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Sat August 20, 2011Breaking News
Israeli airborne missile killed a Popular Resistance Committee member riding on a motorbike in Gaza Friday night • It was Israel's sixth air raid in retaliation for Thursday's Eilat road attack and ongoing Palestinian missile barrage • Six struck weapons manufacturing facilities and stores in Hamas' Nuseirat camp • Palestinians in Gaza fired up to 30 missiles and rockets against Israeli locations in past 24 hours • Grads from Gaza exploded in fields outside Kiryat Malachi Friday pm• A Qassam landed outside an Eshkol district kibbutz • PM Netanyahu visiting troops injured in Thursday's Eilat road terrorist attack promises Israel's punishment of perpetrators was just beginning • Cairo asks for immediate Israeli probe into deaths of five Egyptian soldiers shot dead during IDF's pursuit of terrorists escaping to Sinai • Egyptian chief of staff Gen. Sammi Anan visited the scene of the deaths • Six Israelis injured, one seriously by Palestinian Grad missile which hit an Ashdod synagogue early Friday • It was one of a nearly a score fired from Gaza at Israeli towns and villages in continuous blitz • The town's inhabitants advised to stay in shelters and safe areas • Two married couples were among 8 people killed in Thursday's terrorist attack near Eilat: Flora and Moshe Gez and Shula and Dov Karlinsky. Their wives were sisters • Four Grad missiles fired at Ashkelon Thursday night, 3 intercepted by Iron Dome anti-missile system • Syrian troops shoot dead at least 22 people demonstrating against Assad Friday • Wednesday, Assad told UN Secretary army and police attacks on civilians had stopped • Suicide blast in Pakistan mosque Friday kills at least 40, injures 100 • Attack on British Council compound in Kabul leaves 10 dead •
TopicsDEBKAfile Special Report August 19, 2011, 9:29 AM (GMT+02:00)Terrorists attack southern IsraelAfter the Israeli Air Force struck 12 Hamas and other terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip overnight Thursday, Aug. 18, a hail of Palestinian missiles Friday hit the towns of Ashdod, Beersheba, Ashkelon and the smaller Sdot Negev, Shar Hanegev and Eshkol villages in a continuous blitz. Ten worshippers were injured - two seriously - when one of the six Grads aimed at Ashdod hit a synagogue. Police detonated a second in a controlled explosion. Eight Israelis were killed, 33 injured in a Palestinian multiple terror attack near Eilat Thursday.
Read moreNATO: Qaddafi Will Be Gone by Sept. 1
Says "shock and awe" resources are ready without waiting for US approval.
moreAssad Unmoved by Turkish Diplomacy
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moreRumored military coup in Syria
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moreTop Stories
- Israel tense Gaza strike after deadly Palestinian multiple terror attack
- At least 7 Israelis killed, 33 injured in multiple terrorist attacks near Eilat
- Assad exploits the Shalit affair to play his Palestinian card
- Libyan rebel "gains" smokescreen for talks in Tunisia
- Egypt's 5,000 troops take on 2,000 al Qaeda in Sinai
- Syria tanks enter Homs while battling Latakia
- Obama and Erdogan grant Assad 15 days to finish uprising
- Israel sets up September Commands
HeadlinesIsrael tense after deadly Palestinian multiple terror attack
DEBKAfile Special ReportAugust 18, 2011, 7:03 PM (GMT+02:00)Israel bus shot up on main highway to EilatThursday, August 18, Israel had its first taste of a sophisticated al Qaeda-style coordinated terrorist attack modeled on the atrocities common in Afghanistan and Iraq. Israel's intelligence services, army (IDF) and police were taken by surprise by the scale and slick organization of the multiple assaults staged near Eilat on the highway running south parallel to the Egyptian border by gunmen of the Gaza-based Popular Resistance Committees and Palestinian organizations linked to al Qaeda. Defense Minister Barak: "Gaza is the source of the terror."
Read moreAt least 7 Israelis killed, 33 injured in multiple terrorist attacks near Eilat
DEBKAfile Special ReportAugust 18, 2011, 4:47 PM (GMT+02:00)Israel bus attacked near EilatIsrael goes on highest terror alert after a string of terrorist attacks still ongoing near the Israeli-Egyptian border north of Eilat Thursday, Aug. 18 left seven Israeli soldiers and civilians dead and 33 injured. Five servicemen are in critical condition. Assailants from Sinai used automatic and anti-tank weapons, mortars and roadside bombs for attacks on two buses and civilian and military vehicles on Highway 12. All three gunmen who attacked the bus were located and killed in a firefight with Israeli police. More are sought.
Read moreAssad exploits the Shalit affair to play his Palestinian card
DEBKAfile Exclusive ReportAugust 17, 2011, 1:16 PM (GMT+02:00)Bashar Assad uses the Palestinians to promote his crackdownNew Israeli concessions to Hamas for the release of the Israeli soldier Gilead Shalit have not produced momentum because the kidnapped soldier has become a pawn in the power plays between Cairo, Hamas and Damascus. Khaled Meshaal's trip to Cairo came out of an Egyptian overture to Syria. Bashar Assad took the Palestinian card to serve his crackdown on the opposition and counter-balance his massacre of Latakia's Palestinians.
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on your Android device!Libyan rebel "gains" smokescreen for talks in Tunisia to end war
DEBKAfile Exclusive ReportAugust 16, 2011, 2:17 PM (GMT+02:00)Qatari helicopters from Benghazi land on DjerbaThe rush of military advances claimed by Libyan rebels and the rumored near collapse of Muammar Qaddafi's army and his imminent flight are designed,DEBKAfile's sources report, as a smokescreen for current occurrences. One is the semi-secret opening of Libyan government-rebel talks on the Tunisian island of Djerba Saturday and their significant progress. Another is the deep divisions in the rebel leadership. DEBKAfile has for weeks been reporting on talks afoot on Qaddafi's incremental departure from power.
Read moreEgypt's 5,000 troops take on 2,000 al Qaeda in Sinai. Three officers kidnapped
DEBKAfile Exclusive ReportAugust 15, 2011, 7:12 PM (GMT+02:00)Egyptian troops enter Sinai in forceMonday, Aug. 15, three Egyptian army brigades of 1,700 men backed by tanks, an equal number of special policemen and 3,400 security personnel drove into the northern Sinai towns of El Arish, Sheikh Zuweid and Rafah thereby launching a mission to retake Sinai from rampant Islamists, who were also responsible for sabotaging a gas pipeline. DEBKAfile: In their first clash with Islamic Liberation Army gunmen, three Egyptian officers were kidnapped, one gunman was killed and 11 detained.
Read moreDEBKAfile in FacebookDEBKAfile on TwitterSyria tanks enter Homs while fighting Palestinians in Latakia
DEBKAfile Exclusive ReportAugust 15, 2011, 11:11 AM (GMT+02:00)Syrian-Palestinian battlefield in LatakiaTaking advantage of the 15-day leeway granted him by the US and Turkey, Bashar Assad Monday, Aug. 15, sent tanks and mechanized infantry into Homs, a town of 1.5 million inhabitants. Heavy shelling rings out as clouds of smoke rise over the city. Homs is Syria's third largest town and the biggest the Syrian military has attacked. In Latakia, Syrian tanks continue to battle armed Palestinians and in Brussels, NATO and Turkey get set to send the rebels anti-tank weapons.
Read moreObama and Erdogan grant Assad 15 days to finish uprising. Call-up in Turkey
DEBKAfile Exclusive ReportAugust 13, 2011, 9:43 AM (GMT+02:00)Syrian protesters flee tank divisionsThursday night, Aug. 11, US President Barack Obama and Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan agreed to set Syrian President Bashar Assad the deadline of Aug. 27 for extinguishing the popular uprising against his rule and starting to implement genuine democratic reforms. This decision followed Erdogan's report to Obama on the Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu's six-hour conversation with Assad Tuesday, Aug. 9. Turkey has called up reserves for transfer to the Syrian border.
Read moreIsrael sets up "September Commands" though no intel on Palestinian disorders
DEBKAfile Exclusive ReportAugust 12, 2011, 12:56 PM (GMT+02:00)Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny GantzIsrael's military, police and Shin Bet security service are drilling extreme scenarios of possible Palestinian disturbances, mass rallies or even terrorist attacks in September – although there is no specific intelligence of a security threat in the offing. The authorities have also set up "September Command Centers" so as not to be caught off guard. The intelligence updates fed them on Palestinian activities contain no signs so far of organized Palestinian preparations for disorders beyond some talk at local Fatah cell level.
Read moreReaders' Choice
Pakistan Takes Saudi Dollars, Flirts with Iran
DEBKA-Net-Weekly #502July 28, 2011Prince Bandar bin SultanSaudi imperial polices have been gravely set back by Pakistan's vacillations and flirtation with Tehran after shelling out two billion petrodollars in aid to buy Pakistan's partnership in Riyadh's plan for an international Sunni legion to withstand Shiite Iran. This did not stop President Asif Ali Zardari visiting Tehran and pledging expanded trade ties with the Islamic Republic.
Read moreQaddafi's sons will lead new Libyan regime
DEBKA-Net-Weekly #501July 22, 2011Muammar QaddafiThe Obama administration is willingly handing the diplomatic lead for ending the Libyan crisis to Moscow having concluded that America no longer commands the resources for carrying global burdens on its own. Muammar Qaddafi, supported by Russia and Africa, will insist on staying in power until the agreed transition is reliably implemented with room at the top for his sons.
Read more15,000 US Troops to Stay in Iraq
DEBKA-Net-Weekly #500July 15, 2011New US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki quietly agree to at least 15,000 US troops remaining in Iraq after 2011in the guise of diplomats and other civilian personnel with America keeping control of four big air bases – two of them facing Iran. The Iraqi prime minister is dragging his feet before making this understanding public.
Read moreAnalysisMoscow defends Assad, seeks nuclear deal with Iran by freezing sanctions
DEBKAfile Exclusive ReportAugust 2, 2011, 7:36 AM (GMT+02:00)Nikolay Patrushev to visit Tehran Aug. 15As Moscow prepares to block strong UN Security Council condemnation of Syrian violence against protest, Russian diplomats Monday, Aug. 1, launched a quiet effort to start freezing sanctions imposed on Iran over its military nuclear program in return for Tehran satisfactorily answering the International nuclear watchdog's "questions and concerns," DEBKAfile's Moscow and Washington sources report.
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Iranian Foreign Minister Saeed Jalili visits Moscow Aug. 17. Washington is standing by for results.Libyan rebels killed their own commander
DEBKAfile Exclusive ReportJuly 29, 2011, 1:48 PM (GMT+02:00)Gen. Abdul Fatah YounisGen. Abdel Fatah Younis, commander of the Libyan rebel forces fighting Muammar Qaddafi, was put to death on the orders of Mustapha Abdul Jalil, head of the rebel TNC,DEBKAfile's sources report. TNC officers abducted him and two aides and shot them in the head 20 kilometers outside Benghazi.
Jalil wanted the powerful Younis out of the way before the start of peace negotiations, for fear he would beat his own path to Qaddafi and head the future government alongside Saif al-Islam.
Read moreIran new Hamas commando brigade in Gaza
DEBKAfile Exclusive ReportJuly 31, 2011, 9:04 AM (GMT+02:00)Hamas' first commando unit set up by IranA team of Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) officers has just finished setting up Hamas' first commando unit especially trained to combat any Israel military force entering the Gaza Strip, DEBKAfile's military sources report. The new "Al Qods Brigades" unit of 400 men is to be the first of three. The urban guerrilla tactics imparted to Hamas drew heavily on the experience Al Qods is gaining in Syria, where its experts help President Bashar Assad crack down on protest.
Read moreStuxnet returns to bedevil Iran's nuclear systems
DEBKAfile Exclusive ReportJuly 20, 2011, 4:35 PM (GMT+02:00)The Stuxnet malworm - at it againDEBKAfile's intelligence sources report that the Stuxnet malworm which played havoc with Iran's nuclear program for eleven months was not purged after all. Tehran never did overcome the disruptions caused by Stuxnet or restore its centrifuges to smooth and normal operation as was claimed. Indeed, Iran finally resorted to the only sure-fire cure, scrapping all the tainted machines and replacing them with new ones – as was indicated Tuesday by an announcement in Tehran.
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