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2 U.S. Soldiers Killed by Taliban Amid Peace Talks

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By Breitbart. The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) over the weekend identified the two American soldiers killed on Saturday by an alleged “Taliban insider” donning an Afghan military uniform as the United States and the narco-jihadi group continue peace negotiations to end the more than 17-year-old war in Afghanistan. . .

Citing Afghan officials on the day of the incident, the New York Times (NYT) reported that a “Taliban insider” in Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) attire “deliberately provoked the attack” by opening fire from a security checkpoint on the late U.S. Green Beret, EOD tech, and their Afghan special forces counterparts around 3 a.m. on Saturday.

The incident triggered a firefight between U.S. troops and Afghan soldiers stationed at the nearby outpost the Times learned from Mohammed Ibrahim, the commander of Afghan Local Police in Kunduz Province, “who described it as an accident set off by the insider who first opened fire.” ANDSF troops include military and police units.

“The combined Afghan and coalition ground force was fired on by an unknown assailant at close range from the checkpoint as well as from two other directions,” Sgt. 1st Class Debra Richardson, a spokeswoman for the U.S. military in Afghanistan told the Times. “The fire from the enemy was indiscriminate and came from multiple directions.” (Read more from “2 U.S. Soldiers Killed by Taliban Amid Peace Talks” HERE)

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DOD Identifies Army Casualties

By U.S. Department of Defense. The deceased are:

Spc. Joseph P. Collette, 29, of Lancaster, Ohio. Collette was assigned to the 242nd Ordnance Battalion, 71st Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group, Fort Carson, Colorado.

Sgt. 1st Class Will D. Lindsay, 33, of Cortez, Colorado. Lindsay was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Carson, Colorado.

(Read more from “DOD Identifies Army Casualties” HERE)

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Activist Reveals the Terrifying Number of Christians Murdered by Islamists in the Past 20 Years

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Jeff King, president of International Christian Concern, told Breitbart News that Islamists murdered 70,000 Christians in Nigeria over the last 20 years. He joined Thursday’s edition of SiriusXM’s Breitbart News Tonight with host Rebecca Mansour and special guest host Dylan Gwinn.

“We don’t always get the press,” said King of many news media outlets’ disinterest in persecution of Christians. “It is absolutely the case [that Christians are the most persecuted faith].” . . .

King added, “A lot of people don’t know that … in Nigeria, probably 70,000 Christians have been murdered in the last 20 years by Islamists, and that’s just scratching the surface. It’s going on all over. There’s a spectrum to the oppression.” . . .

Last Monday, Dede Laugesen, director of Save the Persecuted Christians, told Breitbart News that “anti-Christian bias” across America’s “mainstream media” drives news organizations to downplay the mass murder of Christians by Islamic terrorist groups. . .

People don’t believe that Christians can be persecuted, that they could be slaughtered. Here in the United States, we just have a different sense of who Christians are, but out in the greater world, Christians are viewed as a threat to control and power. What you have operating in Nigeria, which is Africa’s most populous country — 200 million people living there with 50 percent Christians, 50 percent Muslims — you have two of the world’s most dangerous terrorist groups operating — Fulani militants and Boko Haram, now affiliated with ISIS Islamic State in West Africa — and they are driven by radical sharia supremacist ideology, seeking to spread shariah across the entire country of Nigeria.

(Read more from “Activist Reveals the Terrifying Number of Christians Murdered by Islamists in the Past 20 Years” HERE)

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Last ISIS Stronghold Destroyed

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The caliphate has crumbled, and the final offensive is over. While the official announcement hasn’t yet been made – Fox News has been told that this village, the last ISIS stronghold, is liberated.

It’s the first time since we’ve been here in Syria for five days that the bombs have stopped dropping and the gunfire has disappeared. We have witnessed the end of the caliphate – the brutal empire that once ruled over 8 million people – is gone. . .

The last five days, Fox News has witnessed the last major offensive up close -– with U.S.-backed SDF forces attacking ISIS from three sides, pushing the fighters back, house to house, then tent to tent, against the Euphrates River. . .

For four-and-a-half years, ISIS held this territory, ruling over it with an iron fist. It was the terrorist group’s heartland – and they were so dug in that the only way to push them back was to flatten whole villages. The devastation here goes on for miles – and craters like this are a reminder of the critical role played by U.S. airpower. Military jets still fly overhead.

SDF fighters are all so grateful to the U.S., not just for their help in the battle, but now for its decision to leave troops here when it’s done. Reports now suggest the figure may be around 1,000 staying. (Read more from “Last ISIS Stronghold Destroyed” HERE)

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New Zealand Shootings: Attacks at Two Mosques Leaves 27 People Dead

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We have horrible reports coming out of Christchurch, New Zealand, where shootings occurred at two mosques. At least 27 people have been killed. In one shooting, the shooter live-streamed the attack, but it will not be embedded here on Townhall for obvious reasons. The footage is just too graphic and ghastly. Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of New Zealand. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called the tragedy “one of New Zealand’s darkest days,” while the New Zealand Police Commissioner Mike Bush said, “No one in the country must go to a mosque under any circumstances.” The Guardian has more:

Multiple people have been shot dead in shootings at two mosques in the New Zealand city of Christchurch during Friday afternoon prayers. A car with explosives inside was intercepted by police nearby

One suspect is in custody but police warned they are still tracing an active shooter. Police commissioner Mike Bush said: “Close your doors until you hear from us again.”

The prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, said it was “One of New Zealand’s darkest days”, calling the attacks “an unprecedented act of violence”.

The city has been placed in lockdown, with schools and public buildings closed. Nearby climate change protests were evacuated and council staff have been looking after children separated from their relatives in the chaos.

(Read more from “New Zealand Shootings: Attacks at Two Mosques Leaves 27 People Dead” HERE)

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Al-Qaeda Still Using CIA-Provided Missiles in Syria

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Video posted online Monday shows the al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), using U.S.-supplied TOW missiles in its ongoing campaign against Assad regime forces in the northern province of Idlib. The video was published by Ebaa News, with claims that the target was a group of Syrian soldiers:

The incident took place in Abu Duhur, and the video claims that eight soldiers were killed. The missile appears to be a BGM-71D/E TOW of the variety that the CIA had provided to “vetted” Syrian groups prior to July 2017.

The spillage of weapons provided by the CIA and the Pentagon to so-called “moderate” rebel forces in Syria, only to fall into the hands of terrorist groups like HTS and ISIS, was perhaps the most predictable outcome of the civil war. One of the first actions taken by the Trump administration two years ago was to halt the CIA weapons program, which prompted many of the U.S.-backed groups to flock to al-Qaeda. The CIA program supporting the Syrian “rebels” was shut down entirely in July 2017. When President Trump shut down the program, both the Washington Post and the New York Times claimed that the move would aid Russia:

Now, it seems clear that the ultimate beneficiaries of the CIA weapons program lamented by the American media were al-Qaeda and ISIS. (Read more from “Al-Qaeda Still Using CIA-Provided Missiles in Syria” HERE)

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FYI: The Obama Administration, Not Trump, Determined ISIS Bride Isn’t an American

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ISIS bride Hoda Muthana, who advocated for the murder of Americans and other innocent civilians in the name of jihad, is fighting to come back to America as the caliphate continues to collapse. . .

“This is a woman who inflicted enormous risk on American soldiers, on American citizens. She is a terrorist. She’s not coming back. President Trump made clear that she wasn’t coming back. She is not a U.S. citizen, she is not entitled to U.S. citizenship, and she’s not coming back to our country to pose a threat,” Pompeo said during an interview on Fox Business last week.

Muthana’s family and attorneys, who have filed a lawsuit on her behalf, argue President Trump is abusing his power, uprooting the law and showing his bigotry by throwing aside Hoda’s request to return.

But it was the Obama administration that originally determined she doesn’t qualify as an American by birth.

(Read more from “FYI: The Obama Administration, Not Trump, Determined ISIS Bride Isn’t an American” HERE)

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Left-Wing Rep. Ilhan Omar Faces New Backlash Over Effort to Gain Leniency for 9 Men Accused of Trying to Join ISIS

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Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) is facing new scrutiny after it was revealed she once attempted to win leniency for a group of Minnesota men accused of trying to join the Islamic State. . .

In 2016, Omar wrote to Judge Michael Davis on behalf of Abdirahman Yasin Daud, who was one of two young men arrested in San Diego in 2015, but were members of a larger group attempting to join ISIS, according to KMSP-TV. The group consisted of nine Somali-Americans.

Specifically, Daud was arrested for attempting to purchase fake passports for travel to Syria. Federal prosecutors recommended in 2016 that Daud serve 30 years in federal prison with a lifetime of supervised release.

At the time, Omar — who was only a Minnesota state lawmaker — urged Davis to exercise “compassion” on the men, employing a “restorative approach to justice.” She emphasized that the ruling would “set a precedent and has the potential to be a landmark case in addressing extremism.” . . .

In the end, Omar’s plea did not persuade Davis, who sentenced Daud to 30 years in federal prison. He was found guilty on charges of “conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and conspiracy to commit murder outside the U.S.,” according to the Chicago Tribune. (Read more from “Left-Wing Rep. Ilhan Omar Faces New Backlash Over Effort to Gain Leniency for 9 Men Accused of Trying to Join ISIS” HERE)

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ISIS Claims Responsibility for Cathedral Bombings

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The Islamic State is claiming responsibility for two bombs that went off at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in southern Philippines on Sunday. The first bomb went off during Sunday morning Mass. The second went off outside of the cathedral as government agencies attempted to respond. As of now, 20 are dead and 81 are wounded, CBS News reported. . .

“The manner and timing of the bombing suggests that it was meant to sow terror in order to affect the course of peace efforts,” Rep. Ruffy Biazon, senior vice chairman of a House of Representatives committee on national security, told the Wall Street Journal. The attack “is a direct challenge to the efforts that the government is pushing for to achieve peace in the southern Philippines.”

(Read more from “ISIS Claims Responsibility for Cathedral Bombings” HERE)

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Three Naturalized U.S. Citizens Arrested for Conspiracy to Support ISIS

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On Tuesday, the Department of Justice announced that three naturalized U.S. citizens in Lansing, Michigan were arrested and charged with planning to aid Islamic State. The DOJ press release reads:

Members of the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) arrested Muse Abdikadir Muse (Muse Muse) at the Gerald R. Ford Airport in Grand Rapids, Michigan, after checking in for a flight to the first of a series of destinations on his way to Mogadishu, Somalia. Shortly thereafter, law enforcement arrested alleged coconspirators Mohamud Abdikadir Muse (Mohamud Muse), and Mohamed Salat Haji (Haji). All three defendants are naturalized U.S. citizens who were born in Kenya.

According to the complaint affidavit, Muse Muse purchased airline tickets earlier this month to travel from Grand Rapids to Mogadishu, departing on Monday, January 21, 2019. Among other support, the complaint alleged Haji and Mohamud Muse aided in the purchase of the ticket and drove Muse Muse to the Grand Rapids airport, each knowing the true purpose of the travel was for Muse Muse to join and fight for ISIS.

ABC News reports that Muse Muse and Mohamud Muse are brothers, and that Haji is their brother-in-law. The threesome initially came on the FBI’s radar due to Mohamud Muse’s pro-Islamic State social media postings. The government’s complaint against the trio, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, states that Mohamud Muse’s postings “revealed frequent posts of photos, videos, and statements and commentary that were pro-ISIS in nature and what can be described as violent, extremist propaganda.” All three had openly pledged their allegiance to Islamic State. Numerous undercover FBI agents ultimately helped foil the threesome’s plot. (Read more from “Three Naturalized U.S. Citizens Arrested for Conspiracy to Support Islamic State” HERE)

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No, Forever War in Syria Won’t Protect the United States

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Army Chief Warrant Officer Jonathan R. Farmer, 37, of Boynton Beach, Florida. Navy Chief Petty Officer Shannon M. Kent, 35, of Pine Plains, New York. Defense Intelligence Agency civilian Scott A. Wirtz, 42, of St. Louis, Missouri. Interpreter Ghadir Taher, 27, from East Point, Georgia.

The bodies of the four Americans from four separate parts of the country—victims of a January 16 Islamic State suicide bombing near a popular restaurant in the Syrian city of Manbij—made their final return home to Dover Air Force Base on January 19. It was a vivid and graphic reminder to the American people that U.S. forces remain very much in harm’s way.

To the politicians back home, the deaths of four Americans in a Syrian town few in the United States could find on a map is a sign of ISIS’s sudden resurgence. The American people have been led to believe that President Trump’s decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria is emboldening the enemy. Sen. Lindsey Graham, the interventionist who has never seen a world problem that couldn’t be solved through military force, even suggested that Trump’s decision may have laid the groundwork for the bombing in Manbij. Sen. Jack Reed said the attack is proof the administration needs to “reevaluate” a troop departure. . .

First, the Islamic State’s territorial “caliphate” is for all intents and purposes destroyed. At the height of its power in 2014, ISIS managed to control land roughly equivalent to the size of the United Kingdom. ISIS fighters were present from the northern outskirts of Baghdad to the rural towns of northwestern Syria. Approximately eight million people in Iraq and Syria were under ISIS’s thumb, a valuable financial asset the group fully exploited through a system of taxation. . .

Those who say U.S. forces should remain in eastern Syria even after their primary mission is over are moving the goal-posts in a frantic attempt to justify a continued U.S. military presence in a country that is strategically unimportant to U.S. national security interests in the region. Don’t be fooled: the commentators, ex-officials, and lawmakers who oppose a U.S. troop withdrawal today are in essence arguing for another indefinite U.S. deployment in the Middle East. (Read more from “No, Forever War in Syria Won’t Protect the United States” HERE)

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