…sometimes Afghan Freedom Front, either way abbreviated AFF, it’s led by former Afghan Army head General Yasin Zia and is the loyal remnant of Afghanistan’s military, originally based out of Parwan Province. Supposedly backed by Pakistan. Since the Afghan Taliban took back Afghanistan, the AFF has teamed up with the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF) and the National Mobilization Front. That last group claims to be the organization of the youth and former security personnel of the northern and eastern provinces of Afghanistan.
[ShabelleMedia] At least six people were maimed in a suspected roadside kaboom explosion near the town of El Wak in Kenya’s northeastern Mandera County, authorities said on Friday, in the latest attack in a region frequently targeted by suspected al-Shabaab ... the personification of Somali state failure... bad boys.
The blast occurred at around 6:00 p.m. local time on Thursday in the Odole area as a Toyota Land Cruiser was travelling along the busy Mandera-El Wak road. The vehicle struck an bomb believed to have been buried along the roadside.
All six injured victims were taken to El Wak Referral Hospital for treatment. Medical officials said one of the maimed remained at death's door on Friday morning.
Kenyan police said investigations were underway and stopped short of officially identifying those responsible for the earth-shattering kaboom.
The incident comes amid a rise in suspected al-Shabaab attacks in Kenya’s border counties of Mandera, Garissa, Wajir and Lamu. Security data indicates that at least 25 security-related incidents linked to the Islamist bad boy group have been reported in the four counties so far this year.
Security analysts say the increase in cross-border attacks may be linked to ongoing military operations against al-Shabaab in southern Somalia, particularly in Jubaland, arguing that sustained pressure on the group could be prompting some fighters to carry out retaliatory attacks inside Kenya.
Last week, five Kenyan security officers were killed in a suspected al-Shabaab ambush near Wantey Dam in Mandera County. A reinforcement team dispatched to the scene later struck an improvised bomb (IED), destroying an armoured vehicle.
Elsewhere, Kenyan Defence Forces (KDF) soldiers and police reservists have been killed in attacks in Garissa County, while two KDF soldiers died in an IED explosion in neighbouring Lamu County.
Al-Shabaab has also been accused of targeting civilians. In July, suspected bully boyz opened fire on a passenger bus in Mandera, but the driver sped away from the scene, allowing nearly 50 passengers to escape unharmed.
The deteriorating security situation in northeastern Kenya has also raised travel concerns, with the United States recently renewing its travel advisory for parts of Kenya bordering Somalia, citing the risk of terrorist attacks.
#SecurityAlert Al-Shabaab’s security-related activities have shown a significant and worrying escalation in recent weeks, particularly across Lower Shabelle, Hiiraan, and parts of the Banaadir region. This suggests that the group is attempting to reactivate and rebuild new… pic.twitter.com/UpFBhoI1ge
— Abdurahman Sheikh Azhari (@HOA_ANALYST) August 7, 2026
Text:
#SecurityAlert
Al-Shabaab’s security-related activities have shown a significant and worrying escalation in recent weeks, particularly across Lower Shabelle, Hiiraan, and parts of the Banaadir region. This suggests that the group is attempting to reactivate and rebuild new operational networks after several of its previous networks were dismantled.
Beyond the fighting witnessed in Hiiraan, Al-Shabaab has carried out ambushes and explosive attacks in Lower Shabelle and in areas surrounding the capital, Mogadishu. Despite extensive efforts by the security forces and the SNA, which have significantly weakened the group and helped strengthen security in Mogadishu and its surrounding areas, political infighting appears to be increasingly undermining these security gains.
The National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) announced just hours ago that it had apprehended an Al-Shabaab official who allegedly headed a network that was planning to carry out security-related attacks in Mogadishu.
The latest developments highlight the persistent threat posed by Al-Shabaab and the need for sustained, coordinated security operations to prevent the group from rebuilding its networks and exploiting political divisions to regain operational capacity.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[Regnum] A migrant attempting to paraglide from Morocco to the Spanish autonomous city of Ceuta crashed during the flight. This was reported on August 7 by The Olive Press.
According to the publication, Spanish Civil Guard surveillance cameras captured a brightly colored wing descending from the summit of Jebel Musa, a mountain located on the African coast of the Strait of Gibraltar, a few kilometers from Ceuta. Patrol units initially discovered only an abandoned paraglider stuck in the coastal scrub.
Preliminary reports indicate the aircraft lost control during flight and crashed into the sea. Civil Guard officers subsequently recovered the body of a deceased man in the waters off the coast of Ceuta.
Currently, competent services are establishing the identity of the deceased and all the circumstances of the incident.
Earlier, Ceuta Mayor Juan Jesús Vivas stated that more than 100 people had died in the city due to the migrant crisis. He added that between 3,000 and 5,000 migrants were still in Ceuta.
…even though several thousand more reportedly returned to Morocco than had arrived in the recent invasion.
[LibyaReview] Libya’s Anti-Illegal Migration Agency has detained 15 Bangladeshi irregular migrants during a security operation in coastal areas east of Al-Bayda, as authorities continue patrols aimed at curbing irregular migration and migrant smuggling.
The agency said the migrants were found in the Al-Hamama and Al-Haniya areas after information was received about the presence of a group of migrants along the coastline.
Six security patrols were subsequently deployed to carry out an extensive search operation along the coast, according to a statement by the agency.
The patrols located the 15 Bangladeshi nationals, who were handed over by Coast Guard personnel in Al-Haniya in coordination with the Internal Security Agency in Al-Hamama.
The migrants received first aid with assistance from the Libyan Red Crescent branch operating in the coastal area before being transferred to the Al-Bayda branch’s migrant shelter centre.
Troops Destroy ISWAP Hideout, Recover Three AK-47 Rifles in Mallam Fatori Clearance Operation
By Zagazola Makama
Troops of the 68 Battalion under Sector 3 of Operation HADIN KAI have destroyed a Boko Haram/ISWAP hideout and recovered three AK-47 rifles during a clearance… pic.twitter.com/n71v9U7IUV
Troops Destroy ISWAP Hideout, Recover Three AK-47 Rifles in Mallam Fatori Clearance Operation
By Zagazola Makama
Troops of the 68 Battalion under Sector 3 of Operation HADIN KAI have destroyed a Boko Haram/ISWAP hideout and recovered three AK-47 rifles during a clearance operation in the Mallam Fatori axis of Abadam Local Government Area of Borno State.
Intelligence sources told Zagazola Makama that the operation was conducted at about 5:00 a.m. on Aug. 7 as part of follow-up actions after the failed terrorist attack on the battalion’s defensive location on July 29.
The sources said the troops tracked the withdrawal route used by the terrorists after the earlier attack, leading them to a concealed hideout at Kaniram East.
On reaching the location, the troops closed in on the camp using stealth before launching a coordinated assault with overwhelming firepower.
During the engagement, one terrorist was neutralised, while two others escaped with gunshot wounds into the surrounding bush.
[HodhodYemenNews] The Yemeni Armed Forces announced that they carried out precise strikes using a large number of missiles and drones against Saudi-backed forces, mercenaries, and military equipment in the “Sahn Al-Jinn” camp in Ma’rib province, following monitored military mobilization and hostile movements.
The Yemeni Armed Forces issued the following statement:
“Insisting on continuing the siege of our people and escalating its aggression against our country, the Saudi enemy continues to mobilize, incite, and push its forces into the inferno of a futile and losing war of aggression.
Therefore, after careful monitoring of the movements of its forces and mercenaries, these forces, along with their depots, vehicles, and military equipment, were targeted at the “Sahn al-Jinn” camp. By the grace of God, these were precise and effective strikes using a large number of missiles and drones.
The Yemeni Armed Forces are committed to responding to escalation with escalation, and affirm that they will strike forcefully against any mobilization or force brought in by the Saudi enemy to maintain the blockade imposed on our country.
The Armed Forces emphasize their continued adherence to the two equations: “blockade for blockade” and “targeting aggressive Saudi mobilizations wherever they may be,” and will not allow aggressive plans against our country to pass without an immediate and severe response.
We reiterate our advice to those misled and deceived among our people to leave the Saudi enemy camps and return to their homes before it is too late.
We urge them to hasten to save themselves and not become fuel for treacherous entities that have mortgaged their fate to foreign powers, trading in them and their blood for the sake of foreign occupation and expansionist projects at the expense of the security, sovereignty, and independence of the Republic of Yemen.
We salute with pride the noble tribes of Ma’rib and the honorable, free people for standing with their people against occupation and subjugation.
We affirm to them and to all the tribes of Yemen that we stand with them and are with them to reclaim our people’s just rights and lift the siege imposed upon them.”
[IsraelTimes] Senior Saudi cites intel showing Houthis and Iraqi militias under IRGC supervision could soon launch coordinated attack on Saudi civilian energy infrastructure and ports
Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of... ’s Iran-backed Iran's Houthi sock puppets ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The legitimate Yemeni government has accused the them of having ties to the Iranian government. Honest they did. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews They like shooting off... ummm... missiles that they would have us believe they make at home in their basements. On the plus side, they did murder Ali Abdullah Saleh, which was the only way the country was ever going to be rid of him... s killed at least 58 government troops in missile and drone attacks on Thursday, a military source said, and maimed 11 civilians inside Saudi Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start... itself, in one of the deadliest days of Yemen’s civil war in four years.
The attacks come as Yemen is increasingly drawn into the US-Israeli war with Iran, with the rebels stepping up attacks against both government forces and neighboring Saudi Arabia, a key US ally and supporter of the internationally recognized Yemeni government.
Houthi military front man Yahya Saree said the rebels attacked government positions with ballistic missiles and drones in response to an alleged military buildup backed by neighboring Saudi Arabia.
The attacks killed at least 58 government troops and injured dozens, according to the military source who spoke on condition of anonymity. Medical sources had earlier spoken of 38 dead.
A military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Thursday’s attacks on troop camps were the worst in Yemen since 2022.
Yemen’s defense ministry said in a statement that its armed forces would respond to the attacks "at the appropriate place and time."
The escalation spilled across the border on Thursday, with Saudi officials saying Houthi attacks maimed 11 civilians in the southern Najran a city in southwestern Saudi Arabia near the border with Yemen. It is the capital of the province of the same name, a favored target of Houthi rocket forces because they can see it, so there's no math involved.... region.
Major General Turki al-Maliki, front man for the Saudi-led military coalition supporting Yemen’s internationally recognized government, said early Friday the attack in southern Najran Province injured seven Saudis, one Yemeni, two Egyptians and one Pak national. The victims included a 4-year-old child who suffered second-degree burns.
Maliki accused the Iran-aligned Houthis of indiscriminately shelling civilian areas in violation of international humanitarian law and said the coalition would continue taking all necessary measures to protect civilians.
Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... has attacked Saudi Arabia in recent months because it hosts US military facilities. Meanwhile,
...back at the pound, the little lost dog had finished eating the rat terrier... Riyadh’s decade-old conflict with the Tehran-aligned Houthis has become increasingly entangled with the wider war, as Houthi actions, such as a Red Sea blockade that has disrupted Saudi oil exports, have raised the stakes of the broader regional confrontation.
A senior Saudi official, speaking on condition of anonymity
... for fear of being murdered... , said Saudi, US and other Middle Eastern countries’ intelligence found that the Houthis and Iraqi militias under the supervision of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps could soon launch coordinated attacks on Saudi civilian sites including energy infrastructure, ports and airports.
The senior Saudi official said the reported threats were alarming as Riyadh continued to support de-escalation and a negotiated settlement of the conflict with Iran, adding that mediation efforts appeared to be moving "in the right direction." The official said the planned attacks could be intended to disrupt the diplomacy.
The official said Saudi-US cooperation remained "very high" at all levels, including at the operational level with US Central Command, and that Saudi Arabia was prepared to take all necessary measures to respond to any aggression.
The Houthis on Tuesday grabbed credit for an attack on Najran airport, part of a broader escalation in which the Iran-aligned group has struck Saudi military, infrastructure and shipping targets.
On July 29, Saudi Arabia said it carried out strikes with US Central Command against Iran-backed groups in Iraq after blaming them for drone attacks on its oil facilities. Iraqi militias said they would respond to the Saudi strikes.
Riyadh is seeking to deepen security cooperation with key allies while warning of an expanding regional threat from Iran-backed groups. The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire... , Saudi Arabia and Pakistain were due to sign a defense agreement in the kingdom on Friday, two regional sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Rooters.
Details of the agreement were not immediately available.
Regional powers are looking to strengthen security ties against a backdrop of war between the United States and Iran, which has drawn in Gulf states and disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea.
"It was under discussion for a long time, but the latest developments in the region expedite it," a source close to the Saudi military and government told AFP.
Saudi Arabia already has a defense cooperation agreement with Pakistain. Pak Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistain’s army chief Asim Munir arrived in the kingdom on Thursday for a visit lasting until Saturday.
"Although taking place against the backdrop of heightened tensions in the Gulf, the visit will carry significance beyond the immediate crisis and short-term considerations," Pakistain’s foreign ministry front man, Tahir Andrabi, said on Thursday.
The three countries have been the subject of months of speculation about a possible strategic alliance.
Pakistain has sought to mediate efforts to end the US-Iran war, while Turkey has played a diplomatic role in negotiations aimed at ending the war in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... Saudi Arabia and Pakistain had already announced a joint defense pact in 2025, a move that drew attention because Pakistain is the Moslem world’s only nuclear-equipped state.
Last month, The Times of Israel revealed that Munir leveraged a joint oil transport venture with IRGC chief Ahmad Vahidi to secure an agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia under which Tehran agreed to halt attacks against the Gulf kingdom.
#Mexico 🇲🇽: Two gunmen reportedly posted a video in which they openly threatened and mocked Mexican Forces as they drove past them.
The gunmen were armed with Polish Pioneer Arms Corps PAC Hellpup AKMS rifle and an AR-15 carbine (seemingly civi variants smuggled from US). pic.twitter.com/hnrBLPdc03
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.
... the personification of Somali state failure...
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start...
