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Abu Abbas Abu Abbas Palestine Liberation Front Middle East 20030521  
  Abu Abbas Palestinian Liberation Front Iraq 20030408  

Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Suicide bomber strikes Syria's Manbij, injures 8: MMC
2019-03-10
[Rudaw] A jacket wallah blew up a car near the tomb of Sheikh Aqeel in Syria’s Manbij on Sunday,
...a typo, as elsewhere the attack is reported as occurring on Saturday 9 March 2019...
the Manbij Military Council (MMC) media office has confirmed.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, a jihadist targeted a convoy that included an armored US military vehicle.

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 (ISIS), via its Amaq media outlet, claimed it had attacked four US military vehicles in a convoy on the road between Manbij and al-Bab.

Col Sean Ryan, spokesperson for the US-led anti-ISIS coalition, told Rudaw via email that no US forces have been killed or injured.

The MMC published several photos of the aftermath of the kaboom on its Facebook page, but is yet to release a detailed statement.

Sharfan Darwish, spokesperson for the MMC, told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named the kaboom had targeted a passing military vehicle. Seven civilians and one soldier were maimed.

According to the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) affiliated ANHA, several people were maimed when a suicide bomber went kaboom! inside a car at a road crossing near a busy market southeast of the city.

The media agency said those injured are civilians.

ISIS grabbed credit for an attack in January which killed 19, including two US soldiers and two US civilians.

This is a developing story... Last updated 7.18 p.m.
The Times of Israel adds:
The attack is the third in the past two months targeting the US-led coalition and its allies in northern Syria.

On January 16, four Americans were among 19 people killed in a suicide attack in the city claimed by IS.

Manbij is a former IS stronghold that is now held by a military council affiliated to the SDF.

The city constitutes a major point of contention between Syria’s Kurdish minority, which maintains de facto autonomy in parts of northern and northeastern Syria, and neighboring Turkey.
Al Masdar shares ISIS’ claim:
According to the Islamic State’s official media wing, the terrorist Abu Abbas al-Shami carried out the suicide kaboom along the Manbij Highway in eastern Aleppo.

ISIS claimed the suicide attack resulted in the destruction of a vehicle and the death of three American soldiers onboard.
Link


Iraq
Ninevah Nightmares: Abu Abbas pining for the fjords
2016-06-15
Lovely plumage, don't you think?
ISIS commander, Abu Abbas, has a Very Bad Day in al-Nasr

(IraqiNews.com) Nineveh – Journalists with the Defense Ministry announced on Tuesday about the killing of ISIS military commander in al-nasr village during an aerial bombardment by the international coalition south of Mosul.

The journalists said in a brief statement and obtained by Iraqi News, “The [ISIS] military commander for al-Nasr village, known as Abu Abbas, was killed in an aerial strike by the international coalition aviation in Makhmour south of Mosul.”

Earlier today, media officials with the Ministry of Defense announced liberating the village of al-Nasr located towards the south of Mosul.

Iraqi forces recapture al-Nasr

(IraqiNews.com) Nineveh – Media officials in the Ministry of Defense have announced on Tuesday, that the Iraqi forces managed to liberate al-Nasr village towards the south of Mosul.

According to a statement issued by the press office, a copy of which was also received by Iraqi News, it was stated that, “Today, the [army’s] 15th Division managed to liberate al-Nasr village (60 km south of Mosul) and raise the Iraqi flag over one of its buildings,” adding, “The military troops are advancing towards al-Salahiya village.”
Link


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Islam Army fighters wipe off ISIS from 3 Damascus neighborhoods
2015-04-19
[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] Pro-Islam Army activists said Friday the the key rebel group in Eastern Ghouta has 'cleansed' three neighborhoods of Damascus from Islamic State loyalists after a major attack .

On Thursday, Islam Amry launched an attack on Islamic State bases in Barzeh, Tishreen and Qaboun neighborhoods northern Damascus, killing most ISIS fighters and holding others captive, activists' Twitter news feeds said.

Islam Army says the battle against the hardline Islamic State group aims to eliminate any presence for it in Damascus suburbs and its countryside.

Activists have circulated an image purportedly for Monther al-Karmi, the commander of al-Salaf al-Saleh, an ISIS-affiliated group in Qaboun and Tishreen neighborhood.

Islam Armym in statement issued Saturday said a group of Free Syrian Army (FSA) is participating in fight against ISIS.

Abu Abbas, rebel commander in First Brigade, told Zaman al-Wasl that 500 fighters had stormed ISIS bases early Thursday after one day time limit.

Days ago, Footage showed training camps for ISIS fighters in Qaboun and Barzeh, what set the alarm bells of Islam Army's commander, Zahran Alloush, who visited the embattled neighborhood and met with FSA fighters to prepare for major attack to expel ISIS.

Meanwhile, ISIS still control the vast Yarmouk refugee camp south Damascus since a week.
Link


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Report: Detained Abdullah Azzam Militant was Involved in Shatah's Assassination
2014-12-19
[AnNahar] A senior bully boy recently detained by the Lebanese army was involved in the liquidation of Minister Mohammed Shatah, the transfer of jacket wallahs who killed dozens of people, in addition to several other terror offenses, media reports said on Thursday.

?Mahmoud Ahmed Abu Abbas was placed in durance vile
Please don't kill me!
 in (the Bekaa town of) Majdal Anjar before being immediately transferred to the defense ministry building,? al-Mayadeen television reported.

It said he was involved in the 2013 liquidation of Minister Mohammed Shatah in a central Beirut boom-mobileing.

Military sources informed on the investigations told al-Mayadeen that ?the car used in Shatah's liquidation came from the Ein el-Hellhole camp,? noting that Abdullah Azzam Brigades
... Leb's current al-Qaeda affiliate, named after a guy whose car the current head of al-Qaeda had boomed...
 leader ?Majed al-Majed was arrested four days after the liquidation.?

Majed was reportedly the criminal mastermind of the deadly twin suicide kaboom that targeted the Iranian embassy in Beirut in November 2013. The Lebanese army announced in January that Majed, a Saudi bully boy, had died of illness at the central military hospital in Beirut after being arrested on December 26, 2013.

On Thursday evening, al-Manar television announced that the detainee Abu Abbas had transported ?more than one booby-trapped car? from the outskirts of the Bekaa border town of Arsal to areas inside Leb.

He was also behind sending the bomb-laden car that went kaboom! prematurely at the Dahr al-Baydar checkpoint before reaching its supposed destination in Beirut's southern suburbs, al-Manar said.

Abu Abbas also confirmed that the Abu Assaf Cafe in Tayyouneh -- where dozens of football fans were watching a World Cup match in June -- was the target of the boom-mobile that went kaboom! several meters away from the popular coffee shop.

Earlier on Thursday, al-Akhbar newspaper said the Army Intelligence captured Abu Abbas in an ?ambush? around a week ago, describing him as a ?hefty catch.?

It said the prominent bully boy leader hails from the eastern Bekaa town of Majdal Anjar.

The newspaper said that the detainee confessed that he transported the suicide bomber of Dahr al-Baydar and Beirut's Tayyouneh roundabout in June.

Sources said that the suspect is the right hand of Sirajeddine Zureiqat, a so-called front man of the Qaeda-linked Abdullah Azzam Brigades.

The detainee also provided a residence for Iraqi woman Saja al-Dulaimi, who was identified as a divorcee of 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....
 leader His Supreme Immensity, Caliph of the Faithful and Galactic Overlord, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
...formerly merely the head of ISIL and a veteran of the Bagram jailhouse. Looks like a new messiah to bajillions of Moslems, like just another dead-eyed mass murder to the rest of us...
.

Al-Dulaimi was arrested at a checkpoint on al-Madfoun Bridge in the North, along with her Paleostinian husband and 8-year-old Hajar, her daughter from al-Baghdadi. The arrest took place last month and was kept a secret until the media put it out to public.

Abu Abbas also confessed to moving fighters between Majdal Anjar, Arsal, the northern city of Tripoli
...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn...
 and the southern town of Shebaa.

He also said that he handed money over to Shadi al-Mawlawi, a runaway Islamist bully boy, several times.
Link


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
PA Facing Economic Melt-Down; 280,000 Unemployed
2014-05-14
[Ynet] As monetary aid from foreign Arab nations dries up and peace with Israel slips away, Paleostinian leaders are faced with deepening economic crisis.

In the wake of collapsed peace talks with Israel, it's fair to say that the Paleostinian economy is in crisis. After several years of modest growth, the 'Arab Spring' entered, along with all of its impacts, effectively turning the tables on the Paleostinians.

Until the revolutions that sprang up in across the Arab world, the Paleostinian issue was high on the list of priorities for Mideast leaders (at least outwardly), but now, it has been pushed to the side of the road.
Nobody loves you,
Everybody hates you,
Guess you'll go eat worms...
Arab nations, even those who did not experience direct change from the revolutions, started putting money into domestic issues. In the end, governments shifted their emphasis in a different directions.

Most Arab governments, if they still distribute funds, are sending their money to help Syrian refugees, preferring to help them instead of closing the deficit created by the Paleostinian Authority. Even the US, which adds $500 million yearly to the Paleostinian budget, have been dragging their feet during the last round of the grinding of the peace processor.
Long, thin, slimy ones,
Short, fat, juicy ones,
Itsy, bitsy, fuzzy wuzzy worms.
The problem is reflected in the data: According to the Paleostinian Finance Ministry, NIS 630 million in aid has arrived from abroad since the beginning of the year. That's a 65 percent decrease from the first quarter of 2013.

Contributors to PA aid since the beginning of the year are: 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...
, Qatar, the World Bank and the European Union
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
. The amount donated is a mere fraction compared to what the PA needs to function, most of which's income comes from monetary aid.

The PA deficit stood at $1.3 billion at the end of 2013 and is projected to reach $1.6 billion by the end of 2014. The effects of the crisis will be felt by businesses in the West Bank that will have to make do with late or even partial paychecks.

280,000 unemployed Paleostinians
The decline in interest in the plight of the Paleostinians, together with the lack of political prospects for a peaceful solution, creates concerns in the business sector of the West Bank.

The worry comes mostly from the decline in the quality of living (income per person fell by 2 percent last year) and a possible rise in unemployment in part due to Israel's frustration at a unity deal signed between Fatah and Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, in Gazoo on April 23.

In the 20 years since the Oslo accords, the Paleostinians haven't created any replacement for their complete dependence on Israel (trade, employment, energy demands), despite many ooperation with other Arab sources.

Dr. Samir Halaila, the Paleostinian's most senior economist and the man behind Padico, Fadico, the biggest company working for the development of infrastructure in the West Bank, warned that continuing along the current status-quo will lead to a decline in the labor market.

He recently said that the Paleostinian economy is dependent on high growth rates of 8 percent per year at least for the next decade in order to bring down unemployment rates to a level he called, "reasonable."

Halila also knows that this goal will be difficult if not impossible to achieve and so, like many others, he's concerned that the economic future of the Paleostinians is not auspicious.

In Halila's opinion, the PA needs to declare an economic state of emergency due to currently low growth rates and high unemployment.

According to official figures from the PA, unemployment was at 28.5 percent at the end of 2013 (including Gazoo) and the International Monetary Fund indicates that maximum growth for 2014 will reach 2.5 percent.

According to the estimates, 280 thousand Paleostinians are currently unemployed.
Guess Abu Abbas's plan to push the juices off the land by sheer mass of Palestinian bodies isn't working as well as planned... And with the world-wide recession, sending those bodies abroad to work isn't going to work very well, either. Bummer, dood.
As the largest employer in the Paleostinian economy, the PA announced that they wouldn't be hiring any new workers for the time being because of a severe cash shortage.
Link


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Gunman Killed as Army Arrests Abdullah Azzam Brigades Official in Western Bekaa
2014-01-16
[An Nahar] The military institution announced on Wednesday arresting Abdullah Azzam Brigades
... Leb's current al-Qaeda affiliate, named after a guy whose car the current head of al-Qaeda had boomed...
 official Jamal Daftardar in a town in a western Bekaa.

"After investigating the attack on an army checkpoint in (the southern city of) Sidon, the Intelligence Bureau tossed in the slammer
Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please!
 Daftardar after raiding an area in western Bekaa," the army's communique detailed.

The statement noted that a gunman died of his wound during the raid to arrest the wanted suspect.

In December 2013, an unidentified attacker hurled a hand grenade at an army checkpoint on Sidon's northern entrance in the al-Awwali area, prompting troops to retaliate, which left a gunman dead and a soldier maimed.

Earlier on Wednesday, the state-run National News Agency said the army arrested Mazen Abu Abbas and another Syrian during the raid in the town of Kamed al-Lawz.

Abu Abbas is a suspect who had collaborated with the Abdullah Azzam Brigades chief.

Voice of Leb radio (93.3) said Abu Abbas died after his arrest.

It also identified the Syrian suspect as a member of al-Qaeda holding crucial information on Majed al-Majed, the Abdullah Azzam Brigades chief.

He is from al-Masri family, VDL said.

Media reports have said that a network operating form Kamed al-Lawz had helped al-Majed receive treatment in several hospitals before his death.

Al-Majed, a Saudi citizen, was believed to have serious kidney problems that require dialysis.

The army arrested him in December while heading in an ambulance from al-Makassed hospital in Beirut to the Bekaa Valley.

The military said that he later died while undergoing treatment at the central military hospital after his health deteriorated.

A statement issued by the Abdullah Azzam Brigades accused on Tuesday Hizbullah of killing al-Majed, saying his condition worsened in detention.

The statement posted on Twitter said al-Majed passed away after years of cultivating men capable of carrying on his project, adding that attacks will continue after his death.

The U.S. State Department designated his group a foreign terrorist organization in 2012.

The brigades have grabbed credit for attacks throughout the region, including the 2010 bombing of a Japanese oil tanker in the Persian Gulf and several rocket strikes from Leb into Israel.

The most recent attack claimed by the group was the double suicide kaboom in November outside the Iranian Embassy
...You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy!...
 in Beirut's southern suburbs that left scores of casualties, including an Iranian diplomat.
Link


Home Front: Politix
Understanding and Forgiveness
2013-11-16
From Jonah Goldberg's G-File email, too much fun not to share. As penance, I shall ask all of you to subscribe to his work and buy his latest book, which you should do anyway.
There's something almost poignant in jihadis asking for "understanding and forgiveness" for beheading a fellow jihadi by mistake. This reminded me of the al-Qaeda letter from a few months ago that everyone was comparing to Office Space (Apparently Khaled Abu Abbas wouldn't return calls or file his expense reports on time. No word on whether he obsessively clung to his red stapler).

Anyway, I kind of like the idea of the interoffice e-mail explaining to staff what happened with the beheading.

Hi Everyone,

First let me say that sign-ups for dead-goat polo are almost complete. Practices will be every Thursday after evening prayers. I really feel good about our prospects to go all the way this year. And, if you can, please bring your own dead goat. We can always use extras.

Also, please people, can you please remember that we empty out the cool-food cave every Friday. Sometimes the hummus really piles up in there. And label your containers, people! And not just your first name, otherwise almost everything will be marked "Property of Mohammed! Do not eat."

Anyway, the reason I'm writing should be obvious. Last week we got our signals crossed and beheaded Mohammed Fares. Now I understand that Omar and Mohammed (that is "Fat Mohammed" -- see what I mean, guys? So many Mohammeds!) didn't know Fares. But he was a good guy. He hated all the right people. Always talked about wanting to kill the Jews, the Christians, the atheists, etc.

Anyway, let me say this clearly: Please check IDs before cutting off someone's head. I understand mistakes happen, but c'mon. You know how awkward this is going to make the next inter-agency meeting? He was supposed to bring the doughnuts.

Oh, but there is some good news. Fares was the best player on Ahrar al-Sham's dead-goat polo team. Playoffs, here we come!
Link


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
FSA Says Arrested 13 Hizbullah Fighters: Nasrallah Not Safe from Our Strikes
2012-10-10
[An Nahar] The rebel Free Syrian Army on Tuesday claimed arresting 13 Hizbullah fighters in the countryside of the Syrian province of Homs, warning that it is capable of teaching Hizbullah a lesson in the heart of Dahiyeh, the party's main stronghold in Leb.

"Hizbullah is involved in the current festivities in Syria and its fighters are taking part in the ongoing battles," Fahd al-Masri, head of the FSA Central Media Department, told MTV.

Masri's warning comes less than a week after a senior Hizbullah commander, who Syrian rebels said was killed in Syria, was buried in the Bekaa. Hizbullah has announced several similar burials in past months, without elaborating on the circumstances of its members' deaths.

The opposition March 14 camp and Syrian rebels have repeatedly accused Hizbullah of aiding the Syrian regime of Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Horror of Homs...
 militarily.

"We hold Hizbullah fully responsible before its supporters and it must not implicate Leb and the Lebanese people in lost battles," Masri added.

He reiterated the FSA's warning to "a specific religious community of the Lebanese people," advising them not to let their sons "become the fuel of a war you are not part of."

Masri announced that Syrian rebels managed to capture "13 Hizbullah fighters, in full combat gear, who were manning security and military checkpoints in Homs' countryside."

"Therefore they were not on a religious or touristic or family visit to the region," Masri noted.

"I believe their fate depends on Hizbullah's leadership, should it withdraw its fighters from Syrian territory and stop violating Syria's illusory sovereignty, killing the Syrians and repressing the glorious Syrian revolution," the front man added.

The FSA official accused Hizbullah of being "steeped up to its ears in crime" and of "executing the instructions of its masters in Tehran."

Masri warned that "the Syrian people will not forget those who are harming them, and there will be a severe punishment against anyone harming the Syrian people."

"We warn Hizbullah that if it does not stop, we are capable of teaching it a lesson it will not forget in the heart of Dahiyeh, and we tell (Hizbullah chief Sayyed) Hassan Nasrallah: we know how to find you and you are not safe from our strikes, you and all the leaders of your gang," Masri added.

A Hizbullah commander and several fighters have been killed inside Syria, a Lebanese security official told the News Agency that Dare Not be Named last week, a development that could stoke already soaring tensions over an alleged role for the Lebanese group in the civil war next door.

Hizbullah has stood by Syrian President Bashir al-Assad since the uprising began 18 months ago, even after the group supported revolts in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and Bahrain. The group says it is backing the Syrian regime because of its support for the anti-Israel resistance movements in Leb and Paleostine and because it is willing to implement political reforms.

It was not immediately clear how the alleged Hizbullah faceless myrmidons were killed or whether they had been fighting alongside the Syrian army. But Hizbullah's newspaper al-Intiqad said Hizbullah commander Ali Hussein Nassif, who is also known as Abu Abbas, was killed "while performing his jihadi duties." It did not say when or where he was killed.

A Lebanese security official told AP Nassif was killed in Syria and his body was returned to Leb through the Masnaa border crossing on Sunday. Speaking on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media, the official said the bodies of several other Hizbullah fighters have been brought back to Leb in recent days.

Hizbullah front man Ibrahim al-Moussawi last Tuesday confirmed the deaths of the Hizbullah members but said he had no further information on where or how Nassif was killed. He declined further comment.

Nassif's funeral, which was held in the eastern town of Budai, near Baalbek, was attended by top Hizbullah officials including the head of the Sharia council and the political bureau, an indication of Nassif's high prestige, according to AP.

Last Tuesday, Hizbullah's al-Manar TV showed the funerals of at least two other Hizbullah members it said were killed while performing their "jihadi duty." Both funerals were attended by Hizbullah officials and commanders.

Samer al-Homsi, an activist in Syria's central Homs province, which borders Leb, said Nassif was killed Saturday when a roadside kaboom went off as the car he was in passed just outside the town of Qusayr. He said Nassif and several other people were killed in the blast.

"His job was to coordinate with Syrian security agencies," al-Homsi told AP via Skype.

He added that the rebels detonated the bomb "without knowing" that the target was a Hizbullah official. "We knew he was a Hizbullah official after it was announced by the group in Leb," he said. Al-Homsi's account could not be independently verified.
Link


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Are Hezbollah's mysterious 'martyrs' dying in Syria?
2012-10-08
[France24] Hezbollah officials have long denied reports that their fighters were operating in Syria. But a recent spate of Hezbollah fighters mysteriously killed in the line of "jihadi duty" has put the Lebanese Shiite movement in an embarrassing position.
Never mind their embarrassment, they are thinning the ranks. Who, then, will shoot off Iran's missiles at Israel when the time comes?
On October 1, Hezbollah, the powerful Lebanese Shiite movement, announced the death of one of its fighters in a terse statement. "The commander Ali Hussein Nassif [nicknamed Abu Abbas] was martyred while fulfilling his jihadi duty," said a notice relayed on Hezbollah-controlled media outlets. No further details were provided.

But if there was a paucity of information surrounding Nassif's death, his funeral ceremony -- in his native village of Bouday in the Bekaa Valley -- was replete with Hezbollah pomp and circumstance.

Fighters from Hezbollah's militia wing, dressed in all-black uniforms topped with burgundy berets,
Snazzy. Or perhaps more like seriously dour. But please do go on about the festivities.
carried the coffin draped in Hezbollah's distinctive yellow-and-green flag through packed village streets. Armed guards were deployed as several senior Hezbollah officials paid their respects to the dear departed.

Clearly, Nassif was an important figure in the Hezbollah pecking order.

Over the past few weeks, a number of Hezbollah fighters have been killed while fulfilling their "jihadi duty" -- a phrase that has raised eyebrows in many Lebanese circles.

"Nobody is fighting a war with Hezbollah at the moment, so [Hezbollah leader Hassan] Nasrallah should explain how his fighters can die as deaders, or while fulfilling their jihadi duty in Leb," said a Lebanese observer -- who did not wish to be named - in a phone interview with FRANCE 24 from Beirut. "Unless, of course," he added, "they have died in Syria, where there is indeed fighting between rebels and forces loyal to Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Light of the Alawites...
, a staunch Hezbollah ally."

Hezbollah's uncharacteristic silence on Syria

Hezbollah's existence, its very raison d'etre, has been its resistance to Israel. In the past, it has waged war against Leb's powerful neighbour, but those days are over and all is relatively quiet along Leb's southern border with Israel. But on its northern and eastern front, the Syrian civil war has entered its 19th month and is threatening to spill into Leb - a tiny, multi-religious country that has been historically destabilized by the conflicts in one of the world's most volatile regions.

While the Shiite movement's propaganda arms are particularly adept at lionizing the resistance against Israel, the Syrian civil war presents an altogether different conundrum for senior Hezbollah leaders.

Ever since the Syrian uprising against Assad began in March 2011, Hezbollah has categorically denied claims by Lebanese officials as well as Syrian rebels that its militia members were fighting in Syria. Nasrallah, Hezbollah's powerful chief, has repeatedly maintained that his movement only provides moral backing to the Syrian regime.

'Tracking' Hezbollah commanders in Syria

But the spate of recent deaths of Hezbollah "deaders" killed in the line of jihadi duty has exposed the inconsistencies of the official party line.

Over the past few weeks, there have been growing reports of Hezbollah fighters killed in Syria. Defectors from Assad's military ranks have told journalists of Hezbollah fighters deployed among their ranks. According to the British daily, the Guardian, new graves in cemeteries in Leb designated for Hezbollah deaders have steadily been dug throughout the summer.
Good. More, please.
Syrian rebels periodically claim to have killed Hezbollah fighters in Syria.
Wouldn't it be lovely if we got similar reports from Mexico...
Shortly after Nassif's death, the rebel FSA (Free Syrian Army) grabbed credit for the death of the Hezbollah commander. In an interview with the Arabic language Saudi daily, Okaz, FSA commander Col. Riad al-Asaad said his rebel army had tracked Nassif "for days" before he was killed in the al Qusayr neighbourhood of Homs.

According to the FSA commander, more than 300 people affiliated to Iran and Hezbollah had been killed in al Qusayr.
It's certainly a start.
Are Iranian Revolutionary Guards in Syria?

The presence of Iranian fighters in Syria has also been a sensitive issue, one that has been a subject of repeated assertions and denials by different parties.

Shiite Iran is Hezbollah's financial backer and is part of the three-point "arc of resistance" against Israel, which includes Hezbollah, Iran and Syria.

In August, a senior commander in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps came close to openly acknowledging its military involvement in Syria. But other Iranian officials later denied the reports.

In an interview with the Washington Post in September, a senior US intelligence official said both Iran and Hezbollah had expanded their presence and role in Syria. But the official, who spoke to the US daily on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject, said it appears that they have stopped short of carrying out operations or attacks.
And Iran hasn't decided to turn its uranium into nuclear bombs when its concentrated enough. Gotcha.
Regardless of the roles they perform in Syria -- be they tactical or operational -- Syrian rebel commander Asaad has said Hezbollah and Iranian soldiers will continue to be targeted by his rebel fighters.

"Anyone who supports the Assad regime is a partner in crime and deserves punishment," he warned.
Link


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
FSA Promises Hizbullah 'Severe Retaliation' over 'Interference in Syrian Affairs'
2012-10-04
[An Nahar] The rebel Free Syrian Army on Wednesday warned Hizbullah of a "severe and earthshaking retaliation," after the Syrian opposition said Tuesday that a Hizbullah commander and several fighters were killed inside Syria.

"We promise the Hizbullah members who are deployed in Syria that they will face a severe and earthshaking retaliation over their interference in the Syrian affairs and aiding the regime of Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
The Scourge of Hama...
 to kill the Syrian people," the Joint Command of the Free Syrian Army in Syria said in a statement.

In the statement, the FSA also promised Hizbullah chief His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah
The satrap of the Medes and the Persians in Leb...
 "surprises that will deprive him of sleep."

"We announce to the great Syrian people the news of the death of the criminal Mohammed Hussein al-Hajj Nassif 'Shamas', aka Abou Abbas, the organizational leader of the operations of the terrorist Hizbullah militia in the Syrian interior," added the statement.

"The criminal Abou Abbas was killed in the city of Qusayr in the countryside of the city of Homs, while several companions were maimed after they were lured into an ambush," the statement went on to say.

The rebels vowed that they "will not have mercy on anyone who directly or indirectly contributes to the killing or oppression of our revolutionary, steadfast people, whether they belong to Assad's gangs and Shabiha or to Iran's militias -- the Revolutionary Guard, Hizbullah, the Mahdi Army and others."

"We call on our Lebanese brothers -- who belong to a certain religious community and who have strayed and believed the lies of the devil, Khamenei's agent in Leb -- to return to the path of right before it's too late and not to let your siblings become the fuel of a war you are not part of," the FSA added.

"Do not deprive yourselves of the lung you are breathing through and of your only land route in the region," the FSA went on to say, addressing Hizbullah's supporters.

A Hizbullah commander and several fighters have been killed inside Syria, a Lebanese security official told the News Agency that Dare Not be Named on Tuesday.

Hizbullah has stood by Syrian President Bashir al-Assad since the uprising began 18 months ago, even after the group supported revolts in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and Bahrain. The group says it is backing the Syrian regime because of its support for the anti-Israel resistance movements in Leb and Paleostine and because it is willing to implement political reforms.

Assad's fall would be a dire scenario for Hizbullah. Any new regime led by Syria's majority Sunni Mohammedans would likely be far less friendly -- or even outright hostile -- to Shiite Mohammedan Hizbullah. Iran remains the group's most important patron, but Syria is a crucial supply route. Without it, Hizbullah will struggle to get money and weapons as easily.

The Syrian uprising has left Assad deeply isolated -- making his remaining allies such as Iran and Russia all the more important. At last week's gathering of world leaders at the United Nations
...a lucrative dumping ground for the relatives of dictators and party hacks...
, dozens of nations excoriated the Assad regime for its role in a conflict that activists estimate has killed at least 30,000 Syrians.

It was not immediately clear how the alleged Hizbullah faceless myrmidons were killed or whether they had been fighting alongside the Syrian army. But Hizbullah's newspaper al-Intiqad said Hizbullah commander Ali Hussein Nassif, who is also known as Abu Abbas, was killed "while performing his jihadi duties." It did not say when or where he was killed.

A Lebanese security official told AP Nassif was killed in Syria and his body was returned to Leb through the Masnaa border crossing on Sunday. Speaking on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media, the official said the bodies of several other Hizbullah fighters have been brought back to Leb in recent days.

Hizbullah front man Ibrahim al-Moussawi on Tuesday confirmed the deaths of the Hizbullah members but said he had no further information on where or how Nassif was killed. He declined further comment.

The Syrian opposition has long accused the group of helping the Syrian leadership crack down on the uprising -- a claim the group has repeatedly denied.

Nassif's funeral, which was held in the eastern town of Budai, near Baalbek, was attended by top Hizbullah officials including the head of the Sharia council and the political bureau, an indication of Nassif's high prestige, according to AP.

On Tuesday, Hizbullah's al-Manar TV showed the funerals of at least two other Hizbullah members it said were killed while performing their "jihadi duty." Both funerals were attended by Hizbullah officials and commanders.

The coffins of the dead were draped with Hizbullah's yellow flags and carried by faceless myrmidons in black uniforms and red berets. Hundreds of people marched in the funeral.

Samer al-Homsi, an activist in Syria's central Homs province, which borders Leb, said Nassif was killed Saturday when a roadside kaboom went off as the car he was in passed just outside the town of Qusayr. He said Nassif and several other people were killed in the blast.

"His job was to coordinate with Syrian security agencies," al-Homsi told AP via Skype.

He added that the rebels detonated the bomb "without knowing" that the target was a Hizbullah official. "We knew he was a Hizbullah official after it was announced by the group in Leb," he said. Al-Homsi's account could not be independently verified.
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Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Report: Hamas Chief Wants To Step Down
2012-09-24
Politburo Chief Khaled Mashaal will not seek reelection; says he's 'tired of policy challenges'
First Abu Abbas for the PA, now Mashaal for Hamas. Truly, we live in interesting times. Not that they can be blamed -- with the way the world economy is going, it's about to become no fun at all for those nominally in charge.
Can we still drone-zap him? Can we? Pleaaaaase?...
Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,, always the voice of sweet reason,' leader in exile, Khaled Mashaal, is tired of policy challenges from the Islamist group's Gazoo-based leadership and is not seeking reelection in a vote now underway, political and diplomatic sources said Sunday.

Over the past five months, Hamas, which has ruled the Gazoo Strip since 2007, has been quietly holding a leadership ballot among activists in the territory, the West Bank, Israeli prisons and in Arab and other foreign countries.

Mashaal, who has led Hamas since 1996 from various Arab capitals, told a meeting of its bigwigs in Cairo last week that he had no desire to remain its chief and his decision not to run in the election was final, said a source close to Hamas.

"He (Mashaal) told them to pick another leader," the source said.

Mashaal and other Hamas officials have made no public comment on his future leadership or on the Cairo meeting.

Earlier this year, Mashaal angered Hamas's Gazoo-based leadership by agreeing that its main rival Fatah, headed by Paleostinian President the ineffectual the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas
... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial...
, could lead any future unity government.

Egypt has brokered a reconciliation pact between Hamas and Fatah, which fought a brief civil war in 2007 that left the Islamist group in control of the Gazoo Strip and Abbas in charge of the West Bank.

But implementation of the pact, which envisages a governing partnership and new Paleostinian elections, has been held up by the two sides' failure to carry out its clauses on the ground.

Mashaal has also voiced what critics in Hamas saw as approval for Abbas' now-stalled talks with Israel, saying in 2011 that 20 years after a 1991 international Middle East conference, Paleostinians were willing to give peace another chance.

"Mashaal has grown impatient with some of his Gazoo officials who recently tried to undermine decisions he took on behalf of the group," said a diplomatic source in the region.

Hamas has repeatedly denied any internal rift.

Haniyeh, Abu Marzouk shortlisted
Mashaal, the source added, was more politically savvy and more pragmatic than Hamas leaders who have lived only in the Gazoo Strip.

Israel has dismissed such distinctions, blaming Mashaal for planning attacks that have killed hundreds of its soldiers and civilians. In 1997, Mossad agents botched an attempt to kill him in Amman, an incident that strained ties with Jordan.

The diplomatic source said Mashaal was likely to come under pressure from within Hamas and from some Arab countries to agree to stand as a candidate before a final vote, whose date remains secret.

Another source, privy to the Hamas meeting in Cairo, said Ismail Haniyeh
...became Prime Minister after the legislative elections of 2006 which Hamas won. President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed Haniyeh from office on 14 June 2007 at the height of the Fatah-Hamas festivities, but Haniyeh did not acknowledge the decree and continues as the PM of Gazoo while Abbas maintains a separate PM in the West Bank...
, the group's leader in Gazoo, and Moussa Abu Marzouk, who headed Hamas in the early 1990s, were the top candidates to replace Mashaal.

Both Haniyeh and Abu Marzouk support closer relations with Arab countries and Europe, while adhering to Hamas's policy of refusing Western demands to recognize Israel's right to exist.

The location of a new Hamas chief could be key to winning votes. Hamas activists have traditionally preferred leaders in exile, in venues seen as offering better personal security than in the Gazoo Strip which Israeli drones overfly frequently.
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India-Pakistan
Our Man in Pakistan, or Sane Countries Respect Anyone With a Diplomatic Passport
2011-03-01
The dreadful treatment of Raymond Davis is a reminder of how dysfunctional our relationship with Pakistan has become.
By Christopher Hitchens

In October 1985, after the hijacking of the cruise ship Achille Lauro in the Mediterranean, an act of open piracy that culminated in the rolling of a disabled man, Leon Klinghoffer, from the vessel's deck into the sea, the organizer of the "operation" was apprehended and taken into custody by the Italian police. But Abu Abbas was not inconvenienced for long. He was released when he was found to be carrying a diplomatic passport--an Iraqi diplomatic passport as it happened, though he was by nationality a Palestinian and had never been accredited to any overseas mission.

These cases were far more murky and gruesome, and involved much more serious breaches of local and international law, than the decision of Raymond A. Davis to use deadly force against men he believed to be his assailants in Lahore, Pakistan. But this does not in the least alter the main element of the case, which is that Davis is "our diplomat," in the president's own words and that the Pakistani authorities have no right either to detain him or to put him on trial.

But Pakistan is not a "normal" country. It is a failed and rogue state, where Davis would have had to know that his assailants might very well be working for the forces of law and order.

Not to mince words, then, Davis is a hostage.
As well we here at Rantburg know. But nobody says things as eloquently and savagely as Mr. Hitchens when his dander is up -- which it always is.
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