VICTORY FOR DEMOCRACY... THE US PRESIDENT IS NOT AN EMPEROR... THE US CONSTITUTION IS SUPREME!

Appeals Court Shoots Down DOJ Request To Immediately Restore Travel Ban

By Yeganeh Torbati and Tom Perry

(Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court late on Saturday denied a request from the U.S. Department of Justice to immediately restore a immigration order from President Donald Trump barring citizens from seven mainly Muslim countries and temporarily banning refugees.

The court ruling dealt a further setback to Trump, who has denounced the judge in the state of Washington who blocked his executive order on Friday. In tweets and comments to reporters, the president has insisted he will get the ban reinstated.

Counter Extremism Project: Iraqi Shiite Militias Fight for Assad in Aleppo, Accused by U.N. of Human Rights Abuses

Qais al-Khazali

Founder, leader

(New York, NY) – The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) today released updated resources on powerful Iraqi Shiite militias Kata’ib Hezbollah (KH) and Asaib Ahl al-Haq (AAH), trained and supported by Iran, that are fighting with Hezbollah for the Assad regime in Syria.

On December 13, 2016, the United Nations implicated AAH’s Syrian wing, known as Harakat al-Nujaba, in the slaughter of dozens of civilians in Aleppo. Although supposedly operating independently of AAH in Iraq, Harakat al-Nujaba is comprised primarily of AAH fighters and those from fellow Iranian-backed militia KH.

Iraq’s Shiite militias are referred to as Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF). In a July report, Human Rights Watch documented killings, disappearances, torture, and the destruction of homes by PMF groups during the fight to retake Fallujah and other Sunni-dominated areas in Iraq from ISIS. 

Nevertheless, the Shiite militias were formally recognized by the Iraqi Parliament in November 2016.

Breaking: NATO looking to enter ISIS fight, steps up support for Ukraine

The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) is looking to train Iraqi officers and provide other direct support to the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, to alleviate the burden on U.S. and other coalition members' resources.

"We will discuss how we can extend our training for Iraqi officers as they continue to fight ISIL," said the NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday, using another acronym for ISIS.

"We will consider how we can provide direct support to the coalition against ISIL with AWACS surveillance aircraft," he added. AWACS stands for Airborne Warning and Control System, and is essentially a flying air traffic control tower.

Fears of imminent attack: ISIS declares state of emergency - US military official claims

ISLAMIC State (ISIS) has declared a state of emergency in its terror heartland over fears of an imminent attack, a US military official has claimed.

The jihadi group feels threatened in its self-declared capital of Raqqa in Syria and is moving troops to prepare for a possible invasion, according to Colonel Steven Warren.

The US military official said it was monitoring the terror group’s declaration to attempt to better understand what it meant.

Speaking in a Pentagon briefing over the phone from Baghdad, Iraq, Col Warren said: “We have seen this declaration of emergency in Raqqa, whatever that means.

War Against IS: Russian warplanes delivered to Iraq — ministry

The new Sukhoi Su-25 warplanes will give additional advantage to the Iraqi army in the fight against terrorist groups

A new batch of Russia’s Sukhoi Su-25 strike fighters has been delivered to Iraq, spokesman for the Iraqi Defense Ministry Nasir Nouri Mohammed al-Tamimi said on Monday.


According to him, "a batch of Su-25 (three aircraft) has arrived in Iraq in accordance with the contract signed with the Russian side." 

The Iraqi defense spokesman also said that the attack aircraft would enter service in the near future. 

According to him, this will give additional advantage to the Iraqi army in the fight against terrorist groups, including the Islamic State (terrorist group banned in Russia).

Tripoli - Libyan capital under Islamist control after airport seized

Operation Dawn captures airport in fierce fighting against pro-government militias after five-week siege in the capital

Libya has lurched ever closer to fragmentation and civil war this weekend after Islamist-led militias seized the airport in the capital, Tripoli, proclaimed their own government, and presented the world with yet another crisis.

Operation Dawn, a coalition of Islamist and Misrata forces, captured the airport on Saturday in fierce fighting against pro-government militias after a five-week siege that battered parts of the capital.

Television images from the scene showed jubilant, bearded, militias dancing on wrecked airliners, firing machine guns in the air and chanting "Allah O Akbar" ("God is great").

The Seized Town, Gwoza , Now Part of Islamic Caliphate Says Boko Haram Leader

Boko Haram's leader said Gwoza which was seized by the insurgents earlier this month has been placed under an Islamic caliphate, in a video obtained by AFP on Sunday.

A town in the north east of Nigeria is under an 'Islamic caliphate', according to Boko Haram's leader which the Nigerian military denies.

"Thanks be to Allah who gave victory to our brethren in (the town of) Gwoza and made it part of the Islamic caliphate," Abubakar Shekau said in the 52-minute video.

The military however rejected the claim, saying in a statement the "sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Nigerian state is still intact".

In a July video, Shekau voiced support for the leader of the Islamic State and the Levant (Isil) militants Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who in late June declared himself "the caliph" and "leader of Muslims everywhere".

But there was no indication from Shekau in the latest video that he was associating himself with Baghdadi, whose Sunni Muslim fighters have taken over parts of Iraq and Syria.

As such, it was not clear if Shekau was declaring himself to be a part of Baghdadi's call or if he was referring to a separate Nigerian caliphate.

Iraq’s Qaem city under full control of armed men - Al Jazeera TV

Al Jazeera TV reported quoting security sources in Iraq that armed groups have completely seized the city of Qaem bordering Syria. Iraqi armed groups had for several days taken control of large parts of this city.





Source

United Nations Security Council to vote on improved Syria aid access

The United Nations Security Council is set to adopt a resolution Monday authorizing humanitarian convoys to serve millions of Syrian civilians by traveling from neighboring Turkey, Jordan and Iraq, according to Agence France-Presse.
After weeks of negotiations, Australia, Jordan and Luxembourg drafted the text for a vote.

Damascus' ally Russia, which has already used its veto on four Syria-related resolutions since the conflict began in March 2011, has no plans to do so this time.

Torture increasing in Nigeria, Iraq and Libya— Amnesty International

Amnesty International has said torture and other forms of cruelty are on the rise in Nigeria, Iraq and Libya, with attitudes to torture appearing to grow passive.

AI has serious concerns about the increasing use of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment in Nigeria.

Recent Amnesty research indicates that police and military personnel routinely use torture and other ill-treatment to extract information and “confessions”, and to punish and exhaust detainees. In contravention of national and international law, information extracted by torture and ill-treatment is routinely accepted as evidence in court. 

Why Iran rejects U.S. action in Iraq as militants push east

Fighters of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)
 stand guard at a checkpoint in the northern Iraq city of Mosul

(Reuters) - Iran's supreme leader accused the United States on Sunday of trying to retake control of Iraq by exploiting sectarian rivalries, as Sunni insurgents drove toward Baghdad from new strongholds along the Syrian border.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's condemnation of U.S. action in Iraq came three days after President Barack Obama offered to send 300 military advisers in response to pleas from Iraq's government. It ran counter to speculation that old enemies Washington and Tehran might cooperate to defend their mutual ally in Baghdad after two weeks of swift territorial gains by Sunni Islamists.

On Sunday, militants overran a second frontier post on the Syrian border as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) pursues the goal of its own caliphate straddling both countries.

Jordan Fears Iraq Jihadist Fight May Spill over

The Sunni militant offensive in Iraq has sparked fears in Amman that they will take the fight to Jordan, which is already struggling with its own home-grown Islamists. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a powerful jihadist group that controls key areas of Syria, has seized a swathe of Iraqi territory in a lightning offensive Baghdad's forces seem powerless to halt.

Experts fear Jordan could be one of ISIL's next targets, with YouTube videos purporting to show the group threatening to take jihad there. Already reeling under the impact of hosting more than 600,000 Syrian refugees, Jordan has long faced security challenges in dealing with its own jihadists, many of whom have joined ISIL and other Al-Qaida-linked groups in Iraq and Syria.

US is ready to take "targeted" military action in Iraq, but American forces will not be returning to combat - Obama

President Obama said the United States is prepared to help Iraqi forces take back their country.

The President said it is in the best interest of the United States there not be an all out civil war in Iraq for numerous reasons, “Above all, Iraqi leaders must rise above their differences and come together around a political plan for Iraq’s future.”

“American forces will not be returning to combat in Iraq,” said Obama during a news conference from the White House.

The U.S. is prepared to send 300 military ‘advisers’ into Iraq.

President Obama said we are prepared to take, “targeted and precise military action” in Iraq, if needed.

UPDATES: Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki urges troops to fight back Islamist militants as 500,000 people fled Mosul

Islamist insurgents Attack Iraq's Tikrit after 500,000 are forced to flee Mosul

Islamist insurgents have overrun parts of the Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit, after taking control of Iraq's biggest city Mosul.

The Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has urged troops to fight back against the militants as up to 500,000 people fled Mosul after the al-Qa'ida splinter group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) overran the city.

Security sources said some parts of Tikrit, which is located 150 km (95 miles) north of Baghdad, is now under the control of militants and dozens of the insurgents have reportedly been clashing with security forces near the headquarters of the government in the city centre.

THE FACT AND CONSPIRACY ABOUT BOKO HARAM: Asari Dokubo and the Boko Haram guy's speeches are similar!

Even an objective non-Muslim could see from the text of the mad dog's (Shekau) message that those messages are not of Islaam. Even the dreaded so-called Al-Qaeda network do not describe Islaam in a such a manner (that Islam is about killing).  Boko Haram is child's play when compared to 911 and the creation of Al-Qaeda network (google 'truth about al-Qaeda). 

I watched The Secret of the Seven Sisters last year on al-jazeera and understood how the West can completely destabilize any country because of oil. Don't we notice that Asari Dokubo and the Boko Haram guy's speeches are similar? 

Boko Haram: Time for Muslims Leaders world wide to review their teachings

As condemnations trails the activities of the Islamist terrorist group, Boko Haram even from the Islamic international bodies and scholars across the globe. It seem very necessary for the Muslim society to re-exermine the teaching of Islam worldwide.

It is Time for Muslims Leaders world wide to review their teachings, they claim to teach peace but a large part of their followers do otherwise IN THE NAME OF THE RELIGION.