[AlArabiya] An overnight raid by Taliban ...the Pashtun equivalent of men... forces in Afghanistan’s capital killed three members of ISIS, a Taliban front man said on Wednesday.
The regional affiliate of ISIS — known as ISIS-K— has been the key rival of the Taliban since their takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021. The bad boy group has increased its attacks, targeting both Taliban patrols and members of Afghanistan’s Shia minority.
According to Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban government front man, the operation on Tuesday targeted an ISIS hideout in Kabul and killed three prominent members of the bad boy group who were plotting attacks during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which starts Thursday.
"The IS members used the hideout to carry out attacks in Kabul city and planned to target religious places and civilians during the upcoming month of Ramadan," Mujahid said. The Taliban swept across Afghanistan in mid-August 2021, seizing power as US and NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions... forces were withdrawing from Afghanistan after 20 years of war.
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03/23/2023 01:44 ||
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KABUL RAID TARGETS ISIS-K HIDEOUT, 3 DEAD – A night operation by the Taliban security forces targeted an ISIS-K safe house and resulted in the deaths of 3 ISIS-K leaders. The Taliban said the men were planning an attack(s) during the month of Ramadan. It is not clear what transpired and the location of the operation has been kept quiet.
NEW GOVERNOR OF THE CENTRAL BANK APPOINTED – The Finance Minister, Hidayatullah Badri, has been placed in charge of the Da Afghanistan Bank. His appointment has raised some questions among analysts and observers who say he is close to the Minister of Defense, Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, and has expressed sympathies with those among the Taliban who are looking to chart a more inclusive way forward for the country. It is not clear what led to the removal of Mohammad Idris, the former Governor of the bank.
MINISTRY OF VICE AND VIRTUE FORBID INSULTS IN FARYAB – Checkpoints in Faryab have been established and members of the local Vice and Virtue Department have been stopping vehicles to remind drivers and passengers that public insults are akin to killing someone. It is believed the Ministry intends to set up similar drives in other Provinces throughout the month of Ramadan.
BADAKHSHAN REPORTS MAJORITY OF DAMAGE FROM EARTHQUAKE – Between 50-100 buildings have been severely damaged in the Province after Tuesday’s earthquake. Most of the damage occurred in Faizabad and involved roofs and walls collapsing. Water and sewage systems in the city were damaged and local health workers are concerned about a potential cholera outbreak.
CONFLICT TRACKER Kabul: Taliban security forces raided a suspected ISIS-K safe house in an undisclosed location of Kabul last night, The operation resulted in the deaths of 3 ISIS-K operatives. No information was provided on any possible Taliban casualties. Faryab: Several masked gunmen reportedly killed 1 Talib and 1 non-combatant in the Pashtunkot district. No group has claimed credit for the attack.
NEXT 24 HOURS
RAMADAN – It seems analysts and others following events in Afghanistan are split over what will happen during Ramadan in Afghanistan. Some say the month will pass quietly while others contend that ISIS will adhere to historic norms and become particularly active across the country. A source in the Ministry of Defense maintains that the Taliban leadership has been preparing for stepped-up ISIS attacks for the past four months and pointed to the many recent clearing operations across the country as evidence. The source said that ISIS-K is known to have received a large shipment of cash that had been brought across the border from Pakistan in late December. The source said the general thinking among many in the Ministry of the Interior was that the funds were going to be used for a bout of attacks during Ramadan. The Taliban has experienced success with several of its counter-ISIS operations but it is not clear if these operations have degraded ISIS-K capabilities and there is concern among senior Taliban leaders that disaffected Taliban and Resistance members have joined the group in recent months. Internationally, ISIS has suffered many setbacks over 2022 and Afghanistan is one of the few places they have been able to operate nearly at will and have pulled off some high-profile attacks. At-risk Afghans should remain vigilant and recognize that traditional targets of ISIS-K (e.g. Shiite religious sites) could be attacked.
EARTHQUAKES CONTINUE TO RATTLE THE REGION – After Tuesday’s earthquake, Iran and Tajikistan both experienced moderate quakes between 5.1 and 6.2 magnitudes. There are concerns that a major earthquake could still hit the region. At-risk Afghans should be aware that Tuesday’s quake, while not as deadly as many first feared, likely caused internal damage to structures, especially load-bearing walls, floors, and roofs. A second quake of a similar or greater magnitude could cause these structures to collapse. At-risk Afghans should take appropriate actions at the first hint of an earthquake and local emergency managers in the region to advise people to not stay inside multi-floor buildings if tremors begin to be felt. We also recommend individuals/families keep a ‘go-bag’ at hand with important documents, some food, medications, bottled water, etc.
[KhaamaPress] The security forces of the Afghan interim government destroyed an important ISIS hideout in the capital city of Kabul Tuesday night, according to Zabiullah Mujahid, the Taliban ...the Pashtun equivalent of men... senior spokesperson.
According to Mujahid, three important 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) members were killed late on Tuesday night after Taliban security forces attacked an important hideout during a special operation in Kabul’s provincial district 12.
He also said that several weapons, grenades, explosives, many remotes, and much mine-making equipment were seized during the operation.
The statement added that ISIS used the hideout to plan and carry out an attack on holy places and civilians of Kabul in the month of Ramadan, which was discovered and destroyed in advance, Mujahid said.
The ISIS bandidosDeath Eaters have grabbed credit for many terror attacks in Kabul, Mazar-e-Sharif, and other parts of the country.
In a recent attack, the group claimed two separate attacks in Balkh province; the first one occurred in the governor’s office, killed the governor of the province, and the second occurred in an Afghan journalist’ gathering in Tebyan cultural centers killing many journalists and injuring several others.
The Islamic State Khorasan holy warriors have also carried out several terror strikes that have left dozens of people dead or injured, including at the Russian Embassy, Pak Diplomatic Mission, and a Chinese-run hotel.
ISIS is considered to be the main enemy of the Taliban administration, targeting their forces, Afghan citizens, and foreign nationals.
The rise and momentum of the Islamic State-Khorasan holy warrior group in Afghanistan are said to be the return of the Taliban to power in August 2021, creating security challenges for the Taliban government.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
03/23/2023 00:57 ||
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[HODHODYEMENNEWS.NET] On Wednesday, Saudi 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. Fifteen of the nineteen WTC hijackers were Saudis, and most major jihadi commanders were Saudis, to include Osama bin Laden. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman quietly folded that tent in 2016, doing terrible things to the guys running it, and has since been dragging the kingdom into the current century... postponed the return of the president of the Riyadh-formed "Presidential Council," Rashad al-Alimi, to Hadhramaut province in eastern 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... indefinitely.
This occurs after tensions between provincial leaders in the province have escalated.
Media sources reported that al-Alimi’s return with members of the Presidential Council for Mukalla has been ruled out at the present time, attributing that to the failure of Faraj al-Bahsani, a member of the Presidential Council, to secure his return.
Saudi Arabia had pushed al-Bahsani to return to arrange the security and military situation, and instead of calming the situation, al-Bahsani entered into a conflict of powers with the governor of Hadhramaut, Mabkhout bin Madi, who is affiliated with the UAE.
Saudi Arabia believes, according to the sources, that this conflict may jeopardize the safety of al-Alimi and the rest of the council members.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/23/2023 00:00 ||
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[HODHODYEMENNEWS.NET] A military commander loyal to the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) was maimed, on Wednesday, in the battles of Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of... ’s southern port city of Aden.
This was reported by Yemen News Portal, based on testimonies of medical sources.
According to medical sources, the emergency commander in the Land Protection Unit of the Security Belt forces affiliated with the STC, Abdul Samad al-Omari, is currently under intensive care amid a deterioration of his health.
Al-Omari was maimed during the battles taking place in the vicinity of the new Aden airport, west of the city.
Since Tuesday evening, festivities have been taking place between the STC factions and other groups, as the latter managed to tighten its grip on desert lands in the Ras Omran area after the STC authorities in the city were trying to establish an international airport project on it.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/23/2023 00:00 ||
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[HODHODYEMENNEWS.NET] Gunmen believed to belong to the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) militia looted on Wednesday a car belonging to an international organization in Abyan ...a governorate of Yemen. The region was a base to the Aden-Abyan Islamic Army terrorist group until it dropped the name and joined al-Qaeda. Its capital is Zinjibar. In March 2011, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula declared the governate an Islamic Emirate after seizing control of the region. The New York Times fastidiously reported that those in control, while Islamic hard boyz, are not in fact al-Qaeda, but something else that looks, tastes, smells, and acts the same. Yemeni government forces launched an effort to re-establish control of the region when President-for-Life Saleh was tossed and the carnage continues... province, in southern 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... Human rights sources stated that the armed elements blocked the road in front of the car belonging to the international "CARE" organization, in the area of Kamb al-Turiyah in Jaar Khanfar district and took it to an unknown destination.
The sources explained that the button men took the driver down and forced him to hand over the car at gunpoint, indicating that a number of citizens discovered the elements that looted the car, which was returned to the organization within hours.
In early February 2022, six Yemeni United Nations ...a lucrative dumping ground for the relatives of dictators and party hacks... employees, including a Bulgarian national, were kidnapped and taken to an unknown destination, amid accusations against al-Qaeda elements.
Incidents of interruption, looting, and theft of travelers are frequent in Abyan, including cars belonging to citizens, companies, and factories in the province.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/23/2023 00:00 ||
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[NPASyria] On Tuesday, a German court ordered, at a preliminary hearing, that a citizen suspected of travelling to Syria and joining 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) remain in jug.
German authorities accused Asmael K. of travelling to Syria in late 2013 to join the krazed killer group, which "killed and kidnapped opponents," prosecutors said.
Asmael K. was arrested a day earlier by federal agents in the western city of Essen.
In a similar incident, a German woman was accused in January of having joined ISIS and enslaving a Yazidi woman. The 37-year-old Nadine K allegedly travelled to Syria in December 2014 and was arrested by Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in 2019.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
03/23/2023 00:57 ||
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[SAHARAREPORTERS] AUnited States District Judge, Richard D. Bennett, has sentenced Eric Fru Nji, age 42, of Fort Washington, Maryland, to 63 months in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release, for conspiracy, for transporting firearms with obliterated serial numbers, and for smuggling firearms and ammunition from the United States to Nigeria.
Judge Bennett also ordered Nji to pay a fine of $25,000. Nji was convicted of those charges on May 6, 2022, along with co-defendants Wilson Nuyila Tita, age 47, of Owings Mills, Maryland and Wilson Che Fonguh, age 41, of Bowie, Maryland, after a two-week trial.
The sentence was announced by Erek L. Barron, United States Attorney for the District of Maryland; Special Agent in Charge James C. Harris of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore; and Special Agent in Charge Toni M. Crosby of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division, People’s Gazette reports.
According to the evidence presented at trial, from at least November 2017 through July 19, 2019, Nji and his co-defendants conspired with each other and with others to export firearms, ammunition and other military-typed items from the United States to Nigeria.
Specifically, the evidence at trial established that Nji and his co-conspirators secreted 38 firearms, 28 of which had the obliterated serial numbers in a shipping container that they sent out of the Port of Baltimore in January of 2019.
The guns included sniper rifles, SKS assault rifles (some with bayonets), other rifles and several handguns. There were 44 high-capacity magazines, two rifle scopes and over 35,000 rounds of ammunition.
As detailed in trial testimony, Nji and his co-conspirators contributed funds for the purchase of firearms, ammunition, reloading materials and other equipment for shipping overseas to separatists fighting against the Government of 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... . The evidence proved that Nji and his co-conspirators concealed the firearms, ammunition, rifle scopes, and other items in duffle bags and heavily wrapped packages inside sealed compressor units, placing those items into a shipping container destined for Nigeria.
Nji and his co-conspirators communicated about their efforts and plans to ship weapons and ammunitions using an on-line encrypted messaging application and code words in order to conceal their activities.
Fonguh, Tita and seven defendants charged in related cases are awaiting sentencing.
United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended HSI and the ATF for their work in the investigation.
Mr. Barron recognized the U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Export Enforcement; U.S. Department of State Diplomatic Security Service; Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service; the Naval Criminal Investigative Service; and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service for their contributions to the investigation. U.S. Attorney Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen O. Gavin, who is prosecuting the case.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/23/2023 00:00 ||
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#1
United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended HSI and the ATF for their work in the investigation.
[IsraelTimes] Military says aircraft didn’t enter Israeli airspace, posed no threat to civilians.
The Iron Dome air defense system shot down an unmanned aircraft belonging to the Hamas, a regional Iranian catspaw, terror group flying over the Gazoo ...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamaswith about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... Strip on Wednesday, the Israel Defense Forces said.
According to the IDF, the drone did not enter Israeli airspace, adding that the interceptor missiles were fired at the device while it was over Gaza.
The drone "did not pose a threat to civilians in the area surrounding the Gaza Strip," the IDF added.
Paleostinian media reported a large explosion over the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
Israel typically does not interfere when Hamas conducts drone test flights, only when they are being flown out of the Strip. It was not immediately clear why it did so this time and the IDF provided no explanation. "We were bored"
The Iron Dome was first used operationally to intercept a Hamas drone in May 2021, during an 11-day conflict with Paleostinian terror groups in the Strip, known in Israel as Operation Guardian of the Walls. During the conflict, the system also mistakenly shot down an Israeli drone.
[BenarNews] Violence marred the eve of the Moslem holy month of Ramadan in the southern Philippines after suspects from a pro-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.... group killed a soldier and maimed another on Wednesday.
Troops were securing a highway in the town of Mamasapano in Maguindanao province when krazed killer suspects belonging to the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters ...a MILF splinter group aligned with the Islamic State... (BIFF) shot up a checkpoint, local army chief Brig. Gen. Oriel Pangcog said.
The attack instantly killed Pfc. Jorey Abibas while Pfc. Jonathan Nacion was maimed, he said, adding a stray bullet struck a civilian. Nacion’s and the civilian’s injuries were not life threatening.
Pangcog said the murderous Moslems were possibly responding to the military’s killing of a BIFF commander last month.
"This is in retaliation for that," Pangcog said.
"We have alerted our detachment and they were looking for the vehicle used by the krazed killers."
Army troops launched artillery attacks against BIFF positions in the marshes bordering the towns of Pagalungan, Datu Montawal and Pikit following the ambush, said Von Al Haq, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region’s interior minister.
BIFF is a splinter group of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which was the country’s largest separatist force before it signed a peace pact with the government in 2014.
BIFF, which has openly supported the Islamic State group, has been blamed for several attacks, including bombings in public areas.
The latest ambush came a day before the country’s Moslem minority was to begin the Islamic holy month of fasting.
A large Moslem minority — more than 6 million of 110 million — lives in the southern part of the Philippines, Asia’s only predominantly Catholic nation.
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03/23/2023 00:00 ||
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[Rudaw] An Israeli Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... struck Syria’s Aleppo airport early on Wednesday, for the second time this month, causing material damage according to Syrian state media.
"Around 3:55 AM, the Israeli enemy launched an airstrike with a number of missiles... targeting the vicinity of Aleppo International Airport", SANA reported, adding that it caused material damage to the airport that has been crucial for the delivery of earthquake relief.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that Israeli airstrikes targeted a weapon depot within the vicinity of the airport belonging to Iranian-backed fighters.
It added that the depot had been "completely destroyed." There are no reports of casualties from the airstrike.
On March 7, a drone attack on the airport killed three people and rendered the airport out of service as a result of material damage.
Israeli airstrike targeted Syria’s Tartus and Hama provinces on March 12, injuring at least three Syrian soldiers, state media reported.
In February, an Israeli attack targeted "Iranian militia and Lebanese Hezbollah" near an Iranian cultural center in the capital Damascus killing 15 people, according to SOHR.
The Syrian Ministry of Transport announced, on Wednesday, that the recent Israeli airstrike caused material damages to Aleppo International Airport and put it out of service.
Early on Wednesday, an Israeli airstrike targeted Aleppo Airport, causing material damage, in a second attack this month, the Syrian Ministry of Defense announced.
After assessing the damages of the attack, the Ministry of Transport posted on its Facebook account that the runway and some navigational equipment sustained damages.
Flights through the airport will resume after finishing the renovation works, the ministry added.
It noted that the flights were rerouted to Damascus International Airport and Bassel al-Assad International Airport in Latakia.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
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...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
...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. Fifteen of the nineteen WTC hijackers were Saudis, and most major jihadi commanders were Saudis, to include Osama bin Laden. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman quietly folded that tent in 2016, doing terrible things to the guys running it, and has since been dragging the kingdom into the current century...
...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 
...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 
...
Hezbollah
