US Intelligence Now Believes Metrojet Plane Was Destroyed by ISIS Bomb;
Gunman With Highpowered Rifle Terrorizing San Diego Neighborhood, Shooting at Overflying Planes

Local news coverage here. The video clip (from a few hours ago) is a of a tense moment in which there are both gunshots and flash-bangs.

The shooter is now isolated in one room in an otherwise-evacuated apartment complex; police are "negotiating" with him.

The gunman is also shooting at planes flying overhead on their way to landing at San Diego's airport. The planes have all been diverted to Las Vegas. However, police say the situation is now less precarious and they may soon permit flights to land in San Diego.

This is obviously terrorism of one kind or another, but I have no idea if it's what people often mean by "terrorism" -- specifically, jihadi terrorism.

I also don't know if the rifle is really "high powered." The media always claim that. To them, any weapon capable of successfully propelling a projectile a few feet away from its barrel is "high powered" and an "assault weapon."

Meanwhile, US intelligence is saying the downed Russian flight was bombed by ISIS.

According to breaking reports from U.S. intelligence sources, it now seems most likely that a bomb planted on Metrojet Flight 9268 by ISIS or an ISIS Affiliate was most likely responsible for downing the Russian plane. Obviously it is still too early to say with any certainty one way or another, but reputable sources seem to be confirming the suspicion all along -- that Russia’s involvement in Syria may have made it a tempting target for Sunni extremists in particular.

It still isn't clear why the one ISIS affiliate that has come forward to claim responsibility for downing the plane is claiming to have done so with, essentially, a portable missile launcher, which could not have physically accomplished the task, and we may yet learn that the plane was downed due to structural failure. But we do know that everything said by the Russians at this point should be taken with several very large blocks of salt.

RedState notes Russia has an "enormous" Sunni minority (I didn't know that) which is enraged by Putin's military actions in Syria.

More background at Hot Air.

posted by Ace at 04:37 PM

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