Saudi rulers are not interested in fighting Al Qaeda and ISIL in Yemen

Saudi rulers are not interested in fighting Al Qaeda and ISIL in Yemen

    Tuesday, August 25, 2015   No comments

Dubai (AFP) - Al-Qaeda has gained more ground amidst the chaos in Yemen -- this time in second city Aden -- but for now Saudi Arabia is turning a blind eye to its longtime enemy, experts say.

Supported by a Saudi-led military coalition, forces loyal to Yemen's exiled government retook Aden last month from Iran-backed Huthi rebels who have seized large parts of the country including the capital Sanaa.

As authorities work to reassert control over Aden, the capital of formerly independent South Yemen, Al-Qaeda has moved into the gap.

The jihadist group's militants, already in control of other parts of southern Yemen, are reported to have taken up positions in several strategic parts of the city.

But experts say that while Saudi Arabia may turn eventually to tackling Al-Qaeda in its southern neighbour, Riyadh's focus now is purely on stopping the Huthis.

"I don't think Saudi Arabia's main priority in Yemen is Al-Qaeda... The Huthis are more of a high priority," said Ibrahim Fraihat, a senior fellow at the Brookings Doha Center.

"That's probably another reason why we saw Al-Qaeda flourishing" in the south, he said.

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Turkish mourners blame Erdogan, AKP for rise in violence

Turkish mourners blame Erdogan, AKP for rise in violence

    Monday, August 24, 2015   No comments

Mourners slam Erdoğan, Turkish gov’t at funeral ceremonies for slain soldiers

A lieutenant colonel’s angry rebuke during the funeral ceremony for his soldier brother has been added to the increasing number of protests by mourners accusing President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the government over the spike in violence ahead of early elections in Turkey.

A lieutenant colonel’s angry rebuke during the funeral ceremony for his soldier brother has been added to the increasing number of protests by mourners accusing President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the government over the spike in violence ahead of early elections in Turkey.

Army Captain Ali Alkan was killed after PKK militants attacked a military outpost in southeastern Şırnak province’s Beytüşşebap district late Aug. 21.

More than 15,000 people, including several members of parliament, participated in the funeral ceremony for Alkan in the southern province of Osmaniye on Aug. 23.

Tensions ran high when Justice and Development Party (AKP) politicians attempted to take a place in the front row during the prayer service for Alkan. “You have nothing to do here. Get out,” an infuriated mourner shouted at AKP deputies Suat Ünal and Mücahit Durmuşoğlu.

“I am a relative of our martyr and I am not standing in the front row. What are these marauders doing there?” another person in the crowd asked angrily. Then the crowd began to boo the local religious head who conducted the ceremony for making a place for AKP deputies.

As AKP deputies were forced to leave the ceremony grounds, a cousin of the slain soldier yelled in protest, targeting Erdoğan. “What kind of deal have you made that the children of our homeland are going like this? Why doesn’t Turkey stand up? Why does Turkey sleep? Is it the solution process? The solution is now lying here,” Ahmet Şahin said.

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Competing narratives of armed conflicts: Turkey corrects the BBC, "members of PKK are not militants, they are terrorists"

Competing narratives of armed conflicts: Turkey corrects the BBC, "members of PKK are not militants, they are terrorists"

    Friday, August 21, 2015   No comments

Turkey has accused the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) of “openly supporting terrorism” by making “written and visual propaganda” of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) during a broadcast on Aug. 20.

“Such broadcasting about an organization which is listed as a terrorist [organization] by many countries, particularly EU countries, is open support for terrorism,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said Aug. 21.

The broadcast, which portrayed the PKK as “an innocent organization struggling against another terrorist organization and encouraged [people] to join the PKK, is not acceptable in any way,” the ministry said in a written official statement.

This is not the first time that Turkish authorities have targeted U.K. media outlets’ reporting on the PKK, which is listed as terrorist organization by a large portion of the international community including the European Union and the United States, in addition to Turkey.

In 2005, then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan harshly criticized the BBC and Reuters for describing PKK members as militants and guerillas instead of terrorists.

Watch a report on 60 Minutes:

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Acknowleding Turkey's role in allow weapons and fighters to flow to ISIL, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter now says, "More needed from Turkey in Islamic State fight"

Acknowleding Turkey's role in allow weapons and fighters to flow to ISIL, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter now says, "More needed from Turkey in Islamic State fight"

    Thursday, August 20, 2015   No comments

Turkey needs to do more in the fight against Islamic State militants and has indicated it is willing to go beyond its recent decision to allow U.S. planes to conduct air strikes from Turkish bases, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said on Thursday.

Carter said Turkey had agreed in principle to participate in the coalition bombing campaign against the militants, but the United States also needed Ankara to step up its efforts to control its long border with Iraq and Syria.

"It's a border over which logistics for ISIL and the fighters cross," Carter said, using an acronym for the militant group. "So we're looking for them to do more in that regard as well and are in active discussions with them about that."

Turkey was expected to participate in air strikes against Islamic State in Syria after it reached a deal with the United States on greater participation in the campaign against the group. But Turkish bombing efforts have primarily focused on the Kurdish PKK, which it considers a terrorist group.

Carter told a Pentagon news conference he didn't think the Turks were "dragging their feet" on joining the bombing campaign.

"Their leadership has indicated that this needs to be done," he said. "It's long overdue because it's a year into the campaign, but they're indicating some considerable effort now, including allowing us to use their air fields. That's important, but it's not enough."

"They need to join the (air strike rotation) and they need to work more on controlling their border," Carter said.

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ISIL calls for conquest of İstanbul, war against ‘treacherous’ Erdoğan

ISIL calls for conquest of İstanbul, war against ‘treacherous’ Erdoğan

    Tuesday, August 18, 2015   No comments

The people of Turkey have been called to war against the “treacherous” President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and to conquer the city of İstanbul, according to a video released by extremist terrorist group the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

Reciting verses from the Quran, a militant clad in grey combat gear and sporting an ashen beard said that on the command of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the “amīr al-mu'minīn,” translating to “commander of the faithful,” also used to signify caliphs, “all believers should conquer İstanbul, [the city] that the treacherous Erdoğan is trying, day and night, to give to the crusaders.”

The militant making a call for war in the video is claimed to have joined ISIL in 2014, according to a report in the Milliyet daily on Tuesday.

The unnamed militant, who has a Kalashnikov rifle resting between his arms at all times during the video footage, speaks fluent Turkish. He calls on the people of Turkey to “rise up and fight” against the infidels, crusaders and those “taghuts” -- idolaters of false gods -- who trick people into becoming the slaves of the crusaders.

The ISIL militant also calls on the people to repent from the sins that caused the people of Turkey to be governed by such taghuts, referring to Erdoğan, and his friends. He also calls on the people to refrain from democracy, secularism, man-made laws and all idolaters of false gods.


ISIL militants had vowed to ‘liberate' İstanbul in past

A threat was previously made by an ISIL militant to “liberate” İstanbul if the Turkish government refused to release more water from the Euphrates River to Syria.

The militant, who introduced himself as ISIL press officer Abu Mosa in a Vice News documentary on ISIL put out in August 2014, urged Turkey to release more water from the Euphrates River, warning that otherwise the group would do so from İstanbul when it "liberates" the city.

Mosa was later killed during air strikes by the Syrian government forces on ISIL militants attacking an air base in northeast Syria.

With regard to reduced water supplies from the Euphrates River to the province of Raqqa, which is ISIL's self-declared capital, he said, "I pray to God that the apostate [Turkish] government reconsiders its decisions. Because if they do not reconsider it now, we will reconsider it for them by liberating İstanbul."

“God willing, if they don't open it [the dam], we will open it from İstanbul,” he said. When asked if this is a threat, he said: “Yes, it is a clear threat.”

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U.S. trained Division 30 declares its loyalty to al-Qaeda branch in Syria

U.S. trained Division 30 declares its loyalty to al-Qaeda branch in Syria

    Monday, August 17, 2015   No comments

ISR comment: As the U.S. trained Division 30 declares its loyalty to al-Qaeda branch in Syria, its $36 million program initially aimed at moderate Syrian opposition fighters ends up being a training program for future Nusra or ISIL fighters.

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The meagre American foothold in the fight for northern Syria shrank further on Tuesday as Division 30 rejected a US promise to defend the brigade against Jabhat al Nusra with airstrikes. On Friday, US warplanes bombed al Nusra positions after the jihadist group stormed Division 30’s headquarters and killed five of its members.

In its statement, Division 30 denied its "connection to the operations of the coalition against any faction on Syrian lands".

It said "it would not be dragged into any side battle with any faction" and that "it did not and will not fight Jabhat al-Nusra".

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Turkey, Iran relations tested by media wars

Turkey, Iran relations tested by media wars

    Sunday, August 16, 2015   No comments

When Iran's Press TV ran a story* accusing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's daughter Sümeyye Erdoğan of visiting wounded militants from the extremist Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in southern Turkey near the Syrian border, it prompted the Turkish president to cancel his scheduled meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who was about to visit Ankara on Tuesday.

While officials from both the Turkish and Iranian foreign ministries carefully scripted the reasons for the abrupt postponement, citing Zarif's busy schedule ahead of his visit to Turkey, the real reason was the Press TV story, which was among a barrage of critical reports in the Iranian media about Turkey's alleged support of radical groups in Syria, diplomatic sources said.

Erdoğan reportedly reacted to the story about his daughter by canceling the meeting with Zarif. When the Iranian foreign minister was unable to secure a meeting with President Erdoğan, in addition to his already scheduled meetings with senior Turkish officials focused on finding mutually acceptable solutions for resolving the prolonged Syrian conflict, he cancelled the entire visit.

On Thursday, however, Zarif said he is planning to visit Turkey next week.

On Tuesday, when Zarif was originally scheduled to attend meetings in Ankara, an article he wrote about regional affairs was published in the Cumhuriyet daily, a newspaper that is highly critical of Erdoğan and the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government's Syria policy. In his article he defended the idea of regional cooperation to resolve regional problems rather than allowing outside intervention by the US and other countries that are doomed to fail.

The state-run Anadolu news agency also ran a story titled "Lies about Turkey in the Iranian media,” accusing Iranian media outlets of spreading disinformation.

*ISR Editors' Note: The original story was actually published on Canada's Global Research site under this URL: http://www.globalresearch.ca/turkish-presidents-daughter-heads-a-covert-medical-corps-to-help-isis-injured-members-reveals-a-disgruntled-nurse/5462896; and picked by by many other news sites.

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U.S.: We really can’t succeed against ISIL without Turkey

U.S.: We really can’t succeed against ISIL without Turkey

    Saturday, August 15, 2015   No comments

ISR Comment: Turkish AKP leaders should not feel flattered when U.S. administration officials say, "We really can’t succeed against ISIL without Turkey." Such statements underscore Turkey's role in facilitating the rise of ISIL, not highlight Turkey's capacity to fight ISIL. Turkey allowed fighters, weapons, and space for ISIL to emerge as the global threat it now is. Turkish leaders, motivated by nationalism and sectarianism thought they could use ISIL, the "Sunni" potent fighting force that is motivated by its puritan creed, to remove an Alawite Syrian president. That strategy failed and Turkey, and to some extent the U.S., Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, have no plan B at this point. It is doubtful that Turkey, under Erdoğan and AKP rule can shift its strategy and cooperate with U.S. to fight ISIL.

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U.S. President Barack Obama’s Deputy Special Envoy to the Global Anti-ISIL Coalition, Brett McGurk, who was in Ankara this week to finalize the Incirlik agreement between Turkey and U.S., has said Washington “can’t succeed against Daesh without Turkey,” speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News in an exclusive interview via Skype.


“The threat of Daesh is extremely serious. It’s not going away. It’s growing. It’s a challenge the world has never seen before,” McGurk said, emphasizing the two countries’ close collaboration up to now.

He aslo said Turkish F-16’s will fly with U.S. jets from Incirlik very soon and the only reason Turkey is not yet engaged in anti-ISIL airstrikes are “technical arrangements” that are soon to be finalized.

Here is the full text of the interview:

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ISIS Enshrines a Theology of Rape

ISIS Enshrines a Theology of Rape

    Friday, August 14, 2015   No comments

Claiming the Quran’s support, the Islamic State codifies sex slavery
QADIYA, Iraq — In the moments before he raped the 12-year-old girl, the Islamic State fighter took the time to explain that what he was about to do was not a sin. Because the preteen girl practiced a religion other than Islam, the Quran not only gave him the right to rape her — it condoned and encouraged it, he insisted.

He bound her hands and gagged her. Then he knelt beside the bed and prostrated himself in prayer before getting on top of her.

When it was over, he knelt to pray again, bookending the rape with acts of religious devotion.

“I kept telling him it hurts — please stop,” said the girl, whose body is so small an adult could circle her waist with two hands. “He told me that according to Islam he is allowed to rape an unbeliever. He said that by raping me, he is drawing closer to God,” she said in an interview alongside her family in a refugee camp here, to which she escaped after 11 months of captivity.

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Did Sergey Lavrov call Saudi diplomats, including Adel al-Jubeir, F**** morons?

Did Sergey Lavrov call Saudi diplomats, including Adel al-Jubeir, F**** morons?

    Thursday, August 13, 2015   No comments

The rulers of Saudi Arabia are blinded by wealth to see their real place in global political scale. The images and sounds emerging out the recent visit by the Kingdom's foreign minister, Adel al-Jubeir, drew a stunning picture of a regime unable to see the contradictions of its logic and actions.

al-Jubair, with a very short resume when it comes to the complex business of diplomacy, insisted that Syria's war will continue unless Bashar Assad is out of power. He argued

that Assad lost legitimacy because of the violence he allegedly unleashed on his people and that Assad, not Saudi brand of Islam, produced ISIL. In other words, Saudi Arabia will not support the war on ISIL unless Russia supports its war on Assad. The rulers of Saudi Arabia, who are not elected, who are waging a savage war against another sovereign country--Yemen--killing thousands of civilians, and who produced the ideology espoused by ISIL is lecturing the world about legitimacy and war.

The Saudi rulers know that before the Syrian crisis, ISIL, and its precursor, al-Qaeda, was already bombing markets, mosques, and public squares and beheading people. To link the existence of these genocidal fighters to Assad is indeed an insult to his Russian host and his host's country, which had a its share of terror attacks carried out by followers of the brand of Islam incubated and nurtured in the kingdom.

Perhaps Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov declarative statement, f****** morons, is not directed at al-Jubair, but perhaps it should be. Given their meddling in other countries, their irrational fears, and their role in producing ISIL and ISIL's brand of Islam, such a comment seems highly appropriate.