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Iraq
Islamic State (ISIS) militants have destroyed historic artefacts at a Mosul museum in Iraq.
The head of the UN agency for culture, UNESCO, has said the artefacts’ destruction is a war crime.
Irina Bokova said she was appalled by an act of “cultural cleansing”, calling for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss the issue.
ISIS posted a video on February 26 appearing to show militants with sledgehammers smashing statues in a museum in Mosul.
Some of the artefacts date back to the 9th Century BC.
ISIS militants said the statues were “false idols” that had to be smashed.
At a news conference in Paris, Irina Bokova described the video as “a real shock”, saying she was simply unable to finish watching the footage.
“I was filled with dismay by images of the attack on the Mosul Museum,” she said.
In a statement, UNESCO stressed that under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), the deliberate destruction of cultural heritage is a war crime.
The statement added that Irina Bokova had already called on the ICC to launch an investigation.
She also announced the creation of a “global coalition against the illegal trafficking of cultural goods”, adding that it would meet in coming weeks.
Meanwhile, the Louvre Museum in Paris said in a statement: “This destruction marks a new stage in the violence and horror, because all of humanity’s memory is being targeted in this region that was the cradle of civilization, the written word, and history.”
In the video released via ISIS social media sites, black-clad men push over statues, smash them with sledgehammers and use a pneumatic drill to destroy the rubble.
The video shows one man drilling through and pulling apart what appears to be a stone winged-bull, an Assyrian protective deity dating to the 7th Century BC.
One of the militants in the video seeks to justify their destruction in religious terms.
Analysts say the artefacts are unique and priceless, although the museum does also house copies of some items.
ISIS has controlled Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, since June 2014. The US military have said that an assault on the city by the Iraqi army could happen within months.
The region under ISIS control in Iraq has nearly 1,800 of Iraq’s 12,000 registered archaeological sites.
The reported destruction of the statues follows recent reports that ISIS burnt down Mosul Library, which housed over 8,000 ancient manuscripts.
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Islamic State (ISIS) militants have burned to death 45 people in the western Iraqi town of al-Baghdadi, the local police chief says.
Exactly who these people were and why they were killed is not clear.
However, Col. Qasim al-Obeidi said he believed some were members of the security forces.
ISIS militants captured much of al-Baghdadi town, near Ain al-Asad air base, last week.
Col. Qasim al-Obeidi said a compound that houses the families of security personnel and local officials was now under attack.
He pleaded for help from the government and the international community.
The fighting and poor communications in the area make it difficult to confirm such reports.
Earlier this month, ISIS published a video showing militants burning alive a Jordanian air force pilot, whose plane crashed in Syria in December.
Al-Baghdadi had been besieged for months by ISIS militants before its fall on February 12.
It had been one of the few towns to still be controlled by the Iraqi government in Anbar province, where ISIS and allied Sunni Arab tribesmen launched an offensive in January 2014.
Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby told reporters on February 13 that al-Baghdadi’s capture needed to be put in perspective.
He said it was the first time in the last couple of months that the jihadist group had taken new ground.
However, Ain al-Asad air base, where about 320 US Marines are training members of the Iraqi army’s 7th Division, is only 5 miles away.
The base was itself attacked by ISIS fighters, among them several suicide bombers, on February 13. The militants were eventually repelled by Iraqi troops backed by US-led coalition aircraft.
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NBC has suspended Brian Williams after he admitted giving a misleading account of coming under fire in Iraq.
The broadcaster said Brian Williams would be suspended for six months without pay for his “inexcusable” actions.
Brian Williams, the most-watched network anchor in the US, often spoke of being shot down in a helicopter in Iraq.
However, after veterans disputed Brian Williams’ account, he admitted getting the story wrong and blamed the “fog of memory”.
Last week, Brian Williams apologized on air for the lapse: “I made a mistake in recalling the events of 12 years ago.
“I want to apologize. I said I was travelling in an aircraft that was hit by RPG [rocket-propelled grenade] fire. I was instead in a following aircraft.”
NBC News President Deborah Turness said that Brian Williams had “misrepresented” events from the Iraq war.
“It then became clear that on other occasions Brian had done the same while telling that story in other venues,” Deborah Turness said.
“This was wrong and completely inappropriate for someone in Brian’s position.”
Brian Williams’ apology came after veterans who were on the helicopter that was hit challenged his version of events.
One of them, Flight Engineer Lance Reynolds, wrote: “Sorry dude, I don’t remember you being on my aircraft. I do remember you walking up about an hour after we had landed to ask me what had happened.”
Last week, Brian Williams said he was taking himself off air “for several days”, as it had become “painfully apparent” that he was too much a part of the news.
On February 10, a statement from Steve Burke, NBC Universal Chief Executive Officer, said Brian Williams had “jeopardized the trust millions of Americans place in NBC News”.
“His actions are inexcusable and this suspension is severe and appropriate.”
NBC is conducting a review into what happened.
There is already speculation about whether Brian Williams will ever return to his job, now that his credibility is so badly damaged.
Questions have also been raised about Brian Williams coverage of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, with one health official challenging a claim he contracted dysentery while reporting on the aftermath.
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NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams says he is taking himself off air “for several days”, amid questions over false claims he came under fire in Iraq.
Brian Williams said it had become “painfully apparent” that he was too much a part of the news.
The anchor repeatedly told a story about being shot down in a chopper in Iraq but veterans disputed his account.
Brian Williams, the most-watched network anchor in the US, blamed the “fog of memory” for the lapse.
He said he would not be presenting his nightly NBC show for several days while the network investigated his claims.
“Upon my return, I will continue my career-long effort to be worthy of the trust of those who place their trust in us,” Brian Williams said in a statement.
On February 4, Brian Williams made an apology on air over his Iraq story.
“I made a mistake in recalling the events of 12 years ago,” he said.
“I want to apologize. I said I was travelling in an aircraft that was hit by RPG [rocket-propelled grenade] fire. I was instead in a following aircraft.”
Brian Williams’ apology came after veterans who were on the helicopter that was hit challenged his version of events.
One of them, Flight engineer Lance Reynolds, wrote: “Sorry dude, I don’t remember you being on my aircraft. I do remember you walking up about an hour after we had landed to ask me what had happened.”
Questions have also been raised about Brian Williams’ coverage of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, with one health official challenging a claim he contracted dysentery reporting on the event.
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At least 200 members of the Yazidi religious community, mainly elderly people, have been released by the Islamic State (ISIS) militant group in northern Iraq.
The freed Yazidis people crossed out of ISIS-controlled territory and were received by Kurdish officials near the city of Kirkuk.
It is not yet clear why militants released them.
ISIS attacked the Yazidi minority community in Iraq last year, killing and abducting thousands of people.
Almost all of those released on January 17 were elderly or unwell, said Reuters. An early estimate of their numbers was put at 350, but later reports said there were some 200 in the group.
The group, including several sick infants, was taken directly by Kurdish Peshmerga forces to a health centre for treatment.
Khodr Domli, a leading Yazidi rights activist, was at the centre.
“Some are wounded, some have disabilities and many are suffering from mental and psychological problems,” he told the AFP news agency.
“These men and women had been held in Mosul,” Khodr Domli added.
One elderly Yazidi among those released said some of them feared they would be executed when the militants ordered them onto buses.
Instead, they were taken to a crossing point between ISIS-controlled Hawija and the Kurdish city of Kirkuk.
One of them, an elderly Yazidi man in a wheelchair, told AFP that they had spent months in captivity.
“It was so hard, not only because of the lack of food but also because I spent so much time worrying,” he said.
The circumstances surrounding the group’s release are still unclear.
Kurdish Peshmerga forces drove back Islamic State militants in north-western Iraq last month, breaking a long siege of Sinjar mountain where thousands of Yazidis had been stranded for months.
However, many Yazidi villages remain under ISIS control. Yazidi women and girls have been forced to marry or been sold into slavery by ISIS.
The Yazidi community estimates that around 3,000 women and children are still being held captive.
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Pope Francis has delivered his second “Urbi et Orbi” – to the city and the world – Christmas message, highlighting the plight of victims of conflict in Syria and Iraq.
The pontiff has denounced the “brutal persecution” of religious and ethnic minorities, in his traditional Christmas Day address.
“Too many people are being held hostage or massacred” in Nigeria, he added.
Pope Francis also urged dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians and condemned Taliban attacks in Pakistan.
Tens of thousands of people turned out on St Peter’s Square to hear Pope Francis deliver his annual message.
He said Christians in Iraq and Syria had endured conflict for too long, and “together with those belonging to other ethnic and religious groups, are suffering a brutal persecution”.
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“May Christmas bring them hope, as indeed also to the many displaced persons, exiles and refugees, children, adults and elderly, from this region and from the whole world,” the Pope said.
In his Christmas Day address, Pope Francis also asked for peace in Ukraine, Nigeria, in Libya, South Sudan and other parts of Africa.
He called for comfort for the families of the 132 children killed in a Taliban attack in Pakistan last week – and for the victims of the Ebola epidemic.
On Christmas Eve Pope Francis made a surprise telephone call to refugees in a camp near Irbil, in Iraq’s northern Kurdistan region.
“You are like Jesus on Christmas night. There was no room for him either,” Pope Francis told them.
Advances in Iraq by Islamic State (ISIS) militants have forced tens of thousands of Christians and people from other religious minorities to flee.
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The US will send 1,500 more non-combat troops to Iraq to boost local forces fighting Islamic State (ISIS) militants, the White House has announced.
The Pentagon said the troops would train and assist Iraqi forces.
President Barack Obama authorized the deployment following a request from Iraq’s government, the Pentagon added.
ISIS militants control large areas of Iraq and Syria but have been targeted by hundreds of air strikes by a US-led coalition since August.
The 1,500 additional US troops will join several hundred military advisers that are already in Iraq to assist the country’s army.
A statement from the Pentagon said the troops would be establishing several sites to train nine Iraqi army and three Kurdish Peshmerga brigades.
The US military would also be setting up two “advise and assist operations centers” outside Baghdad and the northern city of Irbil, the statement added.
The US will send 1,500 more non-combat troops to Iraq to boost local forces fighting ISIS militants
“US troops will not be in combat, but they will be better positioned to support Iraqi security forces as they take the fight” to ISIS, White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters.
Josh Earnest said President Barack Obama would also be asking Congress for $5.6 billion to support the ongoing operations against ISIS fighters in both Iraq and Syria.
The announcement came hours after Barack Obama met congressional leaders in Washington for the first time after the Republicans won control of the Senate in Tuesday’s elections.
The Obama administration has said its aim was to “degrade and ultimately destroy” Islamic State militants, who control large parts of the country after launching an offensive in the north in June.
A US-led coalition has launched more than 400 air strikes on the group in Iraq since August, and more than 300 across the border in Syria.
The strikes have destroyed hundreds of the group’s armed vehicles and several of its bases, but Islamic State has continued its campaign to establish a caliphate.
Last week, officials in Iraq’s western Anbar province said ISIS militants had killed at least 322 members of a Sunni tribe who had tried to resist the jihadists.
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ISIS militants have killed at least 50 members of an Iraqi tribe in western Anbar province, officials and tribal leaders say.
The men and women from the Al Bu Nimr tribe are reported to have been lined up and shot in retaliation for resisting the jihadists.
A number of people from the same tribe were also found dead in mass graves earlier this week.
ISIS militants control large areas of Iraq and neighboring Syria.
Meanwhile, AFP news agency quoted the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights as saying that at least 100 ISIS fighters had been killed in three days of fighting for the strategic Syrian border town of Kobane.
On October 31, some 150 Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga fighters crossed from Turkey to join Syrian Kurds who have been defending the town against ISIS for six weeks.
The Observatory says that more than 950 people have died in the battle, more than half of them from IS.
A local official told the Associated Press news agency that the Sunni Muslim tribesmen and women were killed on October 31 in the village of Ras al-Maa, north of the provincial capital Ramadi.
Faleh al-Issawi said many members of the tribe had to flee their homes near the town of Hit last month when it was captured by ISIS.
ISIS militants control large areas of Iraq and neighboring Syria
The Al Bu Nimr tribe had joined the Shia-dominated government’s campaign against ISIS.
There have been many other such killings, as pressure mounts on the tribes to swing one way or the other.
Analysts say mass killings are also a very deliberate strategy by ISIS to spread terror in their opponents.
One local official, Sabah Karhout, described the killings in Anbar province as a crime against humanity and called for more international support for Sunni tribes fighting the militants in Anbar.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said the killing of Sunni tribesmen in Iraq by Islamic State fighters was the brutal “reality of what we’re dealing with” in the conflict.
The US carried out an air drop of food supplies, the first of its kind, to the Al Bu Nimr tribe just a few days ago.
ISIS has taken over large parts of Anbar province as it expands its territory, currently about one-third of both Iraq and Syria.
Iraqi air strikes and ground forces appear to have halted the advance of Islamic State (ISIS) militants in the town of Amariya al-Falluja, west of Baghdad.
The air strikes followed clashes with ISIS militants, who have been making gains towards the capital.
Amariya al-Falluja, 25 miles from Baghdad, is a key strategic town.
It comes as a US-led coalition continues to carry out air strikes on ISIS targets in Syria and Iraq.
The area around Amariya al-Falluja is now said to be calm, but there is a standoff along the main road to Falluja to the north, which is controlled by ISIS.
US aircraft also attacked other ISIS positions in Anbar province overnight, the Pentagon said.
Meanwhile, Turkish tanks have taken up positions on a hill along the border near the Syrian town of Kobane after several shells hit Turkish territory during clashes between ISIS militants and Kurdish fighters.
Iraqi air strikes and ground forces appear to have halted the advance of ISIS militants in the town of Amariya al-Falluja
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the conflict in Syria, said ISIS fighters were now within 3 miles of Kobane, the closest they have come since launching an offensive this month.
The jihadists also fired at least 15 rockets at the town centre, killing at least one person, it added.
Overnight, there were US-led air strikes on ISIS-controlled towns and villages in northern and eastern Syria.
One raid on a grain silo in Manbij, in Aleppo province, left several civilians dead, the Syrian Observatory’s director Rami Abdul Rahman reported.
The entrance to the Conoco gas plant, Syria’s largest, was also reportedly hit. The facility itself was not thought to be damaged.
In a television interview on September 28, President Barack Obama candidly admitted the US had “underestimated” the threat of IS.
Barack Obama said a political solution – one that would arise out of an accommodation between Sunni and Shia populations – was key to defeating the jihadists.
According to Turkish officials, some 45,000 mainly Syrian Kurds have crossed into Turkey in the past 24 hours as Islamic State (ISIS) militants advance in northern Syria.
Turkey opened its border on September 19 to Syrians who had fled the Kurdish town of Kobane in fear of an IS attack.
Activists say some 300 Kurdish fighters have crossed into Syria from Turkey to help defend the strategic town.
ISIS controls large areas of Syria and Iraq and has seized dozens of villages around Kobane, also called Ayn al-Arab.
Turkey – which shares a border with Iraq and Syria – has taken in more than 847,000 refugees since the uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad began three years ago.
Turkish Deputy PM Numan Kurtulmus confirmed on Saturday that 45,000 refugees had crossed the border within a 24-hour period.
“No country in the world can take in 45,000 refugees in one night, bring them here unharmed and find them a shelter without a problem,” he said.
Some 45,000 mainly Syrian Kurds have crossed into Turkey in the past 24 hours as ISIS militants advance in northern Syria
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 300 Kurdish fighters had joined Syrian Kurdish ranks in the Kobane area to fend off the IS advance. The activist group did not specify which Kurdish group the fighters belonged to.
“Islamic State sees Kobane like a lump in the body, they think it is in their way,” the Observatory’s Rami Abdulrahman said.
Syrian activists say IS has seized as many as 60 villages surrounding Kobane since fighting began earlier this week.
The head of Syria’s Kurdish Democratic Union, Mohammed Saleh Muslim, has appealed for international assistance in the battle against the jihadists.
“Kobane is facing the fiercest and most barbaric attack in its history,” Reuters news agency quoted him as saying.
“Kobane calls on all those who defend humane and democratic values… to stand by Kobane and support it immediately. The coming hours are decisive,” he added.
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Forty nine hostages seized by Islamic State (ISIS) from the Turkish consulate in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul have been freed and are back in Turkey.
Turkey’s Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said the 49 had been taken to the southern city of Sanliurfa by the Turkish intelligence agency.
Details are unclear but President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said it had been a “detailed and secret operation”.
The hostages were seized after ISIS militants overran Mosul in a rapid advance in June.
Turkey has refused direct involvement in the military campaign against ISIS partly because of fears over the hostages’ safety.
Deputy PM Bulent Arinc said the 49 hostages were employees from the consulate – 46 Turks and three local Iraqis – and included Consul General Ozturk Yilmaz, other diplomats, children and special forces police.
Ahmet Davutoglu said they were all in good health and that they were released early on Saturday.
“I am sharing joyful news which as a nation we have been waiting for,” he said.
PM Ahmet Davutoglu said the hostages had been taken to the southern city of Sanliurfa by the Turkish intelligence agency (photo AP)
“In the early hours our citizens were handed over to us and we brought them back to our country. They have crossed into Turkey and I am on my way to see them.”
Ahmet Davutoglu was cutting short a visit to Azerbaijan to meet the released hostages.
He did not give details on the circumstances of their release but broadcaster NTV reported that Turkey had not paid a ransom. It did not say how it obtained the information.
More than 30 Turkish truck drivers, who were also seized in Mosul in June, were freed a month later but details of their release were not made public.
ISIS has seized large areas of Iraq and Syria. Estimates say the group could have up to 30,000 fighters.
The US has carried out more than 170 air strikes against the jihadists in Iraq since mid-August, supporting Iraqi government and Kurdish ground troops.
French jets carried out their first strikes on Friday, hitting an ISIS depot in north-eastern Iraq.
Also on September 19, Turkey opened a stretch of its south-eastern border to thousands of Syrian Kurds fleeing an ISIS advance.
Turkish troops had earlier blocked them from crossing, triggering angry protests from Turkish Kurds in the border village of Dikemetas.
Turkey has been under pressure from Western countries to tighten up its borders with Syria and Iraq and to stem the flow of foreign fighters joining the militants.
More than 847,000 Syrian refugees have crossed into Turkey since the uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad began in 2011.
More than 30 nations have joined a US-led coalition to take on ISIS militants, but Turkey has said it will only allow humanitarian and logistical operations from a NATO air base on its soil.
Syria and Iran have been excluded from the coalition.
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President Barack Obama’s plan to train and arm the moderate Syrian opposition fighting on Islamic State (ISIS) has been approved by the US House of Representatives.
The vote passed by a large majority in the Republican-controlled House and is expected to be adopted in the Senate.
The endorsement came after President Barack Obama repeated that he would not be committing American combat troops to ground operations in Iraq.
The US has undertaken 174 air strikes against ISIS in Iraq since mid-August.
The jihadist group controls large areas of Syria and northern Iraq.
In the most recent air strikes on September 16 and 17, US forces destroyed two ISIS armed vehicles north-west of Irbil and several units south-west of Baghdad, according to US Central Command (CENTCOM).
Barack Obama’s new strategy plans similar attacks in Syria and calls on a coalition of 40 countries to confront the militant group.
President Barack Obama repeated that he would not be committing American combat troops to ground operations in Iraq
This vote was expected to pass easily. Republicans, who control the House, generally support Barack Obama’s strategy to defeat and degrade Islamic State.
But the more hawkish among them feel the plan falls short. They argue that the president should consider sending US combat troops to Syria and Iraq – something he has said he is not prepared to do.
Some lawmakers from both parties feel skeptical that the Syrian rebels are up to the job.
At a Senate committee hearing, they pressed Secretary of State John Kerry for assurances that the Syrian fighters would be properly vetted so that, in future, American weapons don’t fall into the wrong hands.
On September 17, the House of Representatives approved his $500 million request by 273 votes to 156 to help arm and train moderate rebels in Syria.
The provision has been added to spending legislation aimed at extending federal government operations beyond the end of September.
Earlier, Barack Obama said he would not commit “to fighting another ground war in Iraq”, while visiting a military base in Florida.
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The US troops their fighting Islamic State (ISIS) militants in Iraq will not have a combat mission, President Barack Obama has told an audience on September 17.
Barack Obama said he would not commit “to fighting another ground war in Iraq”.
The president said the US had the “unique abilities” to respond to ISIS, including air support for Iraqi and Kurdish fighters on the ground.
The US has already undertaken 162 air strikes against IS in Iraq since mid-August.
Barack Obama’s new strategy allows similar attacks in Syria, and calls on a coalition of 40 countries to confront the militant group.
The president’s reassurance to soldiers at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, came a day after a top US general suggested he would recommend US ground troops in the fight against ISIS if the international campaign of air strikes failed.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen Martin Dempsey confirmed that under the current plan, US military advisers would help the Iraqi army to plan attacks against ISIS, also known as ISIL.
President Barack Obama has told an audience of US troops their comrades fighting ISIS militants in Iraq will not have a combat mission
The jihadist group controls large areas of Syria and northern Iraq. It has between 20,000 and 31,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria, according to CIA estimates.
Barack Obama arrived overnight in Tampa, Florida, where Central Command (CENTCOM) – responsible for the Middle East and Central Asia – is based.
After briefings with top military officials, Barack Obama told an assembly of troops that “the American forces that have been deployed to Iraq do not and will not have a combat mission”.
The US would see that the group was eventually defeated, Barack Obama said: “If you threaten America, you will find no safe haven.”
“We cannot do for the Iraqis what they must do for themselves,” he said, adding other countries would help with both air support and training.
“After a decade of massive ground deployments it is more effective to use our unique capabilities in support of our partners on the ground so they can secure their own countries’ futures,” Barack Obama said.
Barack Obama highlighted partner countries like France and the UK, which were already flying reconnaissance flights in Iraq, and Saudi Arabia, which has agreed to host a US-led training program for Syrian rebel groups fighting ISIS.
“Our armed forces are unparalleled and unique,” Barack Obama said.
“So when we’ve got a big problem somewhere around the world, it falls on our shoulders.”
Meanwhile, Iraqi PM Haider al-Abadi rejected as “out of the question” the possibility that foreign ground troops would be allowed to fight in his country.
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The Islamic State (ISIS) militant group may have up to 31,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria – three times as many as previously feared, the CIA announces.
A spokesman said the new estimate was based on a review of intelligence reports from May to August 2014.
ISIS has seized vast swathes of Iraq and beheaded several hostages in recent months, leading to US airstrikes.
Secretary of State John Kerry is visiting Turkey, seeking more support for action against IS.
On September 11, 10 Arab countries agreed to help the US attack the group in both Iraq and Syria.
The CIA had previously believed that ISIS had about 10,000 fighters, spokesman Ryan Trapani said.
“This new total reflects an increase in members because of stronger recruitment since June following battlefield successes and the declaration of a caliphate, greater battlefield activity, and additional intelligence,” he added.
The revision comes a day after President Barack Obama outlined a plan to “degrade and destroy” IS and to increase military support for allied forces engaged in fighting the group.
The CIA estimates that the ISIS militant group may have up to 31,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria, three times as many as previously feared
For the first time, the president authorized airstrikes against the group in Syria.
In recent months ISIS has expanded from its stronghold in eastern Syria and seized control of more towns, cities, army bases and weaponry in Iraq.
The US has already carried out more than 150 air strikes against ISIS in Iraq. It has also sent hundreds of military advisers to assist Iraqi government and Kurdish forces, but has ruled out sending ground troops.
Other countries have contributed humanitarian assistance to Iraqis displaced by the group’s advance.
John Kerry secured the cooperation of several Arab countries during a meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Thursday.
NATO member Turkey, however, refused to sign a communiqué calling for countries to join the US in the fight against ISIS.
Analysts say this may be because the group currently holds 49 Turkish citizens, including diplomats.
John Kerry downplayed the move, saying the important US ally was dealing with some “sensitive issues”.
John Kerry is due to travel to Turkey on Friday, September 12, to try to secure more cooperation from the government.
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Secretary of State John Kerry has arrived in Iraq at the start of a Middle East tour to build support for action against Islamic State (ISIS).
John Kerry is due to meet new Iraqi PM Haidar al-Abadi less than 48 hours after a unity government was agreed.
An inclusive government was a condition for greater US and NATO support in the fight against ISIS militants who have taken over large parts of the country.
President Barack Obama is due to outline his plans to combat ISIS later.
John Kerry has started a Middle East tour to build support for action against ISIS
Barack Obama said on September 9 that he had authority to widen military action against ISIS without the approval of Congress, but said he would still ask lawmakers to endorse the arming of Syrian opposition forces.
ISIS militants have taken over large parts of Syria and Iraq in recent months and have declared a “caliphate”.
In the past month, ISIS militants have beheaded two US journalists in protest against American airstrikes on its forces in Iraq.
John Kerry’s tour is due to continue in Saudi Arabia and other regional capitals, where he is hoping to boost military, political and financial support for the fight against ISIS.
John Kerry is expected to ask Iraq’s Sunni neighbors to show solidarity with Baghdad.
Humanitarian aid drops have been made by the US planes to the besieged Iraqi town of Amirli, the Pentagon has said.
Some 15,000 minority Shia Turkmen in Amerli have been surrounded by Islamic State (ISIS) militants for two months.
The US also carried out air strikes on ISIS positions. The Iraqi army, Shia militias and Kurdish fighters have been struggling to break the siege.
Aircraft from the UK, Australia, France joined the US in the humanitarian aid drops, said Rear Admiral John Kirby.
Food, water, and medical supplies were delivered.
Rear Adm Kirby said operations would limited in scope and duration, as required to protect civilians trapped in Amirli.
The UN has expressed fears there could be a massacre if IS breaks through defenses in the town, which lies in Kurdish-controlled Iraq.
Humanitarian aid drops have been made by the US planes to the besieged Iraqi town of Amirli (photo AP)
Earlier, the US launched new air strikes on IS near the key Mosul Dam.
In a statement, the US military said an armed vehicle, a fighting position and weapons were destroyed in the raid.
It said the strikes were in support of operations conducted by the Iraqi security forces near the strategic dam in the north of the country.
ISIS has been accused of atrocities in areas of Iraq and Syria under its control.
The Shia Turkmen are seen as apostates by the ISIS militants.
From the south, Iraqi government troops and allied Shia militias are trying to push into the Marin hill, which overlook the plain on which Amirli lies.
With the help of air strikes by the Iraqi air force, they are reported to be making slow progress, with roads in the area heavily mined and booby-trapped by the Islamist militants.
From further north, a combination of army forces, Shia militia and Kurdish Peshmerga fighters is reported to be trying to push down towards Amerli through a string of villages held by ISIS.
In one village, Salam, local sources said Shia militias had taken control of half of the settlement – but the ISIS militants fought back and drove them out.
The impression at this stage is that rapid movement to break the siege is unlikely and that it may be a protracted affair.
The operation is reported to have two objectives: to break the siege of Amirli and to reopen the main highway leading north from Baghdad.
The road is currently blocked by ISIS.
Meanwhile, reports from Syria say that hundreds of Yazidi women, another Iraqi minority, have been sold and distributed as wives among militant fighters in Syria.
The women who were abducted during recent attacks by IS in Iraq are said to have been transported to Syria after being forced to convert to Islam.
At least 27 of them were sold to ISIS members for marriage, according to the UK-based monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Right.
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Acccording to US officials, a secret military mission had tried but failed to free journalist James Foley and other American hostages in Syria.
Their comments come after a video of James Foley’s killing by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) militants appeared on Tuesday.
ISIS said James Foley’s death was revenge for US air strikes on its fighters in Iraq.
President Barack Obama condemned the killing as “an act of violence that shocks the conscience of the entire world”.
He compared ISIS militants, who control large parts of Syria and Iraq to a “cancer” and said the group’s ideology was “bankrupt”.
The UN, UK and others have also expressed abhorrence at the video.
James Foley’s mother, Diane Foley, said he “gave his life trying to expose the world to the suffering of the Syrian people”.
The Committee to Protect Journalists said it was “extremely concerned for all journalists” still held by ISIS, describing Syria as “the world’s most dangerous place to be a reporter”.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Pentagon said the US had “attempted a rescue operation recently to free a number of American hostages held in Syria”.
It said the operation “involved air and ground components and was focused on a particular captor network within ISIL” (the former name of ISIS).
“Unfortunately, the mission was not successful because the hostages were not present at the targeted location.”
James Foley had reported extensively across the Middle East, working for GlobalPost and other media outlets
The statement did not specify whether the operation had intended to rescue James Foley, who was kidnapped in Syria in November 2012.
However, senior Obama administration officials – speaking on the condition of anonymity – confirmed this.
They said that several dozen special troops had been dropped by aircraft into Syria in recent weeks to try to rescue US hostages, including James Foley.
They added that the troops had been engaged in a firefight with ISIS militants, killing a number of them. No Americans were killed.
James Foley, 40, had reported extensively across the Middle East, working for GlobalPost and other media outlets including French news agency AFP.
In the ISIS video, titled A Message to America, a man identified as James Foley is dressed in an orange jumpsuit, kneeling in desert-like terrain beside an armed man dressed in black.
He gives a message to his family and links his imminent death to the US government’s bombing campaign of ISIS targets in Iraq.
Clearly under duress, he says: “I call on my friends, family and loved ones to rise up against my real killers, the US government, for what will happen to me is only a result of their complacency and criminality.”
Then the masked militant – who speaks with a British accent – delivers a warning to the US government before killing James Foley: “Any attempt by you, Obama, to deny the Muslims their rights of living in safety under the Islamic caliphate will result in the bloodshed of your people.”
Another captive, identified as American journalist Steven Joel Sotloff, is shown at the end, with the warning that his fate depends on President Barack Obama’s next move.
Steven Joel Sotloff was abducted in northern Syria a year ago.
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The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) has released a video apparently showing the killing of American journalist James Foley, who went missing in Syria in 2012.
The jihadist militant group said the killing was revenge for US air strikes against its fighters in Iraq.
James Foley’s mother, Diane, said on Facebook she was proud of her son: “He gave his life trying to expose the world to the suffering of the Syrian people.”
The White House said if the video was genuine, the US would be “appalled”.
James Foley, 40, has reported extensively across the Middle East, working for the GlobalPost and other media outlets including French news agency AFP.
In the video, titled A Message to America, a man identified as James Foley is dressed in an orange jumpsuit, kneeling in desert-like terrain beside an armed man dressed in black.
He gives a message to his family and links his imminent death to the US government’s bombing campaign of IS targets in Iraq.
Clearly under duress, he says: “I call on my friends, family and loved ones to rise up against my real killers, the US government, for what will happen to me is only a result of their complacency and criminality.”
Then the masked militant, who speaks with a British accent, delivers a warning to the US government: “You are no longer fighting an insurgency. We are an Islamic Army and a state that has been accepted by a large number of Muslims worldwide.
“So any attempt by you Obama to deny the Muslims their rights of living in safety under the Islamic caliphate will result in the bloodshed of your people.”
Journalist James Foley went missing in Syria in 2012 (photo GlobalPost)
After he speaks, the militant appears to start cutting at his captive’s neck before the video fades to black.
His body is then seen on the ground.
Another captive, identified as American journalist Steven Joel Sotloff, is shown at the end, with the warning that his fate depends on President Barack Obama’s next move.
Steven Joel Sotloff was abducted a year ago in northern Syria, close to the border with Turkey.
In a statement, GlobalPost asked for “prayers for Jim and his family”, adding that it was waiting for the video to be verified.
James Foley had covered the war in Libya and was detained there for more than 40 days.
US officials confirmed that they had seen the video. One said it appeared to be authentic while two others said the victim was James Foley, Associated Press reports.
President Barack Obama is expected to make a statement later. White House National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said: “If genuine, we are appalled by the brutal murder of an innocent American journalist and we express our deepest condolences to his family and friends.”
Diane Foley, in her Facebook post, urged the militants to free any other hostages.
“Like Jim, they are innocents. They have no control over American government policy in Iraq, Syria or anywhere in the world,” she wrote.
The US-based Committee to Protect Journalists estimates that 20 journalists are missing in Syria, local as well as international, and believes many are held by ISIS militants.
The US launched air strikes almost a fortnight ago, in an attempt to help Kurdish forces curb the advance of Islamic State militants in northern Iraq and recapture the Mosul dam, the biggest in Iraq.
The ISIS has been accused of massacring hundreds of people in areas under its control in Iraq and also in eastern Syria.
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Iraq’s PM Nouri al-Maliki has agreed to step aside, ending political deadlock in Baghdad as the government struggles against insurgents.
His replacement, Haider al-Abadi, has already been asked by Iraq’s president to form a new government.
Nouri al-Maliki was under intense pressure to make way for Haider al-Abadi, a deputy speaker of parliament.
Iraq’s PM Nouri al-Maliki has agreed to step aside, ending political deadlock in Baghdad
An offensive led by Islamic State (IS) rebels in the north has triggered a security and humanitarian crisis.
Nouri al-Maliki’s spokesman, Ali Mussawi, told AFP news agency that the outgoing Shia Muslim prime minister would drop his bid to remain in his post.
“Maliki will withdraw the complaint against the president and will back the prime minister designate,” he said.
The move, also confirmed by Shia Muslim members of parliament to AP news agency, was announced by state TV.
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Iraqi President Fuad Masum has asked the deputy speaker of parliament, Haider al-Abadi, to form a new government.
Haider al-Abadi had previously been nominated prime minister by Shia parties, instead of the incumbent Nouri al-Maliki.
However, Nouri al-Maliki’s allies rejected Haidr al-Abadi’s nomination, saying he had no legitimacy. Nouri al-Maliki has made it clear he wants to stand for a third term.
Meanwhile the jihadist insurgency in the north of Iraq continues to cause international concern.
Fighters from the Islamic State (IS) group have made substantial gains in northern Iraq in recent months, forcing tens of thousands of people from religious minorities to flee their homes.
The US has begun supplying weapons to the Kurdish Peshmergas who are fighting the militants, senior US officials have told the Associated Press.
Iraq’s deputy speaker of parliament, Haider al-Abadi, has been asked by President Fuad Masum to form a new government (photo Facebook)
Iraq’s security forces are also supporting the Kurdish fighters, and have already delivered three plane-loads of ammunition.
In Baghdad, Iraqi President Fuad Masum said in a TV address that he hoped Haider al-Abadi would succeed in forming a government that would “protect the Iraqi people”.
“The country is now in your hands,” Fuad Masum told Haider al-Abadi, according to the French news agency AFP.
Analysts say the announcement is a public snub for Nouri al-Maliki, whose State of Law coalition won the most seats in April’s elections.
Now he has lost support from some of his own Shias – with the Shia National Alliance reported to have given Haider al-Abadi 130 votes, compared with just 40 votes for Nouri al-Maliki.
Nouri al-Maliki has been prime minister since 2006, but even though his coalition won the elections in April, parliament has still not agreed to give him a third term. He has also lost the backing of the US.
His popularity has suffered from the growing Islamist insurgency in the north – and even before that his support from Sunnis and Kurds was dwindling.
The White House said Vice-President Joe Biden called President Fuad Masum to discuss the nomination of Haider al-Abadi, and promised US support for the formation of a new government.
Haider al-Abadi’s nomination was welcomed outside Iraq. The presidents of France and Turkey called for him to form a government of national unity, while the UN urged Iraqi militias to keep out of politics.
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The US has begun directly providing weapons to Kurdish forces who have started to make gains against Islamic State (IS) militants in northern Iraq, senior officials say.
Previously, the US had insisted on only selling arms to the Iraqi government in Baghdad, but the Kurdish peshmerga fighters had been losing ground to IS militants in recent weeks.
The US officials wouldn’t say which agency is providing the arms or what weapons are being sent, but one official said it isn’t the Pentagon. The CIA has historically done similar quiet arming operations.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the operation publicly.
The move to directly aid the Kurds underscores the level of US concern about the IS militants’ gains in the north, and reflects the persistent administration view that the Iraqis must take the necessary steps to solve their own security problems.
The US has begun directly providing weapons to Kurdish forces in northern Iraq
At the same time, the administration is watching carefully as a political crisis brews in Baghdad, and Secretary of State John Kerry warned Iraq’s PM Nouri al-Maliki to maintain calm among the upheaval.
“We believe that the government formation process is critical in terms of sustaining the stability and calm in Iraq,” John Kerry said.
“And our hope is that Mr. Maliki will not stir those waters.”
Speaking in Australia on Monday, John Kerry said there should be no use of force by political factions as Iraq struggles form a government. He said the people of Iraq have made clear their desire for change and that the country’s new president is acting appropriately despite claims of malfeasance by Nouri al-Maliki.
Nouri al-Maliki is resisting calls to step down and says he’ll file a complaint against the president for not naming him prime minister.
John Kerry noted that Nouri al-Maliki’s Shia bloc has put forward three other candidates for the prime minister job and says the US stands with the new president, Fouad Massoum.
Nouri al-Maliki has accused Fouad Massoum of violating the constitution because he has not yet named a prime minister from the country’s largest parliamentary faction, missing a Sunday deadline.
The US military has carried out a third round of airstrikes on Sunni Muslim militants to defend civilians in northern Iraq.
US jet fighters and drones destroyed armored carriers and a truck that were firing on members of the Yazidi sect, officials said.
Thousands of civilians fled into the mountains after the Islamic State (IS) overran the town of Sinjar a week ago.
IS has taken control of swathes of Iraq and Syria in the past few months.
IS (formerly known as ISIS) has declared a “caliphate”, or Islamic state, in the region, prompting thousands of religious minorities to flee their homes in northern Iraq.
President Barack Obama authorized the military offensive last week to halt the advance of IS forces threatening the Kurdish city of Irbil.
The series of strikes is the first time US forces have been directly involved in a military operation in Iraq since they withdrew from the country in late 2011.
The US military has carried out a third round of airstrikes on Sunni Muslim militants to defend civilians in northern Iraq (photo AP)
A US military statement said the latest four strikes had been aimed at defending members of the Yazidi religious group who were being “indiscriminately attacked” near Sinjar.
IS has been widely accused of targeting and killing members of other faiths.
The US said a mix of fighter jets and drones destroyed an IS armored personnel carrier (APC) that was firing on civilians.
The statement said US aircraft also attacked other APCs and an armed truck.
The Pentagon also said a third US air-drop of food and water had been made on Saturday night to refugees on Mount Sinjar.
One C-17 and two C-130 cargo aircraft dropped a total of 72 bundles of supplies.
France and Britain have also announced that they will deliver aid consignments.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius is travelling to Baghdad and Irbil for talks on Sunday.
The UN children’s agency, UNICEF, says at least 56 Yazidi children have died of dehydration in the mountains around Sinjar.
Juan Mohammed, a local government spokesman in the Syrian city of Qamishli, told AP news agency that more than 20,000 starving Yazidis had fled across the border.
He said columns of refugees were running a gauntlet of gunfire through a tenuous “safe passage” being defended by forces of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan Region.
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The US army has conducted its second air-drop of food and water to Iraqi people hiding in mountains from jihadist fighters, the Pentagon says.
The humanitarian aid came hours after the US launched fresh air strikes against militants from the Islamic State (IS).
The IS had recently made fresh gains in northern Iraq and is threatening the Kurdish city of Irbil.
The US is also piling pressure on Iraqi leaders to form a unity government capable of dealing with the jihadists.
The US army has conducted its second air-drop of food and water to Iraqi people hiding in mountains from jihadist fighters
President Barack Obama said on Friday that Iraq’s Shia Arab majority had “squandered an opportunity” to share power with the Sunni Arabs and Kurds.
IS, a jihadist group formerly known as Isis, has taken control of swathes of Iraq and Syria and has also seized Iraq’s largest dam.
In a statement, the Pentagon said the latest air-drop dispersed 72 bundles of supplies.
The aid was dropped into the mountains around the town of Sinjar, where up to 50,000 members of the Yazidi religious sect fled an IS advance a week ago.
Iraq’s human rights ministry believes the militants have seized hundreds of Yazidi women. Ministry spokesman Kamil Amin said some were being held in schools in Iraq’s second largest city Mosul.
The first US air strike on Friday saw two 500lb bombs dropped on IS artillery being used against forces defending Irbil.
Late on Friday, the Pentagon confirmed a second wave of attacks. It said drones and fighter jets attacked a mortar position and a seven-vehicle convoy carrying fighters also threatening Irbil.
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The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has banned all US airlines from flying over Iraq until further notice.
The FAA said the ban was introduced due to the “hazardous situation” created by fighting between militants from the Islamic State (IS) and Iraqi security forces.
The FAA has banned all US airlines from flying over Iraq until further notice
The US launched air strikes against IS in Iraq on Thursday.
The FAA had previously banned all air travel over Iraq below 30,000 feet on July 31.
On Saturday, Australian airline Qantas said it had suspended flights over Iraq, following similar actions by German airline Lufthansa, Dubai-based Emirates, Virgin Atlantic and Air France.
Flying over conflict areas has come under increasing scrutiny since the crash of MH 17 in Ukraine in July.
Earlier in July, the FAA and other European carriers briefly suspended flights to Israel’s Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv after a rocket landed near the airport.
The US army has launched an airstrike against Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq.
The Pentagon said American aircraft attacked artillery that was being used against Kurdish forces defending the northern city of Irbil.
President Barack Obama authorized air strikes on Thursday, but said he would not send US troops back to Iraq.
The US army has launched an airstrike against IS militants in Iraq (photo Reuters)
The Sunni Muslim group IS, formerly known as Isis, now has control of large swathes of Iraq and Syria.
In June, IS took control of the city of Mosul. Earlier this week, its fighters seized Qaraqosh, Iraq’s biggest Christian town.
The advance of IS also forced tens of thousands of people from the Yazidi community – another minority group in northern Iraq – to leave their homes and seek shelter on a nearby mountain.
According to the Pentagon statement, two F/A-18 aircraft dropped 500-pound laser-guided bombs on mobile artillery near Irbil.
Pentagon press secretary Rear Admiral John Kirby said IS had been using the artillery to shell Kurdish forces defending Irbil, where US personnel are based.
The air strike is the first time the US has been directly involved in a military operation in Iraq since American troops withdrew in late 2011.
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