A French teacher has been attacked in a preschool class in Aubervilliers, a suburb of Paris, by a man citing ISIS.
The attacker shouted: “This is for Daesh [ISIS]. It’s a warning.”
He stabbed the teacher with a box cutter or scissors before fleeing.
The life of the 45-year-old teacher, who was alone in the room, is not in danger.
France remains on high alert after the terrorist attacks in Paris on November 13 that left 130 people dead.
Police sources said the teacher was stabbed in the side and throat at about 07:10 local time as he was preparing for class at the Jean-Perrin preschool, which caters for children between the ages of three and six.
The attacker reportedly arrived wearing a balaclava and gloves but was unarmed and used weapons he found in the classroom.
The attacker fled on foot and is still on the run. A manhunt is under way.
Local official Philippe Galli said there were no children present at the time of the attack but other staff members were in the building. Classes have been cancelled.
The teacher is being treated in hospital and has not yet been interviewed by police.
The anti-terrorism branch of the Paris prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation for attempted murder in relation to a terrorist act.
The ISIS’ French-language magazine Dar-al-Islam recently urged followers to kill teachers in France, describing them as “enemies of Allah” for teaching secularism, AFP reports.
Security has been strengthened at schools since the Paris attacks.
Education Minister Najat Vallaud-Belkacem traveled to the Aubervilliers school on December 14, calling the attack an “act of great gravity” that was “unacceptable”.
Last week, Najat Vallaud-Belkacem said the terrorist threat was “real and permanent”, adding: “All public places must be protected, particularly schools.”
Aubervilliers is in the Seine-Saint-Denis department of the Ile-de-France region.
In the 2010 census, Aubervilliers had a population of 76,000, including a large number of immigrants, mostly from North African Maghreb countries.
Vladimir Putin has ordered the Russian military to take “extremely tough” action against any threat to its forces in Syria.
Such targets must be “immediately destroyed”, the Russian president told defense officials in TV comments.
Vladimir Putin did not elaborate on specific threats but Turkey and Russia are currently locked in a dispute over the downing of a Russian jet by Ankara.
Turkey said the bomber had entered its airspace, something denied by Russia.
A Russian pilot was killed in the downing of the Su-24 bomber, as was a marine sent on a rescue mission, badly damaging the normally close ties between Ankara and Moscow.
Vladimir Putin warned against “further provocations” without naming Turkey directly.
Photo Reuters
Russia began air strikes in Syria in September, at the request of its ally Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
In an update on Russian operations, Vladimir Putin said the military was now supporting Free Syrian Army (FSA) forces.
There has been no confirmation from the FSA, who are fighting Bashar al-Assad and have been bombed by Russia.
The Kremlin has denied accusations by the US-led coalition operating in Syria it often targets moderate Syrian opposition, rather than ISIS.
Vladimir Putin also said was important to develop co-operation “with all states who have a real interest in destroying the terrorists”.
That includes “contacts to ensure flight safety with the Israeli air force HQ and the US-led coalition forces,” he said.
In a separate development in Syria, at least 22 people are reported to have died in a triple truck bomb attack in a Kurdish-controlled town in northern Syria.
Syrian opposition politicians meeting in the Saudi capital Riyadh have also agreed a statement to guide peace talks with the government.
Muhammad Ali has criticized Donald Trump’s proposal to ban Muslims from entering America.
Without naming Donald Trump, the 73-year-old boxing legend said that Muslims “have to stand up to those who use Islam to advance their own personal agenda”.
The three-time world heavyweight champion is a cultural icon and one of the world’s most famous Muslims.
Donald Trump says he will never leave the race, despite widespread criticism.
The White House had said that the Republican presidential hopeful’s comments about Muslims “disqualified” him from running for the presidency.
Muhammad Ali’s statement was directed at “presidential candidates proposing to ban Muslim immigration to the United States”.
“They have alienated many from learning about Islam,” he said.
Muhammad Ali also strongly criticized violence committed by jihadists from ISIS.
Photo Getty Images
“True Muslims know that the ruthless violence of so called Islamic Jihadists goes against the very tenets of our religion,” he said.
“These misguided murderers have perverted people’s views on what Islam really is.”
Meanwhile, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg also expressed solidarity with Muslims.
In a Facebook post on December 9, Mark Zuckerberg wrote: “After the Paris attacks and hate this week, I can only imagine the fear Muslims feel that they will be persecuted for the actions of others.
“As a Jew, my parents taught me that we must stand up against attacks on all communities. If you’re a Muslim in this community, as the leader of Facebook I want you to know that you are always welcome here and that we will fight to protect your rights.”
In his statement, Muhammad Ali said there was there was “nothing Islamic about killing innocent people in Paris, San Bernardino, or anywhere else in the world”.
The former boxer was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1984, after quitting the sport. Born by the name of Cassius Clay, he converted to Islam and changed his name in 1964.
Muhammad Ali’s statement comes after President Barack Obama’s TV address to the nation on December 6, in which he called on Americans to turn away from discrimination.
“Muslim Americans are our friends and our neighbors, our co-workers, our sports heroes,” President Barack Obama said.
Donald Trump reacted to Barack Obama’s statement saying: “Obama said in his speech that Muslims are our sports heroes. What sport is he talking about, and who?”
The New York billionaire has met Muhammad Ali several times, and even received an award named after the former heavyweight champion in 2007.
Donald Trump’s comments about Muslims came after the deadly shootings in San Bernardino, California.
He called for “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on”.
A Muslim couple, believed to have been radicalized, killed 14 people at a health centre and left scores injured.
Donald Trump is the current frontrunner among the Republicans running for president, six weeks before the primary contests begin for each party to pick their nominee.
The Pentagon has warned that Donald Trump’s anti-Muslim rhetoric undermines US national security by boosting ISIS.
Donald Trump has said Muslims should be banned from entering the US, in the wake of the deadly San Bernardino attacks.
Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said such talk “bolsters ISIL’s narrative”, referring to ISIS.
There has been a global outcry since Donald Trump made his remarks.
Secretary of State John Kerry joined the onslaught of condemnation on December 8 when he said they were “not constructive” in the fight against ISIS.
The ISIS militants are the target of a US-led bombing campaign in Syria and Iraq.
Donald Trump announced his plan days after an attack in California raised US fears about homegrown terrorism.
A Muslim couple, believed to have been radicalized, opened fire and killed 14 people at a social center in San Bernardino, California.
One of the two perpetrators, Tashfeen Malik, reportedly pledged allegiance to ISIS on the day of the tragedy.
Responding to Donald Trump’s remarks, the Pentagon said a border closed to Muslims would harm American efforts to counter extremist ideology.
Without mentioning Donald Trump by name, Peter Cook said: “Anything that bolsters ISIL’s narrative and pits the United States against the Muslim faith is certainly not only contrary to our values but contrary to our national security.”
The Pentagon’s view echoed a tweet from Hillary Clinton that said Donald Trump’s proposed ban is “not only counter to our values – it plays right into the hands of terrorists”.
The outcry was swift as soon as Donald Trump said in a statement on December 7 that Muslims nursed a “hatred” towards America and should be banned “until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on”.
The Republican presidential hopeful and reality TV star later said it would not apply to people living in the US.
Donald Trump defended the idea on December 8, comparing it to policies implemented by President Franklin Roosevelt during World War Two against Japanese, German and Italian people in the US.
Muslim leaders, the UN and foreign leaders have criticized the call as dangerous and divisive, while the White House said Donald Trump should be disqualified from the race.
Attempting to explain his comments, Donald Trump said parts of London were “so radicalized the police are afraid for their lives”.
Responding to the billionaire’s comments, London Mayor Boris Johnson said that was “ridiculous” and added: “The only reason I wouldn’t go to some parts of New York is the real risk of meeting Donald Trump.”
UK PM David Cameron said Donald Trump’s comments were “divisive, unhelpful and quite simply wrong”.
Republican leaders were strong in their condemnation. House Speaker Paul Ryan said: “What was proposed yesterday is not what this party stands for. And more importantly, it’s not what this country stands for.”
President Barack Obama has delivered a rare Oval Office address after the last week’s San Bernardino attack that left 14 dead.
Barack Obama said the killings were “an act of terrorism designed to kill innocent people”.
“Freedom is more powerful than fear,” the president said, warning that falling prey to divisiveness in American society would play into the hands of extremists.
Barack Obama also said the US must make it harder for potential attackers to obtain guns.
The president vowed that the US would overcome the evolving threat of terrorism, but warned that Americans “cannot turn against one another by letting this fight be defined as a war between America and Islam”.
“If we’re to succeed in defeating terrorism, we must enlist Muslim communities as some of our strongest allies, rather than push them away through suspicion and hate,” Barack Obama said.
He reminded his audience that Muslim-Americans were part of US society.
“And, yes, they are our men and women in uniform who are willing to die in defense of our country. We have to remember that,” he said.
Barack Obama warned that turning against America’s Muslim communities would be exactly what Islamist extremists in the so-called Islamic State group want.
The president told Americans that terrorism had entered a new phase, from large scale attacks by al-Qaeda to less complicated attacks by radicalized individuals.
He said the US would draw upon “every aspect of American power” to combat ISIS.
Barack Obama underscored that the US and its allies have increased their bombing of Islamic State oil infrastructure and would continue to train and equip moderate rebels in Iraq and Syria.
“Our military will continue to hunt down terrorist plotters in any country where it is necessary,” he said.
Barack Obama added that there are a number of things that can be done on home soil to combat terrorism.
He called for stricter gun control and said he had ordered the Departments of State and Homeland Security to review the K-1 fiancé visa program under which the female attacker in San Bernardino originally entered the US.
This was only the third Oval Office address of Barack Obama’s presidency – they are reserved for events of national importance.
Barack Obama’s speech was in response to a mass shooting by a married couple that left 14 dead.
Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, and his wife Tashfeen Malik, 29, opened fire on an office Christmas party and were later killed in a shootout with police.
In his speech, the president characterized ISIS as “thugs and killers”, adding: “The threat from terrorism is real, but we will overcome it.”
The group said in a radio broadcast that the couple that Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik were ISIS supporters, but gave no indication that ISIS was involved in the attack’s planning.
The FBI is also looking into reports Tashfeen Malik posted a message on Facebook pledging allegiance to ISIS around the time of the attacks.
Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik used handguns and semi-automatic weapons that had been legally purchased in the US, police say.
Bomb equipment, weapons and thousands of rounds of ammunition were later found in their home.
The San Bernardino attack is the deadliest mass shooting in the US since 26 people were killed at a school in Connecticut in 2012.
The authorities said there was no indication so far the killers were part of an “organized group or formed part of a broader terrorist cell”.
Iraq’s foreign ministry has summoned the Turkish ambassador to demand the withdrawal of Turkish troops sent to an area near the northern city of Mosul.
According to the Iraqi foreign ministry, the troops had entered Iraq without Baghdad’s consent and that Iraq considered it “a hostile act”.
Turkey says it deployed 150 soldiers in the town of Bashiqa year to train Iraqi Kurdish forces fighting ISIS.
Mosul has been under the control of ISIS militants since 2014.
Turkish PM Ahmet Davutoglu described the deployment as a routine troop rotation. He said Turkish forces had set up a camp near Mosul a year ago in co-ordination with Iraq.
“This camp was established as a training camp for a force of local volunteers fighting terrorism,” he said.
Earlier, Iraqi PM Haider al-Abadi’s office said the move was a “serious breach of Iraqi sovereignty”.
The statement called on Turkey to “respect good neighborly relations and to withdraw immediately from the Iraqi territory”.
Turkey enjoys close relations with autonomous Kurdish regions in Iraq, although it views Syrian Kurdish groups over the border as hostile, analysts say.
The fall of Mosul was a key moment in the rise of ISIS and an Iraqi government offensive to retake the city has been repeatedly put back.
Tashfeen Malik – the woman involved in San Bernardino deadly gun attack – pledged allegiance to ISIS leader on Facebook, US officials say.
She made the post under an account with a different name, the officials told US media.
Fourteen people were killed and 21 wounded in December 2 attack.
Tashfeen Malik, 27, and her husband Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, died in a shootout with police after the killings at San Bernardino, east of Los Angeles.
According to the New York Times, there was no evidence that ISIS had directed the couple in the attack.
“At this point we believe they were more self-radicalised and inspired by the group than actually told to do the shooting,” the newspaper quoted an official as saying.
Tashfeen Malik is reported to have posted the message on Facebook in support of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The post has since been removed.
On December 4, the couple’s landlord opened their apartment to the media, prompting journalists and camera crews to rush in and survey the scene.
After the attack at the Inland Regional Center social services agency, bomb equipment, weapons and thousands of rounds of ammunition were found in the couple’s home.
Tashfeen Malik and Syed Rizwan Farook had destroyed computer hard drives and other electronic equipment before the rampage took place, a US government source said on December 4.
Investigators are also said to be following up a report that Syed Rizwan Farook had argued with a colleague at work who denounced the “inherent dangers of Islam”.
Tashfeen Malik was born in Pakistan and had recently lived in Saudi Arabia.
Intelligence officials in Pakistan have contacted relatives there, a family member quoted by Reuters said.
Syed Farook, who worked as an inspector for San Bernardino’s environmental health department, was the son of Pakistani immigrants and born in the US state of Illinois.
Police said between 75 and 80 people were attending a party at the center when the shooting began.
The identities of the victims have since been released by San Bernardino’s coroner. The youngest was 26 and the oldest was 60.
San Bernardino is the deadliest mass shooting in the US since 26 people were killed at a school in Newtown, Connecticut in 2012.
President Barack Obama has urged Turkey and Russia to end their dispute, a week after Turkish forces shot down a Russian warplane.
After talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Paris, Barack Obama reaffirmed US support for “Turkey’s right to defend itself and its airspace”.
However, the US president stressed that Russia and Turkey should “de-escalate” their dispute.
“We all have a common enemy,” Barack Obama said, referring to ISIS.
“I want to make sure that we focus on that threat,” he said.
“Turkey is a NATO ally,” Barack Obama added.
“And we’re very much committed to Turkey’s security and its sovereignty. We discussed how Turkey and Russia can work together to de-escalate tensions and find a diplomatic path to resolve this issue.”
Recep Tayyip Erdogan also spoke to reporters after December 1 meeting. He said his government wanted to reduce tensions and was “determined to keep up the fight” against ISIS.
Barack Obama and Recep Tayyip Erdogan are among 150 leaders attending climate change talks in Paris.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan renewed his criticism of Russian air strikes against Turkmen rebels in north-western Syria, complaining that the area is being “continuously bombed”.
Moscow says Turkey shot down its SU-24 warplane inside Syria on November 24.
Turkey says the fighter jet entered its airspace and was repeatedly warned to leave before it was downed.
Russia has insisted its warplane did not cross the border and that it gave advance notice of the flight path to the US.
One Russian pilot was killed and the other rescued. A Russian marine was killed during the rescue operation.
Russia is a major ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and its air strikes have targeted rebel groups, including ISIS.
Turkey strongly opposes Bashar al-Assad and has been accused of turning a blind eye to jihadist fighters crossing from its territory into Syria.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has asked Russia to prove its claim that Ankara shot down a Russian fighter jet in order to protect its oil trade with ISIS.
“If you allege something you should prove it,” he said.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan was responding to a statement by Russian President Vladimir Putin saying that Turkey downed the jet as it was flying over Syria.
Turkey says the warplane entered its airspace and was warned to leave.
One Russian pilot was killed and the other rescued after Russia’s Su-24 bomber was shot down by a Turkish F-16 fighter on the Syrian border on November 24.
A Russian marine was killed during the rescue operation in north-western Syria.
Russia has insisted the fighter jet did not cross the border and that it gave advance notice of the flight path to the US, Turkey’s ally.
The US has supported Turkey’s version of events.
Photo Reuters
“You should put your documents on the table if you have any. Let’s see the documents,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.
“We are acting with patience. It is not positive for the two countries which have reached a position which could be regarded as a strategic partnership to make emotional statements.”
Recep Tayyip Erdogan also vowed to step down if the allegation that Turkey was buying oil from ISIS proved true, suggesting that President Vladimir Putin should do the same if he was wrong.
Russia is a major ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and its air strikes have targeted rebel groups, including ISIS.
Turkey strongly opposes Bashar al-Assad and has been accused of turning a blind eye to jihadist fighters crossing from its territory into Syria.
Until a few months ago, Turkey was reluctant to play an active role in the coalition against ISIS. However, in August it allowed the US-led coalition to begin using its airbase at Incirlik.
Russia has imposed sanctions on Turkey over the downing of the warplane, including restrictions on imports of Turkish food and an end to visa-free travel.
ISIS earns much of its money from illegal oil fields it controls in north-eastern Syria and western Iraq.
Some of the oil is sold to the Assad regime and some is smuggled through middlemen to Turkey. However, the Turkish government has consistently denied being involved in the trade.
“We have every reason to think that the decision to shoot down our plane was dictated by the desire to protect the oil supply lines to Turkish territory,” Vladimir Putin said at a news conference in Paris on November 30.
Vladimir Putin also accused Turkey of harboring “terrorist organizations” operating “in various regions of Russia, including the North Caucasus”.
Russia is accusing Turkey of shooting down its fighter jet on the Syrian border in order to protect its oil trade with ISIS.
Speaking at international talks on climate change in Paris, Russian President Vladimir Putin called the warplane’s downing a “huge mistake”.
Turkey has denied any ties to ISIS and is part of a US-led coalition carrying out airstrikes against the militant group.
The Turkish government has refused to apologize for the incident.
One Russian pilot was killed and the other rescued following the crash on November 24. Turkey says the plane entered its air space – an accusation Russia denies.
On November 30, the US state department said evidence from Turkish and US sources indicated the aircraft did violate Turkish airspace.
Spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau said the US wanted to “encourage dialogue now… we need to de-escalate the situation”.
Photo Reuters
Russia has been carrying out air strikes in Syria, targeting rebels against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, including ISIS.
Turkey is a vehement opponent of Bashar al-Assad and has been accused of turning a blind eye to jihadist fighters crossing from its territory into Syria.
Until a few months ago, Turkey was reluctant to play an active role in the coalition against ISIS. However, in August it allowed the US-led coalition to begin using its airbase at Incirlik.
Russia has imposed sanctions on Turkey over the downing of the plane, including restrictions on imports of Turkish food and an end to visa-free travel.
ISIS earns much of its money from illegal sales of oil – however, Turkey has staunchly denied that it is involved in the trade.
“We have every reason to think that the decision to shoot down our plane was dictated by the desire to protect the oil supply lines to Turkish territory,” Vladimir Putin said at a news conference in Paris on November 30.
The Russian president said his president had received more information to show that ISIS oil was passing through Turkish territory.
Earlier Turkish PM Ahmet Davutoglu said the incident was unfortunate but that Turkey had a right and duty to protect its airspace and would not apologize.
On November 30, Russia said it would ban mainly imports of agricultural products, vegetables and fruits from Turkey, although it may delay the restrictions for several weeks to “ease inflationary pressure”.
Turkish industrial goods would not be banned for now but future expansion of the sanctions was not ruled out, officials said.
Turkey and Russia have important economic links. Russia is Turkey’s second-largest trading partner, while more than three million Russian tourists visited Turkey in 2014.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey will act “patiently, not emotionally” before deciding its response to the economic sanctions.
In a TV address, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned Russian President Vladimir Putin not to “play with fire” over Turkey’s downing of a Russian warplane on Syrian border.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan also said he wanted to meet Vladimir Putin “face-to-face” at climate talks in Paris to resolve the issue.
Vladimir Putin wants an apology from Turkey before he will speak to Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Russian president’s aide said.
Russia has suspended its visa-free arrangement with Turkey in the latest of a range of retaliatory measures.
Turkey says the Russian warplane was in its airspace when the decision was taken to shoot it down on November 24 – Russia insists the plane was flying over Syria at the time.
Tensions have been heightened by the fact that the two countries are pursuing different aims in Syria.
Russia has been carrying out air strikes against opponents of President Bashar al-Assad since late September, while Turkey, which is a member of a US-led coalition, insists Bashar al-Assad must step down before any political solution to the crisis is found.
However, all are united in trying to rid the region of ISIS, also known as Daesh.
In a televised speech, Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Russia it was “playing with fire to attack the Syrian opposition, who have international legitimacy, under the pretext of fighting against Daesh”.
The Turkish president said Moscow was also playing with fire to use the downing of the jet “as an excuse to make unacceptable accusations against us”, and accused Russians of “mistreating” Turkish citizens who were in the country for a trade fair.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he hoped to meet Vladimir Putin face-to-face on the sidelines of the climate summit in Paris next week “to bring the issue to a reasonable point. We are disturbed that the issue has been escalated”.
While he has refused to apologize, Recep Tayyip Erdogan did say on November 26 that had Turkey known the plane was Russian, “maybe we would have warned it differently”.
Vladimir Putin has firmly rejected any suggestion Turkey did not recognize the plane as Russian. He said it was easily identifiable and its coordinates had been passed on to Turkey’s ally, the US.
A senior Russian commander went further on November 27 and claimed the Russian warplane was “ambushed” by two Turkish F-15s.
Gen. Viktor Bondarev said Russian and Syrian radar data showed the F-16s had been flying in the area for more than an hour and the plane that fired the missile did so from 1.2 miles inside Syria.
The Russian jet was shot down 3.4 miles south of the Turkish border, he said.
The Turkish military earlier in the week released audio of what it said were repeated warnings to the Russian jet to change its course, and claimed the jet had spent 17 seconds in Turkish air space before being shot down.
Announcing the suspension of a visa-free travel regime with Turkey from January 1, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he believed the Turkish leadership had “crossed the line of what is acceptable”.
On November 26, Russia said it was drafting a wide-ranging list of economic sanctions against Turkey that would hit food imports and joint investment projects among other things.
Turkey and Russia have important economic links. Russia is Turkey’s second-largest trading partner, while more than three million Russian tourists visited Turkey in 2014.
France is holding a national memorial service for the 130 people who died in a series of attacks in Paris two weeks ago.
Around 1,000 people attended the service in central Paris, including President Francois Hollande, survivors of the attacks and victims’ families.
A minute’s silence was held and the names of all the victims read out.
Attackers with assault rifles and suicide belts targeted a number of sites in the capital. ISIS later said it was behind the assault.
In his speech, President Francois Hollande said France would “do all it can to destroy this army of fanatics”.
“It will operate relentlessly to protect its children,” he said.
Francois Hollande vowed that France would respond with more music, concerts and sporting events, after some of the attacks targeted a concert venue and a stadium.
Among those attending the service were the parents of British victim Nick Alexander, who said that they were now “intrinsically linked” to those who had also lost loved ones.
However, not all the victims’ families accepted the invitation to attend the service at the grand Les Invalides complex that houses a military museum and Napoleon’s tomb.
The family of one victim told French media they had refused, saying not enough had been done to protect the nation in the wake of other attacks earlier this year.
In the November 13 attacks, the gunmen opened fire on restaurants and bars in Paris and stormed the Bataclan concert hall, where 89 people were shot dead.
Three more attackers blew themselves up outside the Stade de France stadium in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, after staff denied them entry to a football match between France and Germany.
More than 350 people were injured in the attacks – the worst in recent French history.
At least nine people are believed to have been directly involved in carrying out the latest attacks.
They are all dead, but two more men, including suspect Salah Abdeslam, are still on the run as a huge manhunt continues in France and Belgium.
Some of the attackers – including suspected ringleader Abdelhamid Abaaoud, who died in a police raid in Paris last week – had lived in Brussels.
Turkey has released an audio recording of what it says were warnings to a Russian military jet before it was shot down on the Syrian border.
“Change your heading south immediately,” a voice says in English.
The Turkish military said it had tried to rescue the SU-24 bomber’s two pilots.
One of the pilots was killed by gunfire as he parachuted from the burning plane.
The other pilot was rescued. He denied claims the warplane had violated Turkish airspace and warnings had been given.
The Russian warplane crashed into a mountainside on Syrian soil after being hit by a missile from a Turkish F-16 fighter jet on November 24.
Tensions have escalated between Turkey and Russia over the incident, with Russian President Vladimir Putin describing it as a “stab in the back” and warning of “serious consequences”.
Moscow later broke off military contacts with Ankara and said it would deploy its most advanced anti-aircraft missile system in Syria to destroy any target that may threaten its warplanes. It also said fighter jets would now escort its bombers during air strikes over Syria.
On November 26, Russia said it would impose stricter controls on food and agriculture imports from Turkey. A Russian official said some 15% of Turkish agricultural produce fell short of Russian standards, with excessive levels of pesticides, nitrates and nitrites.
The US, the EU and the UN have all appealed for calm.
France’s President Francois Hollande is travelling to Moscow on November 26 to shore up support for action against ISIS, which killed 130 people in attacks in Paris on November 13.
The Turkish military said it had given 10 warnings to the Russian plane before it was shot down in Turkish airspace.
Turkish officials also say they did not know the warplane was Russian until they had shot it down.
On November 25, the Turkish military also put out a statement saying it had been in touch with Russian military attaches to explain the rules of engagement that led to the incident and that it had tried to rescue the pilots.
Turkey said it was ready for “all kinds of co-operation” with Moscow over the incident.
The surviving Russian pilot said on November 25 no warning had been given by Turkey.
Capt. Konstantin Murakhtin also stressed there was “no way” the jet could have violated Turkish airspace, as Ankara said it did.
He knew the region “very well”, he said, and the jet had not been in Turkish airspace “even for a second”.
Russia said the pilot was rescued from rebel-held territory in north-eastern Syria in a 12-hour operation involving Russian and Syrian Special Forces.
A Russian marine was also killed and a helicopter destroyed by rebels during the operation.
Syrian rebels released a video apparently showing the dead body of the second pilot, who was identified by Russia as Lt. Col. Oleg Peshkov.
Capt. Konstantin Murakhtin was speaking from the Hmeymim airbase, where Russia’s aircraft are based.
Russia has been carrying out air strikes against opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad since late September.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has defended the action by the country’s military, saying “everyone must respect the right of Turkey to protect its borders”.
He said he did not want to escalate tensions further.
Turkey is a member of NATO. The alliance has backed Turkey’s version of events, although it, too, is calling for “diplomacy and de-escalation” to resolve the situation.
Russia and Turkey have found themselves on opposing sides in Syria’s conflict, with Russia supporting President Bashar al-Assad, while Turkey is a staunch critic.
Turkey is also part of the US-led coalition against ISIS.
Brussels is extending the highest level of terror alert because of the “serious and imminent” threat of Paris-style attacks, Belgium’s PM Charles Michel has announced.
The prime minister added that universities, schools and the metro would stay shut.
Belgium’s capital has been on lockdown all weekend, amid a manhunt for suspected Paris attacker Salah Abdeslam.
ISIS militants, some of them from Brussels, killed 130 people in Paris on November 13.
Security forces completed several operations in Brussels on Sunday night, the AFP news agency reports. The police had urged the public not to report its movements on social media.
On November 22, PM Charles Michel told reporters in Brussels that the authorities fear “an attack similar to the one in Paris, with several individuals who could also possibly launch several attacks at the same time in multiple locations”.
Photo EPA
Earlier, Belgian Interior Minister Jan Jambon said the danger to Belgium was not tied to Salah Abdeslam alone.
“The threat is broader than the one suspected terrorist,” he told Flemish broadcaster VRT.
It was not clear if Jan Jambon was referring to those involved in the Paris attacks, or others who might be planning attacks in Belgium.
Soldiers joined police officers on patrols in Brussels over the weekend. Many public spaces in the usually bustling capital were deserted, as people heeded official warnings to avoid crowds.
The Belgian authorities have so far charged three people with involvement in the Paris attacks, claimed by ISIS.
French media have reported that nine militants carried out the attacks, and seven died on the same night.
One of the men who drove Salah Abdeslam to Belgium told his lawyer that he was dressed in a “big jacket” and may have had a suicide belt.
The lawyer, Carine Couquelet, told French TV this raised questions, including the possibility that Salah Abdeslam may have been supposed to blow himself up in Paris but had had second thoughts.
Friends of Salah Abdeslam told ABC News they had spoken to him on Skype and said he was hiding in Brussels and desperately trying to get to Syria.
They said Salah Abdeslam was caught between European authorities hunting him and ISIS members who were “watching him” and were unhappy that he had not detonated his suicide belt.
Belgium has raised the terror alert in Brussels to the highest level fearing an attack “like the one that happened in Paris” last week, PM Charles Michel says.
The fear was that “several individuals with arms and explosives could launch an attack… perhaps even in several places”, Charles Michel said.
Some of the attackers who killed 130 people in Paris lived in Brussels.
Paris attacks leading suspect Salah Abdeslam is believed to have gone back to Belgium.
A huge manhunt is under way.
The Brussels metro is closed till November 22 and people have been told to avoid crowds.
Photo AP
These include shopping centers and concerts, and the authorities have also recommended that large events, including football matches, be canceled, a statement said.
The warning for the rest of Belgium stays at a lower level, which is still at a “serious” level.
The Belgian government will review the security situation in Brussels on November 22, Charles Michel added.
Interior Minister Jan Jambon earlier told reporters Belgium’s situation was “serious”, but “under control”, as he arrived for a special security cabinet meeting on November 21.
Turkish police say they have arrested a Belgian man of Moroccan descent on suspicion that he scouted out sites in Paris, Turkish news agencies report.
The Belgian authorities have so far charged three people with involvement in the attacks, which ISIS said it carried out.
French prosecutors have said that a third body has been recovered from the apartment in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis raided by police after last week’s attacks.
They confirmed the body was that of Hasna Aitboulahcen, and was found overnight in a search of the flat following November 18 raid.
Hasna Aitboulahcen, 26, is widely reported to have been the cousin of Abdelhamid Abaaoud, and blew herself up.
Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the suspected mastermind of Paris attacks, was also killed in the raid.
The near-simultaneous attacks by suicide bombers and gunmen on bars and restaurants, the Bataclan concert hall and Stade de France stadium on November 13 killed 129 people and left hundreds of people wounded.
Photo Twitter
ISIS said it was behind the attacks.
Demonstrations have been banned under France’s state of emergency, but dozens of French artists and cultural figures have urged people to make a lot of “noise and light”, by turning on music and lights, at 21:20 local time on November 20 to mark the exact time a week ago that the attacks began.
Prosecutors have now confirmed the identities of two of the three suspects who died in the seven-hour-long raid in the Rue Cormillon apartment on November 18.
The prosecutor’s office said Hasna Aitboulahcen’s passport was found near her body.
News that Abdelhamid Abaaoud – a well-known face of ISIS and on international “most wanted” lists – and at least one of his accomplices may have travelled undetected from Syria before carrying out the attacks has raised fears about the security of the European Union’s borders.
EU interior ministers are meeting in Brussels to discuss tougher measures, including tightening the external borders of the passport-free Schengen area.
France’s Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, on his way into the meeting, said the EU had “wasted too much time on a number of urgent issues” and hoped “today takes the decisions that we must take”.
A draft resolution for today’s EU meeting says ministers will agree to implement “necessary systematic and co-ordinated checks at external borders, including on individuals enjoying the right of free movement”.
This means EU citizens, along with non-EU citizens, will have their passports routinely checked against a database of known or suspected terrorists and those involved in organized crime.
Ministers will also consider cracking down on the movement of firearms within the EU, the collection of passenger data for those taking internal flights and also blocking funding for terrorists.
ISIS militant Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the suspected ringleader of last week’s attacks in Paris, was among those killed in a French police raid on November 18, prosecutors say.
French prosecutors confirmed Belgian citizen Abdelhamid Abaaoud had died in a flat in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis.
Abdelhamid Abaaoud’s body was found riddled with bullets and shrapnel in the apartment.
Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said he had received intelligence that Abdelhamid Abaaoud passed through Greece on his return from Syria.
It is unclear whether Abdelhamid Abaaoud had concealed himself among the thousands of refugees arriving in Greece before heading for other EU nations.
One of the other dead Paris attackers, who blew himself up at the Stade de France stadium, was traced to Greece by his fingerprints, where he was registered as a refugee.
In another development, nine arrests were made in Belgium after searches in connection with Paris attacks, and police carried out new searches in France.
Confirming Abdelhamid Abaaoud left for Syria last year, Bernard Cazeneuve said no EU states had signaled his return.
The minister also implicated Abdelhamid Abaaoud in four out of six attacks foiled in France since this spring.
Abdelhamid Abaaoud, 28, was linked to a plot in April to attack a church near Paris and police are also investigating a possible connection to the attack on a high-speed train from Amsterdam to Paris in August.
In Belgium, Abdelhamid Abaaoud had links to an Islamist cell broken up by security forces in the town of Verviers in January, with the deaths of two gunmen.
He was identified from his fingerprints.
Paris attacks left 129 people dead and hundreds injured.
Eight people were arrested and at least two killed in the raid on the property in Saint Denis. Heavily armed police stormed the building after a tip-off that Abdelhamid Abaaoud was in Paris.
A woman at the flat – reported in French media to be Abdelhamid Abaaoud’s cousin – died during the raid after activating a suicide vest.
The prosecutor’s office said it was still unclear whether Abdelhamid Abaaoud had blown himself up or not.
Bernard Cazeneuve told reporters that a non-EU state had alerted France on November 9 that Abdelhamid Abaaoud had been in Greece.
France’s Prime Minister Manuel Valls has warned that his country could face chemical or biological attack from terror groups, as lawmakers debate the state of emergency extension following last week’s attacks in Paris.
Belgian police have meanwhile raided properties linked to suspected Paris attackers Bilal Hadfi and Salah Abdeslam.
Seven raids took place in and around Brussels, and one person was detained, Belgian media reported.
November 13 attacks in Paris killed 129 people.
PM Manuel Valls was addressing France’s lower house of parliament before its deputies voted to extend the state of emergency by three months.
He told lawmakers that “terrorism hit France, not because of what it is doing in Iraq and Syria … but for what it is”.
“What is new are the ways of operating; the ways of attacking and killing are evolving all the time,” Manuel Valls said.
“The macabre imagination of those giving the orders is unlimited. Assault rifles, beheadings, suicide bombers, knives or all of these at once.”
Manuel Valls also called for Europe to adopt measures on sharing information about airline passengers as a way of protecting collective security.
French police officers will be allowed to carry their weapons while off duty as long as they wear an armband to identify them, under a police directive issued to coincide with the state of emergency.
Paris police have extended their ban on gatherings and demonstrations until midnight on November 22, although they will be allowed at the various sites attacked on November 13.
It remains unclear whether the suspected ringleader of the attacks was killed in yesterday’s raid in Paris.
French authorities say the raid on a flat in the northern suburb of Saint-Denis foiled another attack, reportedly planned for the La Defense business quarter of western Paris.
Eight people were arrested in the raid, in which police fired over 5,000 rounds of ammunition, but those arrested did not include Abdelhamid Abaaoud – suspected of being the man who organized the Paris attacks.
At least two people were killed in the raid, one of them a woman who blew herself up with a suicide vest.
She is widely reported to be Hasna Aitboulachen, a cousin of Abdelhamid Abaaoud.
Further attacks by ISIS were likely elsewhere in Europe, according to the head of the EU’s law enforcement agency Europol.
At least one person died as French police have raided a flat in the north Paris suburb of Saint-Denis in an operation linked to last week’s attacks.
A female suspect blew herself up with a suicide belt, a prosecutor says. Some reports suggest two suspects died. There were explosions and gunfire in the operation, which is continuing.
Five people have also been arrested.
The focus of the operation is Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the alleged mastermind of the ISIS-claimed attacks that killed 129 people in Paris on November 13.
Roads have been blocked off around Rue de la Republique in Saint-Denis, in the same district as the Stade de France where suicide attackers detonated bombs.
Truckloads of soldiers joined armed police at the scene.
Photo AP
At least five people were believed to have been in the targeted third floor flat in Rue de La Republique, French media report.
The Paris prosecutor’s office said in a statement that the raid started at 04:20 local time and was still ongoing.
A woman inside the apartment set off an explosives vest at the beginning of the raid and died.
Three men who were also in the apartment have been detained by anti-terrorist police.
A man and a woman were stopped and detained close to the apartment, police said.
There are unconfirmed reports that one person remains holed up in the flat. Other unconfirmed reports have put the death toll at between two and three.
Several police officers are reported to have been wounded in the operation.
Earlier, Deputy Mayor Stephane Peu urged local residents to stay indoors, saying “it is not a new attack but a police intervention”.
Abdelhamid Abaaoud, a 27-year-old Belgian of Moroccan origin, had been thought to have organized last week’s attacks from Syria, but is now believed to have been one of those in the St Denis apartment.
Security sources have said surveillance video showed a possible ninth assailant during the attacks.
The video reportedly shows a third figure in the car carrying the group which attacked several bars and restaurants.
It is not clear if this ninth attacker is one of two suspected accomplices detained in Belgium or is someone still on the run.
French police have been searching premises they believe were used by the last week’s attackers in Paris.
Salah Abdeslam, the suspected eighth gunman who is now the subject of an international manhunt, rented out an apartment and two hotel rooms.
A car that Salah Abdeslam rented which may have been used to bring the attackers to and from Belgium is also being inspected.
ISIS says it carried out the multiple attacks in which 129 people died.
A Belgian-registered black Renault Clio was found parked near Montmartre in northern Paris. After police sealed off the area and ensured there was no booby-trap, the vehicle was towed away for forensic examination.
Images shown on French media of one of the hotel rooms being examined show syringes and tubes which could be bomb-making equipment.
Salah Abdeslam is believed to have fled across the border to his native Belgium. Belgian police have released more pictures of him.
On November 17, French media reported that a French jihadist, Fabien Clain, had been identified as the voice in a recording issued by ISIS in which it said it had carried out the attacks.
As the investigation continues, and in an effort to prevent more attacks, France has mobilized 115,000 security personnel, according to Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve.
Meanwhile, Belgium’s government has raised its terror threat level because of the failure so far to arrest Salah Abdeslam.
German media reported three arrests near Aachen, on the Belgian border, in an operation linked to the attacks.
An act of terror brought down the Russian A321 airliner in Egypt last month, killing all 224 people on board, says Russia’s security chief Alexander Bortnikov.
“Traces of foreign explosives” were found on debris from the Airbus plane, FSB chief Alexander Bortnikov told Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Vladimir Putin vowed to “find and punish” those behind the attack over the Sinai peninsula. A branch of ISIS said it downed the plane.
Nearly all the dead were Russians.
Alexander Bortnikov said a bomb had been planted on board the Metrojet plane, equivalent to up to 1kg of TNT. The Kremlin website carried a transcript of the meeting.
The bomb shattered the plane mid-air on October 31, he said, “which explains the wide dispersal of fuselage pieces”.
Vladimir Putin said that Russia must hunt those responsible “indefinitely, find out who the individuals were”.
“We’ll look for them everywhere, wherever they are hiding. We’ll find them in any corner of the planet and punish them.”
Russia has offered a $50 million reward for information on the Sinai plane attackers.
Sinai Province, a branch of ISIS, said in a statement on October 31 that it had destroyed the plane because of Russian air strikes in Syria.
ISIS also said it was responsible for the multiple shootings and bombings in Paris on November 13 which killed 129 people and wounded hundreds more.
Most of the A321 passengers were Russian tourists flying home from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
Metrojet is the brand name of Kogalymavia, an airline based in western Siberia.
Vladimir Putin said that Russia’s air strikes in Syria “must not only be continued – they must be intensified so that the criminals understand that retribution is inevitable”.
Russian warplanes are supporting Syrian government forces against various rebel groups, including ISIS and other Islamists.
Russia’s military commanders were also at the meeting with Vladimir Putin and the Federal Security Service (FSB) chief.
Vladimir Putin was speaking after separate meetings at the G20 summit in Turkey, with President Barack Obama on November 15, and UK PM David Cameron on November 16.
The Syrian conflict was the focus of their talks.
The Sinai Province militants have operated in northern Sinai for two years, attacking Egyptian security forces, hundreds of whom have died in the violence.
Speaking during a joint session of both houses of parliament President Francois Hollande has said that France is committed to “destroying” ISIS after last week’s deadly attacks.
Francois Holland said he would table a bill to extend the state of emergency declared after the attacks for three months and would suggest changes to the constitution.
France’s military campaign against ISIS in Iraq and Syria will also intensify.
ISIS says it carried out the attacks on bars, restaurants, the Bataclan concert hall and Stade de France in which 129 people died.
Francois Hollande said the constitution needed to be amended as “we need an appropriate tool we can use without having to resort to the state of emergency”.
He said he would travel to meet Presidents Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin in the coming days to discuss action against the group.
US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Paris on November 16 to show support for “America’s oldest friend” against what he called “psychopathic monsters”.
At a G20 summit in Turkey, world leaders promised tighter co-operation in the wake of the attacks.
Barack Obama said the US and France had made a new agreement on intelligence sharing but said US military advisers thought sending ground troops to combat ISIS would be a mistake.
In his address, Francois Hollande reiterated his opposition to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad remaining in power but said “our enemy in Syria is Daesh [ISIS]”.
He promised more resources for the security forces and said the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier would be sent on November 19 to bolster the military campaign against ISIS.
On November 15, French aircraft attacked Raqqa, ISIS stronghold in Syria. French officials said 10 jets had dropped 20 guided bombs targeting sites including a command centre, a recruitment centre for jihadists, a munitions depot and a training camp.
ISIS has issued a statement saying the raid targeted empty locations and that there were no casualties.
According to French officials, a total of 23 people have been arrested and dozens of weapons seized in a series of raids on suspected Islamist militants across France following last week’s attacks in Paris.
A police operation is also reportedly under way in Brussels, Belgium, with reports that one suspect was arrested.
France’s PM Manuel Valls said the attacks were organized from Syria.
He added that the authorities believed new terror attacks were being planned in France and other European countries.
Meanwhile two more Paris attackers were named, along with five already identified. One is confirmed to have entered Greece as a migrant earlier this year.
France is to hold a nationwide minute of silence at midday local time for the victims.
Police have named Brussels-born Salah Abdeslam, 26, as a key suspect, and a manhunt is under way. He was reportedly stopped by officers in the wake of the attacks but then let go.
Meanwhile, French aircraft have attacked Raqqa, the ISIS stronghold in Syria.
ISIS has said it carried out the attacks in the French capital.
Manuel Valls said that France was dealing with a “terrorist army”, rather than a single terrorist group.
“We know that operations were being prepared and are still being prepared, not only against France but other European countries too,” he said.
Manuel Valls said more than 150 raids on militant targets had been carried out in different areas of France on November 16.
Photo AP
“We are making use of the legal framework of the state of emergency to question people who are part of the radical jihadist movement… and all those who advocate hate of the republic,” he said.
Police sources told news agencies that properties in the Paris suburb of Bobigny, as well as the cities of Grenoble, Toulouse and Lyon, had been targeted.
Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said 23 people were arrested and dozens of weapons seized, including a Kalashnikov assault rifle and rocket launchers. More than 100 have been placed under house arrest.
Seven attackers died in the assault on the French capital, most of them after detonating suicide belts.
Five were identified over the weekend.
On November 16, another two were named by the Paris prosecutor as Ahmad al-Mohammad and Samy Amimour.
Ahmad Al-Mohammad is the name on a Syrian passport found with the remains of one of the attackers, though the man’s identity has not yet been verified. What has been confirmed is that his fingerprints match those taken by the Greek authorities after he arrived with migrants on the island of Leros in October 2015.
Samy Amimour was said to be facing terrorism charges in France. He was placed under judicial supervision while under investigation for terrorist conspiracy – he planned to go to Yemen. An international arrest warrant was issued against him when he broke bail in autumn 2013. Three of his relatives were among those detained this morning.
One of the main lines of investigation concerns Molenbeek, which has a reputation as being a haven for jihadists. One of Salah Abdeslam’s brothers, Mohammed, was reportedly arrested there when he returned from Paris.
He remains in custody. Belgian police say they have made a total of seven arrests.
Belgium’s PM Charles Michel said the Belgian authorities would crack down on Molenbeek.
France is currently marking a second day of national mourning. A state of emergency declared by President Francois Hollande remains in force. Thousands of extra police and troops are on the streets of Paris.
French citizen Salah Abdeslam is wanted in connection with the attacks in Paris that left 129 people dead on November 13.
Police have issued a photograph of Salah Abdeslam, 26, is describing him as dangerous.
Seven attackers, two of whom had lived in Belgium, died during a series of assaults in Paris, officials said.
On November 15, French aircraft struck the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa in Syria, hitting four targets, France’s defense ministry said.
Ten fighter jets operating out of French bases in Jordan and the UAE dropped 20 guided bombs on a command centre, recruitment centre for jihadists, a munitions depot and a training camp for fighters, the ministry said.
The attack was carried out in co-ordination with US forces.
President Francois Hollande had described the attacks in Paris as an act of war – and promised that France’s reaction would be pitiless.
French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said the attacks had been prepared “by a group of individuals based in Belgium” who had “benefited from accomplices in France”.
The attackers targeted restaurants, a concert hall and the Stade de France, the country’s main sports stadium.
Paris hospitals have said the official number of dead – not including attackers – remains at 129 people.
Photo Police Nationale
France is marking three days of national mourning. On Sunday, a memorial service was held at Notre Dame cathedral.
Meanwhile panic broke out at the Place de la Republique, where hundreds of people had gathered to honor the victims.
Crowds ran over flowers and candles. Police – who cleared the square – later said people may have mistaken the sound of firecrackers for gunfire.
On November 15, the discovery of a suspected getaway car in Montreuil, east of Paris, fuelled suspicion that at least one suspect had escaped.
French police appealed for information about Salah Abdelslam but warned people not to approach him. Unnamed officials said he was one of three brothers linked to the attack.
The Seat car found in Montreuil is believed to have been used by gunmen who opened fire on people in restaurants on November 13, police say.
A number of AK47 rifles were found in the car, French media quote judicial sources as saying.
The Seat and a VW Polo used by the attackers were rented in Belgium. The Polo was found near the Bataclan concert venue, where 89 people were killed.
One of the Paris attackers lived in Brussels and another in the nearby town of Molenbeek, Belgian prosecutors said on Sunday, without naming either.
A total of seven men had been arrested in Molenbeek, they added. Not all are being held in direct connection with the Paris attacks.
A brother of Salah Abdelslam was said to be among them, while another brother is reported to be one of the seven dead attackers.
The only dead attacker to be named so far is a 29-year-old Frenchman, Ismail Omar Mostefai.
Ismail Omar Mostefai had a criminal record and had been flagged up as a possible Islamist extremist by French intelligence.
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