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| Wednesday September 10th 2014 |
The leader of one of the
biggest Islamist rebel groups in Syria has been killed by an explosion
in the north-western province of Idlib.
Ahrar al-Sham said Hassan Abboud was among a number of senior
figures who died in the blast at the group's headquarters in the town
of Ram Hamdan.
There were conflicting reports about the cause of the blast and it was also unclear who was responsible.
Islamic State was accused of killing an Ahrar al-Sham leader earlier this year.
The jihadist group has been battling rebel groups for control
of northern and eastern Syria since January, when they launched a
co-ordinated offensive to expel it from the country.
Thousands of people have been killed in the infighting, which President Bashar al-Assad's forces have exploited.
'Gas attack'
The explosion targeted a meeting of as many as 50 Ahrar
al-Sham leaders in a basement at the group's heavily fortified
headquarters.
The Islamic Front, a rebel umbrella group in which Ahrar
al-Sham was the strongest faction, said that Abboud was among at least a
dozen senior figures killed.
ABU DHABI, Sept 10 (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged President Bashar al-Assad to seek a political solution to Syria's war, saying this would help international efforts against Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq, al-Hayat newspaper reported on Wednesday.
In an interview with the pan-Arab daily, Ban said years of war between Assad's forces and armed rebel groups had allowed militants such as Islamic State to take root in the region.
Asked whether Assad would have any role to play in an international coalition being assembled to fight Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, the U.N. chief said Assad could contribute by working politically towards an end to the war in his country.
"He (Assad) can play a role through ending the crisis as soon as possible and engaging in political dialog," the London-based, Saudi-owned newspaper quoted him as saying.
Islamic State, a militarily-powerful al Qaeda offshoot that wants to create a jihadist hub in the heart of the Arab world, has made rapid territorial gains in both Iraq and Syria in recent months that have alarmed regional and Western powers.
In July, when Assad was sworn in for a new term as president, he vowed to recover all Syria from Islamist insurgents and dismissed the Syrian opposition abroad as traitors. But he also said he would be willing to work with the country's internal opposition, without giving details.
Fiji's military says 45
UN peacekeepers captured in Syria's Golan Heights in August will be
released this week "without preconditions".
The troops were seized by rebels from the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front.
Brig Gen Mosese Tikoitoga said that Fiji had been informed of
the imminent release of its soldiers by the UN headquarters in New
York.
But a government spokesman in the Fijian capital Suva denied the reports and said negotiations were continuing.
"I don't think so... someone has misinterpreted," Dan Gavidi
told the Agence France-Presse news agency when asked about the reports
from New York.
In his earlier statement, Gen Tikoitoga did not give further details of the expected release date or location.
He said that Fiji's actions in the Golan Heights over the
years "had not gone unnoticed by the Syrian people" and had helped
contribute to the outcome.
Asked about the reports of a breakthrough, UN spokesman
Stephane Dujarric said he had "nothing new to report on the Fijians",
AFP said.
Release demands
Syrian pro-government forces and rebels have repeatedly clashed near Quneitra in the Golan Heights region.
Rebel forces seized control of the Quneitra crossing last Wednesday.
A Palestinian has been killed during an Israeli raid on a refugee camp near the West Bank city of Ramallah.
Palestinian medics said Issa Qatari, 22, was shot in the chest and died shortly before reaching hospital.
The Israeli military said its forces had clashed with dozens
of protesters after entering the al-Amari camp on Wednesday to arrest a
Hamas operative.
"A main instigator attempted to hurl an explosive device" at the troops, who opened fire in response, it added.
Witnesses in the camp gave a similar account of the incident.
Protesters "showered the invading forces with stones, and
soldiers responded with live ammunition, injuring a number of other
Palestinians", one told the Maan news agency.
The Israeli military said the Hamas operative was arrested in the raid.
KABUL, Afghanistan – Afghan officials say 14 people, including civilians, have been killed in a U.S. airstrike in eastern Afghanistan.
Abdul
Ghani Musamem, a spokesman for the governor of Kunar province, says 14
people died in the airstrike in Narang district. Musamem says 13 others
were wounded in the strike on Tuesday.
Aimal
Faizi, a spokesman for President Hamid Karzai, said on Twitter on
Wednesday that Karzai strongly condemned a U.S. airstrike in Kunar that
killed and wounded civilians.
Maj. Paul Greenberg, a
spokesman for the NATO-led coalition, said a precision strike killed
one armed fighter in nearby Dangam district.
It is
often difficult to confirm the toll from airstrikes and other attacks in
rural Afghanistan. Allegations of civilian deaths are a frequent cause
of friction between Karzai and NATO.
TEHRAN, Iran – Iran's oil
minister says the fighting between Iraqi troops and Islamic State
militants will delay the planned start of natural gas exports to
neighboring Iraq.
Bijan Zanganeh is quoted on the
ministry's official website on Wednesday as saying that the "upheaval in
Iraq is postponing the exports."
The
pipeline, which is still under construction on the Iraqi side, goes
partly through territory controlled by the Islamic State group.
Pipeline
workers, mainly Iranians, have come under attack several times,
especially in Diyala province, which has disrupted work.
It's unclear when the new gas pipeline will be finished or when it will go on line.
Under
a 2012 agreement, Iran was to start exporting gas to Iraq in 2014
through the new pipeline, which is to feed three power plants in Iraq.
KIEV, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko said on Wednesday Russia had moved the bulk of its forces he said had been in eastern Ukraine back onto Russian territory, raising hopes for the peace process.
Russia denies sending any troops into eastern Ukraine in support of pro-Russian separatists battling Kiev's forces there, despite what Ukraine and the West say is overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Moscow also denies arming the separatists.
"According to the latest information that I have received from our intelligence, 70 percent of Russian troops have been moved back across the border," Poroshenko told a government meeting.
"This further strengthens our hope that the peace initiatives have good prospects.
Russia has made clear once again that it doesn't want NATO forces on
its borders. Or on its shores. Or anywhere near foreign territory it
occupies.
Canadian Defence Minister Rob Nicholson has accused the
Kremlin of sending three warplanes to buzz its navy frigate Toronto on
Sunday while it was taking part in NATO exercises in international
waters of the Black Sea.
"While the Russian military aircraft that circled the HMCS
Toronto did not in any way pose a threat to the Canadian ship, their
actions were unnecessarily provocative and risk escalating tensions even
further," Mr Nicholson said.
The tensions he referred to emanate from months of fighting between
Ukrainian troops and Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine; a
conflict inspired by Russia's seizure of Ukraine's Crimea region in late
February and annexation of the strategic Black Sea peninsula in
mid-March.
The United States and its allies in the 28-nation North
Atlantic Treaty Organisation have accused Russian President Vladimir
Putin of violating international law with the Crimean land grab and of
destabilising south-east Ukraine by sending Russian soldiers and weapons
across the border.
"Canada and its allies are taking part in reassurance
measures as a direct result of the Putin regime's military aggression
and invasion of Ukraine," Mr Nicholson said, calling the exercises a
message that "Russia's reckless actions must stop".
Russia's Defence Ministry responded with a denial that its
warplanes flew around the Canadian vessel and the assertion that they
had done nothing wrong.
Thousands flee as Pakistan floods spread to plains
JHANG (Pakistan): Hundreds of thousands of people were fleeing flash floods on Wednesday after having been warned to evacuate as the death toll from severe monsoon rains and flash floods in Pakistan and neighboring India climbed to 457 people.
Chenab River breached an embankment early Wednesday following a warning the day before, said Ahmad Kamal, spokesman for Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority. It could be a 300 feet wide breach, Pakistani minister for water and power Khwaja Mohammad Asif told the country's parliament on Wednesday. "We have so far breached it only 100 feet." He had said on Tuesday that the breach could cause nearly 700,000 to leave their homes.
Five more districts could be at the risk of the flooding, said Kamal.
The floods, which began in the Himalayan region between the two countries on September 3, have flowed down to the plains. The deluge is the worst since 2010, when some 1,700 people died in flooding in Pakistan.
Pakistani and Indian troops have been using boats and helicopters to drop food supplies for stranded families and evacuate victims. However, the challenge of the situation grows as more than 1.5 million people are now affected as the rushing waters have destroyed the homes of thousands of families.
Four citizens of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and one from the
Comoros have gone on trial charged with trying to build a bomb in the
Gulf Arab state, newspapers reported on Tuesday.
The five are
among 15 accused of membership of al-Qaeda’s Nusrah Front Syrian wing
and another militant Syrian opposition group, Ahrar al-Sham, and of
collecting funds for these groups, the newspapers reported.
The 15 on trial at the state security division of the federal supreme
court are made up of nine Emiratis, four from the Comoros islands off
east Africa and two Syrians, the newspapers reported.
Four
Emiratis are being tried in their absence. All 11 who appeared in court
denied the charges, the newspapers said. A defense lawyer asked for four
witnesses to be called to give evidence, The National newspaper
reported.
The National reported without elaborating that the
explosive device allegedly assembled by the five accused had leaked
toxic chemical fumes that affected nearby residents.
The
newspapers reported prosecutors as saying the accused had traveled to
Syria to make contact with armed groups, and had collected money,
devices and equipment for use in attacks on civilians in Syria.
Judge Mohammed Al Jarah Al Tenaiji agreed, and adjourned the trial to September 23.
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President's strategy to 'degrade and destroy' insurgents will include military action and support for Iraq and Syrian opposition
Barack Obama will pledge on Wednesday night to "degrade and ultimately destroy" the Islamic State insurgency operating in both Syria and Iraq in an address to the American people expected to herald a significant escalation of the US military role across the region.
Though
the exact extent of the anticipated US intervention in Syria remained
unclear in the hours leading up to the key speech, White House officials
made clear the president planned to pursue a two-pronged strategy on
both sides of the border that is likely to building on existing air
strikes in Iraq against the group known as Isis or Isil.
"Tonight you will hear from the president how the United States
will pursue a comprehensive strategy to degrade and ultimately destroy
ISIL, including US military action and support for the forces combating
Isil on the ground – both the opposition in Syria and a new, inclusive
Iraqi government," said a senior administration official in a statement
issued to reporters on Wednesday morning.
"The president will
discuss how we are building a coalition of allies and partners in the
region and in the broader international community to support our
efforts, and will talk about how we work with the Congress as a partner
in these efforts."
In contrast Obama's failed attempt to seek
congressional backing for US air strikes against Syrian government
forces last year, the president is seeking to shore up support on
Capitol Hill with further briefings for senators planned on Wednesday
but has so far refused to give Congress a veto over his latest strategy.
BAGHDAD – With a new Iraqi government finally in place and a growing Mideast consensus on defeating insurgent threats, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Baghdad Wednesday to press Iraq's Shiite leader to quickly deliver more power to wary Sunnis -- or jeopardize any hope of defeating the Islamic State group.
Kerry landed in the Iraqi capital just two days after newly sworn Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi seated his top government ministers, a crucial step toward restoring stability in a nation where security has spiraled out of control since the beginning of the year.
The trip marks the first high-level U.S. meeting with al-Abadi since he become prime minister, and it aimed to symbolize the Obama administration's support for Iraq nearly three years after U.S. troops left the war-torn country. But it also signaled to al-Abadi, a Shiite Muslim, that the U.S. was watching to make sure he gives Iraqi Sunnis more control over their local power structures and security forces, as promised.
Al-Abadi's predecessor, former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, for years shut Sunnis out of power and refused to pay tribal militias salaries or give them government jobs -- and in turn sowed widespread resentment that Islamic State extremists seized on as a recruiting tool.
State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Kerry will "meet with Iraqi government officials to welcome them on the successful formation of a new government." She said officials also will "discuss how the United States can increase its support to Iraq's new government in our common effort to defeat ISIL and the threat that it poses to Iraq, the region, and the world." ISIL is an alternative name for the militant group.
President Barack Obama
has said that he has the authority to widen military action against
Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq and Syria without the approval of
Congress.
He will still ask Congress to approve the arming of Syrian opposition forces.
Mr Obama is due to give a speech on Wednesday night in which he will outline his anti-IS strategy.
IS militants have taken over large parts of Syria and Iraq in recent months and have declared a "caliphate".
In the past month, IS militants have beheaded two US journalists in protest against American airstrikes on its forces in Iraq.
Mr Obama's moves come as Secretary of State John Kerry goes
to the Middle East in an effort to build up regional support for a
coalition to combat IS.
Mr Kerry is travelling to Jordan and Saudi Arabia for talks with officials from 10 Arab states and Turkey.
Meanwhile the Saudi ambassador in London, Prince Mohammed bin
Nawaf, rejected suggestions that his government was supporting or
funding IS.
"It is the lack of international involvement that has paved
the way for terrorist-affiliated movements to breed within Syria, and
now Iraq," he said in a statement.
"We have previously urged the international community to take
an in-depth look at the financial backing and organisational structure
of this terrorist organisation.
"Had this been carried out it would have been revealed that
rather than being the instigator of such terrorist network Saudi Arabia
is in fact the main target."
BOSTON (AP) — In a stunning defeat, nine-term incumbent U.S. Rep.
John Tierney on Tuesday lost a bitter Democratic primary contest to
political newcomer Seth Moulton in the state's 6th Congressional
District.
Tierney is the first sitting Massachusetts congressman
to lose a primary since 1992, when former U.S. Rep. Marty Meehan beat
then-incumbent Chester Atkins in the Democratic primary.
Moulton, a
former Marine and Iraq war veteran from Salem, will face Republican
Richard Tisei in the November election. He credited his win in part on
voter frustration with Congress.
"It's time for a new approach to end the gridlock in Washington,"
Moulton told supporters Tuesday night. "It's not enough to blame the
Republicans for the lack of progress at a time when our country faces so
many challenges. And it's cynical to think we must accept it."
Tierney, in a brief concession speech, said he was proud of "an amazing 18 years" in office.
"It
was always about making sure that people had opportunity, that our
children had at least the same opportunity that we had," Tierney said.
Moulton
ran a well-financed campaign and suggested Tierney had been ineffective
in Congress. By mid-August, Moulton had raised $1.6 million compared
with the $1.9 million raised by Tierney.
Tierney is the fourth House incumbent and first Democrat to lose a primary this year.
The Republican-controlled House voted Tuesday to condemn President Barack Obama for failing to give 30-day notice to Congress about the exchange in May of American prisoner Bowe Bergdahl for five Taliban leaders held at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The vote was 249-163, with 22 Democrats — many locked in tough re-election races — breaking ranks and backing the nonbinding resolution.
"By setting free five top Taliban commanders from U.S. custody, the Obama administration made Americans less safe," Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said in a statement.
The vote castigating Obama came at a crucial moment for the administration as it sought to rally international and congressional support for steps to combat the rising threat of Islamic state militants in Iraq and Syria. The debate and vote coincided with a White House meeting in which the president discussed his strategy with House and Senate leaders. It also came on the eve of Obama's address to the nation.
"What poor timing for a resolution," said Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas.
Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Fla., suggested that the House vote on the measure less than two months before the election was simply an effort to appease core Republican voters.
Attorney General Eric Holder’s communications director is being
accused of calling the House Oversight Committee Republican staff and
asking for help spinning a story. The twist? The GOP staff alleges that
Holder’s spokesman thought he was talking to the Democrats.
Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa
(R-Calif.) sent a letter to Holder on Monday about the incident, saying
he was “extremely troubled” that the Justice Department may have been
trying to coordinate with the minority staff on the release of documents
to the committee regarding the Internal Revenue Service targeting
certain political groups.
Issa’s letter claims that Brian Fallon
asked for a specific committee aide and then told that person that he
wanted to get materials to “interested reporters” before sending them to
the majority, so that the agency could spin the story first.
Fallon, who previously worked for Sen. Chuck Schumer
(D-N.Y.) on Capitol Hill, told the Loop in an interview that he did
call the committee Friday night and asked to speak with a particular
person in the chairman’s office. But he declined to comment on Issa’s
characterization of the call or whether he thought he was speaking to a
member of the minority staff.
“There is nothing inappropriate
about department staff having conversations with both the majority and
minority staff, as they prepare responses to formal inquires,” Fallon
said. “That includes conversations between spokespeople for the
department and the committee.”
Fallon said the department intends to formally reply to Issa’s letter.
In the letter, first reported
by The Hill, Issa determines that the call is an indication of a
“longstanding collaboration between the Obama administration and Ranking
Member [Elijah] Cummings’ staff to obfuscate and prejudice the
Committee’s work through under the table coordination.”
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