Tag Archives: ISIS

U.S. President Obama to Meet with Russian President Putin

In their first face-to-face meeting in nearly a year, President Obama and President Putin will meet in New York on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly next week.

The meeting was at Putin’s request and officials believe the discussion will be over the situations in Ukraine and Syria. Press Secretary Josh Earnest reported to Fox News that Obama plans to warn Putin against boosting support for Bashar Assad and urge Putin to make more of a contribution in the fight against ISIS. President Obama also plans on using the meeting as a way to figure out Russia’s intentions in Ukraine.

“Given the situations in Ukraine and Syria, despite our profound differences with Moscow, the president believes that it would be irresponsible not to test whether we can make progress through high-level engagement with the Russians,” a senior administration official added.

However, Russian officials have stated that President Putin wants to focus the conversation on Syria.

Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters: “Of course, the primary topic will be Syria.” Asked whether Ukraine would be discussed, he said: “Well, if time allows.”

Tensions have been high between the United States and Russia after the U.S. and other Western countries imposed sanctions on Russia last year. The sanctions came after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine. Russia continues to deny that they are militarily involved in Ukraine.

The request for a meeting comes days after news agencies reported that Russia was building two more military facilities located on Syria’s Mediterranean coast.

Dozens Killed in Yemen Mosque Suicide Bomb Attack; ISIS Claims Responsibility

Dozens have been killed and more have been injured in a bombing at a crowded mosque on Thursday, and officials expect the death and injury tolls to rise.

The Balili mosque, located in Yemen’s capital of Sanaa, was hosting several worshippers who were saying prayers to mark the Muslim holy day of Eid al-Adha at the time of the two explosions. Officials reported that the suicide bomber housed a bomb in his shoe, which he detonated, and then ran into the middle of the crowd to detonate the second bomb. Security also found two other devices in the bathroom that had not detonated.

“We found a shoe bomb and explosives hidden in underwear and abandoned in the toilet,” said Adnane Khaled, the head of security at the mosque.

The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack on Twitter. The mosque is located in an area controlled by Shiite rebels, which ISIS, a Sunni militant group, views as heretics. This attack is the sixth time in three months that the mosque has been a target.

The attack comes two days after Yemen’s President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi returned from exile. He had fled the country in March when Houthi rebels made gains.

The United Nations estimates that thousands of civilians have been killed in Yemen since March. The number varies between 2,200 and 5,000.

U.S. to Take 100,000 Refugees A Year by 2017

At a Sunday news conference with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Berlin regarding Europe and the increasing pressure from refugees who are fleeing Syria’s civil war and other Middle Eastern wars, John Kerry announced that the Obama administration will increase the number of refugees the United States takes in each year.  

This move by the Obama administration will increase the number of refugees each year to 100,000 by 2017, a significant increase over the current annual cap of 70,000, Secretary of State John Kerry said. This still falls short of the global demand for resettlement from people who continue to flee turmoil in Syria Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries.

“This step that I am announcing today, I believe, is in keeping with the best tradition of America as a land of second chances and a beacon of hope,” Mr. Kerry said, adding that it “will be accompanied by additional financial contributions” for the relief effort.

This plan is not without controversy.   While all refugees would be subject to background checks, a few  Republican lawmakers expressed skepticism about the government’s ability to ensure militants posing as refugees do not infiltrate the U.S.

“ISIS and other terrorist groups have made it abundantly clear that they will use the refugee crisis to try to enter the United States,” wrote Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, in a join statement issued Sunday.

“Now, the Obama administration wants to bring in an additional ten thousand Syrians without a concrete and foolproof plan to ensure that terrorists won’t be able to enter the country. The administration has essentially given the American people a ‘trust me.’ That isn’t good enough,” they said.

The American response is unlikely to relieve much of the pressure on European countries, particularly Germany, which continues to be the most desirable destination for most of the migrants. In the absence of a unified policy, the refugees have been left to find their own way across the continent.

U.S. Ground Troops Back in Iraq

American troops are back on the ground in Iraq.

Around 300 soldiers from the 5-73 Squadron of the 82nd Airborne Division of the Army are now on the ground at an old Iraqi military base north of Baghdad.  Many of the troops are now in their fourth or later deployment to the region.

The troops are back for the first time since 2011.

Military officials say the troops are there officially to train the Iraqi Army again in the manner they did before leaving the country the first time.  Many of the American troops told reporters they were shocked at the condition of the Iraqi military upon their return.

“It’s pretty incredible,” Lt. Col. John Schwemmer said. “I was kind of surprised. What training did they have after we left?”

However, one Iraqi military official has told the Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed news service the troops are there to fight with them.

“The new forces’ mission does not appear to be training the Iraqi army or the tribes fighting with me. We expect that they will provide direct support in the upcoming battle to retake Ramadi,” the official said.

Mahmoud Hussein Al-Alwani, leader of a clan in Anbar fighting ISIS, stated a similar view.

“The American fighting force’s arrival to Anbar gives a major military momentum to combat troops, because this force is armed better and has better experience fighting battles in cities,” he said.

“European Day of Action for Refugees” Brings Protests

Saturday marked a day of protests across Europe after a Facebook-driven activist campaign called for a “day of action” on behalf of refugees.

“We can’t continue to allow thousands to die trying to reach Europe as they search for safety, hope and the chance to live another day,” the Facebook page states.  “We can’t stay silent anymore as our politicians and the media are stigmatizing these men, women and children as threats and burdens. We can’t let our governments close all our borders and build fences to keep people in need out. That’s not what Europe should be about.”

Marchers in London worked their way to 10 Downing Street to call on Prime Minister David Cameron to accept more than the 20,000 Syrians he agreed to take over the next five years.  The group held signs that read things like “Don’t Bomb Syria,” “Refugees welcome” and “Solidarity with refugees.”

Protests took place in Denmark, Austria, Romania, Greece, France and Finland.

Meanwhile, debate in Washington raged on Sunday morning talk shows about the role the U.S. can play in accepting Syrian refugees.

Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut suggested the U.S. could take in 50,000 refugees.

“It doesn’t stand to reason that Germany is going to take 800,000 and the U.S. has only taken 1,500,” he told “Fox News Sunday.” “If we want credibility in the region, we’ve got to be seen as a partner in trying to solve this humanitarian crisis.”

Wisconsin Republican Senator Ron Johnson said that any help should not compromise national security.

“It is not the fanciful to think that ISIS may be assaulting some of those refugees with some of their operatives,” he told “Fox News Sunday.” “We are taking shortcuts in terms of vetting process. …  . And we need to be first concerned about our own national security. So we are a compassionate nation, but we’ve got to fully vet the individuals that we would take in.”

Israel Asks Britain to Help Stop Militant Islam

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in London visiting with British Prime Minister David Cameron and is asking him to bring the weight of the British military to the Middle East to stop ISIS.

“The Middle East is disintegrating under the twin forces of militant Islam: The militant Sunnis led by ISIS and the militant Shiites led by Iran,” said Netanyahu.

“And I believe that we can cooperate in practical ways to roll back the tide of militant Islam both in the Middle East and in Africa altogether.”

Cameron told reporters after the meeting that Britain “remains staunch in our defense of Israel’s right to exist and to defend itself.”

Netanyahu spoke with leaders of Britain’s Jewish community and told them despite any anti-Semitic comments or actions that may come against them, they should never apologize for defending Israel.

“This is an important struggle for public opinion and it has to be done with determination while saying in a clear voice that Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East, and is standing at the front in the struggle against radical Islam,” he said.

The meetings came as anti-Israeli protesters tracked Netanyahu’s every move and presented the British government with a petition demanding Netanyahu be arrested as a war criminal.

Russian Build-Up At Syrian Base Concerning U.S., NATO, Israel

A sudden build-up of Russian forces at a base in Syria is raising an alarm in the halls of power in the U.S. and Israel along with commanders at NATO.

The Russian naval base in Tartus has been flooded with new troops and units.  Two tank landing ships arrived at the base along with four transport aircraft with various pieces of equipment.  Russian aircraft have also been using a joint airbase in Latakia in northwestern Syria.

Officials within the Obama administration say they believe the Russian move has nothing to do with their stated goal of taking out ISIS, but keeping their ally Bashir al-Assad in power.  Moshe Ya’alon, the Israeli defense minister, echoed the administration’s views.

“The Russians’ intentions are to keep Assad in power, not to fight ISIL,” one administration official told Bloomberg. “They’ve shown their cards now.”

Even the President has hinted he sees the situation the same way.

“I think they get a sense that the Assad regime is losing a grip over greater and greater swaths of territory inside of Syria [to Sunni jihadist militias] and that the prospects for a [Sunni jihadist] takeover or rout of the Syrian regime is not imminent but becomes a greater and greater threat by the day,” President Obama told the New York Times. “That offers us an opportunity to have a serious conversation with them.”

NATO’s Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, said Russia’s move destabilizes the situation.

“I am concerned about reports about the increased Russian military presence in Syria,” Stoltenberg told reporters during a visit to Prague.  “That will not contribute to solving the conflict. I think it is important to now support all efforts to find a political solution to the conflict in Syria.”

Russian leaders are dismissing the concerns of the world.  Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marie Zakharova called the concern “strange hysteria.”

Germany Confirms ISIS Used Mustard Gas in Attack

Germany’s foreign intelligence service (BND) has confirmed that Islamic terrorist group ISIS used chemical weapons during an attack on Kurds in Iraq.

BND officials say that blood samples taken from Kurds wounded during clashes with ISIS and confirmed the traces of the poison.

The confirmation by German officials follows reports from the international humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders that four patients were treated at a hospital in northern Syria from exposure to mustard gas.  They said that two parents and their daughters showed up an hour after an attack with symptoms of a chemical attack:  respiratory difficulties, inflamed skin, red eyes and conjunctivitis.  The symptoms continued to worsen even with treatment in the following few hours.

Fox News posted graphic photos they claim show the effects of the gas while quoting an official with a private military intelligence organization about the use of chemicals by ISIS.

“The Kurdish forces have been attacked multiple times with chemical weapons – the last time was a week ago,” said Tony Schiena of MOSAIC. “They are horrified, not only by the Islamic State’s use of mustard gas, but also chlorine, as well as another unidentified chemical agent they were told by foreign advisors could be sarin.”

The U.S. Defense Department wouldn’t confirm ISIS using mustard gas but said they have reviewed reports.

“While we will not comment on intelligence or operational matters, let us be clear: Any use by any party, be it state or non-state actor, of a chemical as a weapon of any kind is an abhorrent act,” Pentagon spokeswoman Cmdr. Elissa Smith said. “Given the alleged behavior of ISIL and other such groups in the region, any such flagrant disregard for international standards and norms is reprehensible.”

“More than 60 partners are contributing to this coalition along the key lines of effort including military support, countering ISIL’s finances, countering foreign fighters flows, exposing ISIL’s true nature, and providing humanitarian support,” Smith added.

Britain Kills Home Grown Jihadists in Syria

Two British citizens who fled to Syria to join with the terrorist group ISIS have been killed in an airstrike by British troops.

It marked the first time the British government has targeted terrorists who grew up in the UK.

Reyaad Khan and Ruhul Amin were killed when a Royal Air Force drone targeted their convoy near Raqqa on August 21st.  The drone was controlled either at RAF Waddington or by a British crew operating at a US airbase in Nevada.  

The strike was targeted at Khan; British officials say that Amin just had the bad luck of being in the vehicle with Khan.

Khan was shown last year in a recruitment video for the terrorist group.  He had been working to attempt to radicalize more British youths and bring them to Syria to join ISIS.  

A third Briton who had joined the terrorist group, Junaid Hussain, was killed in a separate US airstrike coordinated by the Brits.

“It was necessary and proportionate for the individual self-defense of the UK,” British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Monday.

“Both Junaid Hussain and Reyaad Khan were British nationals based in Syria who were involved in actively recruiting ISIS sympathizers and seeking to orchestrate specific and barbaric attacks against the west, including directing a number of planned terrorist attacks right here in Britain, such as plots to attack high-profile public commemorations, including those taking place this summer. We should be under no illusion. Their intention was the murder of British citizens.”

The slain terrorists reportedly had plotted to carry about attacks at major British events that were thwarted by government operatives.  One even targeted Queen Elizabeth at an event in May.

“We took this action because there was no alternative. In this area, there is no government we can work with. We have no military on the ground to detain those preparing plots,” Cameron added.  “And there was nothing to suggest that Reyaad Khan would ever leave Syria or desist from his desire to murder us at home. So we had no way of preventing his planned attacks on our country without taking direct action.”

Yemeni Mosque Bombing Kills 20

A suicide bomber who was claimed by ISIS and a car bomb have killed 20 people in Yemen’s capital city.

The suicide bomber detonated at the mosque in Sanaa during the evening call to prayer.  The car bomb exploded outside the entrance of the mosque as the victims of the first bombing were being carried outside to emergency personnel.

A message on social media from ISIS claimed the attacks.

Yemen has been embroiled in a civil war since a rebel group loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh captured the capital city.  The rebels have been the subject of Saudi Arabian led and U.S. backed air strikes.

The violence is also starting to be aimed at relief workers and those trying to help the victimized civilian population.

Two Red Cross members were gunned down in the Yemeni province of Amran by an attacker on Wednesday.

“Two of our colleagues were shot and killed in their car …as they were traveling back from Saada to Sanaa,” spokesman Adnan Hizam said from the Yemeni capital.

The Red Cross had stopped work in the southern city of Aden after gunmen stormed their offices.