While you were sleeping Obama was dropping them thangs

[88m3]

Yemen al-Qaeda chief al-Wuhayshi killed in US strike

• 3 hours ago
  
• From the sectionMiddle East

Al-Qaeda has confirmed that Nasser al-Wuhayshi, the leader of its offshoot in the Arabian Peninsula, has been killed in a US drone strike in Yemen.

His death was announced by the AQAP group in an online video. His successor was named as military chief Qasim al-Raymi.

Wuhayshi was seen as al-Qaeda's second-in-command and was a former personal assistant to Osama Bin Laden.

He built one of the most active al-Qaeda branches, say US officials.

Does killing militant leaders work?

In Yemen, resurgent al-Qaeda militants have seized territory and infrastructure - indirectly assisted by Saudi-led air strikes on the rebel Houthi movement, their Shia Muslim foes.

But the deaths of a number of leading figures in AQAP in recent months have reportedly fuelled rumours among supporters that it has been successfully targeted by intelligence agencies.

Analysis: Murad Batal al-Shishani, BBC Arabic
Nasser al-Wuhayshi was a major global figure among jihadists - even supporters of al-Qaeda's rival Islamic State viewed Wuhayshi with respect.

According to reports, in August 2013 Wuhayshi was appointed deputy of al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri, a sign of the extent of his influence.

As well as creating AQAP itself, Wuhayshi also played a major role in forming the AQAP off-shoot, Ansar al-Sharia, in 2011, to appeal to disaffected youth in Yemen at the time of the Arab Spring.

AQAP's leader cultivated good relations with local tribes, which helped his group advance in various places in the south of the country.

His death is no doubt a big blow for AQAP - but it seems to have been prepared for this moment, swiftly naming another highly influential figure, Qasim al-Raymi, to succeed him.

Obituary: Nasser al-Wuhayshi

"We in al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula mourn to our Muslim nation... that Abu Baseer Nasser bin Abdul Karim al-Wuhayshi, may God have mercy on his soul, passed away in an American strike which targeted him along with two of his mujahideen brothers," Khaled Batarfi, a senior member of the group, said in the video.

The Pentagon has previously said it would not comment on the killing of Wahayshi - thought to be the highest ranking al-Qaeda leader killed since Bin Laden's death in Pakistan in 2011.

Yemeni officials said Wuhayshi was believed to have been killed in a raid in al-Qaeda-held Mukalla, in south-eastern Yemen's Hadramawt province.

Witnesses were quoted as saying an explosion had killed three men on the seafront last Friday - and that al-Qaeda gunmen had quickly cordoned off the area and gathered the remains, leading them to believe a leader was among those killed.

Wuhayshi's death was announced by senior AQAP figure Khaled Batarfi in a video posted online

The US State Department had offered a $10m (£6.4m) reward for anyone who could help bring Wuhayshi - who is believed to have been in his 30s - to justice.

It said he was "responsible for approving targets, recruiting new members, allocating resources to training and attack planning, and tasking others to carry out attacks".

Wuhayshi, himself a Yemeni, travelled to Afghanistan in the late 1990s where he trained, fighting alongside and becoming a close confidante of Bin Laden.

As US forces closed in at the battle of Tora Bora in late 2001, he escaped into Iran.

There he was arrested and extradited to Yemen, where he was jailed until he escaped in 2006.

'Greater and worse'
He became head of al-Qaeda in Yemen and then head of AQAP when the Yemeni and Saudi branches of al-Qaeda merged in 2009.

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)

• Formed in January 2009 by a merger between al-Qaeda in Saudi Arabia and Yemen, and based in eastern Yemen
• Deputy leader - ex-Guantanamo inmate and Saudi national Said al-Shihri - killed in September 2012
• Following Nasser al-Wuhayshi's death, Qasim al-Raymi now said to be new leader
• Aims to topple Saudi monarchy and Yemeni government, and establish an Islamic caliphate
• Came to prominence with Riyadh bombings in 2003, and 2008 attack on US embassy in Sanaa
• Says it was behind an attempt to blow up US passenger jet in December 2009
• Accused of being behind two foiled attempts to send parcel bombs to US on cargo planes in late 2010
• Claimed responsibility for massacre at French magazine Charlie Hebdo - some of the gunmen thought to have trained with AQAP

When Bin Laden was killed, Wuhayshi warned Washington that al-Qaeda was not dead.

"What is coming is greater and worse, and what is awaiting you is more intense and harmful," he said.

Since late January 2015, AQAP has lost a number of high-profile figures in US drone strikes - including religious official Harith al-Nadhari, ideologue and spokesman Ibrahim al-Rubaish, and religious and military official Nasser al-Ansi, along with lower ranking figures.

The proximity and precision of these assassinations has given rise to rumours in jihadist circles that AQAP has been infiltrated by spies, BBC Monitoring reports.

The US use of drones - in Yemen and elsewhere - has long been a source of controversy.

Last week the families of two Yemeni citizens killed in a US drone strike launched a lawsuit in Washington DC, demanding that the US admit the strike was unlawful.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-33143259

 

[88m3]

Mokhtar Belmokhtar: Top Islamist 'killed' in US strike

• 15 June 2015
  
• From the sectionUS & Canada

A top Islamist militant who ordered a deadly attack on an Algerian gas plant two years ago has been killed in a US air strike in Libya, officials say.

Mokhtar Belmokhtar was killed in the eastern city of Ajdabiya, a statement from Libya's government said.

The US says Belmokhtar was targeted and the strike was successful, but it is assessing the operation's results and would give details "as appropriate".

Mokhtar Belmokhtar's death has been reported many times in the past.

Notoriety
Born in Algeria, Belmokhtar was a former senior figure in al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), but left to form his own militia.

He gained notoriety with the attack on the In Amenas gas plant in Algeria in 2013, when about 800 people were taken hostage and 40 killed, most of them foreigners, including six Britons and three Americans.

The US has filed terror charges against him and officials said they believed he remained a threat to Western interests.

"Belmokhtar has a long history of leading terrorist activities as a member of AQIM, is the operational leader of the al-Qaeda-associated al-Murabitoun organisation in north-west Africa, and maintains his personal allegiance to al-Qaeda," said Pentagon spokesman Col Steve Warren.

Analysis: Jonathan Marcus, BBC Diplomatic Correspondent

Dead, or maybe still alive, either way the fact that the US is still hunting Mokhtar Belmokhtar illustrates the breadth and tenacity of the US counter-terrorism effort.

While the focus is now very much on combating Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, the US struggle against al-Qaeda franchises continues both in the Middle East (Libya in this case) and to a growing extent in sub-Saharan Africa too.

Belmokhtar masterminded the attack on the Amenas gas plant in Algeria in 2013 in which 40 people were killed, including three Americans.

He was targeted not in a drone strike but an attack launched by two F-15 aircraft.

Libya looks set to be an area of renewed concern for the Americans, the instability prompted by the removal of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 providing a rich vein of ungoverned space in which various Islamist militants, including Islamic State are establishing a significant presence.

How do you verify a militant's death?

The Libyan government said the strike came after consultation with the US. Their statement said it resulted in the death of the "terrorist Belmokhtar".

Libya has been in chaos since the ousting of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

Its internationally recognised parliament is operating in exile in the eastern port of Tobruk.

A rival parliament, the Islamist-dominated General National Congress, is nearly 1,000km (620 miles) to the west in Tripoli.

Rival militia have been battling to fill the power vacuum, with Islamic State militants battling other Islamists in the east.

Mokhtar Belmokhtar

Belmokhtar has been seen speaking before an operation in Niger

• Known as "the One-Eyed", as he often wore an eye patch, also as "Mr Marlboro", as he used cigarette smuggling to finance his jihad
• Fought against Soviet forces in Afghanistan in the late 1980s
• A former leading figure in al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), but left after falling out with its leaders
• Went on to lead the Islamist militia group al-Murabitoun, which has attacked local and international forces in Mali

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-33129838

 

[How Sway?]

 

[the cac mamba]

if these dudes left islam out of their cause, it would be a lot more righteous

that being said, the only good radical muslim is a dead one

 

[88m3]

US air strike kills IS militant linked to Benghazi attacks

© US Navy, AFP| An EA-18G launches from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson on March 19, 2015 as it takes part in strike operations in Iraq and Syria
Text by FRANCE 24

Latest update : 2015-06-23

A US air strike on Mosul, Iraq, killed an Islamic State fighter linked to the 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya, that claimed the lives of US Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans, the Pentagon said on Monday.
Ali Awni al-Harzi, whom the Pentagon said was a “person of interest” in the September 11, 2012 Benghazi attacks, was killed in an air strike on Mosul on June 15.

"His death degrades ISIL's ability to integrate North African jihadists into the Syrian and Iraqi fight and removes a jihadist with long ties to international terrorism," Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steve Warren said, referring to the Islamic State (IS) group, which is also known as ISIL or ISIS.

Harzi was believed by officials to operate closely with IS militants throughout North Africa and the Middle East.

The US State Department described him as a “high-profile” member of a radical group in Tunisia who helped recruit volunteers to fight in Syria.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, REUTERS)

http://www.france24.com/en/20150623...e-militant-ali-awni-al-harzi-benghazi-attacks

 

[88m3]

Australia checks reports of militant deaths in Iraq

• 5 hours ago
  
• From the sectionAustralia

Islamic State has recruited foreign fighters from several continents
The Australian government is trying to confirm reports that two of its citizens who went to fight for Islamic State have been killed in Iraq.

Australian media reported that Khaled Sharrouf and Mohamed Elomar were killed while fighting in Iraq.

The two came to public notice last year after pictures of severed heads were posted on their social media accounts.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said on Tuesday the government was close to verifying one of the deaths.

"The likelihood of verification in relation to Mr Elomar is probably imminent," she said.

"However, in relation to Mr Sharrouf, we're still seeking to verify the reports."

Australian police have conducted a series of raids connected to alleged terror plots in recent years
The Australian Broadcasting Corp (ABC) reported that sources close to the families of the two men said they were recently killed either during fighting or by a drone strike.

Ms Bishop on Tuesday said that Elomar was believed to be in Mosul, and that there had been a number of air strikes there in recent days.

But she added: "Given the security situation in Iraq, it's difficult for our authorities to gain the kind of information that would be required to verify these reports."

The two men had travelled to Syria and then Iraq in 2013. Last year they posted images of severed Syrian soldier heads on social media. Sharrouf also allowed his seven-year old son to be photographed holding up a severed head.

At some stage, Sharrouf's wife and children joined him in Syria, and his teenage daughter reportedly married Mr Elomar.

The Australian government had cancelled the two men's passports and last year police warrants were issued for both men.

Sharrouf, who was on a security watch list, used his brother's passport to leave Australia.

Sharrouf was sentenced to four years in prison in 2009 for his role in a plot involving targets in Sydney and Melbourne.

He had been arrested with several others in 2005 in what was then the largest anti-terror raid in Australian history, code named Operation Pendennis by police.

Sharrouf's wife and their five children had reportedly wanted to return to Australia.


http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-33234822

 

[88m3]

U.S. drone strike kills a senior Islamic State militant in Syria




Missy Ryan July 2
A U.S. drone strike has killed Tariq al-Harzi, a senior Islamic State militant in Syria, in an attack that took place a day after another American aircraft killed his brother, also an influential militant, in neighboring Iraq, the Pentagon said Thursday.

Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, said the strike that killed Tariq al-Harzi occurred June 16 in Shaddadi, Syria. Davis said Harzi was a “senior leader” in the militant group who had orchestrated the movement of fighters into Iraq and Syria and helped to smuggle weapons from Libya.

“His death will impact ISIL’s ability to integrate foreign terrorist fighters into the Syrian and Iraqi fight as well as to move people and equipment across the border,” he said in a statement, using an acronym for the militant group.

Harzi, a Tunisian national, was wanted by the U.S. government for allegedly overseeing the recruitment of Europeans to fight with the Islamic State and helping the group mount suicide bombings in Iraq.

According to the State Department, Harzi also arranged a donation of $2 million from a Qatar-based Islamic State supporter in 2013.


The strike in northeast Syria came a day after another American drone killed Ali al-Harzi, Tariq’s brother, near the Iraqi city of Mosul. Ali al-Harzi was an Islamic State member but was also suspected of involvement in the September 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya, that killed U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.

U.S. officials, who have struggled to locate militants behind those attacks, reportedly questioned Ali al-Harzi in Tunisia in 2012.

U.S. intelligence officials have vowed to bring those involved in the attack to justice. More than a dozen criminal complaints have been filed under seal in the Benghazi case.

In June 2014, Delta Force commandos seized Ahmed Abu Khattala in Libya and brought him to Washington, where he awaits trial in connection with the Benghazi attack. He has pleaded not guilty to multiple terrorism charges.

A U.S. defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a recent operation, said the two brothers were not working together at the time of their deaths.

Tariq al-Harzi, the older brother, was described as a more senior member of the Islamic State.

While U.S. officials have said that American and allied airstrikes have killed as many as 1,000 Islamic State militants a month, it has been more difficult to choke off the flow of foreigners into Iraq and Syria to fight with the group.




Adam Goldman contributed to this report.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/worl...c-11e5-bf41-c23f5d3face1_story.html?tid=sm_fb

 

[☑︎#VoteDemocrat]

 

[CHL]

6/10

 

[88m3]

6/10

Just look at how f'ing beautiful this is

 

[CHL]

Just look at how f'ing beautiful this is

I'd have more respect for obama if instead of often bombing muslims who aren't terrorists and justifying it as "collateral damage" he bombed these terrorists instead
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/30/kkk-south-carolina-confederate_n_7695738.html

 

[☑︎#VoteDemocrat]

I'd have more respect for obama if instead of often bombing muslims who aren't terrorists and justifying it as "collateral damage" he bombed these terrorists instead
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/30/kkk-south-carolina-confederate_n_7695738.html

do you realize how precise these strikes are?

 

[88m3]

The Islamic State's Head Songwriter Has Reportedly Been Killed in an Airstrike

By VICE News

July 13, 2015 | 5:05 pm
US-led coalition airstrikes have taken out the man behind the musical stylings of the so-called Islamic State (IS) militant group, according to the group's supporters on Twitter.

Saudi national Maher Meshaal, whom CBS News reports also went by the name Abu Hajar al-Hadrami, is believed to have been the terrorist insurgency's head songwriter and main vocalist. Word of the musician's death, which is said to have occurred on Saturday near the Syrian city of Al Hasaka, has been circulating on Twitter.

Confusing matters, some have referred to the airstrikes occurring around Deir ez-Zor, which is about 113 miles south of Al Hasaka, and have identified Meshaal as Abu Zubair al-Jazrawi.









The coalition assaulted IS positions with dozens of airstrikes in various parts of Syria over the weekend, Reuters reported, including seven near Al Hasaka. IS militants in Al Hasaka Governorate are fighting a two-pronged battle against Syrian government troops and Kurdish forces.

Meshaal's tunes are often featured in the group's propaganda videos, according to CBS News, providing eerie soundtracks to footage of beheadings and violent battles. A Google search for Abu Hajar al-Hadrami brings up a list of music videos attributed to the songwriter.

In a report on the group's use of music in propaganda videos published by Mother Jones, jihadi music expert Pieter Van Ostaeyen said that the songs are "so melodic and so intense that people immediately like the sound."

"It gives you some kind of spiritual experience," he added. "But most people have absolutely no idea what they're listening to."

The lyrics are often violent in nature. In a video titled "Saleel al-Sawarim," one line of lyrics goes: "The banner has called us, to brighten the path of destiny, to wage war on the enemy, whosoever among us dies, in sacrifice for defense, will enjoy eternity in paradise." This comes just before fighters are seen shoveling dirt for their own burials.

Also on Monday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that two IS leaders were killed in airstrikes over the weekend. Abu Osama al-Iraqi, from Iraq, and Amer al-Rafdan of Syria were reportedly taken out in the assault.

https://news.vice.com/article/the-i...er-has-reportedly-been-killed-in-an-airstrike

 

[88m3]

Islamic State leader in Afghanistan 'killed by drone'

• 12 July 2015
  
• From the sectionAsia

A still from a propaganda video showing the leader of IS in Khorasan, based around Afghanistan and Pakistan
Who are the Taliban?

• Five worries for Afghanistan's new leader

• A reinvigorated anti-Taliban alliance?

• Rising anger against Pakistan militants

Hafiz Saeed, the leader of the Islamic State group in the Afghanistan and Pakistan region, has been killed in a drone strike, the Afghan intelligence agency says.

It said Saeed died in Achin in Afghanistan's eastern Nangarhar province on Friday night.

But IS has rejected the claims, telling the BBC Hafiz Saeed Khan "is alive".

Some 30 other militants were reportedly killed in the strike, but there has been no independent verification.

Although IS denied Saeed's death, the group did confirm that Shahidullah Shahid, a former member of the Pakistani Taliban who defected to the group, was killed in the drone attack.

He was the most prominent of a group of fighters who appeared in a video in January, apparently filmed in Pakistan, pledging allegiance to the self-styled Islamic State.

Malvi Abdurrahim Muslimdost, a leader of the group in Afghanistan, told the BBC another senior member, Gul Zaman, had also died.

It is the first time IS has confirmed the death of two of its top leaders, Inayatulhaq Yasini from the BBC's Pashto service reports.

He says their loss is a big blow for the group in the region.

The Afghan intelligence agency, the NDS, said Friday's strike was carried out by US-led coalition forces in coordination with intelligence provided by the spy agency.

Nato forces have had a new mandate since the start of the year but can still carry out drone strikes.

An NDS spokesman told the BBC that this attack, combined with a drone strike on Tuesday, would have a significant impact on security for Afghanistan.

The Afghan government has not confirmed the deaths.

Nangarhar has seen an upsurge of fighting in recent weeks
This is only the third time that US-led forces have agreed to use drones against IS in Afghanistan, says the BBC's David Loyn in Kabul, showing the seriousness which both the government here and the international coalition are taking the threat of the organisation taking root in Afghanistan.

There had been reports in April that Saeed was killed while planting a bomb.

Nangarhar's Achin district is close to the border with Pakistan. The Islamic State group refers to the Afghanistan-Pakistan region as Khorasan state.

Nangarhar has seen an upsurge of fighting in recent weeks, mostly between IS and the Taliban, forcing thousands of people to flee their homes.

The province is one of the areas where IS militants are most active in Afghanistan.

Shahidullah Shahid was reportedly killed in another drone strike on Tuesday
Tuesday's strike also killed another senior IS commander and scores of militants, intelligence officials say.

Another IS militant commander, Mullah Abdul Rauf, was reported killed in a drone strike in February.

The NDS recently released a video on Facebook showing how its special forces were fighting against the IS threat.

IS first made its presence felt in Pakistan in April, when its regional spokesman claimed its fighters had shot dead three Pakistani soldiers.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-33492780

 

[CHL]

The Islamic State's Head Songwriter Has Reportedly Been Killed in an Airstrike

By VICE News

July 13, 2015 | 5:05 pm
US-led coalition airstrikes have taken out the man behind the musical stylings of the so-called Islamic State (IS) militant group, according to the group's supporters on Twitter.

Saudi national Maher Meshaal, whom CBS News reports also went by the name Abu Hajar al-Hadrami, is believed to have been the terrorist insurgency's head songwriter and main vocalist. Word of the musician's death, which is said to have occurred on Saturday near the Syrian city of Al Hasaka, has been circulating on Twitter.

Confusing matters, some have referred to the airstrikes occurring around Deir ez-Zor, which is about 113 miles south of Al Hasaka, and have identified Meshaal as Abu Zubair al-Jazrawi.









The coalition assaulted IS positions with dozens of airstrikes in various parts of Syria over the weekend, Reuters reported, including seven near Al Hasaka. IS militants in Al Hasaka Governorate are fighting a two-pronged battle against Syrian government troops and Kurdish forces.

Meshaal's tunes are often featured in the group's propaganda videos, according to CBS News, providing eerie soundtracks to footage of beheadings and violent battles. A Google search for Abu Hajar al-Hadrami brings up a list of music videos attributed to the songwriter.

In a report on the group's use of music in propaganda videos published by Mother Jones, jihadi music expert Pieter Van Ostaeyen said that the songs are "so melodic and so intense that people immediately like the sound."

"It gives you some kind of spiritual experience," he added. "But most people have absolutely no idea what they're listening to."

The lyrics are often violent in nature. In a video titled "Saleel al-Sawarim," one line of lyrics goes: "The banner has called us, to brighten the path of destiny, to wage war on the enemy, whosoever among us dies, in sacrifice for defense, will enjoy eternity in paradise." This comes just before fighters are seen shoveling dirt for their own burials.

Also on Monday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that two IS leaders were killed in airstrikes over the weekend. Abu Osama al-Iraqi, from Iraq, and Amer al-Rafdan of Syria were reportedly taken out in the assault.

https://news.vice.com/article/the-i...er-has-reportedly-been-killed-in-an-airstrike

such a shame