Japanese Hostage Taken by al-Zarqawi

[Russell]

Jihadi Joans: ISIS fighters dressing up as WOMEN

In his bra and dress, this is ­probably not the kind of Jihadi bride we’re used to seeing.

In fact, it’s an Islamic State fighter in drag – only he was in such a hurry he forgot to shave off his moustache.

Iraqi forces claim he’s just one of many ISIS soldiers who have been dressing as women to escape a battle zone in the north of the country.

A bizarre series of snaps posted on Instagram shows a series of glammed-up freshly captured ISIS fugitives.

Many have shaved off their beards and moustaches and slapped on make-up. Some are even pictured wearing silk bras and dresses beneath their burkas.

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[Coligny]

ISIS rap video:

(short version)

[Samurai_Jerk]

IS beheads aging Syrian antiquities scholar in Palmyra

The 81-year-old antiquities scholar had dedicated his life to exploring and overseeing Syria's ancient ruins of Palmyra, one of the Middle East's most spectacular archaeological sites. He even named his daughter after Zenobia, the queen that ruled from the city 1,700 years ago.

That dedication may have cost him his life. On Wednesday, relatives and witnesses said Khaled al-Asaad was beheaded by Islamic State militants, his bloodied body hung on a pole in a main square.

Antiquities officials said they believed IS militants had interrogated al-Asaad, a long-time director of the site, trying to get him to divulge where authorities had hidden treasures secreted out of Palmyra before the extremists seized the ruins last spring.

The brutal killing stunned Syria's archaeological community and underscored fears the extremists will destroy or loot the 2,000-year-old Roman-era city on the edge of a modern town of the same name, as they have other major archaeological sites in Syria and Iraq.

"We have lost not just a scholar of archaeology but one of the pillars of archaeology in the 20th century," said Ahmad Ferzat Taraqji, a 56-year-old antiquities expert and friend of the victim.

[kurogane]

That does it. I am officially unliking these ISIL guys.

Whata terrible thing to do to a little olde curioisty shop keeper.

[dimwit]

I think it's all about getting their evil street cred.

[Samurai_Jerk]

That does it. I am officially unliking these ISIL guys.

Whata terrible thing to do to a little olde curioisty shop keeper.

Maybe it's better the poor guy didn't survive to see this: Witness: Ancient Syrian temple completely destroyed by IS

An ancient temple in the Syrian town of Palmyra was reduced to rubble by Islamic State militants, a witness said Monday, confirming the complete destruction of the ancient monument in what UNESCO said was a "war crime."

[matsuki]

Wow...talk about fucking scum.

[Samurai_Jerk]

Japan says outraged by killing of Japanese man in Bangladesh

Japan's top government spokesman expressed outrage Monday over the killing of a Japanese citizen who became the second foreigner to be gunned down in Bangladesh in less than a week.

Kunio Hoshi was shot to death by unidentified assailants in northern Bangladesh on Saturday. Bangladesh's government rejected a statement by the Islamic State group claiming responsibility for the attack.

"Such a dastardly act should never be repeated. I feel outraged by such an act," Yoshihide Suga, Japan's chief Cabinet secretary, told reporters in Tokyo on Monday. He extended condolences to Hoshi's family, and said the Japanese government was seeking a full investigation into the case.

Bangladesh has been struggling in recent months with a rise in violence claimed by hard-line Islamic groups, banning several that have been blamed for killing four bloggers this year.

The Islamic State group issued a statement claiming responsibility for Saturday's attack, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadi postings online. The report could not be independently confirmed. The Islamic State also claimed responsibility for the killing of an Italian aid worker last week in Bangladesh's capital.

"Oh, it's absolutely rubbish, there is no IS in the country, no way," Bangladeshi Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan told The Associated Press on Sunday. "Why would IS do this here? These are incidents for creating instability in the country."

[matsuki]

"Such a dastardly act should never be repeated. I feel outraged by such an act," Yoshihide Suga, Japan's chief Cabinet secretary, told reporters in Tokyo on Monday. He extended condolences to Hoshi's family, and said the Japanese government was seeking a full investigation into the case.

Full investigation....hey Bangladesh, call it a suicide and suggest it was because he was a closet gay

[kurogane]

"Oh, it's absolutely rubbish, there is no IS in the country, no way," Bangladeshi Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan told The Associated Press on Sunday. "Why would IS do this here? These are incidents for creating instability in the country."

Pretty hard to fault that argument, given IS' dedication to promoting general social stability and the stability of incumbent governments, especially the almost secular ones like in Bangladesh. Do any reputable MBA type programmes teach crash courses in Asian Government Logic? Seems like a potential niche market for the coming 20-30 years of globalisation.

We wish very much to encourage your investment in our free and open country guided by rule of law. Once received all your pocky are belong to mine and you will have no legal recourse except to be unjustly charged with paedophillia.

[matsuki]

Do any reputable MBA type programmes teach crash courses in Asian Government Logic? Seems like a potential niche market for the coming 20-30 years of globalisation.

Is the course called "case by case?"

[Russell]

Toyota, U.S. clueless about how ISIS got hundreds of brand new pickup trucks

The U.S. government can’t figure out how ISIS terrorists got their hands on hundreds of brand new Toyota pickup trucks, and the Japanese automaker is stumped, too.

Top U.S. counterterror officials probed the automaker about how the Islamic State acquired a fleet of new cars after souped-up Toyota pickups loaded with weapons and packed with fighters began appearing in its propaganda videos, ABC News reported.

“This is a question we’ve been asking our neighbors,” said Lukman Faily, the Iraqi Ambassador to the United States. “How could these brand new trucks — these four wheel drives, hundreds of them — where are they coming from?”

Toyota told officials that it has no idea how ISIS got so many of its vehicles. The auto giant supports the U.S.’s investigation, said Ed Lewis, Toyota’s director of communications.

Lewis said that while Toyota has a “strict policy to not sell vehicles to potential purchasers who may use or modify them for paramilitary or terrorist activities,” it cannot track trucks that have been stolen and resold. Many of the featured cars are older models, he said.

The ISIS videos show fighters driving Toyota Hilux pickups, the overseas version of the Tacoma. While some are older, repurposed models, others appear to be brand new.

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[legion]

Guess there's a reason they don't drive Skodas

[wagyl]

Guess there's a reason they don't drive Skodas

Diesel emission test defeat devices, most likely.

[Samurai_Jerk]

Japanese Aspiring Jihadi Detained in Turkey: Official

A Turkish interior ministry official says police have detained a Japanese national as he tried to cross the border to Syria with the intention of joining Islamic State extremists.

The man was intercepted on his way to the IS-held Syrian town of Jarablus and is now in custody. The official told the AP he had a Japanese passport on him and told interrogators that he wanted to join IS.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government practice.

Japanese officials in Tokyo confirmed Thursday that a Japanese national is being held and said they are seeking further details.

[matsuki]

56f27aabc03c0e4f68057dc9[1].jpg

56f27a0a18c773259812149a.jpg

Jihadi Taka!!

[Russell]

[Taro Toporific]

Toyota, U.S. clueless about how ISIS got hundreds of brand new pickup trucks

....while Toyota has a “strict policy to not sell vehicles to potential purchasers who may use or modify them for paramilitary or terrorist activities,” it cannot track trucks that have been stolen and resold...

[/quote]

"Stolen"? Yeah, that could be it. Maybe these pickups were stolen and converted into ISIS "tacticals."

itai-pickup.jpg

ISIS-convoy.jpg

[Coligny]

Follow Russian mafia's monies...
Car stolen in Japan for resale in Russia (quite a common trade apparently) which end up resold in dirkastan for more than russian current market value.

[Samurai_Jerk]

Fresh photo of missing Japanese journalist emerges

A fresh photo of a Japanese journalist who went missing in Syria last year has emerged online, showing the heavily bearded man holding a sign saying this is his "last chance".

The photo, which received widespread coverage in Japanese media Monday, shows freelance journalist Jumpei Yasuda, who has been missing for almost a year, wearing an orange shirt, his hair and beard grown long.

He is seen holding a piece of paper with a handwritten message in Japanese that says: "Please help. This is the last chance. Jumpei Yasuda."

Japanese public broadcaster NHK and other media showed the photo.

Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters that the man shown in the image is likely Yasuda.

[Taro Toporific]

Fresh photo of missing Japanese journalist emerges May 30, 2016

Yasuda-file-photo.jpg

It's a Halloween surprise!

Japanese journalist Jumpei Yasuda believed released with aid from Qatar and Turkey after three years held in Syria
The Japan Times | 2018-Oct-24
Japanese journalist Jumpei Yasuda, who was captured by an armed group in Syria three years ago, is believed to have been released and was now in Turkey, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a hastily arranged news conference late Tuesday night.
Tokyo was now trying to confirm the man’s identity...more...

happy-halloween-yasuda.jpg

UPDATE:
NHK is now showing video of the first comments of Jumpei Yasuda the freed journalist (which he made in English not Japanese). www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20181024/k10011684301000.html

K10011684301_1810241837_1810241842_01_03.jpg

[matsuki]

Asahi is now sending in a reporter to ask ISIS why they chose a Japanese to release over other prisoners.

[Russell]

Asahi is now sending in a reporter to ask ISIS why they chose a Japanese to release over other prisoners.

Tell me that it is a joke.

Because I'm not sure right now.

[matsuki]

Asahi is now sending in a reporter to ask ISIS why they chose a Japanese to release over other prisoners.

Tell me that it is a joke.

Because I'm not sure right now.

It wouldn't be a good joke if that doubt didn't exist