Russia’s game plan not clear – it sends Pantsir-S missile system to Syria

The game plan of Russia remains in mystery because, while it has urged the US to engage in military co-operation, it is believed to be sending an advanced anti-aircraft missile system to Syria. This dispatch of the missile system has been confirmed by two Western officials. A Russian source has described the system as Pantsir-S missiles that are sent to the war-torn country where the US has been engaging in airstrikes on Islamic State.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 13 September 2015.

The anti-aircraft system would be under control and be operated by Russian troops, rather than Syrians. Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has clarified that his country was sending equipment to help Syrian President Bashar al Assad fight Islamic State. He has added that Russian servicemen were in Syria primarily to help service that equipment and teach Syrian soldiers how to use it.
Russia is also staging naval exercises off Syria's coast. Russia is an ally of Syria and it already has a Mediterranean naval base at Tartus on the Syrian coast which it would try to defend. As per information with the United States, there are about 200 Russian naval infantry forces presently stationed in Latakia on the coast in government-held Syria. The majority of the forces were engaged in reviving the airfield for future use.
Incidentally, the Syrian civil war has left 250,000 people dead, has divided the nation and has turned half of Syria's 23 million people into refugees – most of them are seeking asylum in European countries.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Brutal murder of 30 civilians by ISIS in the Syrian village of Al-Mabujeh

#ISIS #jihadists #Syria #Idlib #Raqqa It was a brutal murder of at least 30 civilians by the ISIS militants in the regime-held village of al-Mabujeh in the central Syrian province of Hama. The Sunni-extremist attackers did not spare even the children and resorted to burning, beheading, and firing on them.
This has been confirmed by Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, and reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 31 March 2015.

The attack happened in the morning when the ISIS militants launched a massive offensive in the area, beginning near the Youth Housing Camp. The time was around 2.30am and multiple checkpoints were targeted before the jihadis managed to seize control of the National Defense Force positions at around 6.45am.
Syrian government forces had conducted airstrikes and fired surface-to-surface missiles on the rebel-held city of Idlib, killing at least 14. It is believed that the attack in al-Mabujeh was a fallout of that because the militants probably fear that the government could retake the city that it had lost on Saturday.
Idlib has a population of around 165,000 people and it was the second provincial capital to fall to the opposition after Raqqa, which is now in the hands of the Islamic State group.

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Evidence emerges of ISIS using chemical weapons like chlorine gas

#peshmerga #ISIS #kurds #chlorinegas #chemicalweapon It has been claimed by Kurdish authorities that evidence has emerged that will prove that ISIS is using chlorine gas as a chemical weapon in its battle against peshmerga forces in Iraq. This is based on the discovery of ‘20 gas canisters' that had been loaded on the back of a truck that was involved in a suicide bomb attack in Iraq on January 23.
This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 14 March 2015.
The Kurdistan Region Security Council has revealed that the chemical attack happened on a road between Iraq's second largest city of Mosul and the Syrian border. This was the area where peshmerga fighters were desperately trying to seize the vital supply line that was being used by the militants. The discovery of the chlorine gas canisters was found at that time.
A Kurdish official indicated that many peshmerga fighters were treated for 'dizziness, nausea, vomiting and general weakness' after the attack when the gas cylinders exploded and the gas was released. Traces of chlorine gas were discovered after samples of clothing and soil from the site were analyzed.
It may be recalled that during the Syrian civil war, a chlorine gas attack on the outskirts of Damascus in 2013 had killed hundreds and US was about to launch airstrikes against the government.

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Iraq launches offensive against ISIS to recapture in Tikrit

#ISIS #Tikrit #Mosul #Iraq #HaideralAbadi #Baghdad Tikrit, the hometown of Saddam Hussein, lies 150-Km north of the capital Baghdad and had been seized by IS militants in June 2014. Iraq has now launched a military offensive against ISIS with the purpose of recapturing the city. This has been reported in bbc.com dated 2 March 2015.
As per reports, Iraqi forces were carrying out the attack backed by airstrikes from Iraqi fighter jets.
It seems Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi had met military leaders in Salahuddin province before start of the operation and had offered pardon to all Sunni tribal fighters who abandoned IS. He described it as a "last chance". In February itself he had indicated that Iraqi armed forces would be launching a major offensive "in a few months' time" to retake the city from IS militants.
Observers feel that retaking Tikrit would be a boost to government forces before they undertake the larger battle of retaking the city of Mosul, which is also controlled by IS. While attacks have been launched, there is no confirmation of the advances, if any, made by the forces.
Tikrit, the hometown of former President Saddam Hussein, was the second major gain for IS after they had captured the city of Mosul in June last year. Incidentally, Mosul was home to over a million people when it fell to IS.

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Syrian Air Force carries out 200 airstrikes in 36-hours in rebel-held areas

The situation in Syria appears to be hazy with the Syrian Air Force carrying out nearly 200 airstrikes on rebel positions in a period of 36-hours bbc.com. The strikes targeted rebel-held areas in Quneitra, Deraa, and the Damascus countryside, Hama, Idlib and Aleppo.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the raids took place mostly in western areas between midnight on Sunday and noon on Tuesday but could not provide any figure of casualties.
The intensified strikes by the Syrian Air Force comes even as US-led forces continue to bomb Islamic State (IS) militants in Syria and Iraq. The US and Arab jets have been attacking IS positions in around the northern Syrian town of Kobane, where Kurdish fighters are under siege.
Incidentally, the US had airdropped military aid for Kurds but, it seems, one of the packets have fallen into the hands of the IS and they have released a video of the same. This has been confirmed by a spokesman of the Pentagon – he has said that the vast majority of the bundles had ended up in the Kurds' hands but he was aware of one that had not.

U S Military admits that airstrikes alone would not be able to rein in the IS militants

The US military has admitted that only airstrikes may not be sufficient to stop the advance of Islamic State fighters in Syria news.sky.com.

President Barack Obama met military commanders to discuss the campaign against IS in Syria and Iraq as there are apprehensions hat ground troops would also be needed on the ground. As Rear Adm Kirby has remarked, troops would be needed to defeat IS because the US does not have any force inside Syria with whom they could co-operate and work with. The President has admitted that while US strikes continue, alongside its partners, it continues to remain a difficult mission. It is not something that can be solved overnight.

US-led airstrikes have continued on Kobani. The IS militants have been fighting a fierce battle with Kurdish forces and, senior commanders have warned the Islamists could still take the strategic border town.
Incidentally, the US military's Central Command have revealed that American-led forces have carried out 14 coalition strikes on Wednesday and 19 bombing raids near Kobani since Tuesday, in an attempt to help Kurdish militia.
As informed by activists, the strikes killed at least 45 IS militants since Monday evening, forcing them to withdraw from some parts of the town.

US and allies target sources of oil supply, the backbone of finance for ISIS

Cripple the ISIS by striking at the root of their finances is the strategy that the US and its allies have decided upon foxnews.com. Accordingly, they have unleashed a new round of airstrikes against Islamic State militants in eastern Syria by targeting a dozen small oil refineries.
As explained by U.S. officials, the objective was to target a dozen so-called “modular oil refineries”-- essentially small, ISIS-built refineries that the terror group uses to fuel its vehicles and to fund its operations. It seems as indicated by a Department of Defense official, the ISIS made roughly a $2 million a day profit from the modular oil refineries, which produced 300 to 500 barrels a day.
It seems a total of 13 airstrikes were conducted by both piloted aircraft and drones and, as per initial feedback, the strikes were successful. The intention was to leave the refineries largely intact, so that they eventually could be used again, but cripple the ISIS by destroying the support facilities.
The U.S. Central Command has revealed that, till date, it has carried out a total of 198 airstrikes against ISIS in Iraq and 20 in Syria – with the help of partner nations.

US and five Arab countries launch massive airstrike against IS bases in Syria

The inevitable has happened and at long last, the US and five Arab countries Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, have launched airstrikes on Islamic State group targets in Syria nzherald.co.nz.
They used a mix of manned aircraft -- fighter jets and bombers -- plus Tomahawk cruise missiles and these strikes were part of the expanded military campaign that President Barack Obama had authorized nearly two weeks ago in order to disrupt and destroy the Islamic State militants.
The strikes were carried out by manned Air Force and Navy aircraft, and the Tomahawk missiles were launched from US ships in the northern Persian Gulf and the Red Sea – incidentally, the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush is already positioned in the Gulf.
The targets were Islamic State group headquarters in Raqqa in eastern Syria and would include the militants' command and control centers, re-supply facilities, training camps and other key logistical sites.
It may be recalled that the IS militants have slaughtered thousands of people, beheaded Westerners -- including two American journalists -- and captured large swaths of Syria and northern and western Iraq.
As per military leaders, nearly two-thirds of the estimated 31,000 Islamic State militants were in Syria probably because they consider it to be a safe haven due to the ongoing civil war in the country.
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US President Barack Obama to go on the offensive against Islamic State group

US President Barack Obama is taking a decision to go on the offensive against the Islamic State group and his plan would be a broader counterterror mission than he had earlier been contemplating nzherald.co.nz.
Of course, his new plan would still not commit US troops to direct action in the form of a ground war against the brutal insurgency but is expected to rely heavily on allies to pitch in for what could be an extended campaign.
This more aggressive posture of Obama will target Islamic State militants comprehensively and will not be to just protect US interests or help resolve humanitarian disasters. Obviously, this would reflect a new direction for a president who campaigned to end the war in Iraq and has, till now, been generally not in favor of using US military might since he took office in 2009.
The US has already launched over 100 airstrikes against militant targets in Iraq. These include a new series that the military said killed an unusually large number of Islamic State fighters. As per information released by the Central Command, the strikes had hit targets near the Haditha Dam, and 50 to 70 fighters are believed to have been killed.
It seems the beheading of two American freelance journalists have forced him to go in for the decision – he is considering expanding the airstrikes campaign into Syria, where the Islamic State has a safe haven. White House spokesman Josh Earnest has indicated that Obama was willing "to go wherever is necessary to strike those who are threatening Americans."
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US to fight terror with terror – spy flights to Syria would identify probable hot spots

US President Barack Obama has compared the rise of the ISIS in Iraq and Syria as ‘cancer’ and his motto appears to be ‘a tooth for a tooth’. He has said that he would do whatever is necessary to go after those miscreants who harm Americans.
He has vowed that "justice will be done" against the killers of James Foley news.sky.com. The US has already launched surveillance flights over Syria to identify possible targets for carrying out airstrikes. The Islamic State (IS) militants had beheaded the journalist in a video released earlier this month and have seized large chunks of Syria as well as neighboring Iraq. The US is already conducting airstrikes there.
President Obama cautioned that America does not forget – he was talking to veterans at an American Legion convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. He said - our reach is long, we are patient, justice will be done. Rooting out a cancer like ISIL would not be easy, neither would it be quick.
Syria is already devastated by a three-year civil war and it has warned Washington that it would need permission to operate in its airspace. However, White House spokesman Josh Earnest has reiterated by saying that the US did not even recognize Syria's president, Bashar al Assad, as the country's legitimate leader.
State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki also echoed the same sentiments – she has said that when it came to defending US interests, "we're not going to ask for permission from the Syrian regime"
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