Latest news with #Kilby
Daily Record
2 days ago
- Business
- Daily Record
East Kilbride land St Johnstone in cup: Big scalps last season show we'll have no fear in Premier Sports clashes, says boss
Kilby will take on the likes of St Johnstone and Raith Rovers in their cup section next month East Kilbride boss Mick Kennedy says his side hold no fears going into the Premier Sports League Cup groups this summer after pulling off some cup scalps last season. Newly-promoted Kilby are still riding the crest of a wave after reaching the SPFL last month and they are now looking forward to their first matches as a League Two club after the draw for the League Cup was made last week. Kennedy's side have been drawn in Group F alongside top seeds St Johnstone, who were relegated to the Championship last season, Championship side Raith Rovers, League One Inverness Caley Thistle and League Two rivals Elgin City. EK defeated the likes of Championship sides Airdrie and Ayr United in the Challenge Cup last term, so Kennedy believes they can punch above their weight again. Reacting to the draw, which will see Kilby host Saints at K-Park on July 12, Kennedy said: 'I look forward to these occasions because it gives us a chance to test ourselves against some big teams. 'Nothing changes in terms of our style of play, so they are always interesting occasions. I'm looking forward to it. 'It's a really good group. There's three full-time clubs in there so it will be a big test, but we showed last season that we can compete with Championship clubs on our day. 'St Johnstone is a massive game to kick us off after getting into the SPFL. I know they had an unsuccessful season and had a new manager come in, but I have a lot of admiration for [boss] Simo Valakari in terms of how his side plays. 'He is trying to implement a possession-based style of play so I think that will make for a good game between us. 'We will go to try and win all the games and we'll certainly show no fear.' With East Kilbride being involved in the end of season play-offs last term, Kennedy says they will need to use the cup as pre-season. EK are due to play one friendly on Saturday, July 5 against an as yet unnamed opponent before the cup campaign gets underway. League Two will kick-off on August 2. Kennedy added: 'We will try and get one friendly in before the cup starts but that will be our pre-season. 'We need to use the competition as our pre-season because we finished a lot later than the SPFL teams and the boys needed their break.'
Daily Record
3 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Record
East Kilbride boss: We won't be making 'big name' signings now we are in SPFL
Mick Kennedy has stressed Kilby won't be splashing the cash on 'stellar' signings over the summer as he aims to stick to successful model that won club promotion East Kilbride boss Mick Kennedy has warned fans not to expect any glamour signings now the club is in the SPFL. But he has targeted six fresh faces to spearhead Kilby's push for the League Two title next season. The Lowland League champions won promotion to the fourth tier last month with a play-off victory over Bonnyrigg Rose to claim their place in the professional ranks for the first time. Work is well underway to strengthen the side for a title-tilt but while Kennedy admits they will bring in plenty of fresh faces, he says he won't be going for any so-called big names in the transfer market. Kennedy said: 'Our style of play dictates our recruitment. There's only a certain type of player who can fit into our structure. 'Some people are maybe expecting us to come up and announce some stellar names and stuff like that. There won't be any of that nonsense, like us signing Championship players. 'It will be boys about 23 or 24 who have played some degree of games in the SPFL. There will be nothing major happening. 'It's people we think we can coach well and develop, and who will give us the best opportunity to get out of League Two. 'The squad during my time has always been made up like that. Now and again there have been some experienced boys we've managed to get hold of. 'But there will be nothing that will make you go 'wow', I can assure people of that. 'I am not saying it isn't possible for us, it is just not my style. I really don't think there will be anything significant in terms of a 'name', but we are confident that if we get the players we are trying to bring in, we will certainly have one of the strongest squads in the league. 'There are deals in place that we are hoping to announce shortly. We will bring in six players as we look for a squad around 20. 'Once things settle we will start to look at the loan market and see what is available. We are working away and hopefully we will start to get some over the line this week.' East Kilbride announced last week who will be retained for next season and who has been released. The club has 13 players from the promotion winning squad sticking around with Sean Fagan, Jordan McGregor, Jamie Hamilton, David Ferguson, Reegan Mimnaugh, Lewis Spence, Joao Balde, Nathan Flanagan, Cami Elliott, Luke Main, Broque Watson, John Robertson and skipper Jack Leitch all retained. Those being released are Chris Truesdale, David Wilson, Adam Livingstone, Ian McShane and Scott Ferguson, while loan stars Matty Connelly (Motherwell), Daire O'Connor (Hamilton Accies), Cameron McKinley (Stirling Albion) and Zander Craik (Kilmarnock) return to their parent clubs. There are names among the retained list who could attract interest from bigger clubs, with the likes of ex-Hamilton Accies man Reegan Mimnaugh having a great campaign in 2024/25, but Kennedy is confident none of his key players will be going anywhere during the transfer window. He added: 'The retained players are those we've had conversations with and who all want to stay. I have a good enough relationship with the boys that if something came up they would speak to me. 'I wouldn't imagine anyone on the retained list is going to go anywhere. They enjoy the environment, the style of play and how the club is run. No disrespect to other clubs, but I think many of them would struggle to find something similar at this level. 'East Kilbride is arguably the best-run part-time club in the country and everybody has said they are fully committed for next season.'
Daily Record
28-05-2025
- Sport
- Daily Record
East Kilbride's potential is 'massive' says goals hero as he eyes League Two progress
Cami Elliott hopes to be sticking around as Kilby start life in the SPFL next season East Kilbride hero Cami Elliott reckons the club's potential is 'massive' now they have finally reached the SPFL. The Lowland League champions defeated Bonnyrigg Rose 3-1 on aggregate in the League Two play-off final last week to earn promotion to the professional ranks for the first time in their history. It opens the door for the club to keep climbing the leagues and they will be setting their sights on winning promotion from League Two next season. Elliott bagged a brace in the first leg against Bonnyrigg and is hoping he will be sticking around for the journey in the SPFL in what is his second spell at K-Park. He said: 'It feels brilliant to get the club up. I was here for a year-and-a-half the first time and we never managed to get up and it was so frustrating. 'We invested so much into last time and it is such a relief to get up this time and know we will be playing in the leagues [SPFL] next season. 'So this moment is for everybody in East Kilbride. 'And I really feel this club can go so massive, so quickly now. 'East Kilbride is such a big town so hopefully we can keep being successful and the fan base can keep growing as well. 'I haven't spoken to the club about next season. Before the play-offs a lot of us weren't sure about our futures – even Mick [Kennedy] and Si [Ferry, the management team]. 'But I think what we have achieved is massive and hopefully I'll be here to go again next season. 'I am glad to do this for everyone at the club and in the town.' Elliott's double and Jordan McGregor's strike helped EK earn a 3-1 first leg win at K-Park and Kilby's top scorer this season with an impressive 41 goals said they always believed the home tie would be the pivotal game. The 25-year-old said: 'We always knew it would be about doing a good job in the home game because we knew how hard the second leg would be on their pitch. 'We set up well and that is the first clean sheet we've kept in a while so it was good. 'Everybody dug in to get us the result we needed. Bonnyrigg never really looked like scoring so it was a good game plan from us to get over the line.' East Kilbride will learn their League Two fixtures for next season when the 2025/26 schedule is released on June 20.
The Intercept
23-05-2025
- General
- The Intercept
U.S. Conducts 'Largest Airstrike in the History of the World' (Sort Of)
President Harry S. Truman authorized the first nuclear attack in the history of the world, on Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945. Around 70,000 people, nearly all of them civilians, were vaporized, crushed, burned, or irradiated to death almost immediately. Another 50,000 probably died soon after. The bomb exploded with the force of more than 15,000 tons of TNT. But the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman and its supporting strike group launched the 'largest airstrike in the history of the world' from an aircraft carrier on Somalia in February, said Adm. James Kilby, the Navy's acting chief of naval operations, while speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations' Robert B. McKeon Endowed Series on Military Strategy and Leadership on Monday. F/A-18 Super Hornets on the deck of the USS Harry S. Truman on February 1, 2025, the day of the 'largest airstrike in the history of the world.' Photo: Petty Officer 2nd Class Logan Mcguire/U.S. Navy/DVIDS The strike involved 16 F/A-18 Super Hornets that launched from the Truman as the carrier strike group operated in the Red Sea, a Navy official told The Intercept on condition of anonymity. When it was over, Somalia had been pummeled by around 125,000 pounds of munitions, according to Kilby. Those 60 tons of bombs killed just 14 people, according to Africa Command, or AFRICOM. A Navy official clarified that Kilby's 'off the cuff' remarks did not mean the airstrike was comparable to the atomic attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II or even other massive bombing raids like President Richard Nixon's 1972 Linebacker II raids in North Vietnam, also known as the 'Christmas bombings.' 'This was a time span of minutes, it was everything hitting, and all of it coming from one aircraft carrier. That's historically significant.' Other strikes from aircraft carriers have been larger in terms of bomb tonnage dropped during a single day, including during Operation Desert Storm in 1991 and during the Afghan War, according to the official. 'It's the effort from a single carrier in such a short time span,' he said, noting that the Hornets each struck their target in rapid succession. 'This was a time span of minutes, it was everything hitting, and all of it coming from one aircraft carrier. That's historically significant.' The official refused to offer further information, which he said would constitute 'tactical details.' At the time of the mega-strike in the Horn of Africa, AFRICOM downplayed the scale of the attack using boilerplate language. 'In coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. Africa Command conducted airstrikes against ISIS-Somalia on Feb. 1, 2025,' reads the press release. 'The command's initial assessment is that multiple ISIS-Somalia operatives were killed in the airstrikes and no civilians were harmed.' Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth also offered a similarly blasé assessment of the mammoth bombing at the time. AFRICOM did not respond to requests for clarification about why it took 60 tons of bombs to kill less than 15 militants, but it was likely the type and location of the target: a series of cave complexes in the rugged terrain of the Golis Mountains in the north of Somalia. The USS Harry S. Truman arrives at the NATO Marathi Pier Complex in Souda Bay, Greece, during a scheduled port visit on Feb. 6, 2025, carrying F/A-18 Super Hornets. Photo: Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Andrew Eder/U.S. Navy/DVIDS In the months since the strike, two F/A-18 jets have fallen off the deck of the USS Harry S. Truman. In both incidents, personnel were injured in the course of the accident, and the approximately $60 million warplanes were lost to the sea. Since taking office, President Donald Trump has ramped up the conflict in Somalia, despite running as an anti-war candidate and pitching himself as a 'peacemaker.' After Trump relaxed targeting principles during his first term, attacks in Somalia tripled. Counts of civilian casualties published by the U.S. military and independent organizations across U.S. war zones — including Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen — increased. Since taking office a second time, Trump has again rolled back constraints on American commanders to authorize airstrikes outside conventional war zones. During his first overseas trip as defense secretary, Hegseth met with senior AFRICOM leaders and signed a directive easing policy constraints and executive oversight on air attacks. 'The president and the secretary of defense have given me expanded authorities,' Gen. Michael Langley, the chief of AFRICOM, told the Senate Armed Services Committee last month. 'We're hitting them hard. I now have the capability to hit them harder.' The Trump administration even boasted about its growing body count in Somalia on Monday. 'WWFY/WWKY: We will find you, and we will kill you.' 'We haven't forgotten the threat posed by Jihadis. 10 more were permanently removed from the battlefield in Somalia yesterday,' the White House posted on X above black-and-white footage that shows a bomb dropped on men innocuously walking in a rural area. 'That brings the total to over 100 bloodthirsty terrorists killed since President Trump was sworn in.' The administration added: 'WWFY/WWKY: We will find you, and we will kill you.' A U.S. Navy F/A-18E Super Hornet, assigned to the USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group, flies a mission over the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility on Feb. 1, 2025. Photo: Staff Sgt. Jackson Manske/United States Air Forces Central Command/DVIDS The White House did not respond to requests for additional information about the strike or civilian casualties resulting from the attacks that have killed more than 100 people in Somalia since January 20. AFRICOM recently stopped providing civilian casualty assessments in its press releases announcing U.S. attacks in Somalia. 'As the new administration settles in, we're refraining from reporting estimated battle damage assessments and providing initial assessments on civilian harm probability as a matter of course,' AFRICOM spokesperson Lt. Col. Doug Halleaux told last week. A 2023 investigation by The Intercept determined that an April 2018 drone attack in Somalia killed at least three, and possibly five, civilians, including 22-year-old Luul Dahir Mohamed and her 4-year-old daughter Mariam Shilow Muse. At the time, AFRICOM announced it had killed 'five terrorists' and that 'no civilians were killed in this airstrike.' The Intercept's investigation revealed that the strike was conducted under loosened rules of engagement sought by the Pentagon and approved by the Trump White House, and that no one was ever held accountable for the civilian deaths. For more than six years, Luul and Mariam's family has tried to contact the U.S. government, including through an online civilian casualty reporting portal run by AFRICOM, but has not received a response. U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornets, assigned to the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group, fly a mission over the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, March 3, 2025. Photo: Staff Sgt. Jackson Manske/United States Air Forces Central Command/DVIDS The United States has been conducting attacks in Somalia since at least 2007, with airstrikes skyrocketing during Trump's first term. From 2007 to 2017, under the administrations of George W. Bush and Barack Obama, the U.S. military carried out 43 declared airstrikes in Somalia. During Trump's first term, AFRICOM conducted more than 200 air attacks against members of al-Shabab and the Islamic State group. The Biden administration conducted 39 declared strikes in Somalia over four years. The U.S. has carried out almost 30 airstrikes in Somalia during Trump's second term, according to AFRICOM and White House announcements. At this pace, AFRICOM is poised to equal or exceed the highest number of strikes in Somalia in the command's history, 63 in 2019. AFRICOM did not reply to detailed questions regarding attacks in Somalia prior to publication. The U.S. war in Somalia has ground on since the opening days of the war on terror. Special Operations forces were dispatched there in 2002, followed by conventional forces, helicopters, surveillance aircraft, outposts, and drones. By 2007, the Pentagon recognized that there were fundamental flaws with U.S. military operations in the Horn of Africa, and Somalia became another forever war stalemate. By the end of his first term, Trump was ready to call it quits on the sputtering war in Somalia, ordering almost all U.S. troops out of the country in late 2020. The withdrawal was reversed by President Joe Biden but the tiny ISIS-Somalia faction remains 'a significant threat to peace and security in Somalia,' while the larger militant group, al-Shabab, 'continues to carry out complex attacks against the Government, [African Union Transition Mission in Somalia] and international forces, as well as civilians and the business community, including inside protected areas in Mogadishu,' according to a panel of experts report on Somalia issued late last year for the U.N. Security Council. The White House did not respond to questions about Trump's about-face on the war from the end of his first term to the beginning of his second and the goal of the strikes on Somalia. The White House also declined to respond to the question of whether if Trump was committed to winning the nearly quarter-century-old war in Somalia and, if so, when.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
US Navy Super Hornets launched history's 'largest airstrike' from an aircraft carrier — 125,000 pounds of munitions, admiral says
US Navy planes recently carried out history's "largest airstrike" from an aircraft carrier, a top US admiral said. The bombardment targeted terrorist groups in Somalia, said the acting chief of naval operations. The carrier USS Harry S. Truman spent months engaged in combat operations in the Middle East. US Navy planes recently launched the largest-ever airstrike from an aircraft carrier, dropping 125,000 pounds of ordnance, a top admiral said this week. The USS Harry S. Truman and its strike group "launched the largest airstrike in the history of the world — 125,000 pounds — from a single aircraft carrier into Somalia," Adm. James Kilby, acting chief of naval operations, said on Monday. A defense official told Business Insider the operation — a single bombing run involving around 16 F/A-18 Super Hornets — occurred on February 1 while the Truman was operating in the Red Sea. US Africa Command said in February that airstrikes at the start of the month targeted senior ISIS-Somalia leadership in a series of cave complexes. The military assessed that over a dozen terror operatives were killed. Kilby's comments this week shed more light on the bombardment. US forces have executed dozens of airstrikes this year against ISIS and Al Qaeda affiliate group al-Shabaab in Somalia. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence considers both groups to be a threat to American interests. The Truman carrier strike group recently left the Red Sea and is participating in NATO maritime exercises in the Mediterranean Sea before heading back to its homeport of Norfolk, Virginia. The strike group, consisting of the carrier and several other warships, deployed last fall and spent months operating in the Middle East, where it was a pillar of US combat operations against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen that were paused earlier this month. Kilby, speaking at a Council on Foreign Relations event, said the Truman strike group engaged 160 drones and missiles that the Houthis had fired at Israel, the Navy, or shipping lanes. He also said the ships carried out 670 strikes in Yemen, targeting rebel assets. The munitions used in these engagements could include a mix of surface-to-air missiles, land-attack missiles, air-to-air missiles, air-to-surface bombs, and air-launched standoff weapons. Multiple carriers have been a part of operations against the Houthis, expending significant amounts of ordnance to curb the group's attacks. "We've seen an increase in how the Houthis are acting," Kilby said. "Sometimes, I hear people speak dismissively of them. They're not China, but they are a threat. And they are hunting our ships." The Truman has had an eventful deployment. In December, one of the warships in its strike group accidentally shot down an F/A-18, which is estimated to cost roughly $60 million apiece, over the Red Sea. The military described the engagement as an "apparent case of friendly fire." Several weeks later, in mid-February, the Truman collided with a commercial vessel in the Mediterranean. The aircraft carrier suffered some damage, and the incident led to the firing of its commanding officer. In late April, with Truman back in the Red Sea, an F/A-18 and a tow tractor fell overboard from the carrier's hangar bay. A sailor had to jump from the cockpit just before the fighter jet went into the water. And just over a week later, in early May, an F/A-18 was landing on the flight deck when Truman's arresting cables failed, sending the jet overboard. The two aviators safely ejected and were rescued from the water. Read the original article on Business Insider
