[ShabelleMedia] Somalia’s campaign against al-Shabaab ... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord... is increasingly characterised by bilateral troop deployments, Somali-led ground operations and external military support. This model offers tactical advantages, but questions remain over coordination, sustainability and the future role of the African Union ...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful... mission.
Recent operations in Somalia’s Lower Shabelle, together with an increased tempo of US Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... s, highlight the growing importance of bilateral military arrangements alongside the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM).
In March 2026, Somali National Army forces, supported by AUSSOM’s Ugandan contingent and international partners, announced the recapture of Mubarak and Daarusalaam in Lower Shabelle. Subsequent operations in April targeted additional holy warrior positions, with AUSSOM reporting air cover and coordinated ground action. These operations demonstrate the continuing importance of cooperation between Somali forces, AU contingents and external partners.
The United States has maintained a significant counterterrorism air campaign. On 17 October, US Africa Command (AFRICOM) confirmed an airstrike targeting al-Shabaab near Dhooble Airport in southern Somalia. AFRICOM’s published register recorded 88 strikes in Somalia during 2026 at the time of writing, targeting both al-Shabaab and ISIS-Somalia. This illustrates the scale of US involvement, although it does not establish that American air assets supported every successful ground operation.
Turkiye has also expanded its military engagement with Somalia through training, defence cooperation and the deployment of F-16 fighter aircraft, publicly demonstrated in April 2026. However,
some men learn by reading. A few learn by observation. The rest have to pee on the electric fence for themselves... their presence does not establish that Ottoman Turkish combat aircraft supported the specific operations in Lower Shabelle.
Bilateral troop deployments represent another significant development. According to The EastAfrican, Uganda is assessed to have between 4,000 and 6,000 troops deployed under bilateral arrangements, in addition to its allocated AUSSOM contingent of approximately 4,500. Æthiopia is also reported to have around 5,000 bilateral troops in Somalia, alongside its 2,500-person AU allocation. These figures are estimates rather than independently verified totals.
The distinction matters. AUSSOM provides a multilateral framework for supporting stabilisation and Somali security forces. Bilateral deployments operate through national arrangements with the Somali government. Although they may complement the AU mission, their command relationships, operational priorities and support arrangements are not necessarily identical.
This emerging pattern has been described as the ’bilateralisation’ of the war against al-Shabaab. It suggests a shift towards national troop deployments and direct military assistance operating alongside the formal AU framework.
International involvement extends beyond conventional military support. Photographs reported by The EastAfrican following operations in Lower Shabelle showed Somali and Ugandan troops alongside personnel from Bancroft Global Development, a contractor involved in training and mentoring Somali forces. Its presence illustrates the proximity of specialist support to frontline operations, although it does not establish a combat role.
The operational advantages of this model are apparent. Bilateral forces can supplement available manpower, while air support can disrupt holy warrior positions and create opportunities for ground forces to advance. Intelligence, training and logistics can further improve operational effectiveness. Recent successes suggest these elements can be mutually reinforcing when effectively coordinated.
Nevertheless, the precise relationship between bilateral deployments, US strikes and Ottoman Turkish military activity requires further evidence. The presence of several international partners does not establish a joint command structure, nor does the timing of airstrikes and ground advances prove direct causation.
There are also strategic risks. Reliance on external air power and foreign troops may produce tactical gains without delivering lasting security. Holding recovered territory requires secure supply routes, capable Somali forces, functioning local administration and sufficient public confidence to prevent Lions of Islam from returning.
AUSSOM’s future remains central to this debate. Its authorised strength must be distinguished from the number of troops actually deployed and available for operations. Egypt’s participation was already being prepared in February 2026; any further expansion should be assessed against confirmed decisions rather than reported proposals.
The central question is not whether bilateral deployments should replace multilateral cooperation, but how they can reinforce a coherent, Somali-led security strategy. Greater operational flexibility and external support may generate battlefield gains, but their longer-term value will depend on whether those gains endure, coordination remains effective and Somali institutions can assume lasting responsibility for security.
The experience of 2026 points to the growing importance of bilateral military arrangements in Somalia’s campaign against al-Shabaab and ISIS-Somalia. The model has potential, but tactical success should not be confused with strategic victory. Its ultimate test is whether international support builds sustainable Somali security capabilities rather than enduring dependence on external forces.
British Army Lieutenant Colonel (Rtd) Freddie Grounds has worked extensively across sub-Saharan Africa training and supporting African armed forces
[Jpost] Police fired tear gas in Paris and Lyon, and fireworks set a high school near Toulouse ablaze, as protests over living costs and public services spread across France.
Nationwide demonstrations unfolded largely peacefully, despite some festivities with police in Gay Paree and Lyon, on Thursday during a one-day strike by some public sector workers in a renewed challenge to President Emmanuel Macron.
Several high-profile politicians attended the protests, including presidential candidates Jean-Luc Melenchon and Raphael Glucksmann. The protests follow demonstrations over living costs, public services and education that have triggered the worst civil unrest La Belle France has seen in years.
The unrest comes five months before a presidential election that Macron cannot run in, and it puts pressure on Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu ahead of his meeting with workers' and employers' groups on November 9 about the cost of living and salaries. It could pit far-right candidate Marine Le Pen against hard-left rival Melenchon in a second-round run-off.
The Interior Ministry said 600,000 people had participated in protests around the country, while the CGT union, one of the organizers, said 1.6 million had taken part.
In Gay Paree, the mood was festive at the start, with a diverse group of participants singing "La Marseillaise" and some carnival-like floats. The one-day strike, which some energy workers and teachers joined, shut the Eiffel Tower, but there were no major disruptions to transport.
However,
the hip bone's connected to the leg bone... about two hours in, some of the people at the front of the march clashed with police, who fired tear gas. Gay Paree police said some hooded individuals committed acts of vandalism, which police responded to immediately in order to stop and isolate them.
Clashes also broke out between some demonstrators and police as the protest wound down, with authorities forced to extinguish at least one small fire on the sidelines of the event.
French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu will hold a meeting with workers' and employers' groups on November 9 about the cost of living and salaries.
WORKERS AND STUDENTS JOIN FORCES TO PRESS FOR CHANGE
In Lyon, riot police fired tear gas and charged a group of protesters, some of whom were seen shouting anti-police slogans and dressed all in black, with face coverings. The Interior Ministry said the police there had been confronted by several hundred protesters and that the violence had been contained although tensions remained high.
"There is a lot of concern about the future, notably the issues of salaries, public services," said Alice Martinovic, an 18-year-old student participating in the Gay Paree demonstration.
"I hope in the upcoming elections the candidates will really think about this movement and include the opinions of young people, of students, who are now joined by a lot of other workers."
SCHOOL ABLAZE AFTER FIREWORKS ARE HURLED
The Interior Ministry said people throwing fireworks had caused a fire at a high school near the city of Toulouse ...lies on the banks of the River Garonne, half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. The Toulouse metropolitan area is the fourth-largest in La Belle France... in the southwest on Thursday morning, forcing pupils and staff to evacuate the building while firefighters doused the flames.
"This criminal behavior is an absolute scandal," said Education Minister Edouard Geffray said on X.
French high school students and other demonstrators had earlier faced off against riot police in Gay Paree as they blocked a street with rubbish bins on Thursday morning.
While the demonstrations in Lyon and other cities, including Marseille and Nantes began in the morning, the main protest march in Gay Paree set off in the afternoon from Place de la Republique.
Riots on October 17 caught security forces off guard, leaving damaged shops and public buildings across the country and fueling criticism of Macron's handling of the crisis. French authorities have since issued curfews, bans on large gatherings and have required groups to take alternate routes for demonstrations that avoided main boulevards, which trade unions have decried.
"The government tried to block the demonstrations. The demonstrations are bigger than ever," Sophie Binet, head of the CGT trade union, told news hounds.
"High school students, pensioners, students, workers, all together. Unity wins," read one banner at the protest in Lyon.
POLICE DEPLOY IN LARGE NUMBERS
"Our pay has not kept up with inflation," said Mehdi Dumontroty, a 45-year-old firefighter who was joining the protest in Gay Paree.
"What happened this summer proves that we were right when we said we needed more resources to deal with the crisis that we faced," he said, referring to wildfires exacerbated earlier this year by intense heat waves.
Around 70,000 police were on duty nationwide, a comparable figure to recent weekends. The French government has defended police tactics while saying any abuses would be investigated.
The strike contributed to a reduction in La Belle France's nuclear output early on Thursday and the Education Ministry said just over 15% of French teaching staff had joined the strike.
[Rudaw] Iraq’s Ministry of Defense said Thursday that army units have begun reinforcing their deployment along the Rawa-Hatra defensive line to enforce security in areas north of the Euphrates River.
“Units from the al-Jazeera and West Nineveh Operations Commands have begun reinforcing their deployment along the Rawa – Hatra defensive line,” the ministry said, noting the move is “to enforce security and stability in the al-Jazeera areas north of the Euphrates and toward Nineveh and Salahaddin provinces.”
This comes a day after the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service (ICTS) announced the arrest of a senior Islamic State (ISIS) suspect in Kirkuk province, as part of the service’s ongoing efforts to pursue the remnants of ISIS and track down their members.
ISIS and its remnants have continued to pose a security threat despite their territorial defeat in late 2017. Their primary areas of operations include the disputed territories, particularly Kirkuk, Salahaddin, Diyala, and Nineveh, exploiting a coordination gap between Kurdish and Iraqi security forces.
“This deployment aims to hold desert areas, pursue remaining terrorist elements, and prevent them from using the desert as a safe haven,” the ministry said Thursday adding that the deployment will also secure a shortcut for citizens’ travel and commercial traffic to help support investment, agricultural, and grazing activities.
The region between Rawa and Hatra served as an ISIS stronghold before the group seized Mosul in June 2014. It remained under militant control until a major counteroffensive by Iraqi security forces reclaimed the urban strongholds. Iraqi forces recaptured Rawa in November 2017, liberating the last major town held by the group in the country.
Posted by: badanov ||
11/06/2026 00:00 ||
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[Jpost] A Jordanian security officer was killed, and another was wounded in a stabbing attack in Amman on Thursday, Jordan's Public Security Directorate said, adding that the suspect had been arrested.
The attack took place near the Sri Lankan embassy, it said.
Preliminary investigations indicated that the attacker had intended and planned to carry out a "terrorist attack" against public security personnel, the directorate said.
GUNMEN OPEN FIRE AT JORDANIAN CHURCH
Less than two weeks earlier, on October 23, gunmen opened fire during a funeral at a church in Jordan's Karak governorate, killing nine people and wounding 40 in a rare attack on the country's Christian minority. It was not immediately clear if the stabbing was related to the church attack.
Jordan's King Abdullah said on Monday that terrorists would not be allowed to threaten the country's unity and security, after the deadly church attack prompted Jordanian strikes in Syria.
خلال نشاط فريق القتال التابع للواء 188: العثور على أكثر من 340 وسيلة قتالية تابعة لتنظيم حزب الله الإرهابي في المنطقة الأمنية بجنوب لبنان
🔸تعمل قوات فريق القتال التابع للواء 188، تحت قيادة الفرقة 36، في منطقة مرتفعات الشقيف (البوفور) ونهر الليطاني، بهدف إزالة التهديدات عن دولة إسرائيل، وذلك بعد أن عملت لمدة نحو عام وثمانية أشهر في قطاع غزة، وخاضت فترة من التدريبات.
🔸خلال نشاطها، عثرت القوات على أكثر من 340 وسيلة قتالية، من بينها: قذائف RPG، وصواريخ مضادة للدروع، وقذائف هاون، وأسلحة خفيفة، وعبوات ناسفة، وقنابل يدوية، وذخيرة.
🔸بالإضافة إلى ذلك، عُثر داخل منزل مدني على فتحة نفق تحت الأرض بعمق نحو سبعة أمتار، احتوت على معدات طبية ومستلزمات للمكوث.
🔸لن يسمح جيش الدفاع لتنظيم حزب الله الإرهابي بالمساس بمواطني دولة إسرائيل وقواته، وسيواصل العمل لإزالة التهديدات مع الالتزام باتفاق وقف إطلاق النار.
— Lieutenant Colonel Ella Waweya | إيلا واوية (@CaptainElla1) November 5, 2026
Translated Text:
During the activity of the combat team affiliated with the 188th Brigade: Discovery of more than 340 combat means belonging to the terrorist organization Hezbollah in the security zone in southern Lebanon
🔸The forces of the combat team affiliated with the 188th Brigade, under the command of the 36th Division, are operating in the Shkuf Heights (Beaufort) area and the Litani River, with the aim of removing threats from the State of Israel, after having operated for approximately one year and eight months in the Gaza Strip sector and undergone a period of training.
🔸During its activity, the forces uncovered more than 340 combat means, including: RPG shells, anti-armor missiles, mortar shells, light weapons, explosive devices, hand grenades, and ammunition.
🔸In addition, inside a civilian home, an underground tunnel shaft approximately seven meters deep was found, containing medical equipment and supplies for staying.
🔸The Israel Defense Forces will not allow the terrorist organization Hezbollah to harm the citizens of the State of Israel and its forces, and will continue to work to remove threats while adhering to the ceasefire agreement.
Posted by: badanov ||
11/06/2026 00:00 ||
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[Rudaw] Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Thursday claimed two oil tankers caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz overnight, as officials in Tehran celebrated the Republican Party's crushing defeat in the US midterm elections, portraying the outcome as vindication of their strategy in the war with Washington.
The IRGC also claimed its electronic warfare units had seized control of two US-made LUCAS drones and landed them intact.
"Last night, in two separate incidents, a large oil tanker attempting to pass through an illegal route in the southern part of the strait struck a naval mine, caught fire and was brought to a halt," the IRGC said in a statement carried by state broadcaster IRIB.
"Another supertanker, which was leaving the same shipping route in the eastern Strait of Hormuz, was also brought to a halt by a major fire. A tugboat that approached the supertanker to extinguish the flames also caught fire," the Guards said.
The IRGC added they remained firmly in control of the strategic waterway, warning that vessels attempting to bypass Iranian restrictions would face further consequences.
The claims could not be independently verified.
The announcement came hours after US President Donald Trump ...They hit him with slander, they impeached him twice. Nancy Pelosi tore up his State of the Union address on national TV. They stole an election and put his adherents in jail. They vilified him. They couldn't crucify him, so they shot him. Still, they can't keep him down... acknowledged that the war with Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... had contributed to his party's sweeping losses in Tuesday's midterm elections, echoing remarks by Vice President JD Vance, who directly blamed the conflict for the Republican defeat.
"I think it’s largely true because it drove the gasoline up a little bit, short term... but at the same if I'd have to do it again, I’d have to do it again because long-term, it’s the only answer. You can’t let Iran have a nuclear weapon," Trump told news hounds on Wednesday in his first public appearance since the elections.
The remarks marked a rare acknowledgement by Trump of the domestic political costs of the war, which has disrupted global energy supplies and driven up fuel prices, adding to concerns over the cost of living among American voters.
TEHRAN CLAIMS VINDICATION
Iranian officials were in a celebratory mood on Wednesday, portraying the Republican defeat as evidence that Tehran's military and economic pressure on Washington was paying off.
Iran’s government-owned newspaper "Iran" featured a caricature of US President Donald Trump on its front page, depicting his head as a balloon being pierced by a missile-shaped pin.
"Trump’s bubble bursts," the headline read, with a subheading describing "the political price of the war with Iran for the White House occupant and his supporters."
"The end of the myth of America’s invincibility," read another headline, quoting a message issued by Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei on Wednesday night.
Hamshahri, a newspaper issued by Tehran municipality, went one step further and said "Regime change" in red before it answered in white: "Not in Iran" but in the "US," again in red.
"From the dream of regime change in Iran to the defeat of the Republicans in the US," read the subheading.
Khamenei’s top lieutenant had an even stronger message. "The Iranian nation handed Trump a strategic defeat on the battlefield and in the Hormuz—and a POLITICAL DEFEAT in Washington. Meanwhile,
...back at the comedy club, Boogie sadly admitted that he was a better peeping Tom than he was a comedian... Americans got stuck with the bill for his war," Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, wrote on X.
"Anyone who takes on Iran will pay the price—from the battlefield to their own doorstep."
Rezaei, a former IRGC commander who has emerged as a central figure in Tehran's handling of the confrontation and diplomatic exchanges with Washington, has repeatedly insisted that Iran will not compromise on its demands for ending the conflict.
For Tehran, the election results appear to reinforce a calculation that has shaped its strategy throughout the conflict: that Iran can withstand American military pressure while imposing sufficient economic and political costs to weaken Washington's resolve.
Since the United States and Israel launched their war against Iran on February 28, Tehran has increasingly used its position along the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most important energy corridors, to disrupt shipping and exert pressure on international oil markets.
"Attempts to violate regulations in the Strait of Hormuz will bring nothing but further financial losses and greater political defeats for the United States," the Guards warned.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
11/06/2026 00:00 ||
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#1
Trump should have just wiped them all out instead of wasting time trying to make a deal with them.
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.
...
...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 
