[Garowe] The Somali National Army (SNA) with considerable support of the clan militia outwitted the al-Shabaab ... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda... bully boyz in central regions on Saturday, with the forces neutralizing a potentially catastrophic attack waged by the group.
For the better part of Saturday, the national forces battled against the al-Shabaab in Masagawa township in Galgadud, with the bully boyz losing a firm grip after heavy festivities, officials said while acknowledging the victory by the troops.
According to eyewitnesses, festivities erupted after the bully boyz launched an assault by detonating a vehicle-borne bomb, targeting the security forces. The fierce combat ensued after the device detonated, officials said.
So far, details of the casualties are not clear but the forces managed to repulse the Death Eaters. Deaths and injuries were reported with the al-Shabaab said to have lost considerably. The bully boyz are yet to state about the assault.
"The heroes of the Somali National Army and the Defense Forces in Masagawa town in the Galgaduud region have foiled an ambush by the Kharijites and inflicted casualties on the Death Eaters," a statement from the government read.
The federal troops have been combing the central regions after the first phase of the offensive against al-Shabaab which left thousands of the bully boyz dead, two years ago. The security teams have liberated several towns in the process.
Somalia's government declared total war against the al-Shabaab bully boyz and since then, several gains have been registered. The group has scaled down attacks in central and southern regions due to frequent patrols and operations by security forces.
The US Africa Command and the AU Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) work closely with local troops in the restoration of order within the country. Somalia is currently a member of the United Nations ...a lucrative dumping ground for the relatives of dictators and party hacks... Security Council.
[Garowe] An extensive counter-terrorism operation across East Africa has resulted in the arrest of 37 suspects and the seizure of various weapons, with some detainees linked to ISIS and Al-Shabaab ... the personification of Somali state failure... , authorities said Friday.
The operation, conducted between November and December 2024, involved INTERPOL and AFRIPOL and spanned eight countries. In Kenya, 17 individuals were arrested, including two suspected ISIS members and others involved in terrorism financing and propaganda.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...formerly the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Zaire, and who knows what else, not to be confused with the Brazzaville Congo aka Republic of Congo, which is much smaller and much more (for Africa) stable. DRC gave the world Patrice Lumumba and Joseph Mobutu, followed by years of tedious civil war. Its principle industry seems to be the production of corpses. With a population of about 74 million it has lots of raw material... , four alleged members of the Allied Democratic Forces ...established in the early 1990s through an agreement between portions of Uganda’s Salaf Tabliq Islamic sect and the National Army for the Liberation of Uganda (NALU), who said they had been sidelined by Museveni’s policies. At the time, the rebels staged deadly attacks in Ugandan villages and the capital, including a 1998 attack in which 80 students were massacred. A Ugandan military operation later forced the ADF into eastern Congo. The ADF has since established ties with the Islamic State group. The ADF has received funding from the Government of Sudan, which has also provided supplies and training. The ADF may also have received funding from the illegal mining and logging industries of the DRC.... (ADF) and two others were detained. Authorities also destroyed a missile and an anti-tank device left behind by suspected terrorists.
Somalia saw the arrest of three suspects, including a bomb maker from Al-Shabaab's Amniyaat unit, known for planting IEDs against law enforcement and military targets, and another operative who attacked police checkpoints with hand grenades.
Tanzania arrested one suspected member of ISIS Mozambique and a Ugandan attempting to join a terrorist group in Mozambique.
The operation was preceded by comprehensive intelligence gathering and strategic planning by each participating nation, with INTERPOL and AFRIPOL coordinating the exchange of criminal intelligence. During the raids, officers from both organizations provided real-time support on the ground.
Cyril Gout, INTERPOL’s Acting Executive Director of Police Services, emphasized the necessity of international collaboration in countering terrorism in East Africa's volatile environment.
Ambassador Jalel Chelba, Acting Executive Director of AFRIPOL, highlighted the operation as a demonstration of how unified strategies can disrupt criminal networks and enhance regional security.
[ShabelleMedia] The Federal Government of Somalia has initiated a military offensive targeting al-Shabaab ... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord... Death Eaters in several regions of the country, with the Hiran region seeing the heaviest preparations for battle.
Officials confirm plans for a large-scale operation aimed at clearing al-Shabaab from areas where the group still holds influence in Hiran, a region where parts of its territory had previously been retaken.
The Military commanders on the ground say the operation is crucial to securing the area and eliminating the remaining pockets of al-Shabaab fighters.
The government has called on local residents in the affected regions to assist the military forces in their fight against the turban group, which has long controlled large portions of Somalia’s southern and central regions.
Somali Ministry of Defense spokesperson, Brigadier General Abukar Mohammed Hassan, confirmed the extensive operation, urging civilians to support the military as it embarks on the offensive against the krazed killer group.
The operation follows a series of past military actions by the government that successfully reclaimed several towns and territories previously controlled by al-Shabaab.
However,
there's more than one way to stuff a chicken... the new offensive comes at a time when previous efforts have faced setbacks, and the government aims to fully neutralize the krazed killer threat in the region.
[Garowe] The Security forces of Puntland ...a region in northeastern Somalia, centered on Garowe in the Nugaal province. Its leaders declared the territory an autonomous state in 1998. Puntland and the equally autonomous Somaliland seem to have avoided the clan rivalries and warlordism that have typified the rest of Somalia, which puts both places high on the list for Islamic subversion... state have arrested 300 suspected ISIS bully boyz of foreign nationalities as Operation Lightning enters the third week, registering significant successes, following the liberation of several strategic towns.
The suspects have been detained for further interrogation, with members of the public playing a major role in reporting individuals whose identities are questionable, officials said while acknowledging the immediate positive impact of the operation.
Mohamud Dirir, Puntland’s minister for information, said the troops have 'dedicated their lives' to peace in Puntland, noting that such commitment would change the fortunes of the entire Horn of Africa region.
According to Dirir, the ongoing conflict in Puntland is unique to the federal state, paralleled only by the war in Ukraine where imported muscle are heavily involved as they try to infiltrate the region, which is the most secure in Somalia.
"The battle here is being fought with advanced technology, including sniper rifles, night-vision-equipped guns, and drones," Dirir said. He added that the region is currently engaged in combating foreign ISIS fighters, who want to establish a permanent base in the country.
Some of the fighters are believed to have originated from Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start... , Iraq, Tunisia, Libya, Morocco, and Algeria. They were previously defeated in Syria and Libya and have massive international support, he added.
Jihad tourists, moving from one battlefield defeat to the next.
"We have cleared them from a 300-kilometer stretch in al-Miskaad mountains," he noted while assuring members of the public that the state would be secured in due course.
Already, the Puntland Counter-Terrorism Forces have taken control of locations that served as bases for ISIS Terrorists. These areas include Waadi-soor, Ina Ciddoole, Damal Cagagubyo, Diibow, Qaaqsiiye, Daad, Dal Lo’aad, and Isha Siido, the team said in a text message published on the X platform.
Reports say the security forces are investigating the visas and personal details of foreigners residing in the capital. Nearly 100 people are currently under investigation, while a larger number have already been verified. The public has taken some individuals to the Police stations, police said.
[ShabelleMedia] In a significant security operation, the largest deployment of Federal Government forces in recent days has been carried out in the areas between Jazeera and Afgooye, on high alert to secure the capital.
The forces were seen patrolling the outskirts of Mogadishu, conducting extensive vehicle inspections as part of their heightened vigilance. The operation, authorities say, is aimed at preventing potential attacks from outside the city’s periphery.
These military movements are occurring alongside security meetings aimed at reinforcing the capital’s safety. Mohammed Ahmed Amir, the Governor of Banadir Region and Mayor of Mogadishu, chaired a meeting to discuss accelerating security efforts and improving cooperation between district authorities and security agencies.
The Mayor received briefings from security officials, praising the ongoing successes in securing the region, which have led to increased community satisfaction in Banadir. He urged further collaboration between the security agencies and district governments to ensure the safety of the capital.
The meeting also addressed other pressing issues, including improving sanitation and cleanliness in the city, boosting revenue collection efforts, preparing for the upcoming rainy season, and ensuring accountability in public service duties.
The Officials were reminded to carry out their responsibilities with dedication, integrity, and fear of God, and to ensure that they would be held accountable for their actions in serving the people.
Among those present at the meeting were the Deputy Governor of Security and Politics for Banadir, Mohammed Ahmed Diiriye (Yabooh), commanders from the Mogadishu Regional Guard, police and intelligence units, and local district chiefs.
[FoxNews] U.S. Border Patrol agents exchanged gunfire with suspected cartel members near the U.S.-Mexican border on Monday, as the U.S. government's response against criminal migrants continues to intensify.
The gunfire exchange – which happened exactly one week after President Donald Trump began ramping up border security on his first day in office – occurred at around 2 p.m. local time near Fronton, Texas.
A group of illegal aliens was attempting to cross the Rio Grande while bullets were fired, but did not make it across. Neither the Border Patrol agents nor the suspected cartel members were hit.
President Trump recently designated Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.
The area where the gunfire exchange took place is near Fronton Island, also unofficially known as "Cartel Island" due to the criminal activity there. In an interview with Fox News Digital in 2023, Commissioner Dawn Buckingham said that she declared the land as Texas territory – even though it had not officially been before – to grant law enforcement the right to patrol there.
"One of the things that the General Land Office does is determine the center of a waterway," Buckingham said at the time. "Everything that is the center of the Rio Grande and north, of course, the state of Texas and the United States territory."
"The land just hadn't been accurately declared as it was forming in the river. That's why we had to step in and officially declare it Texas territory."
Last week, a Fox News Digital exclusive found that a sharp drop in illegal immigrant encounters occurred in the first days of the Trump administration – 35% lower than the final three days of the Biden administration.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) sources said that there were 1,288 encounters nationwide on Jan. 17, then 1,266 on Jan. 18 and 1,354 on Jan. 19. The 3,908 encounters in the last few days of the Biden administration countered the 2,523 encounters in the first three days of the Trump administration: 1,073; 736; and 714 from Jan. 20 to Jan. 22, respectively.
#5
Maybe "The Don" needs to use a little US show of force like, Operation Restore Control, or Operation Kiss-Ass, to free the Mexico Gov from Cartel controls?
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
01/28/2025 4:50 Comments ||
Top||
#7
Hot pursuit (also known as fresh or immediate pursuit) is the urgent and direct pursuit of a criminal suspect by law enforcement officers, or by belligerents under international rules of engagement for military forces. Such a situation grants the officers in command powers they otherwise would not have.
#11
Because cartels like to have big shoot outs with border control along their smuggling routes.
"A group of illegal aliens was attempting to cross the Rio Grande while bullets were fired"
Definitely sounds like cartel and not local coyotes and border smugglers.
Peppering legacy news with stories about cartel shooting at our guys is definitely not gaslighting because we know it is the cartels that want the cartel wars and not the other way around. Definitely just the cartels trying to win popular support for their future offensive against border control and DEA.
#12
Mexican cartels are terrorist organizations and always have been. The southern border has been under "invasion" status for the entire duration of the Biden regime, even though it's a "no-no" term for a lot of the USA, along with their refusal to consider the Biden open border policy a "high crime and misdemeanor" under the terms of the US Constitution.
Freed on Saturday, already getting into trouble. It won’t be long before this one is either back behind Israeli bars or dead.
[IsraelTimes] The IDF on Saturday raided the house of one of the Hamas prisoners released the same day in the hostage-ceasefire deal, detaining one person and scuffling with others, The New York Times reports.
The paper says one of its journalists, who was conducting an interview in the house on the outskirts of Jerusalem at the time, was also “roughed up,” during the raid on the home of Ashraf Zughayer, a Hamas terrorist convicted in 2002 of driving suicide bombers to carry out attacks.
The report says the soldiers detained Zughayer’s brother and expelled journalists.
The IDF said in a statement to the paper that said in a statement that it had raided the Zughayer family’s house because it “received intelligence and videos of gunfire and incitement to terrorism in the area.” It said the brother had been detained for displaying a Hamas flag.
Israel has worked to crack down on celebrations among Palestinians after the release of security prisoners under the deal.
Zughayer was one of 200 Palestinians released Saturday in exchange for four female soldiers held hostage by Hamas.
[IsraelTimes] IDF says it carried out drone strike as warning to vehicle trying to bypass checkpoint; armed Hamas operatives seen among crowds of Palestinians traveling by foot to north of Strip
Security contractors have started inspecting vehicles in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... to prevent heavy weaponry from being moved to the north of the enclave, where tens of thousands of Paleostinians were returning to on Monday.
An Egyptian official said Egyptian contractors, along with a US firm, were running checkpoints to inspect vehicles heading to the northern Gaza Strip via the Salah a-Din Road. The contractors are part of an Egyptian-Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi... i committee implementing the ceasefire, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
A Paleostinian businessman who crossed through a checkpoint told the New York Times
...which still proudly claims Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... that US security personnel wearing dark fatigues checked cars, while soldiers speaking an Egyptian dialect of Arabic organized the movement of vehicles and the passengers they let off while the inspections are conducted.
"The car inspection and crossing take no more than a minute or two," he was quoted as saying. "They asked me to open the trunk and hood, and then wished me safe travels."
An Israeli official, who confirmed the inspections began Monday, described the team operating the inspections as "multinational," but gave no further details except to say it included a private American security firm. Reports last week said the US company Safe Reach Solutions will be responsible for the operational management of crossings along the corridor, while another American firm and an Egyptian company perform the inspections.
The official also vowed Israel will continue to act against violations of the ceasefire terms, which the Israel Defense Forces reported doing several times on Monday.
In central Gaza, a dronezap was carried out as a warning after a vehicle attempted to travel to north Gaza via an area that is prohibited for vehicular traffic per the agreement, and as such would not have undergone inspection, the IDF said.
Paleostinian media had reported a dronezap on a tractor trying to push through a barrier in Nuseirat.
In several areas of Gaza where troops are still deployed, the military said troops also fired warning shots at suspects approaching them. In one incident in northern Gaza, the IDF said troops targeted a suspect who did not withdraw after initial warning shots were fired.
The incidents came as masses of Paleostinians streamed along roads leading to northern Gaza, with images showing armed and masked Hamas ..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,... operatives flashing the victory sign among the returning crowds. Unlike with vehicles, the ceasefire exempts Paleostinians traveling on foot from inspections, though they are not supposed to be carrying weapons.
Hamas released a brief statement claiming that "more than 300,000 displaced" Paleostinians "returned today... to the governorates of the north" of Gaza, a figure that could not be verified independently. The United Nations ...boodling on the grand scale... said over 200,000 people were observed moving north on Monday morning.
During the 15 months of fighting, Israel was wary about allowing the movement of Gazooks from the south to the north fearing Hamas would use the opportunity to reposition its fighters.
Under the terms of the ceasefire agreement, residents of northern Gaza were initially due to return over the weekend but Israel said that Hamas had broken the deal by failing to release civilian hostage Arbel Yehoud and kept the crossings closed.
Late on Sunday, Qatari mediators said Hamas had agreed to release Yehoud and two other hostages — one of them female soldier Agan Berger — before Friday and that Israel would in return allow displaced Paleostinians to return to northern Gaza starting Monday morning. Three men were to be released on Saturday.
Jerusalem also said Hamas had finally sent a list detailing the conditions of the remaining hostages set to be released in the ongoing, 42-day first phase of the ceasefire, which began on January 19. Both the failure to send this list by Saturday and Hamas’s failure to free Yehoud before releasing four IDF servicewomen had been regarded by Israel as violations of the truce deal.
[IsraelTimes] Police say main suspect transferred sensitive information about missile defense technology to Iranian handler for money, later recruited friend who served at IDF headquarters
The police and Shin Bet security service arrested two IDF reservists for alleged espionage on behalf of 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... in return for financial compensation, it was announced Monday.
The main suspect, Yuri Eliasfov, 21, served in the military’s Iron Dome unit and passed along highly sensitive material about the missile defense technology to his Iranian handler, police said in a statement.
The material included a video that Eliasfov filmed of the aerial defense system, according to Hebrew-language reports.
The reservist later recruited the second suspect in the case, his friend Georgi Andreyev, 21, into the espionage scheme.
The Ynet news site reported that Eliasfov received $2,500 from the Iranian agent, while Andreyev received $50.
Law enforcement officials filed a prosecutor’s statement against the two suspects on Monday, accusing them of serious security offenses including contact with a foreign agent, transferring classified information and aiding the enemy during wartime.
Their detention has been extended until Friday. Police expect prosecutors to file an indictment in the coming days against them in the Haifa District Court. Both suspects are residents of the Krayot suburbs of Haifa.
According to the Ynet news site Eliasfov initially reached out to the Iranian agent, who he found while looking for ways to make money. The two first came into contact in September, Haaretz reported.
According to the Ynet news site, Eliasfov initially spray-painted pro-Iranian graffiti and hung banners in Tel Aviv carrying the slogan "Children of Ruhollah," referring to Ruhollah Khomeini, Iran’s first supreme leader following the Islamic Revolution.
He then showed the graffiti to his friend, Andreyev, who was at the time serving in the IDF’s Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv, and convinced him to join him as an accomplice.
Andreyev later backed out of the scheme due to fear of legal repercussions, reported Ynet.
Over the past two years, Iranian intelligence operatives have ramped up their efforts to recruit ordinary Israelis as spies in exchange for money.
Last December, the police arrested nearly 30 Israelis, mostly Jewish citizens, for espionage activities on behalf of Iran.
In most of these cases, the suspects began by carrying out small, innocuous tasks which gradually grew into more serious offenses, like intelligence gathering and liquidation plots.
In October 2024, seven Israelis were arrested for allegedly photographing and collecting information on IDF bases and facilities, including the Nevatim and Ramat David air bases, which were targeted by both Iran and Hezbollah in 2024.
Police have cautioned Israeli citizens and residents against "engaging in contact with foreign operatives and carrying out tasks for them," in a statement earlier, and vowed to take "the utmost legal action against those involved in such activities."
[IsraelTimes] Security forces say one of the dead, Ihab Abu Atiwi, was the local leader of the terror group; PA says three others wounded in strike
The Israel Defense Forces carried out a dronezap on Monday in the West Bank city Tulkarem, killing two Paleostinians that Hamas ..a regional Iranian catspaw,... identified as members of its armed wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam brigades.
According to the Paleostinian Authority health ministry, the strike also maimed three people.
In a statement released Monday evening, the IDF and Shin Bet said that the strike "eliminated the head of the Hamas terrorist organization in Tulkarem."
The statement said, "In a joint operation earlier today, an IAF aircraft struck in the Tulkarem area, within the Ephraim Brigade, and eliminated Ihab Abu Atiwi, who served as the head of Hamas’s terrorist organization in Tulkarm. Another terrorist was also killed in the strike."
The military said that "Abu Atiwi was involved in numerous shooting attacks, including one targeting an Israeli vehicle at the Ramin Junction on July 16, 2024, in which three Israeli civilians were maimed."
In a statement, Hamas named the second slain member as Ramez Damiri, and said that their blood was not spilled "in vain" and their deaths would encourage "the escalation of the resistance and the continuation of its heroic operations."
The IDF said the strike was part of the ongoing counterterror operations in the West Bank, which began earlier this month, centering on the northern city of Jenin.
A senior IDF officer in the West Bank division told news hounds on Thursday that the operation, dubbed Operation Iron Wall, was launched to neutralize the so-called Jenin Battalion, made up of operatives affiliated with terror groups such as Hamas and Paleostinian Islamic Jihad ...created after many members of the Egyptian Moslem Brotherhood decided the organization was becoming too moderate. Operations were conducted out of Egypt until 1981 when the group was exiled after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat. They worked out of Gaza until they were exiled to Lebanon in 1987, where they clove tightly to Hezbollah. In 1989 they moved to Damascus, where they remain a subsidiary of Hezbollah... Operation Iron Wall is the third major IDF incursion in less than two years in Jenin, a longtime stronghold of terror groups including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which said its forces were fighting Israeli troops.
BREAKING — Senior US officials informed Israel that Trump wants to withdraw the thousands of American soldiers currently in Syria, Israeli public broadcaster Kann reports pic.twitter.com/EzoVHfmIst
[IsraelTimes] Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem slams extension of IDF pullout deadline, says ‘resistance’ not bound by it, as Lebanese Christian politician blames ‘pointless’ deaths on terror group
It sounds like Hezbollah considers the hudna to be over.
Israeli gunfire killed two people and maimed 17 others on Monday, local health officials said Monday, as residents displaced by the 14-month war between Israel and Hezbollah attempted to return to villages where the Israel Defense Forces has stayed put.
The deadly protests came a day after 24 people were killed and more than 130 maimed in demonstrations over the continued IDF presence.
The military has blamed Hezbollah "provocations" in the protests, where returning residents have hoisted the Iran-backed terror group’s insignia. On Monday, a leading Christian Lebanese politician blasted Hezbollah for urging the residents to return and pushing them toward "certain death."
Under a US-brokered ceasefire on November 27, Israeli forces were to withdraw from southern Leb ...Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects.... within sixty days, and Hezbollah was to recede north of the Litani River, some 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the Israeli border. The United States and Lebanon announced Sunday that Israel’s deadline to withdraw was extended to February 18.
While the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers took up posts in several villages before the original deadline on Sunday, the IDF remained in over a dozen others towns where it says Lebanon’s troops have failed to deploy.
Defense Minister Israel Katz vowed Monday that Israel would "firmly enforce" the ceasefires in both Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... and Lebanon, warning that "anyone who breaks the rules or threatens IDF troops will bear the full price."
Meanwhile,
...back at the abandoned silver mine, there was another explosion... in a pre-recorded speech, Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem ... the Grand Vizier of the Hezbullies... slammed the extension of the IDF’s withdrawal deadline, and accused Israel of violating the ceasefire 1,350 times.
"Israel has to withdraw because the 60 days are over," said Qassem. "We won’t accept any excuses to extend one second or one day."
"Any delay in the withdrawal is the responsibility of the United Nations ...aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society... , the US, La Belle France and Israel," he added, naming Lebanon’s four partners in the ceasefire deal.
The "resistance" has the right to act in what it deems appropriate in response to the "occupation," said Qassem, adding that Hezbollah considered retaliating against Israeli Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... s but was advised not to by Lebanese authorities.
’WE ARE STAYING’
The protests that resumed for the second day in south Lebanon were particularly focused in eastern border villages, as displaced residents, accompanied by the Lebanese Armed Forces, again tried returning to their villages, local media and AFP correspondents reported Monday.
Lebanon’s health ministry said Israel opened fire, killing two people and wounding fourteen. It added that the maimed included a child and a rescuer from the Risala Scouts association, affiliated with the Amal movement, Hezbollah’s ally.
Nonetheless, an AFP correspondent reported seeing dozens of vehicles carrying families headed toward border towns, a day after hundreds of residents tried unsuccessfully to return to their homes.
In the city of Bint Jbeil, an access point for many border villages, supporters of Hezbollah were distributing sweets, water and images of slain terror chief His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah ...The late, lamented satrap of the Medes and the Persians in Leb...> , who was killed in an Israeli strike in September. Others handed out stickers celebrating the "victory from God" as women held pictures of slain Hezbollah fighters.
In the village of Aitaroun, scores of residents, some waving Hezbollah flags, marched hand-in-hand or rode cycle of violences, escorted by ambulances, bulldozers and Lebanese army tanks. They approached the edge of the town but stopped short of Israeli positions, unable to enter.
Saleem Mrad, the head of the municipality, said "we are coming with our heads held high and crowned with victory to our village, Aitaroun."
"Our village is ours, and we will bring it back more beautiful than it was before, he said." We are staying."
Hassan al-Ahmad, a resident, said, "We have to give our blood and our souls. If there had not been blood spilled, the land would not have been liberated."
Lebanon’s national news agency reported that Israel dropped a bomb at the entrance of the southern village of Yaroun to deter residents from proceeding farther. The IDF has not commented on the report.
After Sunday’s violence, an Israeli military official told news hounds that hundreds of Lebanese, among them Hezbollah operatives and supporters carrying Hezbollah flags and images of Nasrallah, carried out "provocations" while trying to reach villages in southern Lebanon.
The official said the military had prepared for civilians attempting to reach the border villages at the end of the 60-day truce, despite its warnings.
IRAN-LED AXIS ’DOES NOT VALUE PEOPLE’S LIVES’
Responding to Sunday’s deadly demonstrations, Samir Geagea ....Geagea was imprisoned by the Syrians and their puppets for 11 years in a dungeon in the third basement level of the Lebanese Ministry of Defense. He was released after the Cedar Revolution in 2005.... , leader of the Lebanese Forces A Christian political party founded by Bashir Gemayel, who was then bumped off when he was elected president of Leb... Party — a Christian faction opposed to Hezbollah — accused the terror group and Lebanese government of risking the displaced residents’ lives, saying: "The current government proves it does not exist, and the Axis of Resistance® proves that it does not value people’s lives."
Hezbollah plays a lead role in Iran’s "Axis of Resistance®" network of regional proxies committed to Israel’s destruction. Lebanese critics of Hezbollah accuse it of furthering Iran’s interests at the expense of Lebanon’s.
In an interview published Monday in Lebanese newspaper Nidaa al-Watan, Geagea said the axis "does not hesitate to fabricate new events on a daily basis that it uses to cover up the tragedies and loss of life and property it has caused."
Geagea said the Lebanese government should have informed residents about details of Israel’s deployment "rather than allowing some parties to exploit the scenes for self-interest, causing the death of citizens."
"Protecting people’s lives is the responsibility of the Lebanese government, not Israel’s," the party leader said, calling on the Lebanese military "to organize the entry of citizens into safe villages, and prevent them from reaching areas that the Israeli army still occupies."
Hezbollah "exploited this vacuum and pushed citizens into imminent danger, not caring who would be killed or injured," Geagea added. "It knows that throwing over 20 citizens into certain death is pointless and will not yield any results, and will not make Israel change its position."
The ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah came after 14 months of fighting, which began when the terror group, unprovoked, began attacking Israel on a near-daily basis on October 8, 2023 — a day after the Gaza war was sparked when fellow Iran-backed group Hamas ..a regional Iranian catspaw,... stormed Israel by the thousands, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.
Some 60,000 residents were evacuated from northern towns on the Lebanon border shortly after Hamas’s October 7 onslaught, amid fears Hezbollah would carry out a similar attack, and increasing rocket fire by the terror group.
Hezbollah’s attacks on Israel since October 2023 have resulted in the deaths of 46 civilians. In addition, 80 IDF soldiers and reservists have died in cross-border skirmishes, attacks on Israel, and in the ensuing ground operation launched in southern Lebanon in late September.
The IDF estimates that some 3,500 Hezbollah operatives have been killed in the conflict. Around 100 members of other terror groups, along with hundreds of civilians, have also been reported killed in Lebanon.
Artillery shelling by Turkish forces and affiliated #SNA factions kills two children and injures a woman in the countryside of #Raqqa, northern #Syria.https://t.co/wkEM6eUYLU
Syrian General Security arrests drug traffickers in Deir ez-Zor, targeting major dealers in Al-Quriyah and Al-Bukamal. Seized drugs and weapons highlight the ongoing battle against trafficking. #Syria#DeirEzZorhttps://t.co/DkvCA39Ew8
EU foreign ministers agree on a “roadmap” to lift sanctions on Syria following the removal of Bashar al-Assad. Sanctions on energy and transport sectors may be suspended, with conditions tied to economic stability. #Syria#EU#Sanctionshttps://t.co/Vzr3gPDoyE
[IsraelTimes] Hezbollah said to call on Lebanese civilians to provoke clashes with IDF; Katz warns truce violators on northern or southern borders will ‘pay the full price’
Israel and Leb ...The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else?... have agreed to extend the deadline for Israeli troops to depart southern Lebanon until February 18, after the 60-day deadline stipulated in a ceasefire agreement that halted the Israel-Hezbollah war in late November passed on Sunday and Israel requested more time.
Israel has said that it needs to stay longer because the Lebanese army has not deployed to all areas of southern Lebanon, as agreed, to ensure that terror group Hezbollah does not reestablish its presence there. The Lebanese army has said it cannot deploy until Israeli forces withdraw.
The White House said in a statement Sunday that "the arrangement between Lebanon and Israel, monitored by the United States, will continue to be in effect until February 18, 2025." It added that the respective governments "will also begin negotiations for the return of Lebanese prisoners captured after October 7, 2023."
Hezbollah began attacking Israel on October 8, 2023, with rocket and drones one day after its ally Hamas ..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,... attacked Israel in the south in a devastating onslaught.
US President Donald Trump ...So far he's been unkillable, and they've tried.... ’s Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff said in response to the announcement that "the Israeli government was great, they’re a great partner of the United States, they’re a principled ally for us, and they’ve done pretty good work over in Lebanon."
Speaking to news hounds he said that if the developments are any indication of the two sides’ ability to overcome "blips," there is reason to be positive about the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire holding further.
Announcement of the extension came the day the deadline passed for Israeli troops to withdraw from south Lebanon.
There was no specific comment from the Israeli government but Defense Minister Israel Katz wrote on social media platform X that "we will continue to vigorously enforce the ceasefires in the north and south. Anyone who violates the rules or who threatens the IDF — will pay the full price."
Katz was referring as well to a ceasefire in the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... war that began last Sunday and that has also seen bumps along its path in the past few days.
Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati also confirmed the extension of the Lebanon ceasefire.
After talks with the US, Mikati said Monday the government would "continue implementing the ceasefire agreement until February 18, 2025."
However,
the difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits... Hezbollah has reportedly rejected the extension and is urging south Lebanese residents to continue confrontations with the IDF. Deadly festivities took place Sunday when hundreds of Lebanese marched on Israeli soldiers, many of them carrying Hezbollah banners, ignoring warning shots and calls to turn back. Lebanese health officials said Israeli soldiers killed 22 people in the violence.
The al-Akhbar outlet, considered a mouthpiece for Hezbollah, wrote Monday that "what happened yesterday will be completed today, with more popular crowds, from the people of the border villages...where people will not wait for permission to complete the process of removing the occupation forces from the last sites they still occupy."
Sources told the outlet that Hezbollah informed aligned Lebanese politician Mohammad Raad that it "does not participate in any internal or external communications regarding extending the 60-day period, and that it adheres to the text of the agreement and the necessity of the enemy’s withdrawal without any delay."
Hezbollah, badly weakened by Israel during the war, has put the onus on the Lebanese state to ensure the IDF’s withdrawal, describing Israel’s failure to leave southern Lebanon by the deadline as a violation of the agreement.
The ceasefire deal stipulates that Hezbollah pull back its forces north of the Litani River — about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the border — and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south. The Lebanese military was to deploy alongside UN peacekeepers in the south as the Israeli army withdrew.
Israel’s military says its forces have continued to uncover and seize Hezbollah weapons in prohibited areas and that the Lebanese army is not keeping to its part of the deal.
[IsraelTimes] Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says many of those killed were from religious minorities, rebels used ‘unprecedented level of cruelty and violence’
Fighters affiliated with Syria’s new Islamist leaders have carried out 35 summary executions over 72 hours, mostly of Assad-era officers, a war monitor said Sunday.
The authorities, installed by the rebel forces that toppled longtime president Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad The Scourge of Hama... last month, said they had carried out multiple arrests in the western Homs area over unspecified "violations."
Official news agency SANA said the authorities on Friday accused members of a "criminal group" who used a security sweep to commit abuses against residents, "posing as members of the security services."
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said that "these arrests follow grave violations and summary executions that had cost the lives of 35 people over the past 72 hours."
It also said that "members of religious minorities" had suffered "humiliations."
Most of those executed are former officers in the toppled Assad government who had presented themselves in centers set up by the new authorities, according to the Britannia-based monitor of unclear funding with a network of sources inside Syria.
"Dozens of members of local gangs under the control of the new Sunni Islamist coalition in power who participated in the security operations" in the Homs area "have been arrested," the Observatory said.
It added that these groups "carried out reprisals and settled old scores with members of the Alawite minority to which Bashir al-Assad belongs, taking advantage of the state of chaos, the proliferations of arms and their ties to the new authorities."
The Observatory listed "mass arbitrary arrests, atrocious abuse, attacks against religious symbols, mutilations of corpses, summary and brutal executions targeting civilians," which it said showed "an unprecedented level of cruelty and violence."
Civil Peace Group, a civil society organization, said in a statement that there had been civilian victims in multiple villages in the Homs area during the security sweep.
The group "condemned the unjustified violations" including the killing of ungunnies.
Since seizing power, the new authorities have sought to reassure religious and ethnic minorities in Syria that their rights would be upheld.
Members of Assad’s Alawite minority have expressed fear of retaliation over abuses during his clan’s decades in power.
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.
... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda...
...established in the early 1990s through an agreement between portions of Uganda’s Salaf Tabliq Islamic sect and the National Army for the Liberation of Uganda (NALU), who said they had been sidelined by Museveni’s policies. At the time, the rebels staged deadly attacks in Ugandan villages and the capital, including a 1998 attack in which 80 students were massacred. A Ugandan military operation later forced the ADF into eastern Congo. The ADF has since established ties with the Islamic State group. The ADF has received funding from the Government of Sudan, which has also provided supplies and training. The ADF may also have received funding from the illegal mining and logging industries of the DRC....
... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord...
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start...
..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,...
...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 
..a regional Iranian catspaw,...
..the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,...
The Scourge of Hama...
