News of the World

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(Two days ago)...

US forces have bombed 85 targets in Iraq and Syria
What we know about US retaliatory strikes in Iraq and Syria

According to US officials, the co-ordinated attack was against Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) Quds Force and allied militia groups.

US President Joe Biden said the US attacks "will continue at times and places of our choosing".

Critics have argued that the strikes should have occurred earlier.

A statement from US Central Command (Centcom) said the attack occurred at 16:00EST (21:00GMT) - which is about midnight local time in the region.

Forces used numerous aircraft, including B-1 "long-range bombers flown from [the] United States" to hit a total of 85 targets at seven sites.

More than 125 precision munitions were used, the statement said.

US General Douglas Sims said the B-1 bombers "flew a single nonstop route from the US" and were able to "gas and go" while travelling in the air.

He added that the US is "pretty confident" that the locations struck were "pretty significant in degrading capability".

"We will know better in terms of what [the assessment] looks like tomorrow," Gen Sims said.

US officials have blamed an Iranian-backed militia group, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, for the attack and say the one-way drone was Iranian-made and similar to the ones being supplied to Russia.

The militant organisation - an umbrella group of multiple militias - is believed to have been armed, funded and trained by the IRGC.

Seven locations were hit - four in Syria and three in Iraq - over 30 minutes.

The facilities struck included command and control operations and munition supply chain facilities of "militia groups and their IRGC sponsors who facilitated attacks against US and coalition forces", the Pentagon added.

According to reports by AFP news agency, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said at least 13 pro-Iran fighters were killed in eastern Syria.

There were no strikes on Iranian soil and an Iranian warship in the Red Sea, thought to be involved in helping direct Houthi attacks on commercial shipping, was not targeted.

The attacks came several hours after Mr Biden attended a repatriation ceremony for the remains of William Rivers, 46, Kennedy Sanders, 24, and Breonna Moffett, 23.

More than 40 other service members were injured in the same drone attack, which struck Tower 22 - a US base in north-eastern Jordan.

(One day ago...)

US, UK conduct strikes
on at least 30 Houthi targets
in Yemen: reports

The United States and United Kingdom struck at least 30 Houthi targets in Yemen late Saturday, according to reports.

Targets linked to Iran-backed terrorist group across 10 locations were struck by US F/A-18 fighters launched from the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier, and American warships in the Red Sea fired off Tomahawk missiles as well, US officials said.

The targets included command and control operations centers, an underground weapons storage facility and other weapons Houthis have used to target international shipping vessels, CNN reported, citing an unnamed US official.

Saturday’s strikes on the Houthis came after the US attack overnight Friday on 85 targets linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and related militias in Iraq and Syria, in retaliation for a drone strike that killed three American soldiers in Jordan last weekend.

(Today...)

US destroys Houthi missile
in third straight day of strikes,
while terror group warns of retaliation

The US targeted Iran-backed terrorists for the third day in a row Sunday, destroying a Houthi missile it said posed an “imminent threat” to Navy ships in the Red Sea — as the extremist group vowed revenge.

“Forces conducted a strike in self-defense against a Houthi anti-ship cruise missile prepared to launch against ships in the Red Sea,” US Central Command announced in an early morning tweet.

The 4 a.m. strike was launched after US forces determined the missile, located in a Houthi-controlled part of Yemen, threatened the safety of nearby Navy and trade ships, according to Central Command.

“This action will protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for U.S. Navy vessels and merchant vessels,” the statement said.

Shortly after the strike, a Houthi spokesman doubled-down on his terror group’s claims that its monthslong campaign attacking and hijacking trade ships in the Red Sea was being carried out exclusively to aid humanitarian efforts and Gaza, and vowed retaliation.

“These attacks will not deter us from our moral, religious and humanitarian stance in support of the steadfast Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, and will not pass without response and punishment,” the rep said in a tweet.

Sunday morning’s US strike followed a fiery 48 hours between the Houthis and American forces in the region.

On Saturday, at least 30 Houthi targets were hit by US and UK forces across 10 different locations in Yemen, including weapons storage facilities and command centers where the terrorists have been coordinating their Red Sea havoc.

A day earlier, US forces took out 11 armed Houthi drones which had either been launched or were being prepared for launch.

The strikes coincided with an extensive US assault on other Iran-linked groups in Iraq and Syria.

Overnight airstrikes Friday killed at least 39 people and injured dozens across 85 targets linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard in what wasin response to a drone strike from the extremist groups that claimed the lives of three US service members at a base in Jordan last weekend.

Tehran called the strikes “violations of the sovereignty and territorial integrity,” while US Defense Secretary said they were merely the beginning of America’s response to the Jordan attack.

NYPD officers ‘fed up’ with Alvin Bragg
after Manhattan DA lets cop-beating migrants
go without bail: ‘A complete joke’

Police officers and other critics are slamming Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for refusing to seek bail for the rowdy migrants arrested after allegedly being caught on camera attacking NYPD cops in Times Square.

Veteran police officers fumed to The Post Saturday that Bragg made a mockery of the entire justice system by letting five migrants walk after they were arraigned Wednesday on charges of second-degree assault on a police officer and obstruction of governmental administration in the shocking Jan. 27 beatdown. 

“Alvin Bragg just showed all New Yorkers that the Police Department doesn’t matter to him,” said an NYPD detective with more than two decades on the job.

“What this does is open the window for all people to say we can beat up cops and nothing is going to happen to us. Thanks, Mr. Bragg.”

Another 25-year NYPD cop tore into the lefty prosecutor, saying his lack of action is a “complete joke “because the migrants committed “bail-eligible offenses.”

“They are not coming back,” said the police officer.

“I won’t be surprised if they’re back in Mexico.”

The outrage came as the embattled DA pledged Saturday to bring a grand jury investigation into the case.

“We are … preparing to present charges to the Grand Jury on Tuesday and will update the public as soon as legally permissible,” Bragg said in a statement. “We will not rest until every person who assaulted a police officer in this awful attack is held accountable.”

The seven men arrested so far in the beatdown of the cop and NYPD lieutenant were from shelters in outer boroughs, according to the NYPD.

Police are seeking six more suspects.

Of those arrested, six — including Darwin Andres Gomez, 19, Kelvin Servita Arocha, 19, Wilson Juarez, 21, and Yorman Reveron, 24 — have reportedly left for California, a police official said.

Also arrested were Jhoan Boada, 22, Yohenry Brito, 24, and Jandry Barros, 21, cops said.

All were listed by police as either homeless or living at migrant shelters.

Brito is being held without bail.

Boada flipped the bird with both hands to reporters and photographers after leaving his court arraignment.

Boada shown pictured gesturing (Mature Content Warning)

“I think the cops are fed up,” the veteran cop added.

“We talk about it all the time. We’re a catch-and-release city. This is a complete joke. We put bad people behind bars to keep the community safe and, they just keep on letting them out. I really don’t understand what their agenda is.”

The feds are now involved, a senior law enforcement source told The Post, with immigration warrants having been issued for at least five of those who fled.

City Council Minority Leader Joe Borelli (R-Staten Island) also ripped Bragg refusing to seek bail for the punks and cheered a Manhattan judge for recently exposing the prosecutor’s two-face tactics.

“Alvin Bragg is to the perversion of justice as Harvey Weinstein is to perversion in general,” Borelli said.

“His backwards view on public safety is, once again, on full display for all to see. For those committing victimless political crimes, he is Wyatt Earp, for migrants committing the violent assaults our police officers, he is Barney Fife.”

“Let ‘em loose Bragg strikes again.”

SF Store That Inspired 'Toy Story'
Closes Amid Crime Woes

San Francisco's oldest toy store, which inspired the "Toy Story" films, is closing in February.

Jeffrey's Toys has been open since 1938, but the Luhn family, which founded and still runs the shop, admitted it had been struggling "for a number of years," saying crime and disorder in the city's downtown area were partially to blame, the British newspaper The Times reported.

The Luhns, in a statement released by the family lawyer, cited "the perils and violence of the downtown environment, inflation, the decrease in consumer spending and the demise of retail across the world," as reasons contributing toward the store's closure.

As The Times noted, thieves have targeted the store. In one incident, a member of staff had been threatened with being stabbed.

"The family is saddened it has come to this and we've explored all other options to try and keep the business going," the family said in its statement. "The leadership of the city of San Francisco and the Downtown Association have their work cut out for them on how to revitalize what was once a vibrant and fun downtown experience."

San Francisco has long grappled with challenges, notably homelessness, marked by frequent makeshift encampments on its streets. Crime also remains a persistent issue, with a 14% increase in robberies recorded last year compared to 2022, The Times noted.

In December, Matthew Luhn, co-owner of Jeffrey's Toys with his father, shared that the family paid a monthly rent of $20,000 for their Union Square shop. Luhn said that the family felt let down by the city.

"We're putting our money in, we're putting our hard work in, and we're putting our love into it," Luhn, who worked as an animator at Pixar and worked on the first "Toy Story" movie for the studio, said. "But, in the relationship we have with the city, that's not being returned."

He added: "During 'Toy Story,' we would have my dad come to give us ideas. And when we did reference for almost all the 'Toy Story' films, we always went to Jeffrey's Toys. My dad just closed up the store and said, 'Just play, have fun, and let me know if you need anything.'"