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14 Sep, 2014

To deploy troops, aircraft

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Abbott announces that Australia will deploy 400 air force personnel and 200 special forces troops to the United Arab Emirates where they will be based at a U.S. facility in preparation for possible military operations against ISIS. Eight Super Hornet jets, an EWAC (Early Warning and Control) plane and a tanker aircraft for aerial refueling will be deployed. He tells reporters in the Northern Territory capital city Darwin that the government considers the deployment ‘prudent and proportionate’, but that there there are ‘obviously further decisions to be taken’ before Australian forces commit to combat action.

I have to warn the Australian people that should this preparation and deployment extend into combat operations, that this could go on for quite some time

Executes eight Sunnis

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ISIS executes eight people in a Sunni village over the course of two days. An eyewitness says that on Friday night a pair of masked ISIS gunmen openly murdered a police officer in al-Jumasah village, 75 miles north of Tikrit, after accusing him of spying for the Kurdish and Iraqi military forces. They gather residents in the village square to watch the execution:

Islamic State members said that this is the fate of anyone who opposes them. They presented as evidence CDs and copies of the man’s correspondences with the security forces.

A small group of villagers opens fire on the house of an ISIS officer after the policeman’s killing. On Saturday morning, 10 Islamic State cars drive around al-Jumasah with two masked informants who help identify 10 people suspected of attacking the ISIS member’s house. On Saturday evening, three are released and seven others – all but one relatives of the slain policeman – are executed.

13 Sep, 2014

‘Third world war’

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Pope Francis says that conflicts around the globe represent a third World War. During a Mass held at Italy’s largest war memorial, a Fascist-era monument where 100,000 soldiers who died in World War One are buried, the pontiff appears to be referring to the recent conflicts in Iraq, Syria, Gaza, Ukraine and Africa. The homily:

Humanity needs to weep and this is the time to weep … War is madness. Even today, after the second failure of another world war, perhaps one can speak of a third war, one fought piecemeal, with crimes, massacres, destruction … War is irrational; its only plan is to bring destruction: it seeks to grow by destroying. Greed, intolerance, the lust for power. These motives underlie the decision to go to war and they are too often justified by an ideology.

12 Sep, 2014

‘Kinetic military action’

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Kerry says the U.S. is not fighting a war against ISIS, but is engaged in a counterterrorism campaign. Commenting after Obama’s primetime speech indicates the government is considering expanding airstrikes into Syria:

Look, we’re engaged in a counterterrorism operation of a significant order. And counterterrorism operations can take a long time, they go on. I think ‘war’ is the wrong reference term with respect to that, but obviously it involves kinetic military action

11 Sep, 2014

Jeddah Communique

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The leaders of Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and the Gulf Cooperation Council – the alliance of Sunni Arab Gulf nations that includes Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE – sign a document called the stating that they have formally Obama’s coalition against ISIS (full text here). The Jeddah Communique:

The ministers representing states of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and the United States declared their shared commitment to stand united against the threat posed by all terrorism, including the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), to the region and the world … The participants resolved to strengthen their support for the new Iraqi Government in its efforts to unite all Iraqis in combatting ISIL and discussed a strategy to destroy ISIL wherever it is, including in both Iraq and Syria.

Mass grave found

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A mass grave is found in Nineveh province northwest of Mosul, and is assumed to contain the bodies of prisoners executed by ISIS. Security official:

The residents in the city of Ahmidat, 34 km northwest of al-Mosul, have found a mass grave containing the remains of 400 unidentified bodies, presumably belong to those of whom were executed by firing squads at the prison of Badush [in] June.

‘Obama strategy is credible’

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Gen. Petraeus says that Obama’s strategy to counter ISIS will likely be successful, although the battle against ISIS in Iraq and Syria take years. ISIS is not as great a threat as Al Qaeda was during the height of the Iraq War:

This is not the kind of Iraq on fire, complete desperation we had during the surge. [ISIS] has nowhere the roots and the structure of al-Qaida in Iraq.

The formation of a more inclusive government will address sectarian tensions:

It’s a new Iraqi government now. There’s new hope, there’s outreach.

This could be vital in ensuring the strategy is a success, as ISIS capitalized on sectarian divisions and chain-of-command vulnerabilities when routing the Iraqi military in the group’s initial offensives:

The third failing was the population was not happy with sectarian and loyalist leaders.

In Syria, opposition to ISIS is less cohesive and the Assad regime may have to be removed before a credible force can be assembled against ISIS:

This is going to be years, not months.

10 Sep, 2014

‘Jihad poster girls’

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Austrian authorities are concerned that 16-year-old Samra Kesinovic and 15-year-old Sabina Selimovic are inspiring other Austrian teens to join extremist groups after the pair allegedly ran away from their homes in Vienna to join ISIS. Interior Ministry spokesman Alexander Marakovits says authorities are noticing an increase in such incidents after a 16-year-old and a 14-year-old are detained attempting to leave the country, apparently to travel to Syria. Marakovits:

If we can catch them before they leave we have the chance to work with their parents and other institutions to bring the youngsters out of the sphere of influence that prompted them to act in this way the first place. Once they have left the country, even if they then changed their minds, it is then almost impossible to get them back.

ISIS speech

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Obama addresses the nation in a televised speech on ISIS from the State Floor of the White House (full text). He says the U.S. will take action against terrorists wherever they are:

First, we will conduct a systematic campaign of airstrikes against these terrorists.  Working with the Iraqi government, we will expand our efforts beyond protecting our own people and humanitarian missions, so that we’re hitting ISIL targets as Iraqi forces go on offense.  Moreover, I have made it clear that we will hunt down terrorists who threaten our country, wherever they are.  That means I will not hesitate to take action against ISIL in Syria, as well as Iraq.

The U.S. personnel deployed to Iraq in June have completed their mission of supporting the security forces now that the country has formed a new government, and an additional 475 servicemembers will be sent to provide training, intelligence and equipment to Iraqi and Kurdish forces. The U.S. will also support the development of National Guard units to help Sunni communities secure their own freedom from ISIL’s control.

Congress must authorize assistance to Syrian opposition:

In the fight against ISIL, we cannot rely on an Assad regime that terrorizes its own people — a regime that will never regain the legitimacy it has lost.  Instead, we must strengthen the opposition as the best counterweight to extremists like ISIL, while pursuing the political solution necessary to solve Syria’s crisis once and for all.

The U.S. will chair an international summit under the UN banner to mobilize international support and to provide humanitarian aid to Sunni and Shia Muslims as well as religious minorities:

Working with our partners, we will redouble our efforts to cut off [ISIS’s] funding; improve our intelligence; strengthen our defenses; counter its warped ideology; and stem the flow of foreign fighters into and out of the Middle East.

The strategy depends on engagement with the international community and support from the U.S.’s coalition partners:

Secretary Kerry was in Iraq today meeting with the new government and supporting their efforts to promote unity.  And in the coming days he will travel across the Middle East and Europe to enlist more partners in this fight, especially Arab nations who can help mobilize Sunni communities in Iraq and Syria, to drive these terrorists from their lands.

Congressional support will be welcomed:

My administration has also secured bipartisan support for this approach here at home.  I have the authority to address the threat from ISIL, but I believe we are strongest as a nation when the President and Congress work together.  So I welcome congressional support for this effort in order to show the world that Americans are united in confronting this danger.

The conflict will not be another Iraq war:

It will not involve American combat troops fighting on foreign soil.  This counterterrorism campaign will be waged through a steady, relentless effort to take out ISIL wherever they exist, using our air power and our support for partner forces on the ground.  This strategy of taking out terrorists who threaten us, while supporting partners on the front lines, is one that we have successfully pursued in Yemen and Somalia for years.  And it is consistent with the approach I outlined earlier this year:  to use force against anyone who threatens America’s core interests, but to mobilize partners wherever possible to address broader challenges to international order.

Military ops near Tikrit

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Iraqi Army troops force ISIS to retreat northwards from areas south of Tikrit city, located 150 miles northwest of Baghdad, killing ‘tens’ of ISIS militants in heavy clashes in the area. The military is planning to launch further operations from the area. Salauhddin Governorate Council president Ahmed al-Karim:

The security forces have set up a camp in al-Daluiya south of Tikrit and will head north from al-Jabour area in north of Daluiya to start an extensive military operation against ISIS fighters.

Authorizes $25 million aid

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Obama authorizes $25 million in immediate military aid to the Iraqi government, including the Kurdistan Regional Government, to help with military education and training. A White House memorandum says the funds are intended…

…to aid their efforts to combat the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

‘Has the authority to act against ISIS’

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The Obama administration says he will ask Congress to quickly authorize training and arming Syrian opposition forces in his prime-time speech on his anti-ISIS strategy due Wednesday night in Washington. The President will push forward on other areas of the anti-ISIS strategy without formal approval from lawmakers, potentially including widening airstrikes in Iraq and possibly expanding the air campaign to Syria. Following an hour-long meeting with congressional leaders, the White House says Obama told them he ‘has the authority he needs to take action,’ but will still welcome action from action from Congress that would…

…aid the overall effort and demonstrate to the world that the United States is united in defeating the threat.

Austrian girls detained

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Austrian authorities detain two girls attempting to leave the country to join extremist groups in the Middle East. The girls are aged 16 and 14, and their parents are apparently of Iraqi origin. They are caught when the mother of a third friend who was supposed to be traveling with them becomes suspicious about the amount of luggage her daughter is packing. Police are now hoping to find out how they became radicalised, and whether anybody helped them plan their trip to Syria via Turkey.

20 ISIS members killed in Babel

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Iraqi security forces are reported to have killed 20 ISIS fighters in Jurf al-Sakhar district of northern Babel. A security source:

A security force conducted a security operation where it killed 20 ISIL terrorists and damaged their boats in Euphrates River of northern Babel.

9 Sep, 2014

Saudi Arabia to hold terror summit Sept. 11

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Saudi Arabia will host a summit to discuss the regional threat of terrorism on Sept. 11, inviting representatives from the U.S., Egypt, Turkey, Jordan and member states of the six-country Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). A statement from the Kingdom:

The meeting will tackle the issue of terrorism in the region and the extremist organizations that stand behind it and the means of addressing it.

Identified as top ISIS member

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isis-mohammad-baryaleiAn investigation by ABC’s 7:30 program identifies 33-year-old Mohammad Ali Baryalei from Sydney as Australia’s most senior ISIS member. Baryalei is from an aristocratic Afghan family that came to Australia as refugees as a child, and has worked as a security guard in King’s Cross and made a brief appearance as an extra on the true crime show Underbelly. Police say that in 2013 he traveled to Syria to fight with extremist groups and has since become the top recruiter of Australians to ISIS, involved in its operational command in Syria and Iraq as a facilitator for Australians traveling to join jihad. Baryalei in an intercepted phone call with his handler in Sydney:

Four brothers coming this week. They are leaving Australia. Going to try to get them by the weekend. Abu Qaqa is the tall one that was doing Dawah with you. … The brothers yesterday, they were crying, affected, none of them wanted to stay in this country one second.

Phone call with Abbott

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Obama and Abbott discuss the Iraq situation in a phone call. Obama thanks Abbott for Australia’s contribution to the fight against ISIS in the form of humanitarian airdrops and weapons deliveries to groups fighting against the extremist organization. Abbott’s office says they discuss cooperation on the security situation in Iraq and Australia’s planned contributions to the ‘core coalition’ of countries fighting ISIS, but that Obama makes no ‘specific request’ regarding Australia’s involvement. White House statement:

The two leaders discussed the need to continue addressing both the ongoing humanitarian situation as well as the threat the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) poses to Iraq and the broader region.

Arrests foreign ISIS suspects

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Iranian Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli says authorities have arrested three foreign nationals traveling through Iran who are suspected of seeking to join ISIS in Iraq. He says the suspected militants are of Afghan and Pakistani origin. He doesn’t specify when the arrests occurred.

There is no space in Iran for terrorist groups. Iranian security forces and the people living near the border are aware of the dangers.

Australia: 62% support Iraq involvement

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A poll of 1207 Australians for The Australian newspaper finds that 62% of voters support the action taken so far in Iraq by the Abbott government, consisting of humanitarian aid drops of food, water and hygiene packs by the Royal Australian Air Force, as well as shipments of weapons and ammunition to anti-ISIS groups. It finds that 25% of voters are opposed and 13% are uncommitted. The Newspoll survey finds that 70% of men support the action and 18% oppose it, while among women the split is 54% in favour and 31% against. It finds that 75% of supporters of Abbott’s Liberal-National coalition favour the government’s action while 19% oppose it. It says that 53% of Labour opposition voters support the action and 31% oppose it.

Congratulates Abadi

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A White House statement says that Obama called Abadi shortly after the formation of the new government to congratulate him. The main topic of discussion is the U.S. government’s hopes that the new administration will be more inclusive of Iraq’s various ethnic groups, and that a unity government will help strengthen the fight against ISIS and improve the security situation:

The president applauded the efforts of Prime Minister Abadi and other Iraqi leaders in forming a new, broad-based government, and underscored the need for the United States and Iraq to continue working closely with the international community to build on recent actions to counter the threat posed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).