Recent Appearances...

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Hello !
Recent Appearances...

Maan Bashoor	Maan Bashoor	Iraqi Insurgency	Iraq				20060703	Link
Maan Bashour	Maan Bashour	Iraqi Insurgency	Iraq				20060703	Link

Iraq

Iraqi forces foil smuggling of 400,000 Captagon pills from Syria

2025-04-09

[Rudaw] Iraqi security forces thwarted an attempt to smuggle 400,000 Captagon pills across the Euphrates from Syria into Iraqi territory, the interior ministry announced on Monday.

"The operation was carried out using advanced thermal cameras, and the drugs were hidden inside tightly-sealed plastic jerry cans," ministry spokesperson Miqdad Miri said in a statement.

The narcotics were being smuggled from Syria’s eastern Deir ez-Zor province, according to the statement.

In mid-March, the Iraqi interior ministry announced the seizure of a truck packed with some 1,100 kilograms of Captagon pills coming from Syria towards Iraq through ~~The Sick Man of Europe~~ Turkey
<del>The Sick Man of Europe</del> Turkey

<del>The Sick Man of Europe</del> Turkey

...a NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the cut of the American pants...
member, but not the most reliable...
.Also in March, Iraq’s narcotics control directorate reported that Baghdad has seized some 1.75 tons of illicit substances since the beginning of 2025 and made 2,000 arrests in the process.

Three months prior, in December, the narcotics directorate revealed that a total of six tons and 183 kilograms of illicit drugs were seized in 2024, with 14,483 suspects arrested. Among these, 144 individuals have been sentenced to death for international drug smuggling, while 454 local dealers were sentenced to life in prison - a term of 20 years.

Saad Maan, the head of Iraq’s Security Media Cell, told Rudaw in February that drug trafficking is "the most widespread crime" in Iraq, highlighting that Erbil and Baghdad are working jointly and with regional neighbours to address the issue.

Maan also said that "drugs are almost exclusively imported" into Iraq and that there have been "failed attempt
...Curses! Foiled again!...
s" to manufacture crystal methamphetamine and Captagon - the most commonly used types of psychotropic substances - within the country.

The drug trade, especially Captagon, is a growing concern in the Middle East, including Iraq.

Syria, under fallen dictator Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Scourge of Qusayr...
, was a major source for the Captagon trade. The drug was one of the power cards used by the Assad regime for political leverage and his brother Maher is believed to have been largely behind the illegal business. With the collapse of his rule, observers have urged the international community to end the Captagon trade among the prerequisites for providing relief to the new Syria leadership.

Link

Iraq

ISIS suicide bomber detonates near army position in north Iraq

2025-03-21

[Rudaw] Two ISIS turbans, including a suicide-bomber who self-detonated, were killed during festivities with Iraqi security forces in northern Iraq on Wednesday, according to Baghdad’s Security Media Cell.

"After intensive monitoring and the use of technical and intelligence resources, a force from the second battalion of the 88th [Iraqi Army] Brigade and Military Intelligence Directorate detachments within the Eastern Salahaddin Operations Command set up an ambush in the Palkana area in Tuz district [north of Salahaddin province]," the cell stated, adding that "the operation successfully eliminated a cell consisting of four ISIS terrorists."

"The ambush resulted in casualties within the terrorist group, with two killed - one of whom was a jacket wallah wearing an boom belt - and others maimed," the cell added, noting that the Iraqi forces were also "supported by drones from the Military Intelligence Directorate."

Earlier on Wednesday, an advisor to the Salahaddin governor, Kawa Sheikhani, told Rudaw that the ambush "to root out four ISIS bully boyz was set in an area between the town of Kifri [in Sulaimani province] and the town of Tuz Khurmatu [in the district of Tuz in Salahaddin province, 175 km north of Baghdad]."

An informed security source in Tuz Khurmatu, who spoke to Rudaw on conditions of anonymity, corroborated Sheikhani’s remarks stating that "ISIS bully boyz clashed with Iraqi forces and the suicide bomber was the group’s commander in Salahaddin province. The other bully boyz managed to escape to [their hideout in] Palakan mountain [east of Salahaddin]."

"The Iraqi army had detected the turbans’ movement through thermal cameras," the source noted, adding that "no injuries were recorded among Iraqi forces."

Kifri is part of Sulaimani’s Garmiyan administration and borders areas held by the Iraqi federal government. Erbil and Baghdad have been working jointly to address security gaps between their territories, which have allowed ISIS bully boyz room to maneuver.

The head of Iraq’s Security Media Cell in late February confirmed to Rudaw that Iraqi security forces have largely eradicated ISIS from the country, with only a few hundred bully boyz remaining in remote areas.

Major General Saad Maan stated that some 400 to 600 ISIS bully boyz are still scattered across uninhabitable regions of Iraq, emphasizing that local communities "are rejecting their presence, and no one is harboring them."

He further explained that "for over a year, we have not faced direct attacks from ISIS and the number of explosions" caused by improvised bombs (IEDs) or suicide-bombers "has been minimal." He underscored that Iraqi forces "are taking the initiative to strike first."

Link

Iraq

Iraqi security forces ramp up efforts to combat drug trafficking, ISIS remnants

2025-03-05

[Rudaw] Iraqi security forces have largely eradicated 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) from the country, with only a few hundred faceless myrmidons remaining in remote areas, the head of Iraq’s Security Media Cell told Rudaw.

Major General Saad Maan stated in late February that some 400 to 600 ISIS faceless myrmidons are still dispersed across uninhabitable areas in the country, emphasizing that "[local] communities are rejecting their presence, and no one is harboring them."

He further explained that "for over a year, we have not faced direct attacks from ISIS, and the number of explosions caused by improvised bombs (IEDs)" has been minimal, occurring only "a few times in non-urban areas." He underscored that Iraqi forces "are taking the initiative [to strike first]," adding that they have "recently" carried out nine precision-guided ~~Arclight~~ airstrike
<del>Arclight</del> airstrike

...KABOOM!...
s against ISIS cells.

As recently as mid-February, Iraq’s Security Media Cell announced the killing of at least two ISIS bully boyz in airstrikes near Kirkuk. The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed the operation, describing it as "part of the ongoing Defeat-ISIS campaign" aimed at "disrupting and degrading" the group’s capabilities, and "ensuring its enduring defeat."

Maan also highlighted key improvements in the Iraqi security forces’ capabilities, particularly in the areas of "arms, intelligence, and training." He argued that Baghdad has been successfully "preventing ISIS bully boyz from regrouping and launching attacks."

In a different vein, the Iraqi security official stated that drug trafficking is "the most widespread crime" in Iraq. Maan highlighted that Erbil and Baghdad are working jointly and with regional neighbours to address the issue. Iraqi security apparatus rely on "highly-advanced cameras and drones" to tighten their grip on the borders, he explained.

The head of Iraq’s Security Media Cell also said that "drugs are almost exclusively imported" into Iraq and that there have been "failed attempt
...Curses! Foiled again!...
s" to manufacture Crystal and Captagon - the most commonly used types of psychotropic substances - within the country.

Of note, Crystal is often referent to Crystal meth, however, it could also refer to other crystalline forms of drugs including MDMA and uncut Cocaine.

A research study published in July by the United Nations
...a formerly good idea gone bad...
Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Regional Office reported that Iraq - including the Kurdistan Region - has recorded "a sharp increase in the trafficking and use of Captagon over the past five years." The study revealed that Iraq saw a staggering 3,380 percent increase in Captagon seizures from 2019 to 2023, with over 4.1 tons of Captagon tablets seized in 2023 alone.

Link

Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Gaza ceasefire talks at ''decisive'' point with deal ''nearly done''; VP-elect JD Vance defines Trump’s ‘all hell breaking loose’, fmr PA minister says trade will be 25 hostages for 1,248 Paleo jihadis

2025-01-13

[NEWARAB] Negotiations for a ceasefire in 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 are reportedly at a ''decisive'' point, with a deal very close to being achieved.

An Israeli delegation is due to arrive in the Qatar
...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi...
i capital Doha on Sunday, headed by Mosssd
Mosssd

......
chief David Barnea.

A leadership source in Hamas
..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",...
exclusively told The New Arab's Arabic-language sister site al-Araby al-Jadeed on Saturday that nearly all the details of the ''final concept'' of a Gaza ceasefire deal had been complete.

The source said that the mediators were now preparing to announce that a ceasefire deal had been reached, after the Israeli delegation sent by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived.

Negotiations have long been stalled and have been continuously scuppered by Netanyahu and his right-wing allies — who have wanted to keep the brutal Gaza war going — whenever a deal appeared close.

However,
the way to a man's heart remains through his stomach...
this time Paleostinian sources have indicated that things are different and a ceasefire deal is nearly ready.

Another Paleostinian source told al-Araby al-Jadeed that technical teams from mediating powers the US, Qatar, and Egypt and both sides had finished preparing the agreement.

They added that the agreement would be implemented 24 hours after Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, agrees to it.

Vance: Allowing Israel to dismantle Hamas’s last battalions is what Trump means by ‘all hell’
[IsraelTimes] US Vice President-elect JD Vance appears to reveal the practical implication of Donald Trump
...Never got invited to a P.Diddy party...
’s threat that "all hell will break loose" if the hostages are not released by January 20.

"It means enabling the Israelis to knock out the final couple of battalions of Hamas
Hamas

..a regional Iranian catspaw,...
and their leadership. It means very aggressive sanctions and financial penalties on those who are supporting terrorist organizations in the Middle East. It means actually doing the job of American leadership," Vance tells ’FOX News Sunday.’

The IDF indeed states that it has yet to dismantle the final two of Hamas’s 24 battalions in 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...
, but that is because they are believed to be holding many of the remaining 98 hostages in central Gaza. Accordingly, the IDF has avoided operating there en masse, so as not to risk the lives of the hostages, given that a number of them have been accidentally killed in IDF operations or were executed by their Hamas captors when they feared Israeli troops were approaching.

Vance does not elaborate on the financial sanctions that the incoming Trump administration has planned against Hamas, but the Biden administration has already levied a host of sanctions against the terror group and has issued arrest warrants for several of its leaders.

The incoming vice president asserts Trump’s threat of "all hell to pay" in the Mideast if the hostages are not released is what sparked recent progress in the ongoing hostage talks.

"We’re hopeful there’s going to be a deal that struck toward the very end of Biden’s administration — maybe the last day or two," Vance says. "But regardless of when that deal is struck, it will be because people are terrified that there are going to be consequences for Hamas."

Hostage deal terms will get worse after Trump takes office, incoming US national security adviser warns Hamas
[IsraelTimes] Incoming national security adviser Mike Waltz warns Hamas that the terms for a hostage deal will get worse if it waits until US President-elect Donald Trump enters office.

“Let’s allow our hostages to be set free. I want to see them walking across the tarmac, or at a minimum, some type of agreement before inauguration because President Trump is serious,” Waltz tells ABC’s “This Week.”

“Any deal will only get worse for Hamas, and there will be all hell to pay in the Middle East if we continue to have this kind of hostage diplomacy,” Waltz adds.

Former PA minister: 1st stage of hostage deal would free 25 Israelis in exchange for 1,248 Palestinian prisoners

If he’s no longer in the government, how does he know?

The first stage of a potential hostage-ceasefire deal with Hamas will entail the release of 25 Israeli hostages in exchange for 48 Palestinian security prisoners who were freed in the Shalit deal in 2011 and incarcerated again since, along with 200 prisoners serving life sentences, and another 1,000 detainees including women, children and wounded prisoners, according to a Palestinian prisoner advocacy group.

In a rare interview with Ramallah’s Maan news agency, Prisoners Club director Qadura Fares adds that all of the Palestinian prisoners would be allowed to return to their homes in East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, and the West Bank, except those serving life sentences, who would most likely be deported to either Qatar, Egypt or Turkey.

The former PA minister notes that this exception is necessary for the protection of the Palestinian prisoners against Israeli assassination attempts.

The Prisoners Club is a Palestinian organization that advocates on behalf of Palestinians in Israeli jails. While the organization used to be financially supported by the Palestinian Authority, Ramallah has reportedly ceased funding the body for at least five years.

Fares is also quoted by Maan as saying that Israel has been pushing for nine more hostages to be released in the first phase, including wounded IDF soldiers, in exchange for a yet-to-be-negotiated number of Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences.

The comments come amid reports of progress in ongoing talks in Doha to seal a hostage-ceasefire deal before US President-elect Donald Trump takes office next week.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent a high-level Israeli delegation to Qatar last night to join the talks.

Link

Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Over 60 PFLP operatives arrested in West Bank and Lebanon, 7 toes up — IDF, Shin Bet

2024-11-06

[IsraelTimes] Authorities say key figures in terror group among those nabbed; PA says 2 dead in airstrike in Jenin area plus 2 others in clash near Nablus

Over 60 operatives from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Paleostine organization have been arrested in counterterror operations in the West Bank and Leb
...an Iranian satrapy until recently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else? It is the 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. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
, the IDF and Shin Bet announced in a joint statement on Tuesday.

Among those arrested in the West Bank was the head of the Women’s Committees Association of the PFLP, Abla Sa’adat, the wife of PFLP head Ahmad Sa’adat who has been incarcerated
Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages!
in Israel since 2006. In addition, Tahrir Badran Gaber, an activist from Ramallah was also detained, officials said.

The Women’s Committees Association of the PFLP has been declared to be a terror organization by Israel.

The IDF and Shin Bet said key figures who served as the heads of the PFLP in the West Bank were among those arrested, in addition to bully boyz who operated in the field for the organization.

The statement added that students at West Bank universities who were active members of PFLP cells at the educational institutions were also detained.

Offices and businesses were raided and closed down by troops, including a printing press that produced inflammatory materials for the PFLP.

The statement also said that the military has been acting against the terror group in Lebanon since the killing of the PFLP commander at the end of September. According to the military and Shin Bet, Nidal Abd al-Aal was involved in planning and advancing terror attacks in the West Bank.

IDF ANNOUNCES WEST BANK AIRSTRIKE; PA SAYS TWO DEAD
Meanwhile,
...back at the comedy club, Boogie sadly admitted that he was a better peeping Tom than he was a comedian...
at least four people were killed during an Israel Defense Forces raid and ~~Arclight~~ airstrike
...KABOOM!...
s in the West Bank on Tuesday, according to the Paleostinian Authority health ministry, as the military targeted an armed terror cell in the Qabatiya area near Jenin.

The PA ministry and Paleostinian media reports said two people were killed in an airstrike on a vehicle in Qabatiya and two in a standoff with troops in the nearby Tammun area, north of Nablus.

The Maan news agency claimed that an earlier drone attack in Tammun involved more than one missile and caused no injuries.

An initial IDF statement announcing the airstrike in the Qabatiya area did not give further details.

The strike came amid a military operation in Qabatiya that also reportedly saw a shootout between troops and local operatives.

Meanwhile,
...back at the comedy club, Boogie sadly admitted that he was a better peeping Tom than he was a comedian...
Border Police at a West Bank checkpoint in the Gush Etzion bloc stopped a wanted suspect carrying one million shekels in cash, Hebrew media outlets reported.

Since October 7, troops have arrested some 5,250 wanted Paleostinians across the West Bank, including more than 2,050 affiliated with Hamas
Hamas

..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,...
According to the Paleostinian Authority’s health ministry, more than 716 West Bank Paleostinians have been killed in that time. The IDF says the vast majority of them were button men killed in exchanges of fire, rioters who clashed with troops, or bully boyz carrying out attacks.

During the same period, 41 people, including Israeli security personnel, have been killed in terror attacks in Israel and the West Bank. Another six members of the security forces were killed in festivities with terror operatives in the West Bank.

The IDF has carried out more than 70 airstrikes in the West Bank since October 7, using drones, attack helicopters, and fighter jets.

Palestinians say death toll in West Bank IDF operations rises to seven

[IsrelTimes] At least seven people were killed during an Israeli military raid and airstrikes in the West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry says. Five of the seven people were killed in two separate Israeli attacks in and near the city of Qabatiya, while the two others were killed in the Tammun area, the ministry says.

Link

-Lurid Crime Tales-

Man who 'started 160,000 acre California wildfire by pushing his burning car into gully' is pictured

2024-07-27

[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] … as inferno triggers terrifying fire tornado

A California sex offender has been arrested for allegedly starting a 160,000 acre wildfire - the state's largest this year.

Ronnie Stout II, 42, was caught pushing his burning car into a gulley in upper Bidwell Park near the city of Chico on Wednesday, the Butte County District Attorney's Office announced.

The vehicle then tumbled 60 feet down an embankment, sparking a fire tornado that engulfed more than 71,000 acres of northern California overnight and prompted mass evacuations.

Stout was reportedly seen leaving the scene by blending in with parkgoers as the fire quickly spread.

Authorities ultimately identified the suspect early Thursday morning, and took him into custody.

s then booked into the Butte County Jail, where he is being held without bail, according to the District Attorney's Office.

Stout was sentenced to 20 years in prison after being convicted of sex crimes against a child under 14 years old in 2001 and of robbery with great bodily injured.

Given that he has two prior convictions, Stout could be sent to jail for life if found guilty under California's Three Strikes and You’re Out law.

The Park Fire burned more than 195 square miles near the city of Chico.

More than 4,000 people were evacuated in Butte County and the city of Chico, said Megan McMann, a spokesperson for the Butte County Sheriff's Office.

As of Friday morning the fire had burned through more than 164,000 acres.

At least 134 structures have been destroyed but there are no reported injuries.

Cal Fire-Butte County had said as many as 4,200 structures were threatened.

Friday's windy conditions is making it harder for firefighters to battle flames.

Meanwhile forecasters are warning wind gusts could reach up to 30mph and push the blaze north.

Link

Israel-Palestine-Jordan

IDF launches ‘targeted operation’ in central Gaza’s Nuseirat after heavy bombardment

2024-04-12

[IsraelTimes] Military: Strikes on dozens of targets based on intelligence of ’terror infrastructure’ in area largely passed over by soldiers until now; troops also find several rocket launchers

The IDF said Thursday it launched a "targeted operation" against Hamas
Hamas

...a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",...
in the central 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 an 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 overnight, pushing into an area on the outskirts of the Nuseirat refugee camp largely left untouched by troops until now.

Heavy ~~Arclight~~ airstrike
...KABOOM!...
s and artillery shelling pounded parts of the camp before troops moved into the area, which sits adjacent to the lone corridor where Israeli soldiers remain in Gaza.

Paleostinians said a strike on a residential building killed at least five people, and other apartment towers were also struck.

The Israel Defense Forces said the air force and artillery troops carried out strikes against dozens of Hamas targets, including tunnel infrastructure. The navy also carried out artillery strikes near the coast to support ground troops, the IDF said.

The operation followed intelligence indicating "the presence of terror infrastructure and many ~~bandidos~~ gunnies in the area," the army said.

Soldiers engaged with armed fighters during the night, including a gunman who emerged from a tunnel and was hit with an airstrike, according to the IDF. Troops also located several rocket launchers in the area.

Hamas-linked media reported heavy fighting in the area was continuing Thursday.

There were also reports of airstrikes in other parts of the Strip, particularly the south, with the Paleostinian Maan News Agency reporting that 122 people were killed in Gaza over the previous 24 hours.

Israel has not previously operated on the ground in Nuseirat, though last month Hamas’s third-in-command, Marwan Issa, was killed in an airstrike in the area.

The operation occurred as Israel has appeared to dial back the use of ground troops and shift from a wide-scale offensive to pinpoint operations. This was in line with US demands for changes to the way fighting is taking place amid international concern over the deaths of civilians in the Strip and claims of near-famine conditions.

Just one brigade — comprising several thousand troops — remains in the Strip, where it is holding an east-west corridor that essentially splits the enclave into two.

At the height of the IDF’s offensive against Hamas, it had multiple divisions — with roughly 30,000-40,000 troops — in the Strip.

Israeli officials have said that 18 of Hamas’s 24 original battalions in the Gaza Strip have been dismantled, meaning they do not function as an organized military unit, although smaller cells still exist.

#IDF activity in northern Nuseirat
In continuation of the report here 👆 The Palestinians reported last night about intensive attacks by the IDF in the north of Nuseirat in the center of the #Gaza Strip (marked with a red line).
According to these reports, (1/4) pic.twitter.com/KQ5gnWhFQ0
— AbuAliEnglish (@AbuAliEnglishB1) April 11, 2024

Link

Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Hamas sentences 7 Gazans to death by hanging for ‘collaboration’ with Israel

2023-08-07

[IsraelTimes] Defendants accused of providing information about terror group members in return for cash, other benefits

A military court in 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 an iron fist by Hamaswith 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 on Sunday sentenced seven people to death by hanging for "collaboration" with Israel, the coastal enclave’s Hamas, a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",-run interior ministry said.

The court also sentenced seven others to "life imprisonment with hard labor," which in Gaza amounts to 25 years, the ministry said in a statement.

Regarding those sentenced to death, the court said they had provided information to Israel on terror groups in Gaza — including names, phone numbers, addresses and weapons caches — in return for money, the Maan News agency reported. One of the defendants was allegedly given a permit to work in Israel in return for information he provided.

The terror group Hamas controls Gaza, and the military court there has regularly issued death sentence

...the barbaric practice of sentencing a murderer to be punished for as long as his/her/its victim is dead...
s for people found guilty of "collaboration" with Israel.

Under Paleostinian law, a death sentence requires the approval of the president of the Paleostinian Authority, which is headquartered in the West Bank.

But since Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip in 2007 it has repeatedly ignored this, and last September executed two Paleostinians for "collaboration" with Israel as well as three others for murder.

In April, two people were sentenced to death and four others were given life sentences on the same charges of collaborating with Israel.

At least 17 death sentences were issued in 2022 in the Gaza Strip.

Link

Iraq

Iraq busts captagon lab in Muthanna

2023-07-17

[Rudaw] Iraqi security forces on Sunday carried out what has been labeled as the country’s first seizure of a captagon laboratory in Muthanna province, the interior ministry announced, as Baghdad tries to combat the rapid spread of narcotics.

The laboratory was seized in a joint operation between the Rapid Response Force and the General Directorate of Narcotics Control. At least 27.5 kilograms of captagon pills were confiscated.

"Today, and maybe for the first time, a laboratory where captagon is produced was seized," Saad Maan, spokesperson for Iraq's Interior Ministry, said on Sunday, lauding the efforts of the anti-narcotics directorate.

Captagon is an amphetamine-type stimulant which has been spreading across the Middle East, with Syria as the main supplier and Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
the primary consumer.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani last week ordered the establishment of rehabilitation centers in all Iraqi provinces, excluding the Kurdistan Region, as part of his cabinet’s commitment to combat growing drug trade and use as seriously as the country fights terrorism.

"God willing, Iraq’s war on drugs will be a victorious war. The same way we achieved victory against terrorism, we will undoubtedly achieve victory against drugs and drug lords," Maan said.

Around 15,000 people were arrested on drug-related charges in Iraq in 2022 and more than 400 kilograms of narcotics were confiscated, according to the General Directorate of Narcotics Control in Iraq’s Ministry of Interior. Around 250,000 captagon pills were seized from a school under renovation in Anbar province in late June.

Link

China-Japan-Koreas

China: The World's First Technate – Part 1

2022-11-29

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 align="right" />[OffGuardian] We are being rapidly transitioned into a new system of centralised, authoritarian global governance. This system is designed to be a technocracy and it is truly totalitarian.

Totalitarianism is a form of government that attempts to assert total control over the lives of its citizens. It is characterized by strong central rule that attempts to control and direct all aspects of individual life through coercion and repression. It does not permit individual freedom. Traditional social institutions and organizations are discouraged and suppressed, making people more willing to be merged into a single unified movement. Totalitarian states typically pursue a special goal to the exclusion of all others, with all resources directed toward its attainment, regardless of the cost.

That "special" goal is sustainable development and no cost, either financial or humanitarian, is too great to tackle the alleged "climate crisis." In reality, climate change is simply the excuse for sustainable development and it is through the global policy commitment to "Sustainable Development Goals" (SDGs) that technocracy is being installed.

A technocratic society is called a Technate and the world’s first Technate has emerged in China. In this two part exploration we will look at how this system was constructed, who was behind it and why technocracy is now being foisted upon all of us.

These articles are drawn largely from my 2021 publication Pseudopandemic. It is free to subscribers to my blog.

GLOBAL TECHNOCRATIC GOVERNANCE
In order for global technocracy to be rolled-out, authority needs to be centrally controlled at the global level. Governments, intergovernmental organisations and multinational corporations have collaborated to form a global public-private partnership (G3P) for this purpose.

Throughout the 20th and 21st century the G3P network has sought to construct global governance. In turn, global governance enables the worldwide distribution of the technocracy that governments then convert into national policy commitments. Many components of global technocratic governance have already been established.

The World Heath Organisation (WHO) delivers global governance of public health; global access to technological development is meted out through the World Intellectual Property Organization; the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) works to coordinate economic policies between nation-states and global trade is monitored and controlled through the trade agreements overseen by the World Trade Organisation.

Link

Iraq

ISIS unable to operate in large groups in Iraq: official

2022-01-29

[Rudaw] Members of 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) group in Iraq are unable to traverse in large groups and must rely on moving individually, an official from Iraq's Security Media Cell told state media on Thursday.

"Military operations have been continuing since last Sunday in various locations, starting with Diyala, Salahaddin, and Samarra, and today we began in northern Muqdadiyah in Diyala," said Major General Saad Maan, head of the Security Media Cell, describing areas in which ISIS remains a threat.

Maan said these operations were being conducted by teams from the Iraqi army, the Ministry of Interior, and the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF or Hashd al-Shaabi).

"These operations succeeded in achieving their goals, reinforced by the presence of security leaders on the ground, and have so far resulted in the killings of a number of terrorists, the destruction of ISIS hideouts, and the strengthening of fortifications in the areas of operations," he added.

Maan also noted that the war on ISIS has transitioned into a guerilla war, with small skirmishes here and there. He claimed that the size of ISIS remnants are being blown out of proportion.

"They [ISIS] are trying to establish a presence in the areas of Khanukah, Mutaibija, and Jallab in Salahaddin, Qarachogh and southern Makhmour in Nineveh, Wadi al-Shay and Zghitun in Kirkuk,
... a thick stew of Arabs, Turkmen, Kurds, and probably Antarcticans, all of them mutually hostile most of the time...
and Hawi al-Azim in Diyala," noted the general.

Last Friday, a deadly ISIS attack on an Iraqi base in Hawi al-Azim, Diyala killed 11 soldiers. It is the deadliest ISIS attack on the Iraqi army in 2022 thus far.

Touching on the situation in Syria, where ISIS Death Eaters detained in al-Sina'a prison in Hasaka attempted a large-scale prison break, Maan reassured that there is adequate security at the Iraq-Syria border. He says the area has been reenforced and the utilization of drones has contributed greatly to thwarting any potential threats.

Link

Iraq

Kirkuk police come under attack by members of the Turkmen Front

2021-05-07

[Rudaw] The head of Iraq’s Security Media Cell on Thursday said the rule of law should prevail following what he describes as an attack on police by members of the Turkmen Front

...the Iraqi Turkmen Front is the political wing of Iraq’s Turkmen independence movement, formally founded as a confederation of Iraq’s Turkmen political parties in 1995, and functionally a Turkish sock puppet. They claim northern Iraq, particularly Kirkuk province, as their native land of Turkmeneli, an effort frustrated by the refusal of both the Kurdistan government and the Iraqi government to allow them to form local militias. They have three seats in Iraq’s parliament, which no doubt makes them feel better but isn’t enough to get their concerns a hearing...

in Kirkuk the night before.

Videos circulating on social media appear to show several people, who were later declared to be members of the Turkmen Front, fighting with police at a checkpoint in Kirkuk governorate on Wednesday night. Saad Maan, the Head of Iraq’s Security Media Cell, on Thursday said orders were issued to arrest the perpetrators.

"The orders were issued to implement the law and arrest the people who assaulted the emergency patrol and refer them to the judiciary in order to receive a fair penalty," Iraq’s Security Media Cell said on their Telegram channel on Thursday.

The arrest warrant was issued "based on what circulated on social media from a video clip showing the attack of a member of the Turkmen Front in Kirkuk against a rescue patrol carrying out its duties and tasks in the governorate," the statement added.

General security is deteriorating in Kirkuk. Previously under Kurdish control, the province and its oilfields fell back under federal government control after the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) failed independence referendum in 2017.

Link

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