Tag: ISIS

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Terrorists Sentenced After Attempting To Blow Up Gay Brother On Plane

L-R Khaled and Mahmoud Khayat (images via Twitter)
Brothers Khaled (52) and Mahmoud (34) Khayat were sentenced to lengthy prison sentences after planning to hide a bomb in their unsuspecting gay brother’s luggage on an international flight. The brothers schemed to blow up an Etihad Airways flight from Sydney, Australia, to Abu Dhabi in July 2017. According to the Newcastle Herald, they built a gas bomb in one of the men’s garage using plans transmitted with an encrypted app by their older brother, Tarek, who is a senior member of ISIS. They then hid the bomb inside a meat grinder which was placed in the luggage of their brother Amer, pretending it was a gift for family members. The court was told during the trial the attack was intended to support groups fighting the Syrian regime. “Neither offender was particularly close to Amer, although each said he loved him as a brother and spoke to him when he saw him,” said Justice Christine Adamson on Tuesday. “They disapproved of him because he drank, went clubbing, gambled and was gay which they regarded as bringing shame on the family.” The plan was foiled when a Sydney Airport attendant noticed Amer’s luggage was overweight. Khaled removed the bomb for fear of being discovered. The two brothers were found guilty in the NSW Supreme Court earlier this year of conspiring to prepare or plan a terrorist act. Adamson noted that, had the scheme gone as planned, “no one in the aircraft carrying the bomb and no one exposed to the poisonous gas would have survived.” ”The scale of the intended impact adds significantly to the gravity of the offence,” she added. Adamson sentenced Khaled to 40 years in prison and Mahmoud to 36 years with non-parole periods of 30 and 27 years respectively. The two men maintain they are innocent and plan to appeal their cases. Meanwhile, Amer spent two years in a Lebanese prison before being found not guilty of involvement in the plot by a military court in September. Tarek was found guilty in a Lebanese court and sentenced to hard labor for life for his participation in the plot. Last week, Amer said that despite his ordeal he still loves his brothers because they are his “blood.” (source: Newcastle Herald)

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Reports Say Trump Was Golfing When ISIS Raid Occurred, Photo Staged Later

President Obama in the Situation Room during bin Laden kill, Trump with his team (photos via public domain)
So, now this has become a “thing.” I’m certain Donald Trump is living for the photo above. He’s always wanted to look ‘tough.’ The interesting thing is it’s marked on the White House Flickr account as “President Trump Watches as U.S. Special Operations Forces Close in on ISIS Leader.” The raid was reported to have taken place at 3:30pm Washington time. But Pete Souza, a White House photographer under Presidents Reagan and Obama notes the camera’s IPTC data indicates the photo was taken at 17:05:24. That would be 5:05pm – over an hour and a half AFTER the raid occurred. Plus, White House reports show Trump was at his golf course at 3:30pm, not in the Situation Room…? So, was this photo staged after the fact? If so, why?

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Trump: Killing ISIS Leader Is Bigger Than Killing Osama Bin Laden

(image via Flickr/WhiteHouse – public domain)
From the New York Times:

President Trump announced on Sunday that a commando raid in Syria this weekend had targeted and resulted in the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State, claiming a significant victory even as American forces are pulling out of the area.

“Last night, the United States brought the world’s No. 1 terrorist leader to justice,” Mr. Trump said in an unusual nationally televised address from the White House. “Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead.”

Mr. Trump said Mr. al-Baghdadi was chased to the end of a tunnel, “whimpering and crying and screaming all the way” as he was pursued by American military dogs. Accompanied by three children, Mr. al-Baghdadi then detonated a suicide vest, blowing up himself and the children, Mr. Trump said.

Mr. Trump, who is under threat of impeachment for abuse of power by pressuring Ukraine to investigate his domestic political rivals, appeared eager to claim credit for the raid, engaging in a lengthy question-and-answer session with reporters after his statement as he personally walked them through the details, promoted his own role and compared himself favorably to past presidents.

Mr. Trump even seemed to suggest that killing Mr. al-Baghdadi was a bigger deal than killing Bin Laden.

I’m not sure why Trump continually feels the need to compare himself to President Obama. As the Times points out, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was definitely a bad guy. No doubt. But he never entered the psyche of the American public to the degree that Osama bin Laden, who committed terrorism on American soil, did. Plus, Trump’s appearing to ‘take credit’ here is unseemly especially when he was overly-critical of Obama regarding the takedown of bin Laden. Trump tweeted multiple times that Obama shouldn’t be ‘congratulated’ for the death of bin Laden because “all he did was say O.K.” Now that he’s in the Oval Office, does Trump believe that’s all HE did? “Say ok?” There’s always a tweet…

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News Round-Up: January 3, 2018

Some news items you might have missed:

• Actor and fitness model Lony Pizarro (above) proves not every shirtless pic happens at the beach or in a bathroom 🙂

• Looks like actress Ellen Page and gf Emm Portner heard some wedding bells recently. #Congrats

• Kenneth-in-the-212’s “Wrestle Wednesdays” are plenty reason to get through the week 😉

• The ISIS executioner who beheaded gay men has been captured in Iraq

• Eric Trump, attempting to retake the mantle of “Dumbest Trump,” accused out talk show host Ellen DeGeneres of being a part of the “Deep State” conspiracy. You know, that “Deep State” thing about elected government officials – which Ellen is not…?

• A gay couple in Houston was kicked out of their Uber at 4AM by their driver after exchanging a sweet kiss.

• It’s no wonder the guys over at NewNowNext are suddenly rugby fans. Who knew sports could be so much fun?

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Video: Drone Footage Of “Mother Of All Bombs”

Silent video footage, shot by a drone during the dropping of the “mother of all bombs” yesterday in Afghanistan by the U.S., shows the massive impact and range of the GBU-43/B.

According to reports, no civilians were hurt in the bombing – only a base used to launch attacks and a “tunnels complex” were destroyed, along with 36 ISIS militants.

The bomb, the largest non-nuclear in the U.S. arsenal, is dropped via Air Force planes and detonated before hitting ground which results in an enormous blast radius.

Watch below.

(source)

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U.S. Drops Largest Non-Nuclear Bomb In Afghanistan

From CNN:

The US military has dropped an enormous bomb in Afghanistan, according to four US military officials with direct knowledge of the mission.

A GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb (MOAB), nicknamed the “mother of all bombs,” was dropped at 7:32 pm local time Thursday, the sources said. A MOAB is a 21,600-pound, GPS-guided munition that is America’s most powerful non-nuclear bomb.

The bomb was dropped by an MC-130 aircraft, stationed in Afghanistan and operated by Air Force Special Operations Command, Pentagon spokesman Adam Stump told CNN.

Officials said the target was an ISIS cave and tunnel complex and personnel in the Achin district of the Nangarhar province.

“The United States takes the fight against ISIS very seriously and in order to defeat the group we must deny them operational space, which we did,” White House press secretary Sean Spicer said later Thursday. The strike “targeted a system of tunnels and cave that ISIS fighters use to move around freely.”

The military is currently assessing the damage. Gen. John Nicholson, commander of US forces in Afghanistan, signed off on the use of the bomb, according to the sources. The authority to deploy the weapon was granted to Nicholson by the commander of US Central Command, Gen. Joseph Votel, Stump said.

This is the first time a MOAB has been used in the battlefield, according to the US officials. This munition was developed during the Iraq War.

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Campaign Spot Depicts ISIS/Russia Celebration In Aftermath Of Possible Trump Win

With Millennials and college students in mind, The Democratic Coalition Against Trump drops this dramatic new campaign spot.

Via press release:

The video uses Miley Cyrus’s “Party in the USA” to attack Trump for the support he has received from America’s enemies and is designed to engage with Millennials and college students. With almost 40% of them declaring their support for 3rd party candidates and only 31% currently supporting Secretary Clinton – a far cry from the 60% who voted for Obama in 2012.

“The fact that Trump has received support from Vladimir Putin, neo-Nazi leaders and North Korea is incredibly telling. These are not individuals who want to make America great again,” said Nate Lerner, Executive Director to the Democratic Coalition Against Trump and a millennial. “Further, ISIS continues to use Trump in their recruiting videos, which means a Trump victory will be good for them as well. Clearly they don’t fear Trump as much as he thinks.”

(h/t JoeMyGod)

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Orlando Shooter Called 911, Pledged Allegiance To Leader Of ISIS

MSNBC is reporting that Omar Mateen, the gunman who opened fire at a gay nightclub in Florida, had called 911 moments before to pledge allegiance to the leader of ISIS.

Mateen appeared to be a follower of ISIS propaganda and referenced the Tsarnaev brothers, who carried out the Boston Marathon bombings in 2013, at the scene, sources said.

But as investigators try to determine the radicalization that apparently motivated Mateen to attack the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, his family believes he was pushed over the edge by pure hate against the LGBT community.

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News Round-Up: November 16, 2015

Uzo Aduba as “Glinda The Good Witch” in The Wiz Live! (Photo: Scott Gilmore)

Some news stories you may have missed:

• Get your first look at the stars of The Wiz Live!

• Hacker group Anonymous declares war on ISIS following the terrorist attacks on Paris.

• 1,500 Mormons officially leave LDS Church after announcement of new policy that children of same-sex couples cannot be members of the faith until they reach the age of 18, leave their parents home and disavow the practice of same-sex relationships,

• Ireland’s marriage equality law takes effect today. Marriages begin tomorrow after the normal mandatory 24 hour waiting period.

• Pastor Steven Anderson spent Sunday sermonizing that when you go to a rock concert in Paris – “somebody might get killed,” because you’re “worshipping death.”

• 19 states say they will not accept Syrian refugees following Friday’s terrorist attacks in Paris.