This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here

Category: Terror War

  • Julio Pino; Kent State professor arrested for lying to Feds

    Julio Pino; Kent State professor arrested for lying to Feds

    The “O” face above belongs to Kent State professor Julio Pino who was arrested this week for lying to federal investigators while they were investigating his ties to ISIS, According to Cleveland’s Fox8;

    Julio Pino, 58, an Associated Professor of History at Kent State University, became the focus of an FBI investigation in January 2016.

    Federal authorities questioned any association he might have with the Islamic State and whether he used his position on campus to influence students to become sympathetic with the terrorist organization.

    The U-S Attorney’s Office in Cleveland confirms that Pino was charged for making a false statement to the FBI.

    Apparently Pino conspired with a man the Feds call J.E. who Cleveland.com speculates is Jason Eyer, a Missouri man who planned to retaliate against a judge in his child custody. Eyer was encouraged by Pino to “Devour them” in reference to Eyer’s plan to seek revenge on the family courts.

    Pino’s arrest seems to be for trying to hide his relationship with J.E. who had terrorist designs on killing a number of people at his local family court.

    Pino also shouted “death to Israel” during a speech by a former Israeli diplomat in October 2011.

    In 2007, he was cited on websites as being linked to an extremist Islamic website that espoused a holy war. Kent State officials at the time said the extremist site had no connection to Pino or to the university.

    After his arrest this week, Kent State prohibited him from coming onto any Kent State campus.

  • Trump: missiles “will be coming” to Syria

    Trump: missiles “will be coming” to Syria

    The Associated Press reports that President Trump promised Russia that missiles “will be coming” in response to the use of chemical weapons in Syria this last weekend.

    “Russia vows to shoot down any and all missiles fired at Syria,” Trump tweeted. “Get ready Russia, because they will be coming, nice and new and ‘smart!’ You shouldn’t be partners with a Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and enjoys it!”

    Trump did not detail what a strike would look like, or whether these would be U.S. missiles. U.S. officials have been consulting with global allies on a possible joint military response to Syria’s alleged poison gas attack. Trump canceled a foreign trip in order to manage a crisis that is testing his vow to stand up to Syrian President Bashar Assad.

    Syria’s Foreign Ministry said Wednesday that his threats are “reckless” and endanger international peace and security.

    The Russians claim that use of cruise missiles against the Syrian government forces would be considered a war crime. They’ve also said that they would intercept the missiles and target launching platforms with counter-battery fire.

    Trump suggested Monday he had little doubt that Syrian government forces were to blame for what he said was a chemical attack, but neither he nor other administration officials have produced hard evidence. This is in contrast to an incident one year ago in which U.S. intelligence agencies had video and other evidence of certain aspects of the actual attack, which involved the use of sarin gas. Trump responded then by launching Navy cruise missiles at a Syrian airfield.

    […]

    The Russian military, which has troops in Syria, said on Monday that its officers had visited the site of the alleged attack and found no evidence to back up reports of poison gas being used.

  • Berlin police foil attack on half-marathon race

    According to Reuters Berlin police stopped a terrorist attack at a local half-marathon event yesterday. Die Welt says that four people were arrested before they could commit their knife assault on spectators and runners;

    Die Welt…said the four men were linked to Anis Amri, a Tunisian man with Islamist militant ties who killed 12 people in an attack in Berlin in December 2016 when he hijacked a truck and drove it into a crowded marketplace.

    In its unsourced report Die Welt said the main suspect was known to Amri and had planned to stab to death spectators and runners at the half-marathon.

    The suspect had in his possession two knives which had been especially sharpened for this purpose, the report said.

    36,000 runners were signed up for the race and thousands more spectators lined the route.

  • Delta and SAS hunt ISIS

    Delta and SAS hunt ISIS

    Earlier this month we talked about US Special Forces Master Sergeant Johnathan J. Dunbar and UK Special Air Services Sergeant Matt Tonroe who were killed in an IED ambush near Manbij, Syria. The UK’s Daily Star reports that US soldiers from Delta and UK SAS troopers are hunting the ISIS insurgents who perpetrated the ambush;

    The Daily Star Sunday understands a joint British and US task force has killed at least a dozen terrorists in a series of night raids in the Manbij area of northern Syria.

    In one operation, two terrorists were shot dead by SAS snipers while laying a roadside bomb.

    At least six more were killed in a drone strike on an Isis bomb factory. One source last night said the SAS men were in no mood to take prisoners.

    The source said every SAS soldier based in Syria had asked to be sent to the area where Sgt Tonroe was killed so that they could take revenge.

    He said: “The attacks have been unrelenting – assaults are being launched night and day. “We’re not giving the terrorists room to breathe or recover.

    “These are kill-not-capture missions.

    “Every operation throws up more intelligence and that is used for the next operation. We are hitting them from the ground and air. They can run but they can’t hide.

    “If they fight they die.”

  • Driver plows into crowd in Muenster, Germany

    According to Fox News a driver drove his car into a crowd in Muenster, Germany, killing at least three pedestrians injuring dozens more before killing himself;

    Several people were killed and others were injured after a vehicle drove into a crowd of pedestrians Saturday in Muenster, German police said.

    Muenster Police have asked citizens to “avoid the area near the Kiepenkerl pub” as authorities investigate the incident. A large-scale police operation is currently underway. Kiepenkerl is a popular bar in the city’s historic downtown area.

    CNN says that the vehicle was a delivery van.

    From BBC;

    The driver of the vehicle has killed himself, police said, without providing further details. They are not looking for more suspects.

    About 30 people are reported injured in the incident, which occurred near the Kiepenkerl statue in the old town. Some are said to be in a serious condition.

    Of course, no one is speculating that was a terror attack.

  • French forces confirm joint operation against Islamic State-loyal militants

    French SPECOPS

    Caleb Weiss over at The Long War Journal reports the French military confirmed its forces took part in a large-scale joint operation in early April against Islamic State-loyal militants in northern Mali, close to the border with Niger.

    A French military spokesman said that “French commandos and Malian forces began a ‘reconnaissance and control operation’ in the Akabar region” on March 28, “working in liaison with the Nigerien army and a local self-defense group.” The combined forces came into contact with militants from the so-called Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) on April 1. The following gunfight left at least 30 jihadists dead, according to the French spokesman.

    This is not the first time French special forces have conducted joint operations with the Tuareg groups against ISGS militants. In February, they first clashed with the jihadists in a renewed offensive. It was later reported that French special operations troops coordinated with the Tuaregs in the battle.

    The Islamic State-loyal forces, led by Abu Walid al Sahrawi, are referred to as “Islamic State in the Greater Sahara” (ISGS), and have been linked to several attacks in Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali. Say what you will about the French political leadership; their SPECOPS teams are first rate, and 30 dead jihadists is a good day’s work.

  • Trump orders an end to Syria mission

    Trump orders an end to Syria mission

    According to Fox News, the White House has issued instructions for the withdrawal of US troops from Syria;

    According to a Washington Post report, Trump said that while U.S. troops can still be involved in training local forces to ensure security in liberated areas, he expects other nations – particularly the oil-rich Arab states – to help pay for the reconstruction of Syria and send in their own troops.

    “As far as Syria is concerned, our primary mission in terms of that was getting rid of ISIS,” Trump said on Tuesday during a news conference with leaders from the Baltic nations. “We’ve completed that task and we’ll be making a decision very quickly, in coordination with others in the area, as to what we will do.”

    The mission is “very costly for our country and it helps other countries a helluva lot more than it helps us,” Trump said.

    Well, at least he didn’t give ISIS a timetable scheduled withdrawal like his predecessor did in Iraq and Afghanistan.

  • Iraq sentences ISIS widows to death

    According to the National World, six ISIS widows were sentenced to death in Iraqi courts for their support of the terrorist organization. The women had turned themselves over to Kurdish fighters after the town of Tal Afar fell to Kurdish control.

    The country’s anti-terrorism law allows for the death penalty to be issued against anyone who is found guilty of belonging to the insurgent group.

    Since December, the central criminal court has issued a number of sentences against ISIL women, ranging from long prison terms to death by hanging.

    An estimate total of 20,000 people are being held in jail in Iraq for alleged connections to the extremists, experts say, although the government has not released an official figure.

    In February, a court in Baghdad sentenced a Turkish woman to death, while 10 other foreign ISIL wives received life in prison for terrorism offences. A German woman has been sentenced to death for providing the insurgents with logistical support.

    Yeah, well, you roll the dice, you take your chances. The only way to defeat terrorism is to be as cruel and unforgiving as your enemy.