First gas attack
After 10 days waiting for favorable winds, the German Army uses chlorine gas on the battlefield at Flanders, the first use of any chemical weapon. After a still morning and afternoon, 5000 gas cylinders are opened at 5 p.m. Under attack from the yellow-green cloud of gas, French commander Georges Lamour calls headquarters:
All my trenches are choked. I am falling myself!
1,200 French soldiers are killed in the first five-minute gas attack and the fighting that followed. Lamour is never found. Once the gas cleares, German soldiers make more progress than they have in months. Within an hour they have opened a gap of more than 6 kilometers (4 miles) with Ypres nearly in their hands. However, the Germans do not take advantage of the situation and do not break through the line.
Secret military base
Sources in the Persian Gulf tell Reuters that Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar have set up a secret ‘nerve centre’ near the Turkish border with Syria to direct military aid and communications to Syrian rebels fighting the government. Doha source:
It’s the Turks who are militarily controlling it. Turkey is the main co-ordinator/facilitator. Think of a triangle, with Turkey at the top and Saudi Arabia and Qatar at the bottom. The Americans are very hands-off on this. U.S. intel are working through middlemen. Middlemen are controlling access to weapons and routes.
The centre is located in the southern Turkish city of Adana, about 100 km (60 miles) from the border, and was set up after Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Abdullah al-Saud visited Turkey and requested it. The Turks liked the idea of having the base in Adana so that they could supervise its operations.
Interpol searches for Austrian girls
Interpol is searching for two teenage girls from Austria who are believed to have run away from their homes in Vienna to join ISIS. Samra Kesinovic, 16, and Sabina Selimovic, 15, have been missing since April 10. Photos on their Facebook pages apparently show them brandishing Kalashnikov rifles – in some cases surrounded by armed men. Some of the pictures have been circulating online for years, and their families believe that those pictures, and social media posts apparently by the girls, are fake. However, Austrian officials believe that the girls are located in a training camp, are already married, and are living in the homes of their new husbands. Facebook postings apparently from the two girls say that they planned to marry so that they could become ‘holy warriors’ and indicate that they are seeking martyrdom:
Death is our goal.
Military regroups
The Iraqi military achieves a stalemate with ISIS and makes some minor advances in areas north of Baghdad as the government attempts to rebuild the capacity of the armed forces. Fighting outside Tikrit, 87 miles (140km) north of Baghdad, comes as Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki issue recruiting calls for Shiite civilians. Al-Maliki assesses the security forces:
The Iraqi fighter is well known for his courage and valor, he has never been known to be defeated or deserted […] What happened in Mosul was a conspiracy and a connivance.
Takes control of oil fields
Sunni militants in Iraq take control of several oil fields. The militants launched a dawn raid on the Beiji refinery, which along with a nearby power plant supplies Iraq with approximately one-third of its fuel and one-tenth of its electricity. A Western diplomat tells Britain’s Daily Telegraph:
We have used the word crisis about Iraq before, but this is the real thing. Iraq’s political leaders now mostly realize the problems. But has it translated into action yet? It has not.
US drones over Baghdad
A US official confirms to CNN that US drones began flying over the city over the past 24 hours to provide extra protection for the 180 US military advisers that are currently located there. The use of the drones for offensive strikes against the insurgent Islamic State in Iraq and Syria fighters would require approval from President Obama.
Airstrikes target ISIS
Government airstrikes kill at least 30 insurgents who are trying to gain control of the Beiji oil refinery. A government plane targeted eight vehicles that were attacking government forces at the facility yesterday. The militants have taken control of Qaim, which controls a border crossing with Syria, last month during their blitz across Iraq, and now control a vast stretch of territory straddling Iraq and Syria.
Arrests rebel commander
The Lebanese army says it has arrested Syrian rebel commander Imad Ahmad Jomaa, who initially confesses allegiance to Al Qaeda branch the Al Nusra Front. He is thought to have more recently switched alliances to join ISIS.
Army advances into border town
The Lebanese army advances into the border town of Arsal in a push to drive out ISIS militants who have seized control of the area. Prime Minister Tammam Salam, the government’s most senior Sunni Muslim:
The only solution proposed today is the withdrawal of the militants from Arsal and its environs
Ceasefire in Lebanese town
ISIS and the Lebanese military agree a 24-hour ceasefire in the border town of Arsal from 1600 GMT to allow a mediator to investigate the fate of 22 soldiers believed to be abducted by ISIS and help evacuate civilians. A security source says the army position came under fire shortly after the truce started but that it is still intact.
It is like a humanitarian ceasefire … Clashes erupted but now they have ended. The ceasefire is still on, it did not collapse. What happened was to be expected due to differences between the fighters
Airstrikes begin
U.S. aircraft drop 500-pound laser-guided bombs on a “mobile artillery piece” used by ISIS. The mobile artillery batteries hit are based outside Irbil.
Orders airstrikes
President Obama issues military airstrikes in Iraq, against ISIS. In a televised speech Obama threatened to renew U.S. military involvement and announced that U.S. military planes already had carried out airdrops of food and water, at the request of the Iraqi government, to tens of thousands of Iraqi religious minorities atop a mountain surrounded by ISIS.
Earlier this week, one Iraqi in the area cried to the world, ‘There is no one coming to help!” Well, today, America is coming to help. We’re also consulting with other countries — and the United Nations — who have called for action to address this humanitarian crisis
Obama also noted that U.S. military action would be worry many Americans and vowed not to put American combat troops back on the ground in Iraq. He also said there is no U.S. military solution to the crisis.
As commander in chief, I will not allow the United States to be dragged into fighting another war in Iraq
Airstrikes may continue
Obama says that airstrikes and humanitarian air drops could continue for months, apparently preparing Americans for an extended military presence in the country following the withdrawal of ground troops.
I don’t think we’re going to solve this problem in weeks. This is going to be a long-term project
On creating a political environment where Sunnis feel they are able to live comfortably alongside Shiites:
Changing that environment so that the millions of Sunnis who live in these areas feel connected to and well served by a national government, that’s a long-term process
Third airdrop on Sinjar
Central Command says the military has made its third airdrop over Mt. Sinjar. A C-17 and two C-130s carry out the mission, bringing the total American assistance to around 40,000 Yazidi minority Iraqis trapped on the mountain and under ISIS fire to more than 52,000 meals and more than 10,600 gallons of fresh water.
Army retakes Lebanese town
The Lebanese military enters the border town of Arsal and redeploys in security checkpoints following the withdrawal of militants affiliated with ISIS and Al Qaeda branch the Al-Nusra Front who held the town for five days. Thirty-five military vehicles, including two tanks, drive through the northeastern town in the afternoon, heading for the Aqabat al-Mebyaah Army post in Wadi al-Hosn, overtaken on the first day of fighting, as well as Sayadeye and other posts.
Airstrikes kill 31 militants
Syrian fighter jets unleash more than two dozen airstrikes on the ISIS stronghold city of Raqqa, killing at least 31 militants and wounding dozens more. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says 26 strikes hit ISIS-controlled buildings, including the military court and bases in the city. Sources say that at least six civilians are killed and 10 injured in the bombing campaign, which has now lasted five days. Raqqa resident:
About 30 percent of the strikes hit the Islamic State positions, the rest hit civilian areas
Military options focus on Iraq
Obama says that while he has asked Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman General Martin Dempsey for ‘a range of options’ for confronting ISIS, military plans are currently limited to protecting U.S. personnel in Iraq and do not extend to action in Syria. To reporters:
Our core priority right now is just to make sure our folks are safe
Operation to free northern town
The Iraqi Army, Shiite militias and Kurdish peshmerga launch operations to free the northern town of Amerli, where 15,000 minority Shia Turkmen have been under siege by ISIS for two months. The combined forces are reported to be mounting an assault on two fronts in the Salahuddin Kurdish area, with peshmerga fighters said to be west of Tuz Khurmatu, just north of Amerli, and Iraqi army units and Shia militia are approaching Amerli from the south. The Iraqi Air Force is providing some cover on the southern approach. The operation is reported to have two objectives: to break the siege of Amerli and to reopen the main highway leading north from Baghdad.
Starts airstrikes, aid drops in northern town
The U.S. begins airstrikes and humanitarian drops in the northern town of Amerli, backing up a combined local force of Iraqi military, Shiite militia and Kurdish peshmerga fighters that is seeking to break the ISIS siege of the town and free 15,000 trapped Shiite Turkmen. Australia, France and the UK also participate in the aid drop. Rear Admiral John Kirby says operations will be limited in scope and duration, as required to protect civilians trapped in Amerli.
Australia to airlift weapons
The Royal Australian Air Force will deliver weapons to Kurdish fighters battling ISIS. Abbott says the decision to join Canada, Italy, the U.S., France and Britain is made to address a worsening ‘humanitarian crisis.’
Australia will join international partners to help the [anti-IS] forces in Iraq
The RAAF will provide C-130J Hercules and C-17A Globemaster aircraft. It has previously limited its air operations to humanitarian drops.