Category: Military

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U.S. drone strikes an ISIS-K vehicle packed with explosives in Kabul

WASHINGTON – The United States carried out a military strike on Sunday against an ISIS-K target in Kabul, a development that comes in the final days of an immense humanitarian evacuation mission.

“U.S. military forces conducted a self-defense unmanned over-the-horizon airstrike today on a vehicle in Kabul, eliminating an imminent ISIS-K threat to Hamad Karzai International airport,” U.S. Central Command spokesman Navy Capt. Bill Urban wrote in a statement.

There were no known civilian casualties following the strike.

The latest strike follows a Friday drone strike that killed two high-profile ISIS-K members believed to be involved in planning attacks against U.S. forces in Kabul. Army Maj. Gen. William Taylor said that there were no known civilian casualties following the strike.

Friday’s strike came less than two days after a suicide bomber detonated an explosive near the gates of Kabul’s airport, resulting in the deaths of 13 American service members.

The White House said Sunday that the president and first lady will meet with the families of the fallen and observe a dignified transfer of the remains at Dover Air Force Base.

Source: U.S. drone strikes an ISIS-K vehicle packed with explosives in Kabul

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US airstrike targets Islamic State member in Afghanistan

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States military struck back at the Islamic State on Saturday, bombing an IS member in Afghanistan less than 48 hours after a devastating suicide bombing claimed by the group killed as many as 169 Afghans and 13 American service members at the Kabul airport.

U.S. Central Command said the U.S. conducted a drone strike against an Islamic State member in Nangahar believed to be involved in planning attacks against the U.S. in Kabul. The strike killed one individual, and spokesman Navy Capt. William Urban said they knew of no civilian casualties.

It wasn’t clear if that individual was involved specifically in the Thursday suicide blast outside the gates of the Kabul airport, where crowds of Afghans were desperately trying to get in as part of the ongoing evacuation from the country after the Taliban’s rapid takeover.

The airstrike fulfilled a vow President Joe Biden made to the nation Thursday when he said the perpetrators of the attack would not be able to hide. “We will hunt you down and make you pay,” he said. Pentagon leaders told reporters Friday that they were prepared for whatever retaliatory action the president ordered.

“We have options there right now,” said Maj. Gen. Hank Taylor of the Pentagon’s Joint Staff.

Source: US airstrike targets Islamic State member in Afghanistan

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Biden chooses the wrong Bible verse | The Week

Thursday’s suicide bombing at Kabul airport was the most deadly attack on American forces in Afghanistan since 2011. In remarks on the attack, President Biden honored the fallen soldiers by quoting the Hebrew Bible. “The American military has been answering for a long time. ‘Here I am, Lord. Send me,'” Biden said, in an allusion to Isaiah 6:8. “Each one of these women and men of our Armed Forces are the heirs of that tradition of sacrifice, of volunteering to go into harm’s way, to risk everything; not for glory, not for profit, but to defend what we love and the people we love.”

Biden’s point was that the Marines and other personnel overseeing the evacuation knew they were in danger of precisely the kind of attack that occurred but continued their duties anyway. In that respect, it was a fitting effort to honor their courage.

But the Biblical verse he used was a bad choice to make that point. Jews read Isaiah 6 as describing God’s calling to serve as prophet to the chosen people. For many Christians, it is seen as prefiguring the vocation of missionaries to promote the Gospel. In both interpretations, the phrase “Here I am” expresses willingness to participate in the fulfillment of divine purposes.

The conflation of foreign policy with a religious vocation is a recurring tendency in American history. It’s also a dangerous one, because it transforms agonizing calculations of risk and benefit into contests between good and evil. Biden is leading American forces out of Afghanistan and appealed to national interests elsewhere in his remarks. Yet the crusading attitude that the Bible quote expressed is part of the reason we have failed to secure those interests for the last two decades. To avoid similar disasters in the future, we need to remember that presidents are not prophets and the U.S. military is not the army of God.

Source: Biden chooses the wrong Bible verse | The Week

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Kabul airport explosions: US troops, Afghans killed – CNN

(CNN)Twelve US service members and dozens of Afghans have been killed in two bombing attacks outside Kabul’s airport, according to the Pentagon and Afghanistan’s Ministry of Public Health.

The deadly blasts came as the United States and other Western countries raced to complete a massive evacuation of their citizens and Afghan allies following the Taliban takeover of the country.
An official with Afghanistan’s Ministry of Public Health told CNN on Thursday that more than 60 people were dead and 140 wounded.
Fifteen US service members were injured in addition to the 12 dead, said Gen. Frank McKenzie, Commander of US Central Command.
US officials have been warning over the past week that a threat of a terror attack at the airport was becoming more acute. Earlier on Thursday local time, US diplomats in Kabul warned American citizens to “immediately” leave several gates into the airport, citing security threats.
A US defense official had also told CNN that officials were concerned by a “very specific threat stream” involving the ISIS affiliate in Afghanistan.
US officials believe the group, ISIS-K, was likely behind today’s attack but are still working to confirm its involvement, according to a senior US official and another source briefed on initial assessments. The second source told CNN it may take a few hours before US officials are able to identify the specific individuals who carried out the apparent suicide bombing.

Source: Kabul airport explosions: US troops, Afghans killed – CNN

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British military: 7 Afghans killed in chaos at Kabul airport

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A panicked crush of people trying to enter Kabul’s international airport killed seven Afghan civilians in the crowds, the British military said Sunday, showing the danger still posed to those trying to flee the Taliban’s takeover of the country.

The deaths come as a new, perceived threat from the Islamic State group affiliate in Afghanistan has seen U.S. military planes do rapid, diving combat landings at the airport surrounded by Taliban fighters. Other aircraft have shot off flares on takeoff, an effort to confuse possible heat-seeking missiles targeting the planes.

The changes come as the U.S. Embassy issued a new security warning Saturday telling citizens not to travel to the Kabul airport without individual instruction from a U.S. government representative. Officials declined to provide more specifics about the IS threat but described it as significant. They said there have been no confirmed attacks as yet by the militants, who have battled the Taliban in the past.

On Sunday, the British military acknowledged the seven deaths of civilians in the crowds in Kabul. There have been stampedes and crushing injuries in the crowds, especially as Taliban fighters fire into the air to drive away those desperate to get on any flight out of the country.

“Conditions on the ground remain extremely challenging but we are doing everything we can to manage the situation as safely and securely as possible,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

On Saturday, British and Western troops in full combat gear tried to control the crowds pressing in. They carried away some who were sweating and pale. With temperatures reaching 34 degree Celsius (93 degrees Fahrenheit), the soldiers sprayed water from a hose on those gathered or gave them bottled water to pour over their heads.

“Listen sir, you need to calm down,” one soldier told a man laying in the dirt, as another gave him an orange liquid. “Calm down.”

It wasn’t immediately clear whether those killed had been physically crushed, suffocated or suffered a fatal heart attack in the crowds. Soldiers covered several corpses in white clothes to hide them from view. Other troops stood atop concrete barriers or shipping containers, trying to calm the crowd. Gunshots occasionally rang out.

Speaking to an Iranian state television channel late Saturday night in a video call, Taliban spokesman Mohammad Naeem blamed the deaths at the airport on the Americans in what quickly became a combative interview.

“The Americans announced that we would take you to America with us and people gathered at Kabul airport,” Naeem said. “If it was announced right now in any country in the world, would people not go?”

Source: British military: 7 Afghans killed in chaos at Kabul airport

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Afghan resistance fighters take back territory from Taliban

 

The fight for Afghanistan may not be entirely over.

A high-ranking former Afghan government official said Friday that resistance fighters — mainly made of about 300 battle-ready mujahideen members and commanders linked to the Northern Alliance — wrestled three districts in the northeastern Baghlan province out of Taliban control on Friday, killing upwards of 36 Taliban fighters and wounding dozens more.

The local fighters, often referred to as the public uprising forces, are said to have used their own weapons to retake control of Banu, Pol-e-Hesar and De Salah districts in the beleaguered province.

“The advance continues towards Khenjan in North Salang now,” the former official said, noting that locals were quick to remove the Taliban flag in the re-captured regions.

As the Taliban swept to control of Afghanistan’s provincial capitals and big cities last week, culminating by their capture of Kabul on Sunday, local warlords appealed en masse to the central government for air support and heavy weaponry to repel the offensive — to no avail.

Source: Afghan resistance fighters take back territory from Taliban

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Afghanistan: striking image appears to show 640 people fleeing Kabul in packed US military plane | Afghanistan | The Guardian

The picture obtained by US defence and security news site Defense One is believed to show 640 people crammed into a C-17 Globemaster III, among the highest number of people ever carried in such an aircraft.
Reach 871

 

US defence officials reportedly said the passengers – among them women and children – on the flight were safely evacuated from Kabul to Qatar on Sunday.

Source: Afghanistan: striking image appears to show 640 people fleeing Kabul in packed US military plane | Afghanistan | The Guardian

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Protest outside White House as Taliban seizes Afghan cities | wusa9.com

5,000 troops are being sent to Afghanistan to evacuate U.S. Diplomats and Afghan allies.

WASHINGTON — People with ties to Afghanistan are pleading to President Joe Biden to step in and help as hundreds of people protested Saturday afternoon outside the White House.

The protest was hours after President Biden authorized an additional 1,000 U.S. troops for deployment to Afghanistan, raising to roughly 5,000 the number of U.S. troops to evacuate U.S. diplomats and Afghan allies.

“We want Mr. President to hear and to act immediately, we want him to act now because Afghanistan is in a tragedy and we want him to stop the Taliban,” Azahullah Zalmay said.

RELATED: Biden orders 1,000 more troops to aid Afghanistan departure

Zalmay lives in Northern Virginia but his home country is Afghanistan.

He said it’s been hard to watch what’s happening from 7,000 miles away.

“To be honest I am dying,” Zalmay said. “Since last night I haven’t slept yet. I couldn’t sleep. It’s a tragedy for my people. I can’t sleep.”

Source: Protest outside White House as Taliban seizes Afghan cities | wusa9.com

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Taliban take over Afghanistan: What we know and what’s next – ABC News

The Taliban have seized power in Afghanistan two weeks before the U.S. was set to complete its troop withdrawal after a costly two-decade war.

The insurgents stormed across the country, capturing all major cities in a matter of days, as Afghan security forces trained and equipped by the U.S. and its allies melted away.

WHY DID THE AFGHAN SECURITY FORCES COLLAPSE?

The short answer? Corruption.

The U.S. and its NATO allies spent billions of dollars over two decades to train and equip Afghan security forces. But the Western-backed government was rife with corruption.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT IN AFGHANISTAN?

It’s not clear.

The Taliban say they want to form an “inclusive, Islamic government” with other factions. They are holding negotiations with senior politicians, including leaders in the former government.

They have pledged to enforce Islamic law but say they will provide a secure environment for the return of normal life after decades of war.

But many Afghans distrust the Taliban and fear that their rule will be violent and oppressive. One sign that worries people is that they want to rename the country the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, which is what they called it the last time they ruled.

Source: Taliban take over Afghanistan: What we know and what’s next – ABC News

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Biden restates commitment to Afghan drawdown amid Taliban offensive – POLITICO

 

President Joe Biden showed no sign of backing away from his decision to withdraw all troops and a significant portion of the diplomatic corps from Afghanistan, restating his determination to leave the country in a statement released Saturday.

Biden authorized the deployment of some 5,000 U.S. troops to ensure “an orderly and safe” drawdown of U.S. and allied personnel in Afghanistan, which came after reports of the evacuation of U.S. Embassy staff in Kabul to the international airport as the Taliban rapidly close in on the capital.

Source: Biden restates commitment to Afghan drawdown amid Taliban offensive – POLITICO

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How the Taliban retook half of Afghanistan – BBC News

The Taliban are advancing rapidly across large parts of Afghanistan. They are now in control of more territory than at any time since they were ousted from power in 2001.

Emboldened by the withdrawal of US troops, they are gaining ground in many districts. Government forces are in retreat.

Cities now under Taliban control include Kandahar, Herat, Lashkar Gah and Ghazni, which is just 150km from Kabul.

Taliban fighters have also taken Mazar-i-Sharif, an anti-Taliban bastion which was the last major city in northern Afghanistan still under government control.

 

 

Source: How the Taliban retook half of Afghanistan – BBC News

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U.S. deploying 3,000 troops to help evacuate Afghan embassy staff as Taliban advances

The U.S. embassy warned its ability to assist Americans is “extremely limited even within Kabul” due to deteriorating security and reduced staffing.

The U.S. is deploying 3,000 troops to Afghanistan in order to facilitate the drawdown of the U.S. Embassy in Kabul to a “core diplomatic presence,” as Taliban militants rapidly advance toward the Afghan capital.

The troops, which will consist of three infantry battalions total from the Marines and Army, will deploy to Hamid Karzai International Airport within 24 to 48 hours, according to Pentagon spokesman John Kirby.

“This is a very narrowly focused mission of safeguarding the orderly reduction of civilian personnel out of Afghanistan,” Kirby told reporters during a press briefing Thursday.

When asked if the troops going to Kabul had a combat mission, Kirby said U.S. forces maintain the right to self defense, but the mission is temporary with a focus on protecting the movement of civilian personnel. Kirby told reporters that the U.S. is still on track to complete its withdrawal by August 31.

In addition, a U.S. infantry brigade will be positioned in Kuwait in the event they are needed in Afghanistan to help secure Hamid Karzai International Airport, according to Kirby.

And a joint unit from the Army and Air Force, consisting of 1,000 personnel, will deploy to Qatar to help process visas for Afghans who helped the U.S., Kirby said.

The decision to deploy additional U.S. troops comes as the Taliban offensive makes rapid advances.

The militants captured the strategic city of Ghazni on Thursday, bringing their front line within 95 miles of Kabul, a staggering development that comes nearly two weeks before U.S. and NATO coalition forces exit.

The Taliban also claims to have captured Afghanistan’s third-largest city, Herat, in the northwest close to Iran. Fierce fighting has also been reported in Kandahar, the nation’s second-largest city.

“In light of the evolving security situation, we expect to draw down to a core diplomatic presence in Afghanistan,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said Thursday.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani earlier Thursday to coordinate planning, according Price.

Source: U.S. deploying 3,000 troops to help evacuate Afghan embassy staff as Taliban advances

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US Sends B-52 Bombers and Gunships to Afghanistan As Taliban Advances

The US has deployed B-52 bombers and Spectre gunships to stop Taliban insurgents from capturing three key cities

  • The Taliban has been seizing territory across Afghanistan as US-led forces withdraw.
  • The US has sent B-52 bombers and Spectre gunships to stop the Taliban advance on three key cities.
  • The move shows how Afghan forces are still reliant on the US for military equipment and support.

Source: US Sends B-52 Bombers and Gunships to Afghanistan As Taliban Advances

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Pentagon police officer killed in attack outside Department of Defense headquarters | Fox News

 

A Pentagon police officer was killed in a “shooting event” attack outside the Defense Department headquarters Tuesday morning, a defense official confirmed to Fox News.

The building went into lockdown on Tuesday morning after a shooting occurred near a platform by the facility’s Pentagon Metro station. According to the police, all of the entrances to the Pentagon have now been secured.

The Arlington Fire Department had confirmed to Fox News that there were multiple people down at the site of the shooting, but wouldn’t comment on their conditions as the scene was still active at the time.

Source: Pentagon police officer killed in attack outside Department of Defense headquarters | Fox News

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Biden calls reporter ‘pain in the neck’ for question about Veterans Affairs COVID-19 vaccine mandate | Fox News

President Biden called a reporter a ‘pain in the neck’ Monday in the Oval Office for asking him a question that was off his preferred topic of Iraq.

Sitting in the Oval Office with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, Biden smiled as NBC’s Kelly O’Donnell asked him to comment on Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough’s announcement that front-line VA workers would be required to get a coronavirus vaccine.

“You are such a pain in the neck, but I’m going to answer your question because we’ve known each other for so long,” he said. “It has nothing to do with Iraq … I’ll answer your question. Yes, Veteran Affairs is going to, in fact, require that all doctors working in their facilities are going to have to be vaccinated.”

Biden was genial with O’Donnell, but he has lashed out in the past at reporters over questions he finds unfair or unfounded. Last month, he snapped at CNN’s Kaitlan Collins for a question about Russian President Vladimir Putin, telling her she was in the “wrong business” at one point, and he also had sharp replies on the subject of his son Hunter Biden throughout 2020.

Biden has at times been criticized since he took office for being too scripted and expecting questions to be on his topic of choice. He’s lately been more loose with his words, such as when he had to walk back remarks to reporters that Facebook was “killing people” because it allowed the publication of misleading information about coronavirus vaccines.

One White House reporter anonymously told journalist Julia Ioffe earlier this month that Democrats generally expect the media to take their side and are more “thin-skinned” than Republicans as a result.

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Source: Biden calls reporter ‘pain in the neck’ for question about Veterans Affairs COVID-19 vaccine mandate | Fox News

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U.S. carries out several airstrikes on Taliban in Afghanistan – The Washington Post

 

KABUL — The United States has launched several airstrikes in support of embattled Afghan forces in recent days, U.S. officials said Friday, an escalation in U.S. involvement in Afghanistan as the Taliban seizes more territory from government forces.

At least four of the strikes were carried out Wednesday and Thursday, including some in Kandahar, which is the birthplace of the Taliban and increasingly under pressure by Taliban forces, said one U.S. official, who, like another U.S. official, spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.

The airstrikes were conducted at the request of Afghan forces under attack by the Taliban or to destroy equipment stolen by the militants, including artillery and vehicles, according to the two U.S. officials.

An Afghan military official, also speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the situation, said the escalation of U.S. strikes has been “significant” compared to recent months, concentrated in the northern province of Kunduz and in Kandahar.

“Strategic momentum appears to be sort of with the Taliban,” Milley said.

For weeks, the Afghan military has bitterly fought to maintain control of provincial capitals after losing huge swaths of the country’s rural territory, often with little or no resistance. Militants have besieged the capitals by seizing districts nearby, choking off key roads in a bid to deny Afghan troops freedom of movement.

No provincial capitals have fallen, but Milley said the Taliban’s strategy has forced Afghan security forces to abandon some districts and reconsolidate to defend populated cities.

Source: U.S. carries out several airstrikes on Taliban in Afghanistan – The Washington Post

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Top US general warned of ‘Reichstag moment’ in Trump’s turbulent last days | Donald Trump | The Guardian

 in Washington

Shortly before the deadly attack on the US Capitol on 6 January, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Gen Mark Milley, told aides the US was facing a “Reichstag moment” because Donald Trump was preaching “the gospel of the Führer”, according to an eagerly awaited book about Trump’s last year in office.

The excerpts from I Alone Can Fix This, by Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker, were reported by New York magazine on Wednesday. The authors’ employer, the Washington Post, published the first extract from the book a day earlier. It will be published next week.

Trump denies having made the remark.

Leonnig and Rucker report that Milley spoke to an “old friend”, who warned the general that Trump and his allies were trying to “overturn the government” in response to Joe Biden’s election victory, which Trump falsely maintains was the result of electoral fraud.

Milley is reported to have said: “They may try, but they’re not going to fucking succeed. You can’t do this without the military. You can’t do this without the CIA and the FBI. We’re the guys with guns.”

Reportedly calling Trump supporters “Brownshirts”, a reference to paramilitaries who served Hitler in Germany in the 1930s, Milley is reported to have believed long before the Capitol attack that “Trump was stoking unrest, possibly in hopes of an excuse to invoke the Insurrection Act and call out the military”.

Milley notoriously appeared with Trump in Lafayette Square in Washington in June 2020, after anti-racism protesters had been aggressively cleared and as Trump walked to a church to stage a photo op with a Bible.

The general apologised for that incident. It has been widely reported that he resisted Trump’s efforts then to invoke the Insurrection Act and crack down on the protests.

Milley’s “Reichstag moment” remark refers to a fire at the German parliament which the Nazis used to consolidate their authoritarian rule in 1933.

Trump’s supporters attacked Congress on 6 January, the day the electoral college results were certified . Five people died.

Leonnig and Rucker report that Milley called the attackers “Nazis” and, in reference to two far-right groups, said “they’re boogaloo boys, they’re Proud Boys”.

“These are the same people we fought in [the second world war],” he reportedly said.

According to New York magazine, the authors also report that Milley, who made headlines and stoked rightwing ire last month by defending teaching about historic racism in army educational establishments, met former first lady Michelle Obama at the Capitol on 20 January, the day Biden was inaugurated.

“No one has a bigger smile today than I do,” Milley reportedly said. “You can’t see it under my mask but I do.”

Source: Top US general warned of ‘Reichstag moment’ in Trump’s turbulent last days | Donald Trump | The Guardian

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Fear shakes Mexico border city after violence leaves 18 dead

By The Associated Press

Fear has invaded the Mexican border city of Reynosa after gunmen in vehicles killed 14 people, including taxi drivers, workers and a nursing student, and security forces responded with operations that left four suspects dead.

While this city across the border from McAllen, Texas is used to cartel violence as a key trafficking point, the 14 victims in Saturday’s attacks appeared to be what Tamaulipas Gov. Francisco García Cabeza de Vaca called “innocent citizens” rather than members of one gang killed by a rival.

Local businessman Misael Chavarria Garza said many businesses closed early Saturday after the attacks and people were very scared as helicopters flew overhead. On Sunday, he said “the people were quiet as if nothing had happened, but with a feeling of anger because now crime has happened to innocent people.”

“It’s not fair,” said taxi driver Rene Guevara, adding that among the dead were two of his fellow taxi drivers whom he defended and said were not involved in crime.

The attacks took place in several neighborhoods in eastern Reynosa, according to the Tamaulipas state agency that coordinates security forces, and sparked a deployment of the military, National Guard and state police across the city.

Source: Fear shakes Mexico border city after violence leaves 18 dead

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UFO report: No evidence of alien spacecraft, but can’t rule it out

By Courtney Kube

Are there alien spacecraft flying above us?

A highly anticipated government report sheds little light on the mystery, finding no evidence of extraterrestrial activity but not ruling it out either, according to two U.S. officials.

The report also does not rule out the possibility that the flying objects seen by U.S. military planes are highly advanced aircraft developed by other nations, the officials said. Further deepening the mystery, the report says the objects also do not appear to be evidence of secret U.S. technology but it doesn’t definitively rule that out either.

One of the officials said the report suggests the videos do not appear to show any known U.S. assets.

Source: UFO report: No evidence of alien spacecraft, but can’t rule it out

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Iranian navy ship catches fire, sinks in Gulf of Oman

One of Iran’s largest warships caught fire and sank Wednesday in the Gulf of Oman during a “training mission” — as a series of mysterious explosions have targeted commercial vessels in the sensitive region since 2019.

The British-built Kharg, which measured more than 650 feet long, erupted into flames Tuesday off the strategic port of Jask, Reuters reported.

The ship was in “domestic waters” during “a training mission,” said the navy’s head of public relations, Behzad Jahanian, according to Iran’s Tasnim news agency.

No further details were given and Jahanian said the cause of the blaze was “still not clear.”

Source: Iranian navy ship catches fire, sinks in Gulf of Oman

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Joe Biden commemorates war dead at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day | Hindustan Times

US President Joe Biden salutes before delivering an address at the 153rd National Memorial Day Observance at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day in Arlington, Virginia. (AFP)
WORLD NEWS
The president was joined on Monday by first lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff in a somber ceremony at the Virginia cemetery’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which is dedicated to deceased service members whose remains have not been identified.

President Joe Biden honored America’s war dead at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day by laying a wreath at the hallowed burial ground and extolling the sacrifices of the fallen for the pursuit of democracy.

Source: Joe Biden commemorates war dead at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day | Hindustan Times

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Trump honors fallen heroes in Memorial Day message

​Former President Donald Trump honored the “fallen heroes” who made the “supreme sacrifice” for their country in a Memorial Day message, as he reminded Americans that “all that we are” is thanks to them.

“We remember the fallen heroes who took their last breaths in defense of our Nation, our families, our citizens, and our sacred freedoms. The depth of their devotion, the steel of their resolve, and the purity of their patriotism has no equal in human history,” he said.

Source: Trump honors fallen heroes in Memorial Day message

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UFO Pentagon report: US navy nuclear submarines detect mystery speeding objects underwater | Weird | News | Express.co.uk

THE US Navy have detected unexplainable mysterious objects moving at hundreds of knots under the water as the Pentagon prepares to release its report on UFO sightings.The US Navy has picked up sonar data showing mysterious fast-moving objects underwater that cannot be explained by experts or current technology. Washington Examiner’s Tom Rogan said that US Navy “has the data” to prove the bizarre encounters. Some of these encounters could be included in the US Government task force which is preparing to brief Congress on its UFO findings next month.

Source: UFO Pentagon report: US navy nuclear submarines detect mystery speeding objects underwater | Weird | News | Express.co.uk

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Israeli forces clash with Palestinians outside Al Aqsa mosque after Gaza ceasefire – CNN

Jerusalem (CNN)Israeli security forces used stun grenades and rubber bullets against Palestinians outside the Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, where thousands of worshipers had been attending Friday prayers, puncturing a half-day of calm brought on by a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

A CNN journalist at the mosque compound said dozens of Israeli officers hit journalists with batons and tried to point rifles at them, calling them “liars” when they showed them their press cards.
The officers moved on to the compound as thousands of worshipers chanted in solidarity with Gaza and with Palestinian residents of the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, where some Palestinian families are facing eviction.

Source: Israeli forces clash with Palestinians outside Al Aqsa mosque after Gaza ceasefire – CNN

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Israeli media: Cabinet approves cease-fire in Gaza

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office on Thursday announced a cease-fire to halt an 11-day military operation against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.

A statement said his Security Cabinet unilaterally approved the Egyptian-mediated proposal. The two sides were still negotiating exactly when it would take effect. Multiple reports said the truce was to go into effect at 2 a.m., just over three hours after the cabinet’s decision.

“The political leaders emphasized that the reality on the ground will be that which determines the future of the campaign,” the statement said.

The decision came after heavy U.S. pressure to halt the offensive. There was no immediate comment from Hamas.

Since fighting broke out on May 10, Israel has launched hundreds of airstrikes that it says have targeted Hamas’ infrastructure, including a vast tunnel network. Hamas and other militant groups embedded in residential areas have fired over 4,000 rockets at Israeli cities, with hundreds falling short and most of the rest intercepted.

At least 230 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza health officials, while 12 people in Israel have died

.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE

Source: Israeli media: Cabinet approves cease-fire in Gaza

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Explainer: How did the latest Israeli-Palestinian crisis emerge?

By Yuliya Talmazan

Tensions have been simmering for over a month, but this week they boiled over as violence exploded between Israel and the Palestinians.

Thousands of rockets have been fired from Gaza and while Israel initially responded with airstrikes, on Thursday its artillery began targeting positions in the blockaded Palestinian enclave.

But what prompted the latest escalation of violence?

Roots of the current crisis

Tensions started to brew at the start of Islam’s holy month of Ramadan in mid-April when Israeli police put up barriers at the Damascus Gate on the north side of Jerusalem’s walled Old City, where Muslim worshippers gather after their evening prayers at the Al-Asqa Mosque.

Thousands of Palestinians descended on the area to protest the policy, with dozens hurt in clashes with police and nationalist Israelis that saw crowds hurl firecrackers, stones and other objects while police responded with stun grenades and water cannons.

Elsewhere, in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, tensions were high over a long-running legal case that left four Palestinian families facing eviction from their homes on land claimed by Jewish settlers. The case was set to be heard by Israel’s Supreme Court, although the hearing was postponed as protests grew.

Source: Explainer: How did the latest Israeli-Palestinian crisis emerge?

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UFOs and the Pentagon: How the government has handled reported sightings, mysterious videos and more – CNNPolitics

Washington (CNN)For years, the US government largely ignored reports of mysterious flying objects seen moving through restricted military airspace but it is now slowly beginning to acknowledge that UFOs, which the Pentagon refers to as unidentified aerial phenomena, are real.

While it is certainly premature to speculate as to whether these flying objects come from another world, the US military has recently confirmed the authenticity of several videos and images showing encounters with unidentified flying objects — fueling questions about what the Pentagon knows about such incidents and others like them.

Next month, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and other agencies are scheduled to deliver unclassified reports on UFOs to Congress.

The Department of Defense’s watchdog is also set to examine how the Pentagon has handled reports of UFOs. A source with knowledge of the subject matter told CNN earlier this month that there will be more inquiries announced in the near future on how these encounters were handled in recent years.

Source: UFOs and the Pentagon: How the government has handled reported sightings, mysterious videos and more – CNNPolitics

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Israel steps up Gaza offensive, kills senior Hamas figures

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel on Wednesday pressed ahead with a fierce military offensive in the Gaza Strip, killing as many as 10 senior Hamas military figures and toppling a pair of high-rise towers housing Hamas facilities in airstrikes. The Islamic militant group showed no signs of backing down and fired hundreds of rockets at Israeli cities.

In just three days, this latest round of fighting between the bitter enemies has already begun to resemble — and even exceed — a devastating 50-day war in 2014. Like in that previous war, neither side appears to have an exit strategy.

But there are key differences. The fighting has triggered the worst Jewish-Arab violence inside Israel in decades. And looming in the background is an international war crimes investigation.

 

Source: Israel steps up Gaza offensive, kills senior Hamas figures

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