ALERT: Anti-Taliban Commander Killed in Special Security Operation in Baghlan, Afghanistan
Local Taliban Officials claimed in Baghlan province that a militant commander was killed during a special operation conducted by security forces last night.
ALERT: Anti-Taliban Commander Killed in Special Security Operation in Baghlan, Afghanistan
That sounds like the Afghanistan Freedom Front, founded in 2022 by General Yasin Zia, former head of Afghanistan’s army, and said to be supported by Pakistan.
Local Taliban Officials claimed in Baghlan province that a militant commander was killed during a special operation conducted by security forces last night.
According to the sources, the individual, identified as “Zafar,” was affiliated with a resistance group operating in the districts of Burka, Jalala, and Nahrin.
He was targeted and killed during the security forces’ operation in the province.
[Darfur24] For the first time, Russian forces stationed in the Central African Republic have crossed into Sudanese territory and expelled Rapid Support Forces police officers and administrative staff from a border area.
A local official in the Sudanese city of Umm Dafuq told Darfur24 on Sunday that Russian forces in Central Africa entered the Karkar region for the first time on Friday.
He stated that the Russian forces, having penetrated into “Karkar,” a town shared between the two countries, ordered the Rapid Support Forces, responsible for police and security, along with the administrative staff, to leave the area immediately.
The town of Karkar is located about 55 kilometers south of the Um Dafuq locality in South Darfur State. It is inhabited mostly by Sudanese people and represents an important commercial collection point for the locality.
These developments come weeks after an agreement on joint coordination between the Rapid Support Forces and the local government in Birao province in the Central African Republic, bordering Sudan, to open the joint trade point in the region.
The local official reported that after the offices were opened, Russian forces arrived and expelled the Sudanese, including Rapid Support Forces police, forcing them to retreat towards the city of Umm Dafuq.
He indicated that they had officially informed the civilian administration of the Rapid Support Forces about the incident, which in turn contacted the local government in the city of “Birao”, and are awaiting its response before taking any action, according to him.
Last week, Russian forces closed a vital road linking the town of Umm Dukhun in Central Darfur State with the border town of Birao in the Central African Republic, following the killing of Sudanese people in a weekly market inside the border region.
Niger 🇳🇪| Le 05 janvier 2026 vers 2h, le domicile du préfet de Torodi, près de la frontière burkinabé dans l’ouest du Niger, a été assiégé.
🔹Le préfet ainsi que sa famille composée de son épouse et leurs enfants ont été tués, mais également une septième personne non identifiée… pic.twitter.com/PL9xNsJMJC
Niger 🇳🇪| On January 5, 2026, around 2 a.m., the home of the Torodi prefect, near the Burkinabé border in western Niger, was besieged.
🔹The prefect, along with his family consisting of his wife and their children, were killed, as was a seventh unidentified person for the moment.
No losses were observed among the FDS.
The attackers fled the scene with three vehicles from the National Guard, one of which was armed with a 12.7mm and another with an FM. The terrorists took advantage of the attack to free two of their members, who were being held in custody at the time.
The vehicle of the prefecture's secretary general was also found burned in the prefecture courtyard.
🔹That same night, the Hanifa katiba (JNIM) claimed to have taken control of two military positions belonging to the Nigerien army in the town, then to have shelled the military barracks in the Tillabéri region, using mortars.
🔸According to witnesses, the Hanifa katiba (JNIM) maintained control of the town between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. on January 5, 2026.
Let us recall that Torodi is located at the heart of the Hanifa katiba (JNIM) zone of influence.
En ce début d'année 2026, l'armée, appuyée par la Légion africaine et les bataillons GATIA, poursuit ses opérations dans la région de Ménaki, progressant vers Andrambukane, bastion des terroristes, afin de les neutraliser.
At the beginning of the year 2026, the army, supported by the African Legion and the GATIA battalions, continues its operations in the Ménaka region, advancing towards Andrambakane, the terrorists' stronghold, in order to neutralize them.
SAD NEWS: Saturday evening, bandits abducted Alaramma Malam Sani, the ratib of the main Juma’a Mosque in Mahuta town, Dandume LGA of Katsina State. He was kidnapped while returning from a visit to his mother in Kadisau community, Faskari LGA. Today, it was confirmed that he was… pic.twitter.com/ZUUUq4EDtp
SAD NEWS: Saturday evening, bandits abducted Alaramma Malam Sani, the ratib of the main Juma’a Mosque in Mahuta town, Dandume LGA of Katsina State. He was kidnapped while returning from a visit to his mother in Kadisau community, Faskari LGA. Today, it was confirmed that he was killed by his abductors.
In view of this tragic killing, despite the existing peace agreements in both Dandume and Faskari LGAs, what does this incident reveal about the reliability of such deals, and what steps are authorities taking to review, enforce or reconsider these agreements to ensure the safety of residents?
Video: Aftermath of the IED Explosion That Killed Nine Nigerian Soldiers in Borno.
At least nine Nigerian soldiers have been confirmed dead following an improvised explosive device (IED) planted by Boko Haram near Gubio in Borno State. The soldiers were travelling from Maiduguri… pic.twitter.com/JzqFLFOh9e
Video: Aftermath of the IED Explosion That Killed Nine Nigerian Soldiers in Borno.
At least nine Nigerian soldiers have been confirmed dead following an improvised explosive device (IED) planted by Boko Haram near Gubio in Borno State.
The soldiers were travelling from Maiduguri and had stopped at a military camp on Saturday, intending to continue their journey the next day. Report confirmed the blast was caused by planted explosives, not a gunmen ambush. Eight soldiers died on Sunday from injuries sustained in the explosion, with another succumbing on Monday morning.
More:
Boko Haram is trending because the terrorists klled 9 Nigerian soldiers on Sunday with an IED, along Gumio, Borno.
On Sunday evening, the vehicle transporting soldiers of 145 Damasak under 5-Brigade, travelling from Maiduguri town, triggered a road-bomb that inj/ured many, and… pic.twitter.com/an9MFOAtG8
Boko Haram is trending because the terrorists klled 9 Nigerian soldiers on Sunday with an IED, along Gumio, Borno.
On Sunday evening, the vehicle transporting soldiers of 145 Damasak under 5-Brigade, travelling from Maiduguri town, triggered a road-bomb that inj/ured many, and killed 8 instantly.
Some injured soldiers were immediately airlifted for treatment. Unfortunately, another injured officer died at the clinic this morning. Others life’s hang on probability, as many their injuries are severe.
Although, the Nigerian army is yet to release a statement addressing the incident.
But, a senior military source told reporters that, a preliminary investigations indicated that the explosive devices were planted by Boko Haram insurgents.
[Reuters] Jan 5 (Reuters) - The state of emergency put in place by the Venezuelan government since the U.S. attack that ousted President Nicolas Maduro orders police to "immediately begin the national search and capture of everyone involved in the promotion or support for the armed attack by the United States," according to a text of the decree published on Monday.
The decree has been in force since Saturday, but was published in full on Monday.
#2
It’s not over. Sal Mercogliano reported on the disappearance of 16 tankers from Venezuelan anchorage yesterday. The cartels have not been dealt with. The Cubans, Chinese and jihadis remain in place.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
01/06/2026 8:59 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Delcy, herself, is rumored to have given info to an informant.
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
01/06/2026 10:04 Comments ||
Top||
[RedState] Object lesson: When a corrupt government falls, every remaining aspect of that government has to be pulled out, root and branch, and every member of that illegitimate government, at the minimum, removed from any government role. And there just aren't many governments more illegitimate than the rule of Venezuela
...a country in Central America that sits on an enormous pool of oil. Formerly the most prospereous country in the region, it became infested with Commies sniffing almost unlimited wealth. It turned out the wealth wasn't unlimited, the economy collapsed under the clownish Hugo Chavez, the murder rate exceeded places like Honduras and El Salvador. A significant proportion of the populace refugeed to Colombia and points south... by the thug-dictator Nicolás Maduro. Now the top man and his wife are facing federal charges in the United States, but his illegal junta is still in charge of the South American nation, and already, they are seeking reprisals against anyone in Venezuela who may have supported the American raid.
Venezuelan authorities have been ordered to find and arrest anyone involved in supporting the military operation that led to the arrest of Nicolás Maduro.
A state of emergency decree issued Saturday, but published Monday, orders police to "immediately begin the national search and capture of everyone involved in the promotion or support for the armed attack by the United States," according to the text of the decree, Reuters reported.
It was not clear what charges could be levied against those taken into custody.
Kangaroo courts don't really need to specify legal charges; they can invent them. That's if the remnants of the Maduro regime even bother with a trial, should they capture anyone who may (or may not; corrupt governments usually paint with a very broad brush in these sorts of things) be involved with the American operation.
Here's the onion:
In Maduro's absence, Delcy Rodríguez, his former number two, has been sworn in as the interim president of Venezuela. Rodriguez, 56, has long been a confidant and backer of Maduro.
She was the country's vice president from 2018 through Sunday.
Despite denouncing the U.S. military operation, Rodriguez said in a Sunday social media post that the country aspires towards balanced and respectful international relations between Caracas and Washington.
As for this crackdown: The Maduro regime used armed, civilian paramilitaries, called colectivos, to crack down on protests while Nicolás Maduro was still in power; it's not at all unlikely that these same regime loyalists may be used to round up any suspected American sympathizers. Although, those groups have gone surprisingly quiet for the moment.
Government officials who are still in power are probably eager to show the Trump administration that they can maintain order, and do not want images of chaos in the streets, said Alejandro Velasco, a Latin America historian at New York University, who is Venezuelan. Their only bargaining chip to stay in power is the ability to keep the peace, he said.
“I have to imagine colectivos have been given the order to lay low,” Mr. Velasco said.
Venezuela has long used the armed civilians to fight back against protesters. They have been known to work alongside police or military forces with no consequences for the excessive or even fatal force often used.
These people are pretty much the only Venezuelans not in the military or police who are allowed to bear arms, so it's not like they could encounter much resistance.
IDF says it struck terror operative who crossed Yellow Line in southern Gaza
[IsraelTimes] The IDF says that troops from the 188th Armored Brigade operating in southern Gaza identified a terror operative who crossed the so-called Yellow Line and approached the forces “in a way that posed an immediate threat.”
According to the military, the Air Force, acting under the direction of the ground troops, carried out a strike on the suspect to remove the threat.
The IDF says troops under the Southern Command remain deployed in the area in line with the current ceasefire agreement and will continue acting against any immediate dangers.
[IsraelTimes] Security services say Tehran recruited 30-year-old Lekacho Demsash of Rishon LeZion to take pictures near former PM’s house
The Shin Bet security service and Israel Police said Monday that they had arrested a resident of the central city of Rishon LeZion suspected of carrying out surveillance missions under the direction of Iranian intelligence, including photographing near the home of former prime minister Naftali Bennett.
According to a joint statement, the suspect — identified as 30-year-old Lekacho Demsash, who was arrested last month — had been in contact with Iranian handlers in recent months and was asked to carry out a series of tasks in exchange for money.
Investigators said the assignments began with simple missions and later escalated to photographing locations in his home city and elsewhere, including near Bennett’s residence.
Security officials assessed that the activity was part of Iranian intelligence-gathering efforts aimed at facilitating an attack on the former prime minister, noting similarities to a separate case made public last month involving another suspect accused of spying near Bennett’s home.
An indictment was filed earlier Monday at the Central District Court in Lod, authorities said.
The Shin Bet and police have warned Israelis against maintaining contact with hostile foreign actors, including through social media.
Over the past two years, dozens of Israelis have been charged with espionage on behalf of Iran. In many of the cases, Iranian agents recruited Israelis via social media, specifically the Telegram messaging app.
[IsraelTimes] The death toll in violence surrounding protests in Iran has risen to at least 35 people, activists say, as the demonstrations show no signs of stopping.
The figure comes from the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which says more than 1,200 people have been detained in the protests, which have been ongoing for more than a week.
It says 29 protesters, four children and two members of Iran’s security forces have been killed. Demonstrations have reached over 250 locations in 27 of Iran’s 31 provinces.
The group, which relies on an activist network inside of Iran for its reporting, has been accurate in past unrest.
The semiofficial Fars news agency, believed to be close to Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, reported late yesterday that some 250 police officers and 45 members of the Guard’s all-volunteer Basij force have been hurt in the demonstrations.
The growing death toll carries with it the chance of American intervention. US President Donald Trump warned Iran on Friday that if Tehran “violently kills peaceful protesters,” the United States “will come to their rescue.”
While it remains unclear how and if Trump will intervene, the comments took on new importance after the US military on Saturday captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, a longtime ally of Tehran.
The protests have become the biggest in Iran since 2022, when the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody triggered nationwide demonstrations. However, the protests have yet to be as widespread and intense as those surrounding the death of Amini.
Iran has faced rounds of nationwide protests in recent years. As sanctions tightened and Iran struggled after a 12-day war with Israel in June, its rial currency collapsed in December, reaching an exchange rate of 1.4 million to $1. Protests began soon after.
The demonstrations began last Sunday when shopkeepers staged a strike over high prices and economic stagnation, but they have since spread to other places and expanded to include political demands.
“I instruct the attorney general and prosecutors across the country to act in accordance with the law and with resolve against the rioters and those who support them… and to show no leniency or indulgence,” Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei says, according to the judiciary’s Mizan news agency.
He adds that Iran “listens to the protesters and their criticism, and distinguishes between them and rioters.”
Protests have taken place in 25 out of Iran’s 31 provinces and affected, to varying degrees, at least 45 different cities, most of them small or medium-sized and concentrated in the west, according to an AFP tally based on official statements and media reports.
At least 16 people have been killed, rights groups say.
Here's what to know about the protests and the challenges facing Iran's government.
HOW WIDESPREAD THE PROTESTS ARE
Demonstrations have reached over 220 locations in 26 of Iran's 31 provinces, the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported early Monday. The death toll had reached at least 20 killed, it added, with more than 990 arrests. The group, which relies on an activist network inside of Iran for its reporting, has been accurate in past unrest.
Understanding the scale of the protests has been difficult. Iranian state media has provided little information about the demonstrations. Online videos offer only brief, shaky glimpses of people in the streets or the sound of gunfire. Journalists in general in Iran also face limits on reporting such as requiring permission to travel around the country, as well as the threat of harassment or arrest by authorities.
But the protests do not appear to be stopping, even after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday said "rioters must be put in their place."
WHY THE DEMONSTRATIONS STARTED
The collapse of the rial has led to a widening economic crisis in Iran. Prices are up on meat, rice and other staples of the Iranian dinner table. The nation has been struggling with an annual inflation rate of some 40%.
In December, Iran introduced a new pricing tier for its nationally subsidized gasoline, raising the price of some of the world's cheapest gas and further pressuring the population. Tehran may seek steeper price increases in the future, as the government now will review prices every three months.
The protests began first with merchants in Tehran before spreading. While initially focused on economic issues, the demonstrations soon saw protesters chanting anti-government statements as well. Anger has been simmering over the years, particularly after the 2022 death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody that triggered nationwide demonstrations.
[Rudaw] The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Monday accused armed factions affiliated with the interim Damascus government of "indiscriminately shelling" areas east of Aleppo, reaffirming their right to self-defense. The statement came shortly after Syrian state media reported that the Damascus army had begun targeting the areas from which "SDF drones," which attacked Syrian army outposts earlier in the day, were launched.
In a statement on X, the SDF said, "Our forces affirm their full and legitimate right to defend both our fighters and our people amid the ongoing indiscriminate shelling currently targeting the city of Deir Hafer [east of Aleppo] by the 'al-Amshat' and 'al-Hamzat' factions, affiliated with the Damascus government and listed under international sanctions."
Of note, the Suleiman Shah Division, widely known as al-Amshat, and the Hamza Division, also known as al-Hamzat, are The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...a NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the cut of the American pants... member, but not the most reliable... -backed armed factions that have resisted integration into the new Syrian military structure established following the ouster of longtime Syrian dictator Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Terror of Aleppo ... In August 2023, the US Department of the Treasury sanctioned the Amshat and Hamzat factions for "serious human rights ...which are usually entirely different from personal liberty... abuses" in the Kurdish city of Afrin, northwest of Syria. The European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... subsequently imposed its own sanctions.
The Kurdish-led forces added that "these factions are deliberately targeting civilian homes, placing the lives of residents at extreme risk," while confirming that the "shelling has caused no material or human losses among our forces."
"The aggressors bear full responsibility for these crimes and violations, as well as all consequent repercussions," the SDF concluded.
The SDF statement came shortly after the state-run al-Ikhbariya TV reported that "the Syrian Arab Army has begun targeting the launch sites of drones belonging to the SDF in the vicinity of Deir Hafer, east of Aleppo." The report claimed that "drone attacks" by the Kurdish-led forces had "caused more than six injuries among civilians and the [Syrian] military police," while noting that the Syrian army’s response "will be limited."
Earlier in the day, the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) had quoted the Syrian defense ministry's media arm as claiming that the SDF had "targeted a military police checkpoint using drones near the army’s deployment points" near Deir Hafer, as part of what it described as the Kurdish-led forces "ongoing escalation against army positions in various parts of the country."
The SDF, however, "categorically" denied the allegations. No, no! Certainly not! holding the ministry's media affiliate "fully responsible for the consequences" of its statement and affirming that they "remain committed to restraint and to the existing channels" of communication with Damascus.
[IsraelTimes] Attacks come after Israel issues evacuation warnings in Kfar Hatta, Ain al-Tinah, Annan and Al-Manara; Lebanese media says one strike targeted home of slain Hamas leader
Israel launched a series of Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... s deep inside eastern and southern Leb ...The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. Only one of those statements is an exaggeration.... on Monday, which the Israel Defense Forces said targeted buildings used by Hamas ..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,... and Hezbollah.
The strikes came after the IDF issued public evacuation warnings to residents of four villages in southern Lebanon, instructing civilians to leave buildings near sites it said were being used by the two terror groups.
It was the first such warning issued by the military this year.
In two separate posts on X, the military’s Arabic-language front man, Colonel Avichay Adraee, said the military would hit Hezbollah sites in Kfar Hatta and Ain al-Tinah, and Hamas sites in Annan and al-Manara.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) said the home targeted in al-Manara belonged to Sharhabil Sayed, a Hamas leader in Lebanon who was killed by Israel in 2024.
An AFP photographer in Kfar Hatta, in south Lebanon, saw dozens of families flee the village after the warning was issued amid drone activity in the area, adding that ambulances and fire trucks were on standby.
Despite a year-old ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, Israel carries out regular strikes in Lebanon, usually explaining that the terror group’s activities are in violation of the ceasefire understandings.
At least 350 people have been killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon since the ceasefire, according to an AFP tally of Lebanese health ministry reports. According to the UN, that tally included at least 127 civilians, as of November.
Two people were killed in an Israeli strike that targeted a vehicle on Sunday, around 10 kilometers (six miles) from the border, the Lebanese health ministry said.
While Israel’s strikes in Lebanon usually target Hezbollah, the IDF has targeted Hamas and other Paleostinian terror groups in the country.
In November, the IDF carried out strikes on the Ain al-Hilweh Paleostinian refugee camp in Sidon, in what it said targeted a Hamas compound. The strikes killed 13 people.
It has also hit Hamas’s ally in Lebanon, al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya (Islamic Group), which is affiliated with the Moslem Brüderbund. The group grabbed credit for multiple rocket attacks against Israel before the ceasefire.
Lebanon has faced mounting pressure from the United States and Israel to disarm Hezbollah under a truce deal, with Foreign Minister Gideon Saar on Sunday calling the disarmament efforts far from sufficient.
Israel has been ramping up its military operations in Lebanon in recent weeks, amid reports of a possible wide-scale offensive targeting Hezbollah.
According to the agreement, Hezbollah was required to pull its forces north of the Litani River and have its military infrastructure in the vacated area dismantled.
All four of Monday’s targeted villages are located north of the river.
Lebanon’s cabinet is to meet on Thursday to discuss the army’s progress, while the ceasefire monitoring committee — including Lebanon, Israel, the United States, La Belle France, and UN peacekeepers — is also set to meet this week.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
...a 
..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,...
