Sri Lanka massacre work of "the Religion of Peace"? Hmmm?

Let us not jump to conclusions. There are fanatics in most of the world's major religions, with the exceptions of Christianity and Judaism. By fanatics, I mean the kind of "people" who would blow themselves up along with as many "infidels" as possible, in the name of their god. For some reason, Muslim extremists come to mind. But there are, in south Asia, Hindu fanatics (many of whom support India's BJP) and even Buddhist fanatics.

Sri Lanka has them all. For 30 years there was a civil war between the Sinhalese Buddhists -- the majority population in Sri Lanka -- and the Hindu Tamil Tigers (LTTE), who wanted to rule over their own little chunk in the northeast of the island. About ten years ago the Tigers threw in the turban [towel, surely! Ed.] and laid down their arms... supposedly... and Sri Lanka has enjoyed a period of piece ever since. Until today, when "somebody did something" -- a co-ordinated series of bombings of Christian (mainly Catholic) churches and luxury hotels in Colombo and the suburb of Negombo. The death toll stands at over 200, with at least 470 injured.

Lankan government officials immediately pointed the finger at "terrorists", and rounded up 13 suspects, without identifying them as followers of any particular political or religious group. The Sinhalese community was quick to blame the LTTE. But a statement by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe late today opened the door to the possibility that the attackers were, errr, not Tamil fanatics. Mr Wickremesinghe said the suspects' names were "local", but added that investigators were probing whether they had any "overseas links".

Hmmm. The attack bore little similarity to the violence of the civil war, but had echoes of mass Islamist terror attacks around the world in recent years. And the targets were not Buddhist temples or institutions of the Sinhalese-dominated government, but Christian churches and luxury hotels frequented by Westerners. Hmmm.

The Prime Minister also admitted that the country's security services had received "information" about possible attacks ten days ago! "Foreign sources" are said to have warbed the Lankans that "prominent churches" would be targeted by suicide bombers. It is not clear what precautions were taken... if any.

The reported warnings, circulated by senior police officials, suggested that an extremist Islamist group called the National Thowfeek Jama'ath was behind the attacks. Mr Wickremesinghe said the information had not been shared with him or cabinet ministers. "While this goes on we must also look into why adequate precautions were not taken," he said.

Probably just a coincidence, but within an hour or so of the attacks, The Muslim Council of Sri Lanka issued a statement condemning the attacks on the places of worship of "our Christian brothers and sisters on their holy day of Easter, as well as on the hotels in Colombo.... We mourn the loss of innocent lives due to extremist and violent elements who wish to create divides between religious and ethnic groups to realize their agenda." Again, hmmm.

Almost as quick off the mark to express his shock and sympathy was Yousef al-Othaimeen, Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, who described the attacks as "cowardly", for targetting innocent worshippers and civilians. The OIC has 57 member nations. It is headquartered in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Hmmm.

This is (rather obviously) a breaking story. Walt will have more to say tomorrow.

VIDEO: Kenyan jihadi blows self into tiny Muslim-bits

If I weren't so damn lazy, I could post a story about Islamic terrorism every day. Right now, somewhere, possibly in your neighbourhood, a demented follower of the Religion of Peace (sic) is getting ready to kill you, and possibly him/herself, by whatever means available -- vehicular homicide, shooting, stabbing or perhaps a suicide bomb. Stories like this have become so routine -- the new norm for our One World -- that Ed. and I have decided to report only the more egregious examples. Like Tuesday's attack on a Nairobi hotel complex.

The DusitD2 complex, situated in Nairobi's well-to-do Westlands neighbourhood, is popular with expats, especially non-Muslim Europeans, or "kafirs", as the Islamists call us. Kenyan police say the attack began with an explosion outside the complex, followed by a suicide blast inside, before armed assailants arrived and opened fire. The first explosion, on the terrace of the hotel's restaurant, was captured on video. CCTV footage just released to local meeja shows the attacker walking calmly to a spot in front of the terrace, waiting a few moments, then blowing himself into Muslimburger. Here it is.



At least two people can be seen passing the assailant, one of them appearing to turn his head to take a close look at him. The assailant stands still in front of the covered terrace for almost a minute, before he blows himself up. Soon after, panicked guests and workers are seen running past the scene.

The militant Islamist group known as Al-Shabaab, which is based in Somalia and allied with al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the brazen attack, which claimed the lives of 21 people, plus the five militants killed. Kenyan authorities say all the followers of the Prophet have gone to Paradise and are being serviced by 72 virgins... each. Nothing more to see here folks, nothing to worry about... until next time.

Your Islamic bombings today - Afraghanistan again

Let it never be said that ISIS discriminates in its choice of places to bomb or carry out knife or van attacks on, well, anybody. As previous posts on WWW this weekend show, it was post-Christian Europe (Paris) yesterday, and the largest Muslim country in the world, Indonesia earlier today. Now comes a report from the Islamic heartland, Kabul, the capital of Armpitistan, of yet another suicide bombing in that shithole country.

Officials in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar say that Islamic militants attacked a provincial government building there today, sending at least nine followers of the Prophet to Paradise. A spokesthingy for the governor of Nangarhar province said a suicide car bomb exploded outside a building which belongs to the provincial finance directorate.

The attackers then stormed the building, trading fire with security officials. He said security forces killed one of the attackers and surrounded the building, adding that the gun battle was still underway. At the local hospital, another spokesthingy told the meeja nine people were killed and more than 35 wounded.

As usual, no-one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. As usual, Western media report that both the Taliban and a local affiliate ISIS have carried out numerous attacks in the region. The Muslim civil war continues. So, alas, does Western involvement.

Further reading:
"'Allahu akbar!' in Afghanistan - ISIS kills scores as Americans stand by", WWW 22/4/18.
"'Allahu akbar!' - Taliban and ISIS strike Armpitistan again", WWW 6/5/18.
"Ron Paul on Afghanistan: 'failed policy, purposeless war'", WWW 11/7/16.

The family that prays together slays together! - ISIS suicide bombers hit Christian churches in Indonesia

About 9% of Indonesia's 260 million people are Christians. Many of them are ethnic Chinese, who thus have not one but two strikes against them in the majority Muslim nation. There are a dozen fewer Christians in Surabaya today following three suicide bomb attacks on Christian churches, carried out by... you know who.

Oh, you don't know? National police chief Tito Karnavian has confirmed to AP that a family of six, included two girls aged 12 and 9, were responsible for the out deadly attacks on three churches in Surabaya, Indonesia's second-largest city. According to Chief Karnavian, the father exploded a car bomb, two sons aged 18 and 16 used a motorcycle for their attack, and the mother, her face properly veiled by a niqab, took her pre-teen daughters along for the ride to Paradise. The family had returned to Indonesia from ISIS-controlled territory in Syria.

The first attack struck the Santa Maria Roman Catholic Church. Four people, including one or more bombers were killed there, with 41 people, including two cops, wounded. Blasts at the Christian Church of Diponegoro and the Surabaya Pantekosta Church followed minutes later. A civilian security guard described the woman carrying two bags who approached the Diponegoro church along with two girls. "At first officers blocked them in front of the churchyard, but the woman ignored and forced her way inside," said the witness. "Suddenly she hugged a civilian, then (the bomb) exploded."

The bombings were the worst to target churches in Indonesia since a series of attacks on Christmas Eve in 2000 killed 15 people and wounded nearly 100. Religious minorities in Indonesia, especially Christians, have been repeatedly targeted by Islamic militants.

A spokesthingy for the national police said his men fatally shot four suspected Islamic militants and arrested two others early Sunday in West Java. It wasn't clear if the shootings were connected with the church attacks. "They have trained in order to attack police," he said, identifying the militants as members of Jemaah Anshorut Daulah, a network of Islamic extremist groups implicated in a number of attacks in Indonesia over the past year. It pledges allegiance to Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Walt's advice: If you're in the vicinity of a Christian church (anywhere in the world), and you see a woman (?) dressed like the one in the picture coming towards you and making like she wants to hug you, RUN!

"Allahu akbar!" - Taliban and ISIS strike Armpitistan again

According to reports coming in on the Mojo wire, the Muslim civil war has entered the summer rerun season. As reported here, cries of "Allahu akbar!" were heard last weekend in Kabul and other places in Afghanistan. Scores were killed, scores more wounded as the Taliban and ISIS slaughtered Shia Muslims who were trying to register to vote in upcoming elections.

Today there's news -- possibly last week's bulletin copied and pasted -- of a bomb blast inside a mosque in the eastern Afghan city of Khost [If it had been a pilgrimage site it would have been called "Holy Khost". Ed.] which was being used as a voter registration center.  The provincial head of public health [sic] said  his department had counted 14 killed and 33 wounded... so far.

No-one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but both the Taliban and a local ISIS affiliate have targeted voting centres in the past. Like last week, when the massacre in Kabul accounted for 60 dead and at least 130 wounded. Undeterred, the alleged government of the shithole countryAfghanistan plans to hold elections -- the first since 2014 -- this coming October.

Elsewhere in Afghanistan, a vehicle carrying shopkeepers on their way to a market struck an IED (read: roadside bomb) in northern Faryab province, where both the Taliban and ISIS are active. Inspector Mohammed Mohammed of the local constabulary says seven businessmen had gone to Paradise, and another is in Allah's waiting room.

But wait (as Vince Offer used to say), there's more. In the eastern province of Paktia, a car bomb killed two people and wounded another three. Abdullah Hsart, a spokesthingy for Mohammed Mohammed, the provincial governor, said the attack late Saturday targeted Hazart Mohammad Rodwal, a district chief, who was among the wounded. The Taliban responsibility for this one.

Walt has no further snide comments to make, but reminds readers that 1000s of American soldiers are still "in station" (as the Brits say), but only in training and advisory roads, not in harm's way... or so the Pentagon and the State Department would have you believe. Ha!

Further reading: "Kidnapped Sex Slaves Help Islamic State Gain Turf in Afghanistan", by Eltaf Najafizada, Bloomberg News, 3/5/18.

"Allahu akbar!" - Latest death toll from Armpitistan

For those keeping score, Islamic extremists knocked off nearly five dozen less extreme Muslims in attacks in Afghanistan over the weekend. Better there than here! Now the details.

Item 1: A co-ordinated double suicide bombing hit beautiful downtown Kabul this morning (local time), killing 25 people and wounding 45. Among the deceased were an AFP photographer and a cameraman for a local TV station, as well as four cops. The attack was the latest in a string of deadly large-scale bombings and assaults that have struck the capital and other cities in the shithole country this year.

The blasts took place in the central Shash Darak area, the site of NATO headquarters and a number of embassies. The American embassy condemned the "savage bombings" and pledged continuing support for the Afghan "government" and people in their fight against terrorism. "Let us know if there's anything we can do to help," it said, "short of sending more than a few thousand troops back into the quagmire. One Vietnam in a century is enough."

Inspector Hassan bin-Sober of the Afghan police said the first suicide bomber was on a motor bike. The second attacker was on foot, pretending to be a journalist and mingling with the crowd of reporters that had rushed to the scene of the first attack. He then detonated his explosives, sending the journos and himself to the Muslim Paradise. "I saw journalists covered with blood, this time they targeted the media," a taxi driver named Mohammed told surviving meeja types. "When the explosion happened, everywhere was covered with dust and fire, it was so horrific scene" with bodies and body parts "thrown about on the street and the pavement."

Item 2: A couple of hours later, a suicide car bombing in the southern province of Kandahar killed 11 children. An Afghan official who gave his name as Mohammed said a suicide bomber targeted a NATO convoy in the district of Daman, but succeeded only in killing children from a religious school located by the roadside from where the explosion occurred. 16 people, including 5 NATO soldiers [Any Americans? Ed.] and 2 cops, were wounded.

The US embassy and NATO refrained from pledging further support or from making any comment at all. Which group of jihadis was responsible for the dastardly attack remains unclear, as no-one has stepped forward to say "We did it! We killed a bunch of kids!" However, the local ISIS affiliate and the more firmly established Taliban carry out regular attacks around the country, with the Taliban usually targeting the government and security forces and ISIS targeting members of the country's the Shia minority, whom the affiliate perceives as apostates.

Walt says (for the second time in one post), better there than here. Rather than wasting billions of dollars and the lives of NATO troops trying to referee the Muslim civil war, let `em duke it out, as long as they do it in their own arena!

FURTHER READING (added 1/5/18 - MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY!) - "'Failure strategy': How NATO won the Afghan war - and then lost Afghanistan", CBC commentator Murray Brewster's review of Operation Medusa: The Furious Battle That Saved Afghanistan from the Taliban, by Maj-Gen. (Ret'd) Dave Fraser, Royal Canadian Army. Excerpt: "There is, however, a larger cautionary tale being told in this book about political hubris — one the Trudeau government should heed as it prepares to plunge the country into a new peacekeeping mission in Mali...."

"Allahu akbar!" in Afghanistan - ISIS kills scores as Americans stand by

It's "EMISSION ACCOMPLISHED!" for the American-led coalition in Afghanistan, as that wretched, so-called country plans to hold democratic elections in October. Between now and then -- i.e. for the next six months -- Armpitistan's so-called security forces will continue to struggle to prevent attacks by the country's ISIS affiliate as well as the more firmly established Taliban. Both groups are for some reason opposed to democratic elections, and regularly launch attacks, with the Taliban usually targeting the government and security forces, and ISIS targeting the country's Shia minority.

Reports coming over the mojo wire say that an ISIS suicide bomber struck a voter registration centre in the Afghan capital, Kabul, this morning, killing at least 57 people (and counting). A spokesthingy for the Public Health Ministry said another 112 people were wounded in today's attack. The Kabul police chief, General Daud "Idi" Amin, said the suicide bomber targeted civilians who had gathered to receive national identification cards. In a statement carried by its Aamaq news service, ISIS said it had targeted Shia "apostates".

If you live in Afraghanistsan and value your life, the last thing you want to do is go and register to vote. Last week, three cops responsible for guarding voter registration centres in two Afghan provinces were killed by Islamic militants. Elsewhere in Afghanistan, at least five people were killed when their vehicle struck a roadside bomb in Baghlan province. A spokesthingy for the provincial police chief said four other people were wounded in the blast.

That was just today... so far! Yesterday, in Balkh province, a district police chief died of his wounds after being shot during a gunbattle with insurgents. A spokesthingy for the provincial police chief said around a dozen insurgents were also killed in the battle, which is still underway. The "insurgents" are reportedly members of the Taliban, who routinely attack police stations and plant roadside bombs (IEDs) targetting anyone who happens to be using the roads.

In the headline, I said "Americans [are standing] stand by". And so they are. About 15,000 US troops are in Armpitistan even as we speak. But wait (I hear you say), didn't President 0 bring our boys (and girls) home in 2014? Errr, no. He started "drawing down" US forces in 2014 but, as with so many other things, never quite got the job done. When President Trump took over 15 months ago, some 10,000 Yankee imperialists remained in country. In "The Forever War", Newsweek reported in November that 15,000 US troops were still in Afghanistan. And the Washington Post said in January that more would likely be sent this spring.

The problem is [Wapo, again] that no-one seems quite sure what they're doing there! Sending in the Marines is one thing, deploying them effectively quite another. Marine Brig. Gen. Roger Turner's forces in Helmand province saw indirect enemy fire about 20 times over the last few months. None of them earned the Combat Action Ribbon, a culturally important award in the service that recognizes those "who have actively participated in ground or surface combat", including facing firefights and roadside bomb explosions.

Keeping 15,000 American boys (and girls) in that shithole country is costing American taxpayers millions of dollars every day. If they're not doing anything, why not bring them home? All of them! That's Walt's innocent question of the day. Ask it of your Congressman (or Congresswoman) next time you see him (or her). Let me know if you get a sensible answer.

Islamic suicide bomber disguised in burqa kills NATO soldier

Walt has warned before about the ease with which a man intent on no good can cover himself with the extreme Muslim outerwear known as a burqa, under which not even the wearer's eyes can be seen, to perpetrate whatever evil deeds he has in mind. See "A good reason to ban the burqa", WWW 4/11/13, which dealth with just such a case in Not-so-great Britain. In spite of that case and a number of Islamic terrorist attacks -- most recently the Manchester massacre -- the UK government has yet to ban the wearing of Islamic costumes.

Islamic dress is, of course, de rigueur, in Abu Dhabi, one of the statelets that make up the United Arab Emirates. There, last June, a Pakistani dressed in a burqa lured an 11-year-old boy from a mosque in before raping and murdering him. According to Abu Dhabi Police Department Major General Mohammed Al-Knacker, the criminal cross-dressed as a woman since he knew that the little boy would not go with a man without permission from his parents.

Surveillance footage shows the suspect with a purse getting into an elevator with the young victim, whom he brutally raped and strangled the 11-year-old to death soon after they reached the roof of the apartment block. A report in the Conservative Daily Post says that air-conditioning technicians found the victim on the roof of his residence, half-naked and with a Quran in his hands.

To be clear, the clothing shown in the police mug shots looks to me like niqab, not a burqa. If, like the writer of the article, you're not clear on the difference, see "Hijab, niqab, burqa -- what's the difference?", WWW 28/7/10, which has a fine picture of three ladies (???) dressed in burqas.

We come now to the headline story, from Afghanistan, where (believe it or not), NATO troops are still carrying on the US-led mission to defeat the Taliban/ISIS/Al-Qaeda/whoever and bring peace, prosperity and the benefits of American democracy to the people of that benighted country. No matter what the government says, we are losing that battle.

Yesterday, in northern Takhar province near Qarabagh, barely 18 miles north of Kabul, a Taliban suicide bomber struck a NATO patrol in Afghanistan, killing a "service member" and two civilians. Six service members, including an Afghan translator, were wounded. A spokesthingy for the US military confirmed that a service member was killed but did not reveal the soldier's nationality. A district governor said the jihadi concealed his explosives beneath the all-enveloping women's garment known as a burqa.

The attack was the second suicide bombing in as many days that targeted NATO. On Wednesday, a suicide attacker hit a convoy on the edge of the southern city of Kandahar, killing two American soldiers and wounding another four. Both attacks were claimed by the Taliban. Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesthingy told AP over the phone on Friday that one of its fighters from Takhar province carried out yesterday's attack. He claimed 11 Americans were killed, but the insurgents routinely exaggerate their claims. So that's OK then.

Still more news from Armpitistan... Today, in southern Helmand province, the Taliban stormed a market in the Gareshk district and fired at a nearby police station. As Friday is the Muslim sabbath, the market was closed, so no casualties were reported. The day before, yet another suicide bomber rammed a car full of explosives into a police outpost in the same town, killing two cops and wounding another two. Gareshk is obviously not a good place to live, or even visit. Last month, the Pentagon confirmed that an errant US bomb destroyed a police outpost there, killing 12 officers and wounding another 11.

Walt hasn't written much lately about Armpitistan and the endless Muslim civil wars of the Middle East. I'm sick of all that, and truly sick, sore and tired of seeing the waste of western lives and treasure in affairs which are none of our business. And there's the ancillary problem of refugees and asylum-seekers. All the trouble in the world emanates from the heart of Islam. Can the final solution be anything other than the Armageddon?

Your Islamic terrorists today - latest attacks

Islamic terrorism is now everyday news. Really. Just scroll through the news headlines and I guarantee you, you'll find at least one "incident", somewhere in the world, every day. To be more than a below-the-fold news item, the attack must (a) occur in the USA, the UK or Canada or (b) have a double-digit number of victims.

Earlier this week, in what French Minister of the Interior Gérard Collomb called an "attempted attack" [sic] a car deliberately hit a police van before bursting into flames on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées in central Paris. The driver, who was on a security watchlist, died in the incident. Police found a Kalashnikov rifle, handguns and gas bottles in the car. French police have refused to disclose the identity, ethnicity or religion of the attacker (although they know full well who he was), saying only that he was a resident of a Paris suburb. In some Paris suburbs, Muslim immigrants from North Africa make up a majority of the population. Importance to the lamestream media: none (nobody dead or injured other than the attacker).

On June 20th, a suspect was "neutralized" (= shot dead) at the central railway station in Brussels, Belgium, after a failed bombing that Belgian authorities called a terrorist attack. Inspector Hercules Poirot said a small explosion went off in the transportation hub around 2030 local time. Soldiers on patrol at the station shot the man dead as he ran toward them shouting, "Allahu Akbar!" Again, no-one other than the attacker was killed or injured. The Belgian Prosecutor's Office initially declined to identify him or say if he was known to authorities, but other sources said he was Oussama Zariouh, a Moroccan. Importance to the lamestream media: none (no victims + where's Belgium?)



Today, a huge suicide car bomb exploded outside a bank in Afghanistan's southern Helmand province, targeting Afghan troops and government employees waiting to collect their salaries ahead of a major Muslim holiday. At least 29 Muslims, mostly civilians, were killed by other Muslims, probably Taliban. Another 60 (and counting) were wounded. Importance to the lamestream media: medium (lots of casualties but no Westerners + no-one cares about Afghanistan)

Now we come to the big news...

Yesterday, around 0945 EDT, in Flint MI, a crazed attacker yelling... wait for it... "Allahu akbar!" attacked a policeman, Lieutenant Jeff Neville, stabbing him in the neck with a foot-long knife. Lt. Neville is in serious condition in hospital, but expected to recover. An FBI spokesthingy identified the perp as Amor Ftouhi, a resident of Montréal, Canada. Mr Ftouhi, who was subdued and taken into custody, crossed into the USA legally at Lake Champlain NY on June 16th. Why he went to Flint is unknown. The FBI guy told the press, "He made a statement something to the effect of, 'You have killed people in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan and we are all going to die.'"

At a media scrum in Ottawa yesterday afternoon, Canadian Public Security Minister Ralph Goodale condemned the "heinous and cowardly attack" and said the RCMP are co-operating with the FBI, which is leading the investigation. Minister Wiggum had nothing to say about Mr Ftouhi's citizenship, ethnicity, religion or his status in Canada, but his FB page says he's originally from Tunisia.

Importance to lamestream media: medium (no-one killed but hey, a Merkan was attacked + possible to blame Canada's lax immigration and security "systems")

Your Islamic terrorists this weekend

Used to be an attack by suicide bombers or other Islamic terrorists (outside of the Middle East) was a once-in-a-lifetime thing. Like 9/11. Then it got down to once in a decade. Then once a year, once a month, once a week, and now, apparently, once a day. The wusses that run our Western governments (other than President Trump) and spin the news in our lamestream media (other than Fox News and the Rebel Media) tell us we might as well get used to it, because that's the new reality.

Nothing can be done, they say, because we don't know why this is happening. Hell, we don't even know who these criminals are! They're just "terrorists", not necessarily Islamic extremists, you understand, not necessarily Arabs or North Africans... just "terrorists". And the attacks in which scores of innocent people -- not necessarily Christians, you understand -- perish aren't even attacks, really, let alone massacres. They're just "incidents".

Which brings us to reports which started coming in here just after Ed. posted Mark Steyn's commendable video on the dishonesty of post-terror commemorations. Even as Ariana Grande is warming up for her "Manchester strong" benefit concert, we have news of an incident... oops, make that TWO incidents... or maybe one incident in two phases... playing out in the middle of London, at the eponymous bridge (which is not falling down).

Early this evening, local time, the BBC's "security correspondent" (LOL) tweeted:

Well, that's his opinion. Inspector Knacker of the Yard isn't saying anything, because the crime (or terrorism) scene(s) are still active, and the motive for the attack(s) is "not known". I am not sure whether to use the singular or plural of "scene" and "attack" because there are reports of (a) a van plowing into several pedestrians on London Bridge itself and (b) a man/men attacking bystanders with guns/knives at London borough market, just south of the bridge.

A taxi driver told LBC radio, "A van came from London Bridge itself, went between the traffic light system and rammed it towards the steps. It knocked loads of people down. Then three men got out with long blades, 12 inches long and went randomly along Borough High Street stabbing people at random." A bit of redundancy in that statement but we get the picture.

Oops, wait... ... Make that three scenes/attacks! The Beeb is now reporting that police are responding to an "incident" in Vauxhall, in south London. And the peelers have confirmed that there's been at least one fatality in at least one of the attacks.

Well... While we wait for further news from Old Blighty, we turn to beautiful downtown Kabul, the capital of Armpitistan, where three -- count 'em, 3 -- bombs killed at least 12 mourners and wounded 90 more at a funeral for some of the 90 killed by a massive terrorist bombing earlier this week in the Afghan capital. Photos showed bodies and remains strewn on the ground as smoke filled the air.

The "chief executive" of Afghanistan, Abdullah Abdullah (yes, that's his real name), was one of several politicians who survived the blasts as they gathered for the funeral of a senior Afghan senator. He said three suicide bombers had hidden in the crowds and detonated their vests at the start of prayers. And he called for an investigation into how the attackers were able to get so close to the high-profile funeral.

The office of President Ashraf Ghani said he condemned "the outrageous attack on mourners burying the martyred.... The country is under attack. We must be strong and united." Who is Afghanistan under attack from? Alas, the Prez did not say.

Note from Ed.: We regret that we only have so much space for news of "terror-related incidents". We hope the Islamists -- for that's what they are -- will hold off for a day or two to let us talk about other things.

UPDATED: Answer to yesterday's question: Islamic terrorists!

Yesterday afternoon Walt posed the question "Who's behind Ariana Grande concert explosion?". All we knew at the time was that there had been a big bang at the Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena, causing an undetermined number of deaths and injuries. In fairness to jihadis everywhere, and not wishing to fan the flames of Islamophobia, I didn't say flat out that the culprit was a Muslilm terrorist. I only hinted. Still, I was right! Lifetime pct .986.

Here's the update. Following last night's Ariana Grande gig, a suicide bomber detonated an improvised explosive device filled with ball bearings, nuts, bolts and scrap metal, killing at least 22 (including children and parents) and injuring ten dozen more, some of whom are not expected to survive. Horrifying video footage showed 1000s fleeing in tears from the venue, many covered in blood. Petrified children and teens leaped over chairs and barriers as they tried to escape.

Manchester police confirmed the suicide bomber died at the venue after an improvised explosive device was detonated. US security sources [How do they get into this? Ed.] say he travelled to the arena by public transport. Another man, 23, has also been arrested. The "authorities" have declined to release any information about the two. In today's politically correct Europe, that means they are/were Islamic terrorists. Whether they were "home-grown", "radicalized", British citizens or Arab or African "refugees" doesn't matter. "Allahu akbar!", if not heard, was certainly understood.

AP reports from Beirut that the Islamic State says one of its members planted bombs in the middle of the crowds. IS says "a soldier of the caliphate planted bombs in the middle of Crusaders gatherings" then detonated them. It did not say whether the attacker was killed. The group claimed that "30 Crusaders were killed and 70 others were wounded."

The Daily Mail (UK) reports that, shortly before the incident, an unverified Twitter account posted cryptic tweets showing the ISIS black flag alongside the hashtags #IslamicState and #Manchesterarena. The account then posted a message saying, "You forget our threat? This is the just terror." The account was deleted shortly afterwards. Inspector Knacker has declined to comment on the messages, lest anyone draw the obvious conclusions.

Walt asks: Where next? Got any plans to go to a concert? Sporting event? Street festival? Open-air market? You might want to think twice. And when you do, think about what your government is doing to fight back against the Islamic terrorists...if anything!

UPDATE: British Prime Minister Theresa May said Tuesday afternoon (BST) that investigators in the UK probing Monday's attack at a pop concert believe they know the identity of the suspect, but will not release the name until further confirmation. Walt asks: Confirmation of what?!

FURTHER UPDATE: Manchester police have now named the suicide bomber responsible for the Manchester massacre. He is Salman Abedi, 22, born in Manchester, of Arab (Libyan) ethnicity. But, said Manchester's Chief Constable, since the coroner has not formally identified the remains, nothing further can be said about him. One thing the chief copper will say, though, is that Manchester's diversity is its strength -- must have learned that line from Canada's Justin Trudeau -- and any hate crimes against any members of Manchester's diverse communities will not be tolerated. Unless the victims happen to be white Christians, he didn't add.

STILL FURTHER UPDATE: Manchester police have detained another man, aged 23 (and that's all they will say) who is helping them with their enquiries (as they say). Meanwhile, in a classic example of locking the barn door after the horse has bolted, the British government has not raised its "security threat" level from "severe" to "critical". Fancy that!

Dutch Freedom Party leader speaks out on Brussels attacks

The Dutch -- or their government, at least -- are known for their liberal views on everything that matters: drugs, sex, religion and race. To prove their political correctness and love of all mankind, they keep prosecuting Geert Wilders, the leader of the Party for Freedom (PVV), for saying what the majority of his countrymen think, namely that it would be good if there were fewer Moroccans in the Netherlands.

Five years ago, Mr Wilders was acquitted of charges of making Islamophobic remarks. Last month he was put on trial again for allegedly inciting hatred against the Netherlands' Moroccan minority. His case came up as calls for a ban on Muslim immigration have been voiced in other countries, such as France (by Marine Le Pen) and even the USA (by Donald Trump).

What did Mr Wilders say this time to bring the wrath of the PC police down on his head? Dutch prosecutors say that in March 2014 he asked a crowd of supporters whether they wanted more or fewer Moroccans in the Netherlands. No prizes for guessing that they replied by chanting "Fewer! Fewer! Fewer!", to which Mr Wilders responded, "We'll take care of that."

In addition to the "fewer" comment, Mr Wilders referred to Moroccans as "scum" in a television broadcast. The result? One charge of "discrimination" and a second of inciting hatred of Moroccans, who make up about 2% of the Netherlands 17 million population. If convicted he could go to jail for as long as a year and could be fined a maximum of 7400 euros ($8400 in real money). Walt is pleased to present an artist's concept of what the sentencing hearing could be like.

As noted, the "demonization" of "Moroccans" -- read "Muslims" -- of which Mr Wilders stands accused happened two years ago. More recently (i.e. in March 2016), some terrorists who happen to be (or have been) Muslims of, errr, North African descent, killed some three dozen Belgians in suicide bombings in Brussels. The attackers are believed to have lived in that city's Molenbeek neighbourhood. Belgian police said at least 90 returned ISIS fighters were living there.

The morning after the bombings, Geert Wilders took part in a panel discussion on Breitbart Radio (London), warning that the attack is just the beginning of growing Islamist violence. European Commission insider Hermann Kelly told Breitbart Radio he was concerned that so many Islamic extremists live just miles from the political capital of the European Union. "This is amazing to me," he said, "that these people can kill people abroad, come here, and then walk free in the centre of Brussels."

Mr Wilders then said, “Returned Syria fighters are a huge threat. They are dangerous predators roaming our streets. It is absolutely unbelievable that our governments allow them to return. And it is incredible that, once returned, they are not imprisoned. In the Netherlands, we have dozens of these returned jihadists. Our
government allows most of them to freely walk our streets and refuses to lock them up. I demand that they be detained at once. Every government in the West, which refuses to do so, is a moral accessory if one of these monsters commits an atrocity."

Whether any further prosecutions will ensue is uncertain.