Tag: war

Israel’s Netanyahu threatens Gaza with ALL-OUT WAR if missile attacks continue

RT – February 24, 2020

Israel will stop at nothing to ensure its security and may well launch a broad military campaign against Gaza if the local armed groups continue with missile strikes, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

Air raid sirens were heard across southern Israel for the second straight day on Monday. The IDF said that some 50 rockets were fired from Gaza at Israeli territory, with 90 percent of them intercepted.

The missile strikes were met with a harsh response, with the Israeli Defense Forces confirming on Twitter that multiple strikes against targets in Gaza have been carried out.

“We are now hitting with planes, tanks, and helicopters,” Netanyahu announced as he visited an Iron Dome air defense system battery in the Ashdod area. He also added a special message for the leaders of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) militants.

Speaking later in the day at the Israeli settlement of Ariel in the West Bank, Netanyahu added more threats.

“I don’t plan to let up… Beyond the hard strikes on our enemies, Hamas and Islamic Jihad need to understand – this [missile attack against Israel] won’t continue. If they do not completely stop, we will have to activate the plan we prepared for a broad campaign.”

Netanyahu said he was well aware of the price that IDF troops – who are conscripts – and their families would pay in such a campaign.

“I am not rushing into war,” the PM said, but if Israel is forced to launch a major offensive, “woe to Hamas and Islamic Jihad when that day comes!! It’s their choice.”

https://www.rt.com

US conducts airstrikes against multiple Iranian-backed militia sites in Iraq

Ryan Browne, Barbara Starr and Zachary Cohen – March 13, 2020

(CNN)The US carried out airstrikes on Thursday against multiple Iranian-backed militia sites in Iraq, according to the US Defense Department.

The strikes come one day after the US assessed an Iranian-backed group was responsible for a rocket attack on a base where coalition forces are located, killing two American service members and one British service member.

The Defense Department on Friday identified the two US service members killed in the attack as Army Specialist Juan Miguel Mendez Covarrubias, 27, of Hanford, California and Air Force Staff Sgt. Marshal D. Roberts, 28, of Owasso, Oklahoma. The UK Ministry of Defense had earlier identified the slain UK service member as Lance Corporal Brodie Gillon.

The UK government expressed support for the US airstrikes, with the UK’s Defense Secretary Ben Wallace saying “We support the right of the United States to defend themselves, as they have done tonight.”

Fox News was first to report on the strike.

A US defense official told CNN that the strikes were carried out by manned fighter aircraft and targeted five weapons storage facilities.

In a written statement, the Defense Department stated the strike was aimed at harming the ability of Kata’ib Hezbollah, an Iranian-sponsored Shia militia group, to conduct future strikes against American troops. The weapons storage facilities included areas where weapons used to attack American and coalition troops were stored.

https://www.cnn.com

Turkey in social media BLACKOUT amid fears of all-out war in Syria

RT- February 27, 2020

Social media platforms across Turkey winked out after reports of an airstrike in Syria killing dozens of Turkish soldiers fueled rumors of an all-out war. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and YouTube were all reported down.

Twitter was the first to go, with national provider Turk Telekom shutting off access around 11:30pm local time on Thursday. This was shortly after news broke that at least nine – the number has since continued to rise – Turkish soldiers were killed in Syria’s Idlib province.

This was followed by all other social networks, clustered by provider, according to multiple services monitoring internet outages across the globe.

Accounts of major media outlets remained active however, as they flashed updates about the alleged Syrian airstrike and the Turkish response – described by officials in Ankara as air and artillery strikes against multiple “regime” targets.

News that multiple soldiers were killed in Syria was confirmed on Thursday evening by Rahmi Dogan, governor of the Hatay province that neighbors Syria. Casualties from the strike were reportedly being treated at hospitals in the border town of Reyhanli.

Among the rumors circulating on social media in the aftermath were reports that Turkey would open its borders for Syrian refugees seeking to cross into Europe. It was also suggested that the parliament in Ankara intended to declare war on Syria in the morning.

So far, the only thing that has been officially confirmed is that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called an emergency session of security officials, and that Ankara has reached out to NATO and Washington.

https://www.rt.com

US Magazine Names Top Five Submarines Capable of Wiping Out Humanity

Sputnik News – February 20, 2020

Earlier, the National Interest published an article in which the author pointed out that rockets on Borei-class submarines could render the United States ‘uninhabitable’.

Five nuclear submarines, both existing and in the works, can annihilate the entire human race or bring our planet to the edge of the apocalypse, according to an article by the National Interest published this week.

The piece lists Ohio-class submarines as one of these weapons of total destruction, noting that the vessels are able to turn 288 town-sized targets into ashes in less than half an hour.

Another ominous vessel listed in the article is the Columbia-class submarines that were designed to replace the Ohio-class versions.

Three other submarines mentioned in the article are all manufactured in Russia, specifically the Borei-class, Delfin-class and Yasen-class submarines.

Russia is currently looking to develop eight Borei-class vessels. Three submarines of this type have already joined the Russian fleet, while another one is currently being tested.

https://sputniknews.com

Syria and Turkey Edge Toward All-Out War While Putin Smiles

Rick Moran – February 12, 2020

There have been several clashes between Syrian and Turkish military forces in the last two weeks, as Syria attempts to retake Idlib province from rebel forces. Turkey has carved out a demilitarized zone in Idlib, which is supposed to be a safe zone for Syrian civilians. Their goal is to prevent a flood of refugees from crossing the Syrian border.

But Syria is ignoring the Moscow-negotiated cease-fire and driving hundreds of thousands of refugees toward Turkey, most of them in desperate straits.

The UN is warning of a humanitarian catastrophe as 700,000 Syrians are on the move with nowhere to go. But there are likely to be more refugees as Syria and Turkey have now come to blows, with President Erdogan promising to “punish” Syria for attacking Turkish positions in Idlib.

Washington Times:

Analysts say the reignited Syrian crisis threatens to engulf  Turkey and force Ankara to greatly expand its military mission inside the country. The winner, they say, could ultimately be Russia, as President Vladimir Putin may emerge as the only player powerful enough to prevent a full-blown war.

“Erdogan went into Syria for entirely selfish and cynical reasons, and now finds that it was a lot easier to go in than get out,” said former Defense Department official Michael Rubin, now a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute who tracks the region extensively.

https://pjmedia.com

A Day of Terror for Israel: Many Injured After 3 Terror Attacks in Just 12 Hours

Emily Jones – February 6, 2020

JERUSALEM, Israel – Israeli officials have arrested the man responsible for injuring 12 soldiers by ramming his car into them early Thursday morning outside First Station, a popular entertainment center in Jerusalem.

The man was arrested at the Gush Etzion Junction in the West Bank Thursday evening, police said. He was handed over to Israel’s Shin Bet security service for interrogation.

“Following an extensive operational and intelligence effort, the IDF, working with the Shin Bet, the Israel Police’s special police unit and other special forces, has arrested the terrorist who carried out the ramming attack in the predawn hours of this morning in Jerusalem,” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement.

“He is unconscious and connected to a respirator in the intensive care unit,” hospital officials told Israeli media.

He and the other soldiers involved in the attack were in Jerusalem to attend a swearing-in ceremony at the Western Wall that morning.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that Israel would catch the perpetrator, saying that “terrorism will not defeat us.”

President Reuven Rivlin said Israel is “praying” for the injured soldiers.

The car-ramming incident is one of 3 terror attacks against Israel in just 12 hours.

https://www1.cbn.com

Almost 40% of the world’s countries will witness civil unrest in 2020, research claims

David Reid – January 16, 2020

Almost a quarter of the world’s countries witnessed a surge in protest and unrest last year and that figure is set to rise further in 2020, according to a new study.

There are 195 countries in the world, if the Vatican and Palestine are included, and a newly released index of civil unrest has claimed that 47 of those states witnessed a rise in civil unrest in 2019.

The data model, published Thursday by socio-economic and political analysis firm Verisk Maplecroft, has also predicted that in 2020, the number will balloon to 75 countries.

The U.K. consultancy identified Hong Kong and Chile as the two flashpoints suffering the largest increases in unrest since the beginning of 2019. Neither country is expected to find peace for at least two years, according to the research.

Other areas now considered hotbeds of civil protest include Nigeria, Lebanon and Bolivia. Beyond these three, countries dropping into a category labeled “extreme risk” include Ethiopia, India, Pakistan and Zimbabwe.

Since the previous index release, Sudan has overtaken Yemen to become the highest risk country globally.

https://www.cnbc.com

Now The Iranians Are Promising More Military Action Against U.S. Forces, And That Would Definitely Start World War 3

– January 9, 2020

What in the world are the Iranians thinking?  After President Trump decided not to respond militarily to the rockets that the Iranians fired at U.S. bases in Iraq, it appeared that a major war had been averted.  People all over the world celebrated this unexpected turn of events, and global stock markets soared.  But now the Iranians are changing their tune again.  Instead of “standing down”, top Iranian leaders are warning that “harsher revenge” is on the way and that there will be more attacks against U.S. forces.  I think that Iran correctly perceives that Trump does not want a war, but if Trump gets pushed too far he will hit the Iranians extremely hard.  And once the Iranian homeland starts getting pummeled by U.S. missiles, the Iranians will start firing some of the 200,000 missiles that they have stockpiled at Israel, and needless to say the Israelis will respond with even greater force.  In other words, any escalation of this conflict at this point has the potential to spark World War 3.

So the Iranians would be wise to stop this nonsense while they still can, but apparently they have no intention of doing so.

On Thursday, the commander of the Revolutionary Guard’s Aerospace Force claimed that the missile attacks the other night were just “the first stage of a major regional operation aimed at expelling U.S. forces from the Middle East”…

Iran’s missile strikes on Iraqi bases housing U.S. troops were the first stage of a major regional operation aimed at expelling U.S. forces from the Middle East, the Iranian commander responsible for the attack said Thursday.

Brig. Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, who as commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard’s Aerospace Force oversees most of Iran’s missile arsenal, stopped short of threatening further concrete military action. He also said Iran hadn’t intended to kill anyone in Wednesday’s attack but only to cause material damage.

And Revolutionary Guard commander Abdollah Araghi is promising that “harsher revenge” is coming soon.

http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com

US Warship Faces Aggressive Moves by Russia Ship in Mideast

Newsmax – January 10, 2020

An American warship was “aggressively approached” by a Russian Navy ship in the North Arabian Sea, the U.S. Navy said Friday.

Navy Cmdr. Josh Frey, spokesman for U.S. 5th Fleet, said that the USS Farragut was conducting routine operations Thursday and sounded five short blasts to warn the Russian ship of a possible collision. He said the USS Farragut, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, asked the Russian ship to change course and the ship initially refused but ultimately moved away.

Even though the Russian ship moved away, Frey said the delay in shifting course “increased the risk of collision.”

https://www.newsmax.com

Fears of new conflict rise after US kills Qasem Soleimani, a top Iranian general, in strike on Baghdad airport

, , and – January 2, 2020

One of Iran’s most revered and powerful military commanders has been killed in a U.S. strike near the Baghdad International Airport, the Pentagon confirmed Thursday.

The strike will intensify tensions between the U.S. and Iran and many experts say it escalates the risk of a new conflict spreading across the region.

“At the direction of the President, the U.S. military has taken decisive defensive action to protect U.S. personnel abroad by killing Qasem Soleimani, the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force, a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization,” the Department of Defense said in an emailed statement.

Also killed in the strike was a top Iraqi leader, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy commander of the Popular Mobilization Forces, which is known as the PMF and is part of a larger umbrella group that includes a number of Shia militant groups supported by Iran..

An Iraqi official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Associated Press that al-Muhandis had arrived to the airport in a convoy to receive Soleimani whose plane had arrived from either Lebanon or Syria. The airstrike occurred as soon as he descended from the plane to be greeted by al-Muhandis and his companions, killing them all.

The DoD said Soleimani was “actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region. General Soleimani and his Quds Force were responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American and coalition service members and the wounding of thousands more.”

https://www.militarytimes.com