The Islamic State: Creating hell on Earth since the 7th century: Links 1 on March 2 – 2015

1. Isis ‘fed murdered kidnap victim to his own mother after she travelled to their headquarters and demanded to see him’

The ISIS men told her to sit down because she had travelled a long way and said she should have some food before they took her to meet her son.

‘They brought her cups of tea and fed her a meal of cooked meat, rice and soup. She thought they were kind.

‘But they had killed him and chopped him up and after she finished the meal and asked to see her son they laughed and said “You’ve just eaten him.”‘

During his time on the front line, Mr Abdulla revealed how ISIS are terrorising locals by calling them and threatening to kidnap them and bury them alive unless they surrender.

He also told of how the terror group kill prisoners they capture by throwing them on a ‘human bonfire’ and that he saw his own cousin killed in an ISIS attack.

(I wonder: Koran 66:6  “O you who have believed, protect yourselves and your families from a Fire whose fuel is people and stones…” More evidence that muslims are TRYING to make hell on Earth)

2. Pat Condell: Freedom of speech:

(Perhaps the most important and hard hitting of his videos to date)

3. Serious case review slams police failure in serial abuse of Oxford girls

More than 300 young people have been groomed and sexually exploited by gangs of men in Oxfordshire in the past 15 years, a damning report into the failures of police and social services to stop years of sexual torture, trafficking and rape will reveal, the Guardian has learned.

The victims, mostly girls, come predominantly from the city of Oxford, increasing concerns that the grooming and exploitation of vulnerable young people by groups of older men is not confined to the inner cities. One senior investigative source said: “If you think you haven’t got a problem in your city or town, you are just not looking for it.”

4. England: Domineering Pakistani immigrant husband tried to murder his wife by stabbing her 15 times because she wanted to take English lessons

Nazakat Ali, 30, stabbed his 27-year old partner Shahzana Kausar during a row at their home in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, after she made it clear she wanted to enrol at college to study English.

Manchester Crown Court heard how he grabbed a knife and, in front of his own mother, stabbed his wife more than a dozen times as he refused to accept that she wanted to gain a ‘degree of independence’.

Following the attack on September 29 last year, Ali fled the scene and Ms Kausar was left lying in a pool of the blood on the floor.

5. I suppose this had to happen

6. Malmö school ‘too dangerous’ for students

A secondary school in Malmö has been closed after the teachers’ union declared that it is too dangerous a place for students and teachers to attend due to widespread violence and criminality.

Violence, threats and visits from adult criminals eventually became too much for the teachers’ unions at Varner Rydén School in the Malmö suburb of Rosengård, whose safety officers have now closed the premises.

“Violence, threats and verbal abuse. There has also been trouble with students from other schools,” said Hans Nilsson at the City of Malmö to news agency TT.

7. Iraq moves against Islamic State in Tikrit

Troops and militia were said to be attacking on different fronts, backed by air strikes from Iraqi fighter jets.

The government says that its forces are advancing into the city but this has not been confirmed.

A Shia militia commander has told the BBC that Iran’s Gen Qasem Soleimani is also taking part in the operation.

8. Ten men charged over Rochdale child abuse claims

  • Shayfur Rahman, 31, of Chapel Road, Prestwich, Greater Manchester, has been charged with one count of rape
  • Kutab Miah, 34, of Ramsay Street, Rochdale, has been charged with three counts of sexual activity and one count of rape
  • Rehan Ali, 26, of Cleethorpes Avenue, Blackley, Manchester, has been charged with one count of rape and six counts of sexual activity with a child
  • Iklaq Choudhry Hussain, 37, of Mayfield Terrace, Rochdale, has been charged with three counts of sexual activity with a child and two counts of rape
  • David Law, 45, of Colmanhay Road, Ilkeston, Derbyshire, has been charged with three counts of conspiracy to commit rape
  • Mahfus Rahman, 28, of HMP Garth, has been charged with three counts of rape and three counts of sexual activity with a child
  • Ashfaq Yousaf, 28, of HMP Forest Bank, has been charged with one count of aiding and abetting rape and rape
  • Afraz Ahmed, 32, of Oswald Street, Rochdale, has been charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit rape, two counts of rape and two counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity
  • Mohammed Davood, 37, of Leyland Road, Burnley, Lancashire, has been charged with one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, three counts of rape, one count of sexual activity with a child and one count of sexual assault
  • Mohammed Miah, 39, of HMP Moorland, has been charged with three counts of sexual activity and two counts of rape

Thank you Buck, Tundra T. M., UK Pete, and all and much much more to come.

About Eeyore

Canadian artist and counter-jihad and freedom of speech activist as well as devout Schrödinger's catholic

46 Replies to “The Islamic State: Creating hell on Earth since the 7th century: Links 1 on March 2 – 2015”

  1. The Moslems have t create hell on earth for their end times prophecies to be fulfilled, people who aren’t religious have a very hard time realizing that this motive is what drives the current jihad.

    • I doubt the Iranians will get enough nukes and delivery systems to destroy the US, hurt us yes but not destroy us. Israel on the other hand is in much worse shape, they are much smaller and a couple of large nukes with shellss that will leave a lot of Cobalt 90 fallout would make Israel uninhabitable for sever decades, and the time it was uninhabitable would depend on how much money was avaible fot the decontamination effort.

      • Yep.
        Mort Zukerman is 1, Krauthammer is 2, Bibi is 3.
        There may be another, but these are dear old friends. They go way back. Good as gold, and twice as fine.

    • Sometimes I wonder how many of these things you can go through. It always feels existential. Last time was during the 2nd Lebanon War. Same cast of characters on our side. It’s the other side that’s gone so horrible, twisted awful.

      • Given the size of Israel all of their wars are existential, having said that I really don’t know how many the Israelis will have to live through.

  2. Pat’s being optimistic if he thinks that any of the speech-silencers will ever grow up. In some ways I don’t blame the people he disparages (at least among the current undergrad student body). They’re the first generation of children with so-called ‘helicopter parents’. They’ve spent their whole lives in bubbles, so why should things change when they reach university?

    One thing that our education system fails utterly to convey (in the primary and secondary levels) is just how much intellectual effort it takes for have an informed position on something. It’s hard work. You have to sift through arguments, counter-arguments, identify the main issues etc. It’s easier to simply keeping believing in what you already believe. Of course, that totally misses the point of going to university in the first place…

  3. G-d bless America:

    Black pastors urge CBC not to skip Netanyahu speech

    The message from a dozen prominent black pastors this week to the Congressional Black Caucus was loud and clear: Don’t skip out on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyuhu’s speech.

    About two dozen House and Senate Democrats, most of them black caucus members, have said they will not attend Mr. Netanyahu’s speech Tuesday before a joint session of Congress, which one pastor described as a “slap in the face to the people of Israel.”

    http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/feb/27/black-pastors-congressional-black-caucus-skipping-/

  4. Full text of the ‘U.S.-Israel Relationship Under President Obama’ White House brief

    Document published by the White House on eve of Netanyahu’s flight to the U.S., where he is scheduled to deliver a controversial speech before a joint meeting of Congress.

    By Haaretz | Mar. 2, 2015 | 12:19 AM
    ?
    Included is the full release published by the White House ahead of Netanyahu’s scheduled speech before Congress. Highlights as in the original.
    5 Things You Need to Know About the U.S.-Israel Relationship Under President Obama
    Here are the five key facts you need to know about the U.S.-Israel relationship under President Obama:
    1. A strong defender: President Obama has strengthened Israel’s defense in concrete and unprecedented ways:
    Israel remains the leading recipient of U.S. foreign military financing (FMF), receiving over $20.5 billion since 2009.
    The United States in Fiscal Year 2014 provided Israel with more security assistance funding than ever before. In Fiscal Year 2016, which marks the eighth year of a 10-year, $30 billion Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S. and Israel, we have asked Congress for $3.1 billion in FMF funds for Israel.
    The President has provided $2.9 billion in funding for missile defense programs and systems. Since 2011, the United States has provided Israel with over $1.3 billion for the Iron Dome system alone, including $225 million in short-fuse funding last summer.
    The U.S. and Israel regularly conduct joint exercises to improve our military capabilities and strengthen our bilateral security.
    2. An international ally: Under President Obama, the U.S. has led global efforts to defend Israel’s legitimacy on the world stage:
    Last year, the U.S. opposed 18 resolutions in the UN General Assembly that were biased against Israel.
    On five occasions last year, the U.S. cast the only “no” vote against unfair anti-Israel measures in the UN’s Human Rights Council.
    The U.S. worked with Israel and the European Union to organize the first UN General Assembly session on anti-Semitism in UN history, held in January 2015.
    3. A proponent of peace: The President has strongly supported Israel in its quest for peace with its neighbors:
    President Obama has repeatedly stood up for a two-state solution that ensures the peace and security of Israelis and Palestinians.
    Under the President’s direction, Secretary Kerry initiated an intensive, collaborative effort to facilitate negotiations for a comprehensive peace agreement between Israelis and Palestinians.
    The President prioritized Israel’s security by asking one of our foremost military experts to help develop security arrangements that ensure a two-state solution leaves Israelis more secure, not less.
    4. An economic partner: Under President Obama, the U.S. has a strong and robust commercial relationship with Israel:
    This year marks the thirtieth anniversary of the United States-Israel Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which was the first FTA entered into by the United States.?U.S. goods exports to Israel in 2014 were $15.1 billion, up 9.6% ($1.3 billion) from 2013, and up 64% from 2004. U.S. exports to Israel are up 587% from 1984 (Pre-FTA).
    U.S. goods imports from Israel were $23.1 billion in 2014, a 1.1% increase ($242 million) from 2013, and up 58% from 2004. U.S. imports from Israel are up 1,203% from 1984.
    The U.S. continues to invest in the BIRD Foundation, a U.S.-Israeli partnership between private sectors to expand private high tech industries. Since its founding in 1977, the $295 million in grants have been awarded to 800 partnerships, generating over $10 billion in product sales.
    5. A support system for refugees and migrants: Under President Obama, the U.S. has invested millions in helping Israeli immigrants:
    In the last 6 years, U.S. humanitarian assistance to refugees and migrants travelling to Israel totaled $140 million. This funding is used to help transport eligible migrants to Israel, transitional shelter, intensive Hebrew-language programs that focus on newly-arriving immigrants, or youth programming in Israel.
    Since Israel’s founding, the U.S. has provided Israel with more than $120 billion in bilateral assistance and, under President Obama’s leadership, the U.S. will continue to be Israel’s strongest ally and staunchest supporter in its pursuit of peace and security in the Middle East.

    http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.644884

  5. Czech Republic President Milos Zeman: We All Must Say ‘I am a Jew’

    Czech Republic President Milos Zeman on Monday urged the global community to show solidarity with the Jewish people and Israel. His remarks were made in a speech at the 2015 American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference

    “Now we all must say, ‘I am a Jew,’” he told a packed auditorium in Washington, DC. After extended applause from the audience, he repeated the sentiment in Hebrew, saying, “Ani Yehudi.”

    http://www.algemeiner.com/2015/03/02/czech-republic-president-milos-zeman-we-all-must-say-i-am-a-jew/

  6. S O R R Y

    Eeyore, et al. – I’ve monopolized a thread and a half !!
    If you delete +/- restrict my posts for a week, I’ll just lurk longingly.
    Much excitement, as you can guess. A little hyper and “Aspergery” (as one sh wit called Bibi.

    • @ yucki my favorite Yanky Kuffar:

      If this be monopolisation, give me more !!!

      signed
      et al. Kuffar
      (Back soon)

  7. #6
    re: Malmö school ‘too dangerous’ for students

    I’ve never heard of a school being shut down for being too dangerous anywhere in Canada, and I’ll bet it’s never happened in Sweden either. If this story is what it appears to be, this is actually a grave development for the Swedes. Sooner or later the supremacists will be screaming for justice and freedom and a homeland they can call their own…

  8. Iraq ‘seizes districts from IS’ in Tikrit advance (BBC, March 2, 2015)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-31699632

    “Iraqi government forces say they have retaken some districts around Tikrit in their fight to recapture the city from Islamic State (IS).

    A force of about 30,000 troops and militia are said to be attacking on different fronts, backed by air strikes from Iraqi jets.

    A commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards is taking part in the operation, a Shia militia commander told the BBC.

    Tikrit, north of the capital Baghdad, fell to IS militants last June….”

  9. British plane spotters arrested in United Arab Emirates (BBC, March 2, 2015)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-manchester-31699722

    “Three British plane spotters have been arrested in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) over allegations of suspicious behaviour.

    The men from Greater Manchester and another expat have been told they were arrested because of “national security”, one family member said.

    Conrad Clitheroe, 54, Gary Cooper, 45, and Neil Munro were reportedly taking notes near Fujairah Airport, about 80 miles (130km) from Dubai.

    They were arrested on 22 February….”

  10. Libya names anti-Islamist General Haftar as army chief (BBC, March 2, 2015)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-31698755

    “A controversial anti-Islamist, General Khalifa Haftar, has been named head of the Libyan army.

    Libya’s internationally recognised government controls only a small part of the country, with Tripoli controlled by rivals Libya Dawn.

    The country has been blighted by fighting between the factions, as well as attacks by jihadist groups.

    Gen Haftar launched Operation Dignity last year, a self-declared war on Islamists in the city of Benghazi.

    On Monday there were reports of fighting between Haftar-controlled troops and Islamists in the city….”

  11. Bangladesh Avijit Roy murder: Suspect arrested (BBC, March 2, 2015)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-31690514

    “Police in Bangladesh have arrested a man in connection with the murder of atheist writer Avijit Roy.

    Farabi Shafiur Rahman, a “fundamentalist blogger”, was detained by special police forces early on Monday at a bus stop in Dhaka.

    He is accused of making a recent threat to kill Mr Roy on social media.

    Avijit Roy, a US citizen of Bangladeshi origin, was hacked to death by men with machetes last Thursday while visiting Bangladesh. His wife was badly wounded.

    Colonel Ziaul Ahsan, from Bangladesh’s Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), told local media bdnews24.com that Mr Farabi was leaving the city when he was arrested in Dhaka’s Jatrabarhi area on Monday morning.

    RAB spokesman Major Maksudul Alam said he was “the main suspect” in the attack on Avijit Roy, who was a critic of religious intolerance….”

  12. Afghan President Ghani sacks Kabul police chiefs (BBC, March 2, 2015)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-31698760

    “Twenty-seven senior Afghan police officers have been sacked as part of what the government calls a drive towards good governance.

    The move involves 17 district police chiefs in the capital Kabul, along with officers involved in counter-narcotics.

    The changes were ordered by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, who has said many officers had links to warlords.

    Since taking office last September, Mr Ghani has repeatedly sacked officials accused of corruption.

    Recently he sacked dozens of officials just hours into a snap inspection.

    However the BBC’s Jonathan Beale in Kabul says the latest dismissals are not as radical as they appears. Many of the police officers removed have been handed new jobs and awards.

    President Ghani’s vice-president is a former warlord, our correspondent notes.

    The police replacements, selected by a special commission, have been sworn in….”

  13. Looks like yet another case of Islamofascist lawfare…

    Rights group sues FBI for death amid Boston bombing probe (BBC, March 2, 2015)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-31698772

    “The family of a man who was killed by the FBI during the investigation into the Boston marathon bombings is suing the agency.

    Ibragim Todashev – a friend of one of the suspects, Tamerlan Tsarnaev – was fatally shot in Florida on 22 May 2013.

    The Council of American-Islamic Relations (Cair) said it filed the $30m (£19.5m) wrongful death lawsuit on Monday on behalf of the family .

    The FBI would not comment on the lawsuit, citing official policy.

    FBI agents were interviewing Todashev, a Chechen immigrant, at his apartment about a month after the bombings, as part of an investigation into the background of Tsarnaev.

    According to the agency, Todashev became agitated and attacked an agent with a metal pole during the interview….”

  14. Philippines: Moslems Lie, Cheat, Kill And Negotiate (strategypage, March 1, 2015)
    http://www.strategypage.com/qnd/phillip/articles/20150301.aspx

    “In the south (Jolo Island) the army continues its pursuit of a large group of Abu Sayyaf men. The fleeing Islamic terrorists include five Malaysian members of al Qaeda affiliate Jemaah Islamiyah and a policeman captured in 2014 and still held for ransom. The pursuit has gone on for a week and left 24 Abu Sayyaf men dead and at least as many wounded. The troops have suffered two dead and 26 wounded. Most of the soldiers are members of the Scout Rangers, who are expert at tracking people on foot and handling ambushes.

    The trackers believe the Islamic terrorists have not been able to resupply and are probably running low on ammunition and options. The troops have radio, artillery, air support and the ability to block access to inhabited areas. The fleeing Abu Sayyaf are responsible for most of the kidnappings in the area and three of the Malaysians are experienced bomb makers and believed responsible for most of the bombs used in the south.

    This all began on February 24th when troops found and attacked the major Abu Sayyaf base in Sulu and encountered several hundred of the armed Islamic terrorists. The army ground, artillery and air attacks drove the Islamic terrorists out of their camp and into the forest. The army used superior numbers, greater mobility to pursue. What is important here is the fact that all this is taking place on an 868 square kilometer island surrounded by the navy and patrolled from the air as well.

    This makes it difficult for the enemy to escape. Moreover the Sulu Islands are in the southeast, between the main Filipino islands and Malaysia. Given the size of the Abu Sayyaf group the army expects most of them to be captured or killed although some will break away and blend in with local civilians and a few might make it to sea and sneak past the maritime blockade. Then again Abu Sayyaf has proved imaginative and able to evade similar army operations in the past.

    A major problem is that the Islamic terrorists are largely local guys who have made a lot of money from ransoms and spread it around to friends and family. Thus these Islamic terrorists have a lot of friends on an island with a population of 120,000. But not all the Abu Sayyaf men in this group are locals. The reason there were so many Islamic terrorists on the island is because they were hosting many who had fled from similar military operations on nearby (and larger) Basilan Island. Nearly a decade of operations against Abu Sayyaf in the southeast was paying off, driving the Islamic terrorists from many islands and into a larger concentration on Jolo. The army is intent on making the most of this opportunity and the epic pursuit is big news in the Philippines.

    Meanwhile the government is still dealing with the January revelations that the main separatist organization in the Moslem south (MILF) had deliberately sheltered two notorious international Islamic terrorists, including Malaysian Zulkifli bin Hir. This man was a member of the Indonesian Jemaah Islamiah, had a $5 million price (offered by the U.S.) on his head and was killed in the January 25th police raid.

    A finger was cut off as proof and the American FBI later analyzed the DNA in the finger and confirmed the finger belonged to a brother of Hir that the U.S. had a DNA sample of. This forced the government to openly call for the MILF to hand over Abdul Basit Usman, who was believed to be staying in the same village as Hir but seems to have escaped. Bowing to government threats MILF said they do not have Usman and ordered their men to arrest Usman if they encountered him. The government now believes both foreigners were killed during the January raid.

    The worst aspect of that raid was that its aftereffects left 44 police commandoes dead as well as 17 MILF gunmen and at least one civilian. This incident puts the recently signed peace deal with MILF at risk. That’s because the raid was carried out without informing MILF beforehand. That, however, was done on purpose because the national police knew that MILF would alert any of the Islamic terrorists they are sheltering if informed beforehand and the police raid would find nothing. MILF and the government are not happy that this unofficial arrangement is now out in the open. It got worse as evidence recently surfaced showing MILF and Abu Sayyaf fighters training together.

    The person in charge of the January raid, police general Alan Purisima, was the one who obtained the location of Hir and arranged to have the raid carried out without informing MILF or the army (which has been diligent about following the terms of the ceasefire and informing MILF about any operations in MILF controlled areas). It was hoped that the size of the raiding force (325 police commandos) would discourage armed opposition from MILF. But the local MILF men did come out shooting and did so in large numbers even as the commandoes sneaked into the village where Hir was staying.

    This triggered an eleven hour gun battle. The raid did result in Hir being killed but as the commandos withdrew more and more MILF gunmen came after them. Because the police had not told the army about the raid, the army did not have a rapid reaction force standing by to move in and help. So it took several additional hours for the army to get troops to the area and help get the commandos out of a major battle with MILF. Now there is outrage over MILF’s continued sanctuary for wanted Islamic terrorists. MILF also said it would not punish, or turn over to the government, any of the MILF gunmen involved in fighting the police commandos to protect the Islamic terrorist sanctuary the village had become.

    MILF has a problem in that a sizable minority of southern Moslems (ten percent or more) want to hold out, and keep fighting, to establish a separate Moslem state in the south. MILF leaders know this is impossible because a majority of the people in the south are opposed to this. That includes a majority of the Moslems and the nearly all the non-Moslems in the south.

    Moslems are only eight percent of all Filipinos, and an even smaller proportion of the economic activity. MILF wants control of more of the economy, which meant control of “ancestral Moslem areas” in the south that are now populated by Christians.

    The Christian majority refused to allow domination by Moslems in a larger and more autonomous Moslem south. MILF settled for a smaller autonomous area that had a Moslem majority. This issue is still a big deal for many Moslems. Because of the aftereffects of the January 25th raid the peace deal (for autonomy in Moslem majority areas of the southwest) MILF signed could now turn into an armed rebellion against MILF and the collapse of the plan for an autonomous Moslem area in the south.

    Most Filipinos are angry because a major part of the cease fire and peace deal was MILF agreeing not to provide sanctuary for Islamic terrorists. Now MILS has been exposed of doing what they promised they would not do. MILF is also not willing to fight local Moslems who guard and shelter these wanted killers. In part that is because Islamic terrorists who have killed non-Moslems are considered heroes by many Filipino Moslems.

    All this becoming widely known puts pressure on Filipino legislators to not ratify the MILF peace deal (signed in March 2014.) Meanwhile five more Malaysian Islamic terrorists are with an Abu Sayyaf force being pursued by troops in the south. Capturing some of those foreigners alive might prove even more embarrassing for MILF.

    The ongoing problems with China have finally gotten some really useful help from the Americans. The new American P-8A maritime surveillance aircraft began operating out of a Filipino airbase this year and have been flying over the South China Sea about 60 hours a week in the last month. This gives the Philippines a good look at what the Chinese are doing down there. Since the P-8A is American the Chinese are unlikely to interfere with it, as they tend to do with Filipino ships and aircraft.

    February 28, 2015: In the south (Maguindanao province) troops are closing in on a group of BIFF rebels that they skirmished with the day before. There were no casualties but the troops continue to track and pursue the rebels. MILF commanders in the area have been ordered to stay away from the fighting. Thousands of civilians are fleeing to avoid any combat. BIFF is a renegade MILF faction that opposes the peace deal, and the presence of Christians in any area where Moslems also live.

    February 26, 2015: In the north (Ilocos Sur province) five soldiers died when they were ambushed by NPA rebels.

    February 24, 2015: The government demanded that MILF leaders explain photos that were captured in late 2014 showing MILF and Abu Sayyaf men training together at a new MILF training facility in the Sulu Islands. This facility is to turn out police for the new autonomous Moslem region of Bangsamoro. MILF explained that the presence of the Abu Sayyaf men had something to do with local politics down there. That did not satisfy the non-Moslem politicians in the capital who are now investigating further. The photos only recently became public.

    February 22, 2015: In the south (South Cotabato province) two soldiers were killed and 13 wounded when they encountered landmines planted by the NPA rebels they were seeking.

    February 21, 2015: In the south (North Cotabato province) members of BIFF (Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters) were driven from three villages they had occupied for nearly three weeks. These villages served as a headquarters for most of the remaining BIFF members. The fighting with the soldiers involved artillery support. The troops believe twenty of the over 200 BIFF med died (based on fresh graves later found) during the attack. All this was part of an operation to destroy this BIFF group, which apparently split up as it fled the area. Over a thousand families fled the area to avoid the three days of fighting.

    February 18, 2015: MILF returned 16 of the 63 firearms lost on January 25th when MILF attacked police commandos and killed 44 of them. The government wanted all the weapons returned and were not pleased when they found most of the 16 returned weapons had components missing.

    February 17, 2015: In the south (North Cotabato province) members of BIFF attacked two villages and set fire to many structures and 21 buildings were destroyed.

    February 16, 2015: In the south (Davao Occidental province) troops killed six NPA rebels and seized nine firearms.

    February 15, 2015: In the south (Basilan Island) troops encountered Abu Sayyaf gunmen and in the ensuring battle two Islamic terrorists were killed and two wounded along with five local civilians and six soldiers.

    In the south (Davao Occidental province) about fifty NPA rebels attacked a police station. The police held out and another NPA force ambushed army reinforcements, killing four soldiers but were forced to flee. As the soldiers neared the police station all the NPA men fled, losing at least one dead and many wounded. The army organized a pursuit of the retreating rebels.

    Elsewhere in the south (Basilan island) troops clashed with Abu Sayyaf gunmen.

    February 9, 2015: In the south (Agusan del Sur province) police and NPA rebels clashed leaving one policeman and one rebel dead. But the dead rebel turned out to be a senior NPA leader. Several weapons and other equipment were seized as the rebels fled.

    February 8, 2015: In the south (Jolo Island) troops clashed with about a hundred Abu Sayyaf men and killed at least nine of them. Eleven soldiers were wounded and these were evacuated as the rest of the troops pursued the fleeing Islamic terrorists.

    February 7, 2015: In the south (Basilan Island) soldiers were sent to rescue a group of MILF gunmen who were surrounded by Abu Sayyaf fighters and under siege. The MILF men were there to facilitate an investigation into which MILF and Abu Sayyaf gunmen were involved in a January battle that left 44 police commandos dead. Elsewhere on Basilan a bomb was found (near a gasoline storage depot) and disabled. Islamic terrorists were suspected.

    The government revealed it had recently captured three NPA leaders during several operations in the south (Mindanao) and was interrogating them.”

  15. Al-Qaeda in Yemen releases Saudi diplomat (BBC, March 2, 2015)
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-31690781

    “A Saudi diplomat held hostage in Yemen for almost three years by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has been freed, officials say.

    Abdullah al-Khalidi, Saudi Arabia’s deputy consul in the southern port city of Aden, was seized in March 2012.

    He appeared in several AQAP videos that called on the Saudi authorities to do more to secure his release.

    An interior ministry statement carried by Saudi state media on Monday said that Mr Khalidi was now back in Riyadh.

    It did not say how he came to be released but that it was a result of “intensive efforts” made by the kingdom’s security services.

    The jihadist group had sought the release of all its members detained in Saudi Arabia as well as a ransom in exchange for freeing Mr Khalidi.

    AQAP initially asked for $10m (£6.5m) in ransom, but later doubled its demand to $20m (£13m), tribal mediators said in August 2012.

    In December, AQAP militants shot dead two hostages – American journalist Luke Somers and South African teacher Pierre Korkie – during a failed attempt by US commandos to rescue them in south-eastern Yemen.”

  16. CANADA – EDMONTON – ‘Just skin and bones’: Muslim mother to be sentenced in Baby M case

    EDMONTON — Social worker Sheli Steil remembers when two-year-old twin girls were taken to hospital after being beaten, neglected and starved.

    One of them weighed 13 pounds — the size of a six-month-old baby. She was “just skin and bones” and not expected to live.

    Her sister, who was in somewhat better shape at 16 pounds, had little hair and couldn’t walk. The child was fascinated when a doctor gently touched her hand, said Steil.

    “She was mesmerized, as if no one had ever done that before.”

    Steil, whose office took custody of the girls shortly after they arrived in hospital, read a victim impact statement in an Edmonton courtroom Monday at the start of a week-long sentencing hearing for the girls’ mother.

    The 37-year-old woman, who can’t be named, has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of one twin, known as M, and to aggravated assault and failing to provide the necessities of life in relation to both girls.

    She has admitted that she didn’t provide her daughters with adequate food and that she assaulted them over a prolonged period of time. Court hasn’t heard any explanation as to why.

    Crown prosecutor Shelley Bykewich is asking a judge to sentence the mother to between 23 and 25 years in prison. The defence is to give its recommendation later in the week.

    The twins’ father was sentenced last year to 15 years on the same charges. Court heard he didn’t physically injure the girls but did nothing to stop their suffering.

    The parents immigrated from Algeria in 2008 and their three children were born in Edmonton.

    Bykewich said a psychiatric assessment found no evidence that the woman, who described herself as a “good mother,” had a mental illness. She’s an educated woman who was learning English and didn’t appear to be culturally isolated in Canada, the prosecutor said.

    “This was not a situation of a single, overwhelmed parent whose frustration has hit the breaking point.”

    On May 25, 2012, paramedics were called to the family’s home and found the twins sitting in infant car seats. Skin was hanging from their bodies, their ribs stuck out of their chests and they were covered in scabs and bruises.

    Their four-year-old brother was healthy. The kitchen was stocked with food.

    The smallest girl wasn’t breathing and spent several months on life support in hospital. The parents, citing their Islamic beliefs and love for the girl, fought in court to keep her on machines despite the advice of doctors. Two Alberta courts eventually ruled the girl should be allowed to die and the Supreme Court declined to intervene.

    An autopsy showed M died of head trauma and starvation.

    Steil told court it was the worst case of neglect and mistreatment she and her co-workers had seen.

    When the surviving twin was learning to walk, staff gave her a new pair of shoes that she never wanted to take off, Steil said. And when the girl’s hair started growing in, she was given colourful bows that she wanted to keep on her head.

    Steil said workers spoke regularly with the mother after her arrest to give her updates on the girl and her brother in foster care. The woman never asked about her daughter, only her son, she said.

    Steil’s office made arrangements for M’s funeral and chose the words for her headstone.

    http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/just-skin-and-bones-mother-to-be-sentenced-in-baby-m-case-1.2260814

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    Prosecution wants 25-year sentence for Baby M’s mother who starved and neglected daughters

    EDMONTON – The mother who abused, starved and neglected her infant twin girls until one died and another barely recovered should serve 25 years in prison, a prosecutor argued Monday.

    Although the 37-year-old mother pleaded guilty to manslaughter in July 2014, her sentencing hearing heard she has since denied all responsibility during a psychiatric evaluation.

    “The accused denied all culpability and accountability for the physical injuries inflicted on her twin babies or her role in the starvation of her twin daughters,” prosecutor Danielle Green told court.

    Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Eric Macklin said he was “troubled” by the mother’s reversal of her admissions, particularly because the evaluation also mentioned her feelings of isolation and depression without language skills or extended family after she emigrated from Algeria.

    “Every once in a while, there comes along a crime so horrific that a person with any empathy simply cannot fathom it,” said Crown prosecutor Shelley Bykewich. “It is impossible for us to find an excuse or reason. We don’t have that here. We are stuck with the evidence we have.”

    The mother’s evaluations lacked evidence to prove or disprove any mental illness.

    During her psychiatric interview, court heard, the accused called herself “a good mother.”

    The mother previously pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of her two-year-old daughter, known in court documents as Baby M. She also pleaded guilty to aggravated assault of the deceased girl’s twin sister, known as S, and failing to provide the necessities of life for both girls.

    The mother admitted she inflicted head injuries and the “prolonged deprivation” that led to Baby M’s death and the near-starvation of S. The mother knew her helpless twins were malnourished and in desperate need of help, yet did nothing.

    After months of abuse, their father called 911 on May 25, 2012, after M stopped breathing. She was taken off life support in September 2012 after a court battle over her medical care.

    M’s death “is as near to murder as a manslaughter conviction can get,” Bykewich said.

    S, who was ashen and emaciated, recovered and was eventually adopted with her four-year-old brother. That boy was found in the home in good health.

    On Monday, court heard a victim impact statement from Alberta Children and Youth Services employees. Social worker Sheli Steil called the case “the worst neglect and mistreatment” the workers involved had ever seen.

    Steil told court the mother’s concern was only for her son. “She often told us she missed her boy and asked when she could see him. She asked whether he missed her and if he asked about her.”

    The boy never did, Steil said. The mother didn’t inquire about her surviving daughter.

    “At some point, S will face the knowledge that her parents provided for her brother, but did not do the same for her and her sister,” Steil said.

    In June, the father of the twins was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

    The Algerian couple married in 2007 and moved to Canada a year later.

    To protect the identity of their surviving children, neither of the parents can be named.

    http://www.edmontonjournal.com/Prosecution+wants+year+sentence+Baby+mother+starved+neglected+daughters/10855353/story.html