Anonymous declares cyber war on Turkey over ‘supporting ISIS’

ATP - The Anonymous hacktivist group has taken responsibility for a powerful cyber-attack on the Turkish sector of the internet last week. It promised to continue waging cyber warfare on .tr domains until Ankara stops the “insanity” of supporting Islamic State.

The massive Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack on Turkish websites last week, initially attributed to spooky “Russian hackers,” has been clarified with Anonymous issuing a video claiming responsibility and declaring cyber war on Turkey for supporting terrorists of Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL).

The DDoS attack (measured in gigabits per second, or plainly how much traffic is being sent to a site) on Turkish DNS servers reached 40 Gbps, quite enough to shut down altogether any domain.

Amnesty: Russian bombing of Syria may be a war crime

ATP - MOSCOW, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Russia's bombing of Syria may amount to a war crime because of the number of civilians its strikes have killed, Amnesty International said on Wednesday, presenting what it said was evidence that the air raids had violated humanitarian law.

"Russian air strikes in Syria have killed hundreds of civilians and caused massive destruction in residential areas, striking homes, a mosque and a busy market, as well as medical facilities, in...attacks that show evidence of violations of international humanitarian law," Amnesty said in a new report.

ISIL Leader’s Mobile Phone Shows Turkey’s Support

ATP - The mobile phone was found with one of the killed ISIL leaders in the Northern parts of Salahuddin province two days ago," Jabbar al-Ma'mouri told Soumeriya news on Monday.

He said that the mobile set and history files contain messages from the Turkish intelligence agency which show that Ankara supports the ISIL terrorist group through providing security at the points of entry used by ISIL militants from Turkey to Iraq.

"The mobile phone also contains other important information which cannot be disclosed now, and it has been delivered to the specialized security groups for further scrutiny," Ma'mouri said.

Top U.S. General Ignored Obama, Led Secret Plot to Protect Assad and Bring Russia Into Syrian War

ATP - President Obama’s top military commander secretly orchestrated intelligence sharing with military leaders in Germany, Israel and Russia to thwart the president’s policy to remove Bashar Assad from power in Syria and lay the groundwork for Russia’s military entrance into the Syrian civil war, because he believed Obama’s anti-ISIS strategies were hopelessly misguided.

That is just one of the astounding takeaways from a 6,800-word expose by venerated investigative reporter Seymour M. Hersh, that was just published in the London Review of Books. Hersh, whose sources include top senior aides to the Pentagon’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, which commands all U.S. military forces, also described in great detail how Turkey’s president Recep Erdoğan has deceived the White House by siding and arming ISIS and other extremist Islamic militias in Syria, in a gambit for Turkey to emerge as a regional power akin to the Ottoman Empire.

Over 30 Iraqi Soldiers Killed in US Air Force Strike, 20 Others Injured

ATP - At least 30 Iraqi soldiers were killed and 20 others injured in US air strike, Hakim al-Zamili, the head of Iraqi parliament's Security and Defense Committee said.

"Thirty soldiers from the Iraqi Army's 55 brigade were killed and 20 were injured in a US airstrike on the town of al-Naimiya in the al-Fallujah province," al-Zamili's statement obtained by Sputnik reads.

The politician stated that he demanded "the [Iraqi] prime minister to conduct an investigation into the airstrike against the 55 brigade, which had previously had huge success in the fight against Daesh terrorists."

UN Security Council to meet Today on Turkish troops in Iraq

ATP - The United Nations Security Council is scheduled to meet on Dec. 18 to discuss a complaint by Iraq over Turkish troops deployed to a camp near the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. 

Turkey deployed around 150 troops in the Bashiqa area this month with the stated aim of training an Iraqi militia to fight the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). The Iraqi government says they are not welcome and must withdraw.

Turkey withdrew some troops this week, moving them to another base inside Iraq's Kurdistan region, but Baghdad said they should pull out completely.

In a Dec. 11 letter to the 15-member Security Council, Iraq's Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari complained that Turkey had violated his country's sovereignty and territorial unity and integrity. 

Is Russia gearing up for war with Turkey?

ATP - Captain Alexander Shvarts watched on as the iron covers whirred open on the air defense system aboard the Russian navy's Mosvka missile cruiser off the Syrian coast.

"This system can fire up to twelve missiles at any one time," Shvarts said Thursday during a highly choreographed press tour of the ship arranged by the Russian defense ministry. "The range is around 70 kilometers (43 miles)."

The Moskva - flagship of Russia's Crimea-based Black Sea Fleet - is the largest warship the Kremlin has sent to support its bombing campaign in the war-torn nation.

It is patrolling some 10 nautical miles (13 kilometers) offshore in the eastern Mediterranean.

Until about three weeks ago, the Soviet-era craft, built in 1983, was further out to sea providing protection for ships delivering supplies for the Russian base on land.

But after a Turkish F-16 fighter blasted a Russian jet out of the sky along the Syrian border it was ordered closer to shore to help ward off any future attacks on Russian planes bombing across Syria.

Kerry says Assad can stay in power

US Secretary of State, John Kerry, told journalists that “the United States and our partners are not seeking so-called regime change” in Syria

John Kerry and Sergey Lavrov in moscow

ATP - The US changed her mind regarding the fate of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as the Secretary of State, John Kerry, told reporters in Moscow, Russia that the US and her partners “are not seeking so-called regime change” in Syria.

After meeting with Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, Kerry told reporters that the focus for the two rival countries, is “not on our differences about what can or cannot be done immediately about Assad.” Rather, it is on facilitating a peace process in which “Syrians will be making decisions for the future of Syria,” the US official said.

Saudi Arabia forms Islamic counterterrorism coalition

ATP -Saudi Arabia said Tuesday that 34 nations have agreed to form a new "Islamic military alliance" to fight terrorism with a joint operations center based in the kingdom's capital, Riyadh.

The announcement published by the state-run Saudi Press Agency said the alliance will be Saudi-led and is being established because terrorism "should be fought by all means and collaboration should be made to eliminate it." The statement said Islam forbids "corruption and destruction in the world" and that terrorism constitutes "a serious violation of human dignity and rights, especially the right to life and the right to security."

The new counterterrorism coalition includes nations with large and established armies such as Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt as well as war-torn countries with embattled militaries such as Libya and Yemen. African nations that have suffered militant attacks such as Mali, Chad, Somalia and Nigeria are also members.

KERRY IN MOSCOW FOR TALKS ON SYRIA, UKRAINE

ATP - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is in Russia to try and narrow gaps with Russian leaders over a political transition to end Syria's civil war and restore stability in eastern Ukraine.

After spending last week at climate talks outside the French capital, Kerry arrived early Tuesday in Moscow, where he will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Before departing Paris, Kerry attended a French-hosted foreign ministers meeting to compare notes on the results of a conference of Syrian opposition figures held last week in Saudi Arabia that are key to the peace effort. He also met separately with the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Qatar.

The trip is Kerry's second to Russia this year - he met with Putin in the Black Sea resort of Sochi in May - but his first since frosty relations over Ukraine were exacerbated by Moscow's intervention in Syria in late September. President Barack Obama has seen Putin briefly twice since then at international summits in Turkey and France.

A U.S. diplomat in Paris, who demanded anonymity to discuss the talks, said a meeting in Geneva on Friday between Russian and American diplomats on Syria was aimed mainly at clearing up Russian "grievances" ahead of Tuesday's Moscow meeting.

Obama warns Islamic State leaders 'you are next'

US PresidentBarack Obama voiced fresh determination to destroy the Islamic State Monday, vowing to kill the group's leaders and win back territory in the Middle East,APA reports quoting AFP.

Sounding a notably more strident tone, Obama said that the United States and its allies were taking the fight to Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

"We are hitting ISIL harder than ever," said Obama, in a second address following the seemingly Islamic State-influenced attack in San Bernardino that has raised questions about his strategy.

"As we squeeze its heart, we'll make it harder for ISIL to pump its terror and propaganda to the rest of the world," Obama insisted at the Pentagon, after meeting with top military and national security advisors.

Listing eight Islamic State figures killed in coalition operations, Obama issued a stern warning.

"ISIL leaders cannot hide and our next message to them is simple: You are next."

Obama said that US special forces were now in Syria and were helping local groups squeeze the Islamic State's proclaimed "capital" at Raqqa.

Assad Tour: Russian company wants to start selling trips to Syrian warzone in 2016

A Russian company says it plans to begin sending tourists to Syria, including visits to the frontline of the battle against terrorism, next year. It has already applied for registration of the ‘Assad Tour’ trademark.

The application to register Assad Tour – apparently, named after Syrian President, Bashar Assad – has already been submitted to Russian Agency for Patents and Trademarks (Rospatent), Moscow City News Agency reported on Monday.

The applicant, Megapolis Ltd., expects to launch tours from Moscow to Syria next year, with the possibility of a trip to the front line,” Anatoly Aronov – president of the First Patent Company, which assisted in filing the application – told the news agency.

The tours will be intended for individuals or small groups of tourists, lasting between four or five days, he said.

Nigerian Envoy Summoned over Mass Killing of Shiite Muslims

The Nigerian army attacked two religious centers of the country's Shiite community on Saturday, killing hundreds of defenseless civilians there. A few hours later on Sunday, the military arrested Leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky after raiding his house and killing his son, assistants and followers.

The Iranian foreign ministry on Monday afternoon summoned the Nigerian envoy to voice Tehran's serious concern over the incident.

At the meeting, Head of the foreign ministry's first office for African affairs condemned the the Nigerian army attack on the Shiite community as unacceptable, and reiterated the Nigerian government's responsibility for protecting the lives of the Shiites and religious centers, specially the Islamic Movement of Nigeria.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran seriously demands clarification of the dimensions of the incident, treatment of the wounded people and compensation of the damages incurred at the earliest," the Iranian diplomat said.

ISIS Leader Al-Baghdadi Escaped to Sirte in Libya, Home of Gaddafi

ATP - The leader of the so-called “Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant” (ISIL_ISIS ) Takfiri terrorist group, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, has moved from aTurkey to Libya to escape the hunt operation of the Baghdad Intelligence Sharing Center after he was traced down and allegedly targeted a number of times in Iraq and the Syria, sources said on Tuesday.

Sources in Libya said al-Baghdadi has arrived in Sirte, the hometown of the slain Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, which is under the control of the ISIS Takfiri group.

The ISIL Leader is running a secret life as his life is at stake more than anyone in the world now. Al-Baghdad's terrorist group is under massive airstrike by the Syrian, Russian and Iraqi Air Forces all throughout the Western Iraq and Eastern Syria.

Putin has threatened to use nuclear weapons against Isis but hopes they ‘will never be needed’

Vladimir Putin has said he hopes nuclear warheads will not be needed after Russia launched cruise missiles from its submarine at Isis targets in Syria.

During a meeting in the Kremlin, Russia’s Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu told the President that Kalibr cruise missiles had been fired by the Rostov-on-Don submarine from the Mediterranean Sea for the first time.

In addition to conventional warheads, President Putin said the new cruise missiles could also be equipped with nuclear warheads, before adding he hoped they would “never be needed”.

Russia goes ballistic in Syria; Turkey issues a warning

Russia does not appear to be forgiving of the downing of its plane after Turkey cited airspace. The country has been aiming at Turkey at its economic and military ends drawing warning from the country to avoid further conflicts. 

Russia warned previously it will retailiate against Turkey following the downing of its warplane. Consequently, it has been doing so for the past days that it has prompted concerns across the globe including possibly risking NATO's military intervention. According to McClatchy, a United Nations official said that the Russian seemingly have "gone ballistic" in their efforts to end Turkey's influence across Northern Syria.

Air strikes on Raqqa 'kill 32 Islamic State fighters'

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says 15 blasts shook the northern and eastern outskirts of Raqqa on Sunday, killing 32 IS fighters and wounding more than 40.

• SHARE

A Raqqa-based activist group that reports on IS, known as Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently (RBSS), said warplanes struck IS positions on the edge of the city.

RBSS did not say which country carried out the air strikes while the Observatory said they are believed to be from the US-led coalition that began targeting IS in Syria in September 2014.

Russia and a US-led coalition that includes France have been pounding Raqqa.

UK air strikes against Isil in Syria will fuel the rise of terror, says Bashar al-Assad

ATP - The UK's bombing campaign against Isil fighters in Syria is "illegal" and will only cause the “cancer” of terrorism" to spread, Bashar al-Assad has said in an interview published on Sunday.

The Syrian president mocked Britain’s decision to launch air strikes, blaming the West for the rise of the terror group, as well as for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Syrians.

An RAF Tornado jet takes off from RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus after MPs in the House of Commons voted to bomb Isil in Syria  Photo: JULIAN SIMMONDS/The Telegraph

Speaking from the tranquil surroundings of his Damascene palace, shielded from the distant thuds of war in the suburbs, Assad said the UK's actions would "support terrorism".

“It will be harmful and illegal and it will support terrorism, as happened after the coalition started its operation a year or so [ago] because this is like a cancer,” Assad said.

Turkey angered by rocket-brandishing on Russian naval ship passing Istanbul

Turkey accused Russia of a "provocation" on Sunday after a serviceman on the deck of a Russian naval ship allegedly held a rocket launcher on his shoulder while the vessel passed through Istanbul.

Relations have deteriorated sharply since Turkey last week became the first NATO member in more than half a century to down a Russian plane, which it said had violated its airspace while flying sorties over Syria. The pilot was killed.

The NTV news channel broadcast photographs that it said showed a serviceman brandishing a rocket launcher on the deck of the landing ship Caesar Kunikov as it passed on Saturday through the Bosphorus Strait, which bisects the city of Istanbul. It said the ship was believed to be en route to Syria.

US-led raids kill at least 32 ISIS fighters in northern Syria

BEIRUT - At least 32 Islamic State group fighters were killed on Sunday in apparent US-led coalition raids on Syria as President Bashar al-Assad slammed Britain's decision to participate in air strikes.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said at least 32 fighters had been killed in some 15 strikes on the group's stronghold of Raqa province in northern Syria.

The monitor's head, Rami Abdel Rahman, said at least 40 jihadists were also wounded in the strikes, which hit ISIS headquarters and bases to the north, east and southeast of provincial capital Raqa city.