The War Blog
🇺🇸 🇱🇧 USS Wasp Moving to Evacuate U.S. Citizens from #Lebanon: Defense officials have told NBC that U.S. forces are moving closer to the Eastern Mediterranean to facilitate the evacuation of #UnitedStates persons from Lebanon if Israel initiated a full scale…
🇺🇸 🇮🇱 🇱🇧 U.S. to Release Weapons to #Israel:
The #UnitedStates is set to partially release a weapons shipment to Israel that was suspended back in April over #IDF military operations in Rafah, Palestine, according to Axios.
An estimated 1,700x MK-82 500lb bombs are expected to be delivered to Israel in the coming weeks, while a shipment of 1,800x MK-84 2,000lb bombs remains under review. @AtlasNewsTelegram
The development comes as tensions continue to soar with #Hezbollah, as cross border strikes and clashes continue to escalate.
Earlier this month, the IDF announced that it had finalized operational plans for an offensive over the border if an all out war were to break out with Hezbollah, who warned of large-scale missile and drone strikes across northern Israel if the IDF invaded into southern #Lebanon. Via theatlasnews.co
The #UnitedStates is set to partially release a weapons shipment to Israel that was suspended back in April over #IDF military operations in Rafah, Palestine, according to Axios.
An estimated 1,700x MK-82 500lb bombs are expected to be delivered to Israel in the coming weeks, while a shipment of 1,800x MK-84 2,000lb bombs remains under review. @AtlasNewsTelegram
The development comes as tensions continue to soar with #Hezbollah, as cross border strikes and clashes continue to escalate.
Earlier this month, the IDF announced that it had finalized operational plans for an offensive over the border if an all out war were to break out with Hezbollah, who warned of large-scale missile and drone strikes across northern Israel if the IDF invaded into southern #Lebanon. Via theatlasnews.co
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🇦🇫 Who Has the #Taliban Been Selling Mining Rights To?: https://theatlasnews.co/latest/2024/06/27/who-has-the-taliban-been-selling-mining-rights-to/
Last autumn, the Taliban boasted of seven new mining contracts worth a collective $6.5 billion. Yesterday, the Afghan Witness, an open-source project by the Centre for Information Resilience, reported the total of disbursed contracts since 2021 at 205. Some of the companies were foreign, and many of them were new investors. Chinese, Iranian, Turkish, Qatari, and British corporations seem to represent the large part of the extended contracts according to the report.
After the Taliban took control of the Afghan government in 2021, they began selling off increased amounts of mining rights, promising companies a piece of #Afghanistan’s approximately $1–3 trillion in natural mineral reserves. The ballpark figure of $1–3 trillion is actually outdated; it was created by US military geologists in 2010, and the actual amount could be worth more due to increased market prices. @AtlasNewsTelegram
Afghanistan is rich in critical minerals, holding around 1.4 million tons, according to a report by Afghanistan’s Ministry of Mines and Petroleum (MOMP) in 2019. A substantial portion of that is lithium (although actual figures are uncertain) and copper. Afghanistan also boasts substantial quantities of gemstones, in addition to the 1.6 billion barrels of crude oil and 16 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
Full article on theatlasnews.co describing the mining contracts and geopolitical implications of Afghanistan’s burgeoning extraction industries.
Last autumn, the Taliban boasted of seven new mining contracts worth a collective $6.5 billion. Yesterday, the Afghan Witness, an open-source project by the Centre for Information Resilience, reported the total of disbursed contracts since 2021 at 205. Some of the companies were foreign, and many of them were new investors. Chinese, Iranian, Turkish, Qatari, and British corporations seem to represent the large part of the extended contracts according to the report.
After the Taliban took control of the Afghan government in 2021, they began selling off increased amounts of mining rights, promising companies a piece of #Afghanistan’s approximately $1–3 trillion in natural mineral reserves. The ballpark figure of $1–3 trillion is actually outdated; it was created by US military geologists in 2010, and the actual amount could be worth more due to increased market prices. @AtlasNewsTelegram
Afghanistan is rich in critical minerals, holding around 1.4 million tons, according to a report by Afghanistan’s Ministry of Mines and Petroleum (MOMP) in 2019. A substantial portion of that is lithium (although actual figures are uncertain) and copper. Afghanistan also boasts substantial quantities of gemstones, in addition to the 1.6 billion barrels of crude oil and 16 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
Full article on theatlasnews.co describing the mining contracts and geopolitical implications of Afghanistan’s burgeoning extraction industries.
Atlas
Who Has the Taliban Been Selling Mining Rights To?
Last autumn, the Taliban boasted of seven new mining contracts worth a collective $6.5 billion. Yesterday, the Afghan Witness, an open-source project by the Cen
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🇷🇺 "#Ingush Liberation Army" Releases Video Detailing "Struggle" Against Russian Federal State:
Ingushetia, a small republic in the North Caucasus region of #Russia, is often overshadowed by its larger neighbor, Chechnya, yet it shares a similarly tumultuous history. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ingushetia has faced poverty, insurgency, religious extremism, and political instability.
In a recently released video, a member of the Ingush Liberation Army, speaking in Russian, stated that the group had been contacted by Italian journalists seeking answers about the movement. @ourwarstoday
Five men are present in the video, two of them standing and carrying what appear to be Kalashnikov-type assault rifles – possibly a Bulgarian paratrooper AK-74 on the left and an AK-103 model on the right. A man seated on the right seems to be holding an AKMS, while the man seated on the left appears to be holding a Beretta handgun. The flag of the Ingush Independence Committee – a modified version of the Republic of Ingushetia’s flag, replacing the central solar symbol with the Islamic declaration of faith – can be seen in the background.
During the 3-minute long video clip, the masked man in the center reads the questions sent by the journalists and answers them:
Why are you fighting against Putin’s regime?
“We want to live freely and with dignity on our lands, as owners of these lands, not as slaves. Under no circumstances and conditions do we accept occupation followed by enslavement.”
Russia is powerful. What is your short-term goal in fighting it? And what is your long-term goal?
“The short-term goal is naturally to weaken the regime through sabotage operations, without turning to direct military confrontation, to avoid the suffering and casualties of our people. But at the same time, to pressure this regime with various levers and mechanisms, with the aim of weakening it and ideally destroying it. The long-term goal is naturally military preparation, training in tactics, strategies of warfare, gathering information, reconnaissance, and so on. ”
Do you want Ingushetia to secede from the Russian Federation? Overall, do you want to divide the entire Russian Federation?
“Yes, we are fighting for secession from Russia, for weakening followed by the collapse of this regime, so that every people under this regime’s expansion who desires freedom and independence may claim it.”
Is Moscow’s control over Ingushetia strengthened, or do you see signs of its weakening?
“As such, we do not observe significant signs of weakening of the regime of usurpers in the region, nor generally in the entire North Caucasus. However, it should be noted that Putin’s regime is suffering significant losses in human and material resources in the war against Ukraine.”
Tell us about your most successful operation.
“There are operations that have been quite successful, and also those that are still in development. At this stage, it is not appropriate to discuss the details of the impending operation. ”
Is your fight against Putin and the Moscow regime also religious?
“Our struggle is primarily religious, and then it is liberative.”
The Ingush population has faced political repression and economic neglect, fueling dissatisfaction with federal authorities. In recent years, increased calls for autonomy or independence have emerged. The formation of the Ingush Independence Committee, and its armed wing the Ingush Liberation Army in 2023 underscores the region’s growing unrest and the desire among some of its populace to establish a more independent governance structure, despite a 2017 claim from Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) that all insurgency groups had been eliminated from North Caucasus.
Article: https://theatlasnews.co/latest/2024/06/27/ingush-liberation-army-releases-video-detailing-struggle-against-russian-federal-state/
Ingushetia, a small republic in the North Caucasus region of #Russia, is often overshadowed by its larger neighbor, Chechnya, yet it shares a similarly tumultuous history. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ingushetia has faced poverty, insurgency, religious extremism, and political instability.
In a recently released video, a member of the Ingush Liberation Army, speaking in Russian, stated that the group had been contacted by Italian journalists seeking answers about the movement. @ourwarstoday
Five men are present in the video, two of them standing and carrying what appear to be Kalashnikov-type assault rifles – possibly a Bulgarian paratrooper AK-74 on the left and an AK-103 model on the right. A man seated on the right seems to be holding an AKMS, while the man seated on the left appears to be holding a Beretta handgun. The flag of the Ingush Independence Committee – a modified version of the Republic of Ingushetia’s flag, replacing the central solar symbol with the Islamic declaration of faith – can be seen in the background.
During the 3-minute long video clip, the masked man in the center reads the questions sent by the journalists and answers them:
Why are you fighting against Putin’s regime?
“We want to live freely and with dignity on our lands, as owners of these lands, not as slaves. Under no circumstances and conditions do we accept occupation followed by enslavement.”
Russia is powerful. What is your short-term goal in fighting it? And what is your long-term goal?
“The short-term goal is naturally to weaken the regime through sabotage operations, without turning to direct military confrontation, to avoid the suffering and casualties of our people. But at the same time, to pressure this regime with various levers and mechanisms, with the aim of weakening it and ideally destroying it. The long-term goal is naturally military preparation, training in tactics, strategies of warfare, gathering information, reconnaissance, and so on. ”
Do you want Ingushetia to secede from the Russian Federation? Overall, do you want to divide the entire Russian Federation?
“Yes, we are fighting for secession from Russia, for weakening followed by the collapse of this regime, so that every people under this regime’s expansion who desires freedom and independence may claim it.”
Is Moscow’s control over Ingushetia strengthened, or do you see signs of its weakening?
“As such, we do not observe significant signs of weakening of the regime of usurpers in the region, nor generally in the entire North Caucasus. However, it should be noted that Putin’s regime is suffering significant losses in human and material resources in the war against Ukraine.”
Tell us about your most successful operation.
“There are operations that have been quite successful, and also those that are still in development. At this stage, it is not appropriate to discuss the details of the impending operation. ”
Is your fight against Putin and the Moscow regime also religious?
“Our struggle is primarily religious, and then it is liberative.”
The Ingush population has faced political repression and economic neglect, fueling dissatisfaction with federal authorities. In recent years, increased calls for autonomy or independence have emerged. The formation of the Ingush Independence Committee, and its armed wing the Ingush Liberation Army in 2023 underscores the region’s growing unrest and the desire among some of its populace to establish a more independent governance structure, despite a 2017 claim from Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) that all insurgency groups had been eliminated from North Caucasus.
Article: https://theatlasnews.co/latest/2024/06/27/ingush-liberation-army-releases-video-detailing-struggle-against-russian-federal-state/
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🇬🇷 Ramstein Flag 24: #NATO’s Newest Joint Air Power Exercise Comes to #Greece: https://theatlasnews.co/latest/2024/06/29/ramstein-flag-24-natos-newest-joint-air-power-exercise-comes-to-greece/
NATO’s newest joint air power exercise, Ramstein Flag 2024, will be held in Greece from September to November, involving 14 NATO allies and over 140 fighter aircraft. @AtlasNewsTelegram
NATO’s newest joint air power exercise, Ramstein Flag 2024, will be held in Greece from September to November, involving 14 NATO allies and over 140 fighter aircraft. @AtlasNewsTelegram
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🇮🇷🇦🇲 #Iran and #Armenia to Strengthen Cooperation: https://theatlasnews.co/latest/2024/06/30/iran-and-armenia-to-strengthen-cooperation/
On Friday, June 28th, the Iranian Ambassador to Armenia, Mehdi Sobhani, expressed Iran’s willingness to increase cooperation with Armenia. The Ambassador’s statements come amidst heightened tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan. @AtlasNewsTelegram
Iran and Armenia have a unique historical relationship that goes back thousands of years. A significant portion of the world’s oldest Armenian churches lie within Iran’s northwestern regions, an area Armenians were native to. Since Armenia’s independence after the fall of the Soviet Union, Armenia and Iran have held close relations, establishing themselves as strategic partners for each other despite their ideological differences.
In modern times, Iran’s closeness to Armenia is partly driven by the lack of it between Iran and Azerbaijan.
Iran and Azerbaijan’s relations have historically been tense. In recent years, most of this tension has been caused by Azerbaijan’s close relationship with Israel. Israel has become Azerbaijan’s top military provider, supplying Azerbaijan with an estimated 70 percent of Azerbaijan’s military arsenal.
Israeli military equipment, in particular drone technology, was pivotal in securing Azerbaijan’s victory in the 2020 44-Day War (also known as the Second Artsakh/Nagorno-Karabakh War).
Iran has further accused Azerbaijan of being host to an Israeli military presence and of holding an agreement with Israel that will allow for the use of Azeri military bases to carry out air strikes against Iran in the event of military conflict.
In turn, Iran has been accused of attempting to carry out several attacks and cyber attacks against Israeli and US diplomatic elements within Azerbaijan’s borders.
While the two nations espouse cooperation, tensions between the two have been inflamed and have thawed on several occasions in the last several years.
Read more on the full article on theatlasnews.co
On Friday, June 28th, the Iranian Ambassador to Armenia, Mehdi Sobhani, expressed Iran’s willingness to increase cooperation with Armenia. The Ambassador’s statements come amidst heightened tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan. @AtlasNewsTelegram
Iran and Armenia have a unique historical relationship that goes back thousands of years. A significant portion of the world’s oldest Armenian churches lie within Iran’s northwestern regions, an area Armenians were native to. Since Armenia’s independence after the fall of the Soviet Union, Armenia and Iran have held close relations, establishing themselves as strategic partners for each other despite their ideological differences.
In modern times, Iran’s closeness to Armenia is partly driven by the lack of it between Iran and Azerbaijan.
Iran and Azerbaijan’s relations have historically been tense. In recent years, most of this tension has been caused by Azerbaijan’s close relationship with Israel. Israel has become Azerbaijan’s top military provider, supplying Azerbaijan with an estimated 70 percent of Azerbaijan’s military arsenal.
Israeli military equipment, in particular drone technology, was pivotal in securing Azerbaijan’s victory in the 2020 44-Day War (also known as the Second Artsakh/Nagorno-Karabakh War).
Iran has further accused Azerbaijan of being host to an Israeli military presence and of holding an agreement with Israel that will allow for the use of Azeri military bases to carry out air strikes against Iran in the event of military conflict.
In turn, Iran has been accused of attempting to carry out several attacks and cyber attacks against Israeli and US diplomatic elements within Azerbaijan’s borders.
While the two nations espouse cooperation, tensions between the two have been inflamed and have thawed on several occasions in the last several years.
Read more on the full article on theatlasnews.co
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🇸🇾 🇹🇷 Clashes have broken out between Syrian protestors and Turkish military forces in several areas across northern #Syria, such as #Afrin, #Jarabulus, and #Aleppo. @AtlasNewsTelegram
The clashes come in partial response to rioting in #Turkey’s/#Turkiye's #Melikgazi region that targeted Syrian neighborhoods and businesses, which was spurred amid reports that a Syrian refugee allegedly sexually assaulted or harassed a young, reported 5 or 7 years old in some outlets, Syrian girl in Kayseri reports AP. 67 people were arrested in connection to the riots and violence that followed. Cars were overturned and shops set aflame by residents who called for Syrians to leave Turkey.
This incident seems to have catalyzed already existing anti-Turkish sentiment in a population opposed to the Assad government during a time when Turkey and Syria are normalizing relations, an opportunity to disrupt that normalization seems to be the goal.
Officials said the alleged abuser was arrested while the girl, her siblings, and mother were placed under state protection where they would receive psychological support. President of Turkey Erdogan accused opposition parties of inciting xenophobia and hatred through advocating for repatriation of Syrian immigrants or advocating for violence against them.
There are indications that elements of the Syrian National Army (#SNA), which has historically been Turkish backed, are taking part in clashes and attacks against Turkish military forces. Via theatlasnews.co
The clashes come in partial response to rioting in #Turkey’s/#Turkiye's #Melikgazi region that targeted Syrian neighborhoods and businesses, which was spurred amid reports that a Syrian refugee allegedly sexually assaulted or harassed a young, reported 5 or 7 years old in some outlets, Syrian girl in Kayseri reports AP. 67 people were arrested in connection to the riots and violence that followed. Cars were overturned and shops set aflame by residents who called for Syrians to leave Turkey.
This incident seems to have catalyzed already existing anti-Turkish sentiment in a population opposed to the Assad government during a time when Turkey and Syria are normalizing relations, an opportunity to disrupt that normalization seems to be the goal.
Officials said the alleged abuser was arrested while the girl, her siblings, and mother were placed under state protection where they would receive psychological support. President of Turkey Erdogan accused opposition parties of inciting xenophobia and hatred through advocating for repatriation of Syrian immigrants or advocating for violence against them.
There are indications that elements of the Syrian National Army (#SNA), which has historically been Turkish backed, are taking part in clashes and attacks against Turkish military forces. Via theatlasnews.co
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Forwarded from Our Wars, Today (Our Wars)
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🇹🇷 🇸🇾 Anti-#Turkiye sentiment has continued to spike in Syrian areas occupied by Turkish military forces following the events in Turkey regarding Syrian migrants. Although similarly timed, anti-occupation demonstrations and opposition to Turkish military forces in Syria has been contentious long before the events in Melikgazi.
Turkish flags are being torn down, replaced, and burned/destroyed, vehicles with Turkish plates are being targeted, and most prominently, Turkish military checkpoints and bases in #Syria are being stormed and burned. @ourwarstoday
By all accounts, it seems the SNA and possibly other armed individuals or groups are getting involved also in targeting Turkish installations.
Turkish military troops reportedly have abandoned the base in Takad, Aleppo, allowing those who stormed the base to capture armored vehicles including an M113, in other areas military trucks and MRAPs have been captured as well by mobs of armed and unarmed individuals.
Turkish flags are being torn down, replaced, and burned/destroyed, vehicles with Turkish plates are being targeted, and most prominently, Turkish military checkpoints and bases in #Syria are being stormed and burned. @ourwarstoday
By all accounts, it seems the SNA and possibly other armed individuals or groups are getting involved also in targeting Turkish installations.
Turkish military troops reportedly have abandoned the base in Takad, Aleppo, allowing those who stormed the base to capture armored vehicles including an M113, in other areas military trucks and MRAPs have been captured as well by mobs of armed and unarmed individuals.
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Forwarded from Our Wars, Today (Our Wars)
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Protest of Assad/Syrian government and disruption of the normalization of relations between Syria and Turkey were reportedly a large reason for this unrest, with the migrant situation in Turkey being a catalyst for an already unstable powder keg. @ourwarstoday
Footage shows Syrian protestors confronting Turkish soldiers as well as aligned Arab militiamen, they say reportedly: " You sold us to Bashar (Assad) and his dogs. Should we hand you over to the PKK? You are traitors. We do not bow down to anyone other than Allah.”
Footage shows Syrian protestors confronting Turkish soldiers as well as aligned Arab militiamen, they say reportedly: " You sold us to Bashar (Assad) and his dogs. Should we hand you over to the PKK? You are traitors. We do not bow down to anyone other than Allah.”
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🇷🇺 Russian counter-drone "Mad Max"-esque buggy armed with a frontal turret of two mounted PKT 7.62x54mmR machine-guns flanked by an improvised six-barrel muzzle-loading shotgun placed between them, plus a platform of six AK-12s on a secondary platform on the rear of the buggy. @AtlasNewsTelegram
#Russian state media TASS writes: "The personnel of an air defense battalion from #Russia’s Southern Battlegroup constructed a buggy vehicle dubbed "ZVeraBoy" to fight enemy drones in the special military operation in Ukraine, the battalion commander with the call sign Krivich told TASS on Monday.
"The idea of creating such a mobile vehicle to fight enemy drones originated long ago. As its major feature, the vehicle integrates all the armaments that have been used in mobile counter-drone systems at aerial surveillance posts for already twelve months. All these armaments are integrated into one vehicle to destroy FPV drones," the commander explained.
The battalion’s personnel welded the buggy’s hull on their own. The vehicle’s front part features a turret with two mounted PKT machine-guns and an improvised six-barrel muzzle-loading shotgun placed between them. The front turret mounts a thermal imaging sight that projects images to a monitor on a passenger seat. Turret control and firing are automated and conducted from a passenger seat.
The rear turret that rotates 360 degrees is equipped with six coaxial AK-12 assault rifles that conduct simultaneous fire.
In addition, six shotguns for buckshot fire are installed along the vehicle’s perimeter. Instead of buckshot, servicemen situationally use 7.62mm bullets glued together with wax.
The buggy is currently undergoing a final round of testing and will soon be sent to the frontline."
#Russian state media TASS writes: "The personnel of an air defense battalion from #Russia’s Southern Battlegroup constructed a buggy vehicle dubbed "ZVeraBoy" to fight enemy drones in the special military operation in Ukraine, the battalion commander with the call sign Krivich told TASS on Monday.
"The idea of creating such a mobile vehicle to fight enemy drones originated long ago. As its major feature, the vehicle integrates all the armaments that have been used in mobile counter-drone systems at aerial surveillance posts for already twelve months. All these armaments are integrated into one vehicle to destroy FPV drones," the commander explained.
The battalion’s personnel welded the buggy’s hull on their own. The vehicle’s front part features a turret with two mounted PKT machine-guns and an improvised six-barrel muzzle-loading shotgun placed between them. The front turret mounts a thermal imaging sight that projects images to a monitor on a passenger seat. Turret control and firing are automated and conducted from a passenger seat.
The rear turret that rotates 360 degrees is equipped with six coaxial AK-12 assault rifles that conduct simultaneous fire.
In addition, six shotguns for buckshot fire are installed along the vehicle’s perimeter. Instead of buckshot, servicemen situationally use 7.62mm bullets glued together with wax.
The buggy is currently undergoing a final round of testing and will soon be sent to the frontline."
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