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Post by DavidH on Mar 22, 2017 18:56:36 GMT
Yemen SEAL Raid Likely Lead to New Restrictions for Electronics on FlightsUnattributed quotes from “three intelligence sources” link evidence gathered during the U.S. Navy SEAL raid in Yemen on Jan. 28, 2017 with the new ban on electronic devices including laptops in the passenger cabins of some airline flights. Journalists Jana Winter and Clive Irving have published reports attributing the anonymous media leaks in at least one media outlet, the Daily Beast. It is possible that other media outlets will report on the connection between the events. Winter and Clive wrote, “Information from the raid shows Al Qaeda’s successful development of compact, battery bombs that fit inside laptops or other devices believed to be strong enough to bring down an aircraft, the sources said.” Winter and Clive did not name any sources for their report. Full- theaviationist.com/?p=41540
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Post by DavidH on Mar 22, 2017 19:37:26 GMT
ICRC: Only Months Left to Avert Famine in Africa and Yemen A three- to four-month window remains to avert a famine that could potentially kill millions of people in three African countries and Yemen, the International Committee of the Red Cross warns. The Swiss humanitarian agency said speed was of the essence to prevent a tragedy of massive proportions in Somalia, Yemen, South Sudan and northeast Nigeria. Dominik Stillhart, ICRC Director of Operations, said agencies must urgently scale up their humanitarian operations and international donors must support these efforts to prevent millions of people in these countries from starving to death. "This is not business as usual," he said. "Twenty million people facing starvation is not something that we are dealing with every day and, therefore, we really need to act now. If we act now, especially in Yemen and in Somalia, famine can be averted." www.voanews.com/a/only-months-left-to-avert-famine-africa-yemen-icrc-says/3777311.html
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Post by DavidH on Mar 22, 2017 19:40:46 GMT
Iranian Sea Vessels Greet US Aircraft Carrier in Strait of HormuzThe USS George H. W. Bush was met by at least 20 Iranian Revolutionary Guard ships as it transited the Strait of Hormuz into the Persian Gulf on Tuesday. The US aircraft carrier was escorted by a Danish frigate and a French destroyer in addition to a team of attack choppers sailing overhead. Officials aboard the USS Bush attempted to communicate with the Iranian vessels patrolling the area, but it is not clear whether trustworthy communications were established. sputniknews.com/military/201703211051824333-iran-sea-vessel-us-hormuz/
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Post by DavidH on Mar 23, 2017 9:38:33 GMT
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Post by DavidH on Mar 23, 2017 9:41:12 GMT
US-backed SDF fighters capture Tabqah Dam near RaqqaThe Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), with their Syrian Arab Coalition fighters, launched a multi-pronged offensive behind enemy lines on Wednesday to liberate the Tabqah Dam in Syria from ISIS. Apache helicopters, U.S. Marine artillery and special operation troops were part of this operation to drop SDF fighters near Tabqa. “The Coalition supported this offensive with air movement and logistical support, precision airstrikes, Apache helicopters in close air support, Marine artillery, and special operations advice and assistance to SDF leadership,” the US-led coalition said in a statement. “Over the last four months, the Coalition has conducted more than 300 airstrikes around Tabqah and near Raqqa that have killed hundreds of enemy fighters, destroyed more than 200 fortifications, and more than 50 ISIS vehicles,” the coalition added. Seizing Tabqah Dam will isolate Raqqa from three sides and give the SDF the strategic advantage and launching point needed for the liberation of the city. Tabqah Dam has been used as an ISIS headquarters, a prison for high-profile hostages, a training location, and for external terror plotting since ISIS took control of the location in 2013. Full- aranews.net/2017/03/us-backed-sdf-fighters-capture-tabqah-dam-near-raqqa-in-a-behind-enemy-lines-operation/
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Post by DavidH on Mar 23, 2017 9:42:32 GMT
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Post by DavidH on Mar 23, 2017 10:29:51 GMT
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Post by DavidH on Mar 23, 2017 14:15:20 GMT
Dozens of Mosul civilians killed by overnight US, Iraq airstrikes Iraqi local and security sources have said today that dozens of civilians have been killed with dozens more wounded after airstrikes conducted by the Iraqi government and the US-led coalition against neighbourhoods in western Mosul. According to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, the aerial bombardment lasted for most of last night in an attempt to facilitate further Iraqi government advances in areas of western Mosul held by Daesh militants. The bombardment began at 01:00 and continued for four hours, ending at around 05:00 local time, with local sources confirming that no less than 50 civilians were killed, most of them women and children. Dozens more were wounded by the strikes. Military sources in Mosul confirmed the shelling and airstrikes, saying that they targeted areas that are contested between the Iraqi government and Daesh militants, and admitting that “some of the missiles [fired by the Iraqi military] fell on the houses of civilian residents.” www.middleeastmonitor.com/20170322-dozens-of-mosul-civilians-killed-by-overnight-us-iraq-airstrikes/
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Post by DavidH on Mar 23, 2017 16:07:37 GMT
Taliban takes key district in Helmand provinceThe Taliban seized the district of Sangin in southern Helmand province, forcing Afghan troops to withdrawal and Coalition forces to launch airstrikes to destroy bases and government facilities left behind. Sangin has been a battleground in Helmand for several years and has exchanged hands multiple times. TOLONews reported that “security forces moved all their equipment out on Wednesday night before the air force bombed the installations in order to destroy them.” While the spokesman for Helmand’s governor denied Sangin was overrun, “local Afghan government and military officials said there was no doubt Sangin had finally fallen to their enemy,” The New York Times noted. The Taliban had previously overran Sangin’s district center in July 2016, but Afghan forces – backed by US air support – pushed the jihadists to the outskirts of the town. More- www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2017/03/taliban-takes-key-district-in-helmand-province.php
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Post by DavidH on Mar 23, 2017 17:59:57 GMT
Russia may be helping supply Taliban insurgents: U.S. generalThe top U.S. general in Europe said on Thursday that he had seen Russian influence on Afghan Taliban insurgents growing and raised the possibility that Moscow was helping supply the militants, whose reach is expanding in southern Afghanistan. "I've seen the influence of Russia of late - increased influence in terms of association and perhaps even supply to the Taliban," Army General Curtis Scaparrotti, who is also NATO's Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, told a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. He did not elaborate on what kinds of supplies might be headed to the Taliban or how direct Russia's role might be. www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-afghanistan-russia-idUSKBN16U234
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Post by DavidH on Mar 23, 2017 20:10:32 GMT
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Post by DavidH on Mar 23, 2017 22:56:49 GMT
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Post by DavidH on Mar 23, 2017 23:01:02 GMT
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Post by DavidH on Mar 24, 2017 9:51:41 GMT
US Special Forces and Rebel Offensive v. ISIS in Eastern SyriaLocal sources and photographs confirm the on-the-ground role of US special forces in the multi-front rebel offensive against the Islamic State in Syria. US special forces, the British SAS, and Norwegian counterparts have been based for some time in al-Tanf near the Syrian border with Iraq and Jordan. However, last week the Americans set up a joint operations room with the groups Maghaweer al-Thawra — known as the New Syrian Army when it was created with US support in late 2015 — and Jaish Usud al-Sharqiya and Liwa al-Shaheed Ahmad Abdo, both linked to the US-led Military Operations Center based in Jordan. The force is now pursuing operations against the Islamic State in the Hamad desert region near the Jordanian border, east of Syria’s eastern Qalamoun region. The combination of attacks has taken large swathes of territory from the Islamic State in the past week. Rebel outlets estimated the capture at 1,260 square km (486 square miles) by Tuesday. While much of the area is desert, several strategic positions for ISIS operations and reinforcements were also taken. eaworldview.com/2017/03/us-special-forces-and-rebel-offensive-v-isis-in-eastern-syria/
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Post by DavidH on Mar 24, 2017 12:18:34 GMT
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