Panoramica dei mezzi d'informazione islamici
Saudi Arabia has put security forces on alert for a possible militant attack on a shopping mall or energy installation, the Interior Ministry spokesman Mansour Turki said on Monday.
“There was information about a possible act targeting a mall or Aramco installations. We passed this information to the security forces to be on alert,” he told Reuters
The Kurdish Peshmerga forces have launched attacks on Islamic State (IS) militants in southern areas of Kirkuk Province and have successfully forced the insurgents into retreat.
The Peshmerga and Kirkuk police forces conducted an offensive on the Jadida frontline, south of Kirkuk, on April 18th. They freed several villages in the area.
Director of Kirkuk Police Sarhad Qadir told BasNews, “Peshmerga forces and Kirkuk police defeated the jihadists in the south of Kirkuk Province and liberated Tal-Ahmed village and the railway between Bashir and Ozeriah.
“IS casualties were noticeable during the confrontation with the Kurdish forces.”
Qadir said that prior to the assault by Kurdish forces, international coalition jets shelled IS positions in the area.
“Peshmerga and the Kirkuk police continue to advance in the area,” he added.
The Combined Joint Task Force confirmed in a statement that the south Kirkuk operation was undertaken with the Peshmerga and international collation airstrikes.
It also said that during the operation, the Peshmerga retook 11 villages from IS militants, restoring security and enhancing stability in an area of roughly 25 square miles. Coalition forces conducted supporting air strikes resulting in multiple IS weapons systems, fighters, mobility assets, and fighting positions being destroyed.
“The operation is yet another example demonstrating the commitment and ability of our partners to defeat Daesh [IS] forces on the battlefield in Iraq,” said Lt. Gen. James L. Terry, commander of the Combined Joint Task Force, Operation Inherent Resolve. “The determined efforts of the Peshmerga, combined with coalition support, further denies Daesh key terrain and freedom of movement in Northern Iraq.”
IS militants have been attempting to expand their controlled territories into southern Kirkuk province since they took control of Mosul and areas in the west of Iraq.
The Peshmerga and Kirkuk police forces have been able to successfully repel IS attacks and take back some areas.
Australia and Iran have agreed to share intelligence relating to Australians fighting with extremist groups in Iraq, Australia’s foreign minister, Julie Bishop, has announced.
Bishop has been in Tehran for the first high-level talks between the countries in more than a decade.
She revealed the details of the cooperation after a meeting with Iran’s president Hassan Rouhani, describing it as an extraordinary deal that will have beneficial outcomes in the fight against global terrorism.
“During my discussions with the national leadership here it was agreed that we could share intelligence, particularly on the foreign terrorist fighters from Australia who are taking part in this conflict in Iraq,” Bishop said.
“It was an informal arrangement whereby we would share intelligence that would give us information on the Australians who are taking part and I believe that Iran has information that we would seek and they were very agreeable to share that information with us,” she said.
But the foreign minister would not comment on whether there was a conflict of interest in sharing information with Iran which could ultimately be used to capture or kill Australian fighters.
”I’m not going into those kind of details. That is obviously a matter of deep intelligence operational issue,” she said.
Bishop praised Tehran’s extensive intelligence network, particularly its military influence in Iraq.
“They are in Iraq and places we are not. They also have a very sophisticated intelligence network and there’s a lot of information they have been gathering.”
The leaders agreed that the challenge posed by Islamic State, was one of the most significant global threats at present.
Australia has been negotiating with Iran on an information-sharing arrangement for a number of months, but the diplomatic push intensified following Sydney’s Lindt cafe siege in December, in which two hostages and the gunman, Man Haron Monis, were killed.
Bishop brushed aside concerns that the informal arrangement would strain relations with Israel and the United States.
Around 100 Australians are believed to be fighting for Isis or related groups in Iraq and Syria.
Lebanon is expected to witness a new wave of security attacks by jihadist groups, warned sources to al-Akhbar newspaper on Monday.
They said that a prominent member of the al-Qaida-affiliated al-Nusra Front had recently arrived in the country to lead these attacks.
Known as al-Ashaath and aged no more than 35, he arrived in Lebanon to head a jihadist group aimed at carrying out or coordinating terrorist attacks in the country.
The sources added that the previous waves of attacks had relied on suicide bombers and booby-trapped vehicles, but the new stage will witness “a radical change” in tactics.
“The attackers will not abandon suicide missions, but they will focus more on explosives and ‘immersive’ operations, because they have a greater impact,” they explained.
“There are no restrictions to what can be targeted,” they added.
“The war against all who permit the shedding of the blood of Muslims in Lebanon will be waged again,” the sources told al-Akhbar.
“The targets will not be limited to Hizbullah or the army, but should the need arise, they will include western interests that are working on oppressing Muslims,” they said.
Meanwhile, a jihadist commander, who was involved in previous attacks in Lebanon, told al-Akhbar: “The previous jihadist strategy has failed.”
He attributed the failure to electronic and security infiltration of the terrorist groups.
He revealed that military barracks and embassies are viable targets for attacks.
Terror groups had in recent months carried out attacks against Hizbullah strongholds in Lebanon, including those in Beirut’s southern suburbs of Dahieh.
They had also targeted army checkpoints in various regions in the country.
The security forces and military had in return cracked down on gunmen and terrorists, arresting several suspects.
The most recent operation led to the arrest of dangerous suspect Sheikh Khaled Hoblos, who along with his armed group, had waged clashes with the army in the northern region of Bhannine in October.
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said Monday that he will use a trip to Turkey for Anzac Day commemorations to push Ankara for increased security on its border with Syria and Iraq.
The border is one of the preferred routes for foreign fighters seeking to join Islamic State (ISIS) jihadists, with Western powers criticizing Turkey for not doing enough to seal it off.
Abbott, who will be in Turkey later this week to mark a century since the bloody World War I Gallipoli campaign, said he would raise the issue with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, reports AFP.
“Obviously, Australians who have gone to fight with the death cult (ISIS) have mostly gone through Turkey,” he told reporters during a brief visit to New Zealand.
“So I will be talking to the Turkish leadership about what can be done to better police that border and better ensure that people who have no reason to be going there are prevented from being there.”
He said it was critical to prevent “gullible, impressionable young Australians” from joining ISIS.
ISIS-linked plot
Abbott’s comments come amid heightened security for events surrounding Anzac Day on April 25 after Australian police uncovered an alleged ISIS-linked plot to stage an attack during the commemorations.
Police arrested five men in counter-terrorism raids in Melbourne on Saturday and charged one of them – 18-year-old Sevdet Besim – with conspiring to commit a terrorist act.
Another 18-year-old, who has not yet been charged, was being held under a preventative detention order that could last for up to two weeks, police said.
Abbott said the domestic threat posed by ISIS jihadists underlined why Australia and New Zealand were sending troops on training missions to boost the Iraqi military’s ability to fight the group.
“As peaceful people, we are naturally reluctant to reach out to foreign conflicts, but this particular conflict is reaching out to us,” he said. “That’s why this deployment to the Middle East is not just about helping people over there, it’s about helping our own people too.”
He described the troops, 330 Australians and about 140 New Zealanders operating in the massive Taji base complex north of Baghdad as “splendid sons of Anzacs.”
The Australian leader repeated his call for the alleged Melbourne plot not to deter crowds from attending Anzac ceremonies.
“The best thing that Australians and New Zealanders can do is to turn up in very large numbers at Anzac events wherever they are, to support our values, our interests and our armed forces,” he said.
“That’s the best thing people can do if they want to show support for our way of life and our values.”
Ceremonies are due to be held across the country, as well as in Britain, home to tens of thousands of Australians and New Zealanders, on April 25, to remember those who served as Australian and New Zealand Army Corps soldiers.
The three Indian Navy (IN) Ships—INS Mumbai, Tarkash and Sumitra—returned back after completing their mission rescue Operation Rahat that they took over under challenging conditions evacuating over 3,000 people, including Indians, from the war-torn Yemen.
The toughest rescue, though all was difficult, was carried out by the Saryu class patrol vessel (INS Sumitra) on April 5 that evacuated 203, including 182 Indians, from Ash Shihr port which is located 25 nautical miles (46 km) away from the Al Qaida militant base at Al Mukalla. Meanwhile some of the crews of INS Tarkash were placed onboard the two passenger liners, escorted to Kochi port, to keep an eye onboard 70% Bangladeshi nationals among the Indians those embarked from Djibouti Port on April 15.
Stealth frigate class INS Tarkash which participated in the rescue operation returned back to Mumbai harbour in the morning on April 18 after it escorted two passenger liners—MV Kavaratti and MV Corals—with onboard 475 evacuees, including majority of Bangladeshi national, embarked at Kochi.
Destroyer class INS Mumbai returned back to Mumbai harbour on April 16 and INS Sumitra is back to anti-piracy patrolling duty at Gulf of Aden. The ships’ crews will be greeted and interacted by the senior officers of the command and the Chief of Naval Staff on April 20. “The entire operations was handled tactically so that no lives at put on risk and even the naval ships,” the Indian Defence spokesperson told TOI.
The Indians from the fallen city were moved to Ash Shihr port from where they were transferred to the Navy vessel using smaller boats under Operation Raahat, defence sources said adding that the conditions were difficult. Due to the security situation, INS Sumitra had anchored about three kilometres outside the port for 24 hours. Initially INS Sumitra has planned to evacuate Indians and foreign nationals from Al Mukalla port but citing the difficulty and possibility of attack from the militants the plan was dropped.
“After a makeshift in its plan the INS Sumitra alerted the evacuees to reach Ash Shihr port from where they were evacuated. The tactical move has helped for safe voyage without a single firing or attack from the militants. While there has been incident where a foreign nation faced the difficulty after they entered a port in Yemen armed and was backfired and was forced to return back after they witnessed firing and shelling on them at Aden port,” said the source.
After the request from the other nations, the INS ships carried out evacuation of both Indians and Foreign nationals that began on March 31 and the last rescue operation was completed on April 15. “IN rescued the evacuees after hiring the services of local boats from Yemen to ferry them out of the port and embarked them on INS vessels harboured outside the port, especially Aden. As the days progressed, the Port of Aden was engulfed in shelling and firing and permission for entry of ships was not accorded by the local authorities as fighting raged in the port city. ,” said the source.
The nine rescue operations was carried out from three ports—Aden, Al Hodeidah and Ash Shihr. INS Sumitra carried out five operations and rescued 1,621 people, including 705 foreign nationals of more than 30 countries.
Two each by INS Mumbai and INS Tarkash evacuating 915 and 538 respectively. “IN was first off the starting block, with INS Sumitra, one of the newest Offshore Patrol Vessels of the Indian Navy, being diverted immediately from her operational tasking in the Gulf of Aden and immediately entered the Port of Aden and evacuated the first wave of 349 Indians on March 31 and transported them to Djibouti. During the evacuation operations at Aden, the ship reported bombing and gunfire and a general disorder, pandemonium and unrest,” said the official.
The source said a small mistake could have put several lives at risk. “The Indian mission in Yemen and the sharp move with skillful coordination by the INS crews onboard has helped in tackling odd situation. INS Sumitra waited outside the Al Mukallah harbour for over 24 hours before it received information that the evacuees has changed the plan to embark from this port and has headed to Ash Shihr Port which is the safest one avoiding falling prey to the militants,” said the source.
While the rescue operation went becoming more and more difficult at Aden Port as time progressed. After all ships were in area the evacuation cycle continued with close cooperation between various Government agencies participating in the area and the three ships. “As very few countries were participating in evacuation, requests poured in from the international community to evacuate their citizens from the war zone also. Keeping safety of life as paramount requirement, these ships, provided assistance to many foreign nationals in escaping to safety,” said the official.
The Islamic State (IS) has started to issue ID cards and driving licenses for people living under their authority in Syria.
Director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Rami Abdulrahman confirmed that IS is issuing ID cards and driving licenses for the residents of Raqqa in northern Syria.
Abdulrahman Said, “IS issues ID cards to every resident over 13 years old in Raqqa.”
Since they took control of some areas in Syria and Iraq, IS militants been issuing documents such as fine receipts and marriage and death certificates.
The jihadist group is putting its utmost efforts into organising a working state, but has failed to even provide proper and standard services until now.
The Yemeni commander of a vast military district covering half the country’s border with Saudi Arabia pledged support to Saudi-backed President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi on Sunday, local officials said.
The announcement puts at least 15,000 troops in the desert border area on the same side as the kingdom, the world’s top oil exporter, after three weeks of an inconclusive bombing campaign it has led against Iran-allied Huthi rebels.
Clashes between rebels and pro-government forces in Yemen and Saudi-led air strikes killed 44 people, medics and local sources said Sunday, as Riyadh pledged to cover a UN humanitarian aid appeal.
The UN says hundreds of people have died and thousands of families fled their homes since the air war was launched on March 26 at the request of embattled President Hadi.
Ten Huthi rebels and four members of the “popular committees” militia fighting on the side of Hadi were killed in pre-dawn clashes in the southwestern city of Taez, the sources said.
The city has become the scene of fierce clashes over the past week, after having been largely spared in fighting that has spread across several Yemeni provinces.
Airstrikes on Shiite Huthi rebel positions in the southern city of Daleh as well as clashes on Sunday killed 17 Huthis and six southern fighters.
Seven more Huthis were killed in an attack by tribesmen in the southern Shabwa province.
The rebels who seized Sanaa unopposed in September, have since expanded their control over several provinces.
In Aden, southern fighters clashed on Saturday night with rebels and allied troops who have seized parts of the city, residents said, but no casualty toll was available.
Saudi King Salman ordered the aid pledge following a UN appeal on Friday for $274 million (253 million euros) in emergency assistance for the millions affected by Yemen’s multi-sided conflict.
The kingdom “stands with its Yemeni brothers” and hopes for “the restoration of security and stability”, the state Saudi Press Agency said.
UN Humanitarian Coordinator Johannes Van Der Klaauw said Friday that “ordinary families are struggling to access healthcare, water, food and fuel — basic requirements for their survival”.
Aid has only trickled into Yemen, largely because of Saudi-led coalition restrictions on its airspace and ports.
On Friday, the coalition spokesman said two cargos of supplies donated by Qatar and the United Arab Emirates had reached Aden and the Red Sea city of Hodeida, via Djibouti, across the narrow Bab al-Mandab Strait.
Brigadier General Ahmed al-Assiri told reporters in Riyadh that “other cargos will follow in the coming days” in a “sea bridge to get aid to the Yemeni people.”
But he insisted that shipments must be coordinated with the coalition.
Aid group Doctors Without Borders separately said that “more than 70 tonnes of medical material” arrived by plane in Sanaa on Saturday.
The Huthi rebels swept into the capital in September from their highland stronghold and then advanced south on the major port of Aden, forcing Hadi to flee to Riyadh.
Assiri said a Saudi soldier was killed on Friday in fighting in the southwestern Saudi region of Najran, along the Yemeni border.
The spokesman added the coalition had launched more than 2,000 air strikes on Yemen since the air campaign began.
The bombing campaign was launched amid Saudi fears the Huthis would shift Yemen into the orbit of Iran, the Shiite rival of the Sunni kingdom.
Tehran is a key ally of the Huthis but denies arming the rebels, who have allied with army units loyal to Ali Abdullah Saleh, the Yemeni president forced out in a 2011 uprising.
On Friday, Tehran submitted a four-point Yemen peace plan to UN chief Ban Ki-moon.
It calls for a ceasefire and immediate end to all foreign military attacks, the urgent delivery of humanitarian and medical aid, a resumption of political talks and the formation of a national unity government.
Al-Qaeda has taken advantage of the air war on the Huthis to expand its influence in Yemen, overrunning Friday an army camp in the southern province of Hadramawt, a day after seizing the airport in provincial capital Mukalla.
A US drone killed on Saturday night three Al-Qaeda suspects as it struck a vehicle in Saeed, in Shabwa province, a tribal chief said.
Afghanistan and Iran announced Sunday plans for enhanced security cooperation to combat threats from the Islamic State group, including possible joint military operations.
Standing alongside visiting Afghan leader Ashraf Ghani, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said the tumult hitting the region meant intelligence must be shared.
His comments came after IS, which holds swathes of Syria and Iraq, said it was responsible for a suicide bombing in Afghanistan’s eastern city of Jalalabad which killed 33 people.
The attack on Saturday at a state-owned bank where government workers were drawing their salaries was the first in Afghanistan claimed by IS. More than 100 people were also wounded.
Ghani’s two-day visit to Iran is his first since taking over from president Hamid Karzai in September, and he was accompanied on the trip by his foreign minister and minister for oil and mines.
The Afghan leader has repeatedly raised the prospect of IS making inroads in his country, though the jihadist group has never formally acknowledged having a presence in Afghanistan.
A former finance minister and World Bank technocrat, Ghani said IS presented “a serious danger and different form of terrorism”.
“People die daily, we face barbarism,” he said at a joint press conference, prompting Rouhani to nod in agreement.
“And without greater cooperation a macabre phenomenon such as Daesh cannot be contained,” Ghani said, using an Arabic acronym for IS.
Rouhani said: “We have agreed to cooperate further in the fight against terrorism, violence and extremism in the region, especially in border regions.
“We need intelligence sharing and, if necessary, cooperation in operations because the problems that exist are not restricted and gradually spread throughout the region, affecting everyone.”
The two leaders did not specify further what they thought could be done to confront IS, which swept into Iraq from Syria last June. The group holds Mosul, Iraq’s second city.
Iran has been central in the Baghdad government’s fightback against IS, coordinating Shiite militias and providing military advisers from its powerful Revolutionary Guards Corps.
The largest such operation saw IS cleared early this month from Tikrit, a city north of Baghdad and the childhood home of executed Sunni dictator Saddam Hussein.
In Afghanistan, the Taliban have seen defections to IS in recent months, with some voicing their disaffection with their one-eyed supreme leader Mullah Omar who has not been seen in almost 14 years.
A person purporting to be an IS spokesman said in a call to AFP that the group was behind the Jalalabad bombing. An online post allegedly from IS made the same claim, but could not be verified.
Iran and Afghanistan have close ties. In 2001, Tehran took the rare step of cooperating with Washington in a US-led invasion that ousted the Taliban regime from power in Kabul.
More than 90,000 people have fled their homes in Iraq’s western province of Anbar where Islamic State militants have been gaining ground over the past week, the United Nations said on Sunday.
Islamic State militants have encroached on the provincial capital Ramadi, displacing thousands of families.
“Our top priority is delivering life-saving assistance to people who are fleeing — food, water and shelter are highest on the list of priorities,” Lise Grande, humanitarian coordinator for the United Nations in Iraq, said in a statement.
Iraqi forces are preparing to mount a counter-offensive to reverse Islamic State advances on the eastern edge of Ramadi after military reinforcements were sent from Baghdad, officials said. Provincial officials warned earlier this week Ramadi was in danger of falling to the militants.
At least 2.7 million Iraqis have been displaced across the country since January 2014, including 400,000 from Anbar.
