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Terror attacks in Jakarta -- 7 die so far
Today's Headlines
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Page 1: WoT Operations
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Page 2: WoT Background
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Page 3: Non-WoT
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Page 4: Opinion
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Page 6: Politix
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Afghanistan
Car bombs across Afghanistan
Afghan koppers stop car bomb plot in Kapisa

Police have prevented a terrorist attack in central Kapisa province by seizing two home-made bombs in a Corolla vehicle, Ministry of Interior announced on Wednesday.

According to the statement, the bombs were seized in the jurisdiction of 1st PD of the provincial capital around 11 am today.

No suspect has been detained in connection to the bombs but security agencies have launched a search operation in the area.

This comes as two huge explosions already rocked two cities of Afghanistan today.

A suicide attack which was followed by a gun battle between security forces and the attackers left at least six people martyred in Jalalabad, capital of eastern Nangarhar province.

Four terrorists were killed and five others wounded in the encounter in Ghorak District.

Car bomb in Helmand wounds 1

A power explosion rocked Helmand province in southern Afghanistan earlier this afternoon.

Preliminary reports suggest a Vehicle-borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED) has been detonated in Lashkargah city.

Provincial governor spokesman Omar Zwak confirms the incident and said at least one person has been injured in the attack which was carried out by a car bomb.

He was citing preliminary police reports regarding the incident and said further details will be released later.

No group including the Taliban militants has so far claimed responsibility behind the incident.

This comes as the Taliban-led insurgency has been rampant during the recent weeks despite efforts to bring the group to negotiations table in a bid to end the violence.

At least six people including policemen and civilians were killed in a separate suicide attack in eastern Nangarhar province of Afghanistan this morning.

Truck bombing plot thwarted in Kandahar

The Afghan national security forces thwarted a deadly terrorist attack plot by the anti-government armed militants in southern Kandahar city.

The Ministry of Interior (MoI) said the terrorists were eliminated in a special military operation by the Afghan police before they manage to carry out the attack.

A statement by MoI said the terrorists were looking to detonate a truck packed with explosives in the city.

The statement further added that the truck was identified along with the terrorists and the attack plot was thwarted in Ghorak district.

At least four terrorists were killed and six others were injured during the encounter with the police forces, MoI said, adding that the police personnel did not suffer any casualties.

The anti-government armed militant groups including the Taliban group has not commented regarding the report so far.

Kandahar is among the relatively volatile provinces in southern Afghanistan where anti-government armed militants are actively operating in a number of its districts and often carry out insurgency activities.

The insurgency activities by the Taliban militants have been rampant despite efforts by the Afghan government and international community to end the violence through reconciliation process.
Posted by: badanov || 01/14/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


IS branch attacks Pakistani mission in Afghanistan, kills 7
[PHILSTAR] A branch of 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....
group grabbed credit for an attack yesterday on Pakistain's Consulate in eastern Afghanistan that killed at least seven members of the Afghan cops.

The attack in Jalalabad, the capital of the volatile 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 that borders Pakistain, started when a jacket wallah detonated his explosives vest outside the diplomatic mission, said Attaullah Khyogani, front man for the province's governor.

The kaboom triggered a gunbattle between Afghan cops and the bad boys. Along with the coppers killed, seven people were also maimed in the attack, Khyogani added.

He said all three attackers were killed, including the suicide bomber. The two gunnies, who later took positions in a guesthouse close to the consulate, were killed hours later, Khyogani said.

The US-based SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors bad boy trafficking, said the affiliate known as the "Khorasan Province of the Islamic State" claimed three of its "soldiers" attacked the consulate and allegedly killed "dozens" of the mission's staff.

Hazrat Hussein Mashraqiwal, the front man for the provincial police chief, said three police and two intelligence officers were among the killed and three civilians were among the maimed.

It was the first Lion of Islam-style attack on a Pak diplomatic mission in Afghanistan, an official at the Pak Embassy said, speaking on condition of anonymity
... for fear of being murdered...
as he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Pak government properties have come under attack in the past during protests by Afghans angry at Islamabad's perceived support for the Taliban, who have waged war on the Kabul
...the capital of Afghanistan. Home to continuous fighting from 1992 to 1996 between the forces of would-be strongman and Pak ISI/Jamaat-e-Islami sock puppet Gulbuddin Hekmayar and the Northern Alliance, a period which won Hek the title Most Evil Man in the World and didn't do much for the reputations of the Northern Alliance guys either....
administration for more than 14 years.

The scene of the attack is close to a hospital and schools as well as the Indian Consulate. The schools were evacuated, officials said.

The Pak Consulate is usually busy during morning rush hour as people queue for visas. The suicide bomber joined the visa queue before blowing himself up, officials said. All consular staff were quickly evacuated.

In Islamabad, the foreign affairs ministry condemned what it called "the terrorist attack" on its consulate and requested a thorough investigation. One official at the consulate was slightly injured by broken glass, it said.

The office of Pakistain's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif
... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf...
said Afghanistan's Caped President Ashraf Ghani
...former chancellor of Kabul University, now president of Afghanistan. Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002 he was a scholar of political science and anthropology. He worked at the World Bank working on international development assistance. As Finance Minister of Afghanistan between July 2002 and December 2004, he led Afghanistan's attempted economic recovery until the Karzais stole all the money. ..
telephoned him to guarantee enhanced security for Pak diplomats in Afghanistan.
Posted by: Fred || 01/14/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  Heh. The Paks have found a terror group they don't control.
Posted by: Frank G || 01/14/2016 9:30 Comments || Top||

#2  The scene of the attack is close to a hospital and schools as well as the Indian Consulate

Wonder if the Islamofacists got the wrong embassy?
Posted by: Pappy || 01/14/2016 18:18 Comments || Top||


Africa Subsaharan
Cameroon Mosque Suicide Blast Kills 12 People
[ALMANAR.LB] A jacket wallah killed 12 worshippers at a mosque in northern Cameroon
...a long, narrow country that fills the space between Nigeria and Chad on the northeast, CAR to the southeast. Prior to incursions by Boko Haram nothing ever happened there...
on Wednesday, security officials said, in an area regularly targeted by Nigeria's Boko Haram
... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality...
Takfiri
...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who must be killed...
s.

The blast struck the mosque in the village of Kouyape, in Kolofata district north near the Nigerian border, at around 5:30 am (0430 GMT) during morning prayers, a security source said.

Since July last year Cameroon's far north has been hit by a series of attacks blamed on Boko Haram, which has pledged allegiance to the Takfiri group, ISIL (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....
in Iraq and Levant).

"Eleven worshippers were killed at the scene. A twelfth died of his wounds in hospital," the security source said, adding that the attacker was praying alongside other worshippers when he went kaboom!.

Another source close to the security services confirmed the blast killed 12 people and the bomber.

The bombing came after two people were killed overnight in the same area in another attack blamed on Boko Haram, the security source said.

Cameroon has beefed up its military presence along the Nigerian border as part of a regional coalition, after years of doing little to stop Boko Haram fighters using its territory as a rear base to arm and equip themselves.
An Nahar adds:
The group has increasingly targeted imams and traditional chiefs for their opposition to the Islamists.

Cameroon has meanwhile banned the Islamic veil in a bid to pre-empt suicide kabooms staged by attackers wearing the full-face veil.

Despite the offensives launched by regional forces, the group maintains strongholds in areas that are difficult to access, such as the Sambisa forest, the Mandara mountains and the numerous islands of Lake Chad.
Posted by: Fred || 01/14/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Boko Haram


Arabia
1 dead in rocket artillery attack in Aden
In a separate story, a child was killed on Wednesday and three civilians were wounded after Iran-backed Houthi militias and their allied forces fired Katyusha rockets on a village west of the southwestern city of Taez.

Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition has launched attacks at Houthi sites in Al-Dhabab and Al-Masrakh areas in Taez, leaving several killed and wounded.

The coalition also targeted arms depots in Bani Hashish directorate in Sanaa province while the pro-government resistance captured large parts of the Naham directorate east of the province.
Posted by: badanov || 01/14/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Houthis


Kuwait sentences 2 to death for spying
KUWAIT: A Kuwaiti court sentenced two men accused of spying for Iran and Hezbollah to death on Tuesday. The case also included the possession of weapons. One who got the death penalty was an Iranian convicted in absentia, and the other was a Kuwaiti who was in court. Other suspects were given sentences from five to 25 years, and 3 were found innocent.
Posted by: badanov || 01/14/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran


Gunmen kill Yemeni police officer
Unidentified gunmen on Tuesday killed a Yemeni police officer who worked at the airport in the violence-plagued second city of Aden, security officials said.

Lieutenant Colonel Amin Shaef, from the airport's investigation unit, was leaving his home in the Mansura district when the assailants opened fire before fleeing, the sources said.

There has been a growing number of attacks and assassinations in Aden, the government's temporary capital, targeting members of the security forces and government officials.

Al Qaeda and the rival Daesh groups are both present in the city, occupying government buildings, and are frequently seen patrolling several districts and intimidating civilians.

"The regular security forces have taken over most of the state institutions, including the airport and the port of Aden, to secure the city," Aden Governor Aidarus Al Zubaidi said during a joint news conference Tuesday with Police Chief General Shallal Ali Shayae.

Shayae said that security services loyal to President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi are committed to securing Aden "in stages", starting with a night-time curfew declared earlier this month.

Zubaidi and Shayae survived a car bombing that targeted their convoy in Aden on January 5 and killed two of their guards.
Posted by: badanov || 01/14/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Yemeni Army, Committees Kill Four Saudi Soldiers in Rocket Attack
[ALMANAR.LB] Four Saudi soldiers were killed on Wednesday as Yemeni army and popular committees fired a rocket on a Saudi post in Jizan.

Local media reported that the Yemeni army, backed by popular committees fired a rocket on a Saudi post in Jizan region in Saud Arabia's southwest.

The media also reported that another soldier was killed during festivities with the Yemeni forces in al-Rabou'a area of 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...
's southwestern Asir region.

Saudi armed forces said Sergeant Jobran Hassan Meqlez Siram succumbed to the injuries he had sustained during the festivities in hospital, said al-Masirah television channel.
Posted by: Fred || 01/14/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Houthis


Europe
France bans three 'radical' Islamic groups after attacks
France has banned three Islamic associations which ran a mosque in a Paris area shut down following November's jihadist attacks, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said Wednesday.
Three out of...
The mosque at Lagny-sur-Marne was closed in early December as part of a huge security crackdown after 130 people were killed in a coordinated series of shootings and suicide bombings in Paris on November 13. The Islamic State group claimed the attacks.

"There is no place in the French Republic for groups which incite, and which call for terrorism or call for hate," Cazeneuve said as he announced the decision on Wednesday.

The government's spokesman Stephane Le Foll said after a cabinet meeting: "The fight against preachers of hate will be total."

He said the three banned groups "were clearly taking action to incite jihad".

The main group was called "Retour aux Sources", which loosely translates as "Back to our roots".
Posted by: Steve White || 01/14/2016 08:11 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  A miracle! Retour aux Sources
Thought poor Marianne an old horse,
And were carving a steak
When she lept up, awake,
To beset the mosquée with her purse.
Posted by: Zenobia Floger6220 || 01/14/2016 13:06 Comments || Top||


The Grand Turk
Turkey arrests 68 in wake of bombing
[ARA News] URFA – Turkish authorities announced on Wednesday the arrest of 68 suspects affiliated with the Islamic State (ISIS) radical group across Turkey.

Turkish police detained the militants in raids in Ankara, Izmir on the Aegean, the town of Kilis, Sanliurfa close to Syria; Mersin on the Mediterranean, and the southern city of Adana.

This comes just one day after a suicide bombing hit Istanbul and left 10 people dead, mostly Germans.

In Ankara, police forces arrested 16 people who were suspected of planning a major attack in the capital, according to an official statement.

In Sanliurfa, 21 people were detained after being accused of planning an attack at an unspecified location in Turkey.

Three other suspected ISIS members were arrested on Wednesday in the southern resort city of Antalya. All three are Russian citizens, according to authorities.
Posted by: badanov || 01/14/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


PM: Four detained over Istanbul suicide bomb attack
[AA.TR] Police have detained four suspects in connection with the Istanbul suicide kaboom, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said late on Wednesday.A blast at the city's Sultanahmet district on Tuesday morning killed 10 people -- mostly German tourists -- and maimed 15 others.

A Syrian jacket wallah carried out the attack, The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan
... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him...
, said earlier. Police have identified the suicide bomber, Davutoglu told journalists in Istanbul but did not supply a name. He said that the bomber had Daesh [Islamic State] links.

"Police were not in pursuit of the bomber. He had come to Turkey as an ordinary refugee. However,
we can't all be heroes. Somebody has to sit on the curb and applaud when they go by...
after the attack, all his contacts were brought out," Davutoglu said. "We are trying to find out who are the real actors behind this," he said, suggesting that other parties may have helped Daesh [Islamic State] in carrying out Tuesday's attack.
D'you suppose he means Russia or Israel, dear Reader?
Davutoglu was speaking after a briefing on the deadly terror attack with Turkey's Interior Minister Efkan Ala, Health Minister Mehmet Muezzinoglu, Istanbul Governor Vasip Sahin, Mayor Kadir Topbas, and Chief of the Istanbul Police Department Mustafa Caliskan. They all, along with German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere, visited the site of the Sultanahmet blast and visited injured victims at the Haseki Training and Research Hospital in Istanbul. The Turkish prime minister paid condolences to the families of Tuesday's victims and said that out of the injured, six were still in hospital.

"Terror is a threat to humanity all across the world," the Turkish PM stressed, adding: "We will take more effective measures to ensure public security in every corner of Turkey and especially in Istanbul."

"We have the responsibility to make Istanbul one of the most secure cities in the world," he added.

He invited "all German and European friends" to Istanbul, declaring: "Turkey is safe, Istanbul is safe."

Stating that around 12 million tourists visit the city per year, Davutoglu said every type of measure against terror would be taken to make the city even safer.

He stressed determination against "all kinds of terror regardless of religion, sects, and ethnicity".

Turkey is exposed to multiple terror threats, including Daesh [Islamic State] and the PKK, Davutoglu said.

The Turkish premier recalled similar deadly attacks -- such as in Ankara on Oct. 10, 2015 which left over 100 people dead and another one in Suruc on July 20 last year in which a suicide bomber killed 32 Kurdish activists.

Posted by: Fred || 01/14/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Home Front: WoT
Federal agent says Iraqi refugee wanted to bomb Texas malls
[Fox] HOUSTON -- An Iraqi refugee who is facing charges that he tried to help the Islamic State group wanted to set off bombs at two Houston malls and was learning to make electronic transmitters that could be used to detonate explosive devices, a federal agent testified.

Omar Faraj Saeed Al Hardan, who came to Houston from Iraq in 2009, was indicted last week on three charges, including attempting to provide support to a designated terrorist organization. He pleaded not guilty to all three charges during a court appearance on Wednesday.
Posted by: Besoeker || 01/14/2016 04:17 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Immigrant advocates say they have full confidence in the vetting process and that tens of thousands of Iraqi refugees have been successfully resettled in the U.S.

You think anybody in San Bernardino has any confidence in the vetting process? And the guy user arrest was previously "successfully resettled in the U.S.", was he not?
Posted by: Bobby || 01/14/2016 7:42 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Masood Azhar owns six terrorists who attacked Pathankot
[Daily Excelsior] Dreaded terrorist outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad
...literally Army of Mohammad, a Pak-based Deobandi terror group founded by Maulana Masood Azhar in 2000, after he split with the Harkat-ul-Mujaheddin. In 2002 the government of Pervez Musharraf banned the group, which changed its name to Khaddam ul-Islam and continued doing what it had been doing before without missing a beat...
chief Maulana Masood Azhar
...One of the major players in Pak terrorism. In early 1994, India incarcerated him for his terrorist activities. In 1995, foreign tourists were kidnapped in Jammu and Kashmir. The kidnappers included the release of Masood Azhar among their demands. One of the hostages managed to escape but the rest were eventually killed. In 1999, he was freed by the Indian government in exchange for passengers on hijacked Indian Airlines Flight 814 that had been diverted to Kandahar. The hijackers were led by Masood Azhar's brother, Ibrahim Athar. Once he was handed over to the hijackers, they fled to Pak territory despite the fact that Islamabad had earlier stated that any of the hijackers would be jugged at the border. The Pak government had also previously indicated that Azhar would be allowed to return home since he did not face any charges there. Shortly after his release, he made a public address to an estimated 10,000 people in Karachi, firing up the rubes against America and India...
has accepted that the six gunnies who attacked the Pathankot airbase belonged to his group.

Azahar owned the Death Eaters a day after India told Islamabad that he was among the four handlers of the attack in Pakistain.

Uploading an audio on the internet, the Jaish-e-Mohammabd Chief described how the Death Eaters intruded into the sensitive air base of Pathankot to destroy vital IAF assets and fought the Indian artillery and security forces to achieve their aim.

Warning Pak government against accepting any dossier or proof regarding the Pathankot airbase attack from the Indian government , Masood Azhar asked, "why are Pak leaders bashful and bow to Indian leaders?"

This is the second audio of Azhar released in two months. In the first audio, he had pledged 'Jihad" against India.

In the investigation conducted by the Indian defence forces into the Pathankot airbase attack, the names of Masood Azhar and his brother Rauf have surfaced along with two others.

Four Pak handlers have also been identified who were issuing directions to the faceless myrmidons holed up inside the Pathankot airbase.Two other conspirators, apart from Azhar and Rauf, have been identified as Ashfaq and Kasim.

Rauf was the man behind the hijacking of Indian aircraft IC-814 to Kandhar in which three Pak terrorists, including Masood Azhar, were released in exchange of passengers.

Investigative agencies have come to know that the attack was plotted near the border at a place called Makarz . India has already handed over all the evidence to Pakistain in this regard.
Posted by: Fred || 01/14/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Jaish-e-Mohammad


Pak detains Masood Azhar, brother, many others; seals offices
[Daily Excelsior] Pakistain today detained Jaish- e-Mohammad chief Maulana Masood Azhar
...One of the major players in Pak terrorism. In early 1994, India incarcerated him for his terrorist activities. In 1995, foreign tourists were kidnapped in Jammu and Kashmir. The kidnappers included the release of Masood Azhar among their demands. One of the hostages managed to escape but the rest were eventually killed. In 1999, he was freed by the Indian government in exchange for passengers on hijacked Indian Airlines Flight 814 that had been diverted to Kandahar. The hijackers were led by Masood Azhar's brother, Ibrahim Athar. Once he was handed over to the hijackers, they fled to Pak territory despite the fact that Islamabad had earlier stated that any of the hijackers would be jugged at the border. The Pak government had also previously indicated that Azhar would be allowed to return home since he did not face any charges there. Shortly after his release, he made a public address to an estimated 10,000 people in Karachi, firing up the rubes against America and India...
, his brother and "several individuals" belonging to his dreaded outfit, which is suspected to have engineered the Pathankot terror attack, and sealed its offices after India demanded action, linking it to the fate of Foreign Secretary-level talks.

Lt Gen (Retired) Abdul Qadir Baloch, Minister for Frontier Regions, confirmed that "Azhar was enjugged
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 01/14/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Jaish-e-Mohammad


One injured in grenade attack on ARY News office in Islamabad
[DAWN] ISLAMABAD: Person or persons unknown hurled a hand grenade on the Islamabad office of local television channel, ARY News, on Wednesday evening, injuring a channel staffer.

According to ARY News, the attackers also shot up the office, injuring a non-linear editor working for the news channel.

In December last year, a similar attack outside another news channel, Dunya News' 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...
bureau, had left three of the channel's employees injured.
Posted by: Fred || 01/14/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Pakistan arrests Jaish members in connection with India air base attack
[DAWN] Prime Minister's Office on Wednesday said the government wants to send a team of special Sherlocks to the Pathankot air base in India for further investigation.

In a statement, the PMO also confirmed the arrests of several members of the Jaish-e-Mohammad
...literally Army of Mohammad, a Pak-based Deobandi terror group founded by Maulana Masood Azhar in 2000, after he split with the Harkat-ul-Mujaheddin. In 2002 the government of Pervez Musharraf banned the group, which changed its name to Khaddam ul-Islam and continued doing what it had been doing before without missing a beat...
murderous Moslem group, which India suspects of involvement in what was nearly week-long siege of the Pathankot Indian air base earlier this month.

A Rooters report later cited unnamed Pak officials as saying head of the Jaish-e-Mohammad group, Masood Azhar, was among those tossed in the calaboose
... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not...
along with his brother and brother-in-law. This could not be independently verified by Dawn.com.

The Pathankot airbase attack was claimed by separatist group United Jihad Council, an alliance of Kashmiri murderous Moslems.

The statement was issued after a high-level meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif
... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf...
to discuss the country's security situation.

The PMO statement further elaborated that Jaish-e-Mohammad offices in the country were being traced and sealed.

These developments come two days before a meeting between the foreign secretaries is scheduled to take place.

"The meeting expressed national resolve not to allow our territory to be used for acts of terrorism anywhere," the statement said.

It was also noted that "considerable progress" has been made in the investigations, being carried out against terrorist elements reportedly linked to the Pathankot incident.
Posted by: Fred || 01/14/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Jaish-e-Mohammad

#1  Looks like ISA has identified the leakers....~
Posted by: Sven the pelter || 01/14/2016 10:45 Comments || Top||


Suicide bomber targets vaccination centre in Pakistan
[STRAITSTIMES] A jacket wallah went kaboom! outside a polio
...Poliomyelitis is a disease caused by infection with the poliovirus. Between 1840 and the 1950s, polio was a worldwide epidemic. Since the development of polio vaccines the disease has been largely wiped out in the civilized world. However, since the vaccine is known to make Moslem pee-pees shrink and renders females sterile, bookish, and unsubmissive it is not widely used by the turban and automatic weapons set...
vaccination centre in the south-western city of Quetta yesterday, killing at least 15 people, mainly coppers, officials said.

The coppers had gathered outside the centre to accompany workers on the third day of a polio vaccination campaign in the violence-racked province of Balochistan
...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it...
, of which Quetta is the capital. Polio vaccination teams are frequently targeted by murderous Moslem attacks in Pakistain.

"There are 15 dead, including 12 police, one paramilitary, and two civilians," a local police official said.

Mr Sarfaraz Bugti, Balochistan Home Minister, added: "So far 15 people have been injured in the blast, seven of whom are at death's door."

Militant group Jundullah, which has links with the Pak Taliban and has pledged allegiance to Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
in Iraq and Syria, grabbed credit for the attack.

An Agence La Belle France-Presse news hound at the site saw three burnt-out vehicles. Human remains lay strewn across the ground, walls and electric poles along with items of clothing, including the caps and shoes of coppers.

Eye-witness Shabir Ahmed, a 32-year-old police constable, said he had been deployed to protect a polio vaccination team that was due to leave for various neighbourhoods of Quetta at 10am.

"Suddenly there was a loud bang and I fell to the ground; I could not see anything, there was dust everywhere," he said.

"Then I heard people screaming and sirens of ambulances," he continued, adding he had shrapnel wounds on his stomach, hands, legs and feet.

Pakistain is one of only two countries where polio, a crippling childhood disease, remains endemic. The other country is Afghanistan.
Posted by: Fred || 01/14/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: TTP

#1  Vaccinations limits the effectiveness of an ISIL weaponized polio virus?
Posted by: Sven the pelter || 01/14/2016 12:07 Comments || Top||


Iraq
Iraq PM Says Jihadists behind Baghdad Attack Arrested
No doubt more information will be revealed, but I thought you would like to know more bad guys are off the streets, dear Reader.
[AnNahar] Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Wednesday announced the arrest of a group of forces of Evil involved in an attack that killed 12 people in Baghdad two days before.

The attack, which was claimed by 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....
group, involved bombings, gunfire and hostage-taking that wreaked havoc in eastern Baghdad.

"The intelligence effort was able to arrest the terrorist criminal gang that bombed Baghdad Jadida," a statement from Abadi's office quoted him as saying, referring to the area where the attack took place.

The statement did not provide further details on the intelligence operation or specify what role those incarcerated
You have the right to remain silent...
played in the attack.

None of the forces of Evil who directly carried out the attack survived.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/14/2016 00:00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


26 ISIS troops die in Ninevah
(IraqiNews.com) Nineveh – A local source in Nineveh province said on Wednesday, that 26 ISIS elements had been either killed or injured in an intensive aerial bombing by the international coalition in central Nineveh.

The source reported for IraqiNews.com, “Warplanes of the international coalition had bombed, intensively, sites for the ISIS militants in the eastern and western axes, resulting in the death of 18 militants and wounding 7 others, in addition to destroying nine headquarters for the organization.”

The source pointed out, “The ISIS elements transferred their dead to the forensic medicine department, while left most of their positions for fear of being targeted.”
Posted by: badanov || 01/14/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  For some reason I thought of Jonah (if you don't follow God's wishes you end up inside big stinky fishs) but the spelling is different.
Posted by: Sven the pelter || 01/14/2016 10:21 Comments || Top||


Anbar Antics: 29+ die
16 ISIS troops die near Ramadi

(IraqiNews.com) Anbar – On Wednesday, Commander of Anbar tribal fighters in the eastern sector of Ramadi announced, that 16 elements of the ISIS organization were killed in the cleansing battles east of Ramadi (110 km west of Baghdad), while emphasized that the organization besieged 700 families in the eastern axis of the city.

Eyal Mohammadi said in a statement followed by IraqiNews.com, “Today, the security forces carried out a large-scale military operation against ISIS strongholds in the areas of al-Sofiya, Joabiya and al-Took east of Ramadi, killing 16 elements of the organization and destructing nine booby-trapped vehicles.”

Mohammadi added, “The security forces are advancing in the eastern axis of Ramadi backed by the coalition aviation,” pointing out that, “The number of ISIS elements in the eastern areas of Ramadi does not exceed 200 insurgents, while the number of families besieged by ISIS in those areas reaches 700 families.”


Iraqis liberate Abu Aitha


(IraqiNews.com) al-Anbar – The commander of Anbar Operations Command, Maj. Gen. Ismail al-Mahalawi, announced on Wednesday the complete liberation of the area of Albu Aitha northeast of Ramadi.

Mahalawi said in a brief statement followed by IraqiNews.com, “The joint security forces managed to liberate the area of Albu Aitha completely and raised the Iraqi flag over one of its buildings,” pointing out that, “The operation resulted in killing a number of ISIS elements.”

He added, “The joint forces gained full control over the area and began to put fortifications in the area.”

18 ISIS Bad Guys die in airstrikes in Anbar

(IraqiNews.com) Baghdad – On Wednesday, Joint Special Operations Command announced, that 18 senior leader of the ISIS organization including the so-called Wali of Baghdad (Governor of Baghdad) had been either killed or wounded in an Iraqi air strike on their gathering in western Anbar.

The Joint Special Operations Command said in a statement received by IraqiNews.com, “The Falcons Intelligence Cell in the Ministry of Interior monitored the movements of the ISIS gangs, while detected the presence of a suspicious gathering of ISIS dangerous leaders in Gamaheer neighborhood in Qaim District,” adding that, “The Joint Special Operations Command planes shelled the gathering’s headquarters, killing 11 elements of the organization including the so-called Wali of Baghdad and seriously wounding seven others.”

Dozens of ISIS Bad Guys die in Anbar airstikes

(IraqiNews.com) al-Anbar – A security source in Anbar province said on Wednesday, that dozens of ISIS elements had been killed in an aerial bombardment by the international coalition west of Ramadi.

The source said in a statement received by IraqiNews.com, “The international coalition aviation, in coordination with the Seventh Brigade, bombed headquarters and vital sites belonging to the ISIS in the district of Kabisa in the city of Heet west of Ramadi.”

“The bombing resulted in killing dozens of ISIS elements, in addition to destroying a number of weaponry and vehicles for the organization,” the source added.

ISIS executes four in Anbar

(IraqiNews.com) Anbar – On Wednesday, a source in Anbar Operations Command announced, that the ISIS organization has executed four of its elements in western Anbar, after fleeing from the battles with the security forces in the city of Ramadi (110 km west of Baghdad).

The source said in a statement followed by IraqiNews.com, “Today, ISIS organization executed four of its elements by firing squad in Hit District (70 km west of Ramadi), after fleeing from the city of Ramadi in the past few days,” adding that, “The ISIS organization threatened its elements in Anbar with death, in addition to burning their homes and detaining their families.”

Noteworthy, ISIS organization controlled most of Anbar cities, while the security forces begun wide cleansing battles and restored the city of Ramadi after fierce confrontations with the ISIS elements.
Posted by: badanov || 01/14/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Baghdad Bomb and Bullet Bulletin: 5 die
3 army members killed, wounded by unknown gunfire south of Baghdad

(IraqiNews.com) Baghdad – On Wednesday, a source in the Iraqi Ministry of Interior announced that, three elements of the Iraqi Army had been either killed or wounded by unknown gunfire south of Baghdad.

The source said in a statement received by IraqiNews.com, “This morning, shots were fired on a checkpoint belonging to the Iraqi Army from an unknown source in Latifiya area south of Baghdad, killing one of its elements and wounding two others.”

The source added, “The security force rushed to the area and transferred the wounded to a nearby hospital for treatment and the dead body to the Forensic Medicine Department, while a raid was carried out to find the source of the shooting.”


Baghdad bomb attack kills 3


(IraqiNews.com) Baghdad – On Wednesday, a security source in the Ministry of Interior announced, that eight people had been either killed or wounded in a bomb blast near a popular market east of Baghdad.

The source said in a statement received by IraqiNews.com, “This afternoon, a bomb exploded near a popular market in al-Obeidi District east of Baghdad, killing two people and wounding six others.”

He added, “An ambulance rushed to the area and transferred the wounded to a nearby hospital to receive treatment and the dead bodies to the forensic medicine department, while the security force cordoned off the area and barred approaching it.”

Iraqi kopper dies in shootout

(IraqiNews.com) Baghdad – On Wednesday, a source in the Iraqi police said, that a policeman had been killed by a militant attack in the district of al-Mada’an southeast of Baghdad.

The source said in a statement received by IraqiNews.com, “A force from Baghdad police carried out a raid operation inside one of the fields in the district of al-Mada’an southeast of Baghdad,” noting that, “Unidentified militants left the field and opened their fire against the force resulting in the death of one of its elements immediately.”

“The force transferred the dead body of the policeman to the forensic medicine department, while continued its inspection operation in the area,” the source also added.
Posted by: badanov || 01/14/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


11 ISIS troops die in clashes near Mosul
(IraqiNews.com) Nineveh – On Wednesday, Kurdistan Democratic Party announced, that 11 elements of the ISIS organization were killed in armed clashes with a tribe south of Mosul (405 km north of Baghdad).

Kurdistan Democratic Party’ Spokesman in Mosul Saeed Mamouzini said in a statement obtained by IraqiNews.com, “This morning, an armed clashes broke out between the elements of the ISIS organization and Jabour Tribe’s fighters in Qayyarah (55 km south of Mosul), killing 11 elements of the organization.”

Mamouzini added: “The clashes continue after the killing and the arrest of several members of the tribe.”

Noteworthy, Kurdistan Democratic Party announced on Saturday (2 January 2016), that the ISIS organization had executed 83 people from Jabour Tribe south of Mosul (405 km north of Baghdad) on charges of cooperation with the security forces.

Jabour tribe is considered as one of the largest tribes that inhabits the Province of Nineveh.
Posted by: badanov || 01/14/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Abadi sends armored forces to Basra to end tribal conflicts
"Stop it, or I will turn this armored force around and give you something to fight about!"
(IraqiNews.com) Basra – On Wednesday, a security source in Basra Province announced, that the armored security forces arrived in Basra to end the tribal conflicts and reinforce the province’s security, while a number of tribal figures indicated that the security reinforcements is part of Basra residents demands.

The source said in a statement followed by IraqiNews.com, “The Ministry of Defense sent an armored combat force accompanied by tanks and armored vehicle to Basra in order to end the tribal conflicts and reinforce the province’s security,” adding that, “The security force was deployed in the northern areas of Basra that witness frequent disputes.”

Meanwhile, Basra Council’s member Mujib al-Hassani said, “The security force was sent to Basra based on the Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s instructions.”
Posted by: badanov || 01/14/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iraq


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Palestinians in Lebanon revolt over reduction of UNRWA services
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 01/14/2016 10:22 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  So the Palestinians are revolting against the reduction in the provision of FREE STUFF, the result of which will end up reducing said reduced flow of FREE STUFF to none at all.

NONE. As in Zero. zip. Nada.

The Palestinians continue their losing streak that results from what appears to be a congenital lack of comprehension of cause and effect.

Posted by: ptah || 01/14/2016 11:55 Comments || Top||

#2  Paleos never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity...
Posted by: Steve White || 01/14/2016 12:42 Comments || Top||

#3  I suggest career change to "Syrian refugees".
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 01/14/2016 13:35 Comments || Top||

#4  Lots of people find the Palestinians revolting. So what else is new.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 01/14/2016 14:34 Comments || Top||

#5  "The Paleostinians are revolting!"
"I know, but they're useful in tweaking the Joooos, so we keep em around"

HT to Wizard of Id
Posted by: Frank G || 01/14/2016 14:54 Comments || Top||


IAF attacks terror cell in the northern Gaza Strip
[Ynet] Terrorists were planting explosives on border fence; Paleostinians report one dead, three maimed in strike; Fatah's armed wing says killed from its ranks.

The Israel Air Force attacked a terror cell in the northern Gazoo Strip on Wednesday morning, in a joint operation with the Shin Bet.

Members of the terror cell were planting explosives on the border fence, which they were planning on setting off near an IDF patrol.

The Paleostinians reported one killed, 31-year-old Musa Za'aytar, and three others maimed in the attack, their condition currently unknown. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a myrmidon group affiliated with Paleostinian President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas
... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial...
' Fatah group, later identified the dear departed as a member, saying he was targeted while planting explosives.

In a separate statement, Salah Bardawil, an official from Gazoo's ruling Islamic Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, movement, said Israel was "playing with fire" in the Arclight airstrike. He did not elaborate.

"Forces guarding the border with Gazoo face a growing threat from hostile terror groups attempting to destabilize the situation on the ground," said Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, a military front man.

Initially, Israeli farmers were instructed not to come closer than one kilometer rom the border fence in light of the possibility of retaliation from the Strip, but the instruction was later lifted.

The Arclight airstrike marked a rare flare-up along the Gazoo border, which has remained largely calm since a devastating 50-day summer war in 2014.

Some festivities have erupted along the border in recent months but most of the confrontations and violence has taken place in Jerusalem and the West Bank.

Last month, Israeli security forces stopped another wide-scale attack against IDF troops operating along the Gazoo border. A patrol of IDF engineering forces found that an area along the border fence mined with powerful explosives while examining remains of a roadside kaboom that detonated two days earlier. The explosives did not go off, but some were connected to remote-controlled detonators.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/14/2016 01:49 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Fatah


Gaza court sentences 4 to death for ‘spying for Israel’
[IsraelTimes] Court in Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,-run enclave says three of the suspects were sentenced in absentia after having 'fled from justice'

A court in the Hamas-run Gazoo Strip on Wednesday sentenced four Paleostinians to death on charges of spying for Israel, a statement and court sources said.

The court said in a brief statement that a 23-year-old man from the Zeitoun area south of Gazoo City had been sentenced to death on espionage charges. It did not provide his name.

Three other men who "fled from justice" were also found guilty in absentia, it said.

A court source told AFP the four were convicted on "charges of spying for the occupation", including "surveillance" and providing information about cars and homes to help Israel plan alleged liquidations.

Hamas, a terror group sworn to Israel's destruction, took over the Gazoo Strip in 2007 after a battle with Fatah, which runs the Paleostinian Authority.

Eighty death sentences have been given in Gazoo since that date.

The Islamist group has previously carried out executions against those accused of dealing with Israelis, with the killings sometimes taking place in public squares.

Under Paleostinian law, collaborators, murderers and narcos can face the death penalty.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/14/2016 00:00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Hamas

#1  Shin Bet could have fun manufacturing evidence against Paleos....
Posted by: Sven the pelter || 01/14/2016 10:38 Comments || Top||


Southeast Asia
Terror attacks in Jakarta -- 7 die so far
Battles continue.
Militants launched a gun and bomb assault killing at least six people in the centre of the Indonesian capital on Thursday, police said, in an attack that followed a threat by Islamic State fighters to put the country in their "spotlight".

Media said six bombs went off and a Reuters witness saw three dead people and a gunfight going on. One blast was in a Starbucks cafe and security forces were later seen entering the building.

Police said they suspected a suicide bomber was responsible for at least one of the blasts and up to 14 militant gunmen were involved in the attack, Metro TV reported.
Update from An Nahar at 8:30 a.m. ET:
Islamic State-linked suicide attackers struck the capital of Muslim-majority Indonesia Thursday, executing a Westerner and blowing up a Starbucks, police said.

Five extremists launched what police said were Paris-style attacks as they detonated explosives and shot at people in a district packed with malls, embassies and United Nations offices. The assault also left an Indonesian man dead and 20 other people injured, and a police post destroyed, in what the country's president called "acts of terror".

"Their network has links to ISIS in Raqqa," said Jakarta police chief Tito Karnavian, referring to the IS group's stronghold in Syria.

The claim of IS involvement will send a chill through Indonesia and other parts of Southeast Asia with Muslim populations, where there are fears extremists bloodied on Middle Eastern battlefields could have brought their jihad home.

Police said the five-strong cell who struck Thursday included three suicide bombers who initially targeted a Starbucks near a major shopping mall. After the first explosion, men armed with pistols took two men hostage. Police identified them as an Algerian and a Westerner, although there were conflicting reports about whether he was Canadian or Dutch.

National police spokesman Anton Charliyan said the Algerian managed to escape with bullet wounds, but the second man was shot dead on the spot, while an Indonesian man who had tried to help the hostages was also shot and killed.

"Soon afterwards, two men riding.... motorbikes, ran into a police post and blew themselves up," he said, adding four officers had been left in a critical condition. "From what we see today, this group is following the pattern of the Paris attacks."

IS gunmen killed 130 people in a series of coordinated attacks on the French capital in November.
Yes, but this lot didn't.
Witnesses said the gunman who emerged from Starbucks began firing at bystanders, reloading his weapon as security forces moved in behind the cover of moving vehicles.

Jakarta police chief Karnavian said bombs containing screws and nails were hurled at police during the shootout, and they found six bombs planted in the area after the assault had ended.

Starbucks said it was shuttering all branches in the Indonesian capital in response to the attack.

"This store and all other Starbucks stores in Jakarta will remain closed, out of an abundance of caution, until further notice," a statement said.

The area is home to several embassies, including those of the United States, France and Spain. A number of United Nations agencies are also housed nearby.

The U.N. Environment Program said a married Dutch employee had been seriously hurt in the attacks and remained in a critical condition.

The New York-based Soufan Group says that of the 500-700 Indonesians who traveled abroad to join the self-proclaimed caliphate of the IS, scores have since returned.
Scores is a nicely uniformative number... As it is plural, we know they mean at least forty, and possibly as much as 99 (more than that and it would have been hundreds), but nothing more definite than that.
"We know that ISIS has the desire to declare a province in this region," said Kumar Ramakrishna, a counter-terrorism analyst at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.

"The threat of returning Southeast Asian fighters radicalized in the Iraq/Syria region (is) another factor of concern."

An-IS linked news agency, citing an unidentified source, said that the attack was carried out by IS fighters but there was no immediate claim of responsibility from the group itself.

Regional terrorism expert Rohan Gunaratna said the assault bore the hallmarks of the Islamic State group.

"The only group that has the capability and the intention to mount coordinated, simultaneous attacks in Jakarta is the ISIS network," he told AFP in Singapore.
I don't see why. It was only a handful of jihadis, with a competent bombmaker in the background, and the aquisition -- legal or otherwise -- of two motorcycles and some handguns. The idea originated with ISIS, but anyone can copy an idea once it's been publicized.
Posted by: lord garth || 01/14/2016 00:47 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  Per Rooters, 5 of the 7 were Islamofacists.
Posted by: Pappy || 01/14/2016 8:41 Comments || Top||

#2  not Esquimeaux or Lutherans?

But these attackers in no way represent the Peaceful Religion of Islam™, amirite?
Posted by: Frank G || 01/14/2016 8:46 Comments || Top||

#3  Zev Siegl will not be intimidated. The business will go on.
Posted by: Besoeker || 01/14/2016 8:46 Comments || Top||

#4  this is, I think, about ISIS showing it is, in the region, stronger than Jemaah Islamiyah (an al Q affiliate)
Posted by: lord garth || 01/14/2016 9:04 Comments || Top||

#5  focused on Starbucks' employment of the generic red 'holiday cup.'
Posted by: Menhadden Snore2786 || 01/14/2016 18:45 Comments || Top||


Bashir: Funding terror camp was 'act of worship'
[IBT-UK] The jailed spiritual leader of al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah has said that his sentence should be overturned because the funds he raised for a military-style training camp was an 'act of worship'. Caged cleric Abu Bakar Bashir appealed to have his conviction for funding a terrorist camp overturned because it was Allah's order.

During the hearing he argued that his aid for the camp was an 'act of worship' despite the militant network being accused of planning attacks on foreigners in Jakarta, and the assassinations of moderate leaders, including former President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Jemaah Islamiyah were also blamed for the savage 2002 Bali bombings which claimed the lives of 202 people.

In 2011 Bashir was convicted of funding the militant training camp in Aceh province and jailed for 15 years. But a higher court later cut the sentence to nine years.

At the District Court in Cilacap, near the prison island of Nusakembangan where he is currently incarcerated, Bashir said that the camp was designed to defend Muslims. He said, "The physical and weapons' training in Aceh were aimed at defending Islam and Muslims in Indonesia and overseas, and were an obligation Muslims must fulfill because it is God's order. My deed of helping the physical training in Aceh was merely an act of worship."

A lawyer representing the cleric said that he knew the camp violated firearms laws but he was simply following Allah's orders in supporting it. He added that the funds were also for religious use.

Outside the court hundreds of supporters waited for a heavily-guarded Bashir to arrive. They yelled "Allah Akbar," "Bashir is not a terrorist" and "Free Bashir."
Posted by: ryuge || 01/14/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Jemaah Islamiyah


Misuari presence at MNLF meeting confirmed
[Inquirer] Notorious fugitive Nur Misuari, founding chairman of the Moro National Liberation Front, was among over 2,000 MNLF militants and supporters who came from all over Mindanao to attend a "general membership meeting" in Sulu province last weekend, according to a top faction chief of the group. Habib Hashim Mudjahab, chair of the MNLF's Islamic Command Council, said the talks were focused on preparations for the tripartite meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, to be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, from January 25-27.

Misuari faces multiple murder charges in connection with the 2013 siege of Zamboanga City by his rebel followers, which left more than 200 people dead and hundreds of thousands of families homeless. A warrant for his arrest was issued in December 2013, but there was no move by law enforcement agencies to arrest him during the meeting in the militant stronghold in Barangay Kagay in Indanan town.

Brig. Gen. Alan Arrojado, who confirmed Misuari's presence in Kagay, said, "It is not our job to serve the warrant of arrest. It's the mandate of our police. If they (police) need our help as backup support, we will do so."

Mudjahab said it would not be easy for security forces to arrest Misuari in the presence of thousands of MNLF militants and supporters. He said, "The meeting was in full coordination with the local authorities, and maybe they made an evaluation about the repercussions (of a Misuari arrest)."
Posted by: ryuge || 01/14/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Troops clash with Abu Sayyaf militants in Sulu
[Philippine News] Fighting broke out when Philippine troops encountered 20 heavily-armed Abu Sayyaf militants in Sulu province on Tuesday afternoon.

Col. Alan Arrojado said infantrymen encountered a group led by Abu Sayyaf sub-leader Ninok Sapari alias "Alkam" in Patikul town. He said, "The troops were conducting focused military operation and encountered 20 Abu Sayyaf members led by Ninok Sapari."

Arrojado said the troops initiated the attack and killed an undetermined number of casualties. The gun battle lasted for about five minutes, with Philippine troops killed or injured.
Posted by: ryuge || 01/14/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Abu Sayyaf


Miliant camp seized in Narathiwat
[Bangkok Post] A team of rangers overran an insurgent camp in Narathiwat province on Tuesday following a clash with armed militants. The rangers were patrolling a mountainous area in Cho Ai Rong district, when about six rebels opened fire. The militants fled into the jungle after a 10-minute exchange of fire. There were no casualties. After the battle, the rangers found a rebel camp, and recovered an M16 rifle found to have been stolen during a militant attack 12 years ago.
Posted by: ryuge || 01/14/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Thai Insurgency


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
As RB expected: Pentagon: U.S. sailors made 'navigational error' into Iranian waters
The Pentagon said Thursday the 10 U.S. sailors who were held by Iran before being released on Wednesday had made a navigational mistake that led them into Iranian waters.
Here's point A. Here's point B. Don't go into area C. Got it?
"The information that they have given us, and through their commanders is that they did stray accidentally into Iranian waters due to a navigation error," U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said in an interview with Spanish-language broadcaster Univision in Miami. "So that seems to be the original cause of this, according to the interviews that we have done."
Does this mean they didn't have any GPS devices to record the track they took between point A and point B?
Carter's comments were the most detailed so far from American officials on the incident, which rattled nerves just before the expected implementation of a landmark nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.
Because they were all sitting around brainstorming on what might stick with the majority of voters.
On Thursday, Carter said the sailors apparently did not radio in to tell U.S. commanders they were off-course before encountering the Iranians.
They didn't see it coming, or were they jammed maybe?
"They did not report this navigational error at the time. It may be that they were trying to sort it out at the time they encountered the Iranian boats and discovered they were inside of the territorial waters of Iran," Carter said in the interview.
Maybe they were all taking a nap or watching one guy reel in a big swordfish.
He denied that the sailors were on a covert mission, saying instead, "they were simply transiting from one place to another."
This is probably the only true part of this article. Maybe.
Posted by: gorb || 01/14/2016 14:55 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I'm not an expert but I see three options (1) They were in Iranian waters because they dropped off or picked up someone (2) Engine damage and drifting led them into Iranian water (3) They were in international waters and the Iranians grabbed them anyway but admitting that would make Obama look like a fool.

I don't see the 'lost' as a credible story these days. I'm betting on option 3.
Posted by: rjschwarz || 01/14/2016 15:35 Comments || Top||

#2  It would be interesting to see, as has been suggested by another blogger here, if the vessels have had all their comms and nav equipment removed before release. ALso, what were the ROE regarding encountering Iranian vessels? Also, what was the USN quick response plan and what was the ToT if it was initiated? FInally, how far up Susan Rice's phone tree did they have to go to get permission to do anything, and how long did it take for her to call a meeting to discuss options on the optics of any action?
Posted by: NoMoreBS || 01/14/2016 15:42 Comments || Top||

#3  I believe it is very likely that we will never hear the real story of what happened. If the truth is embarrassing to Obama, the sailors will be under strict orders to never talk about it.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia || 01/14/2016 16:34 Comments || Top||

#4  Iranians already on record as removing GPS devices, so the cover story of being off course is perfectly unverifiable. And it's never about embarrassing Baraka Hussein, he has no shame. It's all about embarrassing America, which of course Baraka is totes about
Posted by: Rex Mundi || 01/14/2016 16:38 Comments || Top||

#5  Tilting axis Telluric Current shift causing 'navigation error', or littoral diver 'snag-and-drag'?

Posted by: Skidmark || 01/14/2016 16:47 Comments || Top||

#6  I suspect the issue here is that under international law uninhabited islands can't have territorial waters. And I recall that putting a military base on an uninhabited island doesn't make it inhabited.

The territorial waters Iran claims may not have been marked on the US Navy chart they were using.
Posted by: phil_b || 01/14/2016 18:21 Comments || Top||

#7  Lots of small, flat islands in a relatively shallow sea. Factor in the winter weather (high winds and mid-to-rough seas.) Not sure about cruising speed, but I'll assume they were on the 'most-economical'. That's not going to help.

No doubt the IRGC were also tracking the craft, probably from the moment they left Bahrain.
Posted by: Pappy || 01/14/2016 18:34 Comments || Top||

#8  I too suspect they were in international waters, but Iran grabbed them anyway, because asshole regimes like Iran tend to make illegitimate, unrecognized territorial claims to what everyone else agrees is international waters. Especially since Iran swiped their GPS units, making it conveniently impossible to prove their exact location either way.

I read this as Iran giving Obozo and Kerry a wedgie, even after they've already agreed to hand over their lunch money. Just because they can.
Posted by: RandomJD || 01/14/2016 19:14 Comments || Top||

#9  Civilian GPS is hard to jam. Military GPS, much more difficult to do. This story smells. Truth will out. But it might need to wait for a new CINC.
Posted by: Sven the pelter || 01/14/2016 19:44 Comments || Top||


Three mass graves found in ISIS-held Deir ez-Zor
[ARA News] QAMISHLI – Three mass graves were found in the village of Abu Hamam in Syria’s eastern province of Deir ez-Zor, the Syrian Center for Human Rights reported on Wednesday.

“The dead bodies found in the newly discovered mass graves are believed to belong to members of the Shaitat tribe who have been massacred by terrorists of the Islamic State (ISIS),” Syrian lawyer and spokesman of the Center for Human Rights Ibrahim Hussein told ARA News.

ISIS militants have earlier executed more than 700 members of the Shaitat tribe in Deir ez-Zor for opposition the group’s control over the province. Several mass graves have been discovered in the eastern province over the past few months, most of the victims were identified as members of the al-Shaitat tribe.

“On Wednesday, villagers of Abu Hamam were allowed by ISIS to return home after months of forced displacement. However, after returning they discovered three mass graves in their village,” Hussein reported.

The source added that 37 corpses were found in the three mass graves.

“The first mass grave was found in Nazal Gaada neighborhood in Abu Hamam village and it included ten dead bodies of civilians; the second was discovered in the Nabayi neighborhood and it included 20 corpses; while the third grave was found in the Madrasa Gharbi area in central Abu Hamam where seven corpses were revealed,” Syrian Center for Human Rights’s spokesman told ARA News.

Several children and women were among the victims.

The center reported that it has earlier documented six mass graves that have been left by ISIS militants in Deir ez-Zor countryside, confirming that most of the victims were identified as members of the Shaitat tribe.

Hundreds of civilians in Deir ez-Zor have been killed for refusing to swear allegiance to the ISIS self-declared Caliphate. The al-Shaitat tribe had the lion’s share of victims for launching an armed rebellion against ISIS in the province end of 2014.
Posted by: badanov || 01/14/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


al-Nusra troops attack Kurd held sectors of Aleppo
[ARA News] AFRIN – Militant fighters of al-Nusra Front, al-Qaeda branch in Syria, targeted the Kurdish area of Afrin in northwestern Syria with dozens of mortar shells, military sources reported on Wednesday.

The radical group hit the Sherawa sub-district in Afrin in the northern countryside of Aleppo, targeting headquarters of the Kurdish forces and residential buildings there.

Kurdish forces of the People’s Protection Units (YPG) reported the death and injury of several people in the bombardment.

Most of the shells hit security checkpoints of the YPG and allied Kurdish female fighters of the YPJ near the village of Bashmere in Sherawa sub-district.

“Subsequent to the Qaeda-led bombardment, the YPG and YPJ units counter-attacked the strongholds of the terrorists in the northern countryside of Aleppo with heavy artillery shelling,” a statement by the Kurdish forces said on Wednesday evening.

The Kurdish units, in cooperation with allies of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), have recently made gains against Nusra militants and other Islamist groups in Aleppo countryside, recapturing the villages of Tat Mrash and Tanab in the vicinity of Azaz city north of Aleppo after clashes with militant fighters of Nusra Front and the Islamic Movement of Ahrar al-Sham.

The western-backed alliance has also regained the village of Keshtaar in the suburb of Tel Rafaat city north of Aleppo, which has been constantly used by Nusra militants and allied Islamists as a base from which they used to attack the Kurdish region of Afrin northwest of Aleppo.
Posted by: badanov || 01/14/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: al-Nusra


Russian planes strike school in Syria's Aleppo, killing 3
[AA.TR] Three children were killed and another 25 people injured on Wednesday when Russian warplanes targeted a primary school in the Syrian city of Aleppo, according to local Civil Defense sources.

The sources, who are based in the targeted area, said that Russian Arclight airstrikes had been carried out in Aleppo's Zibdiya district.

Following the strikes, Syrian Civil Defense teams rushed to the area to help the victims.

"Russian warplanes, which have been targeting civilian areas, have now begun striking schools," local activist Ahmed Abu Ammar told Anadolu Agency, going on to note that a school in Anjara and a mosque in Aleppo had both recently been targeted by Russian warplanes.

He described the Russian strikes on residential areas as "Dire Revenge" for the Assad regime's recent failure to make significant military gains in Aleppo province.

On Monday, 17 people were killed and another 25 injured when Russian warplanes targeted a school in Anjara, a town in western Aleppo.
Posted by: Fred || 01/14/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria

#1  What are Russia's consequences? The Chechens might rebel. Oh yeah....
Posted by: Sven the pelter || 01/14/2016 0:24 Comments || Top||

#2  If Russians think of this at all, they think Beslan.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 01/14/2016 3:09 Comments || Top||

#3  Muslim Leaders Warn against Russophobic Backlash
Posted by: Zenobia Floger6220 || 01/14/2016 3:42 Comments || Top||

#4  But Western leaders say backlash isn't nice! (Even if it is deserved . . . .)
Posted by: gorb || 01/14/2016 10:45 Comments || Top||


Terror Networks
US leads 24 strikes in Syria, Iraq against ISIS
[AlAhram] The United States and its allies staged two dozen strikes against Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
myrmidon group in Iraq and Syria on Tuesday, the military coalition leading the operations said in a statement.

Sixteen strikes in Iraq were concentrated in djinn-infested Mosul
... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn...
, Ramadi and Kisik, where they hit four of the myrmidon group's tactical units and destroyed four of its bunkers, among other damage, the coalition said in the statement, released on Wednesday.

In Syria, eight strikes near five cities destroyed an ISIS excavator and oil booster pump generator as well as fighting positions, vehicles and other targets, the Combined Joint Task Force said.
Posted by: trailing wife || 01/14/2016 00:00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State



Who's in the News
34[untagged]
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4Govt of Syria
4Jaish-e-Mohammad
3Houthis
2Hamas
2TTP
1Govt of Iraq
1Govt of Pakistain Proxies
1al-Nusra
1Abu Sayyaf
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1Jemaah Islamiyah
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1Govt of Iran

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Two weeks of WOT
Thu 2016-01-14
  Terror attacks in Jakarta -- 7 die so far
Wed 2016-01-13
  Suicide bomber kills 10 people, mainly Germans, in Istanbul
Tue 2016-01-12
  Bombings at Iraq cafe kill 20: Officers
Mon 2016-01-11
  It begins: Cologne gangs attack foreigners
Sun 2016-01-10
  US drone strikes kills 25 suspected militants in Pakistan, Afghanistan
Sat 2016-01-09
  Philadelphia police officer ambushed 'in the name of Islam'
Fri 2016-01-08
  ISIS Man Executes His Mom
Thu 2016-01-07
  Iran says Saudi-led airstrike hit Iranian Embassy in Yemen, but no damage seen
Wed 2016-01-06
  1 US soldier killed, 2 wounded in Taliban attack in Helmand
Tue 2016-01-05
  44 ISIS Bad Guys die in battles near Fallujah
Mon 2016-01-04
  38 die in Kurd, ISIS battles in Raqqa
Sun 2016-01-03
  Fierce Fighting Erupts Between Afghan Forces, Taliban In Marjah
Sat 2016-01-02
  Death sentences for nine 'hardcore terrorists' in Pakistan
Fri 2016-01-01
  New Year's Eve terror attack thwarted in NY
Thu 2015-12-31
  ISIS executes 40 civilians in Ramadi

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