after photos of him and a fellow suspect were published. The search for them was launched last week, when other passengers who understood Arabic notified police about the conversation after leaving the subway car. The train then was stopped and officers looked for the suspects but found no trace of them or a briefcase they were carrying.
One was allegedly overheard saying he had set "the bomb at five minutes." Police said Tuesday that the suspect claims the witnesses must have misheard their discussion.
[DAWN] The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) in Lahore said it had tossed in the slammer Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit! two 'terrorists' belonging to the Tehrik-e-Taliban ...the Pashtun equivalent of men... Pakistain (TTP) and the Jamaatul Ahrar ...A Pak Taliban splinter group that split off from the Mullah Fazlullah faction because it wasn't violent enough... (JuA) on Tuesday evening. Improvised bombs (IEDs) and grenades were also recovered from the suspects, a statement from the CTD said.
"The CTD Team has arrested two terrorists/members of banned ...the word banned seems to have a different meaning in Pakistain than it does in most other places. Or maybe it simply lacks any meaning at all...
organization JuA/TTP, namely Ali Noor and Sartaj Khan, from Walton Road Lahore," read the statement.
"They were preparing to launch an attack on personnel of law enforcement agencies in next week," it added.
A CTD investigation team was at the scene of the crime and an investigation was underway, the statement read.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/26/2017 00:00 ||
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Dhi Qar (IraqiNews.com) A police officer was killed on Tuesday in an armed attack north of Dhi Qar governorate by unknown assailants, a police source told Alsumaria News.
“Unknown assailants opened fire late last night against a police officer, 33, while returning home by his own car in Al Dawaya area, northern Dhi Qar, leading to his death,” the source said.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source added that security forces cordoned off the crime scene and took the body to the forensic medicine department.
The source did not mention any details about the motivations for the murder.
Mosul (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi security forces arrested six Islamic militants near western Mosul airport, the police command said on Tuesday, as security continues to clear areas recaptured from the group.
The Federal Police service said in a statement that the six militants were arrested during combing patrols in Bu Sayf region, near Mosul Airport.
Federal Police chief Shaker Jawdat said multiple weapons, including explosive belts, were also seized after the arrest.
Iraqi troops recaptured Bu Sayf region from IS members in February, days after a second phase of operations launched to clear western Mosul from militants.
Observers, however, fear that victory on the military level could not mean a total removal of the group’s threat, and think dormant cells could still destabilize the security situation with lone wolf attacks against civilians and security members. Many militants have also been found hiding among thousands of civilians fleeing the battlefield.
IS still controls a few pockets in Nineveh, Anbar, Salahuddin and Kirkuk, and the Iraqi government is planning to launch further offensives to clear those regions.
Mosul (IraqiNews.com) Four security personnel were killed as Islamic State attacked troops at a market in western Mosul, a source from Nineveh police was quoted saying.
“Security troops deployed at al-Maash market clashed with IS members who attempted attacking the troops,” Cap. Amir Wathiq told BasNews on Tuesday. “The clashes left four police personnel, including a lieutenant general, killed.”
“The attacking elements ran away to an unknown destination, as security reinforcements arrived and police cordoned off the region,” he added.
On Monday, news reports said four civilians were killed while three others, including two policemen, were wounded as a booby-trapped vehicle exploded in Bab Sinjar market in western Mosul.
Despite declaring victory over IS, the group have reportedly carried out attacks against security forces over the past few days.
Mosul (IraqiNews.com) A senior Islamic State leader was arrested while attempting to flee western Mosul to the eastern side of the city, the Interior Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
Ministry spokesperson Saad Maan said the forces arrested while crossing from the western side to the east, carrying a fake ID. The apprehended militant had served as the Islamic State’s so-called “tribal affairs bureau for southern Mosul”.
The Iraqi government said it cleared the city of Mosul from Islamic State members earlier this month, ending a three-year occupation by the militant group. Since then, security forces have been combing the recaptured areas for dormant IS cells and for members fleeing among refugee groups. Many have been arrested from refugee convoys over suspicions of affiliation with IS, while others were either apprehended or killed trying to escape between both sides of the city.
The group has lost most of its senior leaders among more than 25.000 members in the U.S.-backed battles, and currently occupies a few pockets in Nineveh, Anbar, Kirkuk and Salahuddin provinces, albeit amid recurrent reports of internal divisions and power disputes among its ranks. The Iraqi government intends to charge at those strongholds in the near future.
Posted by: badanov ||
07/26/2017 00:00 ||
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Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) A police officer was killed and two others were wounded in an improvised explosive device (IED) explosion targeting their patrol in western Baghdad, Alsumaria News reported on Tuesday.
The source told Alsumaria that an IED, planted on a side of a road west of the capital Baghdad, exploded early today targeting a police patrol, leaving a police officer dead and two others wounded.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source added that a security force arrived to the explosion scene and cordoned it off. The two injured were taken to a nearby hospital and the body was taken to the forensic medicine department.
Another IED explosion hit a local fish market in northern Baghdad early Tuesday, leaving five civilians injured.
Security forces cordoned off the area of explosion, while ambulances evacuated the wounded to a nearby hospital, a source told Alsumaria.
Iraqi militia kills 2 ISIS troops near Ramadi Jackpot!
Anbar (IraqiNews.com) Pro-government paramilitary forces killed two Islamic State members and seized their ammunition truck west of Anbar on Tuesday, a security source was quoted saying.
Alsumaria News quoted the source saying that a force from “Al-Jazeera Shield”, a regiment affiliated with the “Tribal Mobilization”, ambushed three IS militants at the Kilo 160 region, west of Ramadi. A third militant was arrested and a truck laden with light and medium weapons was also seized.
Mobilization forces have occasionally fought off IS assaults on the Kilo 160 region over the past months coincidently with Iraqi government offensives to clear IS havens across Iraq.
IS has held enclaves in the towns of Annah, Rawa and Qaim in western Anbar and near the borders with Syria since the group emerged in 2014 to proclaim a self-styled Islamic “Caliphate”.
The Iraqi government plans to aim at those regions after totally clearing the province of Nineveh, where a few pockets remain after the liberation of Mosul, IS’s largest stronghold, earlier this month.
Anbar (IraqiNews.com) Tens of Islamic State militants were killed as Iraqi jets launched several airstrikes in Anbar province.
A statement by the Defense Ministry’s War Media Cell said Iraqi jets launched several airstrikes that left an IS rest house and a weapon stash destroyed.
“The strikes also targeted militants, killing tens of them west of Haditha lake,” the statement added.
Haditha city is fully controlled by security forces and tribal fighters, however, IS launches attacks there every now and then. The regions in the north of the lake are desert ones with a number of houses that are used by IS militants as hideouts.
Ealier on the day, Petra news agency quoted Army Colonel Ahmed al-Shemari as saying that 21 IS fighters were killed as military troops foiled an IS attack against military sites in al-Nakhib region, near the Iraqi-Saudi borders.
Posted by: badanov ||
07/26/2017 00:00 ||
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] A total of four German citizens are among a group of women captured by Iraqi forces in the Iraqi city of djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... last week, a foreign ministry source said on Tuesday.
The foreign ministry on Monday said that two women were among those seized, including a 16-year-old teenager who had run away from her home in the state of Saxony last year.
The source on Tuesday said that two others had now been confirmed as German citizens by consular officials who visited them.
German prosecutors on Monday said they were investigating the teenager, Linda Wenzel, on suspicion of membership in a foreign terrorist organization, alongside with some others.
The group of 20 women were captured in Mosul by Iraqi forces when they retook ISIS stronghold.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/26/2017 00:00 ||
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#1
"Do with them as you will. We don't want em back"
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/26/2017 7:18 Comments ||
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[PhilStar] Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte has suspended the military offensive in Marawi, citing concerns over the safety of some 300 civilians being held by Islamic rebels still holed up in some parts of the besieged city. His instructions came on the heels of Congress’ vote to allow the extension of martial law in Mindanao until the end of the year.
The safety of the civilians, he pointed out, is the primary consideration of government security forces. He said, "I don’t care if they are Moros or Christians. I don’t want these innocents to be slaughtered so hintay lang tayo (let’s just wait). Patience."
Duterte admitted that the Marawi crisis “has dealt a terrible blow to our quest for peace, especially now that an alien ideology and a radical shift in purpose have been injected into the local setting.”
“I declared martial law in Mindanao because I believed that that was the fastest way to quell the rebellion at the least cost of lives and properties. At the same time, the government would be adequately equipped with the constitutional tool not only to prevent the escape of rebels who can easily mingle and pretend to be civilian evacuees only to re-group in another place to fight another day, but also to prevent them from spreading their gospel of hate and violence in the rest of Mindanao,” Duterte said.
[NEWS.MB.PH] A notorious gunner and bomb expert of the Sulu-based Abu Sayyaf ...also known as al-Harakat al-Islamiyya, an Islamist terror group based in Jolo, Basilan and Zamboanga. Since its inception in the early 1990s, the group has carried out bombings, kidnappings, murders, head choppings, and extortion in their uniquely Islamic attempt to set up an independent Moslem province in the Philippines. Abu Sayyaf forces probably number less than 300 cadres. The group is closely allied with remnants of Indonesia's Jemaah Islamiya and has loose ties with MILF and MNLF who sometimes provide cannon fodder... Group (ASG) under top leader Radullan Sahiron and another ASG member were tossed in the calaboose Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw! as a result of the intensified operations of the military and police against the terrorist group.
Composite elements of the Joint Task Force Tawi-Tawi and the Provincial Police Office of Tawi-Tawi neutralized Abu Sayyaf and kidnap-for-ransom member Ibno Moro in Barangay Kamagong, Bongao, Tawi-Tawi at around 10:30 a.m. Saturday.
Moro, who has a standing warrant of arrest for murder, was a member of the late sub-leader Jul Asman Sawadjaan who operated in Tawi-Tawi and Sulu.
Ranked as the Number 8 Most Wanted in the province of Tawi-Tawi, Moro was involved in the 1989 massacre in Barangay Lapid-Lapid, Bongao; 2002 kidnapping of Alvin Chua at the Chinese Pier in Bongao; 2004 kidnapping of Sibuto Mayor Kuyoh Pajiji of Sibutu; and 2004 murder of Rodrigo Alejandro Sr. and his son, Rodrigo Alejandro, Jr., in Barangay Buan, Panglima Sugala.
"This is another operational feat attributable to the efforts of our troops on the ground and the police," Lieutenant General Carlito G. Galvez, Jr., the Commander of the Western Mindanao Command, said.
"Given the key involvement of Moro in various kidnappings perpetrated by the Tawi-Tawi based Abu Sayyaf members, the neutralization of the notorious bandit is deemed a big blow on the Abu Sayyaf and kidnap for ransom group, which has faced substantial loss as a result of our intensified operations," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/26/2017 00:00 ||
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[Bangkok Post] A defense volunteer was killed and another man hurt in a gun attack on a tea shop in Pattani province on Sunday morning, media reports said.
Sai Buri district police investigator Chaowalit Atteng said the incident occurred when two men arrived on a motorcycle at a roadside tea shop on Cho Kuyae - Sai Buri road in tambon Tabing.
A group of villagers were sitting together in the shop when the gunmen opened fire. Manor Mahama, a defense volunteer from Sai Buri district, was shot in the head and died instantly. Hamaripeng Late, a villager who was sitting nearby, was hit in the body and injured.
This one happened almost a week ago, but it ain't official until Rantburg sez so.
[The Nation] A Thai policeman was killed and another was seriously wounded when Muslim rebels attacked a police checkpoint in Narathiwat province early on Thursday morning. The attack happened in Tambon Palukasamoh in Bacho district.
The two officers were sitting and resting inside the police booth when an unknown number of militants hurled six pipe bombs against the police booth. Two of the bombs landed on the roof of the booth and one of them exploded.
The four other bombs fell on the roof of an adjacent house and outside the fenced area. The bombs that fell outside the fenced area did not explode.
[AlMasdar] Rebel fighters in rural Damascus have launched a rocket attack late this night in response to fierce Arclight airstrikes conducted yesterday by Russian fighter jets against their positions.
The attack, which was unexpectedly carried out after midnight, hit the Russian Embassy in al-Mazra’a district as well as al-Abasyeen square. No casualties reported.
On Monday, Russian Arclight airstrikes destroyed outposts and command centers for the al-Qaeda-affiliate Hay’at Tagrir al-Sham in Irbeen town located to the east of the capital, killing and injuring scores including high-ranking commanders.
Local activists also confirmed that the Arclight airstrikes targeted ammunition depots for Faylaq al-Rahman; an Islamist group active in Eastern Ghouta and a close ally for the HTS.
Meanwhile, ...back at the hanging, Butch continued with his last words, trying not to repeat himself too often...... the Syrian Army troops continue its large-scale operation against the two abovementioned groups in Jobar and Ayn Tarma to the northeast of Damascus.
[AlMasdar] Syrian military authorities have intercepted a large weapons and ammunition shipment that was destined for Ha’yat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) snuffies in western Qalamoun.
Sources say that the arms shipment originated from central Syria and contained thousands of bullets and dozens of anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM).
No specific details exist to how exactly the illegal arms transferal was intercepted by the SAA, however it is known that the would-be smugglers attempted to move the weapons and ammunition via pickup trucks in areas without government checkpoints during late night hours.
The HTS forces in western Qalamoun to which the shipment was bound are currently embattled against both the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and Hezbollah who greatly outnumber and outgun the jihadists. The SAA and Hezbollah have recently initiated hostilities in this region in an attempt to expel HTS from its last string footholds along the Syrian-Lebanese border.
[AlMasdar] Albeit slow and partial, the offensive by pro-government forces against ISIS in central Homs does in fact continue. Today, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and its allies liberated a town and secured some key hilltops from the terrorist group in the region.
The settlement liberated today was the town of al-Baghliyah. After this pro-government forces, capitalizing on the capture of al-Baghliyah, advanced into the hills nearby, securing some high points that overlook another settlement, the town of Rasm Hamadah.
As a result of today’s advance, the town of Rasm Hamadah itself is soon expected to be liberated by the SAA and its allies as they have fire control over it.
Today’s advanced was covered by Russian attack helicopters which targeted ISIS vehicle movements in the area. This indicates that the command of the Russian air group is itself still interested in the central Homs, east Hama operation.
The premier SAA formation spearheading the offensive in central Homs is the 5th Assault Corps and, as can thus be expected, it was the main force behind today’s advance.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
07/26/2017 00:00 ||
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[AlMasdar] The Islamic State (ISIL) got a rough start to the day on Tuesday, thanks in large part to the Syrian and Russian jets that were stalking their positions in the Deir Ezzor Governorate.
Syrian and Russian jets flying out of the Homs Governorate began the day by pounding the Islamic State’s positions in the Panorama area and Al-Hawiqah District.
Following their airstrikes on these sites, the Russian and Syrian air forces turned their attention to the eastern sector of the provincial capital and Al-Jafra village near the Deir Ezzor Military Airport.
According to a military source at the 137th Artillery Brigade’s HQ, the Syrian and Russian air forces carried out more than 15 airstrikes this morning, causing heavy damage to the Islamic State’s defenses.
Among the targeted sites for the Syrian and Russian air forces was an ammunition depot near the Al-Baghiliyah District; this supply depot would ultimately destroyed during the bombardment, the source added.
[AlMasdar] With the Syrian Army marching on the eastern city of Deir Ezzor, more villages and towns are being liberated amid massive ISIS collapse.
Today, the SAA’ Tiger Forces, backed by tribal fighters, took over Huwayjat Shinan town located to the east of Dalha along the western back of the Euphrates.
Meanwhile, fierce clashes broke out between the Army troops and ISIS militants in Nuzayzah and Rajm as-Sulayman towns; both situated to the east of Salam Alaykum town which was fully recaptures yesterday.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
07/26/2017 00:00 ||
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[AlMasdar] The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have repelled a huge Islamic State counterattack against their positions in the southeastern districts of Raqqa city.
For a localized counterattack, the number of men ISIS threw into the battle was exceptionally high and so badly beaten back were the terrorist group’s forces by the end of the assault that when the dust settled it had lost 35 fighters killed in action. Furthermore, 90 percent of the Hisham Ibn Abdulmalik neighborhood is now under SDF control as the Islamic State has been forced to cede certain points it held prior to the attack.
A spokeswoman for the SDF said that ISIS attacked the alliance group’s positions across several districts, including the neighborhoods of Hisham Ibn Abdulmalik, al-Bareed and al-Rodah, clarifying that the SDF were able to kill more than 30 militants, eleven of which were neutralized in the Nazlt Shahada area alone.
Whilst the SDF has not disclosed its own casualties, trusted sources of Al-Masdar News say the US-backed alliance group has lost some 30 fighters dead over the last five days.
[AlMasdar] The elite Tiger Forces of the Syrian Arab Army, after liberating Huwayjat Shinan early yesterday, have since followed up their advance in southeastern Raqqa Governorate by securing several new strategic locations en route to the strategic city of Deir Ezzor and killing scores of ISIS militants in the process.
Late yesterday afternoon, the Tiger Forces, sweeping across the central desert expanses of Syria, liberated the al-Jarayeh oil field area which is located to the south of the town of Ghanm al-Ali town.
Following this, the Tiger Firces also liberated the village of Nuzayzah to the north of the recently captured village of al-Salaam Alaikum.
All in all, yesterday’s operation by the Tiger Forces resulted in the death of some 30 or so ISIS militants and the destruction of two vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs).
Posted by: trailing wife ||
07/26/2017 00:00 ||
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[AlMasdar] The Syrian government troops repelled a major assault launched by the Islamic State on Jadeed Fritan hill in the eastern countryside of Hama.
A military source said that at least 15 militants were killed and injured in the failed attack.
Meanwhile, the Army troops – backed by the Palestinian al-Quds Brigade and local fighters – resumed the offensive aimed to recapture the ISIS-held Qualib al-Thor town.
The government forces managed to seize a strategic hill that overlooks the town, thus opening the way for more significant advances inside the town.
The same town was almost entirely captured by the Syrian Army, but was forced to withdraw following a fierce counterattack by the Islamic State militants.
[AlMasdar] A group of rebel fighters have turned themselves in to the Syrian authorities in the northern countryside of Hama as the government promotes reconciliation agreements across the country.
The surrendered militants have made it to a joint Syrian-Russian checkpoint carrying the safety access leaflets dropped earlier by Army helicopters over the rebel-controlled areas in Hama and Idlib.
The Syrian government, in collaboration with the Russian Center for Reconciliation, is encouraging militants to engage in reconciliation deals and have their status settled in order to restore their normal lives.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
07/26/2017 00:00 ||
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There is an interesting video at the link. Herewith the transcript:
[AlMasdar] In the provinces of Raqqa and Homs, the Syrian Arab Army and its allies are engaged in a relentless high-pitched battle against the ISIS terrorist group. Unlike the US coalition who wishes to preserve ISIS in Syria as a future card against the Damascus-Tehran-Moscow alliance, the objective of pro-government forces is clear, absolute and simple ‐ for them ISIS, as the most fundamentally despotic and godforsaken entity to ever establish itself on Syrian soil, must be destroyed. With virtually all of the Syrian Army’s vanguard strength being directed against the so-called 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.... to the effect of tens of thousands of troops and untold quantities of tanks and artillery ‐ and with ISIS itself now facing the very real possibility of being expelled from the country by the end of the year ‐ it appears that the perfect conditions for a Mother of all Battles are brewing in eastern Syria.
Over the last two weeks, pro-government forces ‐ most notably the Syrian Army’s elite Tiger Forces and the 5th Assault Corps ‐ have been rolling back the ISIS frontier in eastern Syria throughout a series of offensives. The inescapable focus of all the multi-front operations by the Syrian Army and its allies is the strategic city of Deir Ezzor which is now in its third year of besiegement at the hands of the so-called Islamic State.
In addition to now securing most of the mountain chains running between Palmyra and al-Sukhnah, the highlight of the 5th Assault Corps’s most recent push has been the liberation of the al-Hayl gas field ‐ a massive energy complex. The Tiger Forces for their part have reach the B’ir al-Zamlah road junction, the village of As-salaam Alaikum as wells as the towns of Dulhah and Huwayjat Shinan on the western bank of the Euphrates River. Furthermore, in-between these advances, the Tiger Forces have liberated dozens of oil wells, gas extraction points and energy facilities.
In response these ever-encroaching advances against it, ISIS has attempted to grind down pro-government forces by launching multiple raids south and east of Palmyra. Although these hit-and-run attacks have inflicted dozens of dead and maimed on pro-government forces, the Syrian Army and its allies have, in general, managed to successfully hold a solid front-line over the last several weeks, despite having to tactically withdraw at certain times under pressure from large ISIS raids.
As of yesterday, the Syrian Army High Command has sent massive reinforcements to back up the 5th Assault Corps in eastern Homs province. Among the newly-arrived forces are battle-hardened formations such as the 800th Regiment of the Elite Republican Guard, the 1st Armoured Division and the 3rd Armoured Division of the Syrian Arab Army. Such reinforcements are a clear indication that a new broad-front offensive sweep against ISIS is being prepared. To this end it can be expected that whilst the Tiger Forces drive on Deir Ezzor from the northern direction, the central front forces will focus on capturing al-Sukhnah whilst Syrian Army and allied formations in the south place additional pressure on ISIS to stretch the terrorist group’s military resources to breaking point.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
07/26/2017 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
#1
It is an interesting article and vid. It exposes a different point of view, one that I hadn't been aware of. Al Masdar seems to believe that the US backed coalition wishes to preserve ISIS, which is news to me. In stating this, it also implies that the US wants to preserve ISIS. Personally, I want them all dead.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
07/26/2017 9:24 Comments ||
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#2
Unlike the US coalition who wishes to preserve ISIS in Syria as a future card against the Damascus-Tehran-Moscow alliance, the objective of pro-government forces is clear, absolute and simple ‐ for them ISIS, as the most fundamentally despotic and godforsaken entity to ever establish itself on Syrian soil, must be destroyed. With virtually all of the Syrian Army’s vanguard strength being directed against the so-called Islamic State
U.S. coalition wants to preserve ISIS? I doubt that Trump is supporting that policy, at least that is not what he says. He seems to be hell-bent on destroying ISIS.
Is this, supposedly U.S. led coalition that wants to preserve ISIS a left-over from Obama's deep state? More Obama Arab Spring B.S. that hasn't been cleaned out yet?
[AlAhram] Leb's army chief said on Tuesday the army had 50 "dangerous terrorists" in jug among hundreds of detainees jugged You have the right to remain silent... in recent security raids on Syrian refugee camps on the border between the two countries.
General Joseph Oun was quoted on the army website as saying that among those detained since a major security sweep began last month were some who had taken part in an attack on the town of Arsal in 2014 and in the kidnapping of army soldiers.
The camps around the town have long been a haven for bandidoshard boyz from Syria who have clashed with Lebanese forces conducting security raids in search of suspects hiding among the refugees.
Syrian hard boyz briefly overran Arsal in 2014 in a battle that killed dozens and marked one of the more serious spillovers of the Syrian conflict into Leb
"The army will not make the camps a facade for the terrorists," Oun was quoted as saying, without elaborating on the identity of the krazed killers.
The army said at the time of the raids last month that there were several 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.... officials among some 350 people detained.
It later said four of the Syrian men arrested had died in detention from chronic illnesses. Rights activists and refugees said they had been tortured to death.
Leb's powerful Shia Hezbollah group last Friday launched an offensive in the mountains overlooking Arsal to oust jihadists from their last foothold along the Syria-Leb border.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
07/26/2017 00:00 ||
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Damascus (Syria News) Ten civilians were killed and several others were wounded in an air strike, carried out by the Syrian regime on the town of Arbin, in eastern Ghouta.
Qasioun News reported that the Syrian regime carried out an air strike, using eight thermobaric rockets, on Arbin Town, in eastern Ghouta of Damascus, killing ten civilians, including seven children and two women, as well as wounding fifty others with different injuries.
Yesterday, Syrian Army Aviation conducted six other air strikes on the city, leaving several casualties and inflicting significant damage to the area.
It is noteworthy, Syrian regime announced ceasing fire in the countryside of Damascus, after agreeing with both the opposition and Russia on a truce, including eastern Ghouta.
Posted by: badanov ||
07/26/2017 00:00 ||
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[Chicago Tribune] former Marine who secretly traveled to Syria earlier this year to battle 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.... was killed while fighting for a Kurdish militia, his father said Tuesday.
David Taylor Sr. told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named that his 25-year-old son, David Taylor, told only a high school friend about his plans to join the Kurdish group, and he swore his friend to secrecy. Taylor's father said he didn't even know of his son's plans until after he had arrived in Syria and was training with the group known as YPG.
"I got an email and he said, 'Pops, don't worry. I'm with the YPG,'" David Taylor Sr. said in a telephone interview from his home in West Virginia. "He said, 'I'm doing the right thing. It's for their freedom.'"
A Kurdish militia group released a video saying Taylor was killed on July 16. The U.S. State Department said in a statement that it was aware of reports of a U.S. citizen being killed while fighting in Syria but offered no further comment. Taylor Sr. said a U.S. consular chief from the Kurdistan Region in Iraq informed him of his son's death.
Taylor's high school friend emailed the father after he learned of the death. The friend said Taylor told him during a visit to St. Petersburg Beach, Florida, last February that Taylor believed the Islamic State group needed to be stopped.
"One night he got drunk and told me of the atrocities he had witnessed in the Middle East during his time in the Marine Corps," the friend, Alex Cintron, wrote in an email to Taylor's parents.
Taylor's father shared the email with AP on Tuesday.
"He said to the effect that 'Isis was the bane of modern existence and needed to be stopped before they destroy any more lives and priceless works of human achievement,'" Cintron said in the email.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/26/2017 00:00 ||
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[Al Jazeera] The Lebanese group Hezbollah says it is close to driving out Jabhat Fateh al-Sham ...formerly al-Nusra, the current false nose and mustache of al-Qaeda in the Levant... fighters from the Syria-Leb frontier.
Jabhat Fateh al-Sham is the former Syrian branch of al-Qaeda that was previously known as al-Nusra ...formally Jabhat an-Nusrah li-Ahli al-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.
Since Friday, Hezbollah and the Syrian army have been fighting against the group in the Juroud Arsal mountainous border area.
If successful, the offensive would cement Hezbollah's control over the final section of Syrian border that is still vulnerable to infiltration from rival gangs.
[AlMasdar] The Lebanese Army and Hezbollah resumed their offensive operations in eastern Lebanon this morning, striking the jihadist rebels of Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham and the so-called “Islamic State” (ISIL) inside the ‘Arsal Barrens.
Backed by the Syrian Air Force, the Lebanese Army and Hezbollah attacked the last remaining sites under jihadist control in the ‘Arsal Barrens, inflicting heavy damage on the defenses of HTS and ISIL.
According to Hezbollah’s official media wing, their forces and the Lebanese Army have captured the following sites:
[REUTERS] A U.S. Navy ship fired warning shots when an Iranian vessel in the Gulf came within 150 yards (137 meters) on Tuesday in the first such incident since President Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... took office in January, U.S. officials said.
The last major incident was earlier in January, though there have been instances when a U.S. vessel fired a flare as well as an event in March when a U.S. Navy ship was forced to change course after multiple fast-attack vessels from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard came too close.
In a statement, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command said the patrol craft, named Thunderbolt, fired the warning shots in front of the Iranian vessel after it ignored radio calls, flares and the ship's whistle.
The Iranian vessel was from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the statement said, adding that it stopped its unsafe approach after the warning shots were fired.
A U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the Iranian boat was armed but that the weapons were unmanned. The Thunderbolt was accompanied by a number of other vessels, including those from the U.S. Coast Guard.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/26/2017 00:00 ||
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#1
I'd rather they were aimed at the Iranian vessel. We have a little score to settle from last year, as I recall.
Female ISIS leader skips town with cash "Rio, here I come!"
Tal Afar (IraqiNews.com) A senior Islamic State female vigilante has fled the group’s stronghold in western Nineveh with huge sums of money, a local source in the province was quoted saying.
Alsumaria News quoted the source saying that the Islamic State’s leading “biter”, a foreign national, fled Hassan Qoi area, in the town of Tal Afar, to an unknown destination with a large amount of money in her possession.
Um Salma, so she was nicknamed, had been in charge of the female division of the hisba (morality police) service, said the source. She had been behind the fatal biting and strangling of several local women in Mosul, which she did based on sentences issued by the Islamic State’s judges, he added.
She had stolen large sums and fled, and the group launched a wide-scale search for her, according to the source.
Tal Afar, held by IS since 2014, has become the group’s most outstanding haven in Nineveh after militants lost their largest bastion, Mosul, to Iraqi forces earlier this month.
Since it proclaimed a so-called “caliphate” in Iraq and Syria in 2014, Islamic State assigned female vigilantism division that would levy punishments on women violating the group’s extremist codes of modesty. The biters, according to reports, would either literally bite the bodies of violating females ferociously or use iron clippers for the purpose.
Tal Afar (IraqiNews.com) Islamic State executed ten members, including Arab leaders, in west of Mosul, a security source from the army’s Joint Operations Command was quoted saying.
“IS militants burnt the members to death in front of dozens of civilians and group fighters,” Brigadier General Mohamed al-Jabouri told BasNews on Tuesday. “The group informed the people that they were traitors who attempted fleeing.”
The militants included four Syrians and a Saudi national.
“The group burnt the members while being blindfolded and handcuffed,” Jabouri said.
The militants, according to Jabouri, blame their defeat in Mosul on treason and retreat by some leaders and fighters who breached their vows to the group and collaborated with security.
On Monday, news reports mentioned that the group executed one of its prominent doctors in Tal Afar and arrested all of his family members without providing details.
The group reportedly carried out emergency evacuations earlier this week at many of its main headquarters in the town over growing doubts on the people’s cooperation with security services.
A source was quoted earlier this month as saying that non-Iraqi IS militants executed the last local leader in Tal Afar and the town is currently run by Arab and foreign members after eliminating all the Iraqi leaders.
Tal Afar is one of the important strongholds still held by IS in Nineveh since August 2014.
Salahuddin (IraqiNews.com) Seven Islamic State (IS) female elements were arrested on Tuesday northwest of Samarra, Commander of Samarra Operations, Major General Emad al-Zuhairi, announced.
“The intelligence of the Samarra Operations managed today to capture seven IS female elements northwest of Samarra,” a statements said.
“The female elements were coming from Mosul towards Baghdad using fake identifications,” the statement added.
Security forces in Samarra had arrested many elements belonging to the IS terror group while attempting to sneak into southern governorates.
Earlier today, tens of IS militants were killed as Iraqi jets launched several airstrikes in Anbar province.
A statement by the Defense Ministry’s War Media Cell said Iraqi jets launched several airstrikes that left an IS rest house and a weapon stash destroyed.
Furthermore, 21 IS militants were killed on Tuesday in a military operation southwest of Iraq.
Iraqi troops were able to a return life back to normal in the biggest cities of Anbar including Fallujah, Ramadi and others after recapturing them. However, Anbar’s western cities of Annah, Qaim and Rawa are still held by the extremist group since 2014, when it emerged to proclaim a self-styled Islamic Caliphate.
There has not been an officially-declared military campaign to free those regions, but the province’s military command launched a brief assault early January that managed to recapture some western villages before stopping again.
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.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] New deadly 
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Two men accused of cooperating with al-Qaeda and who are on the designated terror list which the four countries boycotting 
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] A total of four German citizens are among a group of women captured by Iraqi forces in the Iraqi city of 
[PhilStar] Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte has suspended the military offensive in Marawi, citing concerns over the safety of some 300 civilians being held by Islamic rebels still holed up in some parts of the besieged city. His instructions came on the heels of Congress’ vote to allow the extension of martial law in Mindanao until the end of the year.
[Bangkok Post] A defense volunteer was killed and another man hurt in a gun attack on a tea shop in Pattani province on Sunday morning, media reports said.
[Chicago Tribune] former Marine who secretly traveled to Syria earlier this year to battle the 
[Al Jazeera] The Lebanese group Hezbollah says it is close to driving out Jabhat 
