Kurdish fighters were able to stop an advance by the Islamic terrorist group ISIS into the town of Kobani but could not stop suicide bombers from launching homicide bomber attacks in another Iraqi province.
The bombings happned in the Qara Tappah district in Diyala province. One bomber blew himself up at the gateway to the offices of the main Kurdish political party and two others blew themselves up in cars loaded with explosives minutes later.
The terrorists involved were reportedly foreigners who came to Iraq to fight with ISIS.
The CIA now reports ISIS has a total strength of 31,500 terrorists in Iraq and Syria. The attacks in Diyala follow 45 people being killed in similar attacks around Baghdad the prior day.
Kurdish fighters were able to top the advance into Kobani but ISIS has taken over at least 350 villages close to the main city. At least 150,000 people in the region have fled across the Turkish border.
Islamic terrorist group ISIS has conducted another beheading of a westerner.
The terrorists released a video called “Another Message to America and Its Allies” where it showed news footage of the British Parliament voting to send troops against ISIS. Then the video cuts to UK citizen Alan Henning kneeling on the ground.
“I am Alan Henning,” he says. “Because of our parliament’s decision to attack the Islamic state, I, as a member of the British public, will now pay the price for that decision.”
The video cuts to black during the actual beheading and then shows the body of Henning on the ground after the murder.
“Obama, you have started your aerial bombardment of Shams (Syria), which keeps on striking our people,” the terrorist who committed the murder says, “so it is only right that we continue to strike the neck of your people.”
The group then threatens to kill U.S. Army veteran Peter Kassig.
British Prime Minster David Cameron said the video highlights the depravity of the killers.
“The brutal murder of Alan Henning by ISIL shows just how barbaric and repulsive these terrorists are,” Cameron remarked in a statement following the release of the video. “Alan had gone to Syria to help get aid to people of all faiths in their hour of need. The fact that he was taken hostage when trying to help others and now murdered demonstrates that there are no limits to the depravity of these ISIL terrorists.”
Islamic terrorist group ISIS has begun a campaign of terror in individual towns within their control, beheading a group of 10 people including three women.
The move is to try and stop locals from resisting any actions by ISIS.
“I don’t know why they were arrested or beheaded. Only the Islamic State knows why. They want to scare people,” Rami Abdulrahman, the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told Reuters.
The beheadings took place in Kobani, near the Turkish border, where the Kurds have been frantically fighting against the terrorist group. All three women who were beheaded were Kurds.
Kurdish fighters killed 50 terrorists during fighting during the day. The other terrorists reportedly had to flee the sight of the fighting back into Syria or toward Mosul, Iraq.
Air strikes continued against ISIS during the battle including the first strikes from British forces.
The terrorist group ISIS has lost a key border crossing to Kurdish forces.
The capturing of the border crossing makes it harder for the terrorists to operate on both sides of the Iraqi/Syrian border and the victory against the terrorists was obtained by Kurds on both sides of the border. It was the first time Kurdish forces from both sides of the border worked together in a single assault on the terrorists.
It also marked the first time that a major Sunni group has fought against the terrorists. The Shammar tribe, one of the most influential in the region, proclaimed the terrorists as a group that had to be eliminated.
The leader of the tribe told Reuters they are in full cooperation with groups working to overthrow the terrorists.
“Rabia is completely liberated. All of the Shammar are with the Peshmerga, and there is full cooperation between us,” Abdullah Yawar said.
The road that runs through Rabia is the major route between Syria and Mosul, the largest city in northern Iraq.
A Syrian aircraft has been shot down over the Golan Heights by Israeli defense systems.
The shooting down of the aircraft is the first time since the beginning of the Syrian Civil War that the battle has crossed into Israeli territory in a major way. Until this point, only stray mortar fire had struck Israeli territory.
Israeli Defense Forces say that the plane was a MiG-21 fighter jet and a surface-to-air missile took the plane down. The wreckage of the plane landed in Syria and the pilot reportedly was able to eject and land in Syrian territory.
Syrian government spokesman tried to claim the shooting down of the plane meant Israel was supporting the terrorist group ISIS. World leaders immediately dismissed the Syrian claim as “absurd.”
The United States and Arab allies began a series of airstrikes on the terrorist group ISIS.
The strikes happened inside Syria near the town of Raqqa, the self-proclaimed “capital” for the terrorists.
“I can confirm that U.S. military and partner nation forces are undertaking military action against ISIS terrorists in Syria using a mix of fighter, bomber and Tomahawk Land Attack missiles,” Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby told reporters. “Given that these operations are ongoing, we are not in a position to provide additional details at this time.”
In addition to U.S. forces, aircraft from Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.
Intelligence reports say that most of the 30,000 ISIS terrorists are inside Syria and without strikes inside that country it would be impossible to break the ISIS command structure.
The strikes come just days after 60,000 Syrian Kurds fled to Turkey because of advances from the terrorists.
Observers estimate at least 60,000 Kurds have fled from Syria toward Turkey over a single 24-hour period because of ISIS.
“ISIS came and attacked, and we left with the women, but the rest of the men stayed behind,” 24-year-old Abdullah of Shiran told Reuters. “They killed many people in the villages, cutting their throats. We were terrified that they would cut our throats too.”
Witnesses say that women, children and the elderly were seen fleeing in large groups on foot.
“Islamic State is killing any civilian it finds in a village,” Mustefa Ebdi, the director of local radio station Arta FM, added. “People prefer to flee rather than remain and die. [ISIS wants] to eliminate anything that is Kurdish. This is creating a state of terror.”
Turkish officials reportedly stopped the group at the border and refused to allow them to cross until they confirmed they were fleeing ISIS.
U.N. officials called on world charities to send food and supplies to the region to help the refugees.
A New York man has been charged with actively supporting the Islamic terrorist group ISIS.
Mufid Elfgeeh, 30, is a Yemeni born man who had been living in New York City. Elfgeeh ran a halal food market in the city and used the profits to help fund terrorism activities for the group. He also was arranging for the purchase and shipment of weapons.
Reports say that Elfgeeh attempted to buy guns from undercover FBI agents and worked with another undercover agents to help them travel to Syria to take the weapons to ISIS. He even accompanied an undercover agent to Buffalo, New York to pick up a passport for the trip to Syria.
Most disturbing was plans to murder members of the U.S. military.
“Elfgeeh also plotted to shoot and kill members of the United States military who had returned from Iraq,” prosecutors state. “As part of the plan to kill soldiers, Elfgeeh purchased two handguns equipped with firearm silencers and ammunition from a confidential source.”
Attorney General Eric Holder said this is just one of many operations currently underway.
“We will remain aggressive in identifying and disrupting those who seek to provide support to ISIL and other terrorist groups that are bent on inflicting harm upon Americans,” stated Attorney General Eric Holder, according to USA Today. “We are focused on breaking up these activities on the front end, before supporters of ISIL can make good on plans to travel to the region or recruit sympathizers to this cause.”
Syria has suddenly revealed on the eve of potential airstrikes in its country against ISIS that it has another chemical weapons laboratory.
The lab was built specifically to produce the deadly chemical ricin for chemical weapons.
Three sources told Reuters that the Syrian government admitted the location of three new facilities to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. The revelation of the plants backs up claims from world leaders that Syria was not completely honest with OPCW and the UN regarding their chemical weapons stash and abilities.
Damascus had agreed last year to eliminate its chemical weapons program following world condemnation for an attack on Ghouta where hundreds were killed by sarin gas.
The OPCW described the incident as a “discrepancy” in the initial declaration by Syria to the organization. Syria claims that they could never let inspectors in because of fighting between rebels and government troops.
Syria had blamed sarin attacks on rebel forces and said they never had the capability to produce the rockets needed for the weapons.
“Syria will argue that the facilities were not revealed earlier because they were in a rush when they first had to report them,” said one diplomatic source. “They had said the ricin was for medical purposes, but we don’t believe that’s true.”
The OPCW is also investigating a report that Syrian government troops have dropped chlorine “barrel” bombs this year.
A Colorado teenager is facing up to five years in prison after she admitted she was attempting to reach Syria so she could help the Islamic terrorist group ISIS.
Shannon Conley, 19, had been turned into police last fall after attending Faith Bible Church in Arvada, Colorado. The attendees at the church felt something troubling concerning the young woman. Police then investigated her on several occasions.
According to reports, the young woman met a man online identified as 32-year-old ISIS terrorist Yousr Mouelhi and the two began a courtship through the video chat service Skype. She asked her father if she could marry Mouelhi and he refused so she made plans to head to Syria without her family’s knowledge.
The father called police when he discovered his daughter had a plane ticket to Turkey. She was taken into custody at Denver International Airport.
Conley had trained as a nurse’s aide and admitted to investigators she was going to work at a jihadist camp as a nurse. She also said she wanted to wage jihad against the United States.
The sentencing for Conley was scheduled for January while she undergoes psychological evaluation.