That was 2015. Now that they have reconquered the country, they are abusing women once again, with examples.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] Standing in a hole dug into a barren Afghan mountainside, you can just about see Rukhshana's face poking above the surface. Surrounding her is a group of Taliban picking up rocks from the ground and, one by one, hurling them at the terrified young woman. Her agonised cries grow louder and louder as the barrage of rocks strikes her with sickening thuds. In the background, men shout 'Allahu Akbar' as they relentlessly stone their victim.
The 19-year-old Afghan girl did not survive the barbaric 2015 stoning, which was captured in a video filmed by an anonymous witness and obtained by Radio Free Afghanistan. The disturbing scenes, capturing for the first time the brutal lengths the Taliban will go to punish defenceless women, spread on social media, shocking the world.
The then-governor of Ghor province, Seema Joyenda, called Rukhshana's killing 'inhumane' at the time, while Maryam Muhammadi, an Afghan youth and women's activist, said: 'It is absurd that the government of Afghanistan lets this happen.'
What makes the stoning of Rukhshana even more devastating is that she was simply trying to get away from the oppressive shackles of the Taliban's rules.
At just 13 years of age, Rukhshana's parents arranged for her to marry an older man. But years later, Rukhshana refused to wed and fled with Mohammad Gul – a boy she had been in love with since childhood. The pair escaped to the Saghar District in Afghanistan's Ghor Province, but after some time, security forces captured Rukhshana and handed her back to her father.
Once again, she was forced into marriage, and once again, she escaped. While on their way to Murghab village, Rukhshana and Mohammad were stopped by a local Taliban commander who had previously suggested she marry his brother.
The 19-year-old was accused of having premarital sex and arrested. The Taliban demanded five million Afghanis, or £57,000, from her father in exchange for her release. Since her family could not afford the ransom, a Taliban cleric issued an order for Rukhshana to be stoned.
But the young woman's tragic end was not a one-off, and instead is just one of the countless examples of the levels of violence women in Afghanistan are confronted with every day.
Just months before Rukhshana's killing, a woman named Farkhunda was savagely beaten and set ablaze in central Kabul after being falsely accused of burning a Koran.
The mob killing triggered protests around the country and drew global attention to the treatment of Afghan women.
That same year, a video from the region appeared to show a woman receiving lashes from a turbaned elder in front of a crowd of male spectators. The flogging came after a local court found her guilty of having sex outside marriage with a man, who was similarly punished.
And ever since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan five years ago, matters for women's rights have only gotten worse. Women and girls are facing widespread discrimination in Afghanistan, with laws dictating how they must dress and behave. They are banned from secondary school and universities, from most jobs, and from nearly all leisure activities, including gyms, beauty salons and even public parks.
The rules also stipulate that women can only go out in public when wearing full hijab – which includes a headscarf and long robe covering the entire body – as well as a face covering that leaves only the eyes visible. The regulations are policed by the feared Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, and if women don't comply, they are met with brutal punishment.
Earlier this month, the Taliban's morality police rounded up at least nine women in a fresh move to enforce strict Sharia law dress codes. The women were detained in the city of Herat, despite them all wearing hijabs, according to Amu TV – a US-based Afghan broadcaster.
The arrests come as the group has been ramping up its psychological abuse of women in Afghanistan. According to a Herat resident, women are becoming increasingly afraid to leave their homes, telling Amu TV: 'They harass women everywhere under the pretext of enforcing morality.'
'Women are being detained, intimidated and subjected to psychological abuse, yet no one is listening.'
Another resident said four women were detained outside the Marble Market last month despite complying with the Taliban's dress requirements.
'They were wearing hijab,' the resident said. 'They were taken simply because they were wearing long coats.'
That sounds like the minimum required style in Iran. It must have been brought back by Afghan refugees recently expelled from there.
Residents in Kabul also reported that Taliban morality police have been increasing their street patrols in recent weeks.
Meanwhile, in the Panjshir province, the Taliban recently told female doctors working at a local hospital that they would not be allowed to work unless they wore a burqa.
The latest detention of Afghan women comes just weeks after a protest against the Taliban's morality police left one person dead and several more wounded. Officials opened fire on demonstrators during a protest back in June after dozens took to the streets to denounce the detention of women and girls arrested for violating the country's dress code.
Footage obtained by Amu TV showed residents running in fear down a street in the Jibrail township, north-west of Herat City, amid the sound of multiple gunshots. Protesters can be heard screaming as others were beaten to the ground by officials wielding long sticks. Meanwhile, armed men can be seen breaking up the demonstration, including fully veiled women among the protesters.
Sayed Masoud Hosseini, spokesman for Herat police, told the state-run Bakhtar News Agency that the gathering had 'created tensions' and disturbed public order under the pretext of opposing the Islamic hijab, which he described as a religious obligation.
The demonstration followed days of growing outrage over the detention of women and girls in Herat, for allegedly failing to comply with the Taliban’s strict interpretation of Islamic dress requirements. Dozens of women, including at least 21 whose detentions were independently confirmed, had been taken into custody by officials from the Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, Amu TV claimed.
The human rights arm of the UN delivered a damning assessment of conditions in Afghanistan in a report released in March, warning that life for ordinary Afghans, especially women and girls, has severely worsened under the Taliban.
As predicted, and indeed as the Taliban intended as they work to make the entire conquered population properly pious.
Presenting the report, UN Human Rights chief Volker Türk said: 'The cascade of edicts and laws announced by the authorities since coming to power in 2021 is having a crushing impact on the Afghan people, particularly women and girls.'
Women remain excluded from all education above primary school age, following a ban from higher education since December 2022. In November 2025, medical graduation examinations were held without the participation of women for the second consecutive year, after having been banned from medical institutes since December 2024.
Women deemed not to be complying with the chador requirement – the traditional Islamic full-body cloak – have been removed from public transport and denied access to public markets and services.
Meanwhile, a new law demands that girls wait until puberty before seeking to get out of a marriage, and also requires mediation for women seeking to escape an abusive husband.
'The authorities have, in effect, criminalised the presence of women and girls in public life,' Mr Türk said.
'Discrimination affects their healthcare, their access to civic space, and their freedom of movement and expression.'
'Afghanistan is a graveyard for human rights,' he concluded.
It was under the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan but away from the cities, the society was strictly Islamic.
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
08/24/2026 12:07 Comments ||
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#3
2015 was before the Taliban completed their conquest of Afghanistan. But they had made solid inroads in the Pashtun region of the country, and could enforce their judgements.
[ShabelleMedia] Somali pirates hijacked a U.S.-sanctioned oil products tanker off Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of... and steered it toward Somalia’s 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... coast, a Somali maritime security official said Friday, in the latest attack during a renewed wave of piracy across the Gulf of Aden and western Indian Ocean, according to the News Agency that Dare Not be Named.
Six armed pirates seized the Eritrea ...is run by the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), with about the amounts of democracy and justice you'd expect from a party with that name. National elections have been periodically scheduled and cancelled; none have ever been held in the country. The president, Isaias Afewerki, has been in office since independence in 1993 and will probably die there of old age... n-flagged M.T. Sibu 1 on Thursday about 252 km east of al-Mukalla, Yemen, the official told AP on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the incident publicly.
The tanker carried 20 crew members, including 16 Indians, one Syrian, one Sudan ...a Moslem country located in the Horn of Africa. It is noted for its affinity for rule by ex- or current generals, its holy men, and for the oppression of the native Afro population by its Arab conquerors. South Sudan, populated mostly by the natives, split off from Sudan proper, which left North and South Darfur to be oppressed by the guys with turbans... ese, and one Iraqi. The nationality of one crew member was unclear.
The UAE-based Qatrat Alnada Almasi Ship Management manages the Sibu 1. The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned the tanker last year, alleging it was part of Iran’s "shadow fleet" used to transport petroleum products in violation of U.S. sanctions. Its previous port and intended destination were unclear.
Pirates seized the Sibu 1 three days after taking control of the Cameroon ...a long, narrow country that fills the space between Nigeria and Chad on the northeast, CAR to the southeast. Prior to incursions by Boko Haram nothing ever happened there... -flagged cargo vessel Lutuf off Somalia. Somali pirates have now hijacked six commercial vessels since April 21, including the Honor 25, Sward, Eureka, Asana, Lutuf, and Sibu 1, with several attacks occurring far from Somalia’s coastline.
The International Maritime Bureau recorded 38 piracy and armed robbery incidents worldwide during the first half of 2026, including five hijackings, and said Somali pirates were responsible for 94% of the 67 crew members taken hostage globally during that period.
Puntland authorities said Friday that forces beyond their control were behind the renewed piracy, but they did not identify any group or country.
[GaroweOnline] Puntland President Said Abdullahi Deni has addressed a recent resurgence in piracy off the Federal State’s coast, saying pirate groups are part of what he described as an effort to damage Puntland’s reputation.
Deni said his administration was particularly focused on countering what he called a campaign of "reputational damage", warning that misguided young people could be exploited to carry out activities that undermine Puntland’s name and security.
His comments come as piracy has resurfaced off Somalia's coast, raising concerns over the security of commercial shipping in the Gulf of Aden and western Indian Ocean.
In recent days, pirates have seized commercial vessels including the M/V Lutuf and the M.T. Sibu 1, according to maritime security reports. The incidents have heightened fears that Somali piracy, which had declined significantly in recent years, could be making a comeback.
Puntland authorities have previously said they were investigating information suggesting that forces outside the administration could be involved in the renewed piracy. They have not identified any specific group or country, however, and have not publicly presented evidence supporting the allegations.
The latest incidents come after years of international efforts to suppress piracy off Somalia, once one of the world's most dangerous maritime security threats.
Somali pirates had been largely contained through a combination of international naval patrols, improved maritime security and measures taken by commercial shipping companies. The recent attacks have renewed concerns among shipping operators about the safety of vessels transiting the region.
Deni said Puntland would continue to oppose activities that could harm its reputation, while emphasizing that the region's priorities extended beyond security concerns.
He said Puntland's main battle now was one for development, highlighting the fight against poverty, increased local production, job creation for young people, health care and education.
The president's remarks reflect a broader concern among Puntland authorities that renewed piracy could undermine economic activity and international confidence in the region.
Puntland, which has its own administration and security forces, has long faced security challenges along its extensive coastline. Puntland has also been a focus of international maritime security efforts because of its proximity to major shipping routes connecting the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean.
The recent vessel seizures have added to broader concerns over maritime insecurity in the region, where commercial shipping is already facing risks from armed attacks and geopolitical tensions.
Puntland authorities have pledged to investigate the latest piracy incidents and prevent the territory from again becoming associated with large-scale maritime hijackings.
Deni said his administration would remain focused on protecting Puntland's security and reputation while pursuing its longer-term development priorities.
#UPDATE: Somali Government Sends Troops to Baidoa to Protect Sheikh Aden Madobe Amid Growing Threat from Laftagareen Forces
Somalia’s federal government deployed additional troops to Baidoa on Sunday amid growing tensions between forces aligned with former South West State… pic.twitter.com/7KdgjJG4Iz
#UPDATE: Somali Government Sends Troops to Baidoa to Protect Sheikh Aden Madobe Amid Growing Threat from Laftagareen Forces
Somalia’s federal government deployed additional troops to Baidoa on Sunday amid growing tensions between forces aligned with former South West State President Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed “Laftagareen” and an administration led by federal parliament Speaker Sheikh Aden Madobe, according to local sources.
The troops were reportedly flown into Baidoa, the administrative capital of South West State, to reinforce security and protect Sheikh Aden Madobe and officials allied with his administration.
The deployment follows reports that forces loyal to Laftagareen have increased their presence in several parts of Baidoa and surrounding areas. The military movements have heightened security concerns among federal officials and supporters of the Aden Madobe-led administration.
[HiraanOnline] South West State Security Minister Osman Isaaq Mohamed has called on the Kenyan government to arrest former South West State President Abdiasis Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen and facilitate his extradition to Somalia.
Speaking about the recent violence in Baidoa on Thursday, the minister accused Laftagareen of being responsible for recent attacks and bombings in the city and said he should be held accountable.
“We are requesting the Kenyan government to arrest Abdiasis Laftagareen and hand him over through Interpol to the Somali government so that he can be held accountable,” the minister said.
The minister also accused forces loyal to Laftagareen of having links to Al-Shabaab, alleging that the militias had contributed to insecurity in Baidoa.
He said fighters loyal to the former president would be treated under procedures similar to those applied to Al-Shabaab members who defect and surrender to the authorities.
“In the past, we thought they were our brothers who had complaints, but now we have seen armed people who are linked to Al-Shabaab. If they surrender, the procedures for those who defect from Al-Shabaab will be followed,” he said.
The allegations against Laftagareen and his forces could not be independently verified.
So is this just the usual African Page 3:Non-WoT civil war, or are they Al Shabaab allies who belong on Page 1:WoT?
The minister's comments come amid heightened tensions and recent fighting between South West State forces and fighters loyal to Laftagareen, who is currently based in Nairobi after leaving Baidoa.
The latest developments follow days of escalating political and security tensions in Baidoa, where forces loyal to the former president recently clashed with government troops after attempting to enter and take control of parts of the city
#Somalia | 7 U.S.-trained Danab soldiers killed in deadly IED attack near Balidoogle
Seven Danab soldiers, including a high-level commander, were killed today after an IED struck their vehicle at Yaaq Doomar, around 25km from Balidoogle, where U.S. forces are stationed at their… pic.twitter.com/d7gAGr2x03
#Somalia | 7 U.S.-trained Danab soldiers killed in deadly IED attack near Balidoogle
Seven Danab soldiers, including a high-level commander, were killed today after an IED struck their vehicle at Yaaq Doomar, around 25km from Balidoogle, where U.S. forces are stationed at their largest military base in Somalia. Earlier information had put the death toll at five, but the number has reportedly risen to seven. The casualties were moved between Balidoogle and Mogadishu.
Danab is one of Somalia’s most heavily U.S.-backed military formations, trained and supported through an American security programme and operating closely with U.S. forces based at Balidoogle. The base is the main hub for the American military presence in Somalia, while Danab has become a central force in operations aligned with Washington’s security priorities across Somalia and the wider region
War in #Yemen#SITREP | Yemeni government forces appear to be stepping up indirect military activity against the Houthis across several fronts, with new drone footage showing strikes on Houthi logistics alongside increased readiness at frontline positions.
War in #Yemen #SITREP | Yemeni government forces appear to be stepping up indirect military activity against the Houthis across several fronts, with new drone footage showing strikes on Houthi logistics alongside increased readiness at frontline positions.
Maj. Gen. Hamdi Shukri, commander of Yemen’s Fourth Military Region Command (MRC), inspected frontline positions in Al-Dhale alongside Al-Dhale’ Governor and front commander Maj. Gen. Ahmed Qa’id al-Quba.
The inspection covered forward positions and contact lines in Al-Fakher, Hajar, Murays and Bab Ghalaq. Commanders reviewed troop readiness, coordination and security conditions, with Shukri calling for forces to maintain a high level of readiness and prepare for potential threats.
The visit comes amid an apparent uptick in operations on other fronts. In Marib, government forces released drone footage showing a strike on a Houthi supply vehicle in Al-Kassara.
[IsraelTimes] Telegraph reports attack marks first successful strike of its kind on vital British infrastructure; government says national grid not endangered
Hackers linked to 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... were responsible for a cyberattack that shut down a small British power plant for four days last month, in the first successful Iranian-linked attack on vital UK infrastructure, The Telegraph reported on Sunday.
According to the BBC, authorities declined to name the plant and insisted the shutdown did not put the country’s power grid at risk, but warned power companies about the danger of cyber attacks.
A spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said that the incident "impacted a small-scale energy generator, and at no point was there a risk to the wider energy system." He added that the department works "closely with the energy sector to protect infrastructure and ensure the highest security standards," according to The Guardian.
The Telegraph, which did not name a source, said the attack took place last month, at the same time that water infrastructure in the US was also affected by a suspected Iranian cyberattack.
The incident could mark an escalation in Iranian-linked cyber activity against Britannia after London allowed the US to conduct what it described as "defensive" operations against Iran from British bases. The UK has refused to help Washington in offensive operations.
The policy was not altered by the new prime minister, Andy Burnham, who was notified last week that a decision had been made to extend the agreement with the US.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned last month that "any base used for aggression against Iranian territory constitutes a legitimate target for our forces."
It has previously been accused of carrying out cyberattacks on various countries, including in relation to a massive power outage in The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire... in 2015.
The US has alleged that an Iran-affiliated group known as "CyberAv3ngers" targeted US infrastructure in 2023, which compromised at least 75 devices in multiple infrastructure sectors.
Israel has also faced suspected Iranian cyberattacks, including a major assault in March 2022 that knocked government websites offline for more than an hour. Israeli officials did not identify the perpetrator at the time, though some media outlets pointed to Iran.
US security agencies warned earlier this year about potential cyberattacks on critical infrastructure by hackers linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
In recent days, Kremlin propagandists have called on Putin to launch the potentially deadly missile at the UK in retaliation for Britain's decision to supply Ukraine with drones that were used to strike Russian territory.
Vladimir Solovyov, a state TV presenter, said: 'Give the British three days to learn to breathe underwater, then hit them with Poseidon.'
#3
Did the hack come through the Internet? I ask because I don't see any need for this type of infrastructure to be on the Internet. And if the hack came some other way I wonder what it was.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
08/24/2026 11:57 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Used to be hackable via SCADA controllers online for automated controls
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/24/2026 12:07 Comments ||
Top||
[IntelliNews] Ukraine's armed forces have taken into service the Alexa Spatium, the first jet-powered interceptor drone designed and built in the country to shoot down Russian attack drones.
The aircraft is aimed squarely at Russia's Geran-3, Geran-4 and Geran-5 attack drones and the Shahed-131, and can also go after reconnaissance UAVs and helicopters. It runs on a turbojet, has a high service ceiling and works at low and medium altitudes, Ukrinform reported.
It measures roughly 1.5 by 1.7 metres, is built from composite so it can turn hard without losing control, and launches from a mobile catapult in minutes. It can carry fragmentation, shaped-charge or thermobaric warheads, and flies on preset coordinates or under direct control using television and infrared seekers.
The reusability is the unusual part. An interceptor that goes up, finds nothing and comes back to its launch point can fly again, which changes the cost arithmetic of air defence more than any single performance figure does.
Ukraine has spent this war shooting cheap Iranian-designed drones down with expensive Western missiles, and its interceptor stocks have been running dry. Moscow made the gap worse by bolting jet engines onto the Geran so it outruns the propeller-driven interceptors Kyiv had been fielding. A domestic jet answer that can be built in quantity is the first credible reply.
The manufacturer has not been named.
Ukraine's missile programmes are moving at the same time. Fire Point has finished ground testing of its FP-9 ballistic missile and is preparing to test it over Russian territory, chief executive and chief technology officer Iryna Terekh said, declining to give a date beyond "in the near future". An extended-range version is in development.
Fire Point systems are already flying between five and 20 missions a day over enemy territory, Terekh said. The company's Flamingo cruise missile is one of three candidates Germany is weighing for its own low-cost long-range weapon, which is a measure of how far Ukraine's defence industry has travelled from importing everything to selling into Nato markets.
[IsraelTimes] Seven protesters who blocked traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge in a 2024 pro-Palestinian protest against Israel’s assault on Gaza have been sentenced to 30 days, with credit for time already served.
They were convicted in July of misdemeanor charges by a San Francisco jury that remained deadlocked on the more serious charge of felony conspiracy.
Defense attorneys said demonstrators acted out of a moral responsibility to oppose the devastation from Israeli strikes on Gaza and Washington’s support for its ally.
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said the protest caused a safety risk for those stuck in traffic and there should be consequences when laws are broken.
“Throughout history, civil disobedience has mostly involved accepting legal consequences,” Superior Court Judge Teresa Caffese is quoted as saying by local station KQED. “In that spirit, those who blocked the bridge and disrupted the lives of hundreds of commuters should be treated respectfully, but should also be prepared to accept the consequences of their actions.”
The sentences included half the time in county jail while the remaining days can be served at a work release program operated by the San Francisco Sheriff’s Office. There will be four days’ credit for previous time already served. The sentencing also included six months of probation, and fines and restitution of over $1,000.
The defendants will remain free while the case is appealed, SFGate reports.
The jury convicted the seven protesters on misdemeanor counts including false imprisonment, obstruction of thoroughfare, unlawful assembly and in one defendant’s case refusal to disperse.
[IsraelTimes] Netanyahu tells IDF to do ‘everything’ to counter Gaza drone threat; Katz: Kites to be treated like drones even if they have no explosives; IDF: Strikes targeted Hamas commander, arms site
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz both said Sunday that they had instructed the IDF to take significant action after the launching of kites from 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... Strip over the weekend.
Subsequent Israeli strikes in Gaza on Sunday were reported to kill three people, including a young boy.
In a statement, Netanyahu said he directed the defense establishment and the IDF to do "everything" to confront what he called the "lethal" threat of drones to Israel.
"We have been working for several years on a solution to the drone threat. We are the most advanced in the world, but this is a global problem," Netanyahu said in a video message, saying the weapons have been used in Ukraine and Leb ...home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade.... , "and now they are trying to renew this threat and bring it into Gaza."
While Netanyahu did not mention the incident directly, he appeared to be drawing a connection between recent kite launches from Gaza and the broader threat posed by armed drones.
At least four kites were flown from Gaza to Kibbutz Nahal Oz over the weekend. The army said nothing suspicious was found on the kites and there was no danger to the public, but many have associated the objects with the Gazook kites and balloons carrying incendiary devices that plagued southern Israel in previous years.
The military stressed that "no suspicious findings were identified on the kites," and that "at no stage was there any danger to the public." But according to Hebrew media reports, the IDF believes that Hamas ..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",... was responsible for launching the kites, and was doing so to test whether and how Israel would respond.
"My directive to the defense establishment and the IDF is to do everything against this lethal weapon — to strike it, to strike those operating it, to strike the place from which it was launched, to do everything in order to protect our citizens in the Gaza border communities and everywhere else," Netanyahu said.
In a statement Sunday evening, Hamas claimed the kites were merely "children’s toys" from Gaza refugee camps and warned Israel not to follow through on its threats.
Hamas front man Hazem Qassem said "these threats are based on fabricated pretexts and are an attempt to justify the continuation of the aggression and violations against our people."
He added: "We call on the US administration, the mediating countries and the Board of Peace to stop the unchecked aggression against our people and the destruction of the ceasefire framework."
Paleostinian media reported one dead and several maimed in an Israeli Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... in the central Gaza Strip on Sunday morning. The strike took place near the Maghazi camp.
The IDF later said that the strike killed Ismail Abu Ful, who it said was the commander of an arms production site. The military said that "the terrorist took an active part in manufacturing bombs and anti-tank rockets" for Hamas, and he was "eliminated to remove the threat."
In a separate strike in the nearby town of az-Zawayda, the IAF struck a weapons manufacturing site "near an aid distribution point operated by an international organization," according to the IDF. Shrapnel from that strike, which came after a warning by the IDF for residents of the area, reportedly killed two people, including a 4-year-old boy, and injured several others.
"This is another example of Hamas’s systematic use of and embedding within civilian infrastructure, including aid distribution centers, to advance and execute terror attacks against IDF troops operating in the Yellow Line area and against Israeli civilians," the military said.
The IDF said the arms production site shows that Hamas "systematically violates the ceasefire agreement while attempting to rehabilitate its military capabilities and strengthen its force buildup."
Residents said the strike followed a warning by the IDF for the owners of the property to leave the area. Medics said flying debris and shrapnel that spread for dozens of meters around hit at least six people, including the 4-year-old, Mohammad Abdel-Salam Taha, who was pronounced dead at a hospital.
Hours later, a joint statement from Netanyahu and Katz threatened to "intensify strikes" against those responsible for launching kites from Gaza toward Israeli border communities, and evacuate areas of the Strip.
Netanyahu and Katz held an assessment Sunday evening with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and other top military and defense officials on the recent kites.
"Israel warns Hamas that if the launches toward Israel do not stop immediately, the IDF will act to intensify strikes against those responsible for the launches and evacuate populations from areas from which kites, drones and balloons are launched," Netanyahu and Katz said in a joint statement.
Earlier Sunday, Katz said he had instructed the IDF to "act forcefully" against the launching of kites from the Gaza Strip.
"I instructed the IDF to act immediately and forcefully against any phenomenon of launches from Gaza toward the communities of the western Negev," Katz said in a statement.
Katz said he views "every launch as an act of war in every respect, and is committed to the absolute protection of the Israeli communities."
"A balloon is treated like a kite, and a kite is treated like a drone — with or without explosives," he said. "Anyone who organizes, launches, or enables the launches will be dealt with immediately and with the utmost severity."
Gazook kites and balloons carrying incendiary devices plagued southern Israel, burning large swaths of land, in previous years prior to the current Gaza war.
Earlier this month, Channel 12 news reported that Israel’s defense establishment had identified a significant increase in attempts by terror groups to launch explosive drones — including fiber-optic drones — within Israel toward targets across the country, with officials said to warn that there was no effective operational solution to the emerging threat.
Fiber-optic drones, which are guided via a cable and therefore immune to electronic jamming, have posed a major challenge for the IDF during its operations in Lebanon, killing Israeli soldiers.
Sunday’s Israeli strikes on Gaza come as the international community attempts to implement a US-backed plan for ending the Gaza conflict. The plan calls for Hamas to disarm in exchange for a gradual Israeli withdrawal from the Strip, but progress has remained stalled.
Hamas has said it accepts the proposal, but Netanyahu has rejected withdrawing the IDF until Hamas fully gives up its weapons. Israel has accused Hamas of tightening its grip on Gaza’s civilian population as it seeks to retain control of the enclave.
[IsraelTimes] A Hamas terrorist who invaded Israel during the October 7, 2023, onslaught was targeted in an Israeli strike in the southern Gaza Strip yesterday, the military says.
The strike in Khan Younis targeted a company commander in Hamas’s elite Nukhba Force, according to the IDF. He is not named, and his condition is unclear.
Palestinian media reported that the strike wounded several people.
In addition to invading Israel on October 7, the IDF says that the Hamas terrorist has advanced attacks on troops in the Strip.
“The terrorist’s activities posed an immediate threat to our forces,” the military says, employing a claim used to justify strikes despite a ceasefire in the Strip.
— Lieutenant Colonel Ella Waweya | إيلا واوية (@CaptainElla1) August 23, 2026
Translated Text:
Duvdevan Unit Fighters Arrest Four Wanted Individuals in Benjamin Brigade: Among Them Elements Affiliated with the Terrorist Organizations Hamas and ISIS
⭕️During the past weekend, Duvdevan Unit fighters operated in a number of offensive activities across the Benjamin Brigade.
⭕️As part of the activity, the fighters arrested four wanted individuals who were engaged in promoting terrorist activities, including two saboteurs affiliated with the terrorist organization ISIS, and another saboteur affiliated with the terrorist movement Hamas.
⭕️In addition, the forces located three M16-model weapons and confiscated them.
[IsraelTimes] 24-year-old Elhanan Hananya in moderate condition after being stabbed repeatedly during family trip; Palestinian man shot after allegedly trying to snatch soldier’s gun in West Bank
An Israeli man was moderately hurt in a stabbing attack Sunday morning near a Paleostinian village in the West Bank’s Jordan Valley, security forces said. Following the terror attack, Israeli forces launched an hours-long manhunt, before eventually arresting a 16-year-old Paleostinian suspect in the late afternoon in the village of al-Auja in the Jordan Valley. He was handed over to the Shin Bet for questioning.
The stabbing occurred along a highway used by both Israelis and Paleostinians in al-Auja, some eight kilometers (five miles) north of Jericho. Footage of the attack showed an assailant jumping the Israeli man from behind and repeatedly stabbing him as he returned to his car after visiting a shop on the side of the West Bank highway.
According to the Magen David Adom ambulance service, the victim, a 24-year-old Israeli later identified as Elhanan Hananya, was taken to Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center in moderate condition. The hospital said that he was in stable, pH balanced condition and fully conscious, and was being treated in the emergency department. He suffered a broken shoulder and internal bleeding, his brothers Yosef and Shlomo Hananaya told news hounds at Shaare Zedek.
According to his brothers, Hananya, a career soldier, was on his way to Tiberias to celebrate his wedding anniversary when he was attacked. The attack occurred in front of his pregnant wife, their two daughters and his father-in-law, who were in the car when he stopped in al-Auja for cigarettes.
"When he came back to the car, there was a terrorist there who ambushed him," one of the brothers says. "When he saw my brother’s back was turned, he jumped on him and stabbed him several times. He fought him and was in a panic over the kids... the bigger daughter saw everything that happened."
The stabber then fled. Police sent forces to the scene and the IDF dispatched special forces and Israeli Air Force aircraft to hunt for him, with roadblocks set up in the area.
"The forces are interrogating suspects and conducting intelligence-gathering work to locate the terrorist," the army said prior to the suspect’s arrest.
Later Sunday afternoon, a Paleostinian man allegedly tried to snatch a soldier’s gun near the West Bank settlement of Rimonim. The IDF said that the soldier, of the Kfir Brigade’s Duchifat Battalion, returned fire and "neutralized" the assailant. Additional forces were dispatched to the scene, the army said.
Paleostinian sources told AFP that the man, Aws Akram Maatan, from the village of Burqa east of Ramallah, suffered an injury to his foot and was taken to a Jerusalem hospital for treatment. The head of the Burqa village council, Sayel Kanaan, claimed in a statement that Maatan had been shot "without justification."
Meanwhile,
...back at the shouting match, Bart was wondering if fisticuffs would be appropriate at this point... Paleostinian health authorities said Sunday that the IDF killed a Paleostinian teenager in the West Bank. The Paleostinian health ministry said that Israeli gunfire killed Islam Ahmad Maher Ajouri, 14, in the Askar refugee camp where he lived, outside Nablus. Mohammed Abu Kashk, head of the Askar camp services committee, told AFP that the teenager was killed by Israeli forces during a raid on the camp: "There were no festivities or confrontations that would justify shooting a child and killing him."
The IDF told AFP it was verifying the information.
The IDF said soldiers of the Duvdevan Commando Unit operated in the Ramallah area and detained four Paleostinians who were wanted for "advancing terror activities." They included two affiliated with Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really 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 western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... , and one affiliated with Hamas ..one of the armed feet of the Moslem Brüderbund millipede,... , according to the army. The soldiers also captured three M16 assault rifles amid the raid, the IDF added.
Violence in the West Bank has escalated sharply in recent months, mostly involving settler attacks on Paleostinians, though there have also been several attacks by Paleostinian assailants on Israelis.
According to a Channel 12 report over the weekend, IDF brass has issued a warning to Israel’s politicianship that the West Bank is on the brink of a violent mostly peaceful escalation, saying that the Paleostinian public may begin to take action if settler violence is allowed to continue unabated.
[IsraelTimes] Judiciary says Majid Adineh was arrested with several weapons, including gun, chainsaw, during deadly demonstrations; death penalty carried out after unsuccessful appeal to courts
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... on Sunday executed a man accused of carrying a gun and a chainsaw during January anti-government protests who was charged with acting as an agent of Israel and the United States. Chainsaw??
It does prove he’s an American agent, right? Or possibly Canadian…
The judiciary said Majid Adineh had been convicted of "operational action in favor of hostile groups" in nationwide rallies that broke out late last year.
He was one of a string of people put to death over the protests, which were sparked by economic hardships in Iran.
Adineh was accused of "deliberate arson, gathering and collusion with the intention of committing crimes against the country’s internal security," the judiciary’s Mizan Online website said in a report Sunday.
"Based on numerous documents and evidence in the case and the defendant’s statements, the Karaj Revolutionary Court sentenced him to death and confiscation of all his property," it added.
An appeal by Adineh was unsuccessful and the Supreme Court upheld the verdict, with his execution carried out Sunday morning, Mizan said.
He and another suspect were arrested on January 9 in Alborz province, west of Tehran, carrying "a revolver, ammunition, two tasers, two tear gas canisters, a rechargeable chainsaw, and a bottle of gasoline," Mizan added. Iranian media shared an image purporting to show the weapons seized by police.
The protest movement was initially sparked in late December by grievances over high living costs but rapidly evolved into widespread anti-government demonstrations that peaked on January 8 and 9.
Iranian authorities reported more than 3,000 deaths from the unrest, attributing the violence to "terrorist acts" orchestrated by the United States and Israel, though opposition sources and human rights ...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions... groups have alleged that the real corpse count was well into the tens of thousands.
The number of executions in Iran has risen since the start of the Middle East war, which broke out on February 28 with US-Israeli strikes against Iran. A large number of the executions have been linked to the protests, with other cases related to the war.
Iranian authorities executed at least 1,639 people last year, a record high since 1989, according to Iran Human Rights, an NGO based in Norway, and Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM), which is headquartered in Gay Paree.
According to Amnesty International, Iran conducts the second most executions of any country, after China.
[IsraelTimes] Fewer than 20 commodity vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz at the weekend, shipping data shows, as Iranian and US blockades restrict traffic through the vital chokepoint for energy shipments.
Four vessels crossed the strait on Sunday, initial data from shiptracker Kpler shows, with 13 on Saturday. The figures can change as some ships switched off transponders on their way through.
🚨 A Hezbollah commander’s bombed-out house is filled with stacks of U.S. dollars and gold, while the Islamic Republic drives Iranians into abject poverty.
The footage comes as the dollar has smashed through 200,000 tomans on Iran’s free market for the first time, devastating purchasing power. The Iranian rial is now the weakest currency in the world by nominal exchange rate.
For decades, the regime has blamed sanctions for Iran’s economic misery while lavishly spending Iran’s wealth abroad through its proxies, patronage networks and well-connected insiders.
Billions have flowed into Hezbollah and other armed terrorist groups as ordinary Iranians have watched their savings and living standards collapse.
Stacks of dollars and gold in Lebanon while Iranians are driven into poverty at home. The regime blames sanctions, but its own priorities tell the real story.
On August 22, the IDF carried out a targeted strike against a terrorist operative traveling in a vehicle on the road connecting the village of Mazraat Beit Jinn and the village of Beit Jinn, at the foot of Mount Hermon in southern Syria. According to local reports, the operative,… pic.twitter.com/EuGbvjzPqX
On August 22, the IDF carried out a targeted strike against a terrorist operative traveling in a vehicle on the road connecting the village of Mazraat Beit Jinn and the village of Beit Jinn, at the foot of Mount Hermon in southern Syria. According to local reports, the operative, Ammar Said Hamada, was apparently on his way to Beit Jinn and was likely wounded in the strike. Hamada had been involved in carrying out terrorist activity against IDF forces.
The above-mentioned geographic area, located approximately 6 km from the Israeli border, is a known hub of terrorist activity involving several organizations. The area has a significant presence of military infrastructure belonging to al-Jama'a al-Islamiyya, which operates under Hamas's patronage and in coordination with Hezbollah.
From my notes about the Egyptian branch: the name in English is ”the Islamic Group”, whose name is also transliterated as El Gama'a El Islamiyya, Gamaat Islamiya, al Jamaat al Islamiya, etc. They split off from the Moslem Brotherhood back in the 1970s when that lot formally gave up volence. In the old days they were linked to Al Qaeda and funded by the governments of Iran and Sudan. In 2011 they went in for politics. The connection in Syria to Hamas suggests they are still on the violent side of the MB philosophy, while acting as another Iran proxy, though I am willing to be informed by anyone the many here who know more than this very junior analyst-in-training.
It should be recalled that on November 28, 2025, during an IDF operation in the village of Beit Jinn to arrest two al-Jama'a al-Islamiyya terrorist operatives, fire was opened on the Israeli force. Several operatives were killed during the incident.
The Beit Jinn area has also been known, since the Assad regime era, as a hub of Palestinian Islamic Jihad activity, whose operations in southern Syria are directed by Iran and Hezbollah. During 2023–2024, several operatives from the organization who were involved in terrorist activity against Israel were eliminated in the area of the village.
[IsraelTimes] Israel said to set ‘red lines’ for diplomatic agreement, as US pushes for full renewal of direct Jerusalem-Damascus talks that were halted earlier this year
Mosssd ...sees all, knows all, gets 'em all in the end... chief Roman Gofman and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani held a meeting on Sunday to defuse tensions between their countries after Israel’s strike last week on a Syrian airbase, Syrian state media confirmed.
The two met in Jordan, two sources told AFP, adding that they discussed issues such as establishing "a special operations room" in Jordan under US supervision to prevent any confrontation in Syria, including involving The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the decaying remnant of the Ottoman Empire... Citing three sources with knowledge of the matter, the Axios news site reported that the meeting was aimed at "lowering the temperature," following the escalating rhetoric between the two sides.
Israel’s Channel 12 news reported that the sitdown was positive in nature and was considered a step toward restarting direct Jerusalem-Damascus negotiations. The network said the meeting was supposed to take place last week, but was pushed off because of the Israeli strike.
The Trump administration strongly pushed for the meeting, seeking a de-escalation between Israel, Syria and Turkey ahead of the upcoming Israeli election, Channel 12 said.
The TV network also reported that Israel’s security establishment is pushing politicians to follow through on diplomatic efforts to lower the flames, preferring that to a potential military escalation.
Citing an Israeli security source, Channel 12 said Jerusalem has set a number of red lines for such talks, including not allowing any Ottoman Turkish military activity in Syria; keeping the Syrian side of the Golan Heights a demilitarized zone; not allowing the Syrian army to possess strategic weapons systems; ensuring the security of Syria’s Druze community; and only withdrawing Israeli troops from the buffer zone in which they are currently posted in exchange for diplomatic achievements.
The meeting came after tensions between Jerusalem and Damascus and Ankara rose sharply last week following an IDF strike on the Abu al-Duhur airbase in northwestern Syria. Israel accused Damascus of preparing to allow Ottoman Turkish forces to deploy there. Syria denounced the strike and Turkey denied the claim that its forces were deploying to the base.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later said that Israel had warned Turkey against any military activity in Syria ahead of the strike. Rooters reported last week that Gofman and al-Shaibani had held a phone call on Turkey’s military presence in Syria just days before the Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... Netanyahu’s office declined to comment to Axios on Sunday’s purported meeting, and a spokesperson for al-Shaibani did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the outlet.
Hours before the meeting was reported, al-Shaibani said in an interview with the Rooters news agency that Syria expected negotiations with Israel to resume soon, urging Israel to seize a "historic opportunity" as the door for diplomacy is open.
Shaibani said negotiations over a security agreement between the two longtime foes had been frozen since the start of the 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... war, but he expected them to restart: "We believe there should be contact, especially with a party that constantly threatens the security of Syria. But if this contact doesn’t bring results, then we don’t need it," Shaibani said. "We do not trust Israel currently."
"The US is trying continuously to put pressure on Israel to return to the dialogue table," he added, saying that Syria has "very great hope" of building stable relationships with its neighbors.
"Syria is extending its hand for understandings, for peace, for diplomacy," and regional stability, he said.
The meeting took place despite an Israeli dronezap on Saturday afternoon in southwest Syria. Damascus condemned the attack, which the IDF said targeted an operative who was advancing attacks "in the final stages of preparation."
The IDF has been deployed to nine posts inside southern Syria since the fall of Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Horror of Homs... ’s regime in December 2024. Most of the Israeli-held posts are located within a UN-patrolled buffer zone on the border between the two countries. Israel said it did so to protect its security given the instability and uncertainty brought on by the rise of the new jihadist-led regime.
Israel and Syria held historic direct talks last year aimed at reaching a groundbreaking security agreement that ultimately failed to materialize.
Al-Shaibani said Sunday that around the start of this year, the sides had "agreed on paper to almost everything" regarding a security deal that would require Israel to stop strikes in Syria and was tied to its withdrawal from territory seized after Assad fell.
The deal would include several security zones in Syrian territory near the Israeli border, including a buffer zone where only the United Nations ...the Oyster Bay money pit... would be present, and others where Syrian forces would deploy in varying degrees of force.
But the Syrian foreign minister accused Israel of seeking to evade implementation, adding: "We did not see they had the real will to reach an agreement."
Meanwhile,
...back at the pond, Gloria slowly backed away from the eight-foot bull frog. If the creature croaked she would surely be deafened... Channel 12 also reported Sunday that Israel’s defense establishment has recently identified an increase in Hezbollah’s attempts to smuggle weapons from Syria into Leb ...Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects.... , as the terror group works to rearm and rebuild under cover of the ongoing ceasefire.
A security official cited by the network said Iran is financing and operating the smuggling network through the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force, which continues to oversee the transfer of weapons into Hezbollah’s hands.
While the Syrian and Lebanese armies have publicized several weapons seizures over recent months, Israeli security officials reportedly assess that many other shipments are successfully reaching Lebanon.
"Hezbollah is exploiting the ceasefire to build up its strength, and there has therefore been an increase in smuggling attempts through Syria," a security official told Channel 12. "We assess that many shipments are getting through without being detected."
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.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] Standing in a hole dug into a barren Afghan mountainside, you can just about see Rukhshana's face poking above the surface. Surrounding her is a group of Taliban picking up rocks from the ground and, one by one, hurling them at the terrified young woman. Her agonised cries grow louder and louder as the barrage of rocks strikes her with sickening thuds. In the background, men shout 'Allahu Akbar' as they relentlessly stone their victim. 
The arrests come as the group has been ramping up its psychological abuse of women in Afghanistan. According to a Herat resident, women are becoming increasingly afraid to leave their homes, telling Amu TV: 'They harass women everywhere under the pretext of enforcing morality.'
Women deemed not to be complying with the chador requirement – the traditional Islamic full-body cloak – have been removed from public transport and denied access to public markets and services.
Somali 
...a Moslem country located in the Horn of Africa. It is noted for its affinity for rule by ex- or current generals, its holy men, and for the oppression of the native Afro population by its Arab conquerors. South Sudan, populated mostly by the natives, split off from Sudan proper, which left North and South Darfur to be oppressed by the guys with turbans...
...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 _Cropped.jpg)
..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",...
..one of the armed feet of the Moslem Brüderbund millipede,...
...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 
...sees all, knows all, gets 'em all in the end...
