Recent Appearances...

Warning: Undefined array key "rbname" in /data/rantburg.com/www/pgrecentorg.php on line 14
Hello !
Recent Appearances...

Africa Horn

Sudanese army accused of executing civilians in Khartoum Bahri - Sudan Tribune

2024-10-02

[SUDANTRIBUNE] Sudanese political groups and armed groups condemned the army on Tuesday for the alleged execution of dozens of civilians in the city of Bahri, north of Khartoum. The victims were accused of collaborating with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

A widely circulated video appears to show individuals in army uniforms and civilian clothing killing young men in the Al-Halfaya suburb, an area recently seized by the army.

A video circulating on social media appears to show individuals in army uniforms and civilian clothes killing a group of young men in the Al-Halfaya suburb. The army recently seized the area after launching an offensive from its bases north of Omdurman.

The National Umma Party issued a statement condemning the ''heinous crime'' and calling on the army to respect international humanitarian law and ensure accountability. The party stated that the killings constitute a ''black mark'' on the armed forces, who are responsible for protecting civilians.

The opposition Beja Congress Party accused the ''Al-Baraa bin Malik'' battalion, which fights alongside the army, of carrying out the executions. The party described the killings as ''barbaric acts'' and called for an independent international investigation.

Bakry Eljack, spokesperson for the Coordination of Civilian Democratic Forces ''Tagadum,'' urged legal action against the perpetrators and criticized previous instances of investigations into abuses that were promised but not carried out.

''What happened is a full-fledged war crime, and justice will reach all those who committed and incited it,'' Eljack said.

He called on both the army and the RSF to adhere to international humanitarian law and stop attacking civilians.

The spokesperson for the Justice and Equality Movement, Suleiman Sandal faction, said that the victims were executed without a fair trial.

''There are no accusations, only executions and liquidations in a manner that reflects abhorrent racism,'' he said.

Link

Africa Horn

Sudanese army thwarts drone attack on military base in Shendi

2024-04-26

[SUDANTRIBUNE] Sudanese
Sudanese

...pertaining or related to Sudan, located just south of Egypt. It represents another strong argument in favor of colonialism. You wouldn't want to go there...
anti-aircraft guns in Shendi, northern Sudan, thwarted a drone attack by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Tuesday. Two of the attacking drones were intercepted and shot down.

This attack comes amid ongoing tensions between the military and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group. A joint force comprising the Sudanese army and Darfur armed movement units had recently departed Shendi to confront RSF fighters at the Khartoum refinery in al-Jaili. Encircling the RSF forces, which had seized control of the oil facility at the onset of the conflict, the coalition aimed to reclaim the area.

Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Chairman of the Sovereign Council and Commander-in-Chief of the Army, had just left Shendi when the assault occurred.

Military sources told Sudan Tribune that the four drones attempted to target the command centre of the 3rd Infantry Division in Shendi. However, the army’s ground-based anti-aircraft defences effectively neutralized three of the drones, while the fourth altered its trajectory.

Witnesses reported that the drones aimed at various strategic locations, including a military airport adjacent to an ammunition depot and other sites near the southwestern entrance of the army command in Shendi. The resounding blasts of the anti-aircraft missiles caused panic among civilians, prompting the closure of the main market until calm was restored in the city.

In an official statement, the 3rd Infantry Division confirmed that its Control and Monitoring Room detected a drone approaching from the south. Ground anti-aircraft weaponry intercepted the drone upon its entry into the division’s jurisdiction, destroying its payload in mid-air. The debris fell within the division’s airport area without causing any casualties or damage to infrastructure.

The statement further detailed that another drone was sighted an hour later and promptly neutralized, emphasizing the division’s readiness and rapid response to hostile threats.

This drone assault marks the second incident of its kind within a month, targeting the Nile River State. On April 2, a drone struck a Ramadan iftar gathering hosted by the Islamist-affiliated al-Baraa Bin Malik Brigade, resulting in the loss of at least 18 lives.

Previously, members of the Rapid Support Forces had threatened to target the army position in Shendi and Port Sudan.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

IED injures Turkish-backed faction’s leader in north Syria

2022-03-23

An IED explosion wounded a leader of a Turkish-backed faction east of #Syria’s #Aleppo. #Turkey #SNA https://t.co/3yWVUmIpW5
— NORTH PRESS AGENCY - ENGLISH (@NPA_English) March 22, 2022

ALEEPO COUNTRYSIDE, Syria (North Press) – A leader of the Turkish-backed Military Police faction was injured, on Monday evening, as a result of an IED explosion in the city of Jarablus east of Aleppo, north Syria.

A local source told North Press that the leader Abou Al-Baraa suffered minor injuries caused by an IED that was planted in his car.

The source added that the leader is working in the investigation department affiliated with the Military Police faction in the city.

With explosions, murders, and kidnapping taking place regularly, the areas held by the Turkish-backed factions witness a state of insecurity amid failure of the factions to settle the condition there.

It should be noted that Jarablus has been controlled by the Turkish-backed opposition factions since 2016.

Reporting by Farouq Hamo

Link

Africa North

Benghazi Security Authorities release images of suspect accused of killing Libyan lawyer Hanan Al-Baraasi

2020-11-13

[PUBLISH.TWITTER]

#BREAKING
Benghazi Security Authorities release images of suspect accused of killing Libyan lawyer Hanan Al-Baraasi.
An image of the vehicle used during the assassination was also released.https://t.co/PzK4AXb3CT #Libya #LibyaReview pic.twitter.com/yBoCa90Yix
— Libya Review (@LibyaReview) November 12, 2020

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Russian warplanes launch biggest attack in months over northwest Syria

2020-06-15

[PUBLISH.TWITTER]

Russian warplanes launch biggest attack in months over northwest #Syria https://t.co/BymgvFZWfr #Hama #Idlib #Russia
— Al-Masdar News (@TheArabSource) June 14, 2020

The Russian Air Force launched a powerful attack over northwestern Syria last night, as their warplanes heavily targeted sites belonging to the Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP) and Hurras al-Deen group.

According to a field report from the nearby Hama Governorate, the Russian Air Force, with support from the Syrian military, unleashed several ~~Arclight~~ airstrike
<del>Arclight</del> airstrike

...KABOOM!...
s over the Jabal al-Zawiya region, hitting a number of jihadist positions along the southern Idlib front-lines.

The report said the Russian Air Force carried out several of their strikes over the front-line town of al-Baraa, which has become the headquarters for the ~~bandidos~~ murderous Moslems near the Jabal al-Zawiya front-lines.

A source form the Syrian military said the Russian Air Force struck a gathering point for the jihadist rebels in al-Baraa, resulting in heavy losses for the latter.

This attack by the Russian Air Force last night was the largest assault that they have launched since the start of the March 5th Moscow Agreement.

Tensions between the Syrian military and jihadist rebels have reached a month-long high, following a heavy attack by the Hurras al-Deen group on the SAA’s positions at the Tanjara axis in the A-Ghaab Plain region of northwestern Hama.

Since this attack, the Syrian Arab Army has amassed a large force along the Jabal al-Zawiya and al-Ghaab Plain front-lines, prompting rumors of a new military operation against the jihadist rebels.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Free Syrian Army sez kidnapped Iranians are Revolutionary Guards

2012-08-06

Syrian rebels claim that the 48 Iranians it kidnapped on Saturday are members of the elite Iranian Revolutionary Guards and not pilgrims as Iran alleges, in footage aired exclusively by Al Arabiya TV.

Pilgrims. Simple pilgrims. Simple, heavily-armed, pilgrims...

The rebels "captured 48 of the Shabiha (militiamen) of Iran who were on a reconnaissance mission in Damascus," said a man dressed as an officer of the Free Syrian Army, in the video aired by Al Arabiya. "During the investigation, we found that some of them were officers of the Revolutionary Guards," he said, showing ID documents taken from one of the men, who appeared in the background with a large Syrian independence flag held by two armed men behind them.

Abdel Nasser Shmeir, interviewed later by Al Arabiya and presented as the commander of Al-Baraa Brigade, gave similar details.

"They are 48, in addition to an Afghani interpreter," he said, claiming that the captives were members of a 150-strong group sent by Iran for "reconnaissance on the ground." Shmeir said his men "have not yet entered into any contacts" about the hostages.

Iran has appealed to Turkey and Qatar, both with close relations with the Syrian opposition, for help in securing the release of the hostages it claims were pilgrims visiting the Sayyida Zeinab shrine, a Shiite pilgrimage site in the southeastern suburbs of Damascus. Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi urged Turkey and Qatar, which have backed the Syrian opposition, to help release the captives, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported. IRNA said 48 pilgrims were abducted.

I'm sure there's a shrine in Aleppo that draws the pilgrims there...

Link

Iraq

Qaeda in Iraq acquires al-Baraa for undisclosed sum

2005-12-05

On 29 November, a member of the Shamilah Net Forums (www.shamela.net/vb) posted a statement issued by AQI in which the amir of Al-Baraa Jihadist Group claimed to join Al-Zarqawi's group "in response to God Almighty's order to unify the ranks to confront the infidels and the hypocrites." The statement was attributed to "Abu-Maysarah al-Iraqi," the Media Division of al-Qa'ida Organization in the Land of the Two Rivers.

Link

Iraq

Profusion of groups helps insurgency to survive

2005-12-02

Here is a small sampling of the insurgent groups that have claimed responsibility for attacks on Americans and Iraqis in the last few months:

Supporters of the Sunni People. The Men's Faith Brigade. The Islamic Anger. Al Baraa bin Malik Suicide Brigade. The Tawid Lions of Abdullah ibn al Zobeir. While some of them, like the Suicide Brigade, claim an affiliation with Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia and Al Qaeda claims them, others say they have acted alone or under the guidance of another group.

While on Wednesday President Bush promised nothing less than "complete victory" over the Iraqi insurgency, the apparent proliferation of militant groups offers perhaps the best explanation as to why the insurgency has been so hard to destroy.

The Bush administration has long maintained, and Mr. Bush reiterated in his speech Wednesday, that the insurgency comprises three elements: disaffected Sunni Arabs, or "rejectionists"; former Hussein government loyalists; and foreign-born terrorists affiliated with Al Qaeda.

Iraqi and American officials in Iraq say the single most important fact about the insurgency is that it consists not of a few groups but of dozens, possibly as many as 100. And it is not, as often depicted, a coherent organization whose members dutifully carry out orders from above but a far-flung collection of smaller groups that often act on their own or come together for a single attack, the officials say. Each is believed to have its own leader and is free to act on its own.

Highly visible groups like Al Qaeda, Ansar al Sunna and the Victorious Army Group appear to act as fronts, the Iraqis and the Americans say, providing money, general direction and expertise to the smaller groups, but often taking responsibility for their attacks by broadcasting them across the globe.

"The leaders usually don't have anything to do with details," said Abdul Kareem al-Eniezi, the Iraqi minister for national security. "Sometimes they will give the smaller groups a target, or a type of target. The groups aren't connected to each other. They are not that organized."

Some experts and officials say there are important exceptions: that Al Qaeda's leaders, for instance, are deeply involved in spectacular suicide bombings, the majority of which are still believed to be carried out by foreigners. They also say some of the smaller groups that claim responsibility for attacks may be largely fictional, made up of ragtag groups of fighters hoping to make themselves seem more formidable and numerous than they really are.

But whatever the appearances, American and Iraqi officials agree on the essential structure of the Iraqi insurgency: it is horizontal as opposed to hierarchical, and ad hoc as opposed to unified. They say this central characteristic, similar to that of terrorist organizations in Europe and Asia, is what is making the Iraqi insurgency so difficult to destroy. Attack any single part of it, and the rest carries on largely untouched. It cannot be decapitated, because the insurgency, for the most part, has no head. Only recently, American and Iraqi experts say, have they begun to grasp the new organizational structure that, among other things, is making the insurgency so difficult to stop.

"There is no center of gravity, no leadership, no hierarchy; they are more a constellation than an organization," said Bruce Hoffman, a terrorism expert at the Rand Corporation. "They have adopted a structure that assures their longevity."

The insurgency's survivability presents perhaps the most difficult long-term challenge for the Iraqi government and American commanders. The primary military goal of groups like Al Qaeda and Ansar al Sunna is not to win but simply not to lose; to hang on until the United States runs out of will and departs. Even killing or capturing the leader of Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, many Iraqi and American officials say, will not end the rebellion.

In a war as murky as the one in Iraq, details about the workings of the insurgency are fleeting and few. But what is available suggests that the movement is often atomized and fragmented, but no less lethal for being so.

A review of the dozens of proclamations made by jihadi groups and posted on Islamist Web sites found more than 100 different groups that either claimed to be operating in Iraq or were being claimed by an umbrella group like Al Qaeda. Most of the Internet postings were located and translated by the SITE Institute, the Washington group that, among other things, tracks insurgent activity on the Web.

Of the groups found by SITE, 59 were claimed by Al Qaeda and 36 by Ansar al Sunna. Eight groups claimed to be operating under the direction of the Victorious Army Group, and five groups said they were operating under the 20th of July Revolution Brigade.

The complex nature of the insurgency was illustrated on Oct. 24, when three suicide bombers, one driving a cement mixer full of TNT, staged a coordinated attack on the Palestine and Sheraton Hotels in central Baghdad. The attack was one of the most sophisticated yet, with the first explosion ripping open a breach in the hotels' barriers. That allowed the cement mixer to come within a few yards of the Sheraton before being hung up in barbed wire.

An American solider opened fire on the driver of the truck, and the bomb was apparently detonated by remote control. Twelve people died, and American and Iraqis agreed later that the attack had come very close to bringing both towers down.

Within 24 hours, Al Qaeda, in an Internet posting viewed round the world, boasted of its role in attacking the "crusaders and their midgets."

But in the small print of the group's proclamation, Al Qaeda declared that the attack had actually been carried out by three separate groups: the Attack Brigade, the Rockets Brigade and Al Baraa bin Malik Suicide Brigade. The three groups, the Qaeda notice said, had acted in "collaboration," with some fighters conducting surveillance while others provided cover fire.

Rita Katz, the director of SITE, which is now working under a United States government contract to investigate militant groups, said the attack on the Palestine and Sheraton Hotels had probably been planned and directed at the highest levels of Al Qaeda.

The leaders may have brought the three "brigades" together to stage the attack, she said, and probably provided expertise as well as the suicide bombers themselves. "This was something that was coordinated at the highest level," she said.

But for most of the attacks, such top-down coordination is uncommon, Ms. Katz and American and Iraqi officials said. Most, they said, are planned and carried out by the local groups, with the leaders of the umbrella groups having little or no knowledge of them.

American and Iraqi experts also say there appear to be important distinctions among the umbrella groups. While Islamist groups like Al Qaeda and Ansar al Sunna attack military and civilian targets at will, other organizations, like the Victorious Army Group, which is believed to be associated with followers of Saddam Hussein's government, appear to attack only American or Iraqi solders.

In recent months, some insurgent groups have refined their target goals even further. In July, Al Qaeda said it had formed a group called the Omar Brigade to focus on killing members of Shiite militias like the Badr Brigade. Since then, the Omar Brigade has taken responsibility for dozens of killings.

Some insurgent groups appear to be limited to exclusive geographic areas. The Zi al Nourein Brigade, whose exploits are regularly proclaimed by Ansar al Sunna, appears to operate almost exclusively in Mosul, in northern Iraq.

Each week, more such groups announce their presence.

"Following Allah's orders to his worshipers, the mujahedeen, to join together and stand in one line against Allah's enemies," a posting on the Internet said July 12, "Al Miqaeda Brigade Groups announced that they are joining Ansar al Sunna."

American and Iraqi officials say they are not always sure that the groups' public claims of responsibility are valid. It is an old trick that guerrilla movements use to exaggerate their size and power.

Other experts who track jihadi Web sites say it is possible to authenticate the claim of an attack by a particular group. Most of the claims of responsibility appear on Web sites that tightly control access to their message boards.

The array of insurgent groups has prompted competition among them. On the streets of Ramadi, the violent city west of Baghdad, a leaflet found on the street, signed by a group called the Islamic Army, said that "the growing number of mujahedeen groups, which grew in number when the people realized their value," had caused confusion about which group was speaking for which.

The Islamic Army leaflet read like an advertisement offered by a product manager worried about imitators.

"We are asking people to reject any statement signed by the Sajeel Battalion of the Islamic Army that does not carry their slogan or seal," the leaflet said.

One question that remains unsettled is the nationalities of suicide bombers. American and Iraqi officials have long said they believe that the majority of suicide attacks are carried out by foreigners.

In June, in an apparent answer to that question, Al Qaeda announced the formation of the Ansar Brigade, which it described as an all-Iraqi suicide unit. Since then, the Ansar Brigade has taken responsibility for few such attacks.

One place where the Ansar Brigade did apparently strike was Jordan last month, when suicide bombers struck three hotels in Amman. The police there determined that Iraqis had carried out the attack.

In a message posted on the Internet, Al Qaeda announced that the Ansar Brigade, its Iraqi suicide group, had carried out the attack.

Link

Iraq

Boomer babe kills 5

2005-09-29

A woman suicide bomber blew herself up at an Iraqi police recruitment centre yesterday, killing five people in an attack claimed by Al Qaedaâs Iraq frontman Abu Mussab Al Zarqawi.

In Tal Afar in northern Iraq, a woman pushed her way into a crowd and blew herself up at a police recruitment centre in the first insurgent attack in the there since Iraqi forces announced the end of military operations 10 days ago.

It was believed to be the first attack by a female suicide bomber since the end of the 2003 US-led war to oust Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

Speaking from his hospital bed, Jumaa Mohammed, one of the 35 wounded, said the attack was carried out by a woman wearing Islamic dress. âIt was a young woman. She pushed her way through the crowd and then there was an explosion.â

Zarqawiâs group claimed responsibility in an Internet statement that could not be verified. âAn honorable sister from the martyrdom-seeking Al-Baraa bin Malek Brigade ... carried out a heroic attack against a group of volunteers to the ranks of apostasy ... at an apostate recruitment centre in Tal Afar,â it said.

The two US soldiers were killed and another wounded in a bomb attack near Safwan in southern Iraq near the Kuwaiti border, while a Marine was killed in a shooting attack in Ramadi on Tuesday. An Iraqi policeman and a civilian were also killed when they were caught in gunfire against a Jordanian embassy car, an official said in Amman.

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw also warned of âmore dark momentsâ in Iraq.

Despite the relentless violence, an opinion poll found that more than 80 per cent of Iraqis would vote in the October 15 referendum on the draft constitution, a key stage in the post-Saddam political transition. At the same time, 49 per cent said they believed the charter expressed the will of the people, against only 30 per cent who said ânoâ.

However, 47 per cent said they were not totally satisfied that all ethnic and religious groups were fully able to take part in drafting the constitution, a document which has deeply divided the countryâs ethnic groups. The survey put electricity shortages at the top of Iraqisâ everyday concerns, followed by ethnic tension and religious tension.

Foreign nations with troops in Iraq hope the consitution vote and Decemberâs elections will pave the way for a withdrawal of their forces once Iraqi security is deemed competent enough. As part of that plan, US forces handed over military control of Karbala to Iraqi forces, making it only the second city where local forces are fully responsible for security following Najaf.

Link

Iraq-Jordan

Al-Qaeda kills Iraqi judge in latest attacks

2005-06-22

Gunmen on Wednesday killed a former judge, officials said. Separately, a Filipino hostage was released after almost eight months in captivity.

Former judge Jassim al-Issawi was a law professor at Baghdad University and the former editor-in-chief of Al-Siyadah newspaper, said Salih al-Mutlak, secretary general of the Sunni National Dialogue Council.

Al-Issawi, 51, and his son were killed in Baghdad's northwestern Shula neighborhood, said Abdul Sattar Jawad, current editor of Al-Siyadah, The AP reported.

Elsewhere, at least four people died in separate attacks Wednesday. A roadside bomb struck an Iraqi police patrol that included a special operations unit, killing two policeman and injuring two others in Madain, southeast of Baghdad, said police Maj. Raed Falah al-Mehamadawi said.

Separately, a group of children on bicycles ran over a bomb planted beneath the ground east of Baqouba, killing a 9-year-old boy and injuring two others aged 6 and 7, Army Maj. Fadhil al-Timimi said.

In another incident, a roadside explosion meant for a U.S. military convoy killed an Iraqi civilian and wounded three others west of Ramadi, Dr. Abdullah al-Dulaimi said.

Meanwhile, Al-Qaeda in Iraq, led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, said it had created a unit of would-be suicide bombers made up exclusively of Iraqis. "A unit of martyrs named Al-Ansar, belonging to the martyr Brigades of Al-Baraa bin Malek, has been formed. All its members are Iraqis," said an Internet statement, according to AFP.

The statement said the decision to form the unit came "due to strong demand from martyrdom seekers."

Link

Warning: Undefined property: stdClass::$T in /data/rantburg.com/www/pgrecentorg.php on line 132
-10 More