[ShabelleMedia] The Ottoman Turkish navy, working in coordination with the Somali National Army, has freed the cargo vessel MV Latuf after it was hijacked by Somali pirates off the coast of Jifle in Eyl district, Nugaal region, on August 17, authorities said.
The forces took control of the vessel following the operation, and the ship is now sailing safely, according to the Somali authorities.
The circumstances surrounding the vessel’s release were not immediately clear, including whether the operation involved a confrontation with the pirates.
The hijacking came amid a resurgence in Somali piracy, with several commercial vessels reportedly targeted along Somalia’s coastline in recent months.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[Regnum] An armed attack was attempted on the Bravia Hotel in Niamey, where participants in the first session of the parliament of the Alliance of Sahel States (ASS), including Russian diplomats, were staying. This was reported on August 29 by Russian Ambassador to Niger Viktor Voropayev.
"There was an attempt by armed men to enter the hotel grounds, but it was repelled," Voropayev told TASS.
“Who were those armed men?”
The first session of the ACS Parliament was held in Niamey from August 24 to 29. Members of the legislative assemblies of Chad and Togo were invited to the opening ceremony. Most of the members were accommodated in Bravia.
On August 29, the Nigerien Ministry of Defense reported the suppression of an attempted mutiny by a group of military personnel. According to the ministry, the mutiny began around 12:20 AM local time (10:20 PM Moscow time on August 28). A group of soldiers, in violation of military discipline, attempted to restrain several of their fellow soldiers at Air Base 101 in Niamey. The incident was accompanied by hours of gunfire and explosions. State television and radio stations temporarily stopped broadcasting. The situation was soon brought under control, and operations at key facilities were gradually restored.
#Niger-Situation 29/8/ 15h50 - Situation toujours tendue à Niamey - Ce qui se passe à Niamey est une tentative de coup d’état. - Parmi les mutins les éléments des forces spéciales - la garde présidentielle qui a repoussé un assaut sur le palais présidentiel, a tenté…
#Niger-Situation 29/8/ 15h50
- Situation still tense in Niamey
- What is happening in Niamey is an attempted coup d’état.
- Among the mutineers are elements from the special forces
- the presidential guard, which repelled an assault on the presidential palace, has attempted without success so far to take control of the airbase where the mutineers are
- reinforcements are reportedly arriving from within. For which side?
- A Russian military unit and another Italian one have stayed out of the fighting
The early evening hours indicate that the situation has not been resolved against the new rebels, with their deployment in two main bases, and reinforcements for both sides have been observed.
Talk of the involvement of Russian Wagner mercenaries, who are part of what is called the African Corps, alongside the Presidential Guard, remains undocumented as of now.
Regarding foreign forces, Italian troops are also present on the ground as part of a training agreement.
Les mercenaires russes présents près de l’aéroport ne participeraient pas aux combats ni à la défense de #Tiani. Ils seraient prêts à se ranger du côté du vainqueur.
The Russian mercenaries present near the airport would not participate in the fighting or the defense of #Tiani. They would be ready to side with the victor.
The mutineers from the special forces are mobilizing their supporters and receiving reinforcements from within the country. For his part, Tiani, holed up in the presidential palace alongside Mohamed Bazoum, would also benefit from reinforcements.
Troops of Sector 3 Operation HADIN KAI in Kukawa, in collaboration with other components of Operation Hadin Kai, have repelled a terrorist attack around Kadiya village in Kukawa… pic.twitter.com/khh9qmj7SU
Troops of Sector 3 Operation HADIN KAI in Kukawa, in collaboration with other components of Operation Hadin Kai, have repelled a terrorist attack around Kadiya village in Kukawa Local Government Area of Borno State, neutralising 26 terrorists and destroying 10 motorcycles during the engagement.
The operation, which took place late on Friday, August 28, followed credible human intelligence on the movement of terrorists around Kadiya village, in the Kukawa axis.
According to military sources the terrorists attacked troops of 101 Special Forces Battalion at about 10:45 p.m.
The attack was successfully repelled by the troops, supported by the air component of Operation Hadin Kai.
Military sources said the terrorists were forced to withdraw in confusion following the coordinated ground and air response.
As the terrorists attempted to escape from the area, the Nigerian Air Force conducted two precision air strikes against the fleeing fighters.
The first strike targeted about 10 terrorists who had taken cover beneath trees following the initial engagement.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[GrupoAnimal] The Secretary of Public Security and Citizens, Omar García Harfuch, assured that in Mazatlán, members of the National Guard located two minors who had been reported missing.
The Secretary of Public Security and Citizens, Omar García Harfuch, reported that in Sinaloa, 12 people were arrested after an operation in which 35 firearms were seized.
In his X account, the official indicated that the operation is part of the strengthening of the National Security Strategy, involving elements of the Defense and the National Guard.
“They arrested 12 people and seized 35 firearms, more than 7,500 cartridges, 200 magazines, 12 grenades, more than 1.3 tons of marijuana, 1.7 million pesos and five vehicles,” the secretary detailed.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[GrupoAnimal] According to US authorities, cartel networks use drone systems to facilitate the illicit trafficking of people and to monitor personnel and security forces.
The United States Armed Forces shot down three drones allegedly used by drug cartels on the border with Mexico using lasers.
The Joint Task Force-Southern Border Experts (JTF-SB), under the United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) and in collaboration with Customs and Border Protection (CBP), reported that it neutralized three adversary unmanned aerial systems using directed energy during the nights of August 25 and 26.
The U.S. military employed an Army high-energy multipurpose laser system, called AMP-HEL, to intercept the aircraft “identified in support of activities that posed a physical threat to U.S. military elements and CBP agents.”
The **Army Multi-Purpose High Energy Laser (AMP-HEL)** is a directed-energy weapon program designed to counter unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and other threats for the U.S. Army. The system integrates **AeroVironment’s 20-kilowatt-class LOCUST Laser Weapon System (LWS)** onto mobile vehicle platforms, primarily the **Infantry Squad Vehicle (ISV)** and the **Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV)**.
Developed under a contract awarded to **BlueHalo**, the AMP-HEL program has progressed through two key prototyping increments:
* **First Increment:** Delivered in September 2025, featuring two **ISV-mounted** prototypes that underwent testing at Yuma Proving Ground and training at Fort Sill.
* **Second Increment:** Delivered in December 2025, consisting of two **JLTV-mounted** systems equipped with a larger aperture beam director, radar, and command-and-control systems.
The system has seen operational deployment, notably being used by **Joint Task Force Southern Border** in August 2026 to neutralize cartel-linked drones near the U.S.-Mexico border. This incident, along with earlier safety assessments regarding civilian airspace, has facilitated agreements between the FAA and the Pentagon for domestic laser counter-drone use.
The Photonic Fence
Insect-Killing Laser Device
Our core focus and driving inspiration throughout our existence has been the goal to create a device that not only monitors insects, but also identifies the undesirable insects and selectively shoots them down using lasers. We call this a “Photonic Fence” because it uses photons to protect a defined area from insect incursion. We built several prototypes of this device and continue to test and improve these as we work towards introducing the lethal Photonic Fence.
[Jpost] Police raided several homes, including that of Muhammad Abd al-Rahman Abad, who was involved in an attempted suicide attack in Jerusalem in 2002.
Israeli security forces confiscated hundreds of thousands of shekels in cash, as well as property and vehicles worth nearly NIS 100,000 in a large-scale operation on Wednesday, raiding the homes of Lions of Islam and their families who receive payment from the Paleostinian Authority.
Police raided several homes, including that of Muhammad Abd al-Rahman Abad, who was involved in an attempted suicide kaboom in Jerusalem in 2002.
They also raided the home of Ahed Faiz Ali al-Natasha, a Hamas ..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",... agent who was involved in 2001 in planning a boom-mobile explosion in the parking lot of an apartment building in Pisgat Ze'ev and in planning the attack at the Clal Center in Jerusalem, in which two coppers and ten civilians were maimed.
PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY CONTINUES TO PAY TERRORISTS, US STATE DEPARTMENT REPORT CONFIRMS
In March, the US State Department informed Congress that the Paleostinian Authority is still making payments to Lions of Islam and their families, despite promises to end the "pay for slay" programs.
A total of $156 million was paid out to the Lions of Islam and their families, the report said. $126m. was paid to Paleostinian terrorists, including those released from Israeli custody, and $30m. was paid to the families of Paleostinian Lions of Islam who died committing their acts of terrorism. The PA had promised to give the families a total of $214m.
Payments continued despite PA President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ...aka Abu Mazen, a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial. While no Yasser Arafat, he has his own brand of evil, just a little more lowercase....> legislating changes to the West Bank’s welfare system last year, shifting payments to a needs-based model rather than stipends scaled to the length of a terrorist’s sentence.
"The PA continues to provide a system of compensation in support of terrorism through new mechanisms and under a different name," the State Department reported. The report cited information from the Israeli government, open-source sources, and NGOs.
Les soldats de Tsahal et les forces de la Police des frontières israélienne sont intervenus face à de violents affrontements à Qusra, où des dizaines d’émeutiers israéliens s’étaient barricadés dans une maison palestinienne et lançaient des pierres en direction de Palestiniens et…
IDF soldiers and Israeli Border Police forces intervened in response to violent clashes in Qusra, where dozens of Israeli rioters had barricaded themselves in a Palestinian home and were throwing stones toward Palestinians and other civilians.
The forces first acted to evacuate the rioters and separate the various groups. They also seized the vehicles of the Israeli rioters and handed over the evidence to the Israeli Police as part of the investigation.
Security forces are continuing their operations in Qusra and Jalud in order to restore order.
[IsraelTimes] PM downplays takeover of Qusra home, claiming only ‘a handful of rioters’ to blame, but doesn’t mention lack of arrests for violence that ‘harms Israel’s standing in the world’
🔻 جيش الدفاع يقضي على قائد فصيل في وحدة النخبة وقناص من حركة حماس الإرهابية في قطاع غزة
⭕ هاجم جيش الدفاع في شمال قطاع غزة في وقت سابق اليوم (الجمعة)، وقضى على المخربين هاني عبد الحي فخري مظلوم، قائد فصيل في وحدة النخبة التابعة للحركة، وحسن زيدان حسن الديري، قناص في الجناح… pic.twitter.com/c67W70fMfa
— Lieutenant Colonel Ella Waweya | إيلا واوية (@CaptainElla1) August 29, 2026
Text:
🔻 The Defense Army eliminates a platoon commander in the Elite Unit and a sniper from the terrorist Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip
⭕ The Defense Army attacked earlier today (Friday) in northern Gaza Strip, eliminating the terrorists Hani Abdul Hay Fakhri Mazloom, a platoon commander in the movement's Elite Unit, and Hassan Zaidan Hassan Al-Deiri, a sniper in the military wing of the terrorist Hamas movement.
⭕ Hassan and Mazloom also worked in trading and supplying combat means to Hamas terrorists.
⭕ In recent times, the two terrorists advanced terrorist plans against Defense Army forces and citizens of the State of Israel, and worked to rebuild the movement's capabilities, in systematic violation of the ceasefire. The raids were carried out with the aim of removing the threat.
Defense Army forces in the Southern Regional Command are deployed in the area in accordance with the agreement, and will continue to operate to remove any immediate threat.
חיל-האוויר תקף לפני זמן קצר מפקד מהזרוע הצבאית של ארגון הטרור חמאס במרחב דיר אל בלח.
בעת האחרונה, המחבל קידם מתווי טרור נגד כוחות צה”ל ואזרחי מדינת ישראל ופעל לשיקום יכולות הארגון, תוך הפרה שיטתית של הפסקת האש. התקיפה בוצעה במטרה להסיר את האיום.
The Air Force struck moments ago the commander from the military wing of the terrorist organization Hamas in the Deir al-Balah area.
In recent times, the terrorist advanced terror plots against IDF forces and civilians of the State of Israel and acted to rehabilitate the organization's capabilities, while systematically violating the ceasefire. The strike was carried out with the aim of removing the threat.
The terrorist who was struck was hiding adjacent to the "Shuhada al-Aqsa" Hospital compound. This is another example of Hamas's cynical use of humanitarian infrastructure and the systematic embedding of Hamas in medical facilities, for the purpose of advancing and executing terrorist activity.
Prior to the strike, steps were taken to reduce harm to civilians, including the use of precision weaponry and aerial observations.
IDF forces under Southern Command are deployed in the area in accordance with the agreement and will continue to operate to remove any immediate threat.
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.
Somali pirates
..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",...
