Despite US airstrikes, ISIS still makes £300-million a year from oil

In spite of regular airstrikes by US and its allies, the Islamic State appears to be unperturbed and still continues to make more than £320-million a year from oil. Obviously, the strategy of the US is not paying the desired dividends because the U.S.-led bombing campaign was meant to break up the insurgency.
This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 15 October 2015.

Figures obtained from oil workers in Syria and Iraq along with Western intelligence estimates would tend to suggest that up to 40,000 barrels are being produced every day in ISIS-held territory. This output can generate around £1million as daily revenue and is proof of failure to make a dent in the ISIS held refineries and pipelines.
It is a paradox that Syrian rebel fighters are forced to buy diesel from ISIS areas as they wage a war against the terror group. The jihadis have apparently modified their operations by creating hundreds of small makeshift facilities to refine the oil.
To counter this, the coalition is considering supplying cheaper oil to rebel groups that are fighting ISIS or, alternately, flooding the northern Iraqi market with cheap crude to undercut the terrorists.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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ISIS militants kidnap 90 Assyrian Christians from Syria

#ISIS #Hasaka #AssyrianChristians #Syria It has been reported by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHM) that Islamic State militants have kidnapped nearly 90 people from Christian villages in Syria and some of the abducted are children as reported in news.sky.com dated 24 February 2015. These abductions have come soon after the reported beheading of 21 Christians by the ISIS in Libya.
As per information, the militants had stormed at least two villages that were inhabited by ancient Assyrian Christians and Nuri Kino, the head of the activist group A Demand For Action has quoted villagers who fled the attacks as saying that nearly 100 people are being held.
The raids happened outside the town of Tel Hmar in Hasaka province – this is a region divided between IS and Kurdish control and is close to the Turkish and Iraqi border. The Kurdish troops, backed by US-led airstrikes, have proved to be effective in the fight against IS, which seized large swathes of Syria and Iraq last year. The Kurdish troops have targeted militants in Hasaka in the last few days.
Syria's SANA state news agency has reported that IS overran seven villages which led hundreds of people to flee.

Another interesting blog - Citizen Journalist

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US-led airstrikes against IS in Syria have killed over 550

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has revealed that, as a result of US-led airstrikes against the IS in Syria has left over 550 dead bbc.com – the breakup is reported as 464 IS fighters, 57 other militants and 32 civilians have died.

Notwithstanding such revelations, the US has continued to carry out more air strikes against IS positions near the besieged town of Kobane. As per Kurdish sources, IS had retaken a strategically important hilltop 4-Km west of the town Tal Shahir, which the Kurdish forces fighting IS in Kobane had taken a few days back. This town is close to the border with Turkey.
IS fighters are believed to have been shelling Kurdish positions and attacking the town center.

The US military have confirmed that its fighters and bombers had conducted six air strikes against IS positions in Syria on Wednesday and Thursday - four attacks were near Kobane in which several IS fighting positions, an IS vehicle and an IS command-and-control center were destroyed. These attacks in Syria apart from nine air strikes against IS positions in Iraq on Wednesday and Thursday were meant to eliminate the "terrorist group" and the threat it poses to the region as well as the wider international community.

U S boots could return to the ground in Iraq

President Barack Obama has admitted that the US intelligence agencies had not only underestimated the threat from Islamic State militants but had also overestimated the ability and will of Iraq's army to fight nzherald.co.nz.
House Speaker John Boehner has expressed an opinion that the US may have "no choice" but to send in American troops in case the preset strategy of a mix of US-led airstrikes and a ground campaign reliant on Iraqi forces, Kurdish fighters and soon-to-be trained Syrian rebels fails to reap any benefits.
Boehner has agreed that President Obama did have the power to order airstrikes in Iraq and Syria, but he feels that Congress should consider a resolution authorizing the use of force for this specific mission. In order to do this, Boehner has indicated that he would bring lawmakers back to Washington - they are not set to return until after the November 4 election - if Obama did want to seek such a resolution.
Boehner has made the position quite clear - if no one else was able to step up, America would have no choice but to send in Americans because the IS are barbarians. They intend to kill Americans and if they are not destroyed first, the world would have to pay the price.