ISIL's war just went global

ISIL has today announced a doctrinal shift in its ideology that carries potential historical significance.
In a new 42-minute message posted on Monday, it has called for the first time on its global support to take its fight to foreign shores beyond the Middle East.
Abu Mohammed Ali al-Adnani, the group's spokesman, urges listeners to strike the US and its allies and neither seek permission nor to look for justification.
He calls on them to use any means necessary to cause the enemy injury. The language is formal and clear: "Kill the disbeliever whether he is civilian or military, for they have the same ruling. Both of them are disbelievers."
The US president, Barack Obama, is openly mocked. Adnani refers to him as a "mule of the Jews" and a coward who refuses to fight on the ground but chooses instead to strike from the air. The group insists it did not declare war against Europe and the US but has been forced to act following a US-led international response in Iraq.
ISIL is convinced that the states making up the coalition against them will pay dearly in both blood and treasure. The Arab nations backing the coalition are also singled out for attack. Indeed anyone anywhere who has criticised ISIL is now fair game.
This statement of intent is both significant and chilling in its simple declarative voice.
‎ISIL wants to carry out a big attack on the soil of the US and its allies. Failing that, the group wants individuals to carry out operations.
Any large-scale organised attack claimed by ISIL will serve two purposes. It will scare people in to going to war while giving politicians the cover to be able to do so. The September 11 attacks of 2001 and the ensuing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are the textbook example of that. As in the past, this new venture may mean coalition boots on the ground.
ISIL want to engage in a ground war against coalition troops. The reason for that is simple. Their recruitment, they hope, will go through the roof as young men the world over flock to Iraq and Syria to fight and kill enemy soldiers.
When it comes to writing the history of ISIL, Adnani's statement will be seen as one of its defining moments. This is the moment when a declaration of war was made against the US and its allies.
Who's listening to ISIL?
However, is anyone paying attention?
Muslim opinion is quickly turning against the group, a point Adnani dismissed in his statement.
Will ISIL encourage individuals to commit murderous crimes in the name of religion? The Australians claim they've had a taste of ISIL's successful foreign recruitment already. In recent days there have been several arrests of young men suspected of being inspired by ISIL. Anti-Islamic feeling in Australia is now on the rise as a result.
So, as much as this statement is an act of war, it's also an opportunity to dissect and analyse what the group is thinking.
Condemnation of this statement will be swift as the content of the message proposes neither a solution nor a way out; it simply offers a lust for spilt blood. The group's limited appeal will be exposed if Muslims in the US, Europe and beyond ignore this call to violence.
However, all it takes is one individual to commit a crime, and a whole religion will come under vocal attack by the security services, the media and society at large.
ISIL understands this and hopes to achievement such an outcome. They want Muslims in "enemy" countries to be criminalised and marginalised in the hope that they rise up in anger.
This is a group with nothing to lose. The "caliphate" it has created ‎is ill-defined and lacks credibility. Few Muslim groups have voiced support for ISIL. Now, it is under aerial bombardment fby a US-led coalition, a threat it both acknowledges and feigns to ignore by saying:
"We have no way to deal with their airplanes. Oh God what you have said is true. Do not weaken and do not grieve. You will be superior if you are true believers."
ISIL have thrown down the gauntlet, not just to the US and its allies, but for Muslims living in those countries. What happens next and who responds will be of crucial importance.

How Army Took Down Shekau – Investigations

New details on how the impostor of Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau lost his life have been revealed.
The Nigerian Army took down a commander who acted as Shekau in all the latest Boko Haram videos during a shootout in Konduga last week.

Shekau and imposter

It is said that the deceased was ambushed by the military, the same strategy applied by the sect on the army for some time now.
The first attack on Konduga by the army surprised the militants who numbered in their hundreds.
After an extensive seven hours of fighting hundreds of insurgents lost their lives. Their arms and ammunition were also captured.
The military men had wisely forced captured members of the sect to send a message to Shekau that they (insurgents) have routed the troops.
The captured members were promised a less severe sentence if they cooperated and hence they were convinced.
The captured insurgents had explained that Shekau normally moves in a convoy of vehicles painted in military colours, while he sits in a MOWAG armoured tank with Boko Haram inscription on its front.

Then Shekau was called and spoken to in Arabic, reassuring him that Konduga is under the sect’s reign, these were all done with other captured men singing the victory song in Kanuri language they normally sing at the background.
This fully convinced the imposter Shekau that all is well and the message is authentic because it came from his chief courier. He took his boys along to Konduga, heavily armed with anti-aircraft weapons, general purpose machine guns, multiple Kalashnikov (AK 47) and explosive devices.
As he and his members entered the town, the were ambushed by the military and, immediately he noticed something was wrong, it was already too late.
He then ordered his men to get out of the vehicles and to start shooting in all directions.
This was enough for the army to start responding with fire, and when he understood the his guns could not overpower the Infantry and Artillery weaponry used by the Nigerian forces,he jumped out of the MOWAG and made to escape.
But eagle-eyed Nigerian Soldiers spotted him and opened fire in him, shattering his legs in the process. It was learnt that he also received bullet wounds in other parts of his body leading to his bleeding to death.
Cameroonian military personnel had claimed to have been the ones to carry out the raid, but the Defence headquarters yesterday dismissed the insinuation.
On their Twiiter handle, DHQ said “There was no raid whatsoever in any part of Nigeria’s territory in pursuit of terrorists as claimed in some reports allegedly quoting Cameroon military authorities”.
“All operations ongoing in the environs of Konduga & all associated border location within the country are completely being undertaken by Nigerian troops”.
UPDATE: Journalist Close To Sect Reports Shekau Still Alive
Popular Dubai based Nigerian journalist, Ahmed Salkida has claimed that Boko Haram leaders have told him, Abubakar Shekau is still alive and well.
Salkida is sure that the man taken down by the Nigerian troops, is not the real leader of the sect.
He revealed this through his twitter handle and also reported that the group has not negotiated with the Army or the red cross for the freedom of the Chibok girls who were kidnapped in in mid-April by Boko Haram militants in Chibok, Borno State.
The man whose dead body has been making the rounds is said to be one Mohammed Bashir”.
Mohammed Bashir is said to be the look-alike who appeared in videos released by the Islamist sect.
Tweets Below….

A confidential debriefing document by the Nigerian army obtained last week by SaharaReporters revealed that Mr. Shekau doesnt leave his holdout in Sambisa Forest and never goes to battles.
The document stated, ”Shekau has his wife and 2 children in Sambisa Forest. He is Kanuri, he speaks Hausa and he does not travel.”

1 suspect in Israeli teens' kidnapping killed; another wounded

A Palestinian man who Israel says was responsible for the kidnapping and killing of three Israeli teens earlier in the summer was shot and killed by the military. Another suspect was seriously wounded, the military said Tuesday.

The suspects opened fire on security forces, prompting them to fire back, the military said.

"We were determined in bringing the ruthless murderers of Gil-Ad, Eyal and Naftali to justice," said military spokesman Peter Lerner. "Today's successful mission brings the long-term search to an end, and the perpetrators of the crime no longer pose a threat to Israeli civilians."

Tensions between Israel and Hamas ratcheted up June 30 after the bodies of three Israeli teenagers were found in the West Bank.

The teens -- Eyal Yifrach, 19; Gilad Shaar, 16; and Naftali Frankel, a 16-year-old dual U.S.-Israeli citizen -- disappeared late June 12 or early June 13 from the Jewish settlement of Gush Etzion in the West Bank, the military said.

Israel blamed the disappearances and deaths on Hamas.

"Hamas will pay," said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the time.

The two suspects were Hamas operatives, the military said.

Hundreds of Israeli military vehicles and soldiers moved in to the neighborhood north of Hebron University and surrounded a house in the early morning hours.

The journalist heard gunfire break out about an hour after the forces moved in, but could not say who was responsible for the shooting as journalists were kept away from the scene.

Amnesty: Chinese trade in torture tools fuels human rights abuses

tional.

The report says that trade in what it calls tools of torture is flourishing, with 130 Chinese companies engaged in the production and trade of potentially dangerous law enforcement equipment, compared with 28 companies a decade ago.

Most of the companies highlighted in the report are state owned, the report said, and openly promote their products at international trade shows and online.

While some of the equipment such as tear gas, handcuffs and plastic bullets has legitimate policing uses, Amnesty says many of the devices marketed by these companies are intrinsically cruel and inhumane and should be banned immediately.

China's Ministry of Commerce did not immediately respond to a call for comment.

"Chinese authorities have done nothing to stop companies supplying these sickening devices for export or to prevent policing equipment falling into the hands of known human rights abusers," said Patrick Wilcken, security trade and human rights researcher at Amnesty International.

The report, co-authored with the Omega Research Foundation calls on China to immediately ban the production and trade of inherently cruel and abusive equipment.

It also urged Beijing to suspend or deny trade license for the supply of equipment when there is a substantial risk that the equipment will be used to commit or facilitate serious human rights abuses.

Amnesty said the global trade in law enforcement equipment is poorly controlled and China is not alone in its failure to regulate the supply of law enforcement equipment to countries where there is a clear risk that it will be misused. It added that all countries should heed the report's recommendations.

As many as 29 Chinese companies make electric stun batons that allow security officials to apply painful multiple shocks to sensitive areas of the body such as the groin without leaving long-lasting physical traces. A greater number of companies make restraint devices such as weighted leg cuffs.

Spiked batons have been exported to security forces in Nepal and Thailand and have been reportedly used by police in Cambodia, while Chinese made electric shock batons are being carried by police in Ghana, Senegal, Egypt and Madagascar, the report said.

Another example highlighted shows how Chinese-made riot control equipment was used to suppress protests against the rising cost of living in Uganda, killing at least 33.

"China's flawed export system has allowed the trade in torture and repression to prosper," Wilcken said.

The report also documents how electric shock batons, mechanical restraints and other devices are widely used in detention centers throughout China.

One practitioner of banned Falun Gong spiritual movement told Amnesty how she was tortured with an electric baton on her face:

"It's a kind of torture the police call 'bengbao popcorn' because your face splits open and looks like popped corn."

Kris Jenner files for divorce from Bruce Jenner

After 23 years of marriage, reality star and mum of the Kardashian girls, Kris Jenner has filed for divorce from Bruce Jenner. The couple officially separated in Oct. 2013. See the TMZ report below..

TMZ has learned it's already a done deal. Kris filed pro per -- meaning no lawyer. Our sources say this was all orchestrated. Bruce Jenner's response is about to be filed at the L.A. County Courthouse. She cites the standard "irreconcilable differences" as grounds for the divorce. Everything has been worked out with their business managers ... our sources say. There was no prenup and they have already agreed to a property split. Neither party will get spousal support. As for Kylie - who is 17 - they have joint custody. Bruce, Kris and their managers worked out the deal over the last few months. They separated June 1, 2013. That's significant because once they're separated they don't continue to share earnings - in other words, what's hers stays hers after separation. We're told the divorce is "totally amicable."

See what happens to some Nigerians who try to cross to Europe via Sahara desert

This very graphic video shows how Nigerians (mostly Igbos) trying to cross to Europe through the Sahara Desert die in the desert from lack of water, food and heat. These men, sometimes in a group of 50, attempt to trek from a city in Niger or Morocco via the desert to European countries like Spain and Italy, but some of them don't make it out of the desert alive.

winner of the 2014 Miss Intercontinental pageant

Beautiful Chioma Judith Okafor beat 29 other girls to emerge the winner of the 2014 Miss Intercontinental pageant which held Sept. 13th in Lagos. The 21year old is a graduate of Management Information Systems from Covenant University. See more pics after the cut...