[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The First Vice President General Abdul Rashid Dostum ...ethnic Uzbek warlord who distinguished himself fighting the Soviets and the Taliban. The story that he had a bad guy run over with a tank is an exaggeration. It was an armored personnel carrier... is expected to launch a major clearance operation in northern Kunduz province of Afghanistan as the Taliban group launched a coordinated attack on the strategic Kunduz city last week.
Gen. Dostum made the announcement regarding the launch of the major operation on Sunday night, emphasizing that there are still security gaps available in the ongoing operations in Kunduz.
He said the operations will be launched soon after he will visit the provnce together with the Minister of Interior and deputy intelligence chief.
The First Vice President has supervised numerous military operations in some northern provinces including Jawzjan and Faryab provinces.
He escaped numerous attacks and liquidation plot as he was accompanying the Afghan cops during the operations in northern parts of the country.
Gen. Dostum charge of the security operations in Kunduz last week through the Ministry of Defense Command and Control Center, shortly after the Taliban launched a coordinated attack on Kunduz city.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/11/2016 00:00 ||
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[Khaama (Afghanistan)] A delegation of Hezb-e-Islami is expected to visit the United States of America in the near future as part of the party’s efforts to improve reconciliation process in the country, it has been reported.
Hezb-e-Islami’s chief negotiator Mohammad Amin Karim has confirmed the scheduled visit to the United State but did not elaborate further regarding the exact time frame.
Amin further added that negotiations are underway for the visit of Hezb-e-Islami delegation to the United States but such a visit is not on the top list of the party.
However, there is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened... another member of the party said the visit will take place in the near future and the delegation will be led by Ghairat Baheer, the chief of the political committee of the party.
According to the reports, Hezb-e-Islami’s delegation will likely discuss the removal of the party’s members from the global list of the designated terrorists.
The United States officiasl said last week ’they never get ahead of sanctions decisions’ on Gulbuddin Hekmatyar ... who used to be known in intelligence circles as The Most Evil Man in the World but who now seems merely run-of-the-mill evil... as a landmark peace agreement was signed between the party the Afghan government.
The State Department Press Office Director, Elizaabeth Trudeau, said "Well, as you know, we never get ahead of sanctions decisions. I won’t do that now. I think we spoke about that agreement when it was first announced out of Kabul ...the capital of Afghanistan. Home to continuous fighting from 1992 to 1996 between the forces of would-be strongman and Pak ISI/Jamaat-e-Islami sock puppet Gulbuddin Hekmayar and the Northern Alliance, a period which won Hek the title Most Evil Man in the World and didn't do much for the reputations of the Northern Alliance guys either.... and we welcome that. But in terms of individual actions on sanctions, I will not get ahead of that."
Posted by: Fred ||
10/11/2016 00:00 ||
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[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Afghan Intelligence, National Directorate of Security ...the Afghan national intel agency... (NDS) Chief, Masoom Stanikzai apologized from the residents of Kunduz for the shortages that led to the partial fall of the strategic Kunduz city.
Stanikzai tendered teh apologies as he was summoned by the Afghan Senate Committee in Defense Affairs along with the Minister of Interior and Minister of Defense.
He admitted that the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) were supposed to take necessary actions to prevent the coordinated Taliban attack which they did not take.
"We apologize from the people of Kunduz and all of us should apologize since we have not done what we were supposed to do prevent the incident. The work was not done on time and today we are in the final stages of the fight," Stanikzai said.
Stanikzai also admitted that the war in Afghanistan has reached to its ultimate stage now, emphasizing that the reasons for the unprecedented rise in violence would be shared with the senators once the media leaves the committee room.
In the meantime, the Minister of Defense said the Lions of Islam are attempting to establish a fair environment for them in a specified part of the country.
Defense Minister Abdullah Habibi said the enemies have faced defeats for several times but they continue to their efforts, warning that this will not be their final defeat.
The Talibs have launched numerous attacks on Kunduz city since it was retaken by the Afghan Special Operations Forces earlier in the month of October.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/11/2016 00:00 ||
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Morocco's King Mohammed VI Monday tasked Abdelilah Benkirane to keep his post as prime minister and form a new government after his Islamist party won last week's parliamentary elections, the royal court said.
Benkirane's Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD) took 125 seats out of 395 in Friday's polls, beating its main rival, the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), which had campaigned against the "Islamisation" of Moroccan society.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/11/2016 00:00 ||
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[Libya Observer] Sudan’s Justice and Equality Movement is fighting alongside Khalifa Haftar ... served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all... ’s Dignity Operation, a senior commander from the rebel group has officially admitted.
Brigadier Ibrahim al-Bagdadi, chief of armament in the Justice and Equality Movement told Sudan’s Blue Nile TV that their forces are now fighting for Khalifa Haftar after months of fighting for former Qadaffy brigades during the 2011 uprising.
"We took part in several festivities in 2011 and we had lost many fighters," he said.
Al-Bagdadi revealed that their commander Tahir Arja is now in Libya leading gangs alongside Haftar’s forces at the request of Mahmoud Jibreel, Chairman of National Forces Alliance.
"It’s business," he said.
Last month, Dignity Operation militias occupied Brega, Zuwetina, Sidra and Ras Lanouf oil terminals in central Libya with the help of Sudanese and Chadian mercenaries.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/11/2016 00:00 ||
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#1
Mahmood Jibril served in the Qadafi regime as head of the National Planning Council of Libya and of the National Economic Development Board of Libya. Qadafi's son, Saif al-Islam was his close friend, and as his father grew old and tired Saif chose Jibril to lead a nascent move to broaden Libya's political and economkic base. Had Hillary Clinton not interfered with the course of Libyan history, the political movement emerging today would have already become a fait accompli.
[AlAhram] German Chancellor Angela Merkel ...current chancellor of Germany. She was educated in East Germany when is was still run by commies, but in 1989 got involved with the growing democracy movement when the Berlin Wall fell. Merkel is sometimes referred to by Germans as Mom... on Monday announced a 27-million-euro aid package for Niger, her second stop in a three-nation Africa tour aimed at fighting terrorism and stemming the migrant influx to Europe.
The German leader said the army of the arid west African country, one of the world's poorest, would receive 10 million euros ($11 million) worth of equipment.
Germany will also build a military base to back up the UN mission in neighbouring Mali, the first country she had visited on the whirlwind African tour.
Merkel also promised 17 million euros as development aid for Niger's arid and desperately impoverished Agadez region in the north in a bid to fight migration to Europe.
She said efforts to stall the influx of migrants colonists into Europe would be futile without development.
Niger is a key transit point for people from sub-Saharan Africa who try to cross the Mediterranean to enter Europe.
Since 2014 more than 10,000 migrants colonists have bit the dust in the Mediterranean, according to UN figures.
Merkel has said that she wants the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... and North African countries to do deals modelled on a controversial agreement with The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... to curb migrant flows to Europe.
Under the EU-Turkey deal, Ankara agreed to take back Syrians who made it to Greece in return for being allowed to send refugees from its massive camps to the bloc in a more orderly redistribution programme.
The pact also pledges billions of euros in EU aid for Turkey and visa-free European travel for Turkish citizens.
Merkel will visit Æthiopia on the last leg of her trip.
[Dhaka Tribune] Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has released photos of the seven murderous Moslems killed in Patertek raid in Gazipur on October 8, urging people to send information about the dear departed.
In a post on Facebook, the DMP said, "From different raids and analysis of the information we have learnt that the murderous Moslems use many pseudonyms at different times and places. It is imperative that we get their real identities for investigation.
"If anyone happens to know the identity any of these bad boys, please inform us on our Facebook page, website or on Hello CT app."
Posted by: Fred ||
10/11/2016 00:00 ||
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An Israeli minister is set to visit Turkey on Oct. 13, the first ministerial level meeting since relations came to a halt in 2010 after Israel’s deadly raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla. Israeli Minister of National Infrastructure, Energy and Water Resources Yuval Steinitz is expected to visit Turkey on Oct. 13, the Israeli Embassy in Ankara said in a written statement on Oct. 10.
“Minister Steinitz will meet his Turkish counterpart Mr. Berat Albayrak in Istanbul in order to discuss energy cooperation between the two countries,” the statement read, adding that the two would meet on the sidelines of the 23rd World Energy Congress, during which Steinitz is scheduled to deliver the opening remarks for the Atlantic Council panel titled “A New Landscape in the Eastern Mediterranean.”
Albayrak and Steinitz are expected to hold a joint press conference after their meeting in Istanbul, the embassy said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/11/2016 00:00 ||
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[Hurriyet] The government is drafting a package of comprehensive changes in the criminal procedures act and the penal code in order to make the show trials of July 15 coup plotters more efficient, Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ has told reporters.
“The show trials will take place in cities where the coup attempt crimes were committed. They will be held in many cities and districts. These show trials will not be merged as this will only complicate the proceedings and turn them into a mess,” Bozdağ said on Oct. 9.
The first July 15 coup attempt show trial has already started in Denizli, he stated, adding that although the main show trials will take place in Ankara and Istanbul, other legs of the case will take place in different cities under separate indictments.
“If we were to merge all of these show trials, we would never be able to conclude the case and come to a verdict,” Bozdağ said.
“A total of 34,063 people are currently detained either on charges of attempting to stage the coup or being a member of a terrorist organization. Legal procedures have been imposed against more than 76,000 people so far,” Bozdağ said.
While investigations into the coup attempt are ongoing, the government is set to make changes to a number of key articles of the Penal Code and Criminal Procedures Act, in an attempt to streamline the show trial process. These changes include the following:
Laundering of assets acquired as a result of an offense will be moved from the Penal Code to Anti-Terror Law. As a result, those who commit this crime will receive a bigger punishment.
Military personnel charged with terror crimes, or with attempting to stage a coup, will be imprisoned in civilian jails instead of military prisons. Military personnel will be handed to the judicial police and not to the military police after being caught.
With a change in the criminal procedures act, show trials will be able to be held in different locations within the boundaries of a certain jurisdiction.
Courts will be able to assess the release appeals of those detained on terror accusations over the course of 15 days, instead of the current three days.
If the court demands an additional testimony from the suspect, this will be able to be carried out by the police and not necessarily by the court.
Judges will have the right to reject the defense’s demand to hear additional witnesses if they believe that this is simply an attempt to prolong the proceedings.
Instead of reading the entire indictment at the beginning of trail process, prosecutors will be able to read a summary of the indictment.
Justice Minister Bozdağ said the government would likely submit the draft package to parliament this week.
“We are keen to have the package discussed at the sub-committees. We will welcome the opposition’s contribution to the package and we are ready to listen if they suggest changes,” he added.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/11/2016 00:00 ||
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#1
Just remember to keep the sequence in order: trial, verdict sentence, then execution.
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The new supreme leader of the Afghan Taliban Mawlavi Haibatullah Akhundzada ...Deputy to Taliban supremo Mullah Akhtar Mansour... was openly teaching and preaching in a mosque in Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... province of Pakistain before he was appointed to succeed Mullah Akhtar Mansoor who was killed in US drone strike in Pakistain.
The mosque, Al Haaj mosque, where Mawlavi Akhundzada was teaching and preaching is located in Kuchlak, near the city of Quetta, the associates and students of Akhundzada told Rooters.
According to Rooters, the latest disclosures regarding Akhundzada could put further pressure on Pakistain to do more to crack down on turbans openly living there.
Akhundzada was appointed the supreme leader of the Taliban group in May, days after Mullah Mansoor was targeted in a US drone strike in the vicinity of Balochistan province of Afghanistan.
He is believed to be hiding after taking charge of the group with his associates and students saying "Once he became Emir, he left with his whole family."
Hafiz Abdul Majeed, who runs the Al Haaj mosque, told Rooters that he himself studied for several years under Akhundzada.
"You can’t teach religion and run (the Taliban’s) government at the same time. And it would of course have been dangerous for us and the students and the mosque if he remained here," he added.
This comes as the Afghan officials have long been criticizing Pakistain for remaining reckless to act against the leadership councils of the Taliban and the notorious Haqqani terrorist network based in Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. and Quetta cities of Pakistain.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/11/2016 00:00 ||
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[Scout.com] An A-10 pilot told Scout Warrior the aircraft was the most "rugged" he had ever flown. The Air Force now plans to keep the A-10 flying well into the next-decade.
Posted by: Vast Right Wing Conspiracy ||
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[Manila Bulletin] Philippine president Duterte is willing to grant concessions, including awarding of public lands, to communist insurgents and Muslim rebels as part of the peace negotiations. Duterte said, "We can only talk and if you are able to convince the communists, they would require a huge amount, resources. They will not go into a surrendering mode by just simply dropping the guns. They would ask for concessions. Concessions would be land, which is very good. I agree with them, I can open up the whole, the entire Republic of the Philippines, all public lands ibigay ko, tutal hindi naman nagagamit, especially for food."
The Philippine president said he would be happy, not only giving such land, but also funds amounting to "another billions of pesos" to the insurgents in talks with the government. Duterte admitted there would be a "huge expenditure" to develop the Muslim territory since "they have lost that initiative for all of these years, they’ve been fighting for their land."
In an unprecedented move, the Philippine government has declared a ceasefire with communist insurgents, released several political prisoners, and tapped some left-leaning activists to the Cabinet. Meanwhile, the Duterte said he would hold a meeting with MNLF founding leader, Nur Misuari, this week to advance the peace process in Mindanao. Law enforcers have been ordered not to arrest Misuari, who has long been wanted for the deadly Zamboanga siege in 2013.
Duterte said, "That's my order to the police and the military. Why? I am not a war-type president. My job is to seek peace for my land. So you have to talk to everybody."
The Philippine president said he leaves it to leaders of different MNLF factions – Misuari, Muslimin Sema, and Abul Khayr Alonto, who is chair of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) – on how to "fix internal dynamics" but he said the three of them are willing to talk again.
Duterte also reiterated the need to address the fighting in Mindanao stemming from the historical injustices committed by American and Spanish colonizers against the Moro people.
#1
Cause giving land to old fighters worked well in Zimbabwe.
Duterte also reiterated the need to address the fighting in Mindanao stemming from the historical injustices committed by American and Spanish colonizers against the Moro people.
He must be referring to the suppression of the long history of piracy and slaving of the Moro people.
#5
Sure, give each of the insurgentsrebels terrorists a piece of their own personal land.
6' long, 3' wide, 6' deep. Specify the pieces can be joined together when they're used . . . .
Posted by: Barbara ||
10/11/2016 15:54 Comments ||
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#6
It looks like Duterte is making deals with the others in order to focus on (and presumably try to wipe out) the Abu Sayyaf. Whatever else may happen, I hope he can get that much done.
#7
Tough on druggies but all mushy soft on commies and muzzies.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
10/11/2016 17:08 Comments ||
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#8
Gotta start somewhere, and if realigning with Russia/China, could be commies are off the top of the list.
And I bet with druggies, there is some intersection with the commies/muzz.
Duterte has impressed me (don't necessarily agree and I am not there so I have no opinion as if this is the best option), so I'm taking a wait and see.
Russia intends to establish a permanent naval base on the site of an existing facility it leases at the Syrian port of Tartus, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Nikolai Pankov said on Oct. 10, Russian news agencies reported.
Pankov’s statement is the latest sign that Moscow wants to expand its military footprint in Syria where it has been helping Syrian President Bashar al-Assad fight rebels since 2015. Moscow last week deployed S-300 surface-to air missiles to Tartus.
“We will have a permanent naval base at Tartus,” Pankov told Russian senators, according to Reuters. “The necessary documents are already prepared and are in the process of being approved by different agencies. We hope we can ask you to ratify these documents soon.”
Senator Igor Morozov told the RIA news agency that the decision would allow Russia to operate more ships in the Mediterranean as they would have an enhanced facility at which they could refuel and resupply.
“By doing this Russia is not only increasing its military potential in Syria but in the entire Middle East and in the Mediterranean region as a whole,” said Morozov.
Russia already has a permanent air base at Hmeymim in Syria’s Latakia province from which it launches air strikes against anti-Assad rebels. Moscow inherited a Soviet-era naval facility at Tartus when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the Russian navy’s sole foothold in the Mediterranean. Despite some modernization, it is currently fairly modest and unable to accommodate larger warships.
Last week, three Russian warships passed Turkey’s Bosphorus and Dardanelles in order to reach the Mediterranean. The Russian warship Mirage on Oct. 7 passed through Istanbul’s Bosphorus strait, while Russian warships Zeleny Dol and Serpukhov traversed the Dardanelles just two days prior to that.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/11/2016 00:00 ||
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#1
Not the best of news. On the other hand, not the worst either.
Russia has been down this road before in Chechnya
[ARA News] The International Criminal Court has to investigate possible war crimes committed by Russia and the Assad regime in Syria’s Aleppo, French officials said on Monday.
“We do not agree with what Russia is doing, bombarding Aleppo. France is committed as never before to saving the population of Aleppo,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to visit Paris on 19 October. However, according to reports the French President Francois Hollande has not decided yet whether to meet his Russian counterpart.
According to Ayrault, Hollande will take into account the ongoing bombardment of Aleppo if he meets Putin in Paris.
“If the president decides [to meet Putin], this will not be to trade pleasantries,” minister Ayrault told France’s Inter radio on Monday.
Aleppo Under Fire
The French call comes amid intensifying Russian and Syrian airstrikes on eastern Aleppo. Hundreds of civilians have been killed over the past few weeks. The exact number of fatalities is difficult to establish as many bodies remain buried under rubble.
The infrastructure which supports Aleppo’s civilian population has also been critically damaged and in some cases utterly destroyed. Local activists reported that while the Russian and Syrian governments claim to target extremists, “airstrikes in Aleppo destroy homes, hospitals and schools.”
The Russian Ambassador to the UK, Alexander Yakovenko, confirmed that the Syrian and Russian governments intentionally bomb hospitals. “Most hospitals are unmarked rebel field facilities. Keeping civilians as a human shield is a well-known terrorist tactic,” Ambassador Yakovenko said.
Russian war planes also bombed a major pharmaceutical company in Aleppo. According to local sources, a building belonging to the ElSaad Pharmaceutical Company was hit with six rockets on Wednesday. “The building was destroyed completely, leaving the city with an acute shortage of medicine,” human rights activist Zakariya Hamdo told ARA News.
Syrian and Russian jets have resumed their bombing of rebel-held districts, reinforcing Shia militias and the Syrian Army as they lay siege to eastern Aleppo. Violence has intensified in Aleppo since a Russian-American ceasefire deal broke down last month.
[Daily Caller] Material to build a nuclear "dirty bomb" was almost smuggled out of a nuclear power plant four years ago, the head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog told reporters Monday.
The director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said that an unidentified individual tried to smuggle a small amount of highly enriched uranium about four years ago that could have been used to build a so-called "dirty bomb." The plant was struck by an extremely disruptive cyber-attack, but the IAEA declined to give any further details.
"This is not an imaginary risk," Yukiya Amano, director of the IAEA, told Reuters. "This issue of cyber attacks on nuclear-related facilities or activities should be taken very seriously. We never know if we know everything or if it’s the tip of the iceberg."
This sort of low-quality uranium and plutonium used in nuclear reactors could be used to make low-tech nuclear explosives often called "dirty bombs."A dirty bomb combines radioactive material with conventional explosives that could contaminate the local area with high radiation levels for long periods of time and cause mass panic, though it would be millions of times weaker than an actual nuclear device. The Islamic State (ISIS) has expressed interest in stealing this kind of radioactive material for a dirty bomb.
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] ISIS on Monday confirmed the death of its propaganda chief, whom the Pentagon said was killed in a US-led air strike in Syria’s Raqqa province last month.
An statement posted online by the bully boy group paid tribute to Wa’il Adil Hasan Salman al-Fayad, also known as Abu Mohammed al-Furqan. The statement just referred to him by his alias.
It did not say when, where or how he had died.
The Pentagon said last month that a US-led coalition air strike on Sept. 7 had killed al-Fayad.
It said he was minister of information, overseeing ISIS propaganda, and a prominent member of its Senior Shura Council, or leadership group.
ISIS’s statement referred to al-Fayad as head of its media arm.
The air strike took place near Raqqa, ISIS de facto capital in northern Syria, and targeted al-Fayad while he was on a cycle of violence outside his house, the Pentagon said.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/11/2016 00:00 ||
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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.