[ToloNews] Residents of Qala-e-Wahid in Kabul on Wednesday blasted security agencies and said they need to step up efforts to prevent turbans from infiltrating the city.
This comes a day after the National Directorate of Security ...the Afghan national intel agency... (NDS) raided a ISIS house in the area.
"Property agents renting houses must take warranties from those who want to pay rent for houses and they should keep a copy of their identity documents.
It should be clear who is renting a house and who lives there," said Gulzaman, a resident of Qala-e-Wahid, where the ISIS house was found.
"Security agencies have no surveillance in this area. We don’t often see police force members here," Mohammad Ismail, a resident of the area said.
Some residents said they were shocked when they heard about the ISIS house in their area.
"Those who were in the house were speaking Farsi. One of them left the house in the morning while another went out in the evening," Zuhoorullah, a resident of the area said.
"There were three men and a woman in the house. The woman gave money to my brother to do shopping for her," a resident of Qala-e-Wahid, Rahimshah, said.
The ministry of interior meanwhile said it has started intelligence operations in all parts of Kabul.
"We have sent new forces to vulnerable areas. All the intelligence organizations continue their efforts to identify gunnies and other suspects," said Nusrat Rahimi, deputy front man for the Ministry of Interior.
The National Directorate of Security said it raided a ISIS facility in Kabul’s PD5 on Tuesday and seized a large cache of weapons and ammunition.
The NDS said the house was used in the run up to the military academy attack on Monday ‐ and was thought to have been used to plan the attack.
"There are RPGs, there is a boom jacket, each box in it has two kilograms of explosives, each of them has eight kilograms weight," said one NDS officer after the raid.
NDS said the arrest of one ISIS holy warrior during the attack on the military academy on Monday led to the discovery of the house.
Security forces have however carried out a number of operations in the same area in the past.
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02/01/2018 00:00 ||
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#1
And when they say "under fire" in Afghanistan, they mean mortars - at least.
[Khaama Press] A key local commander of the Taliban ...the Pashtun equivalent of men... group has been placed in durance vile I ain't sayin' nuttin' widdout me mout'piece! during an operation of the Afghan national defense and security forces in eastern Nangarhar The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country.. province.
According to the local officials, the Taliban local leader was arrested during an operation of the Afghan police forces in Chaparhar district.
The provincial police commandment in a statement confirmed the arrest of the local Taliban Überstürmbannführer saying the detained individual has been identified as Bismillah also famous as Ayoubi.
The statement further added that Bismillah was in charge of a group of at least twenty Taliban fighters and actively involved in major terrorist related activities in Chaparhar and other parts of the province.
Bismillah was operating under the leadership of the Taliban group leader Ghazi Mansoor, the police commandment said, adding that he has confessed to his crimes and regrets for the killing the civilians and having role in other destructive activities.
The anti-government armed turban groups including the Taliban bully boyz have not commented regarding the report so far.
[AnNahar] The Algerian army has killed a bigwig of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb in an operation in the northeast of the country, officials said Wednesday.
Adel Seghiri -- also known as Abu Ruwaha al-Qasantini -- was among those running the group's al-Andalus media wing responsible for putting out videos and statements.
The army said it killed "two dangerous terrorists" in the Jijel region, 400 kilometers (250 miles) east of the capital Algiers.
The defense ministry and security sources said the propaganda boss -- reportedly among the 40 most wanted "terrorists" in Algeria -- was one of those killed.
On Tuesday, death announcements for the "martyr Abu Ruwaha al-Qasantini" were posted on jihadist websites, U.S. monitor SITE Intelligence Group said.
The propagandist was an active member of jihadist groups since Algeria's "black decade" of conflict between the government and Islamists in the 1990s.
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb has staged kidnappings and attacks across Africa's Sahel and Maghreb regions.
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[ALMASDARNEWS] The UAE-backed Southern Resistance forces continued their operations against the Saudi-backed regime of ’Abd Rubbah Mansour Hadi, Wednesday, targeting another town under the control of the latter’s loyalists in southern Yemen.
According to Yemeni activists, the Southern Resistance forces managed to capture the town of ’Ataq in the Shabwa Governorate after a short exchange of hostilities with the Hadi loyalists in the area.
As a result of this advance, the Southern Resistance forces have now taken hold of two important areas in southern Yemen.
The Southern Resistance forces previously demanded the Yemeni President reshuffle his cabinet in order to avoid hostilities; however, Hadi failed to do so, which prompted the UAE-backed forces to launch their assault in southern Yemen.
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Bahrain’s criminal court on Wednesday sentenced two people to death and 19 others to life imprisonment in a ruling against a cell convicted of terror attacks.
It also sentenced 17 members of the cell to 15 years in jail, nine others to 10 years, 11 to five years, and acquitted the last two defendants, Bahrain’s BNA news agency reported.
Forming terror cell
The defendants were convicted of forming a terror cell that carried out a number of attacks, killing at least two coppers and wounding several others, and of smuggling weapons by boat.
It also convicted them of attacking a prison and helping some prisoners to flee, of travelling to Iraq and Iran for military training and engaging in a shootout with police.
Large quantities of weapons including grenades and light machine-guns were seized from the group, according to the ruling. The court revoked the citizenship of 47 of the convicts.
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] The headquarters of the 22nd Brigade in the city of Taiz on Wednesday declared several areas of the north and east of the city as military zones warning citizens not to approach, as fighting continues on several fronts.
This comes after the National Army announced a large-scale military operation to liberate the province of Taiz from the occupation of the Houthi ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews ... militia.
The leadership of "Brigade Mika 22" in Taiz called upon the fighters of the Houthi militia to surrender themselves as a last chance to prevent spilling of blood.
During the last few days many areas have been liberated including the Sarmin, Ab’ar, Adnah, Luzam, Laseb, al-Karifaat, and parts of the Taba al-Ja’isahaa, in addition to a number of sites in the northern front.
This progress happened in coordination with the Arab coalition air strikes and logistical support, which have had a very significant impact on victories achieved in Taiz.
Yemeni government front man Rajih Badee denied that the militia is trapping the President and members of the Yemeni government within the presidential compound in Aden, stressing that the palace and its surroundings are under the protection of Brigade one, the presidential security unit.
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[AlAhram] German police locked away Into the paddy wagon wit' yez! three suspects during an operation Wednesday against a group that is believed to have smuggled at least 160 migrants colonists into Germany over recent months.
Raids were staged in four German states Wednesday, federal police front man Christian Meinhold said. Two suspects were arrested in Berlin and a third in Bad Muskau, on the Polish border. Seven properties were searched.
The suspects are believed to belong to a group that smuggled migrants colonists from the Czech Republic and Poland, largely using trucks and in some cases hiding them behind goods and pallets. The people arrested are nationals of The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...just another cheapjack Moslem dictatorship, brought to you by the Moslem Brüderbund.... , Poland and Bulgaria.
The alleged smuggling took place since August, with migrants colonists largely being transported across the Balkans and then via the Czech Republic or Poland into Germany. The smugglers charged each migrant 8,000 euros (some $9,900).
In November, police in Slovakia intercepted two trucks heading for Germany with 79 migrants colonists from Iran and Iraq on board, including 32 children under the age of 7, and arrested the two Ottoman Turkish drivers.
Germany saw around 186,000 asylum-seekers arrive last year. That was much lower than the previous two years, but officials say the number is still too high and that is due in part to smugglers' activities.
[Ynet] A Ottoman Turkish court sentenced three people to multiple life sentences on Wednesday in connection with a bombing that killed 12 German tourists in Istanbul two years ago.
A jacket wallah, Saudi-born Syrian Nabil Fadli, killed the tourists when he went kaboom! in Sultanahmet, Istanbul's historic heart, on Jan. 12, 2016. Ottoman Turkish authorities blamed 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.... for the attack.
Two Syrians, Atala el-Hasan el-Mayyup and Fevzi Muhammed Ali, and a Ottoman Turkish man, Halil Dervis, were found guilty of aiding murder, trying to overthrow the government and constitution, membership of a terrorist organization and committing crimes in the name of an armed terrorist organization.
They were each given 12 aggravated life sentences, 12 terms of 16 years and 16 eight-year terms for the injuries caused. They were also given nine years for transporting explosives from Syria, for a total of 329 years each on top of the multiple life sentences
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Mosul (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi forces found a grave containing the relics of eight people executed by Islamic State militants in Mosul, a security source was quoted saying on Wednesday.
The Iraqi Media News Agency quoted the source saying that the Federal Police troops found the grave in al-Tayaran district in western Mosul.
He said the grave contained the relics of eight young people executed by the militants with shots in the head. Most of the bodies were decomposed, according to the source.
Mosul (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi forces arrested an individual in the city of Mosul for colluding with Islamic State militants, a security source was quoted saying on Wednesday as troops continue the hunt for sleeper cells after the group’s defeat.
Iraqi Almaalomah website quoted the source as saying that the individual was arrested in Sumer district in eastern Mosul and was transferred to a security quarter for interrogation. The source said troops reached him after obtaining information from citizens
Nineveh (Iraqinews.com) – An Iraqi couple was wounded Wednesday in a house bomb explosion in Mosul city, a security source was quoted as saying.
“An explosive charge planted by Islamic State militants inside a house in the Old City of Mosul went off, injuring a man and his wife, who arrived at the city earlier to inspect their home,” the source told Knooz Media.
“A security force rushed to the blast site and carried the couple to a nearby hospital for treatment,” the source said, stressing that thousands of landmines planted by Islamic State militants in the Old City are still posing a threat to residents.
Baghdad (Iraqinews.com) – A civilian was killed and two others were wounded Wednesday in a bomb blast in northern the Iraqi capital Baghdad, a security source was quoted as saying.
Speaking to Alghad Press news website, the source said: “A bomb exploded Wednesday near a popular market at al-Taji neighborhood, north of Baghdad, leaving one person dead and two others injured.”
“A security force rushed to the blast site and carried the body to the forensic medicine department, while the injured were moved to a nearby hospital for treatment,” the source added.
Baghdad (Iraqinews.com) – Four people were wounded Wednesday in a bomb blast in southern the Iraqi capital Baghdad, a security source was quoted as saying.
“A bomb placed near a busy street market went off at al-Yusufiyah neighborhood in southern Baghdad,” the source told Baghdad Today news website.
“The bomb attack left four people wounded,” the source said, pointing out that a security force rushed to the blast site and carried the injured to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Baghdad (Iraqinews.com) – Four people were killed and injured Tuesday in two bomb blasts in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, a security source was quoted as saying.
The source told Baghdad Today news website that a bomb exploded on Tuesday afternoon at al-Rashidiya neighborhood, north of Baghdad, leaving one person dead and two others injured.
“Also, a member of Al-Hashd Al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces) breathed his last after a bomb fixed to his car exploded in Bismayah city in southern Baghdad,” the source said.
He added that ambulances rushed to the blast sites and carried the bodies to the forensic medicine department, and the injured to hospital for treatment.
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) A civilian was killed, while a police conscript was wounded in two armed attacks in Baghdad, security sources were quoted saying on Tuesday.
Speaking to Baghdad Today website, a source said, “unidentified gunmen opened fire against a civilian in Shohadaa al-Bayaa region, south of Baghdad, which left him immediately killed.”
Moreover, another source said “gunmen on a motorbike opened fire against a police conscript in a district in northeast of Baghdad, leaving him seriously wounded.”
The attackers, according to the source, “stole his salary before running away.”
The victim was transferred to forensic medicine department, while the wounded was transferred to hospital, the sources added.
Diyala (Iraqinews.com) – The Iraqi army destroyed on Wednesday two Islamic State hotbeds during a military operation in Diyala, the Military Intelligence Directorate was quoted as saying.
In a press release, a copy of which was obtained by Baghdad Today, the directorate said its troops destroyed two terrorist hideouts and an explosive-laden vehicle owned by Islamic State during a military operation in al-Nada area, in northeastern Diyala.
“The troops also destroyed a booby-trapped motorbike and found an RBG7 launcher, as well as a number grenades and rockets that were planned to be used by Islamic State militants,” the statement read.
Diyala (Iraqinews.com) – Security forces dismantled on Tuesday four explosive devices and destroyed a booby-trapped motorbike for Islamic State in al-Nada area in northeastern Diyala.
In a press release, a copy of which was obtained by Alghad Press, the Diyala Police Directorate said its security forces carried out a military operation targeting Islamic State remnants in several villages in al-Nada area, in northeastern Diyala.
“The troops defused four bombs and destroyed a booby-trapped motorbike that was used by Islamic State militants for moving within al-Nada area,” the statement read.
“Iraqi security forces will continue to assume their duties on a daily basis to track down Islamic State terrorists and purge all Iraqi territories from their war leftovers,” the statement concluded.
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Kirkuk (Iraqinews.com) – Security force killed on Wednesday two Islamic State suicide bombers and arrested three others during a military operation in western Kirkuk, a security source was quoted as saying.
Speaking to Alghad Press news website, the source said, “Federal police personnel shot dead two Islamic State suicide attackers during a clampdown to track down Islamic State remnants at a village in Hawija, 45 km west of Kirkuk.”
“The troops also arrested three Islamic State militants and found a terrorist hotbed, comprising explosive materials and mobile phones,” the source added.
Kirkuk (IraqiNews.com) A policeman was killed, while two others were wounded as a booby-trapped house exploded in west of Kirkuk, a security source from the province said on Wednesday.
“A local police personnel was killed and two others were injured as they were defusing explosives inside a booby-trapped house in al-Rashad town, southwest of Kirkuk,” the source told AlSumaria News. “Local police was clearing houses from the remnants of IS.”
“Security troops transferred the victim to forensic medicine department, while the wounded were transferred to hospital for treatment,” the source added.
Kirkuk (IraqiNews.com) Seventy percent of displaced Iraqis at Kirkuk province have returned to their home regions in the province, the migration ministry’s office there said Tuesday.
The ministry’s office chief in Kirkuk, Karmoun Ammar, told Alghad Press website that, since 2014, Kirkuk received 117 refugees from Nineveh, Anbar and Salahuddin, besides internal refugees.
He said “70% percent have returned to their regions” in the province.
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[IsraelTimes] A Paleostinian man planning a terror attack was placed in durance vile Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un! Wednesday near the West Bank settlement of Negohot holding a knife and a map of the Israeli community, security forces said.
"A short while ago, IDF troops thwarted an attempted terror attack next to the community of Negohot, southwest of Hebron," the military said in a statement.
"Soldiers apprehended a Paleostinian suspect wearing a military-style jacket near the community," the army said, adding that a knife and a map of the settlement were found in the suspect’s possession.
"The suspect and the found items were transferred to [the] security forces," the statement said.
[IsraelTimes] Devices were apparently intended for use against IDF vehicles; families demand Abbas's security forces stop cooperating with Israel
Paleostinian Authority security forces have enjugged Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un! seven Paleostinians in connection with the bombs that were discovered last week near the West Bank city of Tulkarem, Paleostinian sources disclosed on Wednesday.
The roadside kabooms were discovered after a Paleostinian driver who spotted suspicious objects on a road between the villages of Ilar and Saidah, north of Tulkarem, alerted PA security forces.
PA sappers safely dismantled 12 improvised bombs, each weighing between 20 and 30 kilograms. The roadside kabooms were apparently intended for use against IDF military vehicles passing the area.
...on a road primarily used by the local Palestinians, but never mind that.
The sources identified the detainees as Mujahed Shadid, As’ad Shadid, Sara’ Raddad, Ahmed al-Haj, Fadi Raddad, Amer Abdel Ghani and Mohammed Yunis.
The sources said that the suspects are affiliated with Hamas, one of the armed feet of the Moslem Brüderbung millipede, and some had previously been arrested or interrogated by the PA security forces.
The family of Sara’ Raddad said that PA security officers raided their home shortly after midnight Monday. After conducting a thorough search of the house, the officers arrested Raddad without offering an explanation, according to a family member.
"We haven’t been allowed to visit him in prison," the family complained. "We don’t know anything about the circumstances surrounding his arrest."
According to the relative, Raddad had previously spent eight months in PA detention for "security-related" offenses. "The arrest of our son is a disgrace for the Paleostinian Authority," he added.
Meanwhile, ...back at the shootout, Butch clutched at his leg. Son of a Breech! he exclaimed with feeling...... a committee consisting of families of Paleostinians held in PA prisons has launched a campaign to demand the release of the seven men.
The Committee of the Families of Political Detainees in the West Bank said in a statement: "The Occupation is the only party that benefits from such arrests." The committee repeated its demand that the PA halt security coordination with Israel.
Fathi al-Qarawi, a Hamas politician from Tulkarem, called on the PA to release the detained men immediately. The arrest of the seven men endangers their lives because they will now be targeted by Israeli authorities, al-Qarawi argued.
"Arbitrary arrests by the Paleostinian Authority add to the suffering of the Paleostinian people and serve only the interests of the occupation," he said.
A PA security official refused to comment on the arrests.
[IsraelTimes] A member of the Hamas, the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood, terror group was killed while working on a tunnel in the Gazoo Strip, the organization said Wednesday.
The group said Mahmoud Hay al-Safadi, 31, died while at work on a "resistance tunnel." It did not say how he was killed or where the tunnel was located.
Safadi, from Gazoo City, was a member of the group’s armed Qassam brigades wing. Hamas is the de facto ruler of Gazoo.
Hamas did not blame Israel for the death, indicating Safadi may have been killed in some sort of underground accident. No other injuries were reported, and there was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
[Al Jazeera] The United States has designated Ismail Haniya, the senior political leader of Hamas, one of the armed feet of the Moslem Brüderbung millipede,, as a "global terrorist".
The US State Department issued a blurb on Wednesday saying that Haniya "has close links with Hamas' military wing" and "has been a proponent of armed struggle, including against civilians".
Haniya's placement on the "terror list" means that there will be a travel ban on him, and that any US-based financial assets he may have will be frozen.
There will also be a ban on any US citizen or company from doing business with him.
[Al Jazeera] Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, has rejected a United States decision to place the group's political chief, Ismail Haniya, on its global "terror list", calling the move a "dangerous development".
In a statement released on Wednesday, Hamas said the US State Department's decision is a "violation of international law, which has given the Paleostinian people a right to defend themselves against [Israeli] occupation, and to choose their leaders.
"This decision demonstrates the full American bias in favour of the Israeli occupation, and provides an official cover for Israeli crimes against the Paleostinian people," the statement added.
Hamas, the Paleostinian political movement that governs the Israeli-occupied Gazoo Strip, said it calls on the US administration to "reverse" this decision and to stop its "hostile policies.
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi Kurds are joining their Syrian peers in their fight against Ottoman Turkish troops in Syria’s Afrin district, a newspaper has claimed, quoting an Islamist politician in Iraqi Kurdistan.
London-based The New Arab quoted an official at Iraqi Kurdistan’s Islamic Group saying that tens of young people headed to Afrin to fight as volunteers on the side of Kurdish troops there, adding that some have already been killed in battles.
"Kurdish youths sneaked through the borders with Syria from Dahuk...to areas controlled by Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), then to Afrin...the region’s government has to stop that," the politician was quoted as saying by the newspaper.
"The volunteering wave is supported by nationalist and communist societies in the region," he added
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Several hundred people, including civilians, have been killed during The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... ’s military operation in Syria’s Afrin, Interfax news agency cited Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying on Wednesday.
Rockets fired from northern Syria into a Ottoman Turkish border town killed a teenage girl and maimed another person on Wednesday, Turkey’s state-run news agency ...and if you can't believe the state-run news agency who can you believe?... reported amid Ankara’s intensifying offensive on a Syrian Kurdish-controlled enclave.
It was the latest in a string of rocket attacks on the border towns of Reyhanli and Kilis since Jan. 20, when Turkey’s military launched a cross-border operation to drive out the Syrian Kurdish militia from the northern enclave of Afrin. Ankara considers the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units, or YPG, an extension of the outlawed Kurdish rebels fighting an insurgency inside Turkey.
Rockets fired in Afrin
Earlier today, Turkey’s Anadolu Agency said Syrian Kurdish fighters in Afrin fired two rockets Wednesday, hitting a house and a garden wall in Reyhanli.
Two people were hospitalized after the attack and one, 17-year-old Fatma Avlar, died from her wounds, the agency said. The attacks inside Turkey have so far killed four people, including Avlar. Two of the victims were Syrian refugees.
The Kurdish militia, meanwhile, accused Turkey of firing Katyusha rockets into Afrin, and reported that at least 12 people were maimed from the shelling that targeted the neighborhood of Ashrafieh. The maimed were brought to Afrin hospital.
As Turkey’s military operation in Syria continues, officials in the US-led international coalition against ISIS have warned the offensive could destabilize recent gains against ISIS along the Iraq-Syria border in the Euphrates River valley.
The top US general in Iraq said Tuesday, after a visit to a coalition outpost near the Iraq-Syrian border town of Qaim, that he is "very much concerned" the fight in Afrin could remove pressure on pockets of ISIS fighters in other parts of Syria.
Al Ahram adds Agence France Presse’s take on events:
Clashes raged between Ottoman Turkish-backed forces and Kurdish militia in Syria's Afrin region on Wednesday, as maimed civilians fled intense Ottoman Turkish air strikes.
The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...just another cheapjack Moslem dictatorship, brought to you by the Moslem Brüderbund.... and allied Syrian rebels have pressed on with Operation Olive Branch in the Kurdish-controlled Afrin enclave despite mounting international concern and reports of rising civilian casualties.
An AFP correspondent in Afrin heard warplanes flying overhead, and Kurdish officials said rocket fire on the town maimed 12 civilians.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said heavy bombardment and Ottoman Turkish air strikes were accompanying ground fighting around Jandairis and Rajo, two areas to the west of Afrin near the Ottoman Turkish border.
The Britannia-based war monitor reported that Ottoman Turkish-backed forces had seized control of the border village of Shinkal to the northwest.
"Ottoman Turkish forces dispatched new military reinforcements overnight, including fighters and equipment, to Shinkal in an attempt to consolidate their control over several points and support attacking forces," said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman.
Turkey and its Syria rebel allies launched Operation Olive Branch against the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), on January 20.
On Wednesday, the Ottoman Turkish army said it destroyed 22 YPG targets overnight.
Ankara has denied hitting civilians in its military operations, but hospitals in Afrin say they are receiving civilian casualties on a daily basis.
The Observatory says the Ottoman Turkish operation has left 67 civilians dead so far, 20 of them children.
Ottoman Turkish Defence Minister Nurettin Canikli insisted on Tuesday that Ankara's forces and its rebel allies "have not harmed any civilian" during the operation.
Since launching the assault, Turkey and rebel allies have captured 11 villages and the strategic Barsaya hill, according to the Observatory.
Barsaya overlooks both the rebel-held Syrian town of Azaz, and Kilis across the border in Turkey.
Advancing fighters were facing "fierce resistance from YPG fighters holed up in the mountains, in spite of Turkey's massive firepower," said Abdel Rahman.
The Observatory said that 91 YPG fighters and 85 pro-Ankara rebels had been killed in the fighting so far.
Turkey says seven of its soldiers have been killed.
No doubt that is completely true. The other dead Turkish soldiers and paramilitaries were carefully not mentioned, thuogh their families will eventually notice.
On Wednesday, rockets launched from Syria killed a 17-year-old girl and maimed another resident of a Ottoman Turkish border town, officials said.
Erdogan has vowed to "clean up" the YPG-held city of Manbij east of Afrin, where the US has troops as part of its operations against IS.
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#1
Sounds like Vlad may have had enough of Erdogan's encroachment on Russia's buddy, Syria. Maybe finally realizing that Erdogan is a threat to destabilize the entire area, but not in a manner that Russia can leverage.
Being on the bad side of Putin's Russia, especially now that they don't have NATO and the US to fall back on, is a dangerous place for Turkey to be. I wonder if Putin has sent a note to Erdogan recommending he keep his life insurance paid up?
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.
[AlAhram] German police 
[Al Jazeera] The United States has designated Ismail Haniya, the senior political leader of 
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi Kurds are joining their Syrian peers in their fight against 
