express.co.uk

Footage released shows what appear to be Chinese-made MZD-2 munitions dropped from pilotless aircraft onto rebel positions

https://youtu.be/MLnRt9CZz58

A first-of-its-kind video released online Tuesday by a media source affiliated with Hezbollah appears to show the group bombing Syrian rebels in the village of Khalsa, southwest of Aleppo, from the air using a pilotless drone.

The footage shows three separate bombings; one of “a [rebel] leader’s base,” the second of a pick-up truck purportedly belonging to “gunmen,” the third of a tent-like structure ostensibly housing “a gathering of gunmen.” In the third clip, two canisters filled with ball bearings are seen falling beneath the camera, prompting a figure on the arid ground below to start running before two small clouds of dust erupt upon the canisters’ impact.

The bombs appear to be Chinese-made MZD-2 submunitions, also known as Type-90s. According to Human Rights Watch, Hezbollah previously used these same submunitions against Israel during the July 2006 war, when they were placed in large quantities inside Chinese-made Type-81 122mm rockets to form cluster munitions. They consist of an armor-piercing shaped charge explosive encased in a cylinder filled with 3.5mm steel ball bearings.

Burgeoning drone program

The first recorded use of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) by Hezbollah came in October 2012 after a drone entered Israel from the Mediterranean Sea, flew 55 km inside Israeli airspace and was later shot down over the Negev Desert.

Israeli politicians accused the Party of God of responsibility for the rogue UAV, which was later confirmed in a speech by Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah.

Nasrallah publicly acknowledged that the drone, which he claimed was Iranian-made but assembled in Lebanon, was a part of a Hezbollah reconnaissance mission.

“The Resistance in Lebanon sent a sophisticated reconnaissance drone from Lebanon over the [Mediterranean] Sea, which it traversed for hundreds of kilometers, after which it entered [Israeli airspace] and hovered over many important locations before it was discovered by the Israeli air force,” the party chief said.

Israeli media also accused the Party of God of violating its airspace with a second drone in February 2015.

Hezbollah UAVs in Syria

The use of drones by Hezbollah became more prevalent after the group’s public entry into the conflict in Syria in 2013.

Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV regularly aired footage taken from UAVs during offensives in Syria’s Qalamoun region and the campaign in Lebanon’s mountainous northeastern border region in 2015.

In one such instance, Al-Manar aired drone footage of party fighters ambushing several Al-Nusra Front militants on the outskirts of the Lebanese border town of Arsal.

However, Tuesday’s UAV footage from Aleppo was the first from that region of Syria as well as the first to demonstrate the party’s offensive drone capabilities.

Hezbollah in Aleppo

Hezbollah has reportedly lost at least a dozen from its ranks during a week of fierce fighting in Syria’s second city. In an audio clip claimed by opposition sources to have been leaked from the party, an alleged Hezbollah fighter complains of being abandoned on the battlefield by Syrian, Iranian, and Afghan allies. “They all left us […] the army disintegrated,” a man with a south Lebanese accent is heard saying.

The group is reported to have since called in reinforcements, as has the Syrian army, aiming to stave off further rebel gains in the highly strategic city. The rebels’ Jaysh al-Fateh (‘Army of Conquest’) coalition, for its part, has vowed to press on until it “liberate[s] all of Aleppo.”

mmedia.me

Russian warplanes launched several airstrikes on the countryside of Syria’s central Homs province, targeting strongholds of the Islamic State group (ISIS).

This comes after ISIS militants made gains east of Homs after clashes with Syrian regime’s army forces.

ISIS militants were able to infiltrate into headquarters of the Syrian army on the Palmyra road east of Homs on Monday.

“At least 23 regime forces were killed at the hands of ISIS fighters after the group infiltrated into an army base in the eastern countryside of Homs province,” local media activist Omar al-Hussein told ARA News.

“Russian fighter jets backed the Syrian regime forces to push ISIS back by bombing ISIS fighting positions,” the source reported.

A Syrian army officer confirmed that at least nine ISIS fighters were killed under the Russian strikes.

“The terror group eventually withdraw from eastern Homs after suffering losses in manpower and equipment,” the official told ARA News in Homs. “Nine terrorists were killed and five others were taken as hostages by the army forces. The airstrikes also destroyed three ISIS armoured vehicles.”

aranews.net

No atrocity is too gory for Islamic State (ISIS) militants to turn away from. In one of their latest barbaric acts, the jihadis executed a pregnant woman and took away her four children, after they tried to flee their village in Iraq, the Daily Mail reported.

Witnesses said the mother was executed by the ISIS militants after she and her children were caught trying to reach an Iraqi military base near the ISIS-occupied city of Mosul.

Reports said the children were taken away to another village under ISIS control.

This was just one in the lengthening list of atrocities committed by the Islamic terror group against women and girls in its captured territories across Iraq and Syria.

In June, the Tehran-based Al Alam International News Channel reported that ISIS fighters beheaded a 4-year-old girl in the Syrian stronghold of Raqqa, and even forced her mother to soak her hands in her daughter’s blood.

“They rape women, take children to war, loot houses and threaten people in Raqqa with beheadings if they don’t agree with their daughters’ marriage with the ISIS members,” a Syrian woman who escaped from ISIS captivity said.

ISIS has been relentless in committing acts of savagery and terror despite its continuing loss of territory reportedly as a result of the U.S.-led coalition’s operations in Iraq and Syria.

However, CIA Director John Brennan said the coalition effort against ISIS has not been successful, suggesting that he would give the U.S. an “F” grade so far in this regard.

“Unfortunately, despite all of our progress against ISIL on the battlefield and in the financial realm, our efforts have not reduced the group’s terrorism capability and global reach. The resources needed for terrorism are modest. The group would have to suffer even heavier losses on territory, manpower and money for the terrorist capacity to decline significantly,” Brennan said at a congressional hearing in June this year.

christiantoday.com

An Indian security agency informed about its cooperation with Kuwait while arresting a citizen accused of recruiting Indian youths into ISIS for carrying out terrorist operations in Iraq and Syria.

Indian National Investigation Agency (NIA), in a report, said, “The Kuwaiti authorities arrested one Abdullah Hadi Abdel Rahman al-Anzi in Kuwait City, who is suspected to be involved in recruiting four youths into ISIS from the Indian city of Kalyan in 2014.”

The report added, “Anzi financed the Indian youths with 1000 US dollars each as a prelude to incarcerate them in a religious trips to Iraq, and at that time they joined ISIS and left the rest of the trip’s individuals.”

iraqinews.com

The United States has revealed that it is intending to send 400 extra troops to Iraq this year. The soldiers are part of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team and are among the 560 additional troops that US President Barack Obama approved for the Iraq mission last month.

“About 400 soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team will be deployed to Iraq this summer as part of the recent announcement made to increase troops, said an army release on Friday.

“The soldiers from Fort Campbell, Kentucky, will join about 1,300 others from 2nd Brigade who are deployed to Iraq to support Operation Inherent Resolve,” the release further said.

“The 400 additional soldiers will come from various units across the brigade and have a mix of military occupational specialties and job skills, and they are among the 560 additional troops that President Barack Obama approved for the Iraq mission last month,” the release added.

It may be mentioned here that US Secretary of Defense Ash Carter announced in June earlier this year that the US will send 560 more troops to Iraq for helping the forces in Iraq in their quest to recapture Mosul.

iraqinews.com

The Syrian Air Force intensified airstrikes on the rebels in the northern province of Aleppo on Saturday, cutting thus all routes the rebels could open into Aleppo city, the national Syrian TV reported.

The airstrikes destroyed tens of vehicles with their occupants on several routes that could lead the rebels into breaking the government siege on the eastern part of Aleppo.

The report said the airstrikes isolated the battle sites in the vicinity of the military colleges in southern Aleppo, supporting the ground operations fought by the Syrian army against the sites infiltrated by the rebel groups in parts of the artillery college base.

“The airstrikes paralyzed the movement of the terrorist groups southwest of Aleppo, cutting by fire all routes into the city,” said the TV.

Earlier in the day, an array of extremist groups, mainly the Fateh Army, succeeded to storm parts of the artillery college base in southern Aleppo, engaging in intense battles with the Syrian army in that base and the adjacent military colleges.

The aim of the rebels was to open a route from the al-Ramuseh town in southwestern Aleppo into the besieged rebel-held areas in eastern the city.

Military sources told Xinhua that intense battles are still raging in the military bases south of Aleppo, in a bid to prevent the rebels from advancing farther.

Last month, the Syrian army intensified battles against the rebels in Aleppo, cutting their last supply route into the eastern part of that city, in a bid to force them to surrender.

But battles flared as several rebel groups in Aleppo unleashed repeated attacks to break that siege.

xinhuanet.com

The US military has killed three Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula operatives in a strike in Yemen, officials said Friday.

US Central Command did not provide details on how Thursday’s attack was conducted or who was killed, but said the strike occurred in the Shabwa province in central Yemen.

The United States has carried out numerous drone attacks in Yemen to counter jihadists who have exploited a power vacuum created by a conflict between the government and Houthi rebels.

A Saudi-led coalition that is militarily backing the Yemeni government has also turned its sights on the jihadists.

arabnews.com/

Denmark’s armed forces say Danish F-16 aircraft have for the first time dropped bombs in Syria’s Raqqa province where the Islamic State group has its self-declared capital.

Defense Command Denmark says the raid was conducted “in the past week” but did not give further details.

The supreme military command said on Friday that the Danish fighter jets also participated in operations over Iraqi provinces targeting IS command and control facilities, weapons stocks and fighters.

The Scandinavian country joined the international coalition fighting the Islamic State group in October 2014. Danish warplanes have previously participated in airstrikes on IS forces in Iraq, but not Syria. Those planes were brought back for repairs last year.

Denmark’s present contribution includes seven F-16 fighter jets, among others, with a mandate to bomb in Syria.

ap.org

Top terror operative known for recruiting Indian youths for Pakistan-based terror groups has been reportedly detained by the Saudi Arabia police

Indian security agencies have learnt that Dr Sabeel Ahmed, allegedly a top terror operative has been detained in Saudi Arabia. Ahmed was known for his role in recruiting Indian youth for Pakistan -based groups including al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and the Lashkar e Taiba (LeT).

Sources said discreet verification is currently being conducted with Saudi authorities to confirm his identity and bring him back. Ahmed was chargesheeted in June by Delhi police’s Special Cell for his role as an AQIS member.

A former Bangalore resident, Ahmed’s elder brother Kafeel had earlier carried out a suicide attack at UK’s Glasgow airport on June 29, 2007, in which he died.

Sabeel was later deported to India by the UK and had shifted to Saudi Arabia. There is a lookout circular pending against Ahmed, who is also wanted by the NIA in a terror recruitment case.

LOOKOUT CIRCULAR ISSUED IN AIRPORTS

According to sources, the arrest came soon after a lookout circular was issued across airports in India. Sources said that the Indian authorities are currently verifying the reports and are communicating with the Saudi intelligence. The Indian authorities have sought vital details about the identity of Ahmed to match it with the available database.

Sources even confirmed that once Ahmed’s identity is confirmed the Indian government will seek his deportation. Police sources revealed that a non-bailable warrant against Ahmed is still pending.

Saudi Arabia has been instrumental in deporting several terror suspects to India in the past after confirming their identities.

intoday.in