marine1
Honorary Master
They will have to commit ground troops. Its inevitable.
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LazyLion
King of de Jungle
Yep, if they want to do the job properly.
OrbitalDawn
Ulysses Everett McGill
Dutch bikers fighting ISIS now. 
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/10/...-biker-gang-to-fight-islamic-state-jihadists/
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/10/...-biker-gang-to-fight-islamic-state-jihadists/
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
MORE THAN 600 KILLED IN KOBANE GROUND FIGHTING: MONITOR
Ground fighting alone has killed more than 600 combatants since Islamic State group jihadists launched an offensive on the Syrian Kurdish enclave of Kobane a month ago, a monitoring group said Thursday.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said its toll did not include the "several hundred" IS fighters that the Pentagon says have been killed in US-led air strikes in and around Kobane.
Between September 16 and midnight (2100 GMT) on Wednesday a total of 662 people were killed in ground fighting, said the Britain-based monitoring group, which has a wide network of sources inside Syria.
They included 20 civilians, Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.
IS lost 374 of its militants, while 268 people have been killed fighting on the Kurdish side, he said.
Source : Sapa-AFP /kd
Date : 16 Oct 2014 09:40
Ground fighting alone has killed more than 600 combatants since Islamic State group jihadists launched an offensive on the Syrian Kurdish enclave of Kobane a month ago, a monitoring group said Thursday.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said its toll did not include the "several hundred" IS fighters that the Pentagon says have been killed in US-led air strikes in and around Kobane.
Between September 16 and midnight (2100 GMT) on Wednesday a total of 662 people were killed in ground fighting, said the Britain-based monitoring group, which has a wide network of sources inside Syria.
They included 20 civilians, Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.
IS lost 374 of its militants, while 268 people have been killed fighting on the Kurdish side, he said.
Source : Sapa-AFP /kd
Date : 16 Oct 2014 09:40
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
ISLAMIC STATE LOSES GROUND IN KOBANE AMID HEAVY AIRSTRIKES
The Islamic State militia was retreating Thursday from areas of western Kobane, a key Kurdish town on the border with Turkey, as the jihadists faced a combination of coalition airstrikes and attacks by Kurdish fighters.
But US officials have warned Kobane, where fighting against the Islamic State group has been ongoing for a month, could still be overrun by the jihadists.
"It's important for people to understand: Kobane could still fall," Admiral John Kirby, Pentagon spokesman, said on Wednesday.
Kirby said it was not a strategic imperative to save the city but that the Islamic State continued to send fighters to Kobane, giving the coalition more opportunities to strike at the group. Nearly 40 airstrikes have been carried out this week.
Kurdish official say they are running low on ammunition, weapons, food and medical supplies.
"All essential supplies like bandages, antibiotics, anesthesia are running out," Idriss Nassan, an official in the Kurdish administration in Kobane, told dpa.
If the Islamic State captures the entire area, it would have a continuous stretch of land from western Iraq deeper into Syria, with more positions along the border with Turkey.
The only supply line to Kobane, coming from Turkey, remain largely closed, as Ankara hesitates about its role in the US-led coalition against the Islamic State.
The Turkish government has said its wants the US to promise action against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as a condition for its support for the coalition.
Ankara also remains wary of the Kurdish fighters, who have linked to the armed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which Turkey and several Western countries considers a terrorist organization.
Officials said Thursday an airstrike by the US-led coalition in northern Syria accidently killed a civilian and Kurdish fighters from the People's Protection Units (YPG) battling the jihadists.
Nassan said the coalition airstrike, which killed several Kurds, including an elderly woman, was intended to hit Islamic State fighters.
The Britain based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the allied planes carried out six strikes on the eastern sector of Kobane, as fighting raged between Kurds and the Islamic State group.
The watchdog said 662 people have died since the clashes began on September 16, among them 20 civilians, 268 Kurdish fighters and 374 from the Islamic State.
The Danish Defence Ministry said its F-16 fighter jets conducted their first mission in northern Iraq since being deployed in the region earlier this month. The jets provided air support to ground forces but did not conduct any strikes, the ministry said.
Source : Sapa-dpa /kd
Date : 16 Oct 2014 11:16
The Islamic State militia was retreating Thursday from areas of western Kobane, a key Kurdish town on the border with Turkey, as the jihadists faced a combination of coalition airstrikes and attacks by Kurdish fighters.
But US officials have warned Kobane, where fighting against the Islamic State group has been ongoing for a month, could still be overrun by the jihadists.
"It's important for people to understand: Kobane could still fall," Admiral John Kirby, Pentagon spokesman, said on Wednesday.
Kirby said it was not a strategic imperative to save the city but that the Islamic State continued to send fighters to Kobane, giving the coalition more opportunities to strike at the group. Nearly 40 airstrikes have been carried out this week.
Kurdish official say they are running low on ammunition, weapons, food and medical supplies.
"All essential supplies like bandages, antibiotics, anesthesia are running out," Idriss Nassan, an official in the Kurdish administration in Kobane, told dpa.
If the Islamic State captures the entire area, it would have a continuous stretch of land from western Iraq deeper into Syria, with more positions along the border with Turkey.
The only supply line to Kobane, coming from Turkey, remain largely closed, as Ankara hesitates about its role in the US-led coalition against the Islamic State.
The Turkish government has said its wants the US to promise action against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as a condition for its support for the coalition.
Ankara also remains wary of the Kurdish fighters, who have linked to the armed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which Turkey and several Western countries considers a terrorist organization.
Officials said Thursday an airstrike by the US-led coalition in northern Syria accidently killed a civilian and Kurdish fighters from the People's Protection Units (YPG) battling the jihadists.
Nassan said the coalition airstrike, which killed several Kurds, including an elderly woman, was intended to hit Islamic State fighters.
The Britain based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the allied planes carried out six strikes on the eastern sector of Kobane, as fighting raged between Kurds and the Islamic State group.
The watchdog said 662 people have died since the clashes began on September 16, among them 20 civilians, 268 Kurdish fighters and 374 from the Islamic State.
The Danish Defence Ministry said its F-16 fighter jets conducted their first mission in northern Iraq since being deployed in the region earlier this month. The jets provided air support to ground forces but did not conduct any strikes, the ministry said.
Source : Sapa-dpa /kd
Date : 16 Oct 2014 11:16
Pitbull
Verboten
Heaven must be running out of Virgins pretty fast at this pace. That's 26k virgins in just one month
AthenianOwl
Executive Member
- Joined
- Feb 9, 2009
- Messages
- 8,897
- Reaction score
- 4
Heaven must be running out of Virgins pretty fast at this pace. That's 26k virgins in just one month
Send donkeys to Heaven.
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
ATTACKS IN BAGHDAD KILL AT LEAST 50 PEOPLE
By SINAN SALAHEDDIN
Associated Press
Militants unleashed a wave of attacks in Iraq on Thursday, mainly targeting Shiite areas in and around the capital of Baghdad, killing at least 50 people and wounding dozens, authorities said.
The Islamic State group has overrun vast areas in western and northern Iraq as well as parts of neighboring Syria, and has vowed to destabilize and eventually take over Baghdad.
It claimed responsibility for the day's deadliest strike. In that attack, two parked car bombs exploded simultaneously in a commercial area in the northern Dolaie neighborhood, killing 14 civilians and wounding 34 others, a police officer said.
Residents angered by the failure of government forces to protect the neighborhood threw stones at police checkpoints and police cars that arrived to respond to the blasts. That prompted police to withdraw from the area.
Senior Iraqi officials have tried to reassure residents that the capital is too well-protected for militants to capture, even as they struggle to stop frequent near daily deadly attacks.
Islamic State fighters say they have a foothold inside Baghdad. They have claimed several large-scale bombings in the city recently, particularly in the Shiite districts in Baghdad.
The group said the Dolaie attack targeted Iraqi soldiers and Shiite militiamen allied with them. The authenticity of the claim could not be independently verified, but it was posted on websites frequently used by the group.
Violence that bore the hallmarks of the group struck elsewhere too.
In the eastern neighborhood of Talibiyah, a suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden car into a police checkpoint, killing at least 12 people, another police officer said. The dead in that attack included seven policemen and five civilians, he added. At least 28 other people were wounded.
Six other civilians were killed and 16 wounded in another car bomb explosion on a commercial street in the northern Hurriyah district, police said.
And in the northern Shula neighborhood, six civilians were killed and 18 wounded when mortar rounds rained down on a residential area, police added.
Shortly before sunset, police said a car bomb explosion at the Shiite part of Mahmoudiya town killed seven people and wounded 12 others. Mahmoudiya is 30 kilometers (20 miles) south of Baghdad. A roadside bomb also hit an army patrol just south of Baghdad, killing two soldiers and wounding four others.
Yet another bomb exploded near shops in downtown Baghdad, killing three people and wounding four others, said police.
Medical officials confirmed the causality figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to release information to the media.
Thursday's explosions have brought the death toll from attacks since Sunday to at least 162 people, mostly in Baghdad, according to an Associated Press tally.
--
Associated Press Writers Murtada Faraj and Sameer N. Yacoub contributed to this report from Baghdad.
Source : Sapa-AP /ml
Date : 16 Oct 2014 20:06
By SINAN SALAHEDDIN
Associated Press
Militants unleashed a wave of attacks in Iraq on Thursday, mainly targeting Shiite areas in and around the capital of Baghdad, killing at least 50 people and wounding dozens, authorities said.
The Islamic State group has overrun vast areas in western and northern Iraq as well as parts of neighboring Syria, and has vowed to destabilize and eventually take over Baghdad.
It claimed responsibility for the day's deadliest strike. In that attack, two parked car bombs exploded simultaneously in a commercial area in the northern Dolaie neighborhood, killing 14 civilians and wounding 34 others, a police officer said.
Residents angered by the failure of government forces to protect the neighborhood threw stones at police checkpoints and police cars that arrived to respond to the blasts. That prompted police to withdraw from the area.
Senior Iraqi officials have tried to reassure residents that the capital is too well-protected for militants to capture, even as they struggle to stop frequent near daily deadly attacks.
Islamic State fighters say they have a foothold inside Baghdad. They have claimed several large-scale bombings in the city recently, particularly in the Shiite districts in Baghdad.
The group said the Dolaie attack targeted Iraqi soldiers and Shiite militiamen allied with them. The authenticity of the claim could not be independently verified, but it was posted on websites frequently used by the group.
Violence that bore the hallmarks of the group struck elsewhere too.
In the eastern neighborhood of Talibiyah, a suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden car into a police checkpoint, killing at least 12 people, another police officer said. The dead in that attack included seven policemen and five civilians, he added. At least 28 other people were wounded.
Six other civilians were killed and 16 wounded in another car bomb explosion on a commercial street in the northern Hurriyah district, police said.
And in the northern Shula neighborhood, six civilians were killed and 18 wounded when mortar rounds rained down on a residential area, police added.
Shortly before sunset, police said a car bomb explosion at the Shiite part of Mahmoudiya town killed seven people and wounded 12 others. Mahmoudiya is 30 kilometers (20 miles) south of Baghdad. A roadside bomb also hit an army patrol just south of Baghdad, killing two soldiers and wounding four others.
Yet another bomb exploded near shops in downtown Baghdad, killing three people and wounding four others, said police.
Medical officials confirmed the causality figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to release information to the media.
Thursday's explosions have brought the death toll from attacks since Sunday to at least 162 people, mostly in Baghdad, according to an Associated Press tally.
--
Associated Press Writers Murtada Faraj and Sameer N. Yacoub contributed to this report from Baghdad.
Source : Sapa-AP /ml
Date : 16 Oct 2014 20:06
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
ISLAMIC STATE CAPTURES WARPLANES IN SYRIA, MONITORING GROUP SAYS
Islamic State militants have seized three warplanes from the Syrian military, a monitoring group says.
The jihadists are being trained by former Iraqi military officers to operate the jets - which are believed to be MiG-21 and -23s - at a military airport in the northern Syrian province of Aleppo, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says.
The Britain-based observatory, citing local residents, says at least one such aircraft has been seen flying at a low altitude in the area.
Source : Sapa-dpa /kd
Date : 17 Oct 2014 11:36
Islamic State militants have seized three warplanes from the Syrian military, a monitoring group says.
The jihadists are being trained by former Iraqi military officers to operate the jets - which are believed to be MiG-21 and -23s - at a military airport in the northern Syrian province of Aleppo, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says.
The Britain-based observatory, citing local residents, says at least one such aircraft has been seen flying at a low altitude in the area.
Source : Sapa-dpa /kd
Date : 17 Oct 2014 11:36
Dave
Honorary Master
Hmm, I wouldn't like to work out the life expectancy of those IS pilots the first time they make a real flight and are noticed by a western fighter jet in the air, I wonder if they think they'll get to meet their virgins quicker with an AMRAAM up their tail pipe
.
ToxicBunny
Oi! Leave me out of this...
Its very simple in my opinion... a few decent fighter jet from the west patrol the area... when those planes go up, they get shot down, and the airport they launched from gets bombed to shyte and back.
marine1
Honorary Master
As long as they are fighting each other and not the good guys, who cares. Let them battle it out with each other.
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
US DROPS ARMS, AMMUNITION TO KURDS BATTLING IS IN KOBANE
The American military airdropped weapons, ammunition and medical supplies Sunday to Kurds fighting the Islamic State group in the flashpoint Syrian town of Kobane, in a move that could anger ally Turkey.
It is the first time the US has made airdrops to Kurdish fighters defending Kobane and it represents an escalation in Washington's efforts to support Syrian opposition forces against both IS jihadists and the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Kurdish forces have been under IS assault for more than a month in Kobane, which is being battled over under the gaze of the world's media massed just across the border in Turkey. The Kurds there were in "specific" and "urgent" need of resupply, a senior US administration official said.
Three C-130 cargo aircraft carried out what US military Central Command (CENTCOM) called "multiple" successful airdrops of supplies in the vicinity of Kobane, including small-arms weapons, provided by Kurdish authorities in Iraq.
The aircraft faced no resistance from the air or the ground. They were not accompanied by fighter jets and exited the area safely, a senior Obama administration official said. The official did to rule out a repeat operation if needed, possibly in the near future.
The supplies were "intended to enable continued resistance against ISIL's attempts to overtake Kobane," CENTCOM said in a statement, using an alternative acronym for the Islamic State group which has overrun large areas of Iraq and Syria in a brutal and effective campaign.
The airdrops, which officials said were made in 27 bundles, came after Islamic State fighters reportedly took heavy losses on Sunday from continued air strikes conducted by US-led coalition forces.
One senior US administration official said that Kurdish fighters had put up an "impressive" effort in the face of the emboldened IS organization, but cautioned that Kobane could still fall to the militants and the security situation was "fluid."
Nevertheless, "hundreds" of IS fighters had been killed in the campaign for Kobane and "scores" of pieces of equipment and positions destroyed, the official said.
Washington and its Western allies have been pressing Turkey to take a more direct role in confronting the IS group in Kobane. But Ankara is reluctant to intervene militarily or to arm the Kurds, who have been historic foes demanding a separate state including parts of southeastern Turkey.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday again rejected calls for his country to arm the main Kurdish party in Syria, describing the group as a terrorist organization.
Asked whether the Turkish government was informed beforehand of the resupply drop, a senior administration official in Washington said President Barack Obama spoke to Erdogan on Saturday "and was able to notify him of our intent to do this and importance we put on it."
The official added: "We understand the longstanding Turkish concern with the range of groups, including Kurdish groups, they have been engaged in conflict with and in peace talks with."
However, the official said, the Islamic State organization was "a common enemy" for the United States and Turkey.
Washington had been in contact with Ankara in recent days to stress the urgency of the need to resupply Kurdish fighters in Kobane.
The airdrops were the fastest way to get supplies to them, one senior administration official said, "and an opportunity to strike a blow against ISIL. When we see opportunities to target ISIL we will take them."
The IS group has poured resources into Kobane, giving the US-led coalition numerous targets to hit, an administration official said.
Separately, American-led warplanes launched 11 air strikes near Kobane on Saturday and Sunday, CENTCOM said, helping Kurdish fighters repulse a new IS attempt to cut their supply lines from Turkey.
So far, US forces have conducted more than 135 air strikes against IS in Kobane alone.
While the resupply of Kurds in Kobane was "urgent," a senior administration official in Washington said, "of course the best way we are supporting them is with air strikes.
"We have seen our air strikes have an effect on ISIL. We've seen those air strikes have an effect on the battlefield. But ultimately, we want to see those fighting bravely on the ground have the support they need."
The US military says that the air strikes have slowed the IS advance in Kobane and from Saturday into Sunday morning, 31 IS militants died in the battle, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based monitoring group.
Source : Sapa-AFP /mJs
Date : 20 Oct 2014 08:23
The American military airdropped weapons, ammunition and medical supplies Sunday to Kurds fighting the Islamic State group in the flashpoint Syrian town of Kobane, in a move that could anger ally Turkey.
It is the first time the US has made airdrops to Kurdish fighters defending Kobane and it represents an escalation in Washington's efforts to support Syrian opposition forces against both IS jihadists and the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Kurdish forces have been under IS assault for more than a month in Kobane, which is being battled over under the gaze of the world's media massed just across the border in Turkey. The Kurds there were in "specific" and "urgent" need of resupply, a senior US administration official said.
Three C-130 cargo aircraft carried out what US military Central Command (CENTCOM) called "multiple" successful airdrops of supplies in the vicinity of Kobane, including small-arms weapons, provided by Kurdish authorities in Iraq.
The aircraft faced no resistance from the air or the ground. They were not accompanied by fighter jets and exited the area safely, a senior Obama administration official said. The official did to rule out a repeat operation if needed, possibly in the near future.
The supplies were "intended to enable continued resistance against ISIL's attempts to overtake Kobane," CENTCOM said in a statement, using an alternative acronym for the Islamic State group which has overrun large areas of Iraq and Syria in a brutal and effective campaign.
The airdrops, which officials said were made in 27 bundles, came after Islamic State fighters reportedly took heavy losses on Sunday from continued air strikes conducted by US-led coalition forces.
One senior US administration official said that Kurdish fighters had put up an "impressive" effort in the face of the emboldened IS organization, but cautioned that Kobane could still fall to the militants and the security situation was "fluid."
Nevertheless, "hundreds" of IS fighters had been killed in the campaign for Kobane and "scores" of pieces of equipment and positions destroyed, the official said.
Washington and its Western allies have been pressing Turkey to take a more direct role in confronting the IS group in Kobane. But Ankara is reluctant to intervene militarily or to arm the Kurds, who have been historic foes demanding a separate state including parts of southeastern Turkey.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday again rejected calls for his country to arm the main Kurdish party in Syria, describing the group as a terrorist organization.
Asked whether the Turkish government was informed beforehand of the resupply drop, a senior administration official in Washington said President Barack Obama spoke to Erdogan on Saturday "and was able to notify him of our intent to do this and importance we put on it."
The official added: "We understand the longstanding Turkish concern with the range of groups, including Kurdish groups, they have been engaged in conflict with and in peace talks with."
However, the official said, the Islamic State organization was "a common enemy" for the United States and Turkey.
Washington had been in contact with Ankara in recent days to stress the urgency of the need to resupply Kurdish fighters in Kobane.
The airdrops were the fastest way to get supplies to them, one senior administration official said, "and an opportunity to strike a blow against ISIL. When we see opportunities to target ISIL we will take them."
The IS group has poured resources into Kobane, giving the US-led coalition numerous targets to hit, an administration official said.
Separately, American-led warplanes launched 11 air strikes near Kobane on Saturday and Sunday, CENTCOM said, helping Kurdish fighters repulse a new IS attempt to cut their supply lines from Turkey.
So far, US forces have conducted more than 135 air strikes against IS in Kobane alone.
While the resupply of Kurds in Kobane was "urgent," a senior administration official in Washington said, "of course the best way we are supporting them is with air strikes.
"We have seen our air strikes have an effect on ISIL. We've seen those air strikes have an effect on the battlefield. But ultimately, we want to see those fighting bravely on the ground have the support they need."
The US military says that the air strikes have slowed the IS advance in Kobane and from Saturday into Sunday morning, 31 IS militants died in the battle, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based monitoring group.
Source : Sapa-AFP /mJs
Date : 20 Oct 2014 08:23
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
AUSTRALIA TO DEPLOY 200 SPECIAL FORCES IN IRAQ
Australia will soon deploy 200 special forces troops in Iraq to advise and assist Iraqi security forces a month after the Australians were sent to the Middle East.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said in a statement from Baghdad on Monday that she had secured the necessary legal guarantees to go ahead with the deployment of the elite troops.
The Australian special forces arrived a month ago in the United Arab Emirates to participate in the coalition put together to battle the Islamic State group.
At the same time, Australia also sent six F/A-18F Super Hornet jet fighters which are flying almost daily combat missions against Islamic State targets in northern Iraq.
Source : Sapa-AP /gm
Date : 19 Oct 2014 22:55
Australia will soon deploy 200 special forces troops in Iraq to advise and assist Iraqi security forces a month after the Australians were sent to the Middle East.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said in a statement from Baghdad on Monday that she had secured the necessary legal guarantees to go ahead with the deployment of the elite troops.
The Australian special forces arrived a month ago in the United Arab Emirates to participate in the coalition put together to battle the Islamic State group.
At the same time, Australia also sent six F/A-18F Super Hornet jet fighters which are flying almost daily combat missions against Islamic State targets in northern Iraq.
Source : Sapa-AP /gm
Date : 19 Oct 2014 22:55
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
US ARMS DROP WILL 'HELP GREATLY': SYRIA KURD FIGHTERS
A US airdrop of weapons will "help greatly" Kurdish fighters battling Islamic State group jihadists for the Syrian town of Kobane, a spokesman for the Kurdish forces said Monday.
Redur Xelil, spokesman for the People's Protection Units (YPG), confirmed the weapons delivery and said it would "help greatly" and have a "positive impact on military operations against Daesh (IS)."
Source : Sapa-AFP /kd
Date : 20 Oct 2014 10:30
A US airdrop of weapons will "help greatly" Kurdish fighters battling Islamic State group jihadists for the Syrian town of Kobane, a spokesman for the Kurdish forces said Monday.
Redur Xelil, spokesman for the People's Protection Units (YPG), confirmed the weapons delivery and said it would "help greatly" and have a "positive impact on military operations against Daesh (IS)."
Source : Sapa-AFP /kd
Date : 20 Oct 2014 10:30
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
KURDS IN KOBANE SAY THEY HAVE RECEIVED AIRDROPPED WEAPONS
Kurdish fighters defending the northern Syrian town of Kobane from the Islamic State confirmed Monday that they had received supplies dropped by the US military.
The Kurdish Hawar News Agency quoted a spokesman for the Syrian Kurdish forces in the besieged town as saying that the People's Protection Units (YPG) had safely received weapons, ammunition and medical supplies.
The US military earlier said that several US Air Force C-130 transport planes dropped the supplies, provided by Kurdish authorities in Iraq, close to Kobane, which has been under attack by Islamic State fighters since mid September.
The move was to contribute to the defence of the city, the US military central command said in Tampa, Florida.
The YPG forces are surrounded on three sides by the Islamic State militants, who on October 6 broke through defences and entered the eastern sector of the city.
Kobane's only lifeline is the Turkish border, but Turkey has said it would oppose the United States supplying weapons to the YPG, which is aligned with the banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) rebel group in Turkey.
Neither the US nor the YPG indicated what kind of weapons were included in the airdrop. The YPG has said it is outgunned in Kobane by Islamic State forces using heavy artillery and armoured vehicles seized from the Iraqi and Syrian armies.
The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, one of the governing parties in Iraqi Kurdistan, said that the airdrop contained 24 tonnes of weapons.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, quoting sources in Kobane, said that it included machine guns and anti-tank weapons.
"There is no doubt that the arrival of the weapons will change the course of the fighting," the monitoring group's director Rami Abdel-Rahman told dpa.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said his country would "evaluate" the airdrop.
Cavusoglu said Turkey would help Kurdish Peshmerga fighters from northern Iraq reinforce Kobane.
According to a report published by Iraqi-Kurdish news website Rudaw, Turkey was responding to a request from the president of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region, Massoud Barzani.
At the same time, he ruled out the possibility of direct Turkish support for the dominant Syrian Kurdish party, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), which is linked to the YPG.
The US continued its airstrikes against Islamic State positions across Syria Sunday night, including 11 in and around Kobane, bringing the total there to 135, the statement Sunday night said.
There were indications that the airstrikes and efforts by the Kurds defending the city had slowed the progress of the extremists, the statement said, but the security situation there "remains fragile."
The Observatory said that at least eight Islamic State fighters were killed when they tried overnight to advance towards the centre of the city.
Syrian government forces meanwhile continued their air campaign against rebels on the strategic Homs-Aleppo axis, launching at least 15 strikes around the Morek, Kafr Zita and Khan Sheikhun areas, the Observatory said.
In neighbouring Iraq, a suicide bomber blew himself up inside a Shiite mosque in Baghdad, killing at least 10 worshippers, police said.
At least 25 others were wounded in the attack in the capital's central Sinak district.
EU foreign ministers were also set Monday to discuss the crises in Syria and Iraq, including the threat posed by foreign fighters and the situation in Kobane. Some EU countries would like to see Turkey do more to counter that siege.
Source : Sapa-dpa /kd
Date : 20 Oct 2014 13:39
Kurdish fighters defending the northern Syrian town of Kobane from the Islamic State confirmed Monday that they had received supplies dropped by the US military.
The Kurdish Hawar News Agency quoted a spokesman for the Syrian Kurdish forces in the besieged town as saying that the People's Protection Units (YPG) had safely received weapons, ammunition and medical supplies.
The US military earlier said that several US Air Force C-130 transport planes dropped the supplies, provided by Kurdish authorities in Iraq, close to Kobane, which has been under attack by Islamic State fighters since mid September.
The move was to contribute to the defence of the city, the US military central command said in Tampa, Florida.
The YPG forces are surrounded on three sides by the Islamic State militants, who on October 6 broke through defences and entered the eastern sector of the city.
Kobane's only lifeline is the Turkish border, but Turkey has said it would oppose the United States supplying weapons to the YPG, which is aligned with the banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) rebel group in Turkey.
Neither the US nor the YPG indicated what kind of weapons were included in the airdrop. The YPG has said it is outgunned in Kobane by Islamic State forces using heavy artillery and armoured vehicles seized from the Iraqi and Syrian armies.
The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, one of the governing parties in Iraqi Kurdistan, said that the airdrop contained 24 tonnes of weapons.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, quoting sources in Kobane, said that it included machine guns and anti-tank weapons.
"There is no doubt that the arrival of the weapons will change the course of the fighting," the monitoring group's director Rami Abdel-Rahman told dpa.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said his country would "evaluate" the airdrop.
Cavusoglu said Turkey would help Kurdish Peshmerga fighters from northern Iraq reinforce Kobane.
According to a report published by Iraqi-Kurdish news website Rudaw, Turkey was responding to a request from the president of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region, Massoud Barzani.
At the same time, he ruled out the possibility of direct Turkish support for the dominant Syrian Kurdish party, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), which is linked to the YPG.
The US continued its airstrikes against Islamic State positions across Syria Sunday night, including 11 in and around Kobane, bringing the total there to 135, the statement Sunday night said.
There were indications that the airstrikes and efforts by the Kurds defending the city had slowed the progress of the extremists, the statement said, but the security situation there "remains fragile."
The Observatory said that at least eight Islamic State fighters were killed when they tried overnight to advance towards the centre of the city.
Syrian government forces meanwhile continued their air campaign against rebels on the strategic Homs-Aleppo axis, launching at least 15 strikes around the Morek, Kafr Zita and Khan Sheikhun areas, the Observatory said.
In neighbouring Iraq, a suicide bomber blew himself up inside a Shiite mosque in Baghdad, killing at least 10 worshippers, police said.
At least 25 others were wounded in the attack in the capital's central Sinak district.
EU foreign ministers were also set Monday to discuss the crises in Syria and Iraq, including the threat posed by foreign fighters and the situation in Kobane. Some EU countries would like to see Turkey do more to counter that siege.
Source : Sapa-dpa /kd
Date : 20 Oct 2014 13:39
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
FRESH ATTACK AT BAGHDAD SHIITE MOSQUE KILLS AT LEAST 11
A suicide bomber detonated explosives Monday outside a Shiite mosque in central Baghdad, killing at least 11 people in the second such attack in the capital in 24 hours, officials said.
"It was a suicide attack that targeted people who were just leaving Husseiniyat al-Khayrat" after midday prayers in the Sinak area, a police colonel said.
At least 26 more people were wounded, according to the officer and a medical official.
The attack comes less than a day after a suicide bomber attacked another Shiite mosque in central Baghdad, killing at least 22 people and wounding at least 36.
Baghdad has in recent days seen a rise in the number of bomb attacks, several of which have been claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group.
The spate of bombings has raised fears that the extremist group would seek to attack large gatherings of Shiite worshippers during the month of Muharram, which starts at the end of the week.
The second-holiest month in the Islamic calendar after Ramadan includes the Ashura commemorations, during which hundreds of thousands of Shiite faithful converge on the holy city of Karbala on foot.
The event has been marred by devastating bombings in past years.
Source : Sapa-AFP /kd
Date : 20 Oct 2014 13:31
A suicide bomber detonated explosives Monday outside a Shiite mosque in central Baghdad, killing at least 11 people in the second such attack in the capital in 24 hours, officials said.
"It was a suicide attack that targeted people who were just leaving Husseiniyat al-Khayrat" after midday prayers in the Sinak area, a police colonel said.
At least 26 more people were wounded, according to the officer and a medical official.
The attack comes less than a day after a suicide bomber attacked another Shiite mosque in central Baghdad, killing at least 22 people and wounding at least 36.
Baghdad has in recent days seen a rise in the number of bomb attacks, several of which have been claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group.
The spate of bombings has raised fears that the extremist group would seek to attack large gatherings of Shiite worshippers during the month of Muharram, which starts at the end of the week.
The second-holiest month in the Islamic calendar after Ramadan includes the Ashura commemorations, during which hundreds of thousands of Shiite faithful converge on the holy city of Karbala on foot.
The event has been marred by devastating bombings in past years.
Source : Sapa-AFP /kd
Date : 20 Oct 2014 13:31
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
'IRRESPONSIBLE' NOT TO AID KURDS IN KOBANE AGAINST IS: KERRY
US Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday it would have been "irresponsible" not to help Kurdish fighters battling jihadists for the Syrian border town of Kobane after Washington made its first arms drop to them.
"It would be irresponsible of us, as well as morally very difficult, to turn your back on a community fighting ISIL," he said during a visit to the Indonesian capital Jakarta, using an alternative name for the Islamic State group.
Source : Sapa-AFP /kd
Date : 20 Oct 2014 14:46
US Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday it would have been "irresponsible" not to help Kurdish fighters battling jihadists for the Syrian border town of Kobane after Washington made its first arms drop to them.
"It would be irresponsible of us, as well as morally very difficult, to turn your back on a community fighting ISIL," he said during a visit to the Indonesian capital Jakarta, using an alternative name for the Islamic State group.
Source : Sapa-AFP /kd
Date : 20 Oct 2014 14:46
OrbitalDawn
Ulysses Everett McGill
Some scary and hopeful words from a former Iraqi MP. Worth a watch.
[video=youtube;8coZIHX2mg0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8coZIHX2mg0&feature=youtu.be[/video]
[video=youtube;8coZIHX2mg0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8coZIHX2mg0&feature=youtu.be[/video]