U.S. Airstrikes Kill 3 Top ISIS Leaders (Haji Mutazz, Abd al Basit & Radwan Talib)

GOOD RIDDANCE …

U.S. airstrikes have killed two top-level and one mid-level ISIS leader, Haji Mutazz was Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s deputy in Iraq; Abd al Basit was his military emir in Iraq; and Radwan Talib was his Mosul emir.

CNN:

U.S. airstrikes have killed two top-level and one mid-level ISIS leader, a senior U.S. military official tells CNN.

Haji Mutazz was Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s deputy in Iraq; Abd al Basit was his military emir in Iraq; and Radwan Talib was his Mosul emir. Their deaths resulted from multiple strikes going back to mid-November — it has taken until now to determine conclusively they were killed.

“I can confirm that since mid-November, targeted coalition airstrikes successfully killed multiple senior and mid-level leaders within the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant,” said Pentagon press secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby, in a statement on Thursday.

“We believe that the loss of these key leaders degrades ISIL’s ability to command and control current operations against Iraqi Security Forces, including Kurdish and other local forces in Iraq,” he said.

American Photojournalist Luke Somers Held Hostage in Yemen Killed by al Qaeda During a Failed Rescue Operation

Thirty-three year old Luke Somers, the American photojournalist held hostage in Yemen, was killed by al-Qaeda terrorists during a failed rescue operation overnight. According to reports, at least 10 AQAP terrorists holding Somers were killed in the mission.  A South African teacher from the Relief group Gift of the Givers, Pierre Korkie, also being held by al Qaeda terrorists was killed. Outgoing Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said the attempt to free the captives was justified; “There were compelling reasons to believe Mr. Somers’ life was in imminent danger.”  Earlier this week,  a video was posted by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) of Somers and threatened to kill him if unspecified demands were not met. Somers was kidnapped in Yemen in September 2013.

Luke Somers

American hostage Luke Somers was killed in a rescue attempt by the U.S. and Yemen Saturday.

A Yemeni national security official told Fox News Somers was still alive, but badly injured when U.S. special operation forces reached him in the rescue mission.

He had been injured by Al Qaeda militants during the raid. He would later die being transported to a U.S. Navy ship of Yemen.

Numerous AQAP terrorists holding the hostages captive were killed in the mission.

President Obama released a statement early Saturday morning condemning the “barbaric murder” of Somers by the Al Qaeda terrorists.

Obama said he ordered the rescue mission attempt Friday.

Obama, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Secretary of State John Kerry all expressed their condolences to Somers’ family.

Reuters – U.S., South African hostages in Yemen killed in rescue attempt:

Major General Ali al-Ahmadi, chief of the national security bureau in Yemen, said Somers was killed during the raid and other hostages held by the group had been taken to field hospitals, but gave no details about them or their condition.

Somers was removed from the scene but died later from a wound he suffered during the rescue attempt, a senior official in the Yemeni president’s office said.

Relief group Gift of the Givers said teacher Pierre Korkie was also killed.

ISIS Terrorists Claims They Have Beheaded American Hostage Peter Kassig

ISIS BEHEADS AMERICAN HOSTAGE PETER KASSIG.

ISIS appears to have done it again. In a VIDEO, ISIS terrorists claim to have beheaded American hostage Peter Kassig. That now makes the 5th Westerner that ISIS has brutally murdered. The 26 year old Peter Kassig, also known as Abdul-Rahman Kassig, as he converted to Islam, was an aid worker in Syria prior to his capture. Kassig was a U.S. soldier and returned to the Middle East  as a medical worker, feeling compelled to help victims of war. Kassig’s parents had previously asked for mercy for their some; however, as we all know … ISIS has no mercy.

Kassig was an Army veteran who served in the Iraq war before he was honorably discharged for medical reasons in 2007.

Kassig later became an emergency medical technician and volunteered as a medical assistant in border hospitals in Lebanon in 2012, treating Palestinian refugees and those fleeing from the Syrian conflict.

In the fall of 2012, Kassig founded an NGO called SERA, Special Emergency Response and Assistance, eventually moving its base of operations to Turkey, according to a family spokesman. From there Kassig “sourced and delivered food and medical supplies to the growing [refugee] camps on both sides of the Syrian border.” He also gave primary trauma care to children caught in the crossfire.

CNN:

Militants claim to have beheaded American hostage Peter Kassig in a video published to the Internet on Sunday, purportedly from terror group ISIS.
ISIS reportedly beheads Peter Kassig.

The video shows the aftermath of a beheading, in which the victim is not clearly recognizable. CNN has not been able to confirm the authenticity of the video nor the identity of the victim.

Kassig, 26, who converted to Islam in captivity, also went by the name Abdul-Rahman Kassig.

He went to the Middle East as a U.S. soldier and returned as a medical worker, feeling compelled to help victims of war.

He did aid work in Syria, where he was captured. He was held hostage for over a year.

Kassig’s parents, Ed and Paula Kassig, acknowledged the reports of their son’s death in a statement and said they would wait for government confirmation of their authenticity. They asked for privacy.

UPDATE I: Western Leaders React To Peter Kassig Beheading Video Posted By Islamic State.

Leaders of Australia and the U.K., as well as a representative of the U.S. National Security Council, have publicly denounced the contents of a video that allegedly shows members of the Islamic State militant group in Syria beheading Abdul-Rahman Kassig, an American aid worker who was born Peter Kassig. The militant group formerly known as either ISIL or ISIS purportedly posted the video online Sunday: It appears to show so-called Jihadi John, a militant responsible for previous hostage beheadings, holding Kassig’s head.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott denounced the footage at a press conference covered by the Guardian. Abbott would not comment on the video’s authenticity or whether he had seen any additional footage, saying only that the Islamic State group should be called a death cult.

British Prime Minister David Cameron posted on Twitter earlier Sunday, saying  he was horrified by what he called Kassig’s “cold-blooded murder”

Zale H. Thompson Attacks NYC Police Officers with Hatchet … Suspect Shot Dead by Police (Update: His Facebook Points to Radicalized Lone Wolf Jihadist)

MORE ATTACKS ON POLICE OFFICERS, JUST LIKE ISIS CALLED FOR …

32 year old Zale Thompson, a resident of Queens, New York, was shot dead by police Thursday after he attacked two NYC police officers with a hatchet. One officer was struck in the arm and another in the head by the hatchet wielding suspect. According to Commissioner Bill Bratton, Zale Thompson “charged at the officers with a hatchet in his hand. Unprovoked and not speaking a word, the male then swung at one of the officers with a hatchet, striking his right arm. After striking that officer, the suspect continuing swinging the hatchet, striking a second officer in the head.”

Zale Thompson had a past criminal record; however, upon further review it seems like this may be the acts of a lone wolf terrorist, radicalized Muslim.

Police say they were investigating whether Thompson’s attack on the cops was linked to Islamic terrorism. ISIS has urged fighters to launch lone wolf attacks in the United States.

Thompson’s Facebook page features a photograph of a man dressed in Middle Eastern garb and a cover photo displaying Arabic writing.

CNN:

A man charged at four New York police officers with a metal hatchet Thursday, hitting two of them at a time of high alert for authorities concerned they might be targeted in the United States and Canada.

The suspect was hiding behind a bus shelter as if he was waiting to attack the officers, according to a law enforcement official, who said it almost appeared as if he was stalking them. The officers were posing for a photo when the man pounced, police Commissioner Bill Bratton said.

He struck one officer in the right arm and another in the head, according to the commissioner. The two officers who weren’t hit then shot at and killed the attacker.

The law enforcement official identified the suspect as Zale H. Thompson, who had a criminal record in California and had been discharged from the Navy for misconduct, according to the source.

The police officer who was struck in the head remains in critical but stable condition. The other officer, who is 24, was struck in the arm and was expected to be released soon.

UPDATE I: Atlas Shrugs – Pamela Geller.

Facebook

According to his Facebook page, Thompson is a native of Queens. In 2011, Thompson graduated from Teacher’s College in Columbia University. His page also says that he went to the The College of New Rochelle and High School of Graphic Communications Arts. His last-known address is unknown. He is 32 years old. On his LinkedIn page, Thompson lists his skills as Microsoft Office, Public Speaking and Research.

On his Facebook page, he also went by the name Zaim Farouq Abdul-malik.

1.Thompson Wielded an 18-Inch Ax
2. He Was Discharged From the Navy
3. Zale Was Vocal Online About Racism

Mohammed Hamzah Khan, 19 Year Old American Student Arrested at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport Trying to join ISIS

In a note to his parents, Khan warned … ‘FIRST and FOREMOST, PLEASE MAKE SURE NOT TO TELL THE AUTHORITIES.’

19 year old Mohammed Hamzah Khan, an American student has been arrested at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport in an attempt to travel to Syria to join the terrorist group ISIS. The Bolingbrook teen has been charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, specifically by attempting to join the Islamic State, ISIS. The charge of attempting to support terrorism carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.

An American teenager disgusted with the American way of life has been arrested at Chicago’s O’Hare International airport after he allegedly tried to travel to the Middle East to join and fight with ISIS.

Federal prosecutors announced on Monday that FBI agents arrested 19-year-old Mohammed Hamzah Khan, of suburban Bolingbrook, on Saturday evening before he boarded a flight to Istanbul, Turkey, via Vienna.

They accuse him of attempting to travel overseas to support terrorism which carries a maximum sentence of 15-years and Khan is also charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization.

On Monday, the slight, bearded Khan appeared in a federal court in orange jail clothes, calmly telling the federal magistrate that he understood the allegations.

The local CBS affiliate in Chicago identified a Facebook account belonging to a Hamzah Khan as that of the would be ISIS recruit.

CNN – Planned to meet contact in Istanbul.

During questioning at the airport, Khan waived his Miranda rights and told FBI agents that a person he met online had given him the phone number of a person to call once he arrived in Istanbul.

That person, Khan told agents, was to take him into ISIS territory.

The Department of Justice said the $4,000 round-trip ticket to Istanbul was bought on September 26. But details on who purchased it for Khan and who he was to meet in Turkey were not disclosed.

According to the complaint, Khan told authorities he was planning on working in some type of public service for ISIS — like a police force — providing humanitarian work or taking up a combat role.