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Iraq
Two Katyusha rockets land near Taji military base: coalition
2020-08-16
[Rudaw] Two Katyusha rockets landed near Taji military base, north of Baghdad on Saturday night, a spokesperson for the US-led coalition confirmed.

"Two small rockets" landed near the base, according to Col.Myles B Caggins III, who cited Iraq’s Security Media Cell. No coalition troops were maimed, he added.

Saturday’s attack is the latest of several rocket attacks targeting Taji base and Baghdad’s Green Zone after Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service (ICTS) personnel raided the headquarters of the Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah militia in Baghdad province on June 26, detaining at least 14 fighters of the group who were accused of recent rocket attacks in the capital.

One Katyusha rocket landed in Baghdad's Green Zone, another rocket was intercepted before it was fired and a third fell just outside of the Kurdistan Democratic Party
...every time you hear the phrase white people, wehite supremacy, white anything but paint, you're listening to a Democrat...
's (KDP) Fifth Branch in Baghdad's Karrada neighborhood on Tuesday night.

The US has attributed past rocket attacks on sites of international importance in the Green Zone to Iran-backed militias, who it says are looking to further inflame US-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 Jews Zionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
tensions.

On Tuesday an IED attack targeted a convoy transporting US-led coalition equipment in Taji town.

Iraqi contractor companies transporting US-led coalition equipment inside Iraq have been targeted multiple times in recent months. Most of the attacks are claimed by gangs formed after the January killing of Iranian commander Qasem Solaimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, former commander of Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF, also known as Hashd al-Shaabi in Arabic) in a dronezap in Baghdad.

Groups such as Asahab al-Kahaf, Usbat al-Thaireen, and Liwa'a Thaier al-Muhandis were formed after the US drone attack to avenge the deaths of Soleimani and Muhandis.

Taji base was repeatedly targeted after the liquidations.

Two Americans and one Briton were killed in March after fifteen Kaytusha rockets were fired within the perimeter of the base.
Related:
Taji military base: 2020-07-28 Three Rockets Hit Iraqi Taji Military Base
Taji military base: 2020-06-17 Three Katyusha rockets land near Baghdad airport: Iraq military
Taji military base: 2020-03-25 Explosions reported at Iraqi base hosting US troops
Related:
Kataib Hezbollah: 2020-08-12 Rocket lands inside Baghdad's Green Zone
Kataib Hezbollah: 2020-07-25 Abducted German arts educator freed: Iraqi spox
Kataib Hezbollah: 2020-07-13 Saraya Thawret al-Eshrin c laim the attack on a convoy of 4 trucks carrying logistic support to the #US forces in Diwanyha
Link


Iraq
Three Rockets Hit Iraqi Taji Military Base
2020-07-28
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]

Rudaw adds:
A spate of Katyusha rockets targeted Taji military base, which hosts US troops, north of Baghdad on Monday night, a US official confirmed to Rudaw English.

The official says that "four Katyusha rockets" hit the base without causing any casualties.

Like other sites hosting foreign troops, the base has been a frequent target of rocket attacks, blamed most commonly on Iran-backed Iraqi militias.

The Iraqi security media cell also released a statement following Monday’s attack, claiming that three Katyusha rockets landed on site.

The rockets landed inside the Iraqi section of the Taji military base, according to the media cell statement, which says that one rocket caused "serious damages" to an Iraqi military warplane.

The second and third rockets landed in an Iraqi security force weapons warehouse and near the Iraqi warplanes section respectively, according to the statement.

"The Iraqi security forces will continue hunting down the perpetrators of such attacks," the Iraqi security media cell added.

Located north of Baghdad, Taji hosts US military personnel to advise and train Iraqi troops in the fight against the 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....
 (ISIS).
Related:
Taji military base: 2020-06-17 Three Katyusha rockets land near Baghdad airport: Iraq military
Taji military base: 2020-03-25 Explosions reported at Iraqi base hosting US troops
Taji military base: 2020-03-21 US commitments in Iraq ‘remain the same’ despite base transfer: coalition spokesperson
Link


Iraq
Rockets attack US embassy in Baghdad
2020-07-20
[EN.ALGHADEER.TV] Iraqi sources reported a rocket attack around the US embassy in Baghdad on Sunday, media reported.

According to the report, three rockets were fired around the US embassy in Baghdad’s Green Zone.

The US embassy in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, was targeted by three Katyusha rockets. Two rockets were fired around the US embassy and a third one landed inside Baghdad’s Green Zone, the source added.

The Times of Israel adds:
A rare daytime rocket attack hit Baghdad’s Green Zone on Sunday, security sources said, as Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif
...Persian foreign minister, Mouthpiece of Mullahs, good friend of John Kerry and similar exemplars of Merkin values...
 met top Iraqi officials.

At least two rockets hit outside the US embassy in the high-security zone, they told AFP.

Diplomats based in the neighborhood said they could hear sirens blaring for around an hour after the attack.

The embassy’s C-RAM rocket defense system was not triggered, possibly because the missiles’ trajectory meant they would not strike within the compound.

Three dozen rocket attacks have targeted US military and diplomatic installations since October, but usually under cover of darkness.

This time, the attack took place in the searing afternoon heat as Iran’s top diplomat held back-to-back meetings with senior Iraqi officials nearby.
Link


Iraq
Saraya Thawret al-Eshrin c laim the attack on a convoy of 4 trucks carrying logistic support to the #US forces in Diwanyha
2020-07-13
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]


Pro-Iranian militias in Iraq claim attack on 'US vehicles'

[Jpost] A video of several burning trucks on Saturday night allegedly showed an attack on a convoy transporting vehicles to a US base in Iraq, according to social media with ties to pro-Iranian militias. The attack supposedly targeted Americans in Iraq or at least was meant to.

It is part of the wider campaign to try to intimidate and threaten the US to leave Iraq. It is not the first time a convoy was targeted. In February, a supply convoy was attacked. While the US denied an attacked had taken place, Fars News in 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 Jews Zionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
reported the attack with photos, saying it happened in Diwaniyah province. An gang set fire to three US vehicles being transported by truck, a security source said. Firefighters extinguished the fire, and the Iraqi Ministry of Defense is investigating.

US helicopters were reported to be in the vicinity. Injured people, apparently civilians, were brought to a nearby hospital. The Iranian reports said the convoy was from Basra and heading to an unidentified base.

A group called Sayara Thora al-Ashrin, or SarayaAshreen Thani, grabbed credit. The same group’s name can be spelled SarayaThorat al-Ashrin. In recent months a number of new pro-Iranian groups have popped to claim attacks on the US, apparently part of a plan to distance these rogue elements from the official government paramilitary forces that includes elements of Kataib Hezbollah and pro-Iran militias. These groups have names like Usbat al-ThaireenAshab al-Kahaf or SarayaShuhadaThawarAshreen al-Thani.

The attack underpins the uncertainty in Iraq and the increasing pressure on the US to leave the country. Diwaniyah is on a road that leads from southern Iraq toward Baghdad. If one wants to transport Humvees and vehicles from US bases in Kuwait, they might take this route or nearby Route 1. al-Mayadeen and other media in the region that lean toward Iran reported the incident.

SarayaThurat al-Ashrin also claimed it had carried out a similar attack in June. Some of the video and images from the alleged July 11 attack were old, so it was not clear the extent of the attack or if it happened at all.

What is important is not necessarily whether it happened or who was in the vehicles but rather the attempt to create an atmosphere of attacks, pushed by pro-Iranian media, to pave the way for larger real attacks, such as the dozens of rockets fired at US bases in Iraq over the last year.

The creation of new groups that claim to target the US is also part of this pattern — whether these groups really exist or are just a rebranding of existing cells from Kataib Hezbollah or other groups.
Link


Iraq
Rogue 'Katyusha cells' are a threat to Iraqi progress
2020-06-23
[Rudaw] Iraq’s capital is constantly pestered by attacks using Katyusha rockets, which has only increased since January, when the killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani brought tensions to a boiling point.

The tactics and organization of these "Katyusha cells" is similar to the bully boy groups seen in Iraq’s chaotic years from 2007-2011. They exploit gaps in the security services to move in the shadows, transporting weapons through Baghdad, launching strikes by night, before disappearing into the shadows without a trace. They employ the element of surprise, and even a loose coordination between one another, not unlike gangs — but their expertise also hints at professional military training, experience, and support from outside backers. They are also an enigma — they have no spokesperson, no known leader, nor even a historical background in Iraq.

The Katyusha cells have a variety of new names that evoke the Shiite resistance, according to how they self-identify on their official channels, on Facebook, Twitter, Telegram and WhatsApp. Those groups are called Usbat al-Thaireen Ashab al-Kahaf , Qabdhat al-Huda, Saraya Shuhada Thawar Ashreen al-Thani, and al-Tha’r’ al-Mohandis.
Link


Iraq
Three Katyusha rockets land near Baghdad airport: Iraq military
2020-06-17
[Rudaw] Three Katyusha rockets landed close to Baghdad International Airport in the early hours of Tuesday morning, an official Iraqi military media source has announced — the third such incident at a site of international importance in the Iraqi capital in just eight days.

No casualties have been reported after the rockets hit "the vicinity of Baghdad Airport," according to a Tuesday morning statement from Iraqi Security Media Cell.

Iraqi security forces found "a wooden rocket launcher" loaded with unlaunched rockets in the nearby Makasib neighbourhood of Baghdad, the statement added.

The attack has not yet been claimed by any group, but the US has attributed past rocket attacks on sites of American or international importance to Iran-backed militias who it says are looking to further inflame US-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 Jews Zionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
tensions.

The airport hosts an American military base, as well as the Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center, a branch of the US embassy which has been subject to repeated rocket fire in recent years. Rockets have now landed in the airport's vicinity twice in the space of eight days, after a similar incident on June 8.

The US embassy in Baghdad's Green Zone has also been subject to two rocket attacks this past month, the most recent occurring on Thursday.

Iraqi army bases hosting US-led Coalition troops have also been the target of rocket attacks suspected to have been launched by Iran-backed militias.
Related:
Baghdad Airport: 2020-06-09 Good morning
Baghdad Airport: 2020-01-03 Spengler: Trump takes a calculated risk
Baghdad Airport: 2020-01-03 #USAF drone strike near #Baghdad International Airport
Related:
Katyusha: 2020-06-15 Iraqi security forces foiled a planned Katyusha rocket attack on Taji military base
Katyusha: 2020-06-14 Two Katyusha rockets hit Taji base north of Baghdad, but missed #US-led coalition troops stationed there
Katyusha: 2020-06-12 Usbat al-Thaereen responsible for yesterday's rocket attack targeting the embassy,
Link


Iraq
Usbat al-Thaereen responsible for yesterday's rocket attack targeting the embassy,
2020-06-12
[TWITTER]
Link


Iraq
Usbat al-Thairen (likely a front group for other long-established Iranian-backed militias in Iraq) releases drone footage purporting to show military positions and equipment at Ain al-Assad Airbase
2020-04-09
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
Link


Iraq
Head of the #IRGC-backed Asa'ib Ahl Al-Haq terrorist militia Qais Al-Khazali says Zero hour for the launching of the revenge operation approaches
2020-04-03
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
Link


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Cautious Calm in Ain el-Hilweh after Armed Groups Trade Fire
2019-03-15
[AnNahar] Cautious calm was on Thursday afternoon engulfing the Paleostinian refugee camp of Ein el-Hellhole after an exchange of gunfire between two gangs, the National News Agency said.

NNA said Youssef Orqoub, the son of notorious runaway Bilal Orqoub, was seriously maimed in the clash.

It added that two other people were maimed, one of them Kamal al-Dawoudi, a bodyguard of the head of the Mujahid Islamic Movement Sheikh Jamal Khattab.

Al-Jadeed television meanwhile reported that "intensive contacts" were underway to contain the situation.

Earlier in the day, NNA said a group led by B.A. shot it out with members of the Islamist Usbat al-Ansar group after the Paleostinian Kh.Kh., who is loyal to Usbat al-Ansar, shot up Y.A., a son of the leader of the first group, wounding him in the stomach.

Thursday's incidents are linked to the clash that erupted two days ago according to NNA.

Two Paleostinian civilians were maimed in that incident.
Link


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Grenade Explodes in Ain el-Hilweh after Islamists Clash over 'Firecrackers'
2017-09-04
[An Nahar] A hand grenade went kaboom! by accident at 8:00 am Sunday in the al-Briksat neighborhood of the Ein el-Hellhole Paleostinian refugee camp, causing no casualties, the National News Agency reported.

The camp had witnessed violence overnight after a dispute over "children playing with firecrackers" escalated into an armed clash between the Islamist Usbat al-Ansar and Jund al-Sham groups.

The clash in the camp’s al-Tawari neighborhood resulted in the wounding of a relative of a senior Usbat al-Ansar official after he was shot at the hands of Jund al-Sham member Hassan M., aka al-Shibel, the agency said.

The restive camp had witnessed a week of deadly festivities last month between the secular Fatah Movement and small Islamist groups led by the Lions of Islam Bilal Badr and Bilal al-Orqoub.

By longstanding convention, the Lebanese army does not enter Paleostinian refugee camps in Leb, leaving the Paleostinian factions themselves to handle security.

Ein el-Hellhole -- the most densely populated Paleostinian camp in Leb -- is home to some 61,000 Paleostinians, including 6,000 who have fled the war in neighboring Syria.

Several armed factions including hard boy groups have a foothold in the camp which has been plagued for years by intermittent festivities.

Link


Arabia
UAE blacklists 82 groups as 'terrorist'
2014-11-16
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] The government of the United Arab Emirates formally endorsed on Saturday the designation of 82 organizations, including Egyptâs Muslim Brotherhood and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), as terror groups, in line with a federal law on combating terrorism.

The list, published by the countryâs state-run WAM news agency, includes the Muslim Brotherhood, the groupâs local and regional affiliates, as well as Al-Qaeda-linked groups operating in different parts of the region.

Several brigades fighting on both sides in the Syrian conflict along with Islamist groups in Libya, Tunisia, Mali, Pakistan, Nigeriaâs Boko Haram as well as Afghanistan's Taliban account for the bulk of the list.

Shiite militants groups also figure in the list, including Shiite Hezbollah in the Gulf states and brigades with the same name in Iraq. Lebanonâs Iranian backed Hezbollah was not blacklisted.

In late August, UAE President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahayan enacted federal law number 7, which mandated the list to be published and circulated by the media to further âtransparencyâ and âincrease awarenessâ of terrorist threats.

The move follows a similar step taken by Saudi Arabia in March.

The groups blacklisted by the UAE were as follows:

1- UAEâs Muslim Brotherhood called Al-Islah
2- UAE terrorist cells
3- Karama organization
4- Uma Parties in the Gulf and Arabian Peninsula
5- Al-Qaeda
Finally got around to it...
6- Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)
They prefer to be known as The Islamic State or as The Caliphate...
7- Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)
Formerly the aden-Abyan Islamic Army plus the Lions of the Arabian Peninsula
8- Yemenâs Ansar al-Sharia
... which sez they're not an al-Qaeda affiliate, otherwise they're indistinguishable from al-Qaeda.
9- Muslim Brotherhood, both the organization and movement
I don't think the Moslem Brü can properly be called a terrorist organization; it's more a subversive organization. We saw what happened when they achieved power in Egypt: one man, one vote, one time. Their belief that Islam is the Answer, regardless of the question makes them look foolish, but they are Moslems and they behave like Moslems do when they can't get their way.
10- Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiyya in Egypt
Zawahiri used to be the head of Gamaa al-Islamiya. I think they swore to non-violence to get their members out of jail.
11- Bait al-Maqdis group in Egypt
Formerly just al-Qaeda in the Sinai Peninsula, now sworn to the Islamic State
12- Ajnad Misr (Soldiers of Egypt group)
I think we've seen these guys once or maybe twice.
13- Majlis Shura Al-Mujahedin Fi Aknaf Bayt Al-Maqdis (Mujahidin Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem, or MSC)
14- Yemenâs Houthi movement
Aligned with Iran and with former President-for-Life Saleh.
15- Hezbollah party in Saudi Arabiaâs Hijaz
16- Hezbollah in the Gulf region
17- Al-Qaeda in Iran
I believe this is the "protected" al-Qaeda that the Medes and the Persians keep on a tight leash. If I had a bunch of money I'd do some intensive investigation on this group.
18- Badr organization in Iraq
19- Asaâib Ahl al-Haq, also known as the Khazali Network in Iraq
20- Fath al-Islam in Lebanon
This is our old friend, Fateh al-Islam. Probably they've been folded into al-Nusra or the Caliphate by now.
21- Osbat Al-Ansar or Asbat an-Ansar (League of the Partisans) in Lebanon
I believe Usbat al-Ansar lives in Ein al-Hellhole. They're the place to go when you're on the run. Every once in awhile they shoot one of the local Fatah muckety-mucks.
22- Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM)
I think AQIM has lost a lot: their debacle in Mali, the ego versus ego contest between Mokhtar versus Droukdel, and the fact that half of them have pledged to the Islamic State.
23- Ansar Al-Sharia in Libya
24- Ansar Al-Sharia in Tunisia
25- Al-Shabab in Somalia
26- Boko Haram in Nigeria
27- Al-Murabitoon brigade in Mali
That's Mokhtar Belmokhtar's mob...
28- Ansar Al-Din movement in Mali
29- Haqani network in Pakistan
30- Lashkar Taiba in Pakistan
31- Eastern Turkestan Islamic Movement headquartered in Pakistan
32- Mohammed Army in Pakistan
Jaish e-Muhammad...
33- Mohammed Army in India
34- Indian mujahideen in India/Kashmir
35- The Caucasus Emirate by Chechen militants
36- Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU)
37- Abu Sayyaf Islamist group in the Philippines
38- Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)
Nailed that one. Not a terrorist organization, but fellow travelers.
39- Alleanza Islamic d'Italia or Islamic Alliance in Italy
40- Islamic Association in Finland
41- Islamic Association in Norway
42- Islamic Relief Organization in the UK
43- The Cordoba Foundation in Britain
44- International Islamic Relief Organization belonging to the international Muslim Brotherhood
I think that's the one headed by bin Laden's brother-in-law or son-in-law...
45- Taliban movement in Pakistan
Mullah Omar...
46- Abu Thur al-Fiqari battalion in Syria
47- Al-Tawheed and Iman battalion in Syria
48- The Green Battalion or Al-Khadraa battalion in Syria
49- Al-Tawhid Brigade in Syria
50- Abu Bakr brigade in Syria
51- Talha bin Ubaidallah in Syria
52- Al-Sarim Al-Batar brigade in Syria
53- Abdullah bin Mubarak brigade in Syria
54- Convoys of Martyrs brigade in Syria
55- Abu Omar brigade in Syria
56- Ahrar Shumar or Free Shumars brigade in Syria
57- Hezbollah brigades in Iraq
58- Brigade of Abu Al-Fadl al-Abbas in Syria
59- Brigades of Al-Yom Al-Mawood (Destined Day in Iraq)
60- Battalion of Omar bin Yasir in Syria
61- Ansar Al-Islam group in Iraq
62- Nusra Front in Syira
63- Harakat Ahrar ash-Sham Al Islami (Islamic Movement of the Free Men of the Levant) in Syria
64- Jaish Al-Islam (Islam Army) in Palestine
65- Abdullah Azzam Brigades
I think they're being or have been absorbed by al-Nusra.
66- Kanvaz in Belgrade, Serbia
67- The Muslim American Society (MAS)
68- Union of Muslim Scholars
69- Union of Islamic Organizations in Europe
70- Union of Islamic Organizations of France
71- Muslim Association of Britain (MAB)
72- Islamic Society of Germany
73- Islamic Society in Denmark
74- Islamic Society in Belgium
75- Sariyat Al-Jabal brigade in Syria
76- Al-Shahbaa brigade in Syria
77- Al-QaâQaaâ in Syria
78- Sufian Al-Thawri (Revolutionary Sufian brigade) in Syria
79- Abdulraham brigade in Syria
80- Omar bin Al-Khatab brigade in Syria
81- Al-Shayma brigade in Syria
82- Al-Haq brigade in Syria
Link



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