Syria’s army seized an area north of Aleppo on Sunday and killed insurgents in battles for the strategic territory, a group monitoring the war and state media reported.

Syria’s second city is at the heart of a fierce battle between pro-government forces and a range of insurgents, including Al Qaeda’s Syria wing, extremist brigades and Western-backed rebels.

The United Nations Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura is seeking a local ceasefire in Aleppo to allow badly-needed humanitarian assistance into the divided
northern city.

Insurgent-held districts have been flattened by Syrian air force bombardments, including barrel bombs – crude explosive devices packed with shrapnel and nails.

Pro-government forces captured an area east of Al Malah farms outside Aleppo and is now aiming to secure parts in the west and cut off insurgent supply lines into the city, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

It said 21 fighters from extremist groups including Al Qaeda’s Nusra Front were killed when Syria’s army attacked their positions with backup from local and foreign militias.

It added that there were also battles south and east of the city.

Syria’s state news agency said the army was tightening its “grip on terrorists in Aleppo after
new advances.”
It said pro-government forces had captured all of the Al Malah area as well as areas south and west of Handarat town in the countryside and reported that a “huge number” of enemy fighters had been killed.

Western diplomats have voiced concerns about the ceasefire plan, saying it could be used by the government to take full control of the city and force rebels to surrender, as it did through a previous initiative in the central city of Homs, and then direct its forces elsewhere.

Source:  timesofoman

An al-Qaida senior member in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) was killed in Libya by troops of Gen. Khalifa Haftar, an Algerian security source told Xinhua on Saturday.

Djilali Mansour, alias Abu Younes, was killed with five other al-Qaida-linked militants, including two Algerians, in an area near Benghazi, the source said on condition of anonymity .

The source specified that Abu Younes is originated from Algeria’s western province of Sidi Belabes. He was wanted by the Algerian justice since he joined the fiefs of the dismantled Islamic Armed Group (GIA) in 1996.

Abu Younes became later a senior member at the consultation council of the AQIM.

His presence in Libya was probably a sign of his split from AQIM to join Islamic state (IS) linked group of the Caliphate Soldiers, the source said, adding that he went to Libya not to fight, but rather to acquire arms and make contacts with local armed groups.

He was probably killed on December 2 during bombardment by troops of General Haftar. His dead body was discovered near the city of Benghazi, and then identified according to the documents he was carrying with him, the source said.

Source:  cntv

Dell’operazione a guida statunitense si attende da tempo la definizione di un nome italiano dopo che i più importanti Stati Occidentali che hanno aderito alla Coalizione hanno battezzato le operazioni nazionali: Shader per i britannici, Chammal per i francesi, Impact per i canadesi e Okra per gli australiani.

Dopo settimane di serrate trattative con gli alleati europei il comando statunitense della Combined Joint Task Force  che dirige le operazioni per conto del Central Command dal Quartier generale in Kuwait alla fine l’Italia ha ottenuto di schierare le il contributo terrestre alla Coalizione nel Kurdistan iracheno.

Il contingente dell’Esercito che dovrà appoggiare gli iracheni nella lotta contro lo Stato Islamico verrà infatti dislocato in una base situata all’aeroporto di Erbil, capoluogo del Kurdistan, dove sono già presenti consiglieri militari e forze speciali statunitensi, britannici, francesi e  tedeschi e dove l’Italia è presente da tempo con alcuni ufficiali di collegamento assegnati al comando alleato.

Roma premeva per inviare il contingente nella regione curda resistendo alle pressioni esercitate dagli alleati che si erano già posizionati in forze a Erbil e intendevano inviare la missione di consulenza e addestramento italiana in altre aree dell’Iraq comprese tra Baghdad e Nassiryah.
Da quanto appreso le truppe italiane verranno invece inquadrate in un comando congiunto con la Germania che vedrà alternarsi ogni sei mesi un comandante tedesco e uno italiano, in quest’ordine, a cominciare dall’inizio da gennaio 2015.

Ai tedeschi, che hanno già installato a Erbil una loro base che gestisce l’afflusso e la distribuzione degli ingenti aiuti militari forniti da Berlino ai curdi (per un valore di 80 milioni di euro) si uniranno anche contingenti minori forniti a quanto sembra da Olanda, Belgio e Danimarca mentre agli italiani potrebbero aggregarsi nuclei di consiglieri militari da Grecia e Serbia.

Sembra confermato che i militari italiani assegnati alle operazioni contro lo Stato Islamico siano 525. Di questi 220 appartengono all’Aeronautica e sono già operativi in tre diverse basi aeree del Kuwait con un aereo da rifornimento Boeing KC 767A, 2 droni Predator e 4 bombardieri Tornado impiegati per ora solo con compiti di ricognizione intelligence.

L’Esercito trasferirà quindi a Erbil circa 250 militari tra consiglieri militari incaricati di assistere e addestrare le forze curde e irachene (circa 100 unità), reparti logistici, unità per la sicurezza della base e, a quanto sembra, anche 4/5 elicotteri del tipo NH-90 per compiti di trasporto ed evacuazione di feriti.
Si tratta di velivoli dell’Aviazione dell’Esercito già impiegati da tempo in Afghanistan dove è in atto un ritiro che coinvolge anche i reparti elicotteristici.

A Herat resteranno fino ad agosto 2015 circa 800 militari con 6/8 elicotteri tra Mangusta da attacco e NH-90 da trasporto mentre in Kurdistan non sembra previsto l’impiego di elicotteri da attacco poiché la missione italiana esclude per ora il combattimento.
Da Roma continuano intanto a pervenire ai peshmerga curdi  forniture di armi e munizioni, per lo più proiettili da mitragliatrice pesante calibro 14,5 millimetri (che l’Italia sequestrò negli anni ’90 su un cargo diretto in ex Jugoslavia) e le tanto attese  armi anticarro portatili, i lanciarazzi  Folgore  radiati anni or sono dall’esercito italiano.

Una cinquantina di militari italiani saranno invece assegnati a compiti di consulenza presso i comandi iracheni a Baghdad  e presso il quartier generale dell’operazione “Inherent Resolve”,  guidata dal Kuwait dal generale statunitense James Terry
che ha riferito di una forza di consiglieri militari composta da 3.100 statunitensi e 1.500 alleati che avranno il compito di  addestrare in pochi mesi 20/30 mila reclute irachene in vista della controffensiva per liberare i territori settentrionali e occidentali occupati dai jihadisti

Almeno una parte dei  compiti addestrativi potrebbero venire assegnati presto a una nuova “training mission” della NATO chiesta ufficialmente dal governo di Baghdad  e attuabile sulla falsariga di quella già attiva nel Paese dal dicembre 2004 al novembre 2011 e che venne ritirata dal Paese insieme alle ultime forze statunitensi.
Infine non si può escludere che Roma decida di inviare in Iraq anche unità di forze speciali, richieste dal comando  statunitense agli alleati per costituire team da aggregare ai reparti curdi e iracheni in prima linea. Unità di questo tipo statunitensi, britanniche e australiane sono già presenti sul campo nei settori di Mosul, Baji e Ramadi e secondo alcune voci sarebbero già state coinvolte nei combattimenti.

Altri Paesi della NATO, come la Spagna (che ha inviato in Iraq 300 consiglieri militari), avrebbero già messo a disposizione unità di forze speciali pur con limiti specifici d’impiego in prima linea (i noti “caveat”  già applicati in Afghanistan dai diversai contingenti di ISAF) rispetto ai reparti anglo-sassoni.
Non è chiaro se l’Italia aderirà alla richiesta statunitense anche se il ritiro di gran parte degli uomini della Task Force 45 (l’unità SF interforze) dall’Afghanistan Occidentale rende disponibili per nuovi impieghi i reparti di incursori e di forze per operazioni speciali.

L’impiego di un reparto simile in contesti di prima linea in Iraq dovrebbe però coincidere con un ampliamento della missione anche in termini di mezzi assegnati inclusi veicoli terrestri Lince ed elicotteri da trasporto CH-47 nella versione ad hoc per le forze speciali.
Della missione italiana in Iraq e Kuwait non sono ancora note le previsioni di spesa ma tenuto conto dei mezzi aerei,  delle forze messe in campo e dello sforzo logistico una stima attendibile potrebbe essere di circa 150 milioni di euro annui.

Source: AnalisiDifesa

Egypt has been taking diplomatic steps to settle the armed conflict in Libya, but in the meantime, the Libyan national army has been fighting with political, military, and logistical support from Cairo to regain gradual control of Benghazi from Islamist militias.

An Egyptian diplomatic source involved in Libyan affairs told Al-Monitor, “We are working with local and foreign parties to put the Islamist militias and Muslim Brotherhood in Benghazi and Tripoli under siege.”

The Egyptian government is trying to restore relative stability to Libya, a source of concern for Cairo because of the power and control of jihadi militias there. The administration of Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, which came to power after the toppling of President Mohammed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood in July 2013, feels threatened by the jihadis’ armed strength.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Al-Monitor, “The Egyptian actions have achieved relative success in Libya, where there are legitimate bodies that can be counted on, such as the elected Libyan parliament and the interim government, which gave its vote of confidence to the Libyan national army.” The source, however, expressed concern over the rise of the groups controlling Tripoli, saying, “It won’t be easy to take part in military confrontations now.”

On the diplomatic front, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry has held several meetings since the launch of the initiative to stabilize Libya and the formation of the Libyan neighbors group. The aim is to urge international action on Libya, with Egyptian diplomacy framing Cairo’s policy as part of the global war on terror.

The Egyptian initiative adopted Aug. 25 by countries bordering Libya included 15 points for addressing the crisis. It calls for the political parties to reject violence and foster a dialogue, and for all the militias and other armed groups to reject the military option in favor of a political agreement under regional states’ auspices and with international support.

The nature of support from Egypt to militias affiliated with the Libyan army remains vague. Official Libyan and Egyptian statements claim that it is restricted to training, information technology services and technical assistance.

Another official source informed about the Libyan situation told Al-Monitor, “Cairo is providing security information that is greatly contributing to the general policies of the Libyan army’s moves in the framework of Gen. Khalifa Hifter’s Operation Dignity in his war on terrorism.”

He also said, “We are working with the Libyan army and Arab groups from neighboring countries, especially Algeria, according to a strict military and political plan that is being implemented in Benghazi and soon will be implemented in Tripoli. Moreover, there are strong and reassuring indications that we can retake Benghazi from the militias.”

In the past two months, officials from the Egyptian president’s office and the Foreign Ministry as well as security personnel have welcomed dozens of Libyan political officials and parliamentarians on official and other visits. The purpose of the visits was to discuss coordination between Cairo and the Libyan factions opposing the Islamist militias.

A number of factors pushed Egypt to get directly involved in Libya despite its own crises and concerns. To start, Cairo fears the presence of a strong political foe of the Sisi regime on Egypt’s western border. What is more worrying is that this foe has the armed power and capacity to control a state with rich resources, given the complete frailty of the Libyan state and tensions since the fall of the Moammar Gadhafi regime. Moreover, Egypt has broad economic interests in Libya.

Egypt and Algeria appear to be united over the Libyan crisis, having divided roles to deal with the political and military arenas in Libya. During a visit to Cairo on Nov. 20, Algerian Prime Minister Abdel Malek Sellal announced the formation of a strategic bridge between Egypt and Algeria to fight and eradicate terrorism in the region, in particular in Libya.

Cairo has managed to roll back intervention by Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir’s regime in Libya. The Egyptians suspect Sudan of supporting Islamist groups affiliated with Ansar Al-Sharia, Libya Dawn, and the Muslim Brotherhood in Tripoli and Benghazi. The Libyan situation constituted a top priority in discussions between the Egyptian and Sudanese presidents during the latter’s visit to Cairo Oct. 18.

A Libyan parliamentarian in Tobruk, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Al-Monitor during his visit to Cairo, “We have overcome the crisis with Sudan thanks to the firm mediation of the Egyptian president. The parliament has agreed to open a new page with Sudan.”

Analysts believe that Cairo is still facing counteractions by Turkey and Qatar, which are supporting the Islamist militias controlling Tripoli.

Khaled Akasha, a strategic analyst and security expert told Al-Monitor, “Egypt’s attempts to intervene to solve the Libyan crisis aim at putting the terrorist organizations under siege, rather than taking action to destroy them completely.” He also said, “Egypt alone won’t be able to confront them without cooperation from neighboring countries or face terrorism on its own territory.”

Akasha believes that the Egyptian-Algerian alliance is especially important. “Algeria is supporting the reconciliation, as it has good relations with Libyan groups controlling Tripoli. Algeria might be able to convince these groups to participate in an unconditioned national dialogue, while Cairo supports the Libyan state institutions and empowers them to take over the state’s main facilities.”

Egypt continues to act on several levels, and its main concern is to clip the wings of the Muslim Brotherhood in Libya.

Source:  yementimes

The Libyan Army could launch an airstrike at the Misrata International Airport, which also acts as an air base and training center for the Libyan Air Force, if the rebels operating in the region do not surrender, Chief of the Libyan Air Force Saqr Geroushi has told.

“Otherwise [if the rebels refuse to surrender] we will have to bomb an airport and a harbour that have been used as the bridgehead by the terrorists and extremists,” Geroushi said Monday.

According to the air force chief, the Libyan Army has never launched rockets on Misrata or any other suspected insurgent locations, hoping that the locals would convince them to surrender.

The Libyan military clashed with local militants belonging to the Fajr Libya Islamist movement Monday morning, according to a spokesperson for the country’s armed forces, Ahmed Masmari.

The clashes took place in Eastern Bin Jawad, an oil-rich region of Libya. According to Masmari, prior to the clashes, the Libyan army defeated an attack by the rebels coming to Bin Jawad from Misrata, located about 187 kilometers, or about 116 miles, to the east of Libya’s capital, Tripoli.

Libya has been in crisis since the 2011 overthrow of long-term leader Muammar Gaddafi, which came after a months-long military standoff between government forces and rebels, who received assistance from NATO forces. After the conflict, the country has seen violent clashes between numerous militias, armed with weapons seized from government ammunition depots.

French police launched raids across the country early on Dec. 15, dismantling a network sending jihadist fighters to Syria, a police source told AFP.

The image shows ISIL members, with among them a jihadist, French citizen Maxime Hauchard (R), also known as Abu Abdallah al-Faransi

Elite and anti-terror police units descended on around a dozen targets, mostly in the southern region of Toulouse, but also around Paris and in the northern region of Normandy, the source said on condition of anonymity.

It was not immediately clear how many people were arrested.

In recent months France, which has Europe’s largest Muslim population, has been facing the fact that hundreds of its citizens have openly joined jihadist groups in Iraq and Syria and have even called for attacks on their homeland.

The new reality was driven home in a video from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) released in mid-November, showing three Kalashnikov-wielding Frenchmen burning their passports and calling on Muslims to join them or stage attacks in France.

A grisly execution video released around the same time featured at least one French citizen who hailed from a small village in Normandy and converted to Islam in his teens.

Almost 1,000 French nationals from a wide range of backgrounds are estimated to have left to join jihadists in Iraq and Syria, including some 400 thought to be currently fighting on the ground and almost 50 who were killed.

According to figured published in the Le Monde newspaper in November, about a quarter of those who left to join the jihadists were converts to Islam, with many coming from everyday French backgrounds.

Source:  hurriyetdailynews

 
About 300 Chinese people are fighting alongside the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, a Chinese state-run newspaper said on Monday, a rare tally that is likely to fuel worry in China that militants pose a threat to security.

China has expressed concern about the rise of Islamic State in the Middle East, nervous about the effect it could have on its Xinjiang region. But it has also shown no sign of wanting to join U.S. efforts to use military force against the group.

Chinese members of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) are travelling to Syria via Turkey to join the Islamic State, also known as IS, the Global Times, a tabloid run by China’s ruling Communist Party’s official newspaper, the People’s Daily, said.

“According to information from various sources, including security officers from Iraq’s Kurdish region, Syria and Lebanon, around 300 Chinese extremists are fighting with IS in Iraq and Syria,” the Global Times reported.

Chinese officials blame the ETIM for carrying out attacks in Xinjiang, home to the Muslim Uighur people. But the government has been vague about how many people from China are fighting in the Middle East.

In July, China’s envoy to the Middle East, Wu Sike, cited media reports when he said about 100 Chinese citizens, most of them from the ETIM, were in the Middle East fighting or being trained.

China says ETIM militants are also holed up along the ungoverned Afghan-Pakistani border and want to create a separate state in Xinjiang, though many foreign experts doubt the group’s cohesiveness.

Instead, human rights advocates argue that economic marginalisation of Uighurs and curbs on their culture and religion are main causes of ethnic violence in Xinjiang that has killed hundreds of people in the past two years.

China has criticised the Turkish government for offering shelter to Uighur refugees who have fled China through southeast Asia and said such a channel creates security risks.