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Area: WoT Background    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix   
Presidential Motorcade: Individual taken into custody by Secret Service Uniformed Division Officers
Today's Headlines
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Page 6: Politix
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Afghanistan
U.S. airstrike targets vehicles convoy of important Taliban group members in Farah
[KhaamaPress] A U.S. Arclight airstrike
...KABOOM!...
targeted a vehicles convoy of important Taliban
...Arabic for students...
figures in western Farah province.

The Police Headquarters of Farah in a statement said the U.S. forces conducted an airstrike against the vehicles convoy of Taliban in Farah Rod area.

The statement further added that the U.S. forces conducted the airstrike based on credible intelligence tip off.

The Police Headquarters of Farah also added that airstrike killed four important group members of Taliban.

According to reports, the airstrike killed four Taliban members belonging to Mullah Mohammad Mustaghfir, the shadow district chief of Taliban for Farah Rod and Highway#1 of Farah.

The airstrike also destroyed three vehicles which were moving in a convoy, the Police Headquarters of Farah added.

Meanwhile,
...back at the Council of Boskone, Helmuth ordered the space pirate fleet to attack Zemblonia...
the 207th Zafar Corps in a statement said Mullah Mustaghfir was killed with his three fighters in the airstrike.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/20/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336091 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  Only 4? Dammit!
Posted by: Harry Gurly-Brown5028 || 06/20/2019 3:01 Comments || Top||


Faryab: In ongoing operations 51 Talibs toes up, including 2 emirs and a military chief


Taliban’s military chief among dozens killed, wounded in ongoing Faryab operations

[KhaamaPress] The Afghan cops have killed 25 Talibs during the ongoing operations in Faryab province.

The Lions of Islam were killed in Ghormach district of Faryab, the Afghan military said Wednesday.

The 209th Shaheen Corps in a statement said the security forces launched the operation in Qala-e-Wali area of Ghormach on Tuesday night.

The security forces also killed two senior commanders of Taliban including Mawlavi Haji Mullah, the military commission of Taliban.

The security forces also maimed 16 Taliban fighters during the operations, the 209th Shaheen Corps added.

The Talibs have not commented regarding the operation so far.

Afghan Special Forces kill 11 Taliban fighters in Faryab province

[KhaamaPress] The Afghan Special Forces killed 11 Talibs during an operation in Faryab province.

The informed military sources said Wednesday that the Special Forces conducted the operation in Ghormach district of Faryab.

The sources further added that the Special Forces also confiscated 2 mortars, uniforms and grenades during the operation.

The Talibs have not commented regarding the operations so far.

The security situation in some districts of Faryab province has tanked during the recent months.

Talibs are active in some districts of the province and often conduct terrorist related activities.

Meanwhile,
...back at the dirigible, Jack stuck the cigar in his mouth, stepped onto the gantry, and asked Got a light, Mac?

Von Schtinken stopped short, lowering the dagger and trying to control his features.

If you light that thing, Herr Armschtröng, he pointed out, his voice tense, we all die!...

the Afghan forces are busy conducting counter-terrorism operations against the anti-government gangs in this province.

The U.S. forces also conduct regular Arclight airstrike
...KABOOM!...
s in restive parts of the country to suppress Taliban
...Arabic for students...
and other anti-government Death Eaters.

Special Forces detonate network of Taliban tunnels, kill 15 militants in Faryab

[KhaamaPress] The Afghan Special Forces detonated a network of Taliban
...mindless ferocity in a turban...
tunnels in Faryab province.

The Special Forces also killed 15 turbans during the same operation, the Afghan military said Wednesday.

The Special Operations Corps in a statement said the Special Forces discovered the tunnel in Khwaja Sabz Posh district of Faryab.

The statement further added that the Special Forces also destroyed a headquarters of the group and weapons and munitions depot during the same operation.

The deputu shadow district chief of Taliban for Khwaja Sabz Posh was also killed during the operation.

The Special Forces also maimed 13 turbans and defused 30 roadside kabooms and two suicide kaboom vests.

Posted by: trailing wife || 06/20/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336093 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  total Taliban killed since 2001 is now over 60k

and they seem to be able to keep recruiting
Posted by: lord garth || 06/20/2019 1:40 Comments || Top||

#2  Do you have a link for that, lord garth, or have you been keeping track?
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/20/2019 9:28 Comments || Top||

#3  tw,

near the bottom of this NYTimes article

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/26/world/asia/afghanistan-taliban-peace-deal.html
Posted by: lord garth || 06/20/2019 17:08 Comments || Top||

#4  Noted and saved for future reference, lord garth. Thank you!
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/20/2019 23:49 Comments || Top||


4 Taliban militants killed, 5 detained in Wardak and Logar operations
[KhaamaPress] The security forces killed 4 Talibs and detained 5 others during the operations in Wardak and Pashtun-infested Logar provinces.

The informed military officials said Wednesday that Arclight airstrike
...KABOOM!...
s in Sayyidabad district of Wardak killed 3 Taliban
...mindless ferocity in a turban...
fighters.

The officials further added that the Special Forces conducted an operation in Chak district of Wardak and destroyed a weapons cache containing ammunition, a rocket and 2 mortars.

The Special Forces also killed 1 Taliban fighter and detained 5 others during an operation in Pul-e-Alam district of Pashtun-infested Logar.

The security situation in some districts of Wardak and Pashtun-infested Logar provinces has tanked during the recent months.

Talibs are active in some districts of the two provinces and often conduct terrorist related activities.

Meanwhile,
...back at the cheese factory, all the pieces finally fell together in Fluffy's mind...
the Afghan forces routinely counter-terrorism operations against the anti-government gangs in the two province.

The U.S. forces also conduct regular airstrikes in restive parts of the country to suppress Taliban and other anti-government bully boys.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/20/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336070 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Airstrikes kill 9 Taliban militants in Uruzgan and Farah province
[KhaamaPress] The security forces conducted Arclight airstrike
...KABOOM!...
s in Uruzgan and Farah provinces killing at least 9 Talibs.

The military officials said Wednesday that airstrikes in Tarin Kot district of Uruzgan killed 5 Talibs.

The officials further added that similar airstrikes in Bala Boluk district of Farah killed 4 Talibs.

The Talibs have not commented regarding the operations so far.

This comes as the security situation in some districts of Uruzgan and Farah provinces has tanked during the recent months.

Talibs are active in some districts of the two provinces and often conduct terrorist related activities.

Meanwhile,
...back at the palazzo, Count Guido had been cornered by the banditti...
the Afghan forces routinely conduct counter-terrorism operations against the anti-government gangs in the two provinces.

The U.S. forces also conduct regular airstrikes in restive parts of the country to suppress Taliban
...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
and other anti-government krazed killers.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/20/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336068 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Airstrikes pound ISIS positions in two districts of Nangarhar province
[KhaamaPress] The security forces carried out two separate Arclight airstrike
...KABOOM!...
s in Nangarhar
The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country..
province killing at least 5 ISIS Death Eaters.

The informed military sources said Wednesday that airstrikes in Khugyani district killed 2 ISIS Death Eaters.

The sources further added that the security forces conducted similar airstrikes in Pachir Wa Agam district killing 3 ISIS Death Eaters.

This comes as the security situation in some districts of Nangarhar has tanked during the recent years.

Both Taliban
...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
and ISIS Lions of Islam are active in some districts of the province and often conduct terrorist related activities.

Meanwhile,
...back at the chili cook-off, Chuck slipped the habañero into the roasted jalapeño...
the Afghan forces are busy conducting counter-terrorism operations against the anti-government gangs in this province.

The U.S. forces also conduct regular airstrikes in restive parts of the country to suppress Taliban and other anti-government Death Eaters.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/20/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336084 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Africa Horn
Kenya court convicts three over Garissa university massacre
[Al Jazeera] A Kenyan court has found three men guilty of abetting al-Shabaab
...... al-Qaeda's tentacle in East Africa...
fighters who carried out a university attack that killed 148 people, mostly students, four years ago.

The convicted face life sentences and will be sentenced on July 3, the first to face justice for the April 2, 2015 attack on Garissa University in northeast Kenya.

Judge Francis Andayi on Wednesday said the three - Kenyans Mohammed Ali Abikar, Hassan Aden Hassan and Rashid Charles Mberesero, a Tanzanian - "were members of the al-Shabaab terrorist group whose members carried out the attack".

Prosecutors had proven "beyond reasonable doubt" that they were involved in a conspiracy for "committing a terrorist act", he said.

Defence counsel Mbugua Mureithi said he would appeal.

The court in the capital, Nairobi, acquitted a fourth person, Sahal Diriye Hussein. A fifth suspect was acquitted earlier this year.

Al Jazeera's Catherine Soi, reporting from Nairobi, said many Kenyans were following the case closely.

"It is [a very sensitive matter because it is] the conclusion of the first major case involving a big terrorism incident and it is going to set a precedent for other cases that are still in court."

Posted by: Fred || 06/20/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336083 views] Top|| File under: al-Shabaab (AQ)


Arabia
Saudi-Led Coalition Intercepts New Yemeni Rebel Drone
[AnNahar] A Saudi-led coalition fighting in 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...
intercepted a Huthi rebel drone targeting the kingdom, a front man said Wednesday, calling it another violation of an already fragile ceasefire in a key Red Sea province.

The unmanned drone was shot down in Yemeni airspace after the Iran-aligned rebels launched it from Hodeida province, coalition front man Turki al-Maliki said in comments carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.

Maliki did not report any casualties, but said the operation was a breach of the Hodeida ceasefire deal reached in Sweden last December between the rebels and Yemen's Saudi-backed government.

The deal has already been marred by reported violations on both sides as UN-led peace efforts falter in Hodeida, the main entry point for the bulk of Yemen's imports and humanitarian aid.

The rebels denied carrying out Wednesday's attack. Huthi-run al-Masirah TV quoted a front man as saying "no such operation has been conducted in the past 12 hours".

Persistent coalition bombing since the Saudi-led intervention March 2015 has exacted a heavy civilian corpse count in Yemen.

The Huthis have stepped up missile and drone attacks on 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...
in recent weeks, warning that its airports are legitimate targets.

Last Wednesday, the coalition said a rebel missile attack on Abha airport left 26 civilians maimed, vowing "stern action" in response.

Human Rights Watch denounced the strike as an apparent "war crime", urging the Huthis to immediately stop all attacks on civilian infrastructure in Saudi Arabia.

The attacks come amid spiralling regional tensions with Iran, which Saudi Arabia has repeatedly accused of arming the rebels with sophisticated weapons. Tehran denies the charge.

The coalition intervened in support of the Yemeni government in 2015 when President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi fled into Saudi exile as the rebels closed in on his last remaining territory in and around second city Aden.

Since then, the conflict has killed tens of thousands of people, many of them civilians, relief agencies say.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/20/2019 02:22 || Comments || Link || [336104 views] Top|| File under: Houthis


Jizan power plant in southern Saudi Arabia has been struck with a cruise missile by Houthis
[TWITTER]

Posted by: Fred || 06/20/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336068 views] Top|| File under: Houthis

#1  Seems like the saudis should be buying some ground based CIWS units.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 06/20/2019 14:40 Comments || Top||


Europe
PKK suspects apprehended in raids across 5 European states
[Rudaw] Two suspected members of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), accused of recruiting and training "terrorist fighters", were apprehended in a wide-scale crackdown on the group in five Europe
...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum...
an countries.

The two suspects were apprehended "after a number of house searches conducted simultaneously in five countries", Europol said in a statement on Wednesday. They have not been named.

The operation, carried out jointly by Eurojust and Europol, saw raids in Austria, Belgium, La Belle France, Germany, and Switzerland
...home of the Helvetians, famous for cheese, watches, yodeling, and William Tell...
, the statement added.

"Europol’s European Counter Terrorism Centre set up a coordination centre on a joint action day to support the operations of the law enforcement authorities in all countries concerned," it said.

The Belgian Prosecutor’s Office initiated a criminal investigation into the organization in 2017.

Those apprehended allegedly belong to the PKK’s armed wing ‐ the People’s Defence Forces (HPG).

Europol and Eurojust accused them of "recruiting terrorist fighters" and "using training camps and sessions in various countries".

The PKK, an gang fighting for greater Kurdish political and cultural rights in The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the decaying remnant of the Ottoman Empire...
, is considered a terrorist organization by Ankara, the EU, and the US, for its decades-long war with the Ottoman Turkish state.

Earlier this year, German authorities shut down two Kurdish publishing houses, alleging the companies were giving the PKK financial backing.

According to German authorities, there are around 14,500 PKK supporters in Germany. In 2008, Germany banned Roj TV for its alleged ties to the PKK.

Late last year the US announced cash rewards for information on three senior PKK leaders, including Murat Karayilan, Cemil Bayik and Duran Kalkan.

A fierce battle between the PKK and Turkey is ongoing in the southeast of Turkey, spilling over into the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The group uses the Region as a safe haven and is currently headquartered in the Qandil Mountains.

Turkey has repeatedly launched cross-border incursions and bombing raids targeting the group, in violation of Iraq’s illusory sovereignty.

Both Erbil and Baghdad have called on Ankara to halt its attacks and demanded the PKK withdraw from their territory.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/20/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336096 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte


Home Front: WoT
FBI: Syrian Refugee Who Pledged Allegiance to ISIS Arrested for Pittsburgh Church Bomb Plot
[BREITBART] U.S. authorities announced Wednesday the arrest of a 21-year-old Syrian man on terror charges in relation to an alleged plot to bomb a church in Pittsburgh.

Mustafa Mousab Alowemer was taken into custody on Wednesday and charged with one count of "attempting to provide material support ISIS, and two counts of distributing information relating to an explosive, destructive device, or weapon of mass destruction in relation to his plan to attack a church," according to an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh

The affidavit states the FBI’s Pittsburgh branch undercovered a plot by Alowemer to bomb the Legacy International Worship Center on the North Side.

"Our top priority is protecting the citizens of western Pennsylvania," said U.S. Attorney Brady in a statement. "Every day investigators and prosecutors work tirelessly behind the scenes to disrupt terrorist activity and keep our community safe. While the public does not always see the results of the hard work of these dedicated men and women, this case is a visible demonstration of our commitment to rooting out terrorists and bringing them to justice."

Information provided to law enforcement by the Department of Homeland Security shows Alowemer was born in Daraa, Syria and granted refugee status in the United States on August 1st, 2016. He is said to have recorded a video of himself pledging allegiance to ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi. Both the FBI and local police are conducting a search of the suspect’s Northview Heights home.

"Targeting places of worship is beyond the pale, no matter what the motivation," Assistant Attorney General John Demers said. "The defendant is alleged to have plotted just such an attack of a church in Pittsburgh in the name of ISIS. The National Security Division and our partners will continue our efforts to identify and bring to justice individuals in our country who seek to commit violence on behalf of ISIS and other terrorist organizations. I want to thank the agents, analysts, and prosecutors who are responsible for this investigation."
PJMedia adds:
Alowemer also targeted the Church -- which he believed to be Christian and Nigerian -- to “take revenge for our [ISIS] brothers in Nigeria,” according to the complaint.

In May 2019, Alowemer distributed multiple instructional documents on how to build and use of explosives and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to an undercover FBI agent who he believed was a fellow ISIS supporter, according to the Department of Justice.

Alowemer met with an FBI Undercover Employee (UCE) and/or an FBI Confidential Human Source (CHS) in person four times between April 16 and June 11.
And from NBC News:
Federal prosecutors say Alowemer was admitted to the U.S. as a refugee on Aug. 1, 2016. He went on to graduate from high school but does not hold a U.S. passport and is not a legal permanent resident of the U.S.
Posted by: Phaick Uneretle6310 || 06/20/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336097 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  Osama bin Obama mooslim import. Hang him and deport every member of his mosque. Throw Barry's ass in with the horde.
Posted by: Woodrow || 06/20/2019 6:17 Comments || Top||

#2  Another "refugee" who just brings his third world tribal wars to our lands. End the idiocy of bringing tribals halfway around the world to protect them from the stupid fueds they won't give up.
Posted by: Rob Crawford || 06/20/2019 6:48 Comments || Top||

#3  Heavy.com did a Five Fast Facts onthe gentleman here. The darling lad approached the thing in a businesslike manner, except for his choice of confidants.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/20/2019 16:03 Comments || Top||


Presidential Motorcade: Individual taken into custody by Secret Service Uniformed Division Officers
[TWITTER]

Posted by: Fred || 06/20/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336130 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Has anyone heard any more about this?
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/20/2019 16:04 Comments || Top||


Iraq
IRGC surrogate forces launched a rocket attack against an Exxon site in #Iraq
[TWITTER]

Posted by: Fred || 06/20/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336070 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran Proxies

#1  Good thing they're taking down the Green Zone walls.
Posted by: Skidmark || 06/20/2019 8:49 Comments || Top||


Iraqi army deploys troops between Kirkuk and Makhmour to prevent ISIS movements
[Rudaw] The Iraqi Army has deployed troops on the Makhmour-Dibis road, to prevent movements from remnants of the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really 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 western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
(ISIS) the Defense Ministry announced on Wednesday.

The ministry added that the deployment is to fill a security void left by lack of any presence of armed forces in the mountainous region near Qarachogh and its surrounding villages.

Security Control, 14th Infantry Division of the Iraqi Army is tasked with securing the area.

The division is responsible for laying out ambushes, setting up checkpoints, carrying out raids, and filling the security vacuum between the villages of Pungina and Bir Mehdi, near Mount Qarachogh.

Dibis, in djinn-infested Mosul
... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn...
province, is 56 kilometres south of Erbil. Makhmour, in Kirkuk province, is 60 kilometres southwest of the Kurdistan Region capital.

Rashad Galali, head of the PUK office in Makhmour told Rudaw that upon a decree from Baghdad "the 14th Infantry Division has been incorporated into the Kirkuk Operations Command and they have been deployed along the [Makhmour-Dibis] road."

Galali confirmed that they have erected outposts and checkpoints to "protect the security of the area."

ISIS was declared defeated in Iraq in December 2017 by former PM Haider al-Abadi. However,
Caliphornia hasn't yet slid into the ocean, no matter how hard it's tried...
between 14,000 and 18,000 ISIS gunnies are estimated to still be operating in Iraq and Syria, according to a UN report in February.

ISIS hard boys, keen to recuperate their strength following their territorial defeat in Iraq, have now set their sights on the spring harvest of 27 villages on both sides of the Qarachogh mountains.

ISIS cells hiding out in the Qarachogh mountains have torched several local crop fields in recent weeks as farmers have refused to pay taxes that the gunnies are demanding.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/20/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336089 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Exxon workers evacuated amid spate of attacks on US interests in Iraq
[IsraelTimes] US-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 a cognate form of Stürmabteilung (or SA), the term Supreme Guide is a cognate form of either Shah or Führer or maybe both, and they hate Jews Zionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
tensions spike as five US-linked sites attacked within five days, apparently from Shiite areas.

Clearly it’s time to unleash the ghosts who own the night.
An Iraqi intelligence officer said Wednesday that 40 workers for the energy giant Exxon Mobil were being evacuated from an oil-drilling site in southern Iraq after they came under rocket fire, amid increasing attacks on US interests in the country.

Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/20/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336083 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran Proxies


Iraqi jet fighters kill two Islamic State jihadists in Diyala
Diyala (IraqiNews.com) ‐ Two Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really 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 western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
gunnies were killed and a terrorist hotbed was destroyed in an Arclight airstrike
...KABOOM!...
conducted by Iraqi warplanes in the eastern province of Diyala.

In a press statement carried by the privately-owned Baghdad Today news agency, the Iraqi security media cell said that jet fighters killed two Islamic State fighters and destroyed one of their hotbeds in al-Makhisa village in Diyala.

No further details were given, the statement read.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/20/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336067 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


3 Iraqis wounded in rocket attack on housing sites of foreign oil firms in Basra
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) ‐ Three Iraqi workers were maimed Wednesday in a rocket attack on a complex housing several global major oil companies, including US giant ExxonMobil, in the southern city of Basra.

A security source said that the short-range Katyusha missile targeted the Burjesia residential and operations headquarters west of the city, where foreign workers are housed.

He added that US giant ExxonMobil is one of the companies operating on the attacked site.

The incident follows attacks on commercial tankers in the Persian Gulf that the US has claimed were carried out by Iran. The government in Tehran denies responsibility.

The United States evacuated hundreds of diplomatic staff from its Baghdad embassy last month, citing unspecified threats from 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 a cognate form of Stürmabteilung (or SA), the term Supreme Guide is a cognate form of either Shah or Führer or maybe both, and they hate Jews Zionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
against US interests in neighbouring Iraq, where Tehran supports some Shi’ite militias.

Wednesday’s incident came just as Exxon staff who were also evacuated after the diplomats’ departure had begun to return to Basra.

A security source said Exxon was again preparing to evacuate about 20 foreign staff immediately.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/20/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336073 views] Top|| File under:


Southeast Asia
Bombing, shooting suspect nabbed in Thai south
[Bangkok Post] A suspect wanted on four arrest warrants, including one in connection with a truck bomb attack at a Big C Supercenter outlet in Pattani two years ago, has been arrested at a security checkpoint in Khok Pho district.

Isamael Musu a resident of Songkhla province, was detained after a car chase, police said. Driving a motorcycle on a local road, he turned back when he spotted a security checkpoint ahead. Isamael stopped abruptly about 100 meters before he reached the checkpoint, turned back and tried to speed away when he was captured.

Isamael allegedly admitted during interrogation that he was involved in the 2017 bombing at the Big C store, in which 61 people were injured and two suspects were previously given life imprisonment by a lower court.

Three other warrants issued for Isamael relate to a 2005 deadly shooting attack in Songkhla, a gun attack in 2006, also in Songkhla, and an arms cache raid in Satun.

Meanwhile, a couple were killed in a drive-by shooting before the two attackers fled with their motorcycle in Narathiwat province yesterday morning. Authorities feared the attackers might be planning to use the motorcycle to engineer a bomb.

The shooting occurred on Huruparoh-Chalabhorn Road in Rangae district, said police spokesman Woraphon Sukkaew. Police, soldiers and forensic officers who rushed to the scene found the bodies of two people lying on the road with bullet wounds. Paisarn Chungsakul had been hit in the chest and left rib while his wife Sumon Chungsakul was shot in the head and chest.
Posted by: ryuge || 06/20/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336073 views] Top|| File under: Thai Insurgency


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Iran releases video of downing UAV
[Twitter]


Posted by: 3dc || 06/20/2019 14:24 || Comments || Link || [336083 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran


Iran accused of using FAKE photo to ‘prove' US drone was over its territory
[Sun UK] IRAN has been accused of using a fake photo in an attempt to 'prove' a US drone was over its territory before being shot down.

When revealing Iran had shot down the drone, the country's state-run IRNA news agency released a picture of an aircraft appearing to spiral towards Earth.

It claimed the image showed a RQ-4 Global Hawk, a US military drone, being blasted out the sky over Iranian territory.

However the same photograph - albeit in a wider crop - had previously appeared in a two-year-old report of a spy drone being shot down over Yemen in 2017.

That report quoted Yemeni military sources as saying it showed an American MQ 9 drone falling to Earth near the country's capital Sanaa - and included pictures of the crashed drone burning on the ground.

It wasn't immediately clear whether Iran mistakenly shared the old image or whether it was a deliberate attempt at spreading misinformation.
False Flag!!11!!
Posted by: Frank G || 06/20/2019 10:29 || Comments || Link || [336085 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1 
Posted by: jpal || 06/20/2019 11:51 Comments || Top||

#2  Relax, jpal (and Herb). We are not going to war over a drone. The sanctions are working, Iranian economy is hurting, the pressure is building on the Mad Mullahs. Let them sweat.
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 06/20/2019 11:56 Comments || Top||

#3  Iran did the same tanker and shootdown attempts in the late 80s. They are desperate to try to force the powers to stand down and let them make some money.

Keep the screws tight. Let the drones die and kill any fast boats targeting tankers. No need to do more than that at the moment.
Posted by: DarthVader || 06/20/2019 12:07 Comments || Top||

#4  Iran's brinkmanship is a play to reinstate the JCPOA. It comes just days ahead of the date Iran's enriched uranium stockpile will exceed the limits of the old JCPOA.

They just want Trump to drop the sanctions.
Posted by: The peanut gallery || 06/20/2019 14:26 Comments || Top||

#5  I think that the mullahs, as well as most of the politicians in the world, don't know how to deal with DJT.

He is so much tougher than any president in my lifetime including Reagan. Given the circumstances of the cold war that's probably not a comparison that can be made, but DJT, like RR, doesn't give a $#!t about the so called niceties.

A real breath of fresh air.
Posted by: AlanC || 06/20/2019 18:50 Comments || Top||


Iran's Revolutionary Guard shoots down US Navy MQ-4C Triton drone
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s Revolutionary Guard shot down a U.S. drone on Thursday amid heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington over its collapsing nuclear deal with world powers, American and Iranian officials said, while disputing the circumstances of the incident.

The Guard said it shot down the drone over Iranian airspace, while two U.S. officials told The Associated Press that the downing happened over international airspace in the Strait of Hormuz. The different accounts could not be immediately reconciled.

Previously, the U.S. military alleged that Iran had fired a missile at another drone last week that was responding to the attack on two oil tankers near the Gulf of Oman. The U.S. blames Iran for the attack on the ships; Tehran denies it was involved.

The attacks come against the backdrop of heightened tensions between the U.S. and Iran following President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from Tehran’s nuclear deal a year ago. The White House separately said it was aware of reports of a missile strike on Saudi Arabia amid a campaign targeting the kingdom by Yemen’s Iranian-allied Houthi rebels.

Iran recently quadrupled its production of low-enriched uranium and threatened to boost its enrichment closer to weapons-grade levels, trying to pressure Europe for new terms to the 2015 nuclear deal.

In recent weeks, the U.S. has sped an aircraft carrier to the Mideast and deployed additional troops to the tens of thousands already in the region. From Yemen, the Houthis have launched bomb-laden drones into neighboring Saudi Arabia.



Posted by: Besoeker || 06/20/2019 04:47 || Comments || Link || [336090 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  Other reporting indicates:

A U.S. official said that the U.S. Navy MQ-4C Triton was shot down by an Iranian surface to air missile while the reconnaissance drone was flying in international airspace over the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday.
Posted by: Besoeker || 06/20/2019 5:08 Comments || Top||

#2  Herb, honest question, act of war?
Posted by: Woodrow || 06/20/2019 6:14 Comments || Top||

#3  Let me guess, Herb: "Of course, we have no right to be inciting by flying a drone in international airspace"
Posted by: Frank G || 06/20/2019 6:33 Comments || Top||

#4  Herb's thinking of a scenario where the triton was rigged to explode by a scheming weasel whistling 'invincible eagle' just before it took off.
Posted by: Dron66046 || 06/20/2019 7:31 Comments || Top||

#5  Herb - "But what about the Vincennes incident?"
Posted by: Procopius2k || 06/20/2019 7:57 Comments || Top||

#6  I would say some revolutionary guard fast boats need to go missing in international waters.
Posted by: DarthVader || 06/20/2019 8:26 Comments || Top||

#7  The only difference between this and a U-2 shoot down is no pilot. The Triton and Global Hawk are the same class of ISR platform but for the pilot. Yes, there's an ongoing debate about certain aspects of the U-2's flexibility but at the end of the day we aren't building any new ones. Without knowing a lot about exactly where and how high it was flying it's all just speculation, but at altitude there's nothing inside Iranian airspace that the Triton could not have imaged from international airspace.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 06/20/2019 8:54 Comments || Top||

#8  I should clarify, nothing inside the Iranian airspace referenced in this incident.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 06/20/2019 8:55 Comments || Top||

#9  I could be wrong, but I suspect POTUS will act on this one.
Posted by: Besoeker || 06/20/2019 10:46 Comments || Top||

#10  Before any "violence!" on our part I think wd sgould parachute Herb into Teran to taik sense unto the mad Mullahs. They will love Herb. They kept Americans hostage for over 400 days under Carter's admin.
Posted by: Varmint Splat1454 || 06/20/2019 10:55 Comments || Top||

#11  I would prefer that action not be on normal action spots but rather homes and properties of the supreme mullah and his acolytes, their perferred mosques and the same for the Republican Guard morons.
Posted by: 3dc || 06/20/2019 11:11 Comments || Top||

#12  CENTCOM reporting on this today.
Posted by: JohnQC || 06/20/2019 11:15 Comments || Top||

#13  Within the hour Trump to speak.
House had special briefing 1/2 hour ago Senate a little earlier.
SHTF?
Posted by: 3dc || 06/20/2019 11:37 Comments || Top||

#14  Was an honest question, not to pile on Herb. The problem as I see it is, we absolutely can not bend over for the attack by allah's moon goddess piglets. The real quest would be what.

Targeting several mullah's opulent hovels (Gaddafi) is an option. Or bunker buster someplace. Either way it is dangerous as hell not to strike in kind if not more so.

What your perspective H?
Posted by: Woodrow || 06/20/2019 11:41 Comments || Top||

#15  "Additionally, Ambassador Bolton will meet with the Director General of the Israel Atomic Energy Commission Zeev Snir," says @GMarquis45.
Posted by: 3dc || 06/20/2019 11:46 Comments || Top||

#16  -@AmbJohnBolton will travel to #Israel to meet with @netanyahu on June 23, followed by trilateral and bilateral meetings to discuss regional security with Israeli National Security Advisor Meir Ben-Shabbat and Russian Secretary of the Security Council Nikolay Patrushev.
Posted by: 3dc || 06/20/2019 11:48 Comments || Top||

#17  Members of Congress and their families to attend Congressional Picnic on the @WhiteHouse South Lawn tomorrow evening.
Posted by: 3dc || 06/20/2019 11:51 Comments || Top||

#18  Breaking: Washington’s decision regarding a response to Iran’s downing of a US drone will be taken after consulting allies, a White House official tells Al Arabiya.
Posted by: 3dc || 06/20/2019 11:55 Comments || Top||

#19 


Ali


@CoolHuh_
2m2 minutes ago
More
Replying to @ZacharyLRogers @IntelCrab
There's a readiness here ( in syria) in ADs as shynshar ( air defence command ) was told that a strike may happen on iranian sites in syria


Posted by: 3dc || 06/20/2019 11:58 Comments || Top||

#20  How does it fit the false flag narrative if Iran is the one lying about the circumstances?

(Cue the V'ger broken logic clip)
Posted by: gorb || 06/20/2019 12:57 Comments || Top||

#21  After US drone shot down, White House has invited Democratic and Republican congressional leaders, including Armed Services Cmte. leaders, to briefing on Iran at 3 p.m. ET, Sen. Reed and multiple congressional sources tell @NBCNews - @frankthorp / @kasie / @AlexNBCNews
Posted by: 3dc || 06/20/2019 13:15 Comments || Top||

#22  Nobody will start a war over an unmanned drone, international waters or not. Would still be helpful to prove that the incident didn't happen in Iranian airspace.
Posted by: European Conservative || 06/20/2019 14:19 Comments || Top||

#23  FM of #Iran claims to have retrieved pieces of a US unmanned aerial drone from off its territorial waters.

If true, expect some attempts at reverse engineering in the coming weeks; especially if larger components survived the impact.
Posted by: 3dc || 06/20/2019 14:35 Comments || Top||

#24  Pelosi en route to the WH for Iran briefing. Says “we’ll see what he has to say.” Also briefly says she had a “good conversation” with Trudeau about passage of the UMCA
Posted by: 3dc || 06/20/2019 15:10 Comments || Top||

#25  From the Times of Israel liveblog, posted two hours ago:

TV: Defense officials believe lack of US military response could embolden Iran

Senior Israeli defense officials believe Iran could be emboldened if the United States does not respond militarily to a number of recent attacks it has blamed on Tehran, according to Channel 13 news.

The network says the estimation in the Israeli defense establishment is that Iran’s recent actions in the Persian Gulf were motivated by its belief that US President Donald Trump wants to avoid a military conflict.

Separately, the Kan public broadcaster reports there is concern in Israel that Iran could order its proxies in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon or Syria, to launch an attack against the Jewish state in order to signal to the US that any military action against it could lead to a major conflagration in the region.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/20/2019 15:23 Comments || Top||

#26  Measured response: Turn out their lights. Shut em down
Posted by: Frank G || 06/20/2019 15:46 Comments || Top||

#27  LOL, all you people talking about me when I'm not around. You really like me, don't you? Aww...that's so sweet!
Posted by: Herb McCoy || 06/20/2019 17:34 Comments || Top||

#28  I also love the immediate descent into delusional behavior as you all invent words and waste no time telling me what I think.

Jesus, this is what the Left does, people. Not so different. https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/NotSoDifferent
Posted by: Herb McCoy || 06/20/2019 17:37 Comments || Top||

#29  Hey everybody, Herb thinks false flags are not an issue!

Sorry Herb, couldn't help myself. We'll have you straightened out in no time if you'll put up with us. :-)
Posted by: gorb || 06/20/2019 18:42 Comments || Top||

#30  "Us bold Persian pilots ain't bitin',
Cuz drones is unmanly for fightin',
But the Great Satan's imp, it
Unlimbered a limpet
And blowed itself up -- goodnight, Triton!"
Posted by: Elmotle Ebbeath7848 || 06/20/2019 18:55 Comments || Top||

#31  Aw, Herbie, we don't really hate ya;
It's just that we're scared to debate ya,
But a Herb made of straw
Or a well-trained macaw
Helps us polish our wits till our cognitive bits are sufficiently ditzy to date ya.
Posted by: Elmotle Ebbeath7848 || 06/20/2019 19:06 Comments || Top||

#32  You really like me, don't you? Aww...that's so sweet!

We do! You're our pet troll. And a textbook case study in cognitive bias and monomaniacal obsession. All valuable lessons at a website where playing Intelligence Analyst, Junior Grade is a major sport.
Posted by: SteveS || 06/20/2019 19:12 Comments || Top||

#33  The National self-loathing is a bit offputting... at least for me
Posted by: Frank G || 06/20/2019 21:11 Comments || Top||

#34  An evil thought for the day... put a 1 megaton bomb on a deadman switch on the next drone we fly by Iran...
Posted by: 3dc || 06/20/2019 21:39 Comments || Top||

#35  If it goes off... accuse them of using a Nuke..
Posted by: 3dc || 06/20/2019 21:40 Comments || Top||

#36 
Posted by: Herb McCoy || 06/20/2019 21:56 Comments || Top||

#37  Oh, you carry troll smell all day. Your IP?
Posted by: Frank G || 06/20/2019 22:01 Comments || Top||

#38 
Posted by: Herb McCoy || 06/20/2019 22:10 Comments || Top||

#39  The National self-loathing is a bit offputting... at least for me

Same here. Very widespread nowadays, certainly on the Left but also with generic Americans who have gone thru the university system.

Acquaintances who are normally loving and sensible seem to have a deep visceral hatred of America, usually based on a single specific event. Maybe it is because the severely educated lack any grasp of history.
Posted by: SteveS || 06/20/2019 22:13 Comments || Top||


Regime Attacks Kill 25 in Syria's Idlib
[AnNahar] Regime attacks killed 16 civilians and nine combatants in Syria's jihadist-run northwest on Wednesday, a war monitor said, the latest violence to rattle a region housing three million people.

Eleven non-combatants were killed in regime air strikes on a village in the Jabal al-Zawiya region of southeastern Idlib province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The bombardment destroyed shops and ripped apart bodies, according to an AFP photographer, who found human remains more than a hundred metres away from the site of the strike.

Rescue workers were seen pulling bodies from under the rubble.

Four other non-combatants were killed in air raids on nearby towns and villages in southern Idlib, while one civilian died in air strikes on the edges of Idlib's eponymous bucolic provincial capital, the Britannia-based Observatory said.

In the north of nearby Hama province, regime rocket fire killed 9 jihadists, a day after fierce festivities in the area left at least 55 combatants dead, including 14 regime fighters, the war monitor reported.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/20/2019 02:23 || Comments || Link || [336074 views] Top|| File under: al-Nusra


Lebanon: Captagon Drug Baron Arrested in Coordination with KSA
[AnNahar] The Internal Security Forces on Wednesday said they arrested a "prominent" drug trafficking baron suspected of smuggling large shipments of the amphetamine-like drug captagon to at least six countries.

The 31-year-old suspect "had been professionally smuggling captagon to Arab countries for around six years," the ISF said, without naming the man.

He confessed to carrying out "12 smuggling operations to Egypt, Qatar
...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi...
, 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...
, the United Arab Emirates, Sudan and 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...
," it said in a statement.

He was "one of the most prominent of those involved" in smuggling captagon from Leb to the Gulf, the statement said.

He was arrested in the Bekaa Valley
...isn’t the Bekaa Valley Hezbollah country? D’you suppose they are somehow connected?
in a bust coordinated with Saudi Arabia's Directorate of Narcotics Control, it said.

Four other members of the same smuggling network -- two Lebanese and two Syrians -- were also arrested, according to the statement.

Captagon is an amphetamine manufactured in Leb and probably also in Syria and Iraq, mainly for consumption in Saudi Arabia, according to the French Observatory for Drugs and Drug Addiction (OFDT).

It is also one of the most commonly used drugs in the Syrian war, where fighters say it helps them stay awake for days and numbs their senses, giving them stamina for long battles and allowing them to kill with abandon.

Leb has previously stopped several shipments of the drug to Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia.

In May, it arrested a Saudi man at Beirut airport carrying about 10 kilograms of the drug.

In April, it seized more than 800,000 pills worth around $12 million (10.7 million euros) in a bust coordinated with Saudi authorities.

In one of the country's largest busts, Leb arrested a Saudi prince and four other Saudi nationals in October 2015 for attempting to smuggle out nearly two tons of captagon via Beirut's airport.
Posted by: trailing wife || 06/20/2019 02:23 || Comments || Link || [336089 views] Top|| File under: Narcos



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