Garmıyanı @Sarbarzi 7m7 minutes ago Video showing HPG Guerrillas (PKK) downing a Turkish helicopter with a MANPAD. PKK with MANPADS = A game-changer short version: https://twitter.com/Sarbarzi/status/731440653478039552
SAA under more pressure from ISIS in Deir ez-Zor watanisy @watanisy #SAA #NDF behead number of ISIS fighters in Deir ez Zor Only Arabic tweets but claims that ISIS fighters killed doctors and nurses in a hospital
Oryx @oryxspioenkop 2h2 hours ago Armour losses in Deir ez-Zor becoming critical for the regime. Today saw the destruction of another two/three BMP-1s Previous Next ۞Liberator ⚔Logician۞ @ShamiRebel 6h6 hours ago #BreakingNewsOfTheMoment #ISIS has reportedly cut off the route between Dayr #DeirEzzor Airport & the 137th Brigade 20 retweets 13 likes
Turkish media and military were claiming it was an accident before that video came out. http://www.ntv.com.tr/turkiye/hakkaride-kobra-helikopter-dustu-8-asker-sehit,QbamOTUlLkyoleRIB5Hv8Q
nothing confirmed but relevant tweets from today in Deir ez-Zor Peto Lucem @PetoLucem #SAA forces have foiled latest #ISIS infiltration attempts and secured Al-#Assad hospital at #DeirEzzor. #Syria John Arterbury @JohnArterbury Aamaq: IS forces overrun the Christian cemetery in Deir Ezzor and kill 10 soldiers trapped there since yesterday Mark @markito0171 #Syria ~70 #Assad-forces killed during #IS-assault on #DeirEzzor city the past 2 days
VIENNA (AP) — In a move fraught with risk, the United States and other world powers said Monday they would supply Libya's internationally recognized government with weapons to counter the Islamic State and other militant groups gaining footholds in the chaos-wracked country's lawless regions. Aiming at once to shore up the fragile government, and prevent Islamic State fighters and rival militias from further gains, the U.S., the four other permanent U.N. Security Council members and more than 15 other nations said they would approve exemptions to a United Nations arms embargo to allow military sales and aid to Libya's so-called "Government of National Accord." https://www.yahoo.com/news/top-diplomats-more-20-nations-meet-libya-123258894--politics.html No way could this go wrong
rebel infighting in East Ghouta Bassem @BBassem7 Bassem Retweeted راي اليوم What's happening in E Ghouta is remarkable, rebels are killing each other, so far 300 dead in 20 days
Hezbollah is not willing to engage in further battles if these aim only to improve the position of the Syrian government at the negotiation table in Geneva https://elijahjm.wordpress.com/2016...overnment-at-the-negotiation-table-in-geneva/
spoilered map of Deir ez-Zor, ISIS making slight advances in their attempt to cut off Brigade 137 from the airport Spoiler
Almost June, and we're still a long way from moving on Mosul. I want my points for calling that one last December. It'll be the end of this year, if then, before they start making serious moves against it.
Bombs kill nearly 150 in Syrian government-held cities: monitor http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-latakia-idUSKCN0YE0PB Spoiler Bombs killed nearly 150 people and wounded at least 200 in Jableh and Tartous on Syria's Mediterranean coast on Monday in the government-controlled territory that hosts Russian military bases, monitors and state media said. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks in the cities that have up to now escaped the worst of the violence in the five-year-old conflict, saying it was targeting members of President Bashar al-Assad's Alawite minority. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 148 people were killed in attacks by at least five suicide bombers and two devices planted in cars. State media had said 78 people had been killed in what is Assad's coastal heartland. The attacks were the first of their kind in Tartous, capital of Tartous province and home to a Russian naval facility, and in Jableh in Latakia province, near a Russian-operated air base. The Kremlin said the blasts underscored the need to press ahead with peace talks after the collapse of a Feb. 27 ceasefire in April due to intensifying violence in a war that has killed at least 250,000 people. "This demonstrates yet again just how fragile the situation in Syria is. And this one more time underscores the need for new urgent steps to continue the negotiating process," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists. Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated his readiness to fight with the Syrian government against "the terrorist threat" and sent his condolences to Assad, the Kremlin said. The Syrian Foreign Ministry sent a letter to the United Nations, state television reported, saying the blasts were a "dangerous escalation by the hostile and extremist regimes in Riyadh, Ankara and Doha", referring to support given to the rebels by Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned the attacks. "BLOOD AND BODIES" One of the four blasts in Jableh happened when a man walked into a hospital emergency department and blew himself up. Another blast was at a bus station. The Tartous bombs also targeted a bus station, the Observatory and state media said. Younes Hassan, a doctor at the Jableh hospital, said he heard an explosion at the bus station, followed less than a minute later by the hospital blast. "Everything went into emergency mode, wounded people began arriving," he told Reuters by phone. The International Committee of the Red Cross condemned this latest attack on healthcare. The Tartous explosions occurred in quick succession, a driver at the bus station said. "People began running but didn't know which direction to go, cars were on fire, there was blood and bodies on the ground," Nizar Hamade said. Footage broadcast by the state-run Ikhbariya news channel showed several twisted and burnt-out cars and vans. Islamic State claimed the attacks in a statement posted online by the group's Amaq news agency, saying its fighters had targeted "gatherings of Alawites". A second statement from the militant group said the attacks were carried out in a government-held area "so they experience the same taste of death which Muslims so far have tasted from Russian (and Syrian government) air strikes on Muslim towns." Amaq said 10 Islamic State members died in the attacks, 5 in Tartous and 5 in Jableh. Syria's Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi said in an interview with Ikhbariya that terrorists were resorting to bomb attacks against civilians instead of fighting on the front lines, and vowed to keep battling them. The government refers to all insurgents fighting against it as terrorists. Related Coverage › Putin, after Latakia blasts, tells Assad will continue fighting 'terrorist threat' › Russia's Lavrov, U.S.' Kerry discuss joint Syria operations: Russian ministry The Observatory said an area of Tartous hosting internally displaced Syrians near a blast site was briefly attacked by government supporters in reaction to the bombings. Some tents were burned but nobody was killed. Tartous governor Safwan Abu Saadah told Reuters reports on social media about refugees being shot were not true. He said some Tartous residents had gone to refugee areas to protect them from possible attacks. "Two days ago some camps in Tartous province experienced fires because of electrical problems ... today's reports that people burned (these camps) are not true. Nobody would turn against our guests in this way," Abu Saadah said. Bombings in Damascus and the western city of Homs this year killed dozens of people and were also claimed by Islamic State, which is fighting against government forces and their allies in some areas, and separately against its jihadist rival al Qaeda and other insurgent groups. Latakia city, which is north of Jableh and capital of the province, has been targeted on a number of occasions by bombings and insurgent rocket attacks, including late last year. Government forces and their allies have recently stepped up bombardment of areas in Aleppo province in the north, which has become a focal point for the escalating violence. Insurgents have also launched major attacks in that area. The only road into rebel-held areas of Aleppo city has suffered a week of increasingly heavy air strikes. Zakaria Malahefji, a senior official in the rebel group Fastaqim that operates in the Aleppo area told Reuters the road was bombarded again on Monday and was dangerous to use. He said Iranian-backed fighters, who are supporting government forces, were mobilising in the southern Aleppo area. France's Foreign Ministry called the Tartous and Jableh bombings "odious" and said violence from all sides must stop if a political transition is to take place. (Additional reporting by Kinda Makieh in Damascus, Lisa Barrington in Beirut, John Irish in Paris and Dmitry Solovyov in Moscow; Editing by Janet Lawrence)
Iraqi airstrike on a group of ISIS fighters in Fallujah https://twitter.com/Hamosh84/status/735062811114655746
drone strike in Pakiston killed Mullah Mansour, then current emir of the Taliban. they've replaced him with some spiritual leader with little to no military experience and many are predicting this will splinter the group further. what's really of note here is basically Mansour was chosen as emir in an open assembly not 30 minutes from a major Pakistanti military hub in Quetta and lived his days thereafter not too far away from that so basically Pakistan harbored him like they did with UBL and we treated the ISI like they fuckbois they are and only informed them of our strike against Mansour after the fact, much like UBL. their intelligence seems to not be worth a shit and our government has basically zero trust of them right now and will continue to just do what we want, when we want and let them know after so they can go clean up the mess. it's frankly amazing Pakistan is standing at all as a nation because it's so hilariously corrupt and fucked up. each time you turn around and think like, they hid UBL and were internationally embarrassed for doing so, so there's no way they'd be so foolish as to do it again and welp, the leader of the Taliban got hit with a drone doing his daily bullshit not hiding in a cave. you truly can't trust those people.
Daniel L. Davis is a retired Lt. Col. in the U.S. Army. Here are 3 ways to repair the damage According to its official website, the U.S. Department of Stateseeks to help promote “a peaceful, prosperous, just, and democratic world and foster conditions for stability and progress for the benefit of the American people and people everywhere.” That is a praiseworthy objective to be sure. Unfortunately, when it comes to the U.S.’s government’s effort in Afghanistan, it has failed to achieve this. Spectacularly. Instead of acknowledging its shortcomings in appropriate humility and making necessary changes to repair the damage, the U.S. government chooses to shape public opinion by tirelessly spinning the mission to appear as a success. This fact-spinning has resulted in keeping Afghanistan unstable. For example, the Afghan governing institutions set up by the U.S.-led Bonn Agreement in December 2001 and the political deal brokered by the Secretary of State for a Unity Government in 2014, have unwittingly served to keep the state weak and dysfunctional. The resulting high levels of corruption are having a destructive effect on Kabul’s ability to govern. Yet senior U.S. administration officials continue to claim the Afghan government is doing well. Ambassador Samantha Powers lauded the Unity Government a little over a year ago in a speech at the U.N. Security Council, saying it had “set out a compelling reform agenda, committing to improve governance, limit corruption, reintegrate refugees, promote sustainable development, and defend and promote human rights of all Afghans, with a special focus on women’s rights. ” In 2002 a joint U.S./Northern Alliance military operation utterly annihilated the Taliban government. Instead of working hard to ensure initial leaders were representative of the country following this meaningful tactical success, Washington took the easy way out and simply put Northern Alliance leading figures in power—ignoring the fact that many of the key leaders selected had committed unspeakable atrocities during the civil war. Many of these warlords remain in power today, wielding a destructive influence on effective governance. Yet in congressional testimony several months ago Richard Olson, Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, argued that although the results of the administration’s policies were less than stellar, the policies have nevertheless “created a foundation for a more stable future in Afghanistan that will not only benefit the Afghan people, but will advance U.S. national security interests in a more peaceful region.” There is scant evidence to support Olson’s optimism. And after 15 years of direct U.S. combat actions and $60 billion spent training the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF), the insurgency is stronger now than at any time since 2001, Afghan civilians continuing dying at record pace, and the ANDSF remains deficient in key capabilities such as aviation, intelligence and special operations. Without these abilities it is extremely difficult for the Afghan military to succeed on the battlefield. The Department of Defense’s assessment of this 15-year investment? In testimony earlier this year before the House Armed Services Committee, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Central Asia Christine Abizaid conceded the security situation was “fragile” and admitted the Afghan forces were still seeking “to improve their capacity.” She nevertheless insisted the ANDSF had made “remarkable advancements” and despite a long list of major strategic shortcomings, said they “are developing into a modern security force with many of the systems and processes of an advanced military.” If senior leaders admitted early on that major U.S. policies and strategies had failed, they might have been able to check the slide, devise new and more effective plans and preserve the lives of many U.S. service members. Instead, they choose to conduct messaging strategies to convince the American people that things are going well, even if “uneven.” If the U.S. is ever to reverse this downward slide and repair the damage, immediate and substantive changes are necessary. 1. Stop the spin. U.S. senior leaders must begin leveling with the American people. The situations in Afghanistan and the greater Middle East are highly complex, involving the interests of many and competing neighboring countries, filled with corrupt and criminal elements within, and facing attacks by a vicious, barbaric enemy. There’s nothing easy about it. The American people understand that and do not expect perfection. They can handle the truth and will support policies that have a chance, even if success isn’t guaranteed. 2. Understand local dynamics. Before determining strategies, U.S. foreign and defense policymakers must make a far greater effort to understand local and regional dynamics, recent and ancient histories, cultural nuance, and racial and ethnic factors. The U.S. has valid interests around the globe, and it is incumbent on our leaders to find and enact policies that can plausibly succeed in the environments where our interests are at stake. 3. Refocus objectives. Washington must abandon its penchant to set policies designed to achieve desired outcomes, irrespective of whether the objectives are even attainable. Too often U.S. leaders select strategic objectives they feel are beneficial to American interests, and then try to force square-peg solutions onto round-hole problems. For example, senior American diplomats may prefer to ease a voter-fraud crisis in Afghanistan by simply creating two heads of state. But if doing so violates their constitution, forces together political philosophies that are hostile to each other, and has no cultural precedent in Afghanistan, the chances of success are almost nonexistent. For our own self-interest, it is time to craft foreign policy based on a sober analysis of conditions as they actually exist, a willingness to recognize our every wish isn’t always attainable, and the courage and intelligence to admit when things aren’t going well and make necessary changes. So long as Washington continues its stubborn refusal to admit when policies or strategies have failed, U.S. foreign policy will continue to suffer as many setbacks as it does successes, stunting or even damaging U.S. interests abroad.
It's more complicated than that. You have different competing factions vying for power. The government, ISI, and military are all in a power struggle. There are factions within each competing for power. Some are with us, some are against us, and some are indifferent, but available for the right price. I don't think the ISI is as inept as you make them sound, but as you've said...there is corruption and competing interests at play. On top of that mess there are the lawless regions of the country controlled by warlords. Scariest part is they have nuclear weapons.
they're superficially inept, I guess is what I meant. at this point they use the Taliban like a weapon and the Taliban get protection in return but since they can't say this because the entire international community would turn on them and abandon aid and help and watch them sink into nothingness in that godawful piece of land they call home when they get caught like this(and UBL) they have to feign a combination of anger and ignorance. the ISI know a shocking amount of stuff, I'd imagine, and they could probably cripple the entire Taliban network to the point of near-extinction if they just opened up the books and either fed us info or did the dirty work themselves but that's never going to happen.
ISIS is still launching attacks in North Aleppo, so many intelligence failures with regard to their actual strength.
bae erdogan http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europ...s&ns_source=facebook&ns_linkname=news_central "Almost 2,000 people, including celebrities and schoolchildren, have been prosecuted in Turkey for insulting the president since he came to office in 2014, under a previously little-used law."
Germany ignores pressure from BAErdogan and votes to recognize the Armenian genocide. Turkish ambassador already pulled from Berlin lol
Germany arrests 3 suspected Syrian terrorists, foils possible Islamic State plot https://www.washingtonpost.com/worl...7-496b-aa47-5b8911459f13_story.html?tid=sm_tw
Close Follow ÊzîdîPress @EzidiPress #YPG/#SDF forces freed 15 #Ezidi women & children from ISIS slavery near #Manbij on thursday#Syria #Sinjar #Shingal
Fucking Christ Abu Hajaar, get your head out of your ass. He must have been ISIS version of Pvt. Pyle from Full Metal Jacket or something.
This is referring to the Vice special a few posts above. Really hope he's okay, definitely the type of commander the Iraqi Army needs. Liz Sly Verified account @LizSly Oh no. Major Salam, the amazing Iraqi army guy at the center of this film, was wounded today. News via @AymanOghanna
FALLUJAH, Iraq, June 12 (UPI) -- More than 450 militants of the Islamic State trying to flee Fallujah were arrested as the Iraqi army neared the city from different fronts, the Iraq defense ministry reported Sunday. Also the SDF has entered Manbij and is fighting there.
yikes, hopefully the Syrian government is just blowing smoke Conflict News @Conflicts Syria PM on YPG: “After #ISIS, we will fight them with more powerful weapons than we fought ISIS with” - @Sarbarzi
US Apache carries out first strike on ISIS near Mosul ERBIL, Kurdistan Region—The United States used an Apache attack helicopter to carry out an airstrike in Iraq on Sunday. This is the first time the Apache has been used since President Barak Obama authorized their use in offensive operations in Iraq earlier this year. The Apache carried out an airstrike in support of Iraqi troops preparing to retake Mosul from the Islamic State, Defense Secretary Ash Carter confirmed. He declined, however, to provide any further detail. "US Apache helicopters conducted the first strike against a Daesh [ISIS} target in Iraq in support of Iraqi Security Forces in the Tigris River Valley June 12," Defense Department spokesman Christopher Sherwood confirmed on Monday. Two Apaches were involved in the operation, according to a US official speaking to Reuters on the condition of anonymity, though only a single Apache fired at a vehicle on the ground. Sherwood confirmed that a vehicle-borne IED was destroyed in the strike near Qayyarah, south of Mosul. The decision to deploy the helicopters in support of local troops in the battle to retake Mosul was made in April, at the same time that the US committed $415 million to the Peshmerga. Before this, the Apaches were used in Iraq only to protect American personnel. http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/130620162