Libya news.......
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"Army units have been deployed in the capital and its suburbs to secure them during the Eid al-Fitr holiday (marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan) and thereafter," the Libyan military said in a statement issued on Friday.
Late on Thursday, over 100 armored troop carriers and military vehicles mounted with machineguns and anti-aircraft guns were seen patrolling in Tripoli.
Libyan media said that the troops were deployed in the capital and its suburbs in an effort to "reassure people during Eid al-Fitr."
Libyans rose up against Muammar Gaddafi’s four-decade rule in February 2011 and deposed him in August 2011. He was slain on October 20 of the same year.
Benghazi was the birthplace of the 2011 revolution. It is largely governed by militias in the absence of unified Libyan security and military forces.
The former rebels refuse to lay down their arms, despite efforts by the central government to impose law and order.
Benghazi has been the scene of numerous attacks and political assassinations over the past year as the power struggles between militiamen have intensified.
Over the past few weeks, Tripoli and its suburbs have been hit by violent clashes between rival militias who fought against Gaddafi during the uprising.
"Given the current situation, it is vital that our citizens avoid all travel to Lebanon," the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement posted on its website on Friday.
"We suggest that citizens who are still in Lebanon return to Turkey if they can, or if they have to remain, to take all measures to ensure their personal safety and be vigilant," it added.
The ministry said Ankara expected the Lebanese government to take "all necessary measures" to ensure the safety of Turkish citizens in the country.
Gunmen kidnapped the pilots in a pre-dawn ambush on a bus carrying members of a Turkish Airlines crew from Beirut airport to Beirut's Radisson Martinez hotel.
Lebanese authorities immediately launched an investigation into the abduction. There has been no claim of responsibility for the kidnapping so far.
However, there are speculations that the abduction could be linked to the case of nine Lebanese Shia pilgrims who were kidnapped in Syria’s Aleppo in May 2012. Some of those pilgrims have been released, but most are still held captive.
Turkey, along with Saudi Arabia and Qatar, has been supporting militants fighting to topple the Syrian government since the Arab country plunged into unrest in March 2011.
Or at least what passes for reforms in his mind. Obama insisted that he is entirely “comfortable” with the surveillance system as currently constituted and expressed anger that “rather than a lawful process” the public debate was a result of leaks.
Libyan army deploys in and around Tripoli as violence escalates
Libyan National Army's soldiers patrol in Tripoli on May 3, 2013.
Fri Aug 9, 2013 9:32PM GMT
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Libya has deployed the army in and around the capital Tripoli to boost security following weeks of deadly violence.
"Army units have been deployed in the capital and its suburbs to secure them during the Eid al-Fitr holiday (marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan) and thereafter," the Libyan military said in a statement issued on Friday.
Late on Thursday, over 100 armored troop carriers and military vehicles mounted with machineguns and anti-aircraft guns were seen patrolling in Tripoli.
Libyan media said that the troops were deployed in the capital and its suburbs in an effort to "reassure people during Eid al-Fitr."
Libyans rose up against Muammar Gaddafi’s four-decade rule in February 2011 and deposed him in August 2011. He was slain on October 20 of the same year.
Benghazi was the birthplace of the 2011 revolution. It is largely governed by militias in the absence of unified Libyan security and military forces.
The former rebels refuse to lay down their arms, despite efforts by the central government to impose law and order.
Benghazi has been the scene of numerous attacks and political assassinations over the past year as the power struggles between militiamen have intensified.
Over the past few weeks, Tripoli and its suburbs have been hit by violent clashes between rival militias who fought against Gaddafi during the uprising.
TV presenter killed in Benghazi
By Maha Ellawati.
TV presenter Izzaldin Qusaad was just twenty-eight
Benghazi, 9 August 2013:
A young TV presenter for the Libya Alhurra channel was killed in a drive-by shooting this afternoon as he left a mosque in the Sisdi Husain area of Benghazi.
Izzaldin Qasaad had just given his first Friday lecture, following prayers at the mosque. In this, he called on God not to forget the people in Benghazi who had been carrying out assassinations and car-bomb attacks.
The twenty-eight year old was a popular TV personality, who presented a community-orientated programme called ‘Together We Try.’ He did not report on political matters.
A member of staff at Libya Alhurra confirmed to the Libya Herald that Qasaad had been killed. The staff member said the channel was very upset by the news, and added that the station did not know why he had been targeted.
Senior army officer murdered in Tripoli
Ashraf Abdul-Wahab.
Tripoli, 9 August 2013:
Yet another member of the armed forces has been murdered. Colonel Abdul-Wahab Mohammed Abdussalam Al-Lafi, a member of General Staff has died after being shot on Wednesday as he was returning to his home in Tripoli’s Jama Attughar district.
According to a statement from the General Staff, he was taken to the Ali Omar Askar hospital in Assabea but died there.
There has been a spate of assassinations and attempted assassinations in the past month, many of them security officials who worked under the Qaddafi regime, but not all. Political figures have been targeted as well, most notably political activist Abdulsalam Musmari, murdered on 26 July. Most have been in Benghazi and eastern Libya, although five days ago the General Staffreported an attempt to assassinate the former interim Chief of Staff, Brigadier Salem Gnaidi.
Three days ago a car bomb exploded in Benghazi killing of its driver, a civilian. It is thought that this was a case of mistaken identity and that the real target was a security official.
A week ago, the Commander of Sebha Security Support Forces, Colonel Fawzi El-Ujali, was killed in the city when a bomb attached to his car blew up.
July was one of the bloodiest months since the end of the revolution for both Benghazi and Derna.
In Benghazi on 4 July, an attempt on the life of former Qaddafi air force officer Colonel Hamed Al-Hassi, who now heads the military wing of the self-proclaimed Cyrenaica Transitional Council, killed two men, although Al-Hassi survived.
Four days later, an another former Qaddari-era security official, Colonel Fawzi Al-Burki was killed when his car was blown up.
On 19 July, gunmen attempted to murder the head of the Libyan Observatory for Human Rights in the eastern region, Nasser Soualem.
A week later, on the same day that Musmari was assassinated, two colonels were also murdered in separate incidents: Colonel Khatab Younis Al-Zway, the head of the city’s Shekhra area police station, and Colonel Salam Al-Sarrah, a retired senior air force officer.
Four days after that, on July 30, Ahmed Farraj Al-Barnawi, who commanded the Benghazi Protection Force, was killed when a bomb attached to his car exploded outside his house in Benghazi.
The next day there was an attempt to assassinate retired Colonel Mubarak Mohammed Al-Obeidi. The attack on him resulted in him having his leg amputated.
In Derna, on 15 July, a day after a tourist project in the town had been bombed, a Captain Fathi Alamami was murdered. Less than a week later, a retired colonel, Abdullateef Emdawi Al-Dali Almzeni, was gunned down. And at the end of the month, the commander of the Libya Shield battalion in the town, Colonel Adnan Nuwaisiri, was also assassinated there.
According to Human Rights Watch, which is trying to keep a tally of the killings, at least 51 people have died in the recent murderous attacks in Benghazi and Derna – and the figure does not appear to include those killed this month. The victims include two judges and “at least 44 serving members of the security forces, most of whom had held positions in Gaddafi’s government” says a HRW report issued this week. “At least six were high-ranking officers under Qaddafi.”
HRW has strongly criticised the authorities for not arresting anyone. “What started as assassinations of members of the police, internal security apparatus, and military intelligence has been further aggravated by the killing of judges and a political activist,” said Joe Stork, HRW’s deputy Middle East and North Africa director.
“The failure to hold anyone accountable highlights the government’s failure to build a functioning justice system.”
Ramadan charity cash filched from Benghazi mosque
By Ashraf Abdul Wahab
The ransacked charity boxes
Tripoli, 9 August 2013:
The entire Ramadan charity collection was stolen early on Thursday morning from a Benghazi mosque.
Five collection boxes, in which worshippers had been placing their Zakat offerings throughout the holy month, were smashed open at the Abdullah bin Jaafar Mosque in Abuhadeema.
Mosque officials said that it was impossible to know how much was taken by the thieves, who are thought to have broken into the building at around about 2am yesterday. All Libyans have been urged to give a minimum of LD 2 for each member of their family, these charitable donations then being distributed to the poor. All Zakat offerings should have be made before the start of Eid.
Terror- rama news ....... 18 of 19 US Embassies closed for the Terro - rama reopening Sunday ( naturally disclosed late Friday !
9 August 2013 Last updated at 18:49 ET
US embassies to
reopen after terror alert
except Yemen
The US says it will reopen 18 of the 19 embassies and consulates it recently closed due to security threats.
The State Department says its embassy in the Yemeni capital Sanaa will stay closed "because of ongoing concerns".
The US closed 19 diplomatic missions in the Middle East and Africa on Sunday in response to what it said was a threat of a terrorist attack.
The consulate in the Pakistani city of Lahore, which closed after a separate threat, will also not reopen yet.
"We will continue to evaluate the threats to Sanaa and Lahore and make subsequent decisions about the reopening of those facilities based on that information," US State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki said.
"We will also continue to evaluate information about these and all of our posts and to take appropriate steps to best protect the safety of our personnel, American citizens travelling overseas, and visitors to our facilities."
The statement said the Sanaa embassy would stay closed because of concerns about a "threat stream" emanating from al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). No further details were given.
Most US employees at the Sanaa embassy were ordered to leave the country on Tuesday.
Most US embassies to reopen after alert |
Eighteen shuttered embassies in Middle East and North Africa to reopen on Sunday, as Yemen embassy remains closed.
Last Modified: 10 Aug 2013 00:49
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The US shut 19 embassies, saying it had picked up information about unspecified threats [Reuters]
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| Eighteen of the 19 US embassies closed this month due to worries about potential attacks will reopen on Sunday, the US state department said. The US embassy in the Yemeni capital, however, would remain closed, a state department spokeswoman said on Friday. "Our embassy in Sanaa, Yemen, will remain closed because of ongoing concerns about a threat stream indicating the potential for terrorist attacks emanating from al-Qaeda in the ArabianPeninsula," state Jen Psaki said. The US will also keep its consulate in Lahore, Pakistan, shuttered, Psaki said, adding it closed on Thursday due to a "separate credible threat". On August 2, the US shut the 19 embassies in the Middle East and North Africa, saying it had picked up information through surveillance and other means about unspecified threats. A worldwide alert said that al-Qaeda could be planning attacks in the Middle East and North Africa. Meanwhile, the US government this week warned its citizens to avoid traveling to Pakistan, while some US diplomats from Yemen were evacuated and US nationals were told to leave the country immediately. President Barack Obama, during a White House press conference, declined to comment on reports of drone strikes in Pakistan that targeted suspected fighters in that country. The state department did not indicate when its facilities in Sanaa and Lahore might reopen, saying it will continue to evaluate the "threats". |
Yemen: 7 Saudis among militants killed by drones
SANAA, Yemen (AP) – At least seven suspected militants from Saudi Arabia were among the alleged al-Qaida members killed in Yemen in a recent wave of U.S. drone strikes, senior Yemeni officials said Friday, suggesting that Saudis are increasingly crossing the border to carry funds or seek terrorist training.
With several U.S. diplomatic posts closed temporarily in Africa and the Middle East this week amid a global alert about terrorism, Washington evacuated most of its personnel from Lahore, Pakistan’s second-largest city. The U.S., along with Britain, also flew diplomatic staff out of Yemen’s capital of Sanaa this week.
Syria regional war watch....
http://www.presstv.com/detail/2013/08/09/317957/turkey-advises-citizens-to-leave-lebanon/
Turks advised to leave Lebanon after Beirut kidnapping
A Lebanese security officer stands guard in front of Beirut’s Radisson Martinez Hotel after two members of a Turkish Airlines crew staying at the hotel were kidnapped on August 9, 2013.
Fri Aug 9, 2013 2:38PM GMT
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Turkey has called on its citizens to leave Lebanon following the abduction of two pilots working for the Turkish Airlines in the Lebanese capital Beirut.
"Given the current situation, it is vital that our citizens avoid all travel to Lebanon," the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement posted on its website on Friday.
"We suggest that citizens who are still in Lebanon return to Turkey if they can, or if they have to remain, to take all measures to ensure their personal safety and be vigilant," it added.
The ministry said Ankara expected the Lebanese government to take "all necessary measures" to ensure the safety of Turkish citizens in the country.
Gunmen kidnapped the pilots in a pre-dawn ambush on a bus carrying members of a Turkish Airlines crew from Beirut airport to Beirut's Radisson Martinez hotel.
Lebanese authorities immediately launched an investigation into the abduction. There has been no claim of responsibility for the kidnapping so far.
However, there are speculations that the abduction could be linked to the case of nine Lebanese Shia pilgrims who were kidnapped in Syria’s Aleppo in May 2012. Some of those pilgrims have been released, but most are still held captive.
Turkey, along with Saudi Arabia and Qatar, has been supporting militants fighting to topple the Syrian government since the Arab country plunged into unrest in March 2011.
4 Israeli Commandos Wounded in Lebanon Landmine Explosion Were Infiltrating Spy Gear
August 9, 2013
Source: richardsilverstein
The Daily Star reported yesterday that there was a major explosion on the Israel-Lebanon border in which four IDF soldiers were wounded. After the Lebanese army investigated, it reported that a likely Israeli patrol had crossed the border for an unspecified purpose and caused the explosion. The article speculated that the incident might’ve resulted from either an Israeli landmine planted by the IDF along the border; or from a Hezbollah IED designed to foil precisely such unwanted “visits.” Daily Star notes that the Lebanese militia has discovered a number of similar Israeli attempts to tap into its communications lines.
The article further notes a disagreement on the position of the Israeli patrol when the mishap occurred. The Lebanese army said it was 400 meters inside the border. Another source said it was only a few meters inside the border.
An Israeli confidential source allows me to clarify much of what occurred: a combined unit of Israeli special forces (Sayeret Matkal) and Egoz (a commando reconnaissance unit) infiltrated Lebanon in order to plant “listening devices.” They’d only managed to penetrate a few hundred meters into the country when they set off a landmine, which injured four members. The mission was aborted and the unit retreated.
The Star notes that the IDF planted an extensive mine field to frustrate Hezbollah penetration into Israel. It would seem highly unlikely an IDF patrol would’ve been unable to avoid its own landmines. Therefore, it’s much more likely a Hezbollah munition exploded. If so, this represents yet another failed IDF mission to monitor Hezbollah and stay one step ahead of it in the espionage race.
Read More...
The Daily Star reported yesterday that there was a major explosion on the Israel-Lebanon border in which four IDF soldiers were wounded. After the Lebanese army investigated, it reported that a likely Israeli patrol had crossed the border for an unspecified purpose and caused the explosion. The article speculated that the incident might’ve resulted from either an Israeli landmine planted by the IDF along the border; or from a Hezbollah IED designed to foil precisely such unwanted “visits.” Daily Star notes that the Lebanese militia has discovered a number of similar Israeli attempts to tap into its communications lines.
The article further notes a disagreement on the position of the Israeli patrol when the mishap occurred. The Lebanese army said it was 400 meters inside the border. Another source said it was only a few meters inside the border.
An Israeli confidential source allows me to clarify much of what occurred: a combined unit of Israeli special forces (Sayeret Matkal) and Egoz (a commando reconnaissance unit) infiltrated Lebanon in order to plant “listening devices.” They’d only managed to penetrate a few hundred meters into the country when they set off a landmine, which injured four members. The mission was aborted and the unit retreated.
The Star notes that the IDF planted an extensive mine field to frustrate Hezbollah penetration into Israel. It would seem highly unlikely an IDF patrol would’ve been unable to avoid its own landmines. Therefore, it’s much more likely a Hezbollah munition exploded. If so, this represents yet another failed IDF mission to monitor Hezbollah and stay one step ahead of it in the espionage race.
Read More...
Egypt.....
An Israeli drone strike inside Egypt killed five suspected Islamic militants and destroyed a rocket launcher Friday, two senior Egyptian security officials said, marking a rare Israeli operation carried out in its Arab neighbor's territory.
The strike, coming after a warning from Egypt caused Israel to briefly close an airport Thursday, potentially signals a significant new level of cooperation between the two former foes over security matters in the largely lawless Sinai Peninsula after a military coup ousted Egypt's president. Egypt long has maintained that it wouldn't allow other countries to use its territories as hotbed to launch attacks against other countries.
Residents heard a large explosion Friday in el-Agra, an area in the northern region of the Sinai close to Egypt's border with Israel. The officials said the Israeli attack was in cooperation with Egyptian authorities.
The two officials spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press because they were not authorized to speak to journalists. The Israeli military said it was looking into the report after being contacted by the AP.
Read More...
The strike, coming after a warning from Egypt caused Israel to briefly close an airport Thursday, potentially signals a significant new level of cooperation between the two former foes over security matters in the largely lawless Sinai Peninsula after a military coup ousted Egypt's president. Egypt long has maintained that it wouldn't allow other countries to use its territories as hotbed to launch attacks against other countries.
Residents heard a large explosion Friday in el-Agra, an area in the northern region of the Sinai close to Egypt's border with Israel. The officials said the Israeli attack was in cooperation with Egyptian authorities.
The two officials spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press because they were not authorized to speak to journalists. The Israeli military said it was looking into the report after being contacted by the AP.
Read More...
DEBKAfile Special Report Aug 9, 2013, 7:30 PM (IDT)
Intelligence-sharing and military cooperation between Egypt and Israel foiled a terrorist missile attack from Sinai on Eilat Thursday, Aug. 8, say foreign sources. Egyptian security officials reported that an Israeli drone fired a missile in the northern Sinai peninsula, killing five suspected Islamic militants and destroying one or more launchers. Egyptian military helicopters circled over head. The launcher or launchers, said the officials, were rigged for firing missiles on targets in Israel from the vicinity of Egyptian Rafah in northern Sinai.
More>
NSA spy gate updates..... Obama rolls out baffle with BS non reform " reforms " ...
Visibly Annoyed Obama Unveils Non-Reforms on NSA Surveillance
Insists He's 'Comfortable' With the Current Program
by Jason Ditz, August 09, 2013
From the moment he emerged at the White House press conference today, President Obama had a visible chip on his shoulder, apparently annoyed that facing growing public outrage over the NSA surveillance schemes he had to make public promises of reforms.
Or at least what passes for reforms in his mind. Obama insisted that he is entirely “comfortable” with the surveillance system as currently constituted and expressed anger that “rather than a lawful process” the public debate was a result of leaks.
The president promised four “reforms,” three of which amounted to talking with other officials about how to sell the American public on the idea that everything is going as well as he thinks it is, and the fourth of which offering a minor tweak to FISA courts.
That tweak was the idea, proposed before, to have a “civil liberties advocate” present at FISA courts, since apparently judges in secret courts don’t take individual freedom very seriously. Obama expressed openness to the idea, but would only allow advocates “in appropriate cases.”
Beyond that, the sum total of the promises amounted to hiring a “full-time privacy officer” to work at the NSA, a single employee who will no doubt get lost in that ever-growing leviathan, and a pledge that the intelligence community will eventually make a web site explaining to people how great surveillance is.
Oddly, Obama conceded of the surveillance that “I would be worried too if I wasn’t inside the government,” but then went on to insist that the public would’ve been fine with the program but his trust was “undermined” by leaks, which of course are the only reason the American public knew about the surveillance in the first place.
Most of the press conference was of little substance, with Obama angrily rejecting questions about drone strikes in Yemen and mocking Russian President Vladimir Putin’s slouch, saying he’s “lookin’ like the bored kid in the classroom.”
He only briefly touched on Edward Snowden personally, mostly just attacking the leaks as “unlawful” and a “threat to national security.” In that brief mention, Obama rejected the notion that Snowden was a patriot, and demanded that if he truly believed what he did was right he return to America immediate to accept punishment for it.
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