UK MPs debate ISIL airstrikes in Iraq

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British lawmakers have begun debating a vote on whether or not the UK should join the US-led airstrikes against the ISIL Takfiri group in Iraq.

Prime Minister David Cameron opened the debate at the House of Commons on Friday aimed at receiving an approval for British military action in the Middle Eastern country.

During his opening speech, Cameron warned that the campaign could last for years and suggested that he would be prepared to extend the military action without asking parliament in advance for approval.

Cameron also claimed that there was no legal barrier to intervening in Syria, adding, “ISIL needs to be destroyed in Syria as well as Iraq.”

The prime minister added that the ISIL threat cannot be rolled back by airstrikes alone and Iran has a role to play in helping to defeat the terrorists.

British lawmakers are likely to approve the motion in a vote later on Friday, as it is backed by both the main opposition parties and the government.

Meanwhile, reports said British jets are ready to begin bombing ISIL positions pending the vote.

France recently joined the United States and five Arab countries – Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Jordan – in carrying out airstrikes against the ISIL. In addition, Belgium and the Netherlands are also expected to deploy fighter jets in the coming weeks.

The ISIL terrorists control large areas of Syria’s east and north. The ISIL sent its Takfiri militants into Iraq in June, seizing large parts of land straddling the border between Syria and Iraq.

According to a CIA source, more than 15,000 foreign fighters from more than 80 countries have gone to Syria to join militant groups. Two thousand of the fighters are believed to be Westerners, including at least 500 British nationals.

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Brits slam plans to join Iraq airstrikes

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Hundreds of anti-war activists have staged a rally in London to protest potential British airstrikes against ISIL terrorists in Iraq.

Around 300 demonstrators gathered outside Downing Street, the home of British Prime Minister David Cameron, on Thursday to protest against government’s plans to join US-led airstrikes in the war-torn country.

Chanting anti-war slogans and carrying banners reading, “Don’t bomb Iraq” and “Don’t bomb Syria,” the protesters called on Cameron not to drag their country into another military campaign in Iraq and to stop fueling tensions in the Middle East.

The rally came ahead of a parliamentary debate on Friday, when British MPs will vote on a motion supporting air raids on the ISIL positions in Iraq. The motion, however, does not support airstrikes against the ISIL strongholds in Syria.

“The vote will have a global impact…On Friday, MPs have a chance to make a real difference on matters of peace and war,” Chris Nineham, a Stop the War national officer said.

Meanwhile, three Labour MPs, Diane Abbott, Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell, in a joint letter urged the British government to rule out any further military action in Iraq, saying airstrikes in the country would “only exacerbate the situation.”

The ISIL terrorists control large areas of Syria’s east and north. The ISIL sent its Takfiri militants into Iraq in June, seizing large parts of land straddling the border between Syria and Iraq.

According to a CIA source, more than 15,000 foreign fighters from more than 80 countries have gone to Syria to join militant groups. Two thousand of the fighters are believed to be Westerners, including at least 500 British nationals.

Observers have said the rise of the ISIL cult can be directly attributed to the policies of Western countries, including the UK, in the Middle East region as they have been supporting militant groups in their fight against the Syrian government.

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Bahrainis hold anti-government rallies

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Bahrainis once again have held anti-regime protests in several parts of the country in solidarity with political prisoners.

Chanting slogans against the Al Khalifa regime, the protesters on Thursday took to the streets of the capital, Manama, and several villages across the country.

The protesters described the sentences against the jailed activists as unjust, urging the Al Khalifa regime to release all the detainees.

The demonstration in the village of Karanaeh turned violent after the regime forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the protesters.

More than three years after the start of the popular uprising in Bahrain, the home base for the US military’s Fifth Fleet, the regime’s crackdown on dissent still continues.

On Sunday, a Bahraini appeals court upheld an earlier ruling that handed five-year imprisonment sentences to nine Shia activists.

Attorneys for the Shia activists, however, insist that the defendants are innocent and were forced to confess to the allegations.

The Saudi-backed Manama regime has detained hundreds of anti-government activists as part of its brutal crackdown on popular dissent.

Many of those arrested have been handed down lengthy jail terms for alleged involvement in anti-government protests.

Media rights group Reporters without Borders (RSF) had slammed their sentences in April, denouncing officials of the Persian Gulf kingdom for “cracking down on freedom of information” by arresting journalists and activists and carrying out “sham trials.”

Scores of people have been killed and hundreds of others injured in the Manama regime’s ongoing crackdown on peaceful anti-regime rallies.

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‘Iran, P5+1 never been closer to N-deal’

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German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has hailed the progress in Iran-P5+1 nuclear talks, saying the two sides have never been closer to a final deal over Tehran’s nuclear energy work.

“We have never been so close to a deal as now,” Steinmeier told reporters following his meeting with Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting in New York on Thursday.

He, however, said that the final phase of the talks before the end of the November 24 deadline is “probably the most difficult.”

There are still “hurdles” to get over in the course of the talks, he said but stressed that a collapse of the current negotiations was “not permissible.”

During the meeting with the top German diplomat, Rouhani said a nuclear deal between Tehran and the P5+1 group of world powers was possible if the opposite side demonstrated political will toward the conclusion of an agreement.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran seeks a win-win agreement for all parties,” he added.

The Iranian president underlined the need for the immediate signing of a comprehensive deal but stressed that such a deal should protect Iran’s rights without bias and be based on international regulations.

Iran and the six world powers – the United States, France, Britain, Russia, China and Germany – are currently in talks to work out a final accord that would end the dispute over Tehran’s civilian nuclear work.

The two sides clinched an interim deal in Geneva, Switzerland, last November. The agreement took effect on January 20 and expired six months later. In July, they agreed to extend the negotiations until November 24 amid differences over a number of key issues.

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Syria army kills many Takfiris in Adra

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The Syrian army has killed a large number of foreign-backed militants in its recent military operations which led to the liberation of a strategic town located northeast of the capital, Damascus, Press TV reports.

On Thursday, Syrian armed forces managed to regain full control of the southern town of Adra al-Omalia after killing large numbers of extremist terrorists and forcing many others to flee the area.

Syrian government troops have started combing the streets and defusing explosive devices planted earlier by the foreign-backed terrorists inside residential buildings.

“The battle was not easy as several tunnels and operation rooms were established by the militants, but we were aware of them. We are now in full control of the town,” a Syrian army commander, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Press TV.

The victory came nearly a year after Takfiri militants took control of the town in December 2013. The violence fueled by the Takfiri groups had uprooted thousands of civilians in Adra al-Omalia from their homes.

In recent months, the Syrian army has gradually been liberating a corridor of territory from Damascus to the Mediterranean coast, recapturing towns and villages along the main north-south highway and in the mountainous Qalamoun region along the border with Lebanon.

Syria has been gripped by deadly turmoil since 2011. More than 191,000 people have so far been killed during the more than three years of Takfiri violence in the war-ravaged country, according to reports.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has pledged to strike terror “with an iron fist.”

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Australia worried about ‘lone wolf terror’

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Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott says he is worried about potential “lone wolf” terrorist attacks in Australia, amid already existing fears that terrorists linked to the ISIL may carry out coordinated attacks on Australian soil.

“I am deeply concerned about the threat that lone wolf terrorism poses to people,” said Abbott, whose government has raised the terror threat level in the country to high.

The Australian premier, who is in New York to attend the UN General Assembly, cited the concerns about the likelihood of lone wolf terror attacks as the reason for recent police raids in Sydney and Brisbane, which were carried out to foil an alleged plot by ISIL elements to carry out “demonstration killings.”

“I’m very concerned but I want to assure people that our police, our security and intelligence agencies are as professional as any in the world,” the Australian prime minister added. “And we are maintaining maximum vigilance to keep our country safe.”

The Australian government has tightened anti-terror laws in an attempt to exercise more control on those Australian citizens who travel to the Mideast to fight for the ISIL.

On Tuesday, 18-year-old suspected militant Abdul Numan Haider was shot dead after he attacked and stabbed two police officers outside a police station in Melbourne. One of the two officers has been seriously injured.

Australia has been an outspoken supporter of the US-led efforts to fight the ISIL in Iraq and Syria. On September 14, Abbott said his country would deploy 600 soldiers to the United Arab Emirates to fight the Takfiri ISIL terrorists operating in Iraq.

Iraq’s military, backed by volunteers, is fighting the ISIL militants in the northern and western parts of the country.

The ISIL terrorists currently control parts of Syria and Iraq. They have carried out heinous crimes in the two countries, including mass executions and beheadings of people.

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ISIL kills Iraqi female activist in Mosul

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ISIL Takfiri militants have executed an Iraqi female rights activist in the city of Mosul for criticizing the terrorist group on the social media.

Samira Salih al-Nuaimi, a well-known campaigner for human rights, was taken from her home on September 17 after allegedly posting messages on Facebook, in which she slammed the destruction of religious sites in the Iraqi city by the ISIL.

A statement released by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq said al-Nuaimi was tried in a kangaroo court for apostasy and was publicly executed by the group on Monday, September 22.

“By torturing and executing a female human rights lawyer and activist, defending in particular the civil and human rights of her fellow citizens in Mosul, ISIL continues to attest to its infamous nature, combining hatred, nihilism and savagery, as well as its total disregard of human decency,” UN envoy to Iraq Nickolay Mladenov said.

Since early this year, Iraq has been facing a growing militancy by ISIL Takfiri group and its allied militants, who have taken over areas in the country’s west and north. The crisis has deteriorated since June, when the ISIL declared a so-called caliphate in the territories they have seized.

Mosul, which is Iraq’s second largest city, has also been captured during militants’ rapid advance across the country. The ISIL cult destroyed a number of historic landmarks in the city last month, including several mosques and shrines.

The ISIL terrorists have threatened all communities, including Shias, Sunnis, Kurds, Christians and Izadi Kurds, in Iraq. They have been committing heinous crimes in the areas they have taken, including the mass execution of civilians as well as Iraqi army troops and officers.

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US denies civilian deaths in Syria raids

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Pentagon officials deny civilian casualties as a result of US-led airstrikes in Syria, despite claims to the contrary by human rights activists on the ground.

Army Col. Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, said the examination of before and after images of targeted sites show no sign of civilian casualties, The Los Angeles Times reported.

“We took all available mitigating actions to reduce civilian casualties,” Warren said. “Right now we believe there were no civilian casualties.”

Human rights activists have estimated that up to 24 civilians have been killed in airstrikes.

Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Admiral John Kirby also said Thursday that civilian casualties were not a concern since the targeted areas were not “urban.”
 
“I mean this is a pretty remote area of the country, mostly just desert, it’s not urban and so we don’t believe that there’s much reason to be too concerned about any collateral damage to civilian property,” Kirby told reporters.

“We are aware of some reporting out there that there may have been civilian casualties, and we are taking a look at that,” he added.

The Pentagon said the US-led forces had dropped 200 bombs and 47 Tomahawk cruise missiles on ISIL targets in Deir al-Zour, al-Raqqa and al-Hassakeh provinces, as well as on oil fields controlled by the terrorist organization.

Along with ISIL, the airstrikes also targeted the al-Qaeda linked al-Nusra Front, which experts believe is closer to Syrian insurgents now being armed and trained by the United States. 

Reports indicated that Kafar Daryan village in Idlib province was also hit along with al-Nusra bases in air raids which killed 12 people.

“It’s in the American’s interest to hide it,” said Fadel Abdul Ghany, head of the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. “The reality is there are civilians and there are fighters” among the dead.

The United States, Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates started joint airstrikes against ISIL in Syria on September 23.

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US releases video of strikes in Syria

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The U-S military has released footage and still images showing airstrikes targeting the positions held by Takfiri ISIL terrorists in Syria.

The airstrikes were reportedly carried out by US, Saudi and Emirati fighter jets and targeted ISIL-held positions and refineries in Syria.

One of the videos shows the pounding of the Mayadin Modular Refinery and the Jeribe West Modular Refinery. Another shows a compound believed to belong to the ISIL, coming under an aerial attack.

The Takfiri ISIL group has been selling oil from Syrian refineries on the black market to finance its terrorist activities.

The US-led bombing campaign in Syria occurs without a mandate by the UN or the permission of the Syrian government. Damascus has, however, announced that it was informed of the aerial campaign. Most observers believe that the illegal airstrikes flagrantly violate international law as well as the sovereignty of Syria.

The US and its Arab allies began pounding ISIL positions in Syria on Tuesday, following a similar and ongoing campaign in Iraq, where the ISIL is also carrying out terrorist activities.

On Thursday, foreign-backed opposition group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least five civilians, including one child, had been killed in the US-led airstrikes on ISIL positions in northeastern Hasakeh.

The ISIL terrorists currently control parts of Syria and Iraq. They have carried out heinous crimes in the two countries, including mass executions and beheadings of people.

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Iran, US, EU hold trilateral meeting

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Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and US Secretary of State John Kerry have held a meeting in New York as talks continue over Tehran’s nuclear energy program.

The three top diplomats sat down in New York on Thursday night to discuss progress made during the ongoing nuclear talks and to confer on how to proceed with the negotiations.

Iran and six world powers – the United States, France, Britain, Russia, China and Germany – are currently in talks to work out a final accord that would end the dispute over Tehran’s civilian nuclear work.

Zarif leads the Iranian negotiating team while Ashton heads the opposite side.  

During a meeting with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Wednesday, Zarif said that Iran is determined to reach a final deal with six world powers and called on the West to seize the “rare” opportunity to settle the “fabricated” dispute over Tehran’s nuclear work.

The top Iranian diplomat expressed Tehran’s firm determination in considering any solution presented for the country’s nuclear issue.

Iran and the six world powers clinched an interim deal in Geneva, Switzerland, last November. The agreement took effect on January 20 and expired six months later. In July, they agreed to extend the negotiations until November 24 amid differences over a number of key issues.

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