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Showing posts from December 25, 2016

Iraqi army makes gains in Mosul as ISIS suicide blasts kill 28 in Baghdad

MOSUL, Iraq – The commander of Iraq’s counter-terrorism forces announced   on Saturday  that they had taken control of two more neighborhoods in eastern Mosul as twin blasts in Baghdad killed 28 and wounded 50 others.   “We have closed doors upon ISIS after pushing them back in both Quds one and two neighborhoods,” Abdulghani Assadi, Iraqi counter-terror commander, told Rudaw in an exclusive interview, reporting high casualties among ISIS. “ISIS causalities are on the rise. 2,000 militants have been killed so far,” Assadi added, saying that clearing the east side of the city will happen within days.   “ISIS is no longer in Quds,” Assadi said, declaring victory in a neighborhood that is next to Karama where militants are fiercely resisting in an effort to maintain their grip on the area. The Iraqi army has liberated more than 40 neighborhoods in their operation that began on   October 17 to recapture the country’s second largest city, Mosul, from the militants. ISIS militants have d

Isis: Islam is 'not strongest factor' behind foreign fighters joining extremist groups in Syria and Iraq – report

Wednesday 16 November 2016 Religion is not the strongest driving force behind thousands of foreign fighters joining  Isis  and other terrorist groups in Iraq and Syria, a report by US military researchers has found. A new study by the Combating Terrorism Center (CTC) at West Point revealed that the vast majority of almost 1,200 militants surveyed had no formal religious education and had not adhered to Islam for their entire lives. Extremist groups may prefer such recruits because they are “less capable of critically scrutinising the jihadi narrative and ideology” and instead adhere totally to their chosen organisation’s violent and reductive interpretation of Islam. Isis' radicalisation of foreign fighters Analysts said many foreign fighters travelling from the West are attracted to jihadi groups through cultural and political identities rather than Islam itself, which is moved into a “secondary role”. “The ability of jihadi groups to recruit foreign fighters

FINALLY! Angela Merkel admits Islamic terrorism poses 'greatest threat' to Germany

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ANGELA Merkel has finally admitted that Islamic terrorism poses the biggest threat to Germany in her New Year’s message. By  Zoe Efstathiou   01:39, Sat, Dec 31, 2016   | UPDATED:  10:23, Sat, Dec 31, 2016 EPA Angela Merkel's insist Germany will not cower in fear of terrorism in New Year message  The  German chancellor  described the Berlin Christmas market attack, which killed 12 people and injured 48 others as “sickening” and said 2016 had been a year of “severe tests”. Despite the bloody and threatening attack, Mrs Merkel insisted Germany would not cower before terrorism. She said: "As we go about our lives and our work, we are saying to the terrorists: 'You are hate-filled murderers, but you do not determine how we live and want to live. We are free, considerate and open.” As well as the  Berlin attack , perpetrated by Tunisian jihadi Anis Amri, Germans were also targeted in a number of terror incidents earlier in the year. In June, a teenage Afghan refugee armed with

Canada bans two terror groups, says Indian Mujahideen trains in Pakistan

Two anti-India terror organisations - Indian Mujahideen (IM) and al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) – have been added to Canada’s list of proscribed groups. Both groups were designated as terrorist entities under Canada’s Criminal Code. The announcement was made by public safety and emergency preparedness minister Ralph Goodale on Wednesday. In a statement, the nodal department Public Safety Canada said the IM had “organised training in Pakistan with militant Islamist groups such as Lashkar-e-Tayyiba -- a listed entity under the Criminal Code”. Following the listing, Canada will act against groups or individuals funding or associating with these two terror organisations. The statement said, “The Criminal Code mandates potentially severe penalties for persons and organisations that deal in the property or finances of a listed entity. “It is a crime to knowingly participate in, or contribute to, any activity of a listed entity for the purpose of enhancing the ability

US drone strike kills local al-Qaeda chief, two others in Yemen

A drone strike in Yemen likely carried out by US forces on Thursday killed a local al-Qaeda chief and his guard, a security official said. The strike hit a vehicle at Sawmaa in Al-Bayda province, killing Jalal al-Seydi, who was the “emir” of al-Qaeda in the town of Loder, in the neighbouring southern province of Abyan, the official said. The United States is the only country operating drones over Yemen, but it only sporadically reports on the long-running bombing campaign against the country’s powerful al-Qaeda branch. The US authorities consider al-Qaeda’s Yemen-based franchise, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, to be its most dangerous. AQAP and the Islamic State group have exploited a power vacuum created by the conflict between the government and Shia Huthi rebels to expand their presence in Yemen, especially in the south and southeast. Source  http://m.hindustantimes.com/world-news/us-drone-strike-kills-local-al-qaeda-chief-two-others-in-yemen/story-zmEjmi8EtSJ8n

Five senior PKK figures detained in southern Turkey: Interior Ministry

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In this file photo, Turkish police forces stand guard in the aftermath of a shooting incident in Istanbul, Turkey. (Photo by Reuters) The Turkish Interior Ministry says at least five high-profile figures of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) have been arrested during a series of counter-terrorism operations against the militant group as well as its affiliate, the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK), in the southern part of the country. A Ministry source, requesting not to be named, said the five were arrested in the southeastern provinces of Sanliurfa and Diyarbakir in addition to the Mediterranean southwestern province of Antalya. They were charged with establishing, controlling and and membership in a terrorist group. One of the detainees, identified only by the initials H.A., reportedly worked in the northeastern Syrian city of Qamishli on the border with Turkey for Hawar News Agency (ANHA). Two others, who went by the initials S.A. and E.A., met and held talks

Russia carries out air strikes targeting Islamic State around Syria’s al-Bab

Russian aircraft have carried out three air strikes on Islamic State around the Syrian town of al-Bab over the past 24 hours, the Turkish military said on Friday, in what appeared to be the first Russian support for Turkish army operations in the area. The strikes came as a nationwide ceasefire in Syria, brokered by Russia and Turkey which back opposing sides in the conflict, got off to a shaky start at midnight. Islamic State is not included in that agreement. Read: Syria ceasefire comes into effect, rebels clash with forces in some parts NATO member Turkey launched an incursion into Syria, dubbed “Euphrates Shield”, more than four months ago to drive Islamic State militants away from the border region. Turkish-backed Syrian rebel forces have besieged al-Bab for several weeks. In a daily round-up of its military operations in the region, the Turkish military said it had received information that 12 Islamic State fighters had been killed in the Russian air strikes around al-B

France hints at plan for ‘long’ military stay in Chad

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Chadian Prime Minister Albert Pahimi Padacke (L) greets visiting French Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve at N’Djamena airport, Chad, December 29, 2016. (Photo by AFP) Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve says French troopers stationed in Chad should “prepare for a long war” against regional militants, in a remark that reveals France’s plans for prolonged military presence in its former African colony. “We must prepare for a long war in an environment that has undergone dramatic shifts,” Cazeneuve told French soldiers in Chad, where he arrived for an official visit on Thursday. In the African country’s capital city, N’Djamena, Cazeneuve met with Chadian Prime Minister Albert Pahimi Padacke and President Idriss Deby to discuss security. “France will always help Chad surmount its difficulties,” Cazeneuve said after the meeting with Deby. French Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve (C) inspects French troops stationed in N’Djamena, Chad, December 29, 2016. (Photo by AFP) This

Syria war drags on due to foreign aid for Takfiri terrorists: Assad

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Syrian President Bashar al-Assad speaks to Italian TG5 channel on December 29. (Photo by SANA) President Bashar al-Assad says the crisis in Syria is mainly rooted in foreign support for extremist groups inspired by Wahhabism, a Takfiri ideology dominating the Saudi kingdom. “You cannot talk about the war being over until you get rid of the terrorists in Syria,” Assad said in a Thursday interview with Italian TG5 channel. "And those terrorists unfortunately still have formal support from many countries including Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and many Western countries," he added. Assad described the recent liberation of Aleppo as “an important step toward ending the war.” “If you do not have that external support to those terrorists, it will not be difficult at all to get rid [of] the terrorists everywhere in Syria.” The Syrian president denounced the Wahhabism ideology as “the core problem” which creates extremist terrorists across the world and said, “If

Syria truce begins, but clashes erupt near Damascus

A nationwide ceasefire was holding across most of Syria on Friday but clashes near Damascus underlined the fragility of the deal brokered by Turkey and Russia. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said government and rebel forces were fighting in the Wadi Barada area, where opposition fighters have cut water supplies to the capital. A resident confirmed the sound of shelling in the area on Friday morning. Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said it was unclear who had started the clashes, with both sides blaming the other. Syria’s government had been shelling the area before the truce began at midnight as it pushes rebels there to accept a “reconciliation deal” and leave the area. Among the forces present there is former Al-Qaeda affiliate Fateh al-Sham Front, previously known as Al-Nusra Front, which Syria’s government says is excluded from the ceasefire. Opposition figures however say the truce applies to all opposition-held territory, even where Fa

Nearly 1,000 bodies of activists, separatists found in Balochistan: Pak govt

Nearly 1,000 bodies of political activists and suspected separatists have been found in the restive Balochistan province over the past six years, according to the Pakistan government’s official figures. Most of the bodies were dumped in the regions of Quetta, Qalat, Khuzdar and Makran, areas where Balochistan’s separatist insurgency has its roots, BBC Urdu reported citing figures from the federal human rights ministry. “According to the Federal Ministry of Human Rights, at least 936 dead bodies have been found in Balochistan since 2011,” the report said. Rights activists said the figures pointed to large-scale extrajudicial killings, the report added. Relatives said most victims were picked up by security agencies. Read |  What Baloch dissidents have to say about Modi’s comments on Pak ‘atrocities’ Earlier this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks about rights violations in Balochistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir created a furore in Pakistan, which said he had crossed a “red

Woman beheaded in Afghanistan 'for going out in city without her husband'

A woman has been beheaded for visiting a city without her husband, officials in Afghanistan have said. The 30-year-old was decapitated and stabbed to death on Monday evening in Lati in the Sar-e-Pul province of northern  Afghanistan . The  Middle East Press  claims a government spokesman told them  Taliban  militants killed her for the “infidelity act” of going shopping without a male guardian. The Taliban, which occupies Lati, imposes fierce policies of discrimination against women which includes banning them speaking loudly in public and appearing in media. Punishments have included public lashings and executions in football stadiums. National broadcaster  Tolo News reports that the provincial governor spokesman Zabiullah Amani said the woman’s husband is in Iran, and that they do not have children. World news in pictures It also claims Sar-e-Pul women’s affairs head Nasima Arezo has confirmed the incident took place. No one has been arrested and the Taliban have reportedly rejected

ISIS fanatics using a MURDER APP to try and recruit new generation of terrorists

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It lets the youngsters to pick targets from a list of western landmarks including Big Ben, the Eiffel Tower in Paris and New York's Statue of Liberty. And as Coalition air strikes weaken Islamic State control of parts of Syria and Iraq, its desperate leaders are increasing their use of suicide bombers as young as seven-years-old. Colonel John Dorrian, the US-led Coalition's spokesman, said of Islamic State or Daesh: "They are despicable. They are willing to use children, the elderly, really anyone for suicide missions." The app is ostensibly to teach children how to read and write in Arabic. But at a London briefing Col Dorrian said: "Their apocalpytic vision is damaging society everywhere they control. What they are trying to do is create a generational problem with their ideology. "There are horrific stories of Daesh trying to indoctrinate children, forcing them to watch or participate in executions. "They have even devised an app